Ice cream!

I have been really pleased with this sewing book...

I"ve tried two patterns so far (the peasant dress several times now) and, once you get past the fact that the book is in Japanese, pretty easy!  That first step though... its a doozie.

 I got this cute ice-cream pop print by um... Lisette I think, anyhow, picked it up at JoAnns and tackled this top.  It is trickier than what I typically tackle, but after a few successes in a row, I was feeling bold.

 There is a little gather where the body attaches to the yolk and at the sleeves, which actually made the "easing" easier.  It was maybe a four-night dress (I can typically do this type of work maybe from 9-11, If I"m up for staying up late), one to trace and add seam allowances to the pattern, one to cut the fabric and zig-zag the edges of the fabric, and one longer one to sew it together (well, tack one more on 'cause as I was adding the sleeves, I sewed them in and reinforced the seam before realizing they were inside-out and spent a substantial amount of time ripping them out and had to wait for my head to clear and to get some sleep so finished everything the next day... so four days if you factor in errors... why don't I learn, I should always factor that in.)

 Its breezy, cool (good for these hot days).  Has button holes (personal first successful button holes in a row.

 Here's another take on the Peasant dress, this is a really easy pattern... (now I say that... you should have heard me the first time I tried it!).  I got some cute little kids on scooter fabric from a shopping trip with Michelle to Fabric Depot.

 I may just be emboldened enough to try a new book... in a language I cannot even begin to read.  Really though, the pictures are exceptional, there are key numbers to follow, it is do-able, even for a scardy-cat sewer like myself... very satisfying too!