Sorry for the bad pun, but this year I'd really like to see if I can encourage y'all to donate to Heifer International, one of my favorite charities. They help poor families all over the world by giving them animals — animals that then help their owners out of poverty.

One of the most effective anti-poverty animals is the sheep — and it's one that ought to be the easiest for all of us sewers to give! A few sheep can give a family not just meat and wool for themselves, but enough extra to sell and pay for better housing, medical care, and education. And, they're cute!

So if you check there to the right in the sidebar I have one of those nifty thermometers. It would be great if we could donate enough to buy ten sheep ($1200)! If everyone who comes to this site every day each gave just one dollar, we'd have more than enough … whaddaya say? Wool you help?

Kat emailed me asking if anyone had the directions for this fabulous dress; she has the pattern, but no roadmap … I told her I'd post and see! She's willing to pay for photocopying/postage/etc. This is definitely not one to attempt without the instructions! That draping, and the bow, and that tricky midriff point …

Anyone? Think of yourself as a midwife helping to bring this beautiful baby into the world! And we'll make her send pics when it's complete!

Email me or leave a comment …

This is so cute … Robin sent it to me. It's most likely handmade (no tags, and I think I've seen this pattern before), B39/W33, in great shape, and on eBay hovering at a bid of about $16 right now — what a deal! Click on the image to visit the auction.

I love the buttons, the diagonal line, the little notch at the neckline where the bodice overlaps: all adorable, but not too sweet. The wild pattern is another plus. You'd definitely need a choker of coral beads with this one, too, but only the truly dedicated (or nuts) would try to match the shoes and bag …

Thanks, Robin!

For a multitude of reasons (including my propensity to pull unintentional pratfalls of physical-comedienne proportions and an unfortunate tendency to rest my clasped hands on top of my head for no good reason) I just don't do strapless (or even spaghetti straps). This can be a hardship at holiday-party-dress time, when it seems as if there's a law against having more than three square inches of fabric above your sternum.

This dress steps forward brilliantly to beat all those strapless numbers at their own game. It's freaking gorgeous, isn't it? I love the hammered-metal color and the absolutely stunning neckline. Strapless can look too girly-debutante, and spaghetti straps too casual; this dress is definitely neither. I don't know if this particular kind of neckline has a name, but, if not, I propose "empress". (There's nothing "sweetheart" about this one.)

The only bad news is that this dress is nearly $800 … that's, well, a LOT. Click on the image to visit the Elizabeth Charles online boutique, where it's being sold.

I'm pretty sure I've seen this neckline on at least ONE of the umpty-billion vintage patterns I have. And I have some really, really nice green satin … now all I need is a good excuse to wear it! Thank goodness for holiday parties.

Pam sent this link to one of her hat patterns that's up now on eBay — I love this lampshade style, very cute!

She's also got a glove pattern up now that I'm terribly tempted by (but, sadly, it's not my size). For some reason I want to make brightly-colored ultrasuede gloves (as if I didn't have enough projects piled up — I'm like the Collyer brothers of projects at this point).

I haven't made very many hats; I made one from a modern Vogue pattern in chiffon, to wear to a wedding once, and I've embellished a few felt hats (and I'm very sad that Manny's Millinery Supply has either closed or moved; anyone have a good source for premade felt blanks?). I have been tempted by hat-making, certainly, but I've not yet reached the point where I need to invest in hat blocks. Yet. I'm sure that day will come!

Nora sent me this pattern. I probably wouldn't have looked twice at it if someone hadn't sent it to me; I'm not a huge apron aficionado, and this is a little earlier, decade-wise, than the silhouette I'm usually hunting for.

However, after a in-depth study of the pattern illustration, I will admit to a strong desire to make this dress. In fact, I really, really want to make it in digital camouflage:

Complete with white frilly apron, of course! Or maybe not. But definitely in camo. (I really enjoy making girly stuff out of camo. In fact, yesterday I wore my camo circle skirt — I usually wear it when I have to fly, because if they are going to make me participate in their security theater, then I want to look the part.)

