is it really Monday already?

All last week, I worked to cross things of my to-do list, planning to reward myself with a weekend of sewing. I told myself, "just get this, this and that cleaned up, taken care of or finished and on Friday I can wash and prep all that lovely new fabric!" And while I folded and tidied and dealt with snow-disrupted schedules, not to mention my husband's business trip since the baby (yikes! all three on my own!), I kept an image in my head of this long, lovely weekend of sewing. Because no matter how many times I experience the Sunday night reality check, by Friday afternoon, I've again fallen for the mirage of a long, cozy weekend in which I'll cook lovely meals, tidy the house for real, spend quality time with each child and do lots of peaceful knitting and sewing. Sigh.

It wasn't quite like that. I thought I'd have a finished dress to show for the weekend, but not quite. I thought I'd share the miserly way I cut out, though. I must have inherited my grandmother's Depression-era abhorrence of wasting things, because when I cut pattern pieces, I get downright competitive. 1 1/2 yards, insists the pattern. We'll see about that! And I puzzle it out until I've used less. Here is a 6-12 month sized dress, with matching bib laid out in just over a 1/2 yard of 60" wide chambray. The facings and some bloomers were cut out of scraps in my stash, which admittedly helped conserve yardage, but still.

So here's what's left to do: a side seam and some hemming. And the bloomers.

Here, inspired by the chambray, I tried a flat-felled seam under the arm and down the side. I think it's a nice touch, though I did run into trouble working with those tiny little sleeves. Perhaps after school pickup today, I can get the boys distracted and finish up. I can't wait to show you the little pretty facings peaking out from under the simple dress!