Seamstress in a RTW World…

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!

I’ve been meaning all along to share pics of our house, as rooms are finished. I haven’t been doing very well with that, and while I have other previously-finished rooms to show, I’ll start with the most recent: The Sewing Studio. I do still need to make some valances for this room, but for all other intensive purposes, it’s finished! Including hanging things on the walls, which I really have a mental block against. Hey, when you physically tear down and then painstainkenly put back up nearly every wall in the house, putting holes in them seems out of the realm of possibility! LOL

Without further ado, TONS of pics… Working around the room in a clock-wise manner.

The Media Center:

Machine Table:

Embroidery Station:

Ironing Area:

Cutting Table:

Cubbyhole: This is in the center of a wall of drawers and cabinets.

Well, that’s it for this room! Hopefully I’ll get back soon and share pictures of the upstairs bathroom and the master bedroom, which are also complete. I’m really going to try to get into the swing of this blog thing this year.

Meagan

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

Even as I was beginning, I told myself “I do not need another hobby!” Yet the more I worked the shovel and the spade, I knew that this was something I could love. Gardening. Although not in the truest sense of the word, as I don’t have a food garden, but a landscape garden. We bought our new house (a young chick at 106 years old) in August of 2004. After letting the yard mellow for a year, I got into it headlong this Spring, after I knew what I had. What did I have? Mostly irises. I ripped out enough irises this year to fill a whole yard, and yet they keep coming! I found a love for hydrangeas, and I’ve gone from one to eleven and could have a yard full! I just love them. I also love Ranunculus, but I only successfully bloomed two this year — there’s always next year! Calla Lillies are another favorite (I carried callas at my wedding) and have managed to bloom a few. And then there’s the Dahlias ~ oh how I love dahlias! I could go on and on… Instead, I’ll move on to the good stuff and share some pics of my blooms.

The East Bed on June 14, 2006: Poppies, Gerbera Daisies, Coreopsis, Saliva, Lavender and Oriental Lillies (not yet blooming in this pic).

One of the two Ranunculus I managed to bloom this year:

I chased this Monarch butterfly around the yard for about 15 minutes trying to catch a shot of it with it’s wings open (darn camera delay!). Finally, my efforts were rewarded as it enjoyed it’s meal of echinachea nectar.

One of my lovely panticula hydrangeas: Limelight.

More photos of my gardens can be found here.

And speaking of gardens… As my conglomerate group, Midday Faire, embarks on a new era, we focus on the garden of a fellow WAHM — that of Elizabeth of Knit in Your Pants. Specifically, we explore the life (and subsequent end) of Elizabeth’s Wisteria vine. Join us at Midday Faire to explore the story of Elizabeth’s Wisteria and of our regeneration.

Warmly (and I do mean “warmly” ~ it’s 100 degrees in the shade here today!)

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!

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

Well, you’re here so maybe you know me? Maybe not, so I’ll embellish a little… My name is Meagan, mama to my sweet pixie Sophie Elise (age 4, going on 24) and the head “stitchest” (more about that fun little title later) and owner of Patchwork Pixie. My husband of five years is Jimmy. I’m a SAHM/WAHM and he’s a work-away-from-home daddy. I enjoy sewing, crafting, gardening, shopping, and reading and playing with Sophie. I also spend a fair amount of time online, chatting with my girlfriends and fellow WAHM’s of Midday Faire and talking sewing with the endlessly talented women at Sewing Mamas.

I actually started blogging late last year, but my blog got eaten during a site move and I’m just now getting back into it. I’ve caught on to a few of the fun blog themes that go around, and “Self Portrait Tuesday” appeals to me, in it’s various forms. In light of that, I’ll grace this first blog post with today’s self portrait — an actual head shot — so that you might feel you know who’s chatting with you when you read this.

Well, I hear Sophie calling me and although I could fill the page, I guess I’ll find a stopping point. I’m a chatty kinda-girl, so rest assured that I’ll be back. I hope you will, too!

Warmly, Meagan