Colorful and Cozy

Who says winter has to be gray? I'm a huge advocate of bringing green (and other beautiful, fun colors) into the middle of winter.

This gorgeous fabric is a soft, warm, medium-heavyweight cotton flannel that I found at Wal-mart. (Yes, I know... but in this part of the country you really can't avoid Walmart and they do sometimes have some pretty decent fabric and occasionally, as in this case, way more than merely decent.) I used New Look 6963 and the sleeves from New Look 6598 because I wanted straight sleeves.

And I love it! It's too warm to wear indoors except on those really cold, overcast days when our house never really warms up very well. But I can also wear it as a lightweight jacket.

The buttons are 1 inch Dill buttons from CreateForLess.com.

I am a big fan of Dill Buttons, not only for the quality and selection but also the best packaging. Easy open, no staples.

The black t-shirt (long sleeve) is from Duluth Trading Company and the jeans are made by me.

Green and Pink Flannel

This is not my best work but I'm not going to criticize it too much because I love it anyway.

It's soft and cozy and light as a feather. And it's green and pink plaid. And it has sparkly buttons. What more could one want?

A Lack of Impulse Control

I was going to sew the orange, teal, and brown fabric next but the morning I was going to cut it... HOLY SHIRT it was cold! So flannel was on my mind. I knew - I knew - that in just a few days it would be near 80 degrees Fahrenheit again but the flannel kept calling to me and so...

This is really a very nice flannel. I'm guessing it's about 7 - 8 ounce? Very warm and soft. I love it. I think this might be my Christmas outfit. Unless it's 70+ degrees on Christmas which totally can happen in Oklahoma as can -20. We hope for something in between those two numbers.

The pattern is McCall's 9065 again, view B all the way this time. I had to shorten the sleeves about two inches. That and raising the neckline an inch like I did before are the only adjustments.

More Inspiration - 50's

Oooo! Vintage fans, check out this collection of 50's dresses. There are more than a dozen photos but here are some of my favorites.

It's hard to see much detail in this pretty floral but I think I like it a lot. The neckline is a little higher than I like for summer. And gloves? Lovely and elegant but no thank you.

I love the border on this one. Not sure about wearing a mostly white dress though. It's something I've always shied away from.

Oooo, a big, bias-cut plaid. I must do this!

And finally, I need this coat - the one in the middle.

I also like the applique skirts and the country style jumpers. What about you?

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By the way, I have a shirt finished except for the buttons so I will have something to show off soon.

And Another New Look 6963

I don't have much to say about this one other than... I love it. I love the colors, I love the lightweight, yarn dyed cotton fabric, and I love the pattern, obviously since I can't stop making it over and over again. I started out to make it exactly like view C, the one with the short turned up sleeves, but when I tried it on before hemming them I liked the sleeve length so I just gave them a standard shirt sleeve hem.