Wear it in Public Challenge Winners!

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I think I can safely say that this challenge was fun and rewarding for all involved.  I don't want to downplay all the difficulty and frustration many of us faced though.  It's not easy to sew garments that fit our bodies and our sense of style.  It's not easy to find time to sew for ourselves when we have so many other projects piling up in the wings.  But we did it!  It wasn't easy, and sometimes it wasn't fun, but we did it!!!

Special thinks to all you ladies who signed up for this challenge!  Congratulations to all of you who met this challenge!  You all rock!  Let's take one more look at all our lovely entries:

1. Adele refashioned an XL t-shirt into a cute halter top.  I agree with her assessment of the garment, "it's mint"!!!!  Visit Adele's blog and learn more about her refashion HERE.
2. Katie made this cute tank in a flattering shade of blue/teal.  She altered the pattern and added another layer make it a bit longer.  The result is a perfectly finished top with a flirty flair.  Visit Katie's blog and learn about how she met her challenge HERE.
3. June is rocking this pretty frock!  She made this dress with a fun summer print in my favorite color--green!  It looks great with belt and boots, but I imagine it looks good beltless and paired with sandals as well.  Visit June's recently revamped blog and read about her dress HERE.
4. Lee made a few "practice" dresses that I thought were super cute before she came up with this very pretty outfit.  She paired a lovely floral top with a pleated teal skirt.  Visit Lee's blog and learn about fashion journey HERE.
5. Kristin made her first ever garment!  Congrats on making something lovely for yourself!  Visit Kristin's blog and learn more about her top HERE.
6. Kate made this lovely lined chiffon skirt in an hour!  It's even lined!  Visit Kate's blog and read about her entry HERE.
7. Donatella created a wonderful wrap dress and versatile scarf out of a fabulous silk floral.  She looks great in it with her cool pink heels.  Visit Donatella's blog and see how she designed her entry HERE.
8. Lucija has made a lovely skirt.  I bet it flows beautifully as she walks.  Visit Lucija's blog and learn more about her skirt HERE.
9. Mah Lub created this stylish green pencil skirt with a poplin detail.  She really took the "wear it in public" part of the challenge to heart and actually wore it on television!  Learn about her cool skirt HERE.
10. Kei's shirred top was inspired by a top she has hanging in her closet.  She drafted the pattern herself--no easy feat!  She learned the proper way to apply shirring and the result is lovely and really suit her.  Visit Kei's blog and learn about how she constructed her top HERE.
11. KT was inspired by dress she tried on at Target.  She came up with this cute polka dotted dress and wore it to her college graduation.  Congrats on the dress and degree!  Visit Kt's blog and read about her submission HERE.
12. Melody really got into the spirit of this challenge and made a whole outfit.  It's nearly winter where she lives so she made a cozy tunic dress and paired it with sexy lace leggings.  Visit Melody's new blog and learn about her submission HERE.
13. Lana was a last minute entry to our challenge, but we're so pleased she shared her precious Mad Men-inspired dress.  The cutout is very sweet, isn't it?  Visit Lana's blog and read about how she made this dress HERE.
14. Steph took on a whopper of a challenge and ended up with a great new swimsuit.  She had to remake the bottoms a few times--but the resulting finish is superb.  What determination!  Visit Stephanie's blog and learn about her entry HERE.
15. Rikka (that's me!) tried shirring for the first time.  You can read about my dress HERE.
16. Lakshmi made this classy BurdaStyle coat from cotton and lined it in velvet!  The buttons are wood painted silver--clever girl!!!  Visit Lakshmi's blog and read about her challenge submission HERE.
17. Melanie looks terrific in this maxi dress.  It really suits her, doesn't it?  She worked with knits--always a challenge--and finished with style!  Visit Melanie's blog learn about her garment HERE.
18. Mia Jonique didn't have much experience sewing, but that didn't stop her from entering a garment sewing challenge.  She refashion a t-shirt into a nice summer top with a pretty butterfly detail.  Visit Mia Jonique's blog and learn about sewing adventure HERE.
19. Kadie confessed early on that she cut her fabric wrong.  We all have been there--it's so frustrating!  But our Kadie didn't give up, she worked with what she had and finished with style!  You'd never know any mistake was made looking at her finished dress.  Visit Kadie's blog and learn about her dress HERE.
20. Pam has made herself a cool pair of zumba pants.  She's an accomplished seamstress so I imagine it took her a while to find something "new" to challenge herself with .  Visit's Pam's blog and learn about her challenge submission HERE.

I tried something new for the voting portion of this challenge.  I allowed 3 votes per person per day.  That gave us a lot more votes overall, and I think it gave the participants from smaller blogs a better chance.  So without further ado, the 3 projects that received the most votes are:

<div align="center"><a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-will-wear-it-in-public-sewing.html" title="Golden Dress-form Winner!!!" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuPYR9izwOCvuMrAEY0HxNuxsa3psOaOmWst-qa34Vxiz_rk4ou6wWQB1o7aVfEfvhvUMEW8UTFcY-0esO7adolWlpE3VmV262x0lKgclhWgJBuLTHRHQ-bAfTaiVWNC0VMD5CLnGwTQ/s1600/dressformgoldwinner.png" alt="Golden Dress-form Winner!!!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>	Kadie's knit maxi dress!
<div align="center"><a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-will-wear-it-in-public-sewing.html" title="Silver Dress-form Winner!!!" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zalqB807w_xPifh8_g-1TxMXd-f1TKoxMGNXGi0HE8kwYpjDaoHQC1DlX63ig2V-rKl2Mg-uF8CD4JME2gOgFy_gE_R-oYEmAGDrhNBA17NYfAS58Avn3hTRLBkePw58mTd1SbcNKvY/s1600/dressformsilverwinner2.png" alt="Silver Dress-form Winner!!!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>	Lana's heart cut-out dress!
<div align="center"><a href="http://ricochetandaway.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-will-wear-it-in-public-sewing.html" title="Bronze Dress-form Winner!!!" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CkWxHmSklooFJONLEF5LXkYmyDKx80XwcxmgvWmTdn7bVz2TDWpcmKnLJS1GblEVpXud_xm7RQopg5TipuF_UC6vGJr6j494u5hrXFL7JB04lrnHiJ0lACHBFxqhi7YGvty-nNUTS1M/s1600/dressformbronzewinner.png" alt="Bronze Dress-form Winner!!!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>	Kei's shirred top!

Woo-hoo!!!!  Thanks to everyone who participated, all the looky-lous who followed the challenge, and all the voters!  You made this a fun, inspirational, and instructional challenge!  I say this every challenge, but it's true:  When you give a bunch of creative folks the same challenge and see them meet it in so many creative ways, it's almost magical and definitely inspiring.  Thank you so much!

Be sure to check out July's challenge.  Here's the button:

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,