Hi! I’ve “bean” away from here by accident so here’s a wrap-up of the last few months. Back in October ago I went on solo trip to Cary, NC to see Julie Fowlis in concert. It’s fun to go on an adventure by yourself. I made my first stop at Warm ‘n Fuzzy. It’s a cute yarn store in the corner of a strip of other cute stores. I got some yarn in a beautiful honey color to knit a Schemer slipover. Then I popped into an antique store in the same strip and stayed in there a while mostly admiring all the tea sets. I got a tiny vintage avon owl brooch. It was so hot in that store. The lady running the store was insisting that it was not the heater, it was all the antique lamps that she had turned on. I loved overhearing the conversations people were having in there with the shop owner. They all seemed to know her. When I was paying for my owl she even talked about how the children in here were touching the tea cups even though there’s a sign for parents to keep their children from touching stuff. I went to Trader Joe’s after this. I had so much time to kill before the show. It was a mad house of people running around with their buggies and my arms jam full of snacks to take back to my boys. I ate supper at Shake Shack. I’d never been to one before so it was a whole experience. I had to get a Shack burger and a frozen custard. I got the pumpkin patch one. SO GOOD. I got the cheese fries too. Cary is such a lovely place and North Carolina in general has most of my favorite places.
I finished a few things since last time. My first up in my birthday blazer made with a colorful wool blend plaid and silk dupioni lining from Fabrick’s Fabrics. I used the Heather blazer pattern from Friday Pattern Company. I’ll certainly be making this pattern again. I made another version of the Ramona Noon Dress by Sadie Egan (get it!) in a swampy green cotton double gauze. I modified the sleeves with a cuff and some bright green rick rack. There’s something about pairing a dirty version of a color with the bright version of the same color that I really love. (ex. rusty orange/bright orange, sanguine/bright red) It’s so fun to wear with the vest I made a while back.
I made a demin dress with the Friday Pattern Company Wilder Gown. I modified the neckline to not have a ruffle. I just bias bound it with enough hang over to tie it. Not sewing, but I finally finished knitting this Artist’s Point Scarf.
Finally, these sweet shirts. I sewed these up together from the same pattern. It’s Butterick 4037 and I found it at an antique shop for $1. I’ve made three shirts from it so far and it’s certainly a favorite. I love a button down and I love the size of the collar, that it doesn’t have a collar stand, nor do I have to sew on separate a button placket.
I got this bat fabric at the beginning of the year (impulse buy from Stonemountain & Daughter) in the hopes that I’d make a top to wear around Halloween, but that did not happen. I love the fabric so much though so it’s certainly going to get worn all year.
The bird fabric is from designer Emma Brereton on Spoonflower.
Designed a label to sew into my me-made garments (mainly for outerwear). I had the idea when I was working on my blazer a while back and wanted a cool label to sew in like tailors have. So, I sketched up some ideas and made it in illustrator. I am so pleased with the final result! I already sewed one in my blazer and can’t wait to make more things I can sew it in.
Thanks for sticking around! If you’re working hard on some handmade gifts for your favorite people, I hope you are having fun and didn’t wait til the last minute like me. I know this season can be hard for a lot of people for many reasons, so I hope everyone takes care of themselves. In the next couple weeks I’ll be thinking about how I want to show up for myself in 2023 and looking at my closet for some missing items I can work on. (Also, I’m going to finish reading The Fellowship of the Ring before the new year)
Keep making and doing what makes you feel most like yourself. See you next year!
I love your labels. They showed up in my Instagram feed and until now I didn’t realize that I was following you here and there. :)