Blog Hopping and A Boat Neck Dress...Burda 6988

First, I want to thank all of who  left me such kind good wishes concerning my recent illness. I feel almost 100% again and am happily sewing fleece hats and mittens to donate to our local Christmas Telethon . I have 8 sets made so far and am aiming for a dozen.

Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic  nominated me for Blog Hopping . Thank you Carolyn. You know I'm always thrilled to be mentioned on your blog!

I'm not sure when this "hopping" started  but  I've read about it on many blogs and I'll do my best to answer the four questions.

1. Why do I write?

I started my blog in the summer of 2008 and I guess it was to reach out to other sewists who were as enthusiastic about sewing as I am. I hadn't known anyone before who shared my passion for sewing and this process opened up  a whole new world for me. I so appreciate the friendships developed by writing this blog!

2. How does my writing process work?

I almost always publish on Sundays but I now tend to write my posts whenever the mood strikes during the week. I get photos taken on Sunday afternoons. I don't enjoy this part of the process so I tend to procrastinate.
I try to write brief and precise posts in short paragraphs because when I read a blog that has very long descriptions of things , I tend to skip to the photos. Sorry about that but with so many blogs to visit and so little time left over after sewing,I just want the facts so that's what I try to do.
 Being a teacher , I do like to write tutorials but I reserve those for my other blog, Diana's Sewing Lessons.

3.What am I working on now?

I have so many projects in my head right now but I'm trying to concentrate on a twin set consisting of M6996     and V8856.The fabric is a poly/lycra in black and red stripes from my stash with a little bit of plain red and black thrown in. I love to mix up fabrics in garments these days

4. Who do I nominate?

My first thought is to pic my friend and sewing student Donna of  Learning With Donna.She is an up and coming sewist who wants to learn new sewing techniques to become better at her craft and she certainly is doing that. Just look here at her version of the jean jacket we are all working on!

My second pic is Sharon of Petite and Sewing who always impresses me with her wardrobe building skills and her wonderful colour combinations.

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Now on to my project of the week actually sewn in early September. This boat neck dress has been a welcome addition to my overly stuffed closet because it is a classic and a basic piece.

I used Burda 6988. View C but shortened it to below the knee.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this pattern and I knew it would be perfect for the medium weight black cotton knit piece I scored at Fabricville for $4.00 . There was enough to make a muslin first and I made a top. This showed me the neck was too wide and that I didn't need an FBA.
I fixed the neck/shouder problem bybusing this technique.

I cut a size 10 though the shoulders and a 14 along the sides. This resulted in a fairly loose fitting dress which I prefer to a body hugging one. I had envisioned a calf length dress but discovered it was not flattering on my body so I shortened it to below the knee.

I really like the curved French dart on this pattern, It resulted in cinching in the waist a bit to give a little definition.

All in all, I like this dress because it is versatile and I can add accessories to change it up. Always a plus.

The dress form pics I took were horrible so all I have to show you are these.

Don't you love it when a garment fulfills your expectations?

I hope you found time to sew this weekend, dear fellow sewists!
More later from