The Socialite Dress

I can't believe I forgot to tell everyone I finished the Anna Maria Horner Socialite dress!  Remember when I said I wouldn't be sewing until Jake and Kali were gone?  Well...I lied.  They were gone for hours Saturday and Sunday nights, which gave us plenty of time to watch movies, fart around on the internet and sew.  Well mostly I sewed and he listened to the machine.

I apologize for the crap picture.  There are few places in our apartment to hang something, so I keep resorting to the bifold doors near the bathroom.  I should just buy some of those 3M sticky hooks and keep one on the wall at all times.

I made it with Joel Dewberry Nature Valley fabric that I picked up at StitchDC in February.  To be completely honest with you, I wasn't very excited about sewing this.  I bought the pattern when I first decided to start sewing and picked up the fabric on a whim.  I put it off and put it off (and read the review at Sew, Mama, Sew millions of times) and finally said, "No more!"  And I went for it.

I'm...content with the results.  I like the look of the dress.  It'll work well into fall, if it ever decides to warm up here.  I don't like how I had to hand sew the facing.  That was awful because I'm a terrible hand-sewer.  I also don't like that the medium, though it said it would fit, is very, very tight across the chest.  I'm guessing the gathering has something to do with it, but it's also the saving grace: while it feels tight, so tight that Nicholas had to help me get it on and off, it doesn't look like it.  These boobs aren't going anywhere, so I'll just have to handle it.

In short, I'm not making another.  I'm sending my cousin Jesse the pattern and, if the facing didn't look so godawful, I'd send her the dress as well.  Oh well.  I'll get some use out of it, I'm sure.

So now I'm not sure what to do next.  I think I'm abandoning the baby clothes for my former co-worker because, well, I just don't care about it anymore.  I only cut out one fabric instead of all three, and if anyone I know is having a boy, I'll just finish them up pretty quickly for them.  I do have a charm pack waiting on me, so maybe I'll start that.  And I have my Betz White sewing class coming in just over a week, which I'm really looking forward to.  Vintage pillowcases becoming baby clothes and lady skirts?  Count me in.

(One final note: if anyone loves Tina Fey as much as I do, check out the review of her new book, Bossypants, over at Slate.  You don't need to agree with the message as long as you find the excerpts pretty effing funny.)