Love And Other Artistic Mistakes

Hey guys! How was everyone's November?! Keith and I spent a couple days in Las Vegas this month. It has gotten dark and gloomy in the Pacific Northwest of late, so escaping to a sunny locale felt incredible, if only just for a long weekend. We had a low-key Thanksgiving with just the two of us, so we roasted a duck instead of cooking a whole turkey. If you have never tried cooking a duck before, I highly recommend it. It's fairly easy, only takes about two hours, and comes out tender and fatty (in a yummy way).

You're probably wondering what's up with the title of this post. A few weeks ago, I publicly declared my love for this blue plaid flannel on instagram. Big mistake. I mean, not loving it in the first place, but telling everyone that I loved it so that the pressure was on to make it into something great. I really wanted to turn it into something beautiful. So of course, I vacillated over which pattern to use, asking people their advice (never a good plan because it takes you so far from your initial vision), and generally being a flip-floppy decision-maker. When you love a fabric, nothing is more anxiety-inducing then deciding how to cut into it (you can't uncut). I always seem to pick awful patterns for the fabrics I really grow fond of. I find it's much easier to work with fabrics I feel kind of indifferent to.

Anyway, I picked B5456. Big mistake. I mean, not the pattern itself... OK, maybe the pattern itself. Although I believe I've seen other bloggers have success with this one, it just doesn't suit me. After cutting and sewing most of it together, I realized it was looking more like a nightgown than a dress one would wear outside. Determined to make it work, I whipped out my seam ripper and hacked the bodice free from the awful, unshapely skirt. After looking at some plaid dresses online, I decided what this dress really needed was a circle skirt. I'd never made one before, but after watching a couple tutorials, I did the math for my skirt, and realized I didn't have enough fabric left to make the length of the skirt I wanted. Sometimes hard sewing decisions have to be made. I made the skirt as long as I could with what I had left.

When I tried on my creation, I realized I now like the skirt much more than the bodice. So much so, that I convinced myself the bodice was actually holding the skirt back. This is a good example of my creative process in general. Typically the finished project has nothing left of whatever it initially was. Anyway, I was done futzing around with this one. I have holiday dresses to make. You have probably already guessed that I won't be making B5456 again. Not that much was wrong with it, only it was all wrong on me.

And so we have the flannel dress. Not a terrible idea, no, and efforts were made at success, but, sometimes, ah, you know...

Also, this is the first time we tried shooting after dark. We only have 8 hours of daylight here these days, and they are the same 8 hours I spend in a cubicle. I convinced myself my iphone would take better pictures in dim lighting than my DSLR. Big mistake.

Be back soon!

xoxo,

Amy

P.S. "Find what you love and let it kill you." -Bukowski