Fabric in Unexpected Places

I found some great fabric the last two weeks in unexpected places. The bottom two came from an antique store in Galesville, MD. I always mean to stop there after lunch at my uncles restaurant but never seem to. Shameless plug here: my uncles restaurant has the most wonderful view, the restaurant is on a pier and the food is terrific. Stop by for crabs if you are ever in Maryland. Anyway my niece was in town and the antique store happened to be open after we had lunch. I found this funky pink and green floral upholstery fabric and a vintage cotton with a kitchen herb print. That upholstery fabric is just calling out to be a foot stool in Lenora's room. The other fabric is this amazing cotton/silk blend I found at Joann fabrics. I am usually not a fan of their apparel fabrics as they are mostly synthetic but this stuff is great. It's buttery soft and drapes nicely. I can't wait to make a breezy summer shirt from it.

Just for kicks here is a shot of my hot mess of a backyard. We live in a town home so there is not much space for gardening, especially since our entire yard is a deck. This year we planted tons of herbs in planter boxes. That is my basil in the back after I made the mother load of pesto last night to freeze for the winter. There are peppers hiding behind the bench and in the front is mint. The dill did not fare so well but I think that is partly due to the heat and my friends dog peed on it. Burnt right up. Note to self, do not leave large dogs on deck unattended.

Sew Deer To Me

This time next week I will be back at work, sitting at a desk, wishing I was home with baby Lenora. I am trying not to have a major mental breakdown. To keep those nasty work thoughts at bay I made this little dress. The fabrics are Jay Mccarroll prints for Free Spirit. I love the little pink dear and mushrooms.

On a side note Jay critiqued my senior fashion collection at Phila U. Maybe one day I will share those pictures (not of Jay, but of the collection).

The pattern is Butterick 3846 bought at Joann's at the recent pattern sale. I liked it so much I purchased both sizes. I wanted the dress to be reversible so instead of hand-stitching the openings closed I top stitched the entire dress.

I swear there is an easier way to stitch and flip this baby right side out. Its not complicated at all to make but sewing the side seams is weird to me. Maybe if you left the opening at the bottom hem, instead of the side seams it might be easier. I am going to play around with it on the next dress. I have a feeling there are many more of these to come for Lenora.

Sewing Pitfalls

I have always said my sewing room is off limits to imposed cleaning requirements. When the mood strikes I may tidy, sweep, or de-fuzz. Creativity must be allowed to happen regardless of the mess. It is no pigsty but I have been known to throw my threads and bits of fabric on the floor when I am in a sewing groove. It just happens. Lets not talk about the quilting pins scattered throughout the house and pushed into the arms of the couch. There is a needle in there somewhere I have not been able to find yet. However when you let creativity just happen, this happens....

This is the wheel to my rolly chair. I slide all over the basement, from the computer to the iron to the sewing machine, picking up all those threads I have been known to throw on the floor.

And this is my husband picking the thread out of the wheels cursing my no imposed cleaning rule. What can you do?