Weekend Warriors

So this past weekend was busy. They're always busy, but this was extra busy. Thank goodness my parents were here to help!

Auntie Meesh stopped by Friday morning and watched the girls while I did some much needed pruning of our mint-weeds. It will be the last time we see her before she moves from Kentucky to New Hampshire! We'll miss having her "close" by.




I went to church Friday night to help make nametag labels (VBS), then Saturday night and Sunday morning Doug and I were at church doing worship for our kids. We were only able to do 3 of the 4 services, however, since Sunday was also our dance showcase! Dad watched C, and Mom helped me finish sewing my dress on Saturday.


I was pleased with the final result. What a LOT of work that thing was!



I felt like we did our worst yet at showcase, but it was a small one and not a lot of competition, so we actually still won top Freestyles and Doug won top adult! (Pictures coming on a future post...)

The weekend wasn't over yet! While we were gone at church and dance, my dad supervised the installation of our new air conditioning system. Mom took C to the showcase to watch us dance. After that, they went home and we took the girls to my friend Kristi's house after a rushed dinner (which the girls didn't eat). Then Doug and I went straight to church for VBS volunteer training. I was doing some training and Doug was being trained. He's taking off work and helping out with tech.

Man I'm tired just from writing all that!!! Did I mention that I'll be glad when next week's over???

Here I Sew Again...

I dug out my dress project this weekend to try to make some headway. I did get a lot done, but it is HARD and frustrating! My machine is not sewing correctly (still) so I need to take it in again. I ran out of material (user error...) and needed to fuse a couple pieces of fabric together for the last panel of my skirt! Then, the godets didn't come out the same size as the pattern. Not sure what I did wrong, but I needed to cut eight and no two came out the same. And now that the over-skirt is attached to the bodice, I found that it will be a perfect fit for someone 4 inches taller and 5 lbs lighter than myself.

I keep forging ahead, telling myself that this is a learning experience and my next dress will be all the better for it. Doug helped watch the girls a lot, otherwise this would never get done!

Here's where I am with it now:

Spring Crafting

I was inspired by the neat craft C made at F's house last week:


and decided to look up something fun for the girls to work on today. Kristi tipped me off that F likes using the glue stick, so we had a successful craft time, where the girls each pretty much constructed these little bird nests on their own:

Weekend Warriors

My friends and I have long been planning a girls-only scrapbooking weekend. It finally arrived this past weekend and it was fabulous! Doug has been really sick all week, and I was just not sure if I'd be able to go. But he went to the doctor on Friday and was feeling well enough for me to leave. What a super-dad!

For me, the weekend was just what the doctor ordered. Some time away from mommy-duties and plenty of scrapping and socializing. We laughed SO hard this weekend. I don't think there was any topic left untouched... I kept a quote-board of some of the crazy things that were said, but, sorry, "what's said at scrapbooking, stays at scrapbooking."

Dress Progress (or lack thereof...)

To be fair, I have been making some progress on my dress. I had sewn up the bodysuit a while ago and tried it on. (It didn't fit my duct tape dummy because I sewed the crotch shut. Dionne wisely pointed out that I may want to change that to use snaps as it would make potty-breaks easier in the dress!)

It seemed a little big for me. I had made the size 12, which is what my measurements said. I guess patterns are like bridesmaid dresses - they always end up a lot bigger than ready-to-wear clothing.

SO - off to the store to buy the smaller size pattern and go forward with a size 10. I made the bodice part and took in the bodysuit I already made. Now I am worried that the bodice is too tight on me! (Oh brother.) So I need to buy some Spanx, go on a diet or let the bodice out. Or all of the above.


Here it is on my dummy:

And a rear shot:

Here's the bodice pinned to the dummy:

I asked C, "Doesn't it look sparkly?" She said, "No - it looks SILLY!"

Dress Fabric

I went to several local fabric stores today and purchased some fabric for my dress. Or at least for the first attempt! I really wanted to make the main body out of dark navy stretch velvet, but am going to try this glitter stretch stuff first.
Left to right: Body of dress, godets, underskirt, bodysuit

My Future Smooth Dress

Ok, so here is the inspiration for all the duct tape madness. After 7 years of dancing, Doug has agreed to do a smooth solo with me for our showcase in June. We are doing a Viennese Waltz. Of course, this is exciting to me for many reasons, one of which is that I get to have a smooth dress!

I love this dress. It was designed by the guy who does all the Dancing with the Stars gowns. I love the dark blue color and the neckline - love the sleeves, but don't know how/if I will manage that. I would probably like more godets in the front, but other than that, it is so gorgeous!



After weeks and weeks of searching the web, I found a pattern that I believe will get me close to the inspiration dress:

It obviously doesn't have the sleeves, but it is supposed to include instructions for a bodysuit. And it is only $2.99!!! (Other patterns I looked at were $40+) Also, it has a two-piece bodice and skirt. Any suggestions for making that one solid piece? Or am I once again biting off more than I can or should chew for my first gown???