WHY IS THERE SNOW IN THESE PICTURES?

short answer: because i’m a straight up lousy blogger. because i took the photos of this dress months (weeks?) ago and they’ve been lost in the long dark teatime of my hard drive.

but i love this dress and it’s worth sharing, so here it is.

this dress was inspired by the dress simple simon and co. did for adventures in dressmaking’s series back in november.

liZ made a vintage-y babydoll dress. she described it as “high waisted, tightly gathered, shorty short, ridiculously poofy”. yessssss. girlfriend is speaking my language, and i was forced to promptly copy her dress into a version for my littlest.

it’s a lovely symbiotic relationship: i love seeing ms. elliot here in the poofy fluffy stuff, and she loves wearing it.

as a matter of fact, that is ALL she wears. dresses, and pink, and fancy shoes. 100% of the time. even to bed—including the fancy shoes. she’s tried (unsuccessfully) to convince us her light up minnie mouse click-clack heels are “night night shoes”. just as we’ve tried (unsuccessfully) to convince her that she can not wear shoes to bed. le sigh.

anyway, about the dress--the white velvet liZ used wasn’t gonna fly for my sloppy little munchkin, so it was a stiffer white bottomweight i ended up with, which really enhances the poofiness factor. ;)

i used a self-drafted baseball-t style pattern for the top—omitting the neckband and adding a facing, then added lots, and lots, and LOTS of skirt, pleated and gathered to fit. it has a self slip with black tulle, and a tiny black and white trim on the skirt and arm hems.

some pretty black buttons in the back and a simple black ribbon around the waist. done.

did i keep telling her to pick up things from the ground because i stinking love how it sticks out when she bends over?

yes, i most certainly did.

did i neglect to realize that when i asked her sister to put black stockings on her for these shots, she wasn’t wearing any panties yet?

yes, i most certainly did. O.o

enjoy your morning dose of googie badonkadonk. hehehe.

pr+p: let me sum up.

well, that was fast and furious. i was out after two weeks. and...i'm not sure how i feel about that. i was so, soooo tired that i almost was happy. almost.
because it also hurts to be "out"...

i had my outfit for week 3 about 80% finished, but nothing takes away your motivation quicker than being kicked off the island.
so there it sits, draped across my dress form in it's unfinished state. maybe one day i'll get around to it.

i did have fun. they were some of the most stressful weeks--sewing and thinking and tearing things out and resewing. the last few nights before the deadline of week 2 were straight up miserable. i lost the embroidery thread and buttons i had bought, and was tearing apart my sewing area and huffing and puffing, shooting angry eyes at my husband snuggled up in bed and snoring. not that ANY of it was his fault--actually, he was amazingly patient and supportive through the entire thing. but *I* wanted to be in bed and snoring.
okay, maybe just in bed. ladies don't snore. i took it down to the wire--not done still on saturday, i pushed photos to sunday. and it absolutely POURED buckets. at first it was drizzly--so i thought i could do it. but by the time i found an umbrella to use in photos it was over. not a chance of photos happening in the torrential downpour we were having.
so monday i took the kiddos to school late so i could squeeze in a quick photoshoot. and it was freezing. like couldn't stand up straight teeth won't stop chattering freezing. but i thought i had some good shots so i was hopeful...until i got home and realized something is wrong with my camera and they were all blurry. and here i thought that it was just my eyes...:( so after school back again--we flew to our spot (which i realize was a mistake, i should have just done the reshoot at home) and back home with 40 minutes to the deadline. and it showed in my photos for week 2. not the way i wanted to go out--because i was really, REALLY proud of what i had done for that week.
eh, it is what it is, right?
moving on..
i challenged myself during pr+p--my m.o. is girl's dresses, all day erry day. that's what i like sewing, that's what i'm good at sewing...and, let's face it--they're much faster. but i knew to have a chance up against these awesome seamstresses i'd have to break out of my comfort zone.

so i did--pants, shirt and a jacket for harrison scared...well, the pants off me. ava's sailor pants, blouse and jacket? i was riding such a roller coaster of emotions--literally from minute to minute.
the pants fit like a glove! i'm amazing!
i hemmed them too. short. someone shoot me and put me out of my misery.
look at that welt pocket! BOOYAH!
i sewed my zipper shut. i quit. 

but i've come out of it with a desire and determination to expand my skillset--to try new things and learn new techniques. (first up: perfect bound buttonholes and master the zip fly) i've been pushed to put more effort and work into my finishing and small details--both things i tend to let slide normally.
who cares what the inside seams look like? look how cute she is!!!
and i've also "met" some super cool gals--jess, ajaire, celina, autumn and sarah are all pretty stinkin' awesome, and amazingly talented to boot.

so in the end, i say THANKS to the simple simon gals for giving me this shot on pr+p. i wish i could have gone further, but it was still a blast while it lasted!
and last, but most DEFINITELY NOT least--you guys. everyone one who voted for me, or didn't vote for me but came and left a nice comment, the sweet notes i've gotten from people and the comments that kept me motivated. thank you, from the bottom of my thread-covered heart. mwah! xoxo, S

PR+P: a final plea

guys! today is the last day to vote for this week's look in project run + play! and...well, it's not looking too good for yours truly. :(
  if you can spare a second i'd love your vote!