Finally - a review of my Mother of the Bride dress! (S2497)

Took me awhile but I'm finally getting around to blogging / reviewing Simplicity 2497 - a Cynthia Rowley design that is nominated for top ten patterns in 2011. I made a muslin here and had to make a few tweaks to the bodice to make it fit. (Full review at Pattern Review if interested.) I made a bolero jacket to wear over it but didn't like it when it was done so I left it off. Forgive the wrinkles in the dress. The photo was taken at the end of the evening as you can tell by the wine-enhanced giant eyes!

Shoes are A. Marinelli Excess and came from Zappos. No longer available at Zappos but they may be available from other vendors. Not sure if you can tell in the photo but the back is silver and the front is a sheer, sparkly mesh; the medallion on top is made from a bunch of strands of silver beads. They are much nicer in person!


This is the cute little bag I carried, which I found at at T.J. Maxx! It is silver with a black lace overlay.


Overall, I'm happy with the dress. I've actually worn the outfit two other times since the wedding.

Christmas Appetizer

My daughter and son in law are hosting their first Christmas party tonight and she asked me to make a couple appetizers. Veggie bars are always yummy and this variation is perfect for a Christmas party! It's a Pillsbury recipe found here.

What to do when you're missing your sewing machine...

Mark and I spent the week after Thanksgiving at our home in Florida. We love our time down there because we truly get to relax. Even though I worked during the day and even visited a client, we still took advantage of the lovely weather for long walks every morning and had lots of fun time in the evenings. Once we retire we plan to spend our winters down here but for now, we take advantage of long weekends or weeks when we can make it work with our work / family schedules.

Ultimately, I intend to sew during our extended stays and we even had a Murphy-style bed built into the spare bedroom so when we don't have guests, it can be my sewing room. I came T H I S - C L O S E to purchasing a used machine last week to keep in Florida but I decided that due to our infrequent trips, it doesn't make sense right now.

But I can't go a whole week without sewing! So over the last two trips, we've assembled a cutting station that allow me to at least cut out patterns while I'm down there so they are ready to be sewn when I get back home. We picked up a folding table and risers from the hardware store and purchased other supplies - cutting mat, rotary cutter, pins, chalk marker, tape measure, scissors. On this trip, I brought fabric and patterns and came home with 11 projects cut out! All are marked but a few require interfacing and / or linings (which I forgot to bring). I bought some 2 1/2 gallon Hefty zipper bags and they are perfect for storing the projects.

I have already finished one top, which I'll review later in the week. Here is a list of the projects:

1. Glittery knit sleeveless cowl top similar to this one;
Fabric: sweater knit with gold thread running through it, from TexStyles during PR Weekend in Austin
Pattern: M6078 view B
I finished this before work this morning to wear to a Christmas party on Saturday!

2. Wool Pants
Fabric: beige wool tricotine
Pattern: McCalls 5239, Palmer Pletsch pattern; custom fitted at pants fitting workshop in Austin

3. Black pencil skirt
Fabric: Stretch corduroy purchased at Banasch
Pattern: Simplicity 2451, View C, like this one

4. Knit LS cowl tunic
Fabric: Confetti print knit from The Common Thread that a bunch of the Austin ladies purchased
Pattern: Vogue 8634, similar to this one

5. Asymmetrical knit top
Fabric: purple jersey
Pattern: Kwik Sew 3790

6. Bolero style knit top
Fabric: Red jersey
Pattern: McCalls 6284, like this one

7. Shirred sleeve t-shirt
Fabric: gray jersey knit
Pattern: McCalls 6164, View A, like this one

8. Sweetheart Neck Top
Fabric: silk cotton rayon from Fabricker
Pattern: Jalie 2794

9. Flannel tie front shirt
Fabric: Black/white flannel with black flannel tie from stash
Pattern: Kwik Sew 3620

10. Shirred front blouse
Fabric: purple stretch cotton
Pattern: Vogue 8747, View C

11. Ruffle Front Blouse
Fabric: red stretch cotton
Pattern: McCalls 5522, (PR Best pattern in 2009)

I have to say... it is quite nice to be able to walk into my sewing room, pop open a project bag and immediately start sewing! I think I'm going to start on # 4 tonight - the confetti tunic.