Thank You, Thank You!

There were some absolutely wonderful comments in response to my Begging post. I hope the answers give Jessica the courage to start making herself some cute summer skirts and then taking off from there! I have actually been sewing this week. I'm working on V8063 from the pink print I got at Expo from Billie's Fabrics. Last Saturday I had the muslin ready to go and had my ASG group help with some fitting issues. I needed to take it in a bit at the side seams through the bodice and let it out just a smidge on the back only - through the hips. It's funny how different fitting issues will give the same problem. I thought at first glance that I needed to do a swayback adjustment and shorten the back bodice piece through the center because I was getting horizontal wrinkles at the waist. The group opinion was that there wasn't enough room through the hips for the skirt to fall and I needed to add just a bit through the hips to stop the wrinkling. Thank goodness for the eyes of others! I have the bodice almost complete (one more armhole to handstitch) and I'm hoping to attach the skirt tonight. Next up is this fabulous print that I got at Vogue Fabrics. Again - I have a muslin of the dress done - this will be Simplicity 3877 - View A - the shorter length, but I think I'm going to have long sleeves. With the dark, rich colors in this print - this dress will work from Fall clear through the Spring. I'm a little disappointed that it isn't really a wrap - but I'll get over that. At least it will stay closed - which is always a good thing, especially when at work :) Finally - does anyone remember this fabric that I got at Hancocks? I absolutely love this fabric and it's screaming to be another multi-season dress. The problem is that I can't figure out which one! I measured the fabric again and I have darn close to three yards of 60" wide fabric. After seeing Claire's recent pattern binge, I had to get a few of the same patterns. I mean really - they were only 99 cents! I did have a project in mind - that polka-dot fabric. So this is what I got and what I think about using the polka-dot fabric for each dress. This is always where I'm looking for opinions - so let's hear them :) First up is Butterick 4996 - I like the neckline on this dress, but I'm not sure about the polka-dots with this one. I think they might be a little big - also - I don't like the godets on the skirt portion of this dress. They are the really rounded ones and the seams really stand out - at least in the white fabric used on the pattern envelope. I like the idea of the top and skirt - but honestly, I don't know if I would wear them together if they were actually 2 pieces. Any thoughts about that? Next ix Butterick 4978. Again, I like the neckline on this dress - what I'm not sure about here is the bias cut skirt - the English What Not to Wear girls say that bias skirts cling to your hips and thighs - not really an area I need to make stand out more! I have enough fabric for this dress (the shorter one). But I'm not sure the fabric is a good choice for this pattern. The envelope calls for georgette, chiffon, and/or matte jersey. I have a poly. Any ideas about this one - is it a disaster waiting to happen to if I join this pattern with that fabric? The last pattern I bought is not about the dress at all, but about the Jacket. Carolyn issued a challenge to me in my comments to make a jacket. She suggested one of the lined Lois Hinse patterns - since I don't have any of those and $1 was much less expensive for a first effort than the $16 of most of her patterns - I decided this could be a great jumping off point. Also - if I could find the right fabric this jacket would be great with the polka-dot dress. So that's my plan. So, what would you all suggest that I use to fabricate this jacket and where is the best place to find it? Otherwise I'm going to end up using some sort of crap fabric from JoAnns or Hancocks and will probably never make another jacket! Happy Sewing all - hope to have projects to show soon! The Princess is coming by for dinner tonight (oh the joys of a free meal with the folks after you've moved out!). I'm hoping to get her to model the aprons that I recently finished. I'm also feeling good about having a couple of new dresses to share by the weekend.