Just because I felt like.

I saw a cute coaster on a blog and thought "I'd like to do some sewing. I could use a coaster for my coffee cup."

I grabbed a pretty piece of fabric from the top of a stack and then another I like the look of with the first one from the shelf below (which isn't where it should have been), put some neutral thread and a new needle in my machine and sewed. I didn't use a ruler, or even a straight edge. I didn't measure or make sure my angles were square. I just sewed bits of fabric #2 to a rectangle of fabric #1 until it looked about the right size and then grabbed a scrap of batting and a solid and made a sandwich (er ... the wrong way around the first time). I turned it right side out, top stitched around the edge, added a square of quilting in the middle and then stuck one of my labels on the back.

I love the way it turned out.

And I loved making it. I think I'll try to do more sewing this way in the future. It was so liberating and fun.

A pretty package from Purl.

And inside are my fabrics for February's dress (which reminds me I still need to finish January's dress).

February's dress is going to be dress number 8 from Slip & Dress (the same Japanese sewing book as my last three dresses - I'm getting a lot of use out of it). It's a little skimpier than the last few and will be great for really hot days or days when I want to show off a cute shrug without overheating or having to worry about anything bunching up.

I realized a few weeks ago that my 10 dresses project is going to be the perfect excuse to knit some pretty adorable shrugs and I've been bookmarking all kinds of them on Ravelry. I've also been wondering what to make for March's dress: I'm thinking of maybe doing Crepe from Colette patterns if I can find a fabric I like. I think a large print in a lightweight fabric would be really nice (I love the polka dots in their sample pictures) or maybe a double layer of voile - one print, one solid. Hmmmm ...

Since I just posted about my December dress it should come as no surprise that January's dress is still more idea than finished garment. I'm not really too worried about my "deadlines" though - they're more like guidelines really and the fabric for February's dress will not be here until at least the 16th anyway. I thought it would be fun to share my ideas for January's dress because I've been building it in my head for a while.

That's the fabric above. It's from the stash and I don't know the fibre content. It behaves a bit like a linen blend the way it drapes and folds. I like the colours in it. The ribbon is also from the stash and was one of the first things I picked out once I'd decided on my fabric. The straps on this green dress are exactly what I'd love to do with my ribbon (isn't that dress cute!). I don't find dresses gathered at the waist to be the most flattering on me so I'm planning to do an A-line shape instead. Something like this:

It is pretty much my orange top from last summer but full length. I think I'll use the same pattern pieces as November's dress, since I like the shape of it so much, but change the neckline so I can thread the ribbon through. I've been trying to decide if I should cut the dress straight of grain or on the bias. Right now I like the idea of cutting the dress straight and having a raw edged bias strip down the front but that is going to depend a bit on how much fabric I've actually got - bias cutting always takes more than I think it will.