6 in 6 for 16 - NOVEMBER

Finally!  I can end this silly project!  I confess I had much more enthusiasm about this 6 in 6 challenge six months ago.  At the time, I wanted to keep doing this the whole year long, but I've found some other projects that are a little more exciting to me since then.  And hot dog, look at that!  $15.95/outfit!  Couldn't have been much closer to $16 if I tried.  

This month also started out with a fail.  The original top I planned was a pretty fall floral print, but it had too much white, not enough vintage cream in it, didn't really work.  So on to the green, which is not homemade, but I make the rules since its my self-inflicted challenge in the first place.

 

The $390 Chloe inspiration skirt:

I made a mock-up first out of anything ugly from my scrap stash, then picked it apart to use as my pattern.

Mine turned out a little more frumpy, but it was my poor decision to use linen.  It may be a wrinkle fest, and I wanted to find something a little more tangerine (you know, Pantone's 2012 color of the year), but I still think I'll keep this one around :).

6 in 6 for 16 - AUGUST

Besides my homecoming and prom dresses, I don't think I've ever spent this much on fabric for a dress, but I've deemed it ok because lately I've been selling stuff out of my closet that I haven't worn in years.  Sewing projects that I wore once or twice, didn't love, and I'm selling them on eBay and Etsy for 10x what I paid for.  I've made $230 this month on stuff I would throw out in a heartbeat.  Like the dress I made for my maternity pictures?  $63.  Sold.  Where on earth would I wear that again?  Honestly.

 Here was the inspiration dress.  I planned on adding a yellow belt to my dress, but when you have no torso, and you're 5'2...the proportions just weren't looking right.  But I love how this one turned out!  I told myself I could only afford one yard of something from Mood, and just fell in love with this white knit in the corner at this incredible price of $16/yard.  Even the lady cutting the fabric couldn't believe what it was priced at.  I used every inch of it, clearly, and didn't have enough to cover the back.  Oh well.

 Check out my June and July dresses!  And join me for September!

6 in 6 for 16 - JULY

My inspiration for the skirt came from this wedding dress picture I tore out of a bridal magazine (4 years ago?) and had taped on my inspiration wall.  I made a 6-gore skirt with godets, then sewed on rows and rows of bias-cut strips.  I think I used all three yards--it was so heavy!  Its currently for sale on eBay to pay for fabric for the my next dress.

The navy tube top was the easiest thing I've ever made.  I cut it to my circumference, sewed up the sides, and gathered the seam.  I didn't even finish the edges on top or bottom b/c they just rolled up underneath.  Easy peasy.

I found this lacy table runner at my favorite junk pit, Dollar-a-Pound.  Since I paid $1 for my pound of clothes, I figure this cost mere pennies?  A dime?

I guess I could count Parley's sailor suit and hat for my "August" outfit :) but I cheated and used patterns: McCalls 6575 and 4236.  (Update: just sold the suit on Etsy for $40)

More pictures of our outfits can be found here.

6 in 6 for 16 - JUNE

Time for a challenge!  In honor of the new Project Runway season starting up this week, I'm going to see if I can make an original outfit (dresses or seperates) each month for six months (starting last month) -- designed, materials bought, sewn, photographed, and blogged -- for an average of $16 each month.   

Who's with me?!

More details on this dress which you've already seen can be found here.

6 in 6 for 16 - OCTOBER

 Ok, I know, this is super creepy, but there are only so many places in close proximity to our church building where me and my photographer-in-crime partner, Emily, can go on a Sunday morning!  But its practically Halloween, so I'm just going with a theme here.

 I don't know if I really had a vision dress for this month, except for maybe the corpse bride?  Haha.  I mostly just wanted to make something lacy, stretchy, and again, conducive to breastfeeding.  Adding the scalloped black trim made it a little more Halloweenie than I anticipated, but it'd do.

 

I found this lace on my trip to NYC, rolled up and with a damaged seam the entire length of the bolt.  I think it was originally $15/yard, but I haggled it down to 2.5 yards for $7.50!

I guess you can't even tell that there's a midriff piece and a skirt part to this dress.  The middle was going to be just black, but everything I sew is an effort to lengthen my torso, and having the busty white top separated from the skirt wasn't helping.

See JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, and SEPTEMBER!  Only one month to go!

6 in 6 for 16 - SEPTEMBER

 

I LOVE September!  Perhaps I just love it because its my birthday month, but thinking about September has always given me warm fuzzies.  Glorious Fall, new classes, new projects, new possibilities.  For this month, I fell in love with the outfit on the left and wanted one just like it.  I searched and searched, and never really found a yellow fabric I liked.  What I came up with ended up looking so utterly '50s diner, that I had to make a different top.  Can't you just picture a little name tag with "Brenda" on it?

I rummaged through my fabric stash and found this beautiful oriental silk.  I was sure my aunt Margie had sent it to me from Korea, but she couldn't verify.  Wherever it came from, it confirmed all my beliefs that SILK IS SO HARD TO WORK WITH!  So slippery.  So temperamental.

 My adorable friend Jessica took these pictures while we were having an Eastie Girls Crafty Night.  See her cute blog and cute baby here.    THANK YOU Jess!  What a professional, right?

See my JUNE, JULY, & AUGUST dresses!

6 in 6 for 16 Challenge Review

Breakfast of Champions

I made treats for Jason to take to school, I mean work, today :) It was his turn to bring in breakfast for his team, so I'm sent him with the legendary Millar baked french toast for all the bachelors who don't have mommies or wives to cook for them!

King Henry French Toast

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 T. corn syrup

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 T. vanilla

1 loaf French bread

Combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Heat until boiling and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Slice bread into 8 slices (I did 16 slices) and arrange over syrup. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla (and I added some cinnamon) in blender for 15 seconds. Pour over bread. Cover and refridgerate overnight. Bake at 350, uncovered, for 45 min. Sprinkle with pecans and powdered sugar.