Coming Soon to a Tent Near You...

Can't wait!!! Thanks to muchachaK, aka Katy Brown for all of her hard work in organizing this weekly market in downtown Concord, NH!! Go team!!

Pattern Re-tinkered...

Believe it or not, I'm actually home in New Hampshire at the moment. At least until Saturday! So I just wasn't happy with the pattern I turned out last week. I liked the overall concept, but I wanted to tinker with the gathering and the back bodice. I'm happy to report that while I was in Detroit over the weekend, I pulled it out and worked on a fix!



The result in blue! I changed the fabric from the heavier home dec weight to a light cotton from Kaffe Fassett, one of my favorite designers. I tried to use this fabric before for my daughter, but made the dress way too small. This time she declared, "it fits perfectly!", and it does. Best thing for her is the twirly factor of course.



The changes I made are subtle, but made a big difference. I added gathering on the front skirt, took out some fullness in the back bodice, and added piping all the way around the seam between the bodice and the skirt. I briefly considered putting rickrack on the lower band, but decided against it. There is so much pattern in the fabric that it didn't really need anything else!



My daughter has been happily wearing her new dress all day, so looks like it's a keeper! Nothing looks crisper in the summer than classic blue and white. I guess I'll have to make another one for my upcoming show in a little over one week! Yipes! Off to get dirty making cement tent weights. Argh...

Pattern in Progress...

In order to stay productive while I'm on the road, I try to do things that take lots of time, but that don't require scissors!! Alas, TSA isn't real keen on 8" dressmakers. So, my solution is to bring tracing paper, a small ruler, and a few basic patterns that I use to create new ones. Last week I decided to take the tea party dress and change things up.



So, here I am in Orlando, and am mulling over some changes I want to make this week to the pattern I created last week. I've been toying with the idea of crossover straps in the back of a sundress for awhile. I wanted something easy to wear and comfortable. To that end I decided to elasticize the back. I took the front of the tea party bodice, and made it all one piece and then added two straps that button in the back. The back is just a simple rectangle with some extra width to make it easy to pull on and off.



I'm thinking that I added too much "ease" in the back so I'll be making the back width about 2" smaller in this next incarnation. I'm also thinking that the dress is a little schizofrenic in that the front skirt doesn't have any extra fullness, but the back does. So back to the drawing board, except I can't decide whether I want to make a gathered front, or a flat back!! Decisions, decisions. My daughter may have the final say though because she was rather upset that her dress wasn't "twirly"! Ah, the whims of 4 year old girls...



You can see that the bodice has a small curve on the front. This is a perfect place to put a little piping (ah, you know I can't resist). In this case I chose a deep aqua whipstitch piping, and in the next phase I'm going to put this all the way around the back too. I also might add a little bit of rickrack to the bottom of the skirt where it meets the band...or maybe some ribbon...you can never have too many details. Well, you can, but you know what I mean.





In this last picture you can see what I mean by schizo. I love the overall shape of this dress, but I think it needs to either be gathered all the way around, or flat all the way around. Now that I think about it, I'm going to do both. I think that with the heavier home dec fabric that I used here from Anna Maria Horner's drawing room collection, it should probably be flat all the way around. When I make a gathered style, I'll use a lighter weight cotton so that the fullness isn't as heavy.



Either way, I'll be making this a little shorter. I have a tendency to err on the side of longer length because they grow so fast! But sometimes I think it's easier for girls to wear dresses if they don't get in the way of playtime. Because really that's what it's all about anyway...

Fabric Inspiration

I wish I had had enough time to put together the combinations I have planned in my mind with these fabrics. But let's just say it's been a heck of a week.



I got home from my trip at 2am Tuesday. My daughter decided it was a good idea to wake up at 6:45am, something she never does. I tried to shake out the cobwebs all morning, but neglected to remember that I had brought my sewing machine down to be tuned up the previous Thursday. I didn't even venture into my studio for fear of screwing something up. So we decided to spend the day outside, doing a little physical labor stacking wood. I was ready for a day of sewing on Wednesday.

I went to my studio first thing in the morning to discover that indeed my sewing machine didn't sprout wings and it was a good 40 minute drive to go pick it up. It was still early and I decided I could still salvage a bit of sewing time if I scooted down and back. Yes, you guessed it, it wasn't meant to be. A flat rear tire greeted me at my car! After changing the tire, going to the mechanic, receiving the bad news that it couldn't be saved and I would need 4 new tires (!), I decided to stay at home until I had to pick up my child at pre-school and cut, cut, cut. At least I have 5 dresses cut out and waiting for me when I get home again.

After picking it up Wednesday afternoon, I sat down to get busy early Thursday morning. And IT DIDN'T WORK! It's a conspiracy. So, back down to the repairman. Share your sewing machine tales of woe, it will make me feel a lot better...





So these are the fabrics I picked up last week at G Street. The silk chiffon is going to become a skirt for me! And the green bird fabric from Etsuko Furuya is a total favorite. I picked it up in Portland on the same trip. You should have seen me schlepping about 10 yards of fabric around for 3 days! It wasn't pretty. The orange nubby cotton is very sheer and will be used for accents. The pink herringbone is heavier, and will most likely become a yoke, and the purple cotton/poly blend will be the basis for some fun skirts.

That's right, I'm already thinking about fabrics for fall! It's really hard when the warm weather is just around the corner, but if I don't plan now, I'll be scrambling in July. When I decide on combos, I'll give you all a sneak peek.

The other thing I've been thinking about lately is the CPSIA labeling requirements that will become effective in August. So, more about that soon. Happy Sewing!!

Fabric Store Blues...

Well, only sort of. I actually scored some beautiful fabrics (pictures will be forthcoming, I promise) today at G Street Fabrics just outside of Washington, D.C.. But it has really changed from the last time I was there which, in all honesty, is about 10 years ago.

That being said, I found some amazing textured fabrics, one in pink herringbone, which I can't wait to use, some cotton jersey in apple green and pink, and the most wonderful nubby orange lightweight cotton that I'll use as an accent here and there. I was also on the lookout for a coordinate to a couple of Japanese fabrics I recently ordered. I'll sneak peek it for you as soon as I get the bolts, but they take a little time...

I spent 3 hours at the fabric store today. Unencumbered by my child and knowing that I had all afternoon there, I spent the first 30 minutes scoping the place out. Next thing was to hone in on some beautiful textured cottons. Finally, I wound up talking to an incredibly helpful employee of the store, Lucia. She was the buyer for at least 15 years, and largely responsible for the amazing selection and quality. And here's where the blues come in. She told me that many, many suppliers in Europe have closed. Beautiful European laces, batistes, piques, etc. are all gone. While the selection of fabrics for seamstresses is still the best outside of New York, I missed touching all those wonderful bolts that I remembered. Oh, I know it's easier and cheaper to buy ready-to-wear, but being the tactile person that I am, I really miss having great quality fabric stores in every town. Sigh...

Anyway, if you go to G Street, ask for Lucia, and be prepared to walk out with way more fabric than you intended to purchase! She talked me into buying a couple yards of a gorgeous silk chiffon print that I have absolutely no idea what to do with!! But I'm sure I'll think of something...