Happy Friday! The teachers’ strike finally ended on Wednesday of this week, and it’s funny how almost every parent I ran into on the first day of school commented how looooooong this summer vacation was. All told, the start of school was delayed for six days, but when you don’t know what’s happening each day, every passing moment can feel like an eternity, you know?
Anyway. K thoroughly enjoyed the extra days of lounging about with friends, and despite my best efforts, I wasn’t as successful as I’d like to have been on the work front. I did, however, sew yet another animal print dress.
Sadly, K rejected it as a first day of school outfit because…well, I’m not sure why. She said that it’s more of a second day of school dress without providing much in the way of illuminating information. Hmmmm….
I used this book, from which I should sew more. I love that it has patterns for both girls and women, and I’ve been eyeing a few items to whip up for myself. This particular dress pattern is technically meant for wovens, but since K won’t wear anything that’s not stretchy, I gave it a shot with this cheetah (?) knit jersey from here. It’s super soft. The contrasting dark grey is the same scrap knit I keep using for details.
So there you have it, the second day of school dress. Be still my heart — could I interpret this to mean that the animal print phase is almost over??
OK! Back to editing/illustrating! I hope to post at least once next week too. I wish you all a wonderful, wonderful weekend!
First day back at school
K was filled with nervousness
But it was awesome*
*She loves her teachers and most of her closest friends are in her class. Huzzah!
This dress looks very stylish and comfy. I would love to experiment with length, but since I sew for others, I don’t take many risks! I know the long skirts are everywhere, but it is one style that I won’t wear, because the extra length seems to always get in the way! When are we going to get some hints on your new book?
Hi Greta! I hope to have more sneak peeks of the new book in a very short while! I’m actually not sure how much of it I’m allowed to reveal so I’ve been holding off…
Very pretty! I’d like to wear one of these myself. I wonder what makes the difference between a first-day-of-school outfit and a second-day one!
Your guess is as good as mine, Mia! I think she was trying not to hurt my feelings — at least that’s the impression I got :-). She’s a very sweet girl!
I don’t know if it’s the photo or the dress but K looks VERY grown up in this! Glad to hear school is back in session.
She had a major growth spurt this summer and everything about her seems so much more grown up these days, Traveller! And yes, I’ve been very happy that school is back in session. 🙂
Hi, I am a happy member of the furoko. Looking at the mention of the Japanese book sources, I was wondering perhaps for furoko, could you provide translated directions for clothes, projects etc. I have gone to Japanese speaking/reading friends to decipher instructions for adorable paper animal fold-ups. Currently sanrio (.com) has a project where you can put in: your child’s name-chan. Choices of hair cuts/color, clothing and accessories are available. Of course, “hello kitty” is an accessorie choice. I used my printout for a birthday card. There are a lot of cute projects, recipes, patterns out there in Japanese. I like the simplistic lines of Japanese clothing lines & my need is for plus size patterns; however, this is not likely as I don’t even know any size 24 Japanese women? What do you think?
You read my mind, Li! I actually have on my Furoku list: “translate Japanese patterns”. I’ll keep an eye out for apparel in your size. I know that a plus-size book was recently published in Japanese so I’ll hunt it down! I’m thrilled to hear that you’ve been enjoying the monthly Furoku. I’ve been putting heart and soul into them! Thank you!!
Second day, huh? Ouch.
Or maybe it’s a building thing. Don’t flash your best straight up, but build up to something awesome by day two.
That’s actually pretty subtle as far as animal print goes. 😉
The building thing is a good way to look at it, thanks Shelley! But you and I both know that it was an out-and-out rejection — she tried to be really nice about it, which I appreciated! 🙂
Glad to hear the strike is over! A long summer vacation is nice, but there comes a time . . . . 🙂 And sounds like she’s happy with her teacher/classmate assignment – yay!
I was ready for school to start, let me tell ya, Lucinda!! Of course, I’m so happy that a resolution came about benefitting the teachers, and there wasn’t a peep of complaint from K. We’ve only had two days of school so far, but they’ve been good days!