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A dress, and Food Friday

 I have been spending entirely too much time on making this dress for my great-niece

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I made it sort of following a vintage little girl dress pattern from the 1980s. The front bodice piece was missing from the pattern envelope so I faked a replacement.


The fabric is a sweater knit that I had purchased for making dresses for the little girls in my life. The bodice and the cuffs are lined in soft knits.


The lace collar comes from the stash that had belonged to my friend's mother. The father of the little girl who will be getting this dress knew the owner of the lace collars.




 

My goal in making dresses for little girls is that they feel as comfy as play clothes but be the sort of garment you might put on a little girl to have a fancy lunch with her elderly great aunt.


The neckline was a little wide so I added some elastic to the back neckline. The dress will still be easy to pull over a head but won't be a torment to put on. I still remember my terror of putting on a tight turtleneck when I was little.

I will ship out this dress next week. 


Today is Friday and Shabbat dinner needed to get made.  I had two giant zucchini in our fridge. I shredded them up and put them under the chicken. I coated the chicken with za'atar and added the juice of a big lemon.


I then took the zucchini which looked not all that attractive but did taste amazing



and added cut up potatoes, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the pan.


The pan went back into the oven and now looks like this.



I stopped myself from nibbling. If I had no self-control I would just eat the whole pan leaving nothing for Shabbat dinner.


Shabbat Shalom!



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