A Weekend in Atlanta

Last weekend found us in Atlanta for a conference. Long car trips make me ever-so-grateful for the luxury of a DVD player in our car -- "Radio" and "Amazing Grace" on the way up, "North & South" on the way back! While my dad and sister were tied up in meetings, my mother and I explored the Atlanta area. While I was looking for Atlanta area attractions, I discovered historic Roswell, a little town just north of where we stayed. Barrington Hall is a beautiful mansion, built in 1842 by Barrington King.

We were treated to a "private tour" (apparently Thursday mornings aren't busy for them!), led by a very knowledgeable and chatty tour guide.

And the gardens! Oh, the gardens!

There was also a massive pecan tree, growing on the site of the old kitchens (which burned down in 1902 -- apparently it was a good idea to have the kitchen separate from the house!).

Roswell is a delightful little place, full of antique stores, cafes, and charm. I highly recommend a visit, especially if you have a few hours to spend puttering about! The next day we drove through Druid Hills, the neighborhood filmed in the 1989 classic, "Driving Miss Daisy." Tree-lined streets, beautiful homes from the 20's and 30's, and lovely gardens...

 

For lunch we stopped by the Swan Coach House, which is just adjacent to the Atlanta History Center. We had visited the History Center a few years ago -- it includes the gorgeous Swan House mansion, located on the property.

And I have to post a photo of Swan House from our previous visit! It's just too lovely for words!

To finish up our visit, we headed to nearby Chamblee and loitered in antique shops for a few hours. What bliss! My favorite places are the "hidden treasure" shops, where everything is jumbled together. The shop pictured below was the sort of place TGIFridays would get their restaurant decor! I couldn't decide between the miniature giraffe and the giant spoon...

 

It's always amazing how good it is to return home after traveling, no matter how short a jaunt it may be. And even when "home" consists of boxes, handtrucks, and packing peanuts. Wouldn't it be much more glamorous to arrive home via ruby red slippers, rather than a Honda Odyssey!

Words of Wisdom From Writers

For first you write a sentence,

And then you chop it small;

Then mix the bits and sort them out

Just as they chance to fall:

The order of the phrases makes no difference at all.

~ Lewis Carrol, "Poeta fit non nascitur." ~

If you need a bit of nonsense to lighten your life, I recommend a good dose of Lewis Carrol's poetry! Here's the full version of "Poeta fit non nascitur."

Vintage Summer

Now for the last of my stashbusting projects! For now, anyway... *wink*

I had 4 yards of red-and-white striped seersucker in my stash (part of a $5 bag of fabric I found at a yard sale). I love seersucker, but I was quite at a loss to figure out how to use this piece -- until I remembered Butterick 4443! I've used this pattern once before, and was very happy with it -- the fit is just about perfect (still have to work on some neckline gaping, but it's not bad).

Usually I can't handle princess seamed dresses (in fact, most dresses don't look good on me!), but the defined waistline on this dress helps a lot! I made a little jacket from Simplicity 4334, and also bound the neckline, armhole, and hem with red bias. One of my favorite things about this dress is the scalloped hem -- it was relatively easy to figure out, and I love the look!

By far the most complicated aspect of the outfit was the belt. I also had a "cover-it-yourself" vintage belt buckle in my stash, which came in so handy for this project! It took a bit of finagling, but it did work. I top-stitched the belt because... well, just because!

I can't recommend this dress enough -- it's so easy to put together, and it takes very little fabric! I do lengthen the pattern about 4 inches, just so it's more comfortable.

I love the slightly vintage feel of this outfit -- I think I'm going to get my money's worth out of this one! I still have about a yard of the seersucker left, so it might be showing up as an apron one of these days!

In Love With A-line

I just can't get enough of these A-line skirts! I've had Butterick 3262 in my pattern stash for years (I have no idea why I purchased it in the first place!), but I only "discovered" it about a year ago. I've only used the "medium flare" version, but I'd like to try out the fullest version, too!

For this skirt I used a stretchy khaki fabric from Wal-Mart ($2 per yard, as I recall). I've already made one skirt from this fabric, and the rest was sitting in my stash. I ended up having enough to add a bias ruffle, just for fun. I love my serger even more when I'm hemming bias ruffles!

Well, the moving craziness continues! There are boxes (both packed and empty) and paper everywhere. I'm discovering that several hundred books require many, many boxes! But I love all the bustle and excitement, especially when things run smoothly (as they have -- so far...). It's amazing to see God's hand at work in the little bumps in the road -- from finding a home to rent, to having our house inspection go well, to discovering boxes at our local recycle center! The blessings never end!

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then I make a habit of flattering companies like Laura Ashley, Cath Kidston, Victorian Trading Co., and -- most recently -- Anthropologie!

