Finished Product, Pattern Review, and Belly Shot

Well, there it is! The finished Catherine's Choice maternity/nursing dress, and 28 week belly shot all in one. :)

I love the nursing openings in this dress. They are hidden under the overlay, but they are constructed like the Elizabeth Lee patterns. If you look on the package, you'll see that Elizabeth Lee had a hand in testing the pattern, btw. I also really like the full skirt, and the fact you don't have to make it so full if you don't want to. I love the bracelet sleeves, and the sleeve length! 3/4 length is perfect for me in the winter. I hate having to roll up sleeves while working in the kitchen, then having them unroll at a most inopportune time. There are also great tips for alterations, and different ways to do the parts of the pattern. You can use this pattern and get many different style dresses from it. Overall, I would give this pattern 4 out of 5 stars.

What I don't like are the tops of the sleeves. Next time I will add more fullness to them on the top, though the bottoms seem fine. Also, because of my height, er, lack thereof, I had to chop a good 2 inches off the bottom before I even hemmed it, and that brought it to about ankle length. Also the scoop neck was too low for my taste, but that was easy enough to fix.

Next time I make this dress the alterations will be.. 1. Not as full of skirt, more A-line style. I don't have anything against the gathered waist, but just for the fun of it I will try something different. 2. alter the pattern so it will hem to "tea length" before cutting out. 3. Add more fullness to the tops of the sleeves. Now that I have done it once, I am actually looking forward to doing it again.

I am slowly building up to some regular activity and will be able to start walking slowly and gently again today. I miss my walks! This time of year there is so much change in sights, sounds, smells that I hate to miss even day. This morning while lying in bed I heard lots of geese flying south. I have been hearing them for a couple weeks now. To some people that sound bodes negatively as they think of winter. My reaction is "Yippeee! cooler weather!" No tomatoes please! :)

My "rest" day yesterday was mostly sewing and mending. I didn't do any lifting or tearing around, but everything went well. I did a bunch of marking for the girls' matching dresses and will work on them as time allows today.

This morning we are doing some basic cleaning, and I am making a double layer chocolate cake for a certain birthday boy who turned 8 yesterday. We will be doing a special birthday dinner of his choice (homemade mac and cheese with hot dogs, and raw carrots with dip, double layer chocolate cake for dessert) and presents this evening.

You all have a blessed day!