You could say that I was totally inspired by Veronique's Built by Wendy dress, or you could say that I totally ripped her off. I had so much success with this pattern before and frequently wear the shirt that I made, so extending it to a dress seemed like a swell idea.
I've had this Amy Butler fabric kicking around for a while now and was happy to find a good use for it. Is it a little loud, sure. But I don't think it's retina-scarring loud.
There is some sad news to report. Last month, I decided to say goodbye to my faithful, lapis blue Neon, nicknamed Van Gogh because his color reminded me of the painting "Starry Night."
As you might imagine, I bought Van Gogh when I was a junior in college and was swayed by the ad campaign that had Neons saying "Hi!" The Neon ferried me around College Park, MD., Rochester, N.Y., New Haven, CT., and New York City, as well as numerous trips to my folks in Pennsylvania. He only broke down once, on a really steep hill in a deserted part of western Pennsylvania, but the Neon still managed to coast to the parking lot of a place called Jumpin' Jack Pizza, where I waited for a tow.
But for personal, professional, environmental and safety reason, I realized it was time to say goodbye. So I donated Van Gogh to Habitat for Humanity, hoping maybe he could help out one more person. It was not easy -- we took pictures and kissed Van Gogh goodbye, and when I heard this Don McLean song recently, I actually cried a little.
On to happier news. Jon's family threw me a delightful, wonderful shower up in Massachusetts a few weeks back. There were so many personal touches. Note that they used a chocqua -- chocolate and aqua -- color theme, to match my wedding colors. And Jon's Aunt Mary knit me these adorable strawberries! I can't imagine the time she put into them. I was so touched by all of it.
We're under three months, folks. I'm freaking out a little.
