8 posts tagged “fabric”
(The title of this post brought to you by this beautiful SNL skit.)
Do I have enough fabric? Hmm. Let's see here. One bin of odds and ends--wools, silks, corduroys. One bin of solid colored cottons. 4 bins of various colored printed cottons. The need for one bin more to hold the black, white, and gray prints. (The bins are each 18" wide by 24" long by 7" deep.) A large stack of flannels on top of my cabinet. One would think that indeed, I have enough fabric. Enough for what, I don't really know. Several quilts? Copious dresses? A roomful of handbags, aprons, and various craft projects? Yes, probably all of that, with quite a bit left over.
But still, the stash grows. And grows and grows and grows. Most of it is purchased with very good intentions. I will buy this to make that new dress, I say to myself while gripping a particularly appealing bolt. And this one will go into a baby quilt for my friend's new baby. And this one will be perfect in a scrappy scarf. And so it goes on and on, until my cart is filled to overflowing and the ladies at the cutting counter see me coming and quietly argue who gets to take their lunch break right at that moment.
But then, even by the time I get it home, the good intentions get pushed out of the way by life's demands, and soon the fabric is tucked away neatly in its color-coded bin, and I am doing that big stack of dishes, headed off to my day job, or working on a paper for school. It may seem like I have forgotten already about all of those things I had in mind, but oh, I never have. I remember every dress, every baby blanket, every apron or scarf that I originally had in mind when I put that bolt in my cart. And it keeps me sane. It reminds me that I am more than the dishes and the day job and the schoolwork. And that makes me happy.
It is only a few hours into the weekend and I feel better already. Kelly is at work for a little bit today, so I had time to finish making this little ditty that I started quite some time ago. It's a little capelet that will be perfect for covering up those sleeveless dresses when spring finally rolls around. (Is that what you call it? A capelet? The pattern envelope just calls it a cover up.) It was a very gratifying, quick project to make after all of the holiday hubub.
And, both Kelly and my mom-in-law just called and when I told them that I was making a cape, both of their replies were, "A cake? Mmm...what kind?" Hee. Wishful thinking. :)
After a week of this.....
And this....
I am totally ready for a little bit of this.
The stress has been nonstop for a few solid weeks, but as of this evening, all of my school finals are taken, all of the Christmas presents have been mailed out to their respective recipients, and I'm off work for a few days. I'm exhausted, and rightfully so. But I'm looking forward to a little r&r over the holiday, possibly to include a little sewing time (fun stuff, not work stuff), a movie or two taken in with my favorite someone, and fondue for Christmas Eve dinner.
And maybe, if I am lucky, a little bit of this.
It has been sunny, beautiful, and cold here today. I don't mind the rain so much, but I was actually getting pretty tired of the 60 degree weather we'd been having. I mean, this is Maine! In November/December! Bring on the winter.
So I haven't showered, done homework, or left the house yet today, but I did do something I have been meaning to do for weeks: cleaned my sewing/crafting area.
I can't believe I didn't take pictures of the space before it was cleaned. It was unbelievable. Sometimes if we are trying to clean the rest of the house, all of the random crap that is lying around the rest of the rooms gets stashed back here.
So now that it's cleaned, my goal is to keep it clean. It is so much easier to craft when I don't have to dig through piles of stuff to find what I need. It also actually makes me want to use the space, instead of just avoiding my projects. Maybe I'll actually get the 700 projects I had planned for Christmas done now...then again, maybe not. ;)
Remember this post in which I declared that I would make my first-ever dress from a store-bought pattern? Okay, so it's been 4 months, but hey, I finally finished it!
I'll admit that it took me so long mostly because I was so intimidated by using a pattern (when I sew--including clothing--I usually just wing it), but one day I just decided that I was going to plow through the instructions and make up stuff to compensate for stuff I didn't understand. If you look closely, you can definetly see the wonky parts, but overall, it's definitely wearable and pretty cute.
I decided to make it in the green fabric because I had lots of it, but didn't love it, so I decided it would be okay if I messed up on it. I am saving the gray and pink fabric that I showed in the first post for my 2nd (and hopefully improved) try.
And this is the part where I tell you that next time I make it, I will let out the waist a little. This dress was clearly designed for girls who actually have waists, unlike myself and my chubby boyish belly. When I first put it on, I nearly split the seams laughing over Kelly's first reaction, in which she looked the dress over, studied my midsection, paused, and said, "Maybe you should do a few crunches." Hee. I couldn't have said it better myself.
What do you collect?
Fabric, fabric, fabric. Hmm, let's see. If you have ever been into my house you will know that fabric is everywhere in it--I frame it like it's a picture, cover furniture in it, make household items out of it (placemats, napkins, curtains, etc.), make quilts, sew clothing, make gifts out of it, and on and on and on. Pretty much if you ask me what the meaning of life is at any given time, I will probably reply, "Fabric."
Oh, and also, magazines & books, Melmac dishes & cups, vintage plates, vintage hankies & scarves, old sewing paraphernalia, and last but not least, hair products. Okay, so that last one is more of an addiction than a collection. Hmm. Whatever.
I also *love* knowing what other people collect, because when I go thrifting and garage-saling, I like to keep my eyes out for them for those little gems for their collection that I know they'd just love. Comments welcome. Hint, hint. ;)
All I want to do lately is sew, listen to Elvis songs, and cook. In that order. I have been seriously contemplating calling out of work every morning so I can stay home to do these things. I haven't done it yet, but the time may be coming when I do.
Last night, instead of doing my homework, I made the teeny tiny housewarming present that I had been envisioning for a certain someone . It turned out so cute that I almost died, and had to fight the urge to keep it for myself. (I hope she likes it that much, too!) And it involved sewing, and fabric, and I listened to Elvis tunes while I was making it, therefore putting me into a state of near giddiness. And right before that, I spent a few hours in the kitchen making smashed potatoes and a meatloaf. Yes, my friends, yesterday was a good day.
After receiving an invite from the lovely Erin, I decided to come see for myself what all of this vox craziness was about. And now, here I am. As Erin said, it's just like Livejournal, but for big kids. Hee.
I am about to foray into making a dress using a real pattern, with the materials shown in the picture. I am so, so excited about this, and although I am a bit slow when it comes to following a pattern, I still have hope that it will turn out to be the vintage-y dress of my dreams. (And maybe even be wearable.)
Speaking of making clothes, Kelly is in the other room watching the first season of Project Runway on dvd. She is even more addicted than I am! I can't believe I didn't know about this show before. We pretty much live tucked away in a cave, surrounded by schoolwork and regular work and housework, secluded from the mystic outside world of cable television and wireless internet and all other modern technologies. But aw, hell, I know how to use a sewing machine. I guess that's what's important.
