I have been sewing clothes, I just haven’t been too good with the photos. So it really helped to be out with a friend and have her take pictures.
Amy Butler fabric with trim of some other quilt fabric I had laying around.
I love that I am so good at sewing and visualizing patterns and fabric that the end result really looks nothing like the pictures on the package. It doesn’t feel derivative, it’s mine.
I just bought the hat, this style suits me well, it also matched the outfit perfectly. As we wandered around the shops, one shopkeeper mentioned how adorable I look. The dress, the jewelry, the hat. What a compliment! Of course I said I sewed the dress, I am very proud of my creations. I love looking good. Funny, women say that after 40 you become invisible, I’m already past my mid 50’s and I’m anything but invisible.
I’m not trying to look like a 20-year-old. I now wear sensible sandals, the dress is form fitting but not tight, I know I just look good. And yes, that makes me very happy and confident.
Which is why I’m smiling. 
Trying to find fun poses in fun locations. I listened to a sewing podcast which is all about garment sewing, not quilts. The hosts both decried the use of quilting cotton in garment sewing. I beg to differ, it took me time to learn what kind of fabrics will work with what garments. In this case, the more structured quilting cotton gives the dress great body, which to my mind is better than a very flowy rayon.
I will probably use this pattern again and it will be fun to try some other fabric. Trial and error, I have learned what fabric works for what type of garment. I don’t like the idea that fabric has one purpose only. Clearly, the woman who complimented me didn’t see a walking quilt. She was selling adorable dresses, and would have loved to have this in her store. Fabric is fabric, how we use and manipulate it is up to the sewer, not some fabric police.
Leah