Ta Da!

I LOVE my sewing machine that I got for Christmas. I have spent most evenings since I got it sewing things together, including a jean quilt-top that I've been wanting to make for ages but couldn't because I didn't have a sewing machine. And I wasn't going to do THAT by hand... one hand-quilt was enough. Anyway, but until I buy the border, binding, and back fabric that quilt will have to remain a quilt-top. In the meantime, though, I decided to sew a dress for Julie. She is growing like a weed and most of her church dresses have become very short on her (which is fine, I know, because she's a toddler and wears tights, but she still needed a new dress).

So after many hours deciphering pattern lingo and lots of phone calls to my mom to help me understand what I was supposed to be doing, and having to unpick stitches several times,

here is my first completed project on my new sewing machine:

I think it turned out really well. I had a lot of fun doing it and it was so satisfying to see the finished product. Here are some of the many things I learned with this project:

- how to gather

- sew a zipper

- sew on satin ribbon (which I learned it really hard to do and still make it look good)

- add lining to the inside of the dress

It fits!

Despite her face in this next picture, she loved wearing the dress. And since it was a 2T size, it still has room for her to grow, which is good because she is still growing like a weed!

And, as you can see, she can still climb in it, which is very important for Julie!