Seamstress in a RTW World…

This dress, I love.  I bought this issue of Ottobre specifically for this dress and I’m not disappointed.  I had heard that this pattern was a bit of a challenge and needed some alterations in width, but I’m pretty happy with how it came out.  It’s actually tunic length, which will be perfect considering it’s intended purpose… It’s headed out to Julie of Selah.  She’ll dye some yarn to match it for Plumknits “Live this Life” event.  More info on that coming soon!

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

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

A few months ago, I made Sophie a darling backpack for school and have been dying to make another one since. I had the perfect opportunity when the mama of my favorite little customer approached me about her son’s Gnome themed birthday. I proposed an outfit featuring Heather Ross’ Gnomes on blue paired with some adorable embroideries and we were off and running! I haven’t finished the outfit yet, but I simply had to show the finished backpack now.

I chose, appropriately, an embroidery of a gnome wearing a backpack. (Design from emblibrary.)

And here’s the finished backpack~

The Mushrooms on white coordinate was used for the lining, drawstring tie and inside of the flap.

I wanted a nice, stiff flap so I interfaced the outer and fused a piece of canvas to the lining. The shoulder straps have cotton webbing sandwiched in between for a more substantial feel. I did fussy cut the straps, but didn’t get a good image of them because I need to buy different hardware (black plastic just isn’t going to cut it!).

I do want to mention that I’ll be opening my new storefront on February 1st! I plan to offer a custom slot or two so that someone else’s little one can have a backpack like Sophie and Asher’s. I’ll also be launching my new side-snapping fitted line by offering some limited edition specialty prints not otherwise available. (If you must know, I’ve hand-picked some of my treasured Munki Munki fabrics and made them into some of my favorite diapers ever!) Oh, and I have Apple caps, too!

Best Wishes!

My husband is a patient man, I’ll give him that. I always tell him that I “hobby” for the both of us. He was aghast this Spring when he caught wind of the amount of money I spent on perennials. When I brought my new embroidery machine home this last weekend, I could triumphantly tell him (to my complete and utter glee) that it was half as much as I expected to pay. I’m not sure if that helped any.

Yes, that’s right, I have joyfully entered into the world of machine embroidery! I have been overtaken with the number of embroidery designs available on the internet and I’ve already spent many hours collecting information, perusing embroidery websites and honing in on tips and tricks. I stitched out a couple of small designs and then, when I happened up a wonderful free dragon embroidery, decided to just go ahead and jump in head-long. 30,000 stitches and a wool cut later, I have finished this Woodland Wool Wrap. It will go up for auction this coming Tuesday, August 15th, at Midday Faire. (I really disklike auctions, but given the high stitch count on this design, I feel I have to at least try it…  I hope someone will at least bid!  LOL)

I’m working on a couple of other things; I’ll share again later!

Every time I read the Wisteria story I’m nearly brought to tears (click the Midday faire link that follows to read the Wisteria Story). The comradery that I have with the women at Midday Faire goes beyond my understanding. How can it be that I feel such close ties to a group of women, most of whom I’ve never met? Well, I guess in reality that all comes back to the comradery. As a group, we’ve been together for more than three years and while we’ve certainly had our ups and downs, we’ve remained steadfast in our commitment Midday Faire. A commitment to our vision. A commitment to our friendships. And with that, we introduce our newest incarnation of our comradery ~ the new Midday Faire.

As my contribution to our Wisteria theme for the grand opening, I have created the appropriately named, Wisteria Skirt. This is a version of my newest pattern, the Everyday Skirt. This skirt became a fast favorite at our house because, as the name implies, it’s a perfect skirt for everyday wear. It’s simple, yet stylish; easy on and off and it goes with everything. Sophie has so many of these I can’t without embarassment name the number. The skirt I created for the Wisteria theme is made from three different colorways of the same print, a simple fan print that reminds me a bit of paisley. It’s a combination of stripwork, turned on the bias, and offset patchwork. I made it quite a bit longer than my usual Everyday Skirts so it will likely fit a larger size range (probably 3T-7), depending on waist size of the child. I think this is the perfect transitional piece of clothing, one that will carry a little girl from the warm days of Summer, through the chill of Autumn and on into winter. Add and subtract tees and tights, sandals and boots and you have a skirt that your sweet girl can enjoy for many seasons to come. It will be available at Midday Faire on Tuesday August 1st at Noon (CST).

Well, I had intended on writing more and submitting something for Self Portrait Tuesday, but I seem to have run out of time for now. More later!

Fondly,
Meagan

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!