Florida, New Butterick Patterns, and another Giveaway!

Hello dear readers.  I am writing this in a darkened hotel room in the Villages, Florida.  It's day two of our vacation within a vacation and I'm already a bit sunburned.  It looks like I might end up having to buy a floppy hat after years of my husband repeatedly asking if I want one.  Ugh, I hate hats, but one must do what one must do.  Right?  Anyway, I took some pictures on my way out the door, hoping to write a short post yesterday from the airport, but obviously that didn't happen.  I forget how little me time I have with a toddler.

Thoughts on Florida.  Damn, it's hot and muggy in August.  I step outside the door and feel like a icky, sticky mess within minutes.  Also, I really didn't pack all that well.  I am blaming Kerry Washington and her tv show Scandal.  I don't watch a lot of tv, but somehow got sucked into this tv show.  I have watched most of the first two seasons (since Sunday).  Oops!  I forgot flipflops and my bathing suit (both necessities).  But what did I bring.  I will say the vast majority of my outfits are me-made!

 This shot has the most store bought items.  Store bought- both pairs of jeans, recently purchased from Eddie Bauer of all places.  I was surprised, I went in to look at tote bags (we need one more for our jaunt to Kyiv) and the jeans were really nice quality.  They are 100% denim, so no stretch at all.  And they were on sale.  Also shown is a silk jersey tank (blue and white stripe with the pink flowers), which I believe I used V1310 for.  Two NewLook 6013 tops (plaid and white), Colette Sorbeto (flowers), a V2514 skirt (black jean skirt with gold), and another pencil skirt from a Vogue Pattern as well.

I also brought my Bronte top, with a Target bought skirt, a Anna dress modified into a top and another jean pencil skirt (made from the same Vogue pattern above).

And last but not least, a Colette Laurel cotton ponte dress.  It's super comfy, but isn't the most flattering.  You may have noticed my dog, Snoopy, photo bombing the top picture.  She had to get a mast cell tumor removed on Monday, which today we found out wasn't as bad as the Brazilian vet had thought.  It was stage 1 and well-differentiated, meaning that she has a 90% chance of surviving the next three years!  Yay!  

Moving on,  as some of you may have noticed, Butterick's fall patterns were recently released.  I had planned to do a post when they came out, because I was super impressed by them, but then the site was acting up, so I gave up.  There were many that I wanted to buy, blazers, dresses, etc.  However, as a sewist knows, if you wait a week or two, they will magically drop in price usually to $3.99 or less.  (I was really hoping for a Jo-Anns $.99 sale, but they only did that for McCalls.)  My patience was rewarded and yesterday I got the email that they were in fact on sale.  So I went on a pattern shopping spree tonight.  What did I get?  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

I love shawl collars.  I have yet to find one that is perfect though.  Is this one it?

Definitely interesting seaming.  I can see this sleeveless, with the top panel as either sheer illusion or lace.

I really love the back of this dress.  I've been thinking about it a lot, as it's a contender for my ballgown.

This one has four separate blazers.  If you couldn't tell, I like blazers.  I think I would make this into a full on double breasted jacket with two rows of buttons.

Another shawl collar.  I am intrigued by the smoking jacketness of this one.  However, I think I would take off the belt and turn it into a proper tuxedo style.

This one, I got of the skirt.  I am a sucker for pleats.

I may have also added a couple of extras.  Did you know that McCall/Vogue/Butterick patterns are printed in my home stated of Kansas, in the city of Manhattan, aka the Little Apple?  I didn't until my last order from them, when I received an email asking to confirm what I had ordered from them as a storm had damaged their printing facilities and order system.  (Just a random tidbit of information.)  

Now that I've rattled on for quite awhile, for what you all have been waiting for.  I have another giveaway! 

This one is three lengths of Brazilian cotton- all lightweight.  They're all either 1-2 meters long, I forgot to measure.  (Sorry!)  They are similar to a voile or batiste.  I love making tops out of this fabric.   Also are two Manaquim and one ModaMoldes magazines, which are two Brazilian pattern magazines.  Manaquim is the more famous one, but I have found lots of cute items in the ModamMoldes as well.

The giveaway is open to anyone in the world.  To enter, leave a comment below with a way to contact you.  The giveaway is open until Friday, August 22, 12 pm EST.  (This will allow me to get back from Florida and recuperate from my vacation and we'll be honest, finish Scandal.)  I look forward to hearing from you!  Until next time, happy sewing.