friday dance - thrift shop

i love when a new generation "discovers" the thrift store...  

bwahahahaha!!!  *snort*  newbies....  *smh*

(heads up, the version below is not clean, so prolly shouldn't play around little ears...)

happy friday!  hope y'all  have a relaxing extended weekend!  :)

moar reversible bags! :)

recently, we dedicated a week of school to give thanks to the teachers who truly go above and beyond...  i modified the reversible bag pattern i usually use by shortening it a little and adding a pleat in the middle...  i kinda dig it:

this was my pattern test.  i loved it so much, i kept it.  (four.eyed.deer.)

this one was made for a teacher who is also a whovian.  we picked out the fabrics for the similar tardis console room geometrics and the space whale episode.

the art teacher at school is an accomplished mosaic artist - a common icon/inspiration she uses is the sugar skull.

this bag was for porkchop's teacher.  i really liked the doodles in the grey fabric which remind me of his love of doodling...  

this bag was for paloma's teacher who was wearing a similar color combo and whose fave color is green.

lastly, i wanted to update you on the status of the Colette Laurel contest.  sadly, i didn't make it into the readers' choice round, but i had some stiff competition.  please check out the finalists and vote for 5 of your faves here!

thanks for coming by and reading! 

Colette Patterns - Laurel Dress

so i've been a little busy sewing bee lately...  :)

i decided a while ago to enter the colette patterns' laurel sewing contest.  but i was having trouble deciding how i wanted to alter the pattern and what fabrics i wanted.

i ended up altering the pattern by simply 1) making the yoke, 2) the horizontal band under the yoke,  3) the vertical print stripe down center front,  4) the solid band at the front hem and lastly,  5) facings for the front and back. i also made my own bias tape for the arm openings.  (i love making my own bias tape.  whee!)

i also decided on these three fabrics:

michael miller malibu stripe
riley blake ombre green - sadly you can't tell from the pics that the green fabric is ombre. but it is! and it's really cool looking!
michael miller coral cotton couture solid

i was really inspired by all the color blocked dresses i've seen on the runways.  i was curious if i could emulate something similar myself....  i have to admit, during the process, i was really second guessing what this dress  might become, but i'm really happy with it.

i'd really like to try altering the pattern again with more asymetrical blocks of color...  and with different prints/colors.

this really was an easy and fun pattern/dress - even with all of my alterations - to make.

ennyhoo...  thanks for coming by and reading!  please forgive me for the brief post...  i spent most of the day at C2E2 yesterday and then some drinkin and dancing in the evening...  and i'm plum tuckered out.  if you have any questions about the dress, please leave them in the comments!  :)

Wish you were here!

Greetings from Hilton Head Island, SC!

Greetings from Tennessee!

At the local Tar-zhay.  C'mon Chicago, show the local schools some love! :)

collaboration

lately, i've noticed a lot of collabrations...  mentions of artists inspired by/collaborating with other artists...  finished products or completed works by two or more collaborating artists, bloggers collaborating on other blogs, etc...

i was just thinking how funny it is that so many creative people i know are really introverted and yet have no trouble/little trouble opening up to collaborate with other creative people.... or maybe some of us do... (?)  i dunno... i swear we are the most confusing people evar.  :)

i recently started working at a local fabric store and with fellow columbia alum, jen beeman.  if you haven't visited her blog yet - go. now.

jen is really funny and fun to work with and i look forward to picking her multifaceted brain about possibly developing some downloadable patterns of my own in the future...

lastly, the dance weekend that i am DYING (DYYYYYING!!!!) to go to someday happened over the weekend...  it's where WCS dancers can meet up with Lindyhop dancers...  it's amazeballs.  i especially love the crossover dances, even funnier this year, the WCS dancers dressed up in vintage inspired gear and the lindyhoppers are dressed in modern day wear:







ennyhoo...  although i'm juggling a couple of new projects in the air - figgy's sunki pattern for paloma, a bowling shirt for porkchop and possibly throwing my hat into the collette patterns laurel sewing contest...   i'll be leaving later this week on a spring break road trip from chicago to hilton head, sc - passing thru nashville, tn and savannah, ga...

hope this short post finds you well and warm! (it's 36 here!)

thanks for coming by and reading...  :)

read: the handmade marketplace: how to sell your crafts locally, globally and online

The Handmade Marketplace: How To Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, And Online by Kari Chapin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

if you (like me) have ever considered getting serious about selling your garments or projects/crafts, this is the book for you....

it's written for crafters by crafters - easy to follow, understand, relate to and best of all very very encouraging...

the author and her panel of crafters cover everything from very basic business tips, marketing and branding including using social/online as well as print media, and selling - either online, in a store or a craft fair or all of the above...

i especially appreciate all of the tips and recalled experiences from the various crafters and creators... it's reassuring to know that these very successful people were once in your (my) unsure shoes. it's very thought provoking too - re: online sales and craft fairs... i really didn't put much deep thought into anything outside of pricing and selling (which scares me to death). the book made me consider a reasonable return policy as well as the methods of payment i should accept.

admittedly, i skipped the portion about podcasting because i doubt i'd ever use that as a marketing tool... additionally, i was a little lost during the press kit portion of the book as well... again, another tool i don't think i would use...

i absolutely LOVED this book and am so thankful to the author, kari chapin, for writing it!! since reading the book, i feel more confident about trying to sell my own garments online and at craft fairs...

thanks so much for coming by and reading...  :)

View all my reviews

p.s.  our youngest cat, rascal says this book just put him to sleep....  (owner note:  everything puts rascal to sleep except between the hours of 3am - 6am)