Pincushion Dress

How did everyone on the East Coast survive the weekend?  We are still digging out.  We got about 2' of snow, and the roads are still not really that passable.  My kids are off school today as well.  My husband and I both have terrible colds right now, so it was a mixed blessing to be snow-bound this weekend.  My husband did the brunt of the shoveling, including several hours on the roof, but I also did a bit, since we had agreed to shovel out our neighbors' place since they were away.  I pulled a muscle in my rib cage, so it hurts a bit to breathe, but otherwise, I'm okay, just congested.  I was grateful to have a full bottle of Robitussin CF on hand on Friday night!  

I went to Whole Foods a little while ago and I've never seen anything like it.  It was eerie.  The place was quiet, and the produce department striped bare.  There were no eggs to be had.  There was still quite a bit of milk, and other dairy products, and dry goods were reasonably stocked still.  The guy at the meat counter told me they hadn't had a truck since Thursday.  

It reminded me of some Soviet-era grocery stores I went to the in the late 1990s in Russia.  I've lived here nine years, and gone through some pretty harsh winters, including some epic storms.  People in the city always panic ahead of a storm, but this was different somehow.

In any case, our kids are having fun on the big pile in the back patio.  It is especially high because of all the snow my husband shoveled off the roof! Ponchik was not a fan--she kept saying "It's too deep!" and basically refused to leave the area right next to the doorway.  She only went out once for about 10 minutes.

It took a bit to grade the hill for sliding, but the kids got it done in a hurry.  My husband had thought to make a little fort underneath by putting a trash can on its side before the snow started, but now the can is thoroughly stuck and kind of useless.  I'm just hoping it doesn't break under the weight of the snow--it has belled out quite a bit.  There is also a trash bag buried in the snow that we will just have to wait for a thaw.

Thought I'd show my latest Dottie Angel frock.  I made this one last week before the snow hit.  The weight of the fabric is probably better suited to spring and summer, but I wanted to make something kind of cheerful.  I made some key mistakes with my winter rotation and it ended up kind of drab and boring.

Besides, with a heavy sweater and silk underwear, I'm pretty toasty!  

I decided to trim the whole thing with visible bias, because I thought that the print was so busy it might benefit from being visually broken up.  I also tried to run elastic all the way across the front, from bust tuck to bust tuck, but I hated the way it felt on, so I tacked the ends and trimmed the middle, so there is just elastic where the bust tucks would be, as with the Vignette dress.

The light is really weird today, so forgive the oddly dark photos.  My only complaint about the dress is that I should have made the sleeve caps slightly narrower--I think 11" is a bit too wide for the way that the middle of the dress sits on my body.  It is plenty wearable, but I think 10" or even 9" would be just fine.  I do really like the way this pattern mimics a lot of 1940s housedresses look.  

How great is this fabric?  It is little tomato pincushions!  I normally stay away from "cutesy" novelty prints, but this one just called my name.  I really love the bold color scheme.  

It also reminds me of a vintage apron I own that is in a similar color scheme (but in florals).  It also has visible red bias trim, so I'm sure that influenced my decision to trim the edges this way!

I shortened the back elastic a tad, and will probably shorten it slightly again on the next one.

In short: another success!

Just the facts:

Pincushion dress: Simplicity 1080, Tom-Tom organic cotton fabric from Fabric Depot.com, scarlet bias trim

Eyelet slip: A Slip Shop (etsy)

Red cotton Sweater: Style & Co. via ebay

Button earrings: willfulmina's etsy shop

Tights: Foot Traffic Signature Cotton Tights in heather mocha

Navy rain boots: crocs (my green Chookas developed a bad hole in the back last week--these were a last ditch effort to replace ahead of the storm!  They fit okay and are functional)