Sweetpea and Co. Photoshoot

I was lucky to be paired up with an awesome photographer, Teresa Hermes, and have some of my dresses photographed on some pretty cute little models.

All of these are currently available in my shop available for custom order!

New goods in the shop!

Just a little peak...

New Goodies in the Shop

I'm digging cross stitch right now!

I love the lime green with the orange, wonderful contrast.

This is from a vintage 50's pattern.

I love this.

So Sweet!

I had to post a picture of the cutest little girl - Carolyn - wearing a custom order that I made for her. This was her Easter outfit. I love the little gnomes on her bottoms. I wish they still made that print!! Thank you Kate for allowing me to post this picture!!

I love Burda

I stumbled upon Burda Style about a year or so ago and absolutely love this site. People post their patterns for their sewn creations which are either free or for a small fee. Directions along with the pattern are then printed out at home on your very own printer.

Patterns are rated by those who have made them along with a difficulty meter. You can also see pictures of people's results.

Yes, I'm a dork.....

When you have a chance stop by The Cotton Factory and check out there really fun T-Shirts. I absolutely had to have this shirt.......

and I love it!!! So that must make me a little bit dorky...

The Woman of Honor Dress

My dearest friend had a beautiful outdoor wedding at her parents on a lake this fall. An amazing crafter, she created everything from the invitations to the boutonnieres. As the Matron of Honor I chose to make my dress and she and I picked out the fabric. I used Amy Butler's Lotus Dress pattern.

We also made a little shrug out of some knitted delicious orange fabric. After I put the dress together I decided it needed a belt to give me a little bit more of a waist. I found some great pumpkin orange velvet ribbon that did the trick and a leather belt loop.

In typical Rachel mode of operation I finished this the day before the wedding. Overall this was a great pattern to use. Butler's directions are very straightforward and takes you step by step. Where it could use improvements is by having more diagrams of some of the steps. I follow directions easier with visuals than with the written directions. If you do the same, a few steps may be a little frustrating. This was also my first lining and it went rather smoothly. A few tips:

• Use the silky nylon lining, don't bother with cotton. You will want something that lays smoother under the dress.
• When doing the lining on the top where the neckline meets the dress panels, hand sew it first to match it up.
• Hand sew the hem. It looks 10 times nicer and gives a smoother finish at the bottom.
• Try it on and adjust the darts. I did a few times and was able to get a better fit.