Now I'm 30

It's true: I'm now 30. My birthday was on Friday. This year I continued my tradition of making a new dress for my birthday, but I also threw myself a big party (because, hey, why not? 30 only comes once, and the fact that it was also a Friday...well...it's just too good to pass up)! I rented the screening room at my local cinema (LOVE them!) and showed Fantastic Mr. Fox. Then we went to the amazing loft apartment of my lovely friend Vanessa for after-party appetizers and drinks! I called the entire thing "Thirty, Flirty, and Foxy like a Crafter!" It was fan-tabulous! There were about a dozen people at the party at any given time, and it was so wonderful to spend such a special day with my friends!

One of the specialty items I crafted for my party (other than the dress and the garland) was a cocktail. I named it "The Janiac", on honor of another special lady who shares my birthday. It's made with tequila and a fancy ginger liqueur and got my friends all pleasantly liquored up! Delightful!

Okay, so, more about the dress, right?? It's the Colette Patterns Chantilly dress. This was my first time making a Colette pattern and it was fantastic! I think this is the only time--ever--that I've made a muslin and not made ANY adjustments! Even the hem length was pretty much right on.

I used some cotton lawn I got on mega sale at fabric.com because this is my "practice" dress--my brother is getting married in October and I'm planning on making another version, but in this and with pockets. I'm pretty excited.

The dress was super comfortable to wear, and the skirt is full and swishy, perfect for dancing around in! Doing all that gathering is a pain in the butt, but is so worth it in the end. More pictures on my flickr page.

Also, semi-related: I am a-squee with excitement over this sneak peek!