So, it's safe to say that my husband and I are country folk to the bone.  While shopping and eating in Atlanta are fabulous, we were quite befuddled by all the traffic, traffic, TRAFFIC.  Honestly, I was most happy at home on Sunday working together in the yard, picking flowers for the kitchen and pottling around with new fabrics. Which is not at all to say that we had a "bad" trip.  Really!  We did have a nice time.



And goodness, did we shop! I am so totally in need of new clothes.  You know, the kind that fit and aren't stained, and have some personality please.  I most especially was hoping to find a few pretty dresses, as my favorites were ruined within the last year.  I was so excited to visit some lovely shops that aren't found in our hometown.  But, alas several days of shopping and I only came away with 1 somewhat "eh" top that I scored from Ann Taylor Loft (which is like the only shop I do like in our hometown).  hmm...

The obvious solution:  make my own dress.  I mean, I do love to sew, don't I?  My aversion to sewing clothes stems from a slow, painful experience when I was new to everything "sewing."  Making pjs for my kids was so many pieces, so much time.  But, hey, apparently shopping for my perfect dress takes longer, much longer!  As in, still nothing yet and I've nowhere else to look!   If I end up regretting this project, please remind me that I had no other options, ok?

Wow, and you thought this was just going to be a stashing post.  Muahahahaha.

OK, I'll give you the stashings now.  First up is some yardage I purchased for making DRESSES!



Here are Heath in Grey by Alexander Henry and an old Joel Dewberry print from his Ginsing collection. My husband likes me in grey, so the Heath print was his idea. I imagine adding in some little colored accents or maybe even a print. We'll see! It's the only dress fabric I purchased in regular quilting weight cotton. The Joel Dewberry print was on sale for $5 a yard in home decorator's weight. While I can think of many uses for it (non-clothing related) I'm hoping it would make a nice dress or skirt, maybe for fall?



Then more home decorator's weight fabrics from "old" collections. I've always liked these prints when I've seen them around Flickr! The top one was only $3 a yard by Denise Schmidt and the bottom print is an old Amy Butler. Both would make nice dresses for summer, if they're not way too hot.  And therein lies the rub - I really don't know what I'm doing.  I do know what kind of dress I need to make to successfully use this weight of fabric (obviously no ruffles and gathers), but I don't have an actual pattern.  I've been hunting like crazy, and I have a bunch of books on request from the library.  Crossing fingers that I'll settle on something real soon so that I can actually wear one of these dresses this summer!  I found all of these fabrics at Intown Quilters.  Thanks so much for sending me that way!



Besides dress (fabric) shopping, I was on the hunt for prints that would match Kona Pacific for the "ocean" block of Bottled Rainbows.  At left are Pacific and an Echino print I have at home.  Next are my stashings - a Castle Peeps print from Whipstitch and an unidentified grid-like flannel fat quarter from Intown Quilters.  These combined with my meager true blue scraps just may be enough for that block!

Of course I had some fun too. This first print is really striking in person.  The colors just sing!





Ah, the pleasures of the big city - actually buying fabric in person!  If this is normal to you, please know that you are completely lucky.  And we are all jealous (or somewhat relieved not to face this level of temptation on a regular basis). 

Oh, take a look at this!



I do declare that Heath may be just the thing for my Bottled Rainbow quilt border.  What do you think?