I'm still working on my party dress. Appliqueing the points around the neckline is taking much longer than I'd anticipated. I've only got one finished, two are half done, and I've got 5 more to go before I can start on the hemline design.
I had to mess around with the method of applying bias to the points. Had I got it right the first time, I'd have 3 or 4 of the things finished already, but it took me a while to remember the best way of going about it.

This poly satin is a bear to work with. It snags easily, it slips off the work surface far too often, and it's difficult to get the creases pressed in or out of it. More accurately, if I want a crease in, it refuses to stay pressed. If I want one out, it stubbornly refuses to succumb to applications of heat, steam and pressure. I so much prefer natural fibers, but this quantity of silk satin would have cost a small fortune.

Flapping!

This year the holiday shindig has a roaring 20's theme. As I am both too old and too round to pull of the flapper look, I'm going for 'fashionable matron about town' instead. So far, I have found a photo of a lovely dress from 1924 which I plan to use as inspiration. It can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29618786@N03/4078639534/sizes/o/

I'll be using a deep blue silk satin for the main dress and lighter blue and white textured silks for the applique. The applique design is giving me fits. So far, I'm having no luck in copying those swirls.
I'm meeting a sewing friend later who has done some couture work; hopefully she'll be able to give me some advice.

Halfway to Halloween

Very little sewing has been accomplished so far this month. I've been attempting to bully my sewing room into some sort of organization. Every time I think I can see an end to it I discover another box of either notions or fabric or books and have to re-arrange.
I have managed to do the initial gridding for a couple of cross-stitch projects. One is a rather small halloween themed one, but the other is a honking great mandala from Chatelaine designs. I loved it when I bought it, but the more I look at it the less I'm impressed with the fairies, which, of course, were the bits that attracted my eye in the first place. I'll stitch it anyway because the materials were pricey, but I may do everything but the fairies and replace those with something different. We'll see how I feel when I get that far.
Currently I am enjoying two newish blogs. One is The Dreamstress, from a woman who loves Jane Austen more than I do, and the other is Jeannie Beaumeister's Old Fashioned Baby blog. She's had a couple of nice tutorials lately.

New Month, New Blog

It occurs to me that I should post here more often.
I'm currently attempting to bring order to our new apartment. We moved nearly 7 weeks ago, but then I fell ill and wasn't able to do much in the way of unpacking. Now that I'm better I've managed to clear out nearly all the boxes, but things aren't arranged as I'd like them yet.
The sewing room is giving me the most trouble. I have thousands of little bits that need to be organized and not quite enough room. Today I took a trip up to Ikea and purchased a few more shelves, so hopefully I can get most of the fabric up off the floor. Once that is done and I've managed to find homes for a tableful of notions, I'll be good to sew!
Current projects: a smocked bishop style dress with matching bloomers, bonnet and booties
mermaid design sewing treasure box with matching bits
halloween cross stitch design of a cute little witch
beaded velvet jacket.