duck bucket sewing

I made a muslin of the Sorbetto last night (everything but the bias tape), and ... well. I'm not crazy about the sizing. The size 8 fits just fine on top, and the length is fine, but it's pretty boxy around the waist. Another problem: I don't have enough of any of the fabric I wanted to use to make a finished version. I guess I could just dye the muslin (good old Rit), make the bias tape out of something or other and finish it. Maybe throwing in some side darts would help.

I really, really wanted to sew this weekend and did just about everything but. I did manage to cut out pattern pieces and muslin for v8784 and pattern pieces for v8512 , and I wound up making an emergency JoAnn run on Sunday because I was out of muslin. (I wish I could just muslin stuff out of thrifted bedsheets or something instead of buying new fabric, but we don't have any decent Goodwill or Salvation Army stores close to us.) Which, actually, is a problem that keeps coming up: I don't have any fabric. Oh, I have cotton. Tons and tons of novelty-printed cotton and calico from Old Sturbridge Village , and more Halloween fabric than you can shake a stick at. (Spiders, I got 'em.) Perfect for tote bags (I have too many) and pot holders (we have enough). And quilting! Unfortunately, I'm not interested in quilting. I looked into it, browsed through a couple of project books, and it makes my head spin. I don't think I have the patience. I'd like to make a duve...

I'm still fiddling with the fonts and layouts and whatnot on this thing to try and make it prettier and more functional. (My day job is as an editor for a Web usability group, so that's how I'm justifying it! Just experimenting for work, yup.) Anyway, here's my list of upcoming patterns I want to try. Let's experiment with Blogger's bullet formats, shall we? Colette Sorbetto : Everyone says it's easy, I'm in the mood for instant gratification, and I need a couple of cute, semi-dressy summer shirts for work. I just ordered a bias-tape maker. w00t! v1247 :  I love the geometric detail on the front and the asymmetric hem (I'm a sucker for anything geometric and/or asymmetrical). I'm going to muslin it out first (everything but the sleeves, probably) and then make the real thing with leftover fake purple linen from v1089 . If it works, I want to try and make a travel version out of Coolmax. (Trying to build a travel wardrobe, but travel clothes ...

This is my first dress. My first garment ever, actually, unless you count an aborted attempt at v8753 . (It's all wrinkled from being in my suitcase. Oops. Also, pay no attention to that interfacing behind the zipper.) My previous sewing experience consisted of a lot of tote bags, pot holders, Kindle covers and an apron or two. I have a Bernette 82e, which I love, and I've been doing beginner projects and minor mending  since, oh, about 2008. Also hoarding a lot of Vogue patterns -- they have so many cute ones, and I'd go crazy on the $3.99 sales. But I was afraid to actually try anything. Then my brother got engaged. And I started to look for dresses to wear to the wedding. And you know what? It's pretty depressing out there in dresses-appropriate-to-wear-to-a-summer-weddingland. Especially dresses-appropriate-to-wear-to-a-hot-summer-wedding-in-the-Midwestland. And ESPECIALLY dresses-appropriate-to-wear-to-a-hot-summer-wedding-in-the-Midwest-if-you're-in-y...