It's Halloween Time! Ch-Ch-Ch...

CHIA!

When I was a kid, I loved Halloween.  As an adult, I'm not a huge fan of it.   But I do like dressing up my dogs in ridiculous costumes every year.  This year is the best by far.  I would like to introduce you to the newest knick-knack to adorn my bookshelf:

Ch-Ch-Ch-CHIA PEARL! *

It's like playing "Where's Waldo?"

Here's how I started:

A long time ago I drafted a onesie pattern from an existing dog outfit.  I made onesies before here and here. I redrafted the pattern this time, making it a little more professional.  My sewing has greatly improved since the last time I made Pearl's onesie so the construction method changed.  It went together fairly quickly and the fit is a lot better than before.

Here she is before her pjs became Chia-fied....

Pre-haircut...

 I then took apart fake hydrangeas I bought at Michaels and glued the individual buds to the base.  This process too two nights.  I used a stuffed animal roughly the size of Pearl to make it easier to glue the flowers. The glue and the flowers formed a hard shell.  I was not expecting this, but the outfit still fits the dog.

 I  couldn't resist placing her on the bedside table. She looks just like the real deal.  I wish I had video of her scurrying around on the floor as a chia pet.  It's almost eerie because at first glance it looks like  ceramic dog

And lastly, a close-up of Pearl.  I couldn't resist.  Her face is so cute in this picture.

I'm entering Pearl in the Pattern Review contest again this year.  Vote for her!

*Coming to a Walmart near you.

Lavender Waste of My Time

Please ignore the shoe choice.
I threw on the first pair of heels I found just to give me some height.
Also the wrinkles are atrocious.  The dress was balled up on my desk for
over a week before I took these pictures.  Excuses, excuses, excuses...

Eww. 

I'm still here, just not making as many things as I would like.  I've been working for 2.5 months as a Technical Design Assistant (woohoo!) and spending the evenings with my family and the Boyfriend.  This dress took me 2 weeks to make, just because I would work on it for a little bit, quit for a few days, work on it some more, quit, etc., etc., etc....  

I bought the fabric for I believe $2/yd. at the FIDM Scholarship store in L.A.  It is a yummy rayon/spandex blend I think.  Feels great, but wrinkles like crazy.  It was purchased with the intention of it being "muslin" fabric, specifically with this dress pattern in mind.  Oh, I forgot, the pattern is McCall's 5974, the Palmer/Plesch Faux wrap dress.  I thought I would try the pattern and if I liked it, I would use it with a gorgeous bird fabric I purchased from EmmaOneSock.  The pattern was good, but I don't think I will ever use it again.  

I'm calling this dress a wadder.  It just isn't flattering on me.   The style and the color feel very "mother of the bride."   I made the smallest size and I feel it is still too big in the bust, arms, and waist, but it shows all my lumps in back!  In this fabric (and the potential bird fabric) I would need to grade down another size or two.  The ties were also entirely too much around the waist.  Wanna here something funny?  I asked my mom to try it on and it fit her really well and flattered her figure.    

My review will be up on PR in a day or so.  In sort, I didn't follow the directions on the tie construction and used a self binding instead of hemming the neckline.

I'm currently working on New Look 6130, the peplum blouse.  I'll share pictures of how I redrafted the facings to be an all-in-one armsyce/neckline facing soonish.  On the blouse, I have to just take in the side seams a little more and hem it.  Almost done....

Thanks to the new Followers! I'll give a proper shout-out next time when I'm not falling asleep as I am typing.