Dreaming of Dresses

It's almost time for Kids Clothes Week and I am dreaming...mostly of dresses.  And maybe about pajamas, tops and shorts...but let's start with the dresses.

Last weekend one of my favorite fabric stores that specialize in apparel fabrics was having their annual anniversary sale.  I went in with no list or plan and left feeling so inspired.  Look at these beauties:

I started having visions of sweet simple dresses, soft and flowing and plenty comfortable for playing and walks and reading and going on adventures or just staying home and hanging out.

I ended up with two Anna Maria Horner Field Study prints; one a rayon challis and the other a cotton voile.  First up the rayon.  I love the white polka dots over this print and the mustard color feels perfect for a late summer / fall outfit - maybe a dress paired with some dark brown boots?

The cotton voile I ended up pairing with some Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Black:

My first thought was again for a fall outfit, with a top such as the Ayashe blouse made from the voile and pants from the linen, but I could see this also being very cute as a tank or short-sleeved top and shorts for summer...

My favorite fabric is this pretty blue Amy Butler Cameo voile; it goes with my daughter's eyes just perfectly - so of course I want to find the perfect pattern for it.  I bought the last three yards on the bolt so I can make a dress for now and still have fabric left for another outfit down the road.

I also bought a couple yards of this fox print; my daughter loved it and so far has asked for a blanket, skirt and dress to be made from it.  My thoughts?  One article of clothing, with the scraps going into a quilt, and I got the tree fabric from the same line to save for the quilt:

In looking at patterns for all these lovelies, these are at the top of my list:

The Roller Skate dress from Oliver+S.  There are some beautiful versions of this in their Flickr pool.  Here are a few of my favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sissysuetutu/8536817151/in/pool-694451@N21/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52761227@N04/8547440050/in/pool-oliverands
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32928869@N05/8578027473/in/pool-oliverands
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janice4839/8586793196/in/pool-oliverands

The Geranium dress from Made by Rae.
A couple of my favorites:
http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2013/01/lotta-geranium-dress.html
http://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/84202

The Tea Party dress from Oliver+S (thinking the fox print for the bodice with something else for the skirt, but not sure yet).
Sidenote: Check out the Alabama Chanin-style versions of this dress; definitely on my someday list.

And now I have to put all this aside to focus this week on finishing quilting a big project and getting done my next block for block-of-the-month...