would you go braless in the woods?

Camping?  You know I love tent camping with a passion. I even like a pretty campsite. But when this came in my email yesterday, I just had to chuckle a little.

The Burda Campfire Chic Collection.

Truth be told, I secretly wish I could camp like this. But camping with a man puts the kibosh on the whole pretty glamping thing.  And actually, chilly nights, rain, mosquitoes, hiking and kayaking can also put a damper on this whole scenario.

I'm lucky I get to hang pretty banners at our campsite. And that my camp decor is color coordinated.

But I admit, the idea of pretty floral chair and ottoman covers excites me.

Even though I'm roughing it when we camp,  I can tell you without a doubt that I would not be going braless in the woods. And this skirt?  Have you ever had a mosquito bite on your tush? (Actually, I'm kind of loving that little lantern thingy in the background...might have to steal that idea.)

I do like this dress/cover-up thing. Might be nice for poolside, but where we camp, an old t shirt will suffice!

 Speaking of swimwear, did I ever tell you about the time my mother made me a bikini? It wasn't crocheted, she sewed it. We were so proud of that bikini she made. I wore it for the first time when we were camping with a big group of friends and family. I swam out to a floating dock, and when I jumped up on that dock, my bikini bottom stayed behind. Mom forgot to use bathing suit elastic that didn't stretch when wet!

This is cute. Very cute. I wouldn't wear it in the wild, but I would wear it at home. My husband might disagree, complaining this a close cousin to a mumu.

But I'm thinking I might need this. Soon.

Okay, so I'm getting to the question I really had on my mind...I love Burda patterns. I don't like to trace. Even more, I don't like taping patterns together. As more and more indie designers are making their patterns available online, I'm finding that I'm less and less likely to download a more complicated pattern because of all the taping.  Not long ago, I ordered a Burda pattern for a robe. Of course, it took two reams of paper because of the length, and two hours for me to tape the pieces together. It's still sitting in my sewing room all taped up, not sewn. I think I lost steam and just put it aside for another day...another month...another year.  I'm looking at that pattern above and thinking about how much I love it, but how much time it's going to take before I even start to sew. That's just me. It sort of takes the "instant" out of "instant." So, I'll browse around the Big 4 and see if there is something comparable.

What do you think about those downloadable PDF patterns? Do you use them?


(after writing this post, I was emailing with Lori yesterday about Scout Woven Tee, and what do you think I did? Of course, I bought the PDF and printed it!