Making Progress

This afternoon I got to work in my sewing room - again! It feels like a little miracle. The dress is coming along. I hope I've made the necessary alterations to prevent some of the problems that others have had with the style. The dress form is a HUGE help. While it's not shaped exactly like me, so far the dress seems to fit me pretty closely to the way it fits the form. Tomorrow I begin applying endless amounts of bias tape. I'm glad I picked a contrasting color or the lines of the design would be completely lost with this fabric.

I even finished a new (and very overdue) pair of pants for Taz. My little Mini-Me has had quite a growth spurt since the last time I made him pants. I had to add 4(!) inches to the pattern. Poor kid LOVES his other mama-made pants so much and has worn them so often that the elastic in the waist is completely shot. He insists on wearing them to school all the while struggling to keep them from falling down to his knees! These are a conglomeration of a few Ottobre patterns that I've been using for the past couple years. He loves the style and still prefers an elastic waist over a zipper.

Here's a little thing I add to most pants. I use a fun fabric for the pocket linings - something I know the wearer will love. It's such a silly little touch but Taz loves his "secret pockets."

And in other crafty news, I finished Elf's necklace for the tea party we're attending on Sunday. I got the idea and the graphics from Disney.com via Allcrafts.net. I was able to find the ink jet shrink paper at Michael's (in the scrap booking section.)  The directions on the shrink paper suggested using a few coats of clear nail polish to seal the ink. I also used steel grey polish on the back (and a sharpie on the edges) so they'd look better as they moved .

Add them and some other charms to a chain and...

VOILA!

A necklace worthy of the Mad Hatter's tea party
(and my favorite 9 year old.)