The Lovely Lily Rose by Sunday Girl Design

Do you remember The Odette designed by Sunday Girl Designs?  Well, Georgianna has created another beautiful pattern again that I was lucky enough to test.  Her pattern releases at the end of this week!  Keep up to date with the pattern at her Facebook page, SundayGirlDesigns.

Quick Collage

There are many things to love about this pattern:

1. It is full of beautiful details like the turned corners on the bodice,  bias tape details on the pockets, high low hem with ruffles, etc

2. The pattern pieces come together perfectly

3. There is a clever tutorial for turning spaghetti straps

4. Includes options to simplify the dress.  You can make a simple bodice, omit the high-low hem, or forego the pockets.  But really, why would you?

5. The dress is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.  The only place you see hems are the side seams of the skirt, and where the ruffle joins the skirt.  If you lined the skirt and the ruffle you could easily make a reversible dress!  

Pockets for my treasures!

When making this dress be prepared to set aside some time.  Let me tell you though, the dress is so worth it.  Bring out some of the fabrics you love to pet as you walk by your sewing stash.  Admit it, we all have those fabrics we just can't bring ourselves to cut.  This pattern is worth it and you can use small cuts of your treasured fabrics for the details.

One more thing before I bombard you with photos of the dress.  I was able to sew this dress hopped up on pain killers because of a gnarly gum infection.  I don't know how it happened.  I do remember getting some food stuck between my teeth and aggressively flossing.  Maybe my flossing cut something?  This is probably the first time a dentist will tell me that flossing was not a great idea!  Flossing aside, the dress looks complex but if you follow Georgianna's instructions you won't believe how simple it is.

Of course I have not forgotten about baby C!  She's coming up in another pattern I tested.  For now you can see her with her favorite toy.

Why yes, that is a Roomba.  Yes she has a panic attack when she turns it on.   And yes, she continues to turn it on anyway.

Stasia by Gracie May Designs

This has been an incredibly busy sewing month for me. I'm so excited to show you some amazing patterns I was lucky enough to test. First up is the Stasia by Gracie May Designs. The dress pattern was released on Sunday July 13th and is available at a discount for the initial release. The code for the Etsy store is HAPPYRELEASEDAY, and no code is needed over at Craftsy.

This dress sews up so quickly and with a truly elegant design.

Check out the sweet bow.

The pattern is all shown in drawings which I find really appealing.  With drawings it is very clear which side of the fabric is the right side as well as where the stitch lines are supposed to be.  

The back of the dress is super comfy as it is elastic.  Right after we took photos of the dress, B decided she wanted to ride her tricycle to the park.  So off we went and I didn't even bother to change her out of her dress.  Unfortunately there was some sort of commercial being shot so we were not able to play on the playground.  As you can probably guess it lead to a minor meltdown.

I convinced her to come home by promising to push the tricycle home so that we could go fast.  We have one of those tricycles that have a handle on the back. The mini crisis was adverted.

Here are some photos that didn't make it to the dress designer since the dress wasn't in showcased well enough.  These photos were the result of her new favorite game, run-away-from-the-camera.

Ready?

Set.

Go!

The best things about this pattern:

1. Simple and clear pattern

2. Sewed up so quickly

3. Elegant and unique design

4. Comfy because of the elastic back

5. Well thought out construction and sturdy enough to play in

You'll love it too for it's elegance, simplicity, and seriously less than 2 hours to make!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy belated 4th of July!  I hope everyone had a fun and safe Friday.  Our local police posted on their FB site that there were 50,000 people out and about at the beaches.  I completely believe it too given how crowded and congested the traffic was.

Our 4th was pretty laid back.  We didn't even have a BBQ.  I know, blasphemy.  C slept in so I lounged in bed with her while my husband took on the toddler.  Have I mentioned how amazing my husband is?  I spent my extra time in bed thinking about what I wanted to do and decided that the girls just had to have 4th of July dresses. When ideas pop into my head there really is no way of pushing them aside.

I didn't own the kind of sundress pattern that I had in my mind so I made one up.  Unfortunately I don't think I could ever recreate it so the dress is really one of a kind.

I just grabbed the fabric I had on hand.  The quality of the fabric is not so great.  In fact I think the blue was from Walmart and is thin and rough.  But the dress turned out cute and summery anyway.

Of course C couldn't get left of out.  So I whipped up a dress for her.  Thank goodness it fit.  It's a pretty snug fit too.  Whoops.

We had friends staying in a water front hotel so they invited us to watch the fireworks on the roof pool deck.  It was the best view ever and we were pleasantly surprised at how well C did.  I expected her to lose her mind since she startles at loud noises.

What?  I'm a delicate flower baby.

We were sharing the deck with a large party.  We believe the party was a rehearsal dinner.  How awesome must it have been for them to have fireworks at the end of their party?  The part that was awkward was listening to the intimate speeches about the people that we have never met.  I tried, really I did, not to eavesdrop.  I now know more about these people than I could ever wish to know.  Karen and Raj Raj, I wish you both a happy marriage with your love of ordering all the items off a menu, watching loads of HGTV, and boozing.  Always the boozing.

We know this much.

In the end everyone had a lovely time and I hope you did too.