Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Enjoy the time of year where you can make a change in yourself and no one will think twice!  Ride the renewing energy of the 2012!

As promised, I have photos!  Ma-in-law took some pictures at our family holiday gathering, so I got to pose a little and have some fun!

Yay, I like this shade of blue on me.  The pattern is birds with patterned birds.  While most likely intended for quilting, I didn't really care because it was a pretty color and a pretty pattern.

Here's a closeup for a little more detail on the fabric:

Not that you can see much with my arms in the way.

This is Butterick pattern 4045.  Very quick, very easy.  The only thing that took longer is that I did french seams on the side to keep fraying to a minimum (or nonexistent in this case).

Good things about this pattern/garment:

• Super-easy to make
• Ties in back so that you can faux-fit it to any figure
• Easy to throw on in the morning if need be
• Casual or a slight step above casual

Things I could use a tweak or two:

• Dart shaping doesn't always work well for ladies with large busts, so this bunches and pulls a little bit around the neckline/chest area.  I have this problem with most things I make, though.
• The pockets are deceiving: they are great to put your awesome stuff in, but only when you're standing up!  When you hop in the car and sit down, everything will slide out of your pockets and under the seat!  I think they are placed too low on the dress.  If I make another, I would move them up a little.
• When tying the ties, if you happen to have a barrel chest and a slimmer waist, a lot of fabric bunches up in the back.
• This does not go really well with sneakers, so I need to go shoe shopping.

But what the heck, I'm not doing haute couture yet.  Yet.

Got any New Year's Resolutions, Non-Resolutions, or Challenges of your own for 2012?