Robin's Egg Blue

As soon as you read my title, you had an image of the color in your mind, didn't you. That gorgeous color that isn't quite blue, isn't quite green. I suppose I had seen an actual robin's egg somewhere along the line, but in my mind's eye, it wasn't quite so vivid.



I had planned to get a load of mulch in our truck at some point in the next couple weeks, because I have been doing WAY too much weeding. After building our house 3 years ago, we finally had the time to put in some gardens and a lawn this year. The gardens are taking off, but need a load of mulch, and it's just the job for our old rusty truck. But there's one problem...



A momma robin has decided that the wheel well is the perfect place for her nest. My husband first noticed it this afternoon, while doing some projects outside. My daughter and I came running, and couldn't believe that this little bird would find a truck tire to be a hospitable place, but I suppose there's no accounting for reason and logic. We decided to see if there were any eggs in there, and when we pulled it out, lo and behold, three perfectly beautiful eggs.



What to do...

We need our truck, but we love the birds. I decided to do a little research this afternoon. Could we move the nest? Apparently not. When the robins are building the nest, they memorize every aspect of it; not only its location, but also the materials and the placement of them. Not unlike us! So, we've decided they can stay, and I'll be doing a lot more weeding this summer.





And we promise we won't disturb those little eggs again, even just to look at the color...tweet tweet.

Coming to you from my home in New Hampshire, ~Melissa

Craft Show Verticality...

I've always heard, and thought too, that the best craft show displays take advantage of height. "Think vertical", they'll say. And it's really true. There is only so much space on a table, and if you have a lot of product, like me, you have to use the ether above if you're going to fit it all on that 3'x6' table. Not only that, but using various heights forces your eye to travel around and take in everything that's there.



So that is precisely what I did. I've been thinking about how to incorporate more vertical displays, but just wasn't sure how to go about doing it. When I've gone to other shows lately, I find myself getting sucked into looking more at the displays than the actual items! I get into this analytical mode and think, "Does this draw me in? Does it complement the product? What about the lighting? Is it practical?" When I see a booth that I particularly like, I try to figure out what it is about the display that appeals to me. Is it the product itself or the feeling of the booth? And hey, next time you need an excuse to go to a craft show, just say it's for market research!



A few times I'd seen these dowel structures for holding a knitted sweater, or something of that ilk up off the table. I have always liked the way it looked and decided to make a few of my own. I used two sizes of dowel, one 7/8" and the other 1 1/8". In the larger dowel I drilled a hole 7/8" in diameter right through the middle (this was more or less successful, but be careful not to go through the side of the dowel!) Then I slid it down the smaller dowel and screwed it in to where I wanted it. I then purchased 3 wooden balls and drilled a hole in the bottom of them to put on top of the crossed dowels. Perfect for hats!! I made sure to cover those with fabric just in case I sold out of my hats. I painted them up, and as a base my kind husband chainsawed six birch logs into bases that I drilled for a stand. They are sturdy and earthy and heavy enough not to blow over. Very cool. I painted just the tops of those white, and left the bark au naturel.



I also found this cute little child's chair, for a doll really, in a local antiques shop. It was the inspiration to use for my blouses and skirts. In the past I had all my skirts in the vintage suitcase (which I still love), but I wanted a better way of displaying some of my blouses with the skirts and pants so shoppers could see some of the mix and match options. It was the perfect centerpiece for my favorite outfit, "dainty daisies".



At the last minute I grabbed an old plant stand that had been my grandmother's, and some cake plates to use for my pony tail holders. I love the sort of vintage-y look of it even though it's got a bit of rust. The cake plates were great for elevating and corralling my little covered buttons (they have a life of their own), and also another way of getting those little things up off the table. The plant stand was great for a few other odds and ends like matching bloomers and a pair of pants or two.



You've all seen my antique drying rack before, but it is the neatest thing. It collapses down into nothing, is lightweight, and you can see the dresses because they face out on the rack. It's truly perfect. I found mine on ebay of all places, so maybe there's another one out there for you...



Overall, I wouldn't change a thing with my display. I was completely thrilled with how it looked. I probably need a few more weights just in case things get a little more breezy (that drying rack for instance needs some help when it gets windy). Oh, I know things evolve, and I'll probably have other ideas, but it was very gratifying to see it all come together and get such positive feedback from my customers.

P.S. Coming to you this morning from Fairbanks, Alaska. ~Melissa

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...