2 dresses today bringing my total to 153

Woohoo!! I am back to sewing. The last time I made a dress was in June when I made Dress #151. In the beginning of the year I started a One-dress a day campaign for 365 days. My second attempt as last year (2012) I stopped on the third month (March). Well, this year at least I made it to June but there were days when I missed sewing a dress. My last dress was made on Day 164 but since there were days I could not do some sewing I only managed to make 151 dresses. 13 short. By the way, none of these 151 dresses were included in this year's distributions as I gave priority to all the dresses donated. All of these 151 dresses will be given priority when I restart distributions in April of next year.

Today, I did 2 dresses and I hope to be able to do more before the month of December ends.

The fabrics of these 2 t-shirt dresses and the t-shirts were donated by Betty Barrett. Betty was trying to help me with one dress a day by sending me pre-cut fabrics and all I had to do was sew but still I could not manage to sit down and do some sewing.

To Betty, thank you so much for the fabric and t-shirt materials. I think I still have about 3 to make which am planning to do in the coming days. I hope to make it to at least 200 dresses before the year ends. Thank you so much.

31 Dresses for the 31 Days of May

Didnt miss a day so was able to accomplish 31 dresses for the 31 days of May. I started with a pillowcase dress and ended the month with a pillowcase dress too. Here are the dresses I made for my one dress a day for 365 days for the month of May - 27 t-shirt dresses and 4 pillowcase style.

Thank you to the following donors of fabrics and pillowcases who made these bunch of dresses possible.-
1) Louise Wright
2) Linda Smyth
3) Kim Foster
4) Erlyn Ballesta and the members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School in Sydney
5) My mum Jolly
6) heyboom for the t-shirts
7) Dress A Girl Australia

To be kept up-to-date with my One dress a day for 365 days' journey, please click here or click on the special tab 'One dress a day for 365 days Diary' found at the top of this page.

Thanks everyone and I look forward to starting the month of June.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/05 #62 - From Sian McIntosh

Number 62 for the month of May is the parcel I picked up last Saturday from Sian McIntosh. Inspired by my 'One Dress A Day for 365 days' journey and knowing there was no way she could match this she decided to try for one dress a month. Four months have passed and four dresses made which she usually does on the last Sunday of each month. Here are the dresses she made for January, February, March and April -

Sian works full-time and has also chosen to make a difference in this world through Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Way to go Sian! Another one of us living the year of 2013 making a difference.

Sian, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. It is much appreciated. Thank you.

One Dress A Day - May 1-15

We are now on the second half of May and in another two weeks it will be June. By that time I will be halfway to my One Dress A Day for 365 days journey. This is where I am as of the 15th of May. 15 dresses for 15 days and mostly if not all T-shirt dresses in preparation for a coming big collection of dresses with sleeves. Perhaps the largest collection I will be targetting for distribution towards the end of the year in 3 locations. More details on this collection will be made available very soon but in the meantime check out the first 15 dresses for May I made.

Donors of fabrics and accessories will be acknowledged at the end of the month. If you want to keep track of how am doing with this journey, please click here or click on the '365 days diary' tab which you can find at the top of this page. 

Will continue on posting a few more dresses(Day 136 to 139) I finished for this month.

One Dress A Day for 365 Days for April 2013

After a disappointing March, I did my best to make up for it this month and here it is - 29 dresses and 3 pairs of shorts bringing my total as of today to 114 dresses out of a possible 120/120 days - One dress a day for 365 days, my journey in 2013. WooHoo!!!

These dresses wouldn't have been made possible without the generosity of the following donors:
Fabric Donations -
1) My mum Jolly
2) Monika Osvald Collection
3) Sash Hinton
4) Linda Smyth Collection
5) Meredith Cain 
6) Dress A Girl Australia

T-Shirt Donations -
1) Heyboom shop
2) Monika Osvald
3) Dress A Girl Australia

Thank you so much to everyone for their kindness and generosity. It is very much appreciated.

If you want to keep track of how am doing with this journey, please click here or click on the '365 days diary' tab which you can find at the top of this page.

Keep watching as May dresses start to get posted!!

One Dress A Day - Apr 1-15

I am back! It looks like I am back to being productive this month of April. For the first 15 days I finished sewing 14 dresses and 3 pairs of shorts. 10 simple pillowcase dresses and 4 t-shirt dresses is all I can do with the time I can spare. Simple as they are, they are made from the heart. 

I have 5 more dresses to post to keep my journal up to date as of yesterday. Acknowledgements of fabric donations will be made at the end of the month when I have posted all my creations for the month of April.

Also, this month I have decided that in some days instead of making a dress I will make at least 2 pairs of shorts a day so my goal for this year on the number of shorts I want to make will start moving. :-) I still think I will be able to make at least 350 dresses if I just spend or allocate more time to sewing at least 2 in some Saturdays or Sundays.

