playing dressmaker

Nine happy, springy dresses are all sewn into the quilt center! The best part has been coming up with each color combination. Really, it's hard to go wrong with these Pam Kitty Garden prints. I love how the For The Frill Of It pattern requires NO sashing! The blocks all nest together perfectly with no seams to match. Love that.

And now it's border time. The pattern has a scalloped, postage stamp style border. I'm just trying to decide on my fabrics so I can get them ordered! Aqua? Pink? Red? Decisions! The kit features red, white and blue borders... but I might go with pink and fuchsia. Or maybe scrappy? 

At least my dresses aren't all black, like the dresses that I saw on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in NYC this past weekend. Let me explain.

Death Becomes Her features a century of dresses, accessories, illustrations and photos related to mourning. Thirty outfits are displayed, representing the impact of fashion on mourning attire from 1815 to 1915. It was fascinating to learn about the informal rules governing how women dressed, starting with simple black crepe and gradually adding touches of white, grey, lilac and embellishment. There were even shops that sold only mourning apparel and accessories! Mourning gowns worn by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra are included. The exhibit runs through February 1. (It's actually been there for a few months, but who wants to see mourning gowns during Christmas happiness?!)