ALYOF - August Goal & An Uber Quick Finish!

It's hard to believe we're already on month 8 of A Lovely Year of Finishes! This has, to date, been one of the most rewarding link-up/alongs that I've ever done. Setting a monthly goal - no matter how small - has been very motivating. And then there's the added bonus of prizes. I've won a few! Thanks, Melissa @ Sew Bittersweet Designs and Shanna @ Fibre of All Sorts!

But what am I going to do this month? I've made a considerable dent in The List and this month I feel like I deserve to do some selfish sewing. So my goal is to turn this....

 lovely pile of Carol Friedlander Doe Blueprint into...

http://www.made-by-rae.com/category/patterns/beatrix/

... a lovely Beatrix top designed by the creative brain behind Made by Rae. I've got the fabric and the pattern and fully intended to join in on the #Beatrixalong. If only I didn't have small people foiling my well laid plans. I really need to make something for myself before I use up all my yardage on things for other people. Small people. People, like GT, who absolutely needed a white top for tomorrow's family photoshoot.

 Her's is the top version of the Geranium Dress I made a while back, also from Made by Rae. 

I managed to get this almost finished during naptime today... all but the snaps! I'm pretty impressed with myself on this. Nevermind that BT's shirt isn't ironed and that my blouse hasn't been taken in... GT has a lovely shirt to wear. I'm linking up this little finish over at TGIFF @ Quokka Quilts and Finish Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts. A finish is a finish, no matter how small!

I'm also linking up this post with the August Goal Setting Party for ALYOF... just under the wire again. When will I learn?

J

Friday Finish - Geranium Dress

Himself, DT, and I are planning to head to our favourite downtown hotel for Sunday Brunch this week-end. It's quite swanky. ☺ Of course, GT needed a dress for the occasion!

I used the Geranium Dress pattern from Made by Rae. She's the genius behind the Big Butt Baby Pants I made for DT a while back. Honestly, Rae is a gifted pattern maker. There are pages and pages of detailed instructions and clear, precise pictures. And I got it as a digital download. In mere minutes, you too can be making something lovely. No searching your LQS or the interwebs for a printed pattern.

I said it about the Big Butt Baby Pants, but it's worth saying again. These patterns are well worth the cost. For 10$, I got multisized patterns from 0-3 months to 5T. There are 2 skirt styles, 3 sleeve styles, and 3 neckline options. In one short cutting and sewing session, I had made the lined bodice (yup, that's Kona Bahama Blue peaking out) and patch pocket.
The only troubles I had were purely user interface issues. Like believing I can make .62 m of fabric stretch for a pattern that calls for a yard. Silly me. I opted not to cut the skirt piece and used my trusty cutting mat & rotary cutter to prepare the pattern pieces.

Since I HAD to pop over to my LQS to get more fabric (It's a Bird's Life by Heather Rosas), I went a little wild and bought the Dritz Babyville Boutique Snap Pliers. I thought these would be hard to install. Nope!

 SO much easier than buttons and pesky buttonholes. I may have a new addiction!

Someone said to me this week "Why don't you just buy her a dress?" 

Silly people. Don't they know that there's extra love sewn into this one?

I'd be linking up with Finish Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts only she's taking some time away from the 'ole social media. So, I'm popping over to TGIFF @ Quokka Quilts.  Now let's hope GT doesn't spit up on it before we even get to the hotel. ☺

J

P.S. This is not a sponsored post... I didn't have to be paid to say nice things about this pattern. I really feel that way!