Pinterest Pots

Big news from 3 months ago...we got engaged!  In a beautiful historic park.  Other big news...we moved! To a beautiful historic home facing said historic park.  So naturally, I wanted to begin a little herb garden.  And what do herb gardens need, but pots.

"Flower pot" is one of my favorite search terms on Pinterest.  I've been particularly enamored with chalkboard pots - so the name of each herb can be scrawled on front.  I found these little metal buckets at Home Depot and painted a thick band around the middle.  For whatever reason, the only chalk available was giant sized children's sidewalk chalk, so I couldn't quite scrawl - had to go with more of a neat print. 

Now I just move the pots around, still figuring out where I think they look the cutest. 

My second flower pot project (also a Pinterest find) involved a couple of fat quarters of fabric and Mod Podge.  So far I've covered a 2-inch pot and a 4-inch pot.  I ended up wasting quite a bit of fabric as I wrapped the pots, so I'm working on a pattern for both sizes before I wrap the rest.
 
I've been keeping cards and papers I need for wedding planning in the bigger pot.  I'm thinking about a candle for the smaller pot.  For now, they are a great alternative center piece for our new dining room table!

Presents from Egypt

Over the summer, Gus went on a whirlwind adventure to Egypt - touring the pyramids, the white desert, the Nile.  While sleeping in a dorm at my summer job, I awoke to a text from him at 4:30am - a picture of his head in front of the Sphinx.  You can imagine my jealously.

But leave it to Gus...all my jealously evaporated when he arrived home and showered me with gifts... most of them of the fabric variety!  This fantastic printed fresco fabric has the feeling of lightweight cotton, but is considerably more durable.  Fresco is a very lightweight wool...I found a good description at The Gentleman's Gazette.  I guess its no surprise that Egyptians have perfected hot weather fabrics.  Sorry this picture is so yellow.

My current philosophy of sewing patterns is to choose something with elements I haven't tried before.  With that in mind, it was time to add a wrap dress to my repertoire.

Pattern: Vogue 8646

Fabric: Fresco, gift

Belt: Banana Republic

Closure: Tie on the inside panel, hook and eye on the outside panel.

I finished this dress last Saturday and I've already worn it twice.  It debuted at the Ira Glass event at LSU on Sunday night.  Three cheers for public radio!  Then I wore the dress to school on Monday (the day before Hurricane Isaac put us out for a week.)  It did very well in the humidity.  I did have to pin the neckline together.  I plan to add a snap at the neckline to keep it in place without worry.

I'm excited that my sewing fluency is growing.  I was happy to be able to look at this fabric and decide what to make with it - sans agonizing over pattern choices and worrying about the quality of the finished product.  Now if only I could get my blog background to stop changing to random things...

Tutorial: Hand Washing Silk

I’ve been so excited about my new silk, fantasizing about the perfect blouses and dresses I will make out of the three pieces. So excited, in fact, that I shocked myself when my mind turned to prepping the fabric for sewing and I realized I didn’t know how to clean it.

Of course, I turned to the trusty internets and found several recommendations. Here is the information I culled from those articles, in a pictorial step-by-step:

1. TEST IT! Use cold water ONLY.

2. THUMBS UP! Move on to the whole piece. Have a hanger ready for dripping dry!

DRAIN IT! RINSE IT!

TIPS: Only use a tiny bit of Woolite.

The silk dried wonderfully. I used a cool iron on it to get the wrinkles out. Now it's ready to become Sencha! We'll see if that happens soon. I'm simultaneously working on the Bombshell Dress for the Sew Retro online class (see button in side bar) and a version of my Palindrome Dress for BFF, S. Not to mention being repeatedly out of town for weddings! Minneapolis this Thursday...yikes!

Silk and Bathtubs: Trip to NYC

Just a few days ago, I returned from an amazing trip to NYC. Gus and I were there to attend a wedding... but many other antics ensued! Here are some highlights.


WE STAYED IN AN ANTIQUE TENEMENT BUILDING


No, no. Not a cool historic hotel. Merely a building that should have been gutted decades ago, but has maintained its early 20th century charm as a haven for artists. I like to think of it as Vintage. We stayed with Gus' high school pal, A - and A's maltipoo, Piglet. We got to take baths in the kitchen claw foot (no showers) and enjoy the painted hardwood floors, old fireplaces, and naked mannequins scattered about the house. A said to us "you should check out the Tenement Museum. It's just like my place, but with period furniture."

A also happens to be the Super, so he gave us a tour of the back building - a similar structure, except abandoned. He used to use it for studio space. Now he uses it to throw unusual, fabulous, dinner parties.
I wish my new Nikon D40 had come in the mail BEFORE this trip. Oh well - the iphone didn't do so bad. Thanks for the experience, A and Piglet. You guys rock.


FABRIC SHOPPING

Yes! The part you've been waiting for. When Gus asked me "is there anything you want to do in New York while we're there?" I just looked at him. "So you want to go fabric shopping?" He knows me so well.

I was worried about finding anything, because frankly, with the wedding and seeing everyone from my past, I just didn't have that much time to fart around. So I posted the question to The Sew Weekly and got some great answers!

I also consulted A - who used to buy costume fabric for a living. He sent me to New York Elegant Fabrics and Daytona Trim, with a stop in Spandex World. He also gave me the tip to ask how much things are - because it doesn't always correspond to the tag.

What did I buy, you ask? SILK.



Okay, so I know it's hard to work with - but I won't learn if I don't try, and you just can't find anything nice down here. I'm dying to use that yellow polka dot to make the Sencha blouse from Colette Patterns. I think the purple woodland nymph print is the new forbidden fabric in my stash - I don't know what I will use it for, but I want it to be perfect! Suggestions welcome...

Got Silk?

First, I chose the wrong pattern. Now, I think I chose the wrong fabric. Let me tell you a story:

I went to Hancock Fabrics (the only fabric store besides Hobby Lobby in Baton Rouge) to find material for the Gertie's Bombshell Dress Online Course I just signed up for. I picked my way through a sea of polyester (all in ugly colors), just past the dance costume fabric, to a tiny little shelf of silks. Most of them were balled up and shoved on the shelf (that was half concealed by another shelving unit) and the tiny available bit of end-of-bolt dupioni was laying on the dirty floor. ARGH.

Now, I'm not completely aimless. I do have a desired color/print. Something like one of these:

Source: poetrie.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: poetrie.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: modcloth.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: modcloth.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: modcloth.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Alas! The only fabric that involved light blue or antique flowers was, of course, in the quilting cottons section. I vacillated, knowing it would never work, trying to convince myself it would. I finally bought a few yards (it was on clearance) and figured I'd decide later. I could always use it for something else.

After bringing it home and washing it, I know I can't use this cotton for this project. I'll have to buy some shantung online. This experience is a good example of my ongoing struggle with the sewing resources available in my city.

Baton Rouge, and probably most places in America, really doesn't have the resources - fabric-wise, or sewing education-wise - to support making your own clothes. Luckily we have the internet, and online fabric stores are becoming more user friendly. Websites like Craftsy.com and PatternReview.com are offering more style-savvy online classes.

But none of this can beat a little human interaction. I guess I'm frustrated that the in-person sewing world in mid-sized America is dominated by crafting. Not that there is anything wrong with crafting - I just don't want my dress to match my place mats. Or fall apart in the wash. And I'd like to learn more advanced dress making techniques. Or be able to buy non-polyester dress material.

I usually like my mid-sized city lifestyle, but MAN do I wish I lived in in the Big Apple some days. Anyone else get jealous of the big city sometimes?