Summer is here...

  The weather has been beautiful here lately and we're all in full summer mode when it comes to clothing.  So when Jenny had another pattern to try out, I volunteered again.  This time was for a Woman's tunic.  But I realized before I cut my fabric that tunics and me just don't really get along.  I'm a little too top-heavy if you know what I mean to wear what is basically a short dress with jeans...I always end up looking pregnant or large, or both...
  So I decided to just add a few inches to the length and make a dress.  This pattern has so many possibilities.  I added a halter strap to my dress, but you could leave it strapless, add straps, add the halter ties, add backwards halter ties like Jenny did on the tunic dress I made for Emma...  You could add side pockets or patch pockets (thinking I'm going to go back and add to my dress).  You could make it at tunic length, dress length, maxi-dress length.  You could lengthen the bodice and just make it a regular top.  Jenny gives you a great foundation here to take the pattern and make it your own.

   And if adding to the pattern weren't enough, I thought it would be a great summery detail to add beads to the halter straps.  So, I dug around in the kids' craft basket and found a bag of pony beads.  I pulled out 2 greens, pinks, whites and blacks each to match the colors in the dress and wrangled them onto the straps.  The fabric is actually black with little pindots of a bright green, pink and white.  Up close it's obvious, from a distance, they blend together nicely.

  My only complaint at all with this dress is that even after taking it in a few times, I feel it's a little big still in places.  But that comes with trying out new patterns and altering them.  Next time, I'll start with a smaller size...and how could that be a bad thing at all??

  And last, just a funny story (which was not funny at all at the time) to amuse you this weekend.  And by amuse you, I mean be glad it was me and not you!  Chris and I started the C25K running program a few weeks ago.  I had been doing cardio 3 days a week anyway, so I was looking for something new and this is a great program to get back into running or into it at all.  So yesterday afternoon I knew Chris would be home soon so I put a movie on for the kids (don't judge please...Emma was sick yesterday and I wanted her laying down) and went out to run.  As my pictures often show, our property is mostly in pine trees, but we have a grassy area in the back of the property where Chris keeps a track mowed for me to run on.  (He's sweet like that.)  I get about 3/4 of the way through the workout and am gearing up for the final long run and I look up ahead and stop dead still.  There is a 6-foot brown snake spread out in front of me with his head lifted up hissing at me and his tail just a-shaking.  I almost died right there!  Now, I jam when I run, so my music was on loud and I couldn't tell you if there were rattles on the end of said shaking tail or not, but I can tell you that I ran backwards about 15 feet at lightning speed and just stopped and stared.  It was surreal.  The snake was not in the least bit scared of me, and I was scared to death!  I had visions of snakes in movies jumping at me and chasing me across the field!  He finally turned and slithered SLOWLY back into the high grass and woods where he came from.  I waited till he was gone and then sprinted back up to the house as fast as I could with fear that he was waiting to strike at my heels as I ran by.  I was determined to finish my run, but Chris was coming down the driveway, so I told him and then was so shaken I couldn't concentrate so I called it day.  And now, little Miss Fraidy-cat is afraid to go outside and run anymore.  Honestly, I don't even want to go outside at all...what if he comes up to the house?  What if he's waiting in my garage for me tomorrow?  What if he and all his snake buddies thought I was cute and they want to eat me for lunch??
   I know I live in the woods and I've always known there were snakes around, but knowing and seeing are 2 very different things.  I'll get over it eventually, and MAYBE continue with the C25K program (I'm not set to run again till Monday), but maybe I'll just stick to my sewing machine and let my fingers and my creative juices get all the workouts for awhile...or I could just strap a shotgun to my back when I run... 

P.S.  I'll be linking this dress up to all of my favorite parties...check out the party page to see where all the cool kids hang out!  (kidding, of course!)