new combinations, and new-to-you dresses

For MMJ day 10, wearing the new-for-SSS blouse, seen here, with the skirt portion of the mustard green ensemble seen here. It works.

What really makes the outfit here is the necklace. It was made for me by a friend (thanks, Liz!) and it's a clear, flat marble, backed with a cute print of a bird. Instead of a chain, there is a dark brown ribbon, tied in a bow just above the marble. I should get a close-up so you can see this. I felt totally blah about this whole outfit until I tied that ribbon around my neck.

Later in the day, I swapped out the skirt for my pale chambray pants seen here, and it was off on the garden tour!

MMJ Day 11, ready for a full day of touring gardens* (starting with a 4 hr volunteer shift at the Mott garden, but as that one included the amazing house as well, the time was well spent).

I wore my "modesty pants" today, though I usually do just wear the dress by itself. I knew I'd be getting in and out of the car a lot, and I just felt like a little extra coverage would be nice. Dress is NL6610 (not the current one - link is correct - New Look re-uses numbers really quickly), made in a super-comfy lightweight seersucker. (Satchel is also me-made. My own design based on looking at a ready-made item.)

I lengthened the dress a couple inches (I'm tall), but to do that, I found I'd need a little more fabric. By the time I was cutting it out, though, I'd forgotten where it came from. I carried it around from store to store asking if it was from their stock, and explaining that I needed less than 1/2 yd more, so a remnant would do, if they had one. I was about to lose hope, when I spied the remnant I needed at WalMart. Walmart? No wonder I couldn't remember. Sure, I find some cute stuff there, especially in the "bargain" fabrics. I just didn't remember that this one came from there.
My plaids are matched anywhere and everywhere they could be, and I can prove it:

Washes up beautifully, no ironing necessary, except occasionally on the buttonhole side of the front opening where it can develop a bit of a crease.
I want to make this dress about a hundred more times.

Day 12, wearing one of my favorite dresses ever, which I can't believe I didn't wear in September!

I always get lots of compliments while wearing this dress. And not just off-hand, either. I've had ladies make their way through a crowd to tell me how much they love my dress. Since I love it, too, I have no problem accepting the compliment with a genuine smile and a sincere thank you!

I was in Hancock Fabrics one day, and this print just about jumped out at me (you can see why), nearby there was a texture-woven solid orange that matched exactly. A quick browse through the pattern catalogs, and I knew just the look I wanted: S3797 (just barely oop), but I didn't want the sleeveless dress. Another look through, with an eye for the silhouette of the dress, and I was all set!
Dress is S4014, which you can see has the same basic lines. (Solid orange jacket is cut from the inspiration pattern, and I expect it will look fabulous when I'm done.) The dress is fully lined, but I don't feel justified counting that as a second me-made. Instead, I give you some of my home-grown roses in the background. That is all one bush behind me, spanning an area about 8 ft wide, and grown to a height of roughly 6 ft or so. It's called "Iceberg" and has a lovely, delicate scent. I planted this one about a dozen years back, after seeing one on the garden tour that was about 5 ft wide by 7 ft tall. It's basically a no-maintenance rose. Otherwise, it wouldn't still be here.

*more on the garden tour later, probably