If you want to keep track of how am doing with this journey, please click here or click on the '365 days diary' tab which you can find at the top of this page.

I have reels of bias binding to use all in ivory color as I have decided to focus on just one color. Now let me see if I will have the energy to make one dress for today.

My favourite twin dresses so far.

Since the beginning of the year, I have sewn 93 dresses out of 107 days(as of today) and a few more still to be posted. Although all dresses are similar and more or less made in the same machine, same thread, same bias tapes only in different colors, there is always one or two that will standout for no reason at all. :-) And so far out of the 93 dresses I have made, these two are my favourites. WooHoo!

They were made on Day 96 (6th of April) and Day 97 (7th of April) and fabric used was from Linda Smyth fabric collection. Not sure why but they seem to be my favourites as of this time. Now let us see when they will be replaced for another favourite. :-)

Disappointing March results (one dress a day campaign)

Yes, a bit disappointing result for my one-dress-a-day journey this year. Out of 31 days I was only able to make 13 dresses out of a forecasted 31 for the 31 days of March and spent only 9 days out of the 31 days sewing. If anyone is wondering how I managed to end up with 13  for 9 days that is because on day 77 I did 2 dresses and day 82 I made 4 dresses. I tried to make up for the missing days but unfortunately a lot of things happened that stopped me from achieving my goal this month including a broken sewing machine. All the pink dresses you see on the image below means no dresses were made.

My sewing machine is still broken. I have my sister's sewing machine but a bit late to catch up. I hope to make up for the missing days in April and the months to come as I still want to reach my goal of 400 dresses this year. So far, for the first 3 months of the year 2013, first quarter of 2013 I have made 77 dresses out of a possible 90 dresses.

Thank you to the following donors for helping make the 13 dresses possible:
1) Flor dela Cruz
2) Heyboom shop
3) Monika Osvald
4) Linda Smyth
5) Sash Hinton
6) Jenny F
7) Louise Wright

Thank you ladies. Much appreciated.

What to do...maybe it is time to have a rest for a few days

Today is the 26th of March and in another 5 days the month of March would be gone and I have only made 13 dresses out of a forecasted 31 dresses for the 31 days of March. A lot of unexpected things happening which made it impossible to make one dress a day and I look at it as a sign that maybe I should stop dressing girls for a few days...have a rest!

First, it was my sewing machine. It just wouldnt move, If it does move, the threads are tangled and the sewing machine jams up. And when I started sewing again using my sister's sewing machine, last night I discovered I only had about half-a-metre left of bias tape. it wont even be good enough for one armhole. When was the last time I made bias tapes? cant remember! :-) Looks like ages ago. I did'nt want to make a dress and not finished it so no dress was done since last night. Then I thought maybe I should just print labels. But guess what. two cartridges of my printer has no more ink and usually when there is no more ink, most printers wont work even if the other cartridges still have some ink left. For my printer to work, it needs 5 inks. I didnt force it to print since I didnt want my printer to get damaged. I have ordered rolls of bias tapes this time (as I dont think I will find the time to make them anyway I can buy them at wholesale price) and also have ordered the ink cartridges. The shop I go to did not have the colours I wanted in stock. Without these two very important materials, am kind of paralyzed. Cant do much until I receive the items so I might as well have a rest and re-energized. I am still hoping that I could at least make a dozen dresses before the month of April starts on Easter Monday.

What to do! But I think I am enjoying and having fun overcoming these challenges! 
Here is a link to the 13 dresses I have made so far.

One dress a day for the month of March

Back to Sewing

After missing 12 days this month sewing dresses for my one-dress-a day campaign, I am back again and hope to make up for the missing dresses between now and the end of March. I am still hoping that I would be able to make 31 dresses for the 31 days of March. 31 dresses in honour of the memory of my high school classmates who have left this world quite early.

Last night I did 2 dresses from the fabric donations of Linda Smyth and Monika Osvald and tonight I did a t-shirt dress from the fabric and t-shirt donation of Monika Osvald. Here are the 3 dresses -

Thank you to Monika and Linda for their fabric donations which made these 3 dresses possible. Thanks Heaps!

Back with a bit of vengeance

The terminator said 'I'll be back' in the Terminator movie. Gen Douglas MacArthur said 'I shall return' during WWii to fulfill a promise he made to go back to the Philippines and save them from the Japanese invasion. (I wasnt even born yet :-)). 

Now it is my turn to say 'I am back' with my sister's sewing machine. I will be back to continue on my mission of one-dress-a-day after the Dreamers Market on Saturday, the 16th of March at the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta and aim to catch up and make at least 31 dresses for the 31 days of March.

My sewing machine is broken!

