Since a real body can dramatically change the look of a grament, here's a couple of photos of me modeling my new top - It does take some fanagling to get the wrap part looking right. I noticed that the right side looks more bunched than the left. Reminder to self: don't dress in a hurry if you're wearing this top.

View with ties in back

View with ties across front

Burda World of Fashion wasn't kidding when they said "Make in the morning - wear in the afternoon" when they described their wrap top from the August issue. This baby went together fast!

I do have to admit, it is a bit crazy looking when it's finished. The front collar and ties are extremely long and hang down if you haven't crossed them over and tied them behind your back (it's a real wrap top, not the mock wraps that I've been making lately). In fact, it looks a little bit like a straight jacket! Speaking of the ties - they are extremely long. If I make this again in the future, I'll definately be shortening them, I think that it just looks better that way. Here's a photo of the back view.

I love the fabric too. It's definitely not a color that I would normally pick out for myself (I'm trying to break out of my red\pink rut), but I really like it in this top. It's also a wonderful knit to work with - it's a nice weight and is good quality. I'm happy to see that Joann's is starting to pick up more quality fabrics. I hope that this trend continues.

But back to the pattern. Overall, it's fantastic - it's fast, easy, and fun! If I can ever find a sweater knit that calls to me, I plan on making it into this! If you're interested in a more detailed sumary, I wrote a review of it here.

All I can say is that I am beyond excited to get started on Taylor's Halloween costume. I made my way to Joann's to pick up the black burnout fabric for the main body of her costume and left with almost all her materials.

So, here's what I made my way across town for - waiting in line for 20 minutes (and used a 50% off coupon). Was it worth it? Oh, yeah.

Tulle and netting was on sale today too. I picked up black and red as her colors. I figured it would be easier to find trim in that color. Now all I have to purchase is trim (11 5/8 yards), pre-gathered lace, and black flowers (which I have only been able to find at Michaels).

I also had a some time to work on my Burda wrap top this morning (I got up early and was very productive) - be on the lookout for a review & completed project photo(s) late tonight or tomorrow!

It's hard to believe that the summer is officially over - that's right today was the first day of school.

I was getting very excited at the thought of having at least one full day of nothing but sewing. However, last night, I couldn't come up with anything that I was really enthusiastic about or had the right fabric for. After getting Taylor ready for school, doing the traditonal first day photo, and dropping her off. I came home and decided to go ahead and cut out fabric for the Simplicity skirt and wrap top combo (which seemed to take forever, I might add). Since I didn't have any interfacing for this project, I went ahead and went to Joann's where I found some nice jersey knit in teal - a color that I don't have in my wardrobe. I hope it looks decent on me when I start getting pasty this winter. As I speak, it's in the dryer waiting to become the Burda wrap sweater\top from the August World of Fashion issue. I'm very excited to get this started!

So, it looks like I won't be getting any sewing done today, but at least I have a few projects cut out and ready to go. With that said, I leave you with this:

The photo on the left was Taylor's first day of Kindergarten, the one on the right was from today - she's officially a 4th grader.