{Riley Blake Designs} Noah's Ark by Shawn Wallace

"The rainbow reminds you... I will keep this promise forever"  - Genesis 9:13

Happy St. Patrick's Day and welcome to "Two-fer Tuesday"... If you're an early riser, you may have seen my other post which is my entry in Week 1 for Project Run and Play!!  I'm so glad I have sewing to give a creative outlet right now as the world has turned on its side in literally the last few days.  I'm praying for a rainbow at the end of all this. This collection came at the perfect time and is a gentle reminder that everything will be okay.

When I first saw the Noah's Ark Collection by Shawn Wallace for Riley Blake Designs, I thought it was so super cute and would look so perfect in my preschool classroom (our school logo is Noah's Ark).  Of course, I specialize in clothing for my girls so my 9 year old helped me select a couple prints for a "twirly" dress for herself (because is a dress even worth making if it's not twirly?)  The collection comes in a navy, light blue or white background and features Noah's ark, his animals, rainbows and raindrops.   There is also a panel on 3 colorways, along with a couple prints on green and one on red which is perfect for mixing and matching.

I had a feeling my daughter would choose the rainbow print and she did!  She chose Noah's Ark Promise in Blue and selected Noah's Ark Raindrops in White as an accent.

When I ordered the fabrics, my daughter and I had another pattern in mind, but last week, the most perfect dress pattern released and I loved sewing it so much the first time around that I couldn't help but sew up another.  This is Carmelo by Little Lizard King!  I was glad I ordered enough of my main print that I could make the skirt as twirly as it could get and sew up the tiered skirt.

I tried out the pockets too!  She loved that they were so big.  I love that they are scooped out of the front piece because sometimes my girls have a hard time finding them on the side seams.

I love the weight of Riley Blake Woven.  It's the perfect mixture of softness and nice weight to it.  It always washes nicely and irons up well too!

This back gets me every time.  I chose the scalloped back because it reminded me of the clouds.  I added a pop of green with the lace zipper (I have 20 colors so it was hard to choose...thanks Amazon - HA!) I used the Raindrops in White for the back bodice side panels as well as the lining.

She, of course, loves the twirl so it was worth all the hand gathering to make it happen!!  What's is your go-to method for gathers?

Thank you Riley Blake Designs and Shawn Wallace -- this fabric is adorable and is the perfect reminder that we shall weather the storm.  Hopefully there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!! We will all need it!