I am broken-hearted. Looks like the bobbin in my sewing machine has finally given up on me after 15 years of sewing just about anything and dresses for the past two years. Last night I spent almost 4 hours making just one dress when it should only be for at least an hour. The bobbin kept tangling the thread and jams up the machine. I tried all possible combination of fixes but nothing seemed to work and I broke two needles. Today I tried to make a dress but unsuccessful and broke 2 needles again in my attempt so I stopped as I didnt want my day to be spoiled because of a bobbin.

Tomorrow I am going to window shop and shop for a new sewing machine. Until such time that I can buy a new sewing machine or have my sewing machine fixed, it will be very quiet and lonely and miserable days here at Dress A Girl Australia.

A little bit of sewing this week

The month of March seems to be going so quickly. I have not been making a dress everyday since the month started. I have only made 5 so far and to think that I am dedicating the dresses I will be making this month to all my high school classmates that have left this world quite early I think I should be making more. :-) Schedule seems to be a bit tight with two markets coming (one next weekend and another in May)

Anyway, could'nt stay away from my best buddy, my sewing machine for too long and here are the dresses I made for Day 66 and 67 (dresses #4 and #5 for this month)

Hope to catch up and make at least 31 for 31 days of March most probably after next weekend.

March dresses dedication

Last week a high school classmate and friend passed away. Actually it was on my sister's birthday, the 21st of February. In memory of her passing and all my other high school classmates who have left this world quite early I am dedicating all the dresses including pairs of shorts I will be making this month of March to them starting with last night's dress. 
This is the first dress I made for the month of March (Day 60) last night -

I want to say thank you in advance to all the donors of the fabrics I will be using in making this remembrance possible this month. Thanks everyone! 

To be updated on my one-dress-a-day project, please click here or click on the '365 Days Diary' tab found at the top of this page and every other page of this blog.

28 Dresses & 4 pairs of shorts for 28 days of February

Today is the last day of February, Day 59/365 for the One-Dress A Day project. Here are the 28 dresses I made for the month and 4 pairs of shorts which I would like to share with everyone and most especially to the donors. With these numbers, it brings my total to 64 dresses and 10 pairs of shorts as of the 28th of February.
Dresses -

Pairs of Shorts -

Thank you very much to the following donors who made these dresses and pairs of shorts possible -
1) Flor dela Cruz
2) Jenny F
3) Linda Smyth
4) Sylvia Lowe
5) Louise Wright and family
6) Penny Grey
and heyboom shop and Mila Elloso for the embellishments.

Tomorrow will be the first day for the month of March and I look forward to the project in March.

Dare to be different....Make a difference!

With the number of emails I have been getting from ladies wanting to make dresses and more dresses this year, I truly believe 2013 is going to be the 'year of living' making a difference if not for some but for all us. 

For at least an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year or whatever makes you happy, join us in a world where every little girl owned at least one dress for each one of us young or old deserves to own at least one. Help make the world a better place to live in. Help make a difference.....with one small dress at a time!

You do not have to be a perfect sewer to help make a difference. For more information, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. Would love to hear from anyone!

Update on One-Dress A Day campaign

Today is the 15th of February and that means we are past the first half of the month. Here are the dresses sewn from Day 32/1st of February to Day 46 which is today. So far I have sewn 15 which brings my total to 51 dresses in 46 days.

I look forward to the second half of February.

Back to one dress a day

After a silent night last night I am back to one dress a day and this is what I made for day 44.

Found more fabrics from my scrapbags which will make good hemlines to the pillowcase dresses I am making. For more on the one-dress a day campaign, please click here or click on the '365 days diary' tab  found at the top of the page.

Still a Dress of Hearts for Day 41/365

To celebrate the season of love this month and most especially on Thursday, I will be posting on this site dresses I have made that are full of hearts. Today is still a dress of hearts for Day 41 of my 'one-dress-a-day' campaign but this time not only at the hemline but also at the top is filled with hearts and the pocket is edging with hearts. The pillowcase was donated by my friend Flor dela Cruz, dress #9 out of 15 pillowcases.

The hearts take away the boring plain colour background of the dress. And not only that. You can feel and smell Love in the air and everywhere you look around on this dress. :-)

Dress of Hearts for Day 40/365 Days

I spent an hour today assessing my fabric scraps as I am thinking of making a lap quilt for Easter and if I had to do it I better start cutting my blocks when I saw this fabric full of hearts about the size of a fat quarter. I thought it is great timing as we are about to celebrate the day of love or valentines day on Thursday, the 14th of February. It would be great to use it on the dresses I make everyday.

So I decided that starting with today's dress until I run out of the fabric heart remnant, I will be using it to embellish the dresses. To start it off, this is Dress #40 for my 'one dress a day' for 365 days campaign. This is a pillowcase donated by my friend Flor dela Cruz and I used the fabric as a pocket and did an appliqued hemline of hearts but only on the front panel. 

Wear your heart(s) on your dress(es) and not on your sleeve.

To check out how I am doing with my 'one dress a day' for 365 days campaign, please click here or click on the '365 Days Diary' tab which can be found at the top of this page.