Project Share & New Passions

Happy Labor Day! I was really hoping to surprise you all with a new pattern for the owl phone case I've been working on, however it's still in the drafting stages as of right now. (I made several prototypes and gave them to family members. Unfortunately I'm waiting on my mother to get back from the grocery store so I can photograph hers! lol) I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, mostly because it's still the first few weeks of school and I'm exhausted! This weekend was wonderfully rejuvenating though and I'm excited to share my labor day project with you! Can I get a drum roll please........

Ta da! I LOVE the look of this dress! It comes from New Look pattern A6067. The New Look brand is one of my favorites, and I was particularly drawn to this pattern. I also love the fabric, I think the colors transition well from summer to fall. (I intend to wear sandals in the summer, and transition to pumps or possibly boots and tights as the weather cools.)

I bought the pattern and the fabric over a year ago but I knew it was going to be very tedious. Unfortunately I've been continually putting it off since then. The fabric was purchased at JoAnn's and the dressmaker was a Christmas gift from my parents. (Her name is Joann, bet you can't guess why! lol) I seriously LOVE my dressmaker and use her all the time. Plus, it means I don't have to do my hair when I want to share my looks. :)

That zipper only took me one shot! Literally the best zipper I've ever inserted! (That I didn't rip out six times)

I am always looking for patterns that are comfortable as well as modest, after all, I don't want to have everything hanging out while I'm teaching long division! Another thing that really drew me to the pattern was the chevron pleating in the center front...

A little difficult to see, but trust me, it's beautiful!

I knew that this would contribute to the tediousness of the overall construction but I loved it! It also has a fully lined bodice and instructions on how to sew a belt to match the dress. I chose to forgo the belt that came with the pattern because my fabric was already so busy. I decided it looked better overall when broken by the solid brown belt.

I have to be honest, I was a bit curious to see what my neighbors would think of me dragging my dressmaker through the yard to photograph it. (The lighting in the house is awful!) Turns out it wasn't the human neighbors I needed to worry about....

After shoving Joann in various places in our garden I kept feeling as if someone was watching me. I turned to see this....

Beginning to feel a little self-conscious, Joann and I took our little photography section to the side yard. I mean, our animals should be used to my antics, right?

Nope, the first to notice was Tux....

He moved in to get a closer look...For those of you who don't know his real name is Leo's Tuxedo, I think Tux was just helping me get a few formal shots :) The two horses in the background are Jose and Drew Piney, neither of which seemed to care what I was doing in the least. Anyway, Joann and I moved into the back yard and....

That's when our fourth horse, Colby took notice...Unfortunately I had a really hard time catching him in action, he was actually terrified of Joann and kept running back and forth...lol

Anyway, that's the dress I wanted to share. :) I spent Saturday pre-washing my fabric and cutting my pattern pieces/lining and construction took almost all of Sunday, that being said though, I think it will look awesome at school Tuesday!

I'd also like to share a very new passion of mine...Zumba! Some how I'd missed this particular bandwagon but Mom and I went to our first Zumba class last Wednesday and LOVED it! We had a great time and it wasn't nearly as difficult as the video we'd been doing at home! (Okay, we'd been sitting on the couch watching the people in the video dance, but same thing, right?) For those of you who live locally we went to JC Karate in Ridge Manor. The overall environment was wonderful, they really are a wholesome, friendly, small town business and we really felt so welcome there!

Enjoy your Labor Day!

~Farm Girl Teacher