Monday, December 31, 2012

Red Christmas Fairy Tale Dress






My daughter's Christmas dress got done just hours before it was worn, thankfully my son's Christmas outfit was completed in mid-October (you can find the Patchwork Blazer tutorial here). This was not the Christmas dress I originally had planned back here, that dress will have to wait for a future project.

THE PATTERN// Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, size 5, view A: a fitted dress, fully-lined, special-occasion dress with crinoline, a Peter Pan collar, tulip cap sleeves, tubular waistband, and front bow detail. It is given a 3 out of 4 scissors rating.

THE FABRIC//  Deep red/maroon/bordeaux taffeta, although it looks almost purple in some photos, it doesn't look purple in real life. Deep red tulle for the crinoline and deep red cotton for the lining.

THE SEWING// I followed the pattern and instructions very faithfully. The only change was that I used a 9" invisible zipper instead of a 16" one (as I had bought all the materials months ago thinking I was going to sew a different dress), so the dress is a little tight to put on and take off. This is my 3rd time using this pattern. I first used the bodice for the Purpledicular Dress, then used the whole pattern view A for the Gabriella Dress Knock-Off, and now sewing it for the 3rd time I really think it should be given a 3.5 or 3.75 out of 4 scissors rating as all of those wonderful details are super duper time consuming. I'm not a huge fan of sewing collars, this one is OK. I'm also not a huge fan of sewing in those dreaded set-in sleeves, but these tulips cap sleeves are a dream to sew and the end result is absolutely lovely! This is the 2nd time I've sewn this dress with the sleeves and I think I need to adjust the bodice front where it attaches to the sleeves because she is so narrow in the shoulders.

FYI, the curls in her hair were achieved by using Curlformers, one of her Christmas gifts.

It had been way too long since I sewed something specifically for Christmas... way back in 2009 it was a green polka dot peasant dress with red & white striped knitted accessories.

The calendar is turning 2.0.1.3

May it be a year filled with fun sewing :)


Monday, December 17, 2012

Scandinavian Christmas 2012 Guest Post

 Today I am visiting Kathryn at the Pickled Herring for her Scandinavian Christmas 2012 series. Half of my ancestry is Swedish and I am sharing one of my ideas on how to have a more Scandinavian Christmas with a Glogg tote gift bag. Be sure to check out all the posts during the series.

Merry Scandinavian Christmas!


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Nordic Christmas 2012

 From November through mid-January the American Swedish Institute (in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is decorated for a Nordic Christmas. They have a separate room for each of the 5 Scandinavian countries: Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. This is how they decorated for Christmas 2012... if you are not able to make it in person, enjoy this photo tour...










 Danish Christmas tree ornaments made out of paper!














Lots of inspiration to have a more Scandinavian Christmas.

If you liked this, you might be interested in my previous Scandinavian related posts:
:: Scandinavian Goodies
:: Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum
:: St Lucia Knitted Crown
:: St Lucia Crown/Wreath Centerpiece
:: St Lucia Program (cardstock St Lucia crown and Model Magic Lucia buns)
:: St Lucia Smorgasbord
:: Scandinavian Books
:: Nordic Crosses Gift Wrap
:: Tomte Stuffy (from the Scandinavian Stitches book)
:: St Lucia Choir Concert
:: Scandinavian Christmas Fair
:: Nordic Christmas Decorations
:: Dala Horse Felt Crown
:: Sankta Lucia (little girl and doll dresses inspired by St Lucia)
:: Lingonberry Headband Tutorial

Happy St Lucia day today (December 13th)!

PS Be sure to check out starting today:
Scandinavian Christmas 2012 @ The Pickled Herring

Thursday, December 6, 2012

St Nicholas Day 2012





Happy Saint Nicholas day from our home to yours!

In case anyone is interested...
:: Wooden clogs came from my childhood when my parents visited the Netherlands, they brought these back for my older sister, older brother, and I.
:: Wood Saint Nicholas is from Ostheimer.
:: Plastic Saint Nicholas toys are from PLAYMOBIL.
:: Chocolate Saint Nicholas (learn how to change a chocolate Santa into Saint Nicholas) is from Lindt.
:: Gold foiled chocolate coins are from Trader Joe's.
:: Clementines and candy canes are from a regular grocery store.
:: Saint Nicholas prayer cards are from a Christian store.

St Nicholas day from previous years:
:: 2009
:: 2010
:: 2011