so sometimes i need a break from the bags and the repairs. this particular break ended up like this:
this colette pattern was a total dream to make. i''m so used to hunching over gross manila paper patterns that the visual space on the colette booklet was downright luxurious. the instructions were really clear (no frustration confusion ass aches like from commercial patterns) and it was real easy to adjust the pattern to my relatively uncurvy shape.
i made it with some eye searing pink polyester i had lying around and bought some fucking expensive but lovely cotton print (katie jump rope by denyse schmidt for free spirit) for the contrast.
next time i make this pattern (tomorrow if i have my way) i'll use easier to iron fabric. this poly would not bend for heat or steam so the bust line is a little wonky and the hem is ..*cough*.. a little weird. it was also my first time frigging around with the blind hem stitch. i'll probably unpick it and redo it but for now i'm too excited to wear the damn thing to care too much. i'll also forgo the contrast waist thing. i like the idea of the dress being solid and the top yolk thinger being almost sort of separate.
those small kvetches aside, i can not wait to order more! beignet, watch out. i'ma commin for you.
more fabric for the huge fabric pit i'm transforming the house into:
the red white and blue is a nice thick canvas that i can't wait to make bags of. the green is some kind of 70's poly knit which i wouldn't usually bother with but the green colour was just too nice.
i can't resist the combination of tiny birds and quilting cotton.
and best of all was this bombastic cotton print that i found two meters of. the print is a little too big for a shirt but then the fabric piece is a little too small for ensconcing myself with. i'm open to sugestions.
i have also decided to sacrifice two of my favorite finds to my etsy shop:
the romper that will bring out your inner 12 year old
and an indefatigable tiered knit dress.
i'm weirdly superstitious, not so much of black cats or ladders, but i feel like there's a certain balance that you have to work for, a certain degree of sacrifice that must be made before an endeavor can suceed. and it's not like there's not more eager sacrifices where they came from.
i feel pretty gauche for posing such a banal and blunt question but i'm curious about some sort of consensus among my peers/friends. do you think there's such a thing as a bad person?
a reflective prize ribbon for the after dark gallivanter. after months (or actually years) of frigging around on shitty half working machines it's so satisfying to be able to just make what i want without silly restrictions like crappy feed dogs or stitch skipping. these should be rolling into the etsy shop in a week or so.
i found some strong fabric contenders out at the fripperies (that's francais for thrifty spots):
i'm thinking the light fabric with the little graphic explosions for the main body of the dress, and maybe the lilac flowers for the yolk.
i want to try making bias tape out of the red flowered fabrics. i'm dreaming of sturdy practical bags with the most cavity inflicting sweet liberty-esque piping for contrast.
i also found a motherload of handmade africany blouses:
i love the patterns and the bananas detailing but these shirts were pretty huge and i already have 3 that fit good that i don't wear enough already.
for those of you who don't give a care about sewing, thrifting or the stuff i will or won't wear, thanks for bearing with me
- one of my facebook friends posted this link and i found it pretty breathtaking/heartbreaking/made me start packing my imaginary tool box to go give my run down castle a little bit of elbow grease and a whole lotta love - like everybodys, i'm excited for bruno. i don't know how or if he's going to top the whole naked dash around a conference with manager but i'm jazzed to see him try. - i'm going to my cottage in the annapolis valley from the 2nd of august to the 19th of august. here's what i have planned: 1) i will pack hardly anything so that going to every convievable frenchys will magically become a necessity 2) we have no running water so showering at a nearby campsite and trips to a spring for water will punctuate the days 3) i know there's a bike or two there, but i'm not sure if it's still rideable so i'm packing my bike fixering tools. once the bike is in riding condision i will be biking over the dykes into wolfville for: just us coffee, internetin' (we won't have internet at the cottage, or tv, or maybe even a phone. this makes it sound like we're stranded somewhere deep in the wilderness, but that would be false. we're right on the beach, four cottages down from alex coville, where everyone has running water, indoor toilets, tvs, wifi, and showers. except us.), yard sales and the farmers market. i will also be patroling every bikable dirtroad looking for neat stuff to play with and take pictures of. expect tales of: being chased by ferotuious rabid labradors, outdoor bathroom emergencies and falling into ditches trying to avoid bees 4) cooking with fire. we still have managed to retain electricity at the cottage but it's all about the campfire or the wood stove. even old sneakers taste fantastic when cooked over coals just after twilight. 5) three pools. i'm not sure it's even there or accessable but there are few places on earth as gorgous as these three ice cold pools sunk deep into a crevace of pine trees. 6) we're planing on jacking up the cottage. my dad used to do this every year so now after 6 years it must be done. i really hope we don't break the cottage or that it doesn't fall on me, but i think that would be an ok way to go. most people pay other people to do this but the whidden in me won't stand to give someone money for something we could haphazardly do ourselves. on top of which they want an awful lot of money. 7) swiming/canoeing/walking/exploing the beach. evangeline beach has the second lowest tide in the world. it always brings out the 12 year old in me whether it's from trying to catch swallows or sand pipers, to charting he tide pools or invading nearby islands, i can't think of a better place to be.
