Graduation!!! :)

So I am now a graduate of homeschool.  Seems like it wasn't that long ago as a little girl I was complaining that I would NEVER be done with school!  Time does go by fast....  One thing I really like about homeschool is that it has allowed me to have my own personality, my own likes and dislikes, my own hobbies with out having to conform to peer pressure, and not having to do homework 24/7.  And it allowed me to have my graduation ceremony my own way.  I did not wear a cap and gown (they look ugly in my opinion!), so my wonderful friend Sarah brought her Colonial dress.  My aunt did my hair.  I really liked how the ceremony went.  We sang a few hymns, my former pastor gave a short sermon, we played a slideshow of photos of me over the years, my grandpa and parents gave a speech, then my parents signed and presented me with my diploma and a dozen roses, then I played a piano piece, then we sang another hymn then prayed.  Afterwards, we had light refreshments.  Everything went well, except when Dad read the diploma and said "Abigail Thomas has completed elementary school...oh, sorry, I mean high school."  LOL!!!  I'm really proud to have been homeschooled and wouldn't have it any other way!!!  Thanks to my Aunt Nora and my friend Laurie who took these pictures, and Sarah who let me borrow the dress!

Two of my favorite photos.

retro dress and a week in Charleston, SC

So, I managed to finish my dress-in-a-week in 3 days!  And it was great, in spite of the fact that I had forgotten to wash the fabric before sewing.....oops.  It didn't shrink noticeably.  I wore it when we toured the USS Yorktown.  The only problem was it was so full the skirt dragged on the stepped ladders, and once a strong updraft threatened to blow it upwards.  But that was all.  It was quite comfortable overall.  Here's a picture:                                            

Ok, not so good picture.

That's how full the skirt is!

Standing in front of USS Yorktown

Hoopskirts, straw bonnets, and parasols

 Grace, me, Sarah, and Jon

Civil War Weekend in Buchanan was awesome.  Grace actually got to go on Friday, and stayed overnight.  My whole family met Sarah and Jon around noon at the camp. Sarah had draped and hand-sewn her dress in only five days!  That girl is amazing when it comes to sewing.....  So, there was a fashion show, and the reenactment, and then in the evening they had a camp dance!  All us girls ended up in the fashion show, and I found out that my dress WAS historically accurate after all!!!!  When I first made the dress, I wasn't thinking of accuracy, for all I knew I was coming up with my own design.  So, when I was deciding what to wear on Saturday, I was worried about the accuracy.  Pleasant surprise!  That right there made my day.  Camp dance was absolutely amazing, and I was really, really sad that we got to stay only for four dances.  :-(  But anyways.........Now I'm totally drooling over patterns for a dress. I really need a ball gown and a couple day dresses.

    

Solomon and James, ages 6 and 11

And my all my siblings need outfits, really.  (Well, Joel doesn't.  He complained sooooo much about having to go.  But James and Solomon LOVED getting to dress up in some nice soldier's extra outfit.)  

I am really looking forward to more reenactments! 

sew a dress in a week?

Ok, yes, I know I am crazy.  So, next Saturday my family, all ten of us, leave for Charleston, SC for an awesome week of vacation.  I'm soooooo excited because we really haven't had a REAL beach vacation for a really long time.  And I really wanted a couple new outfits to wear.  I found this really cute pattern, I absolutely LOVE it.  Butterick Retro Wrap Dress  I got my fabric yesterday, and so now I set off to sew at least one dress from this pattern before we leave.  I'm going to try for two though.  We'll see how this goes...........

And I'm working on my graduation dress.  I'm smocking the whole skirt.  The hardest part we placing the guide dots for the smocking, but once I figured that out, it's going a lot faster.  And I've already smocked one of the panels!!!!!  It's looking so awesome.  I'm using pink embroidery thread (to match the pink roses on the cream brocade) and then beading it.  Once I finish that, I have to sew the skirt to the bodice, hem it and the lining, put in the zipper, and then sew the sash which is made of a lighter pink taffeta.  It's not going to take too much longer!!!!

I'll post pictures next time.

50's style graduation dress

This dress is going to be awesome.  It's just a lot of work.  I have the bodice done, and the lining, so all that's left is smocking the skirt, attaching it to the bodice, hemming it, beading it, and doing the sash.  The hardest part has been placing the guide dots for the smocking.  I finally perfected a method for that, so now I have done some smocking and it's looking great!  I will post pictures next time.

Hello everybody!  This is my first post, so right now, I'm still trying to figure out blogging and everything.    Here are a few photos from recently.

 Me at New Market Battlefield

This is actually my sister's dress (it's really creepy to be able to fit into my younger sister's clothes!) 

My friend Sarah and I walking on the battlefield. 

Sarah and I had a tea party in 18th c. dresses!  It was awesome.

Next time I'll post about the 50's style prom dress that I am making.