Ansley's Christmas Dress 2011

(most original post title ever).



Isn't she gorgeous?!



Almost everything that could've gone wrong with this dress did go wrong (ran out of one fabric, which was alright b/c it was leftover from the quilt I'm "working" on, didn't buy enough the second time, had to order more chiffon, ran out of thread, changed my mind and unpicked the chiffon from the cotton layer and sewed it on to the chiffon layer instead, forgot to change my tension back after helping my friend cheater ruffle some scarves, the chiffon layer turned out shorter than I thought, etc). I even tried to keep it simple by using my favorite pattern for the top (simplicity 5695), seen here and a bunch of other places on my blog. I used view D, thinking it would be more fitted, and ended the top about an inch below the waistline. I used Ashley from Lil Blue Boo's cascading skirt ruffle template after seeing Jill's daughter's costume. I lengthened it but probably should've adjusted the curve too. After some research at Old Navy I decided to sew the ruffles onto a chiffon layer, which kind of looked like view C.

Okay, so here's the inspiration picture.

Source: gymboree.com via Emily on Pinterest

I know mine doesn't look quite like it (so maybe we should say it's a loose interpretation) but the price tag is better and Ansley and I are happy with the color, albeit quite an uncharacteristic Christmas color.

Ansley tells everyone at the store that she's a princess and threw a fit when I told her she had to change her clothes. It's perfect for dancing to her favorite song, Party Rock Anthem.



Sometimes it's quite voluminous:



So should I make some sort of sash or belt? What do you think?




Linked at Project Run and Play.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

When I got married, my sister in law made better pancakes than me. She's twenty years younger! I found this great recipe and no longer have to hang my head in pancake shame. In fact, I may need pancake therapy b/c I want to make these all the time now.

Original recipe found here.

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1 2/3 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions
Beat the yolks until pale and smooth.
Beat in the buttermilk and then the baking soda and mix well.
Sift in the dry ingredients mixing as you add; make sure the batter is smooth.
Add in the melted butter and mix well.
Beat the egg whites in another bowl until stiff.
Fold into the batter until no bits of white are visible.
Let batter stand about 20 minutes before making pancakes.
Make sure your griddle is really hot (the old water droplet test).
Ladle batter onto griddle; turn when bubbles form across the cakes and allow to lightly brown on the second side.
Serve with warm (REAL- not the stuff laced with high fructose corn syrup) maple syrup and sweet butter.

Oh Hello!

Hey! Still here, just haven't taken pictures of my latest sewing projects and have finally emerged from the heating pad/laying in bed/sleepless nights. Thanks for your input in my last post! I ordered postcards, since I won them from Kelly's blog, with the picture that everyone seemed to like best. I hope they come tomorrow.

Anyway, enjoy a few pictures of Ansley and the stocking I made.











Hopefully this week I'll get pictures of the two dresses I've made and finish Ansley's Christmas dress (which is blue b/c it can be). Pretty much everything that could go wrong with her dress has gone wrong, but nothing I can't fix after ripping out seams and buying more fabric a few times. . . .