Seamstress in a RTW World…

Friday before last, Sophie had her graduation.  She was in a private half-day Kindergarten program (because our schools went full day Kindy this year and I wasn’t hip on that).  Being the horse fanatic that she is, she had to have her picture taken by the class horse barn.  I can’t believe my little girl will be in 1st grade next year!  Mama loves you, baby!

It’s been a while since I’ve shown off smallest girl, too.  She’s nearly 5 months old now.  Where does the time go?  She’s getting busy ~ playing with toys, putting things in her mouth, and making lots of noise. And she loves her big sister, which does a mama’s heart good.  She still looks just like Sophie…

Maybe I’ll have something more exciting to share soon, but for now this is it.  My girls are my life!

Warmly,
Meagan

I’ve sewn for Ellory, but this is her first dress.  I’ve had it on my to-sew list for some time and I was happy to get it sewn up.  It’s design #1 from the summer ‘07 issue of Ottobre.  I chose the 62cm pattern, but it’s a bit wide for my tastes.  Otherwise, I’m happy with how it came out.  The bodice/skirt piece of the pattern was like nothing I’d ever seen — very interesting design!  The fabric is a euro bird/floral print that was featured in a past Otto issue.  My friend Katie found it at her mill end and bought some for me.  (It’s great to have thoughtful friends.)

That’s it for today.  Have a lovely weekend! 

Meagan

It’s hard to believe it ~ my baby is 3 months old already. It’s amazing how quickly the days turn into weeks, into months. And before you know it, years. I’m relishing the present today. Feeling thankful for all the good things in my life. My husband, my babies, my home, my family — all of it. I spent an hour walking through the cemetery today; I visited my grandma’s grave. She’s been gone one year St. Patrick’s Day. As much as I mourn her absence in my life, I am thankful that she lived a long, full life. Thankful that she was able to know her grandkids and some of her great grandkids. Not just know them, but to leave her legacy to them. Life is precious. But it’s also precocious. Live your life today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring. Let there be no regrets…

And now, for your viewing pleasure — my gorgeous baby. The one with all the hair. So much hair that on her 3 month birthday, she gets to wear a barrette for the first time.

A giant pair of scissors. Need I say more? I think not.

I had great intentions of filling this page today, but I’m tired so I’ll just leave you with this little laugh.

Have a fabulous weekend

~m

I’m feeling quite tired tonight, but wanted to sneak in a quick post to keep my momentum up on this blogging thing… My brother Nate got married last weekend; Sophie was, of course, the flower girl. I simply adore Erin, my new sister-in-law, and wish them all the happiness in the world. Honestly, I wasn’t sure my brother would ever get married. The forever bachelor-type and all… Crazy thing is, they got married almost 5 years to the day of Jimmy and myself. Our anniversary is July 7th and they got married July 8th.

I’m sharing a few pictures of the special day, including Sophie modeling the dress I made for the occasion, made from a yummy Tracy Porter fabric from JoAnn’s. These fabrics are very nice ~ substantial and quite soft, and the price is fantastic ($4.99/yd)! The pattern is from Ottobre 2/02, pattern #14 (I believe), size 104cm. I’ve made this pattern before and I simply love it. It’s the perfect summer dress! The details are what make it ~ the great spin afforded by the peiced circle skirt construction and the lacing up the back. Of course, this isn’t your typical flower girl dress, as she’ll be able to wear it all season. Then again, this wasn’t your typical wedding ~ everyone wore sandals and the brides dress came from the sleepwear section at Anthropologie LOL. All in all, a beautiful day for a beautiful couple!

The happy couple and their flower girl:

My favorite picture of the day ~ Sophie and Uncle Nate:

Back detail on Sophie’s dress:

Well, I must be off. I’ve orders to complete and emails to send. Have a wonderful weekend!

I guess this could be called a continuation of my introduction… I thought I’d take some time to explain some things about myself further. So, what exactly does RTW stand for? RTW = Ready to Wear. This term is a throw back to the glorious times when people had their clothing custom made. In the heyday of Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe and other cultural icons, buying something “off the rack” was virtually unheard of for the upper echelons of society. Today of course, very few people have custom made clothing, but the WAHM community is changing this with custom made cloth diapers, hand-knitted soakers and boutique clothing with a focus on children. RTW is often used in the sewing world to designate items that have been purchased at a store.

The significance of the term in my blog title is to draw attention to the fact that I find myself as one of the few seamstresses in a world of buy-it-now, mass produced, outsourced, foreign made items. In making a conscious effort to buy hand-made items, you are not only supporting a dying art (sewing, of course), you are supporting a family. So not only do my patrons support my family’s livelihood and allow me to stay at home with my daughter, they also get to experience the joy of having quality, handmade, one of a kind, custom made items for their children. That’s something we all can feel good about!

Not all of my posts will be directly business related, but I will take another second here to tell a cute story about how I came to call myself the “Head Stitchest” at Patchwork Pixie. My brother, Andy, has a brain injury as a result of a car accident 6 years ago. He was 19 at the time of his accident, and was in a coma for quite some time. When he came out of the coma, he had suffered severe injury to the left frontal lobe of his brain which in turn caused the right side of his body to be basically non-functional, leaving him in a wheelchair. He has fared much better than many other Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors, but the injury left his personality and memory forever changed. One Spring, while vacationing in Charleston, SC (my husband’s birth place), my mom was helping Andy into the vehicle. As she pulled up on the belt loop of his pants, the loop ripped free. As I was sitting in the back seat, he stated rather matter of factly, “It’s okay, my sister is a Stitchest“. This is funny on so many levels ~ but needless to say I latched on to that little word lapse and it has become part of who I am. The Stitchest.

And just because no blog post is complete (IMO) without a picture, I’ll leave you with an absolutely hilarious photo of Andy, taken on a particularly rainy September day at the English toy store in The Worlds at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. Andy’s nickname, somehow, has become “Bub”. Thus, I give you Bub the Bobby.

Yours, Meagan