skirt easy, dress hard

I am having a bit of trouble with my newest project. In 15 days I am in my best friends wedding. I was determined to find a dress in Naperville this past weekend, but I had absolutely no luck! So I decided to do what I do and make one! My friend's only request for our bridesmaid's dresses was grey, yellow, lace, vintage. Other than that she didn't care. So three of the bridesmaids went with yellow and two went with grey. I knew finding a lacy, grey dress would be a task in summer, but I took the challenge nonetheless. 

So I found this plain cotton fabric with this grey lace. I plan to add something small in yellow. I thought about a belt around the waist using a silk ribbon, but I don't know how that will look so I'll have to just wait and see what "feels" right.

This is the McCall's pattern M6508. In this pattern there are 19 pieces and multiple options for the dress. I chose the gathered top and the short gathered skirt. That is the top right dress without the strap. 

Now I am kicking myself for deciding to do this. I only spent about $30 on fabric so it will be an extremely price-savy dress if I can pull it off, but making a dress is hard work. I've made a dozen skirts, but never a dress. Pray for me. It's been a long day trying to figure this pattern out. In my opinion McCall's failed on the directions for this piece. I'm disappointed and a little exhausted from trying to make sense of it! The up side to this is it really is a gorgeous dress and the materials I chose are super easy to work with.

Let me also tell you this wedding is outside at the end of July! So super hot. Minimal clothing is a must, but I want to keep it classy. After all, I am a mother of two children and these pictures will be around for many, many years.

Downtown Chicago

My doily is finished. I learned how to block a doily and although I'm by far no pro at it, it was fun and my doily actually lays flat! The little bowl above was found in downtown Naperville in Illinois. I have a thing for pottery, what can I say?

You don't see these types of busses everywhere, but I spied one in Chicago! This beauty was sitting right outside Sifu when we first parked.

This has been a very exciting weekend. I was able to visit downtown Chicago and get a feel for the area's vibe! I visited a few little shops and of course I had deep dish pizza and Chicago style hot dogs!

My favorite place in downtown Chicago is called Sifu Design Studio. This fun little shop was like walking into a needlework fantasy world. I found some great tatting thread which I will use to crochet something in micro-form. Check out Sifu for your needlework needs, they have a great website and Lisa offers classes all the time!

I also found a few different yarns to add to my stash until I decide what to do with them. The cute rings and vintage knitting needles were just an added bonus to this amazing little shop.

This little pie pan was found in another great little shop called "Roost" which was right up the road from Sifu. I cannot say enough good things about this little antique store, but they have an amazing assortment of collectible antiques. I happen to be a Mason jar obsessor and when I walked in my little eyes locked onto three of the biggest mason jars I have ever seen. Had I not be being mindful of my budget I may have purchased them. Now that I am home I wish I had gotten one!

The designer herself

I have been absolutely honored to talk to the actual designer of this fabulous doily pattern. I continued to get hung up on the 5th round. If I had only read on to round 6 where is said "flower" I may have realized what it meant. Luckily I shot an email to Jacqui herself and she cleared it up for me. 

Now I have made it all the way to round 9! I am feeling so excited about making doilies for myself. Jacqui was eager to help and also told me that I may be interested in miniature crochet. I am definitely interested and I think everyone should take a look at her ebay shop. What she does is simply phenomenal! Her shop is called eastwick*dollhouse. 

Can you imagine making these tiny treasures? Such skill. I'll admit I am interested in trying, but reproducing her amazing work will definitely be a challenge. Great job Jacqui!