Pockets, pockets and pockets

I made another dress last week.  It is 100% cotton, 3/4 sleeves with two front pockets.  At first, I was convinced the fabric was too thin but will all the sweeps and three layers for the big front pockets, it hangs very well and doesn't cling to parts of mine like my other two dresses that I made recently.  It's always a weird thing buying fabric and hoping it will conform to the ideas that I have in my head about how fabric should look and feel.  

I got an amazon voucher from my dear brother for my birthday at the end of March.  It was a truly lovely suggestion but I'm clueless what to buy with it.  I know fabric would be the obvious choice but I like to see a piece of fabric in real life and to touch it as well.  I need to see it and feel the weight of it to get some idea IF it will work for me.  I'm quite picky about fabrics.  Also, I find amazon's search features for fabrics, well, frustrating to say the least.

I haven't been as creative as I would like to buy as my dear son wants to go for long walks lately and really, it is England after all and when the sun is out, you really have to take advantage of it.  Yesterday's walk was just over 8 miles from Silsden to home.  We haven't done that walk before and it was definitely a winning walk.  Stretches of nice houses, woods and views of the countryside and very little people.  We definitely decided to include that on our list of walks for the future.

Apart from that, I had a job offer but I'm waiting for references still.  I imagine it will still be some time as it is the Easter Holidays now and my references I supplied are teachers as obviously, I was in education for 7 years.  SEVEN years.  I'm still desperately trying to escape that unhappiness.

I am now going to cut some pattern pieces for my next project, pictures will follow:

You can visit my Facebook page for more details on this dress:

Another Day, another dress

Lately, life has been a cycle of job hunting, working on my data collection for an upcoming website, food preparation, chores and walks.  I would probably be enjoying life if money wasn't an issue and I could enjoy this time off...however, the other day, I realised that I love dresses.  In the summer, I live in dresses but never really thought about dresses all year round...however, as I grow older, comfort is a big factor in my wardrobe.  I have to be comfortable in what I wear and I find I dislike some items of clothing more and more as I grow older.

Things I've discovered about myself...I dislike things around the waist, Just no.  I feel boxed in, suffocated, bloated so no.  I like something that I can slip and not have much more effort in wearing clothes.  Shoes have to be comfortable.  I have to look the feel and the look of the fabric.

That said, I made another dress for the slightly warmer weather.  I have a feeling that I will live in this dress soon.  I'm pleased with the results.

Dresses and Changes

I have many reasons for making my own clothes.  For starters, I was so disappointed in the lack of variety, poor quality material and fabric...it actually started to depress me going into clothing stores.  I wanted better, my own style, natural fabrics so I started to make my own clothes.  Granted some of my earlier clothing is still in great shape but my tastes have changed.  I feel like it has been a voyage for me, learning who I am again and what I like.  I've discovered that I am not a fan of trousers, that I love dresses, I love patterned tights, I love coloured shoes, that I love cotton...and more importantly that I love to sew and knit and I'm not bad at it either.

I have also discovered on my voyage of making my own clothes that my skills have improved, along with this, the quality of my own clothing has improved.  I am able to modify and adapt patterns to fit me now, I add french seams to my tops and dresses so I have no messy frayed edges inside, I have an overlocker that makes me feel like I have a finished, tidy object.  

For my knitting, I am understanding more about lace knitting, I am able to look at a pattern, dissect it and reassemble it into something that I love and this has been a wonderful thing.  I still feel like I'm growing older but happy with my new identity, my new look.  I've forgotten that I'm not defined by boundaries that other people put in place, that I am still me, I am still that individual that never fit in at 18 and now that I'm 50, why should that be any different?

This dress is for sell in my Etsy shop on special order.  I love the fabric and hope I can find it again as it is a beautiful cotton needlecord.  I wear it all the time and it has never faded or lost it's shape.  It is my favourite dress in my wardrobe at present and I plan to make more.