Picture This

**WARNING: Ability to visualize is required from this point on.** :-)

I spent 4 days back home with family recently and was forced by my mother and cousin to make something for them. I'd told them that I was gonna bring my sewing machine and supplies with me, but at the last minute I decided not to. I like to travel light, and that was just too much stuff to carry.

Of course they were not at all phased by this. Especially considering that my aunt has a machine. So I ended up going to her house to procure her machine along with scissors and a seam ripper. They went (or rather sent me) to Wal-Mart to get some fabric and thread, then I got started. Now the thing about it is that the scissors and seam ripper were all the supplies I had. No pins. No tailor's chalk or marking pencil. No ruler. No pattern. No nothing. (However, not having patterns wasn't such a big deal since I rarely use them anyway.) I didn't even have a hard surface or even a large enough carpeted spot to cut the fabric on. My mother was in the kitchen cooking a big feast, so the floor in there was out of the question.


I ended up cutting everything out on her bed, using a sharpie to do some outlining on my mom's dress (it was black material), completely freestyling my cousin's, and finding a single safety pin to use to hold fabric pieces together in tricky spots such as the sleeves.


My sewing station was the nightstand at my mom's bed side. I had to sit at an angle in the chair so my knees wouldn't keep bumping into the thing. This shot was taken by my little brother.

Safety pin sticking outta my mouth.

The sad thing is that I didn't get any pictures of my cousin's dress. It's really cute, though, and similar to this one.


Instead of multi-colored chiffon, hers was done in a pink and white striped knit fabric and had a tie under the bust.

The reason I didn't get pictures is because my batteries were dying. She has a 1 yr old that likes to be carried around...or I should say that she likes to carry around. She didn't want to get candy or food all over it, so she changed into some more "child friendly" wear before I could get new batteries. I could have got her to put it back on for me, but I never got new batteries. :-/ She's also pregnant with her second child, and the dress looked nice falling over her lil belly. :-)

My mom doesn't like taking pictures, but her dress is something like this one and has sleeves (it's a little bit longer, too).


2 of my other cousins wanted versions of my stepping razor hoodie dress, but I told them I'd have to make it and send it to 'em. That would have required way too much cutting, measuring, etc. in such a limited sewing space.


Family members are always getting on my case saying I never make anything for them. They have a point. I'm gonna do better, though. Besides, they can serve as my (non-paid ) walking advertisements back home. :-D