However, this pattern's eBay auction will be over really fast (like, tomorrow) and I have about six dozen projects in the "urgent: sew me next!!!" pile, so I'm passing. If you buy it, and make it in camo, send me a picture, okay?

I know it sounds like a bad this-is-what-girls-like stereotype, but this dress is made (at least partly) of chocolate. Amy sent me the link to this dress (from the LJ community Sew Hip). The dress was part of a contest at the Twin Cities Chocolate Extravaganza, and was created by LJ blogger redheadedchick, a student in the Fashion program at the University of Minnesota.

Here's her original sketch:

The belt, the bows on the shoes, the bracelet, and the dots on the dress were all chocolate, made by a pastry chef who was teamed up with redheadedchick for the contest. Supposedly the room was warm (occasioning some anxiety) but everything held up except the belt … which the model cleverly held up herself with her fashion-y hands-on-hips pose.

Fun, huh? The only change I would have made would have been to make a teeny little red-and-white striped (peppermint) pillbox hat. I love peppermint hot chocolate …

I'm thinking about making a series of posts over the next couple weeks with suggestions of lovely (as India has it) Ramakwanzachanamas presents. One book that I would think anyone of any sensibility at all would thrill to receive would be Amphigorey Again, the latest collection of Goreynalia (a posthumous one, which is strangely appropriate).

I mean, whose tastes DON'T run to morbid situations featuring beautifully dressed ectomorphs? Anyone? The dresses in the "Neglected Murderesses" series of postcards alone … those dames knew how to dress, as well as dispatch.

If you have suggestions for things you think I ought to recommend, well, you all know where my email address is by now, or you can leave a comment … I'll try to do these in addition to the Regularly Scheduled Dresses, if I can.

Su-Ying sent me a link to Ageless Patterns, where I found this beauty (which is, in fact, from Decades of Style; click on the image to visit their site).

Doesn't this look like the bodice to a new and exciting Duro-style dress?

After doing some due diligence I think I'm going to buy this one, and convert it into a dress. I think I can Frankenstein the skirt from the McCalls Duro (which I love) and have a fun new variation! I love that the sleeves on this one are a bit narrower, and the neckline a bit higher.

To put the other skirt on this bodice, I think that I will (and I'm VERY happy to hear alternate suggestions) take the midriff pieces of the other bodice and true the bottom of this one to it, then proceed from there. Don't worry, I'll make a muslin … and I think I'll probably lengthen the skirt a bit, to give it a more Edwardian feel. I'd love to make one in brown and cream, as I have a pair of brown and cream spectator shoes that would be a perfect complement … I also have some gorgeous green velvet that I could find a green jacquard to match, if I wanted to be fancy.

I still haven't done the Big Duro Roundup, but I have high hopes of taking some pictures over the holiday. And, speaking of which, I won't be posting Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday, as I'll have lots and lots of houseguests! My husband is doing the actual cooking (turducken, baby!) save for the pies, which are my bailiwick. So tune in tomorrow, but after that I will be taking a tryptophan-induced break for a few days.

Julie keeps up her Dress A Day fodder streak by sending me this turkey dress (which is substantially different from "a turkey of a dress"). Sadly, you wouldn't be able to get this in time for Thanksgiving — the auction doesn't end until midday Wednesday.

I'm not, you understand, recommending holiday-themed clothing here. I think my stance on holiday-themed clothing is pretty clear — at least, for the major holidays, I am against it. (If you want to go all out for Arbor Day, however, be my guest!) The farthest I am willing to go is something like this, which, while it may be covered with turkeys, also has more than its fair share of llamas. Llamas are pretty holiday-neutral, as I understand it, unless you are celebrating a llama day (also known as a corduroy day.)

If you already have a turkey-themed Thanksgiving dress (those of you in the States, at least, it's a little late for Canadian Thanksgiving at this point) more power to you! I am not trying to universalize my experience of holiday-themed clothing. However, don't, if you can help it, go this far … I beg you.