Thrifted Thursday

          I celebrated the break in the rainy weather the other day by busting out my favourite new- to- me dress paired up with a few of my fall classics. Getting dressed at this time of the year can be a bit tricky- I'm always either too hot and sweaty or freezing cold and soaking wet- obviously layers are called for! Layers combined with a dress is a win win situation- and I love a good dress as dresses are outfits unto themselves- no brain dressing if you will.

       Obviously my penchant for early 90's Grunge comes through in this outfit- my favourite work boots combined with a flowey cotton dress and a denim jacket- I would not have looked out of place at a Pearl Jam concert in 1994. This little gem was unearthed amongst a multitude of glorious frocks at Community Thrift and Vintage- which may or may not be conveniently located on my walk home from school- yay kid free thrifting!

         After a solid day of rain it can be easy for me to fall into a pit of despair- it only takes one fair day for me to fall back in love with this place we call home- I'm a fickle creature that way! I fully celebrate getting outside and loving our neighbourhood- nothing beats a walk through Strathcona early in the morning in the fall- watching the sun filter through falling leaves. Love where you live!

Seam Allowance

     All too often this Momma's sewing gets passed over ( by herself admittedly) for smaller, cuter and easier garments. Not so the case this week- I made the time for myself- yah it's something new I'm trying out- this making time for myself. The boy was temporarily put out that the three pairs of pants he has so patiently been waiting for were put on hold while his Momma sewed something that made her heart sing.

    If you remember last Wednesday's post where in I totally nerded out over some organic chambray that I had ordered from Merchant & Mills- well I wasn't sure what I was going to sew with it. Then I received a pattern - also from Merchant & Mills- that I didn't think I would be seeing for a few weeks- The Dress Shirt pattern. Sigh- this looked to be the perfect pattern- simplicity and ease at it's best- with details pulled from classic men's shirting. This would be the pattern to use with my lovely chambray.

      And so the wild rumpas began- my Mr. had to work late one evening so I popped some corn and threw on a movie for the Littles- they were ecstatic over having a movie night mid week! I layed out the pattern and took that first snip into the yardage- then hours just fell away. This dress seriously only took about three hours from layout to try on- it was that easy!

 
     I love everything about this dress- the casual ease- the delicate gathering across the back yolk, the unexpected subtle detail of the bib front with a few tucks and gathers and best of all - three quarter length sleeves- I am forever rolling sleeves up to wash dishes or tackle some other messy bit of life.

    I am giving this pattern two  enthusiastic thumbs up- I will most definitely be making this dress again- perhaps in a more summer weight voile to sport over a slip. When I started my Seam Allowance project I had every intention of sewing up tonnes of beautiful frocks for myself- time however is the ultimate enemy- never enough time. I have to start taking myself and the the projects that fill my heart with joy off the back burner more often- my goal for the coming year is to do more for me- I'm starting that now- Hello November 14, 2012- I am taking time for myself today!