So, here's the grape dress.

( 1947 Grape-y Dress! )

And this is the 1840 corset in-progress. What's left is boning channels and binding, which I want to get done this weekend. The dress dummy doesn't squish, so it looks a little odd. I sort of tried it on and noticed that there's a rather substantial gap in the back. I'm hoping the boning might squish me a little more to make a better fit. Also, the bust was a bit too big. Hoping the boning will help with that too. If not, I can always put a drawstring in the very top. And you can see that there's not nearly enough grommets in yet. Putting in more should also help with the fit.
( 1840 Corset in-progress )

I got the bodice all sewn together yesterday and today I got the skirt put together and attached to the bodice. All that's left now is the zipper and hem. Yay! Reflecting on this dress, there were definitely a few snafus that occurred. Like going to cut out the dress and realizing that my fabric was only 38 inches wide. That was a hassle because the skirt is so full. Luckily, I'm short and had already calculated taking off about 5 inches, and the skirt was so full that taking off a few inches of width didn't make a huge difference either. In terms of putting the bodice together, some parts are a total pain in the @$$. There's a lot of bulk at junctions where multiple seams meet, and the construction itself is a bit odd in spots leading to places where, if you haven't cut and sewn everything perfectly, a little fudging is needed to make it look alright. The fabric I chose probably added to a couple troubles, since it's darn slippery. And I probably ironed some spots a little too much (in an attempt to make the bunchy or odd places look right) at too high of heat, since there are a few slightly shiny spots. But overall, it's looking pretty good, and I like it... I'll just like it even more once it's finished. ;p

It's Reading Week (aka Spring Break, but for some reason not in spring), so no school! :) I've been working away at sewing and homework... Well more sewing, less homework. I've sewn the lining in around all the gussets on my 1840 corset. I also have my 1947 cut out as of today. My plans are to get the corset and dress both done before I have to go back to school. Except that I don't have enough grommets to finish the corset, but I want to get every other part of it done. So for the corset it's side seams, boning channels, binding, and grommets. And for the dress it's all the sewing.

These ones are of the fabric that I got for Christmas from my mom. They also came with a gift certificate to the fabric store. My mom is an enabler when it comes to fabric hoarding. She's a fabric hoarder herself, so I come by it honestly. :)

( Christmas Fabric! )

I also took a couple pictures of the quilt I made earlier this year. The backing is the same colour as the binding and borders, which is a bit more apricot-y in real life.
( The pics! )