Summer is where?

If I look a little tense it may be due to the weather.  The spell of early summer has been broken by chill westerly winds and heavy rains.  I wore my new dress to a Christmas lunch with my real life sewing friends from the Australian Sewing Guild and asked Sharon from Petite and Sewing to take a blog photo.  Much better than asking a reluctant DD or grumpy husbie.  The backdrop is the Parramatta River, just near the Sydney Olympic site.

The first thing I need to say is McCalls 6163 - a faux-wrap dress with raglan sleeves and rouching into the side seam - is a great pattern.  The pattern calls for a zip into the side seam - don't bother as it is not needed for the majority of stretch fabrics.  Next time I make this dress I will pinch in the pattern slightly at the neckline to bring the collar lower and allow it to sit better.  Otherwise I am happy with the fit and feel that it flatters my increasingly lumpy figure.

Next?  I really really do want to make up the Donna Karan jacket, but I'm headed for Paris, London and Spain in early January so should focus on a travel wardrobe - black ponte pants, black dress, two infinity scarves, overcoat (?) and finish a nearly done animal print, faux suede trench jacket. 

Happy sewing!