Dressmaking Gone Awry and Other Stuff

My last post alluded to my making a dress for myself for granddaughter McKenna's upcoming wedding . . . well, I was hesitant to even attempt this project but did go ahead and cut it out and had it sewn up to a trying-on stage. Let me just say that I've developed a Plan B; as my dad used to say about the dresses we girls wore (or tried to wear) back in the '60's, it was "TS and TT" (too short and too tight)! That'll learn me! After telling my sister about the disaster, she recalled something a lovely lady friend said, " I’ll never forget what Bernice said about sewing her own clothes: she did it for years until she finally got tired of making a garment for Goodwill for every garment she made for herself! Anyhoo, maybe Plan B should involve Nordstrom’s or someplace of that ilk with attentive staff and elegant dressing rooms." Hahaha! 

So, although Plan B was not going to a place with "attentive staff and elegant dressing rooms," it does involve "store-bought!" A nice skirt and top from one of my favorite shops, J Jill. 

The ill-fated dress w/o sleeves because why would I sew sleeves in when it doesn't fit??!

The thing is, I did French seams to prevent raveling of the linen fabric, and put in an invisible zipper which was no small task! I will stick to making costumes for the grands and great grands and quilts from now on!

The J Jill deep blue skirt and peplum print top. 

The colors for the wedding are soft blue, sage green, and ivory as I mentioned at the end of my last blog post and so I think I'll blend in okay. Grandpa has a navy blue suit and will be wearing a green striped tie (and white shirt) which matches my top perfectly. Of course, our clothing will not really matter what with the bride and groom being the stars for the day!

The label for the wedding quilt that I had made by a local lady was not what I expected.

It looks like her embroidery machine went wacky on the "Made" part.

So, I emailed to my talented sister in San Diego asking her if she might break out her machine embroidery skills and make a better label for me. She obliged and I am so very pleased with it! Here it is sewn onto the quilt, ready for gifting Friday:

I love that my sister added all the necessary words and was able to fit it on a hexagon! Thank you Margrette!

Now that that was done, I moved on to picking the illustration I'd done for the wedding card and crafting the card. I also made a card to accompany the $$ we are giving the couple for their honeymoon.

I chose the watercolor (see last blog post), cut it out and attached it to a tag. I've tied it to the basket with a pretty bow.

On the back of the big tag I printed out a favorite quote from Martin Luther about marriage: "Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."

Card for the honeymoon $$. The Distress Ink blending was inspired by this card by Yana Smakula as was the design.

I cut the Romantic Sunset Island design (#81977) on my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine and designed the sentiment using Dingleberry font. The happy couple are going to Kauai HI for their honeymoon, hence the tropical theme.

While I had my stamp and craft stuff out, I made a card for a young friend who is going to be 21 years of age on the 25th of this month. I thought it'd be fun to use StampinUp!'s Mixed Drinks stamp set.

Just by happy accident, there are 20 drinks showing on the front.

And on the inside, the 21st! Happy birthday Shannon!

I have some leftovers from the honeymoon card to make an anniversary card for granddaughter Brittany and her husband, the bride McKenna's older sister. Funnily enough, their wedding date is August 16th (McKenna and Travis's being the 17th)! I'd better get on the ball and get it in the mail! They will most likely get it late as US Postal Service is not always the quickest.

Fourteen days into this month and at least one of the watermelons in our garden is ready to pick. I think we will do just that and feast on it this Thursday evening with granddaughter McKenna who will be home before her big day Friday.

This is the largest of three melons surviving on the vine. Very heavy!

Enjoying these ordinary days!

Hazel