When a garment is too expensive, too immodest, etc., I like to put my own spin on it. So when I saw the "Sweet William Blouse" on Anthropologie a few months ago, I saved a picture to my "inspiration files." It was a mere $128 on the website, but I just decided it would be more fun to make it... *ahem*

So here's my version:



The fabric is a blue-and-white striped "mystery" fabric that's been in our cupboard for ages. The bodice pattern is -- well, do I really need to tell you? Okay, how many of you guessed Simplicity 4499? *wink* I improvised the sleeve ruffle, which was actually pretty simple. I added a tie to the back, just for fun:



I didn't want something quite as frilly as the rosettes on the original blouse (it's hard to see from the tiny picture, but they're quite overhwelming!), so I found a fabulous rolled roses tutorial on Sandi Henderon's website. They're addictively fun to make!



I still have some more stashbusting to share, and some still in the works. And yes, one of these days I will start "real" work on my wedding dress! I've designed it, picked fabrics, and done some prelimary experimenting -- but I won't start the "real" thing until we've moved (we're down to about 2 or 3 weeks!). Exciting times. Busy times. VERY busy times...

Summer Sewing

Over the past couple of days, I have scarcely left the sewing room! I was finally struck with inspiration for some pieces of fabric that had been languishing in my drawer, but the inspiration came simultaneously! Sometimes the idea that I have to find the *perfect* use for every fabric hinders my stashbusting efforts, so I'm trying to conquer some of that.



My first project was an A-line skirt made from some crinkly fuschia cotton that I found in the JoAnn's Red Tag section (with an extra 50% off, of course). The pattern is an out-of-print Butterick; let's hope one of the pattern companies brings out a new A-line pattern soon, for they're sorely lacking in the pattern books!

I added a ruffle with the scant scrap of fabric I had left -- it was just enough! I love how this skirt takes almost no fabric, and yet is so comfortable.



I hope to post more stashbusting projects soon -- that is, if I can tear myself away from the sewing room...

In Stitches -- Lots of stitches!

It's finished! After many hours of stitching, several breaks, and a final sprint, my little baby quilt is finally finished. It's my first real quilting project, and I'm very glad to have it done!



Just for kicks and giggles, I decided to calculate the number of inches that I stithced for this tiny quilt -- 901 inches, which is 75 feet and 1 inch! And that's for a quilt that's only 31" wide.

I'm thinking this may end up as a wall hanging in a (hopeful!) future nursery -- it's rather small to use, and I hate the idea of it wearing out after all of that work! *wink* Perhaps I should explore machine quilting...

Left Behind

You know the DMV is having problems when their cones are left out long enough to start sprouting:



Seriously, this poor little cone has been left by the side of the road for I-don't-know-how-long! I'm still trying to figure out how that insane plant was able to grow with its only light coming through the tiny hole in the top of the cone.

Maybe this is a new alternative to the chia pet!

Sewing Tip -- Cut Once, Save Time

I have no idea how I missed this for so long -- ever since I started sewing patterns, I have carefully cut out every single (needed) piece before pinning it to the fabric.

Not anymore!

As I was reading the instruction for a vintage 50's apron pattern, I discovered that the instructions told you to pin the pattern piece to the fabric, then cut along the lines. *light bulb* So rather than trim your pattern pieces precisely, you can just cut them off of the sheet and save the details for when you actually cut the fabric* -- it's so easy, and it saves so much time! I'm even convinced that it's easier to cut the fabric, too.

Of course, I'll feel incredibly stupid if I'm the only person on earth who "cuts twice!" But if there are other "cut twice" seamstresses out there (and you're one of them), you might want to give "cut once" a try!


*Please note that cutting tissue paper with fabric scissors may dull your scissors more rapidly -- I don't have expensive scissors, so this is not a big deal for me.

Sheerly Summer

My stashbusting efforts have now taken on new priority. With only seven months left before our wedding, I'm determined to "slim down" my fabric stash -- not your typical pre-wedding diet, I know! *wink* And we sold our house last Saturday. Just like that. It's been "for sale" on and off for several years, but two weeks ago a couple came to look at it, and a week later they made an offer! If it goes through, we'll be moving closer to town, and probably to a smaller home -- which means downsizing for all of us!

Anyway, I'm rambling now -- this is really a post about my most recent stashbust, using a piece of gorgeous embroidered cotton voile that I purchased at Denver Fabrics last summer. I LOVED Denver Fabrics (no longer affiliated with the website of the same name), and got some absolute steals there!



I'm in dire need of some new summer clothes, so I pulled out my trusty Simplicity 4499 (some of you who read my blog regularly are already laughing...) and got to work.



I used the oh-so-easy-to-sew pleated short sleeve from the pattern, since I wanted this to be quick and simple. Plus, I love that sleeve! It's so comfortable! I did cut off a few inches from the center front so that the blouse wouldn't overlap (it needs an undershirt anyway), and also improvised a simple tied belt from the scrap of fabric I had left over. Oh, and I borrowed anoher pattern's collar to improvise a mandarin collar -- I love mandarin collars, but hardly ever use them!



2009 just may turn out to be "The Summer of the Stashbust!"

Reminders of England

A dear family friend just sent me a lovely gift:



I'm a huge fan of blue-and-white, English china, and country scenes -- Score on three points! But this plate has an extra-special feature for this Jane Austen fan:



It's Chatsworth on a plate! Pure English bliss. *dreamy sigh*