Oh my!

Okay so this year at the show I did well.

I almost didn't enter the sewing section of the show this year. A week before the due date I had tonsillitis and was not really coping with sewing. But I chose to sew instead of doing house work when I recovered and in less than a week I finished.

When we got to the pavilion that the craft is kept in I was sure this dress was not going to win a prize. So when I came across this display you could have knocked me over with a feather. So amazing, I know you can't really see but I got first for the 'child's summer garment' section, then I was judged champion of all the non-professional sewing and then was awarded the overall champion of the sewing section. I have never done this well with my sewing before so as you can imaging my confidence in my sewing has increased dramatically.

So would you like to see my dress?

This is the smocking on my dress. I tried something different this time. I used a different type of thread I have only used DMC before but the lady in the shop talked me into trying Mouline. I have to say I like it, it has a nice sheen. The other thing I tried for the first time was adding beads onto the smocking. I really enjoyed doing this and am making plans when I can use it again. It just adds something special without having to resort to bullion knots which are not my friends.

 Now I know this does not look like much this little photo but I thought I would include it so I could tell you about the most time consuming part of this dress. In one word piping. This dress used a whopping 11 meters of piping. It felt like it would never end...

Oh but I like it, that little extra pop of colour that it gives. The comments that came from the stewards showed that it was the piping that led to my success this year (it's nice to know that the judges could see the work.).

I love hand covered buttons. I think I would be happy to always use them in projects . I can just imagine my daughter with them though, she is going to complain every time she sits down that they are too bumpy. I do understand truly...

Pretty sash (and no I am not going to show you the bow at its top, bow tying is not a skill that I possess. Before I handed my dress in I was wondering if I could convince my Mum to come up and visit just so she could tie the bow for me.)

 And there you have it, my show dress. I still can't believe that I won.

And what's next?
Well here is a little sneak peek at what the kids and I are up to. This time they are the designers and I am just their lowly seamstress. I 'll show you the results when I have a chance to sew all those little squares together.