Dragonfly progress

I made some progress on the Butterick baby dress this weekend. Here is Sadie modeling the bodice. This is my first attempt at sewing sleeves, and well, it wasn't so easy. The baby shoe curves I've sewn before are much more forgiving.

I did find some cute dragonfly buttons at Joanns! They are difficult to see, but Sadie and I know they're there--that's what matters :) Pay very little attention to the uneven edgestitching on these pockets...

Here is the work-in-progress. I don't love the bodice--the cut is a little bland and blocky, and somehow it just looks homemade. And that's not completely my fault--it is the cut of the garment. The placket instructions are a little difficult to understand, and I'm left with a very crude blending of the bias and the facing at the back of the neck. Fortunately, it will be hard to see.

Speaking of bias trim, it's my first attempt at that too! Not as difficult as I thought, and I got to use my new bias tape maker that I bought for Sadie's quilt.

The hem and neck are just basted--still need to be topstitched. And of course I lack all of the back buttons. I contemplated using self-cording between the bodice and skirt. I think it might have looked better, although it looks pretty good up close and in person now that it's pressed.
I didn't get any pictures of Sadie running and jumping in the skirted dress. She loves it! It will at least make a very good dress for school and play. Her smocked garments don't get worn nearly enough because they're too dressy.

ETA: I don't know why my pictures don't enlarge when you click on them. They do in my earlier posts, but I'm not uploading pictures any differently. ??

Edit II: Ok, so Sadie's picture enlarges. Wow, what a dirty little face! Pay no attention to that, either ;)

Ok, so I lied.

I can't finish the quilt, so I am starting something new.

I've had this pattern since the summer, but even my tiny Sadie has (presumably) grown out of the NB/S/M size. I should have made something from it by now, but--I haven't. It was pretty easy to extrapolate a 1/4 inch here, 1/8 inch there, to the next size up. So--hopefully it will work out--we shall see.

I've cut out the View A--sleeved dress. My first sleeves--believe it or not! I had this fabric that MIL gave me, and a coworker gave the scraps to her. Fun free stuff! It is a little more teal than the picture shows.

And, cutting is as far as I've gotten because it requires interfacing at the placket (another first), and I don't have any left. Why did Walmart discontinue its sewing department right as I developed this hobby??

I do have this book, and it makes me feel as though I can accomplish anything, even sleeves and plackets.

As for the quilt, I have a backing delimma. I really want a piece of white matelasse. It is harder to find than one might expect, I can only find a couple of online sources. And they are poly/cotton blend. I ordered an inexpensive matelasse bedspread from Walmart and well, you get what you pay for. It is 100% polyester, and you can sure tell it! Ick! It doesn't feel good at all, and doesn't belong with all my beloved cotton baby cloth squares. That makes me a little wary of the blends too. I really don't want to pay more than $20-30, but I may have to break down and buy a coverlet from my department store. Or wait till it goes on sale :(

Any fabric selection suggestions are appreciated!

I'm going to finish this before I start anything else.

This is my first quilt. It is made of 4x4 (finished) squares of Sadie's clothing. Favorites from her first year :). There are some special pieces--her coming home outfit is in the upper left square, her 1st birthday monogrammed bib is in the lower right. In between are lots of squares of her birthday dress fabric. I used lots of pockets, and other details. I also did a no-no and used some knit garments that I just couldn't leave out. And no, I didn't treat them at all, so there is a little pulling and non-matching of seams :(.

I tried to go for a bit of a "watercolor" affect with some gradation from left to right and top to bottom.

This top was completed in August (!) And here it sits, waiting to be sewn to the batting and backed. I first wanted a paisley minky for the back, but it just doesn't have enough structure. Yes it is cuddly soft, but just puddles in your hand. And, it is of course knit, which this quilt has far enough of! This will only be a tied quilt, at each square corner. [My very basic sewing machine and I are a long way from machine quilting. And I'm the mother of a 5 and a 2 year old, so NO to hand quilting as well.] So, I'm going to go with Martha's suggestion of matelasse. I've ordered an inexpensive coverlet, and as soon as it arrives I hope to finish.

I've posted about the inspiration before.

As you can see, mine is very much like the model, in mostly pinks and whites. And I've picked out the best raspberry yarn to tie it with, but every binding tape I've found is a shade or two off. So I guess I'll be making my own.