So, today I needed to rehearse my log cabin presentation, call a cab to the airport for dark-thirty tomorrow morning, pack, and track down Everett’s birth certificate… what better time to sew a new dress??

This was my recent score at JoAnn – 3 yards of my favorite print from Denyse Schmidt‘s Picnic line earlier this summer. I pre-washed yesterday and then started cutting around noon. I’ll post more about the Continental pattern if anyone’s interested, but it felt like it ran very big on me in my measurement size (18) and I ended up doing various pleats and tucks at the armholes and neckline (front and back), and bringing the sides in substantially. The length was perfect as-is, though.

My favorite change was skipping the tie belt (which is very cute in the pattern envelope photo) and making an improvised 4.5″ wide reversible obi sash instead. I really needed the definition and the wide, graphic sash turned it from billowy and indistinct on me, even after all the streamlining, to a more tailored waist and party-dress silhouette. LOVE the fabric – just love it. I did the sash in half Picnic, half County Fair (her 2007 home dec collection). I really love the contrast side out, and then the matching side is more subtle but also pretty.

Here’s what they look like together closer up… I’m calling the dress Picnic at the County Fair. By the way, I hadn’t had a chance to press it or even trim threads before I started losing the light, so forgive my super quick photos. Today flew past me!

My goal was to finish the dress before it got super gray and fall descended and it was time for jeans every day. Well, it was 95 degrees here today and summer is sticking around for now, so I’m hoping for several outings in my new dress! And the first one will be at the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild meeting tomorrow night… huge thank-you to everyone there for inviting me to come visit and speak. I am so excited, and I’m bringing a big stack of PMQG members’ cards for our log cabin potholder swap!

See you next week! Or if you’re in Kansas, tomorrow!