June Review

In my sewing world, June began with a shell that was okay but messy to sew, continued with a dress with good sewing but poor design, and ended with a skirt that I love. That's a pretty good way to end the month! I've posted about the NL6163 shell. The second garment was BWOF 12-2008-114 dress. The polyester knit fabric was not something I usually wear but I really like it. It's been in my stash waiting for the right pattern. When I saw Karen's interpretation of this Burda nightgown pattern, I thought that I had found THE pattern. When I finished it, I was not sure if I had a nightgown or a dress. I put it on the dressform and tried it with a red belt. The belt helped but still "no cigar" in my opinion.
So, I had my photographer and outside designer (DH) take a picture of me wearing the dress. Please excuse the lack of makeup, combed hair, and shoes. I wasn't planning on posting the picture. I decided to go ahead as the picture also shows part of my "organized" sewing room with WIP and I want to have a "before" picture. DH said that something was wrong with the neckline. I think that it is a little too low, but he didn't have a problem with that (men!). He said that the neckline fabric binding makes it look like I sewed it wrong (not so!). I held up some red knit to the neckline and it looked sooo much better. As they say in the Fashion Show, I was "hanging by a thread" although the sewing was fine. Fortunately, I can fix it. Also, I'll add some belt loops. With my high hip, the belt hangs a bit crooked.

The third garment is a stretch linen skirt, BWOF 08-2008-121. I did my usual adjustments: increased the waist at the side seams 3/8", shortened 2 inches, and did a 1/2" high hip adjustment. I lined it with 100% silk that I bought on sale at Fabric Mart. The colors weren't great but it is nice and comfy for lining. The fit was perfect to me. This skirt has a nice swing that makes me smile. I'll do a full review on PatternReview soon.

I will wear it with an over-blouse. I'm just to crooked to show my waist unless I'm showing a design!

I'm pretty pleased with my sewing productivity given that this was a busy month in the garden. Although hubbie is the master gardener, I still have quite a bit of work to do helping him. We"ve closed up most of one of the gardens for the summer.

There are a couple of lima bean and snap bean plants peeking through the covers. Ever try to shell lima beans? I love to eat fresh ones, but they are hard on the nails and patience. We have cucumbers and snow beans still left in this garden.

This picture shows the second garden. If you look closely, you can see the few cherry tomatoes that we have left. There also are collard greens and pineapple plants.I love minature roses. I lost one of my favorites during our three weeks of solid rain. That plant survived 3 hurricanes (barely) and just drowned in the downpour of rain. Anyway, My sweet DH bought me several more. Two of them have been planted in their new homes.

I should be able to spend more time in the sewing room this month. First up is fixing that crazy print dress with a red neck binding. Then, I'll do the buttonholes and buttons for a blouse that goes with the green linen skirt. I almost finished it in June, but didn't quite make it.