New Fabric and Burp Cloth Experiments

I ordered new fabric today from Hawthorne Threads (my absolute favorite place to get fabric!). I placed my order on Friday afternoon and it arrived on my doorstep on Monday! Most of what I purchased are Amy Butler prints in a palate of citrus/sherbert-y goodness. If I had a sun room (which I don't) I would make pillows out of all of these fabrics, they are so bright and fresh!

And then I saw this very whimsical script print by Michael Miller and something in my really wanted it. Perhaps the ex-English teacher in me was responsible for that purchase. 

I also spent some time doing a little sewing. I experimented with appliquéing flower petals onto a burp cloth. I like how it turned out. Now I have to think of some complementary appliqueing I can do to make a set.  

-Sarah

Friends

If you don't have photo blog to follow, you should! And I have just the one for you! Debbie Parker at Deborah Zoe Photography takes A-M-A-Z-I-N-G pictures! In my opinion, she is THE wedding photographer to have in the New England region. Take a look at her gallery and you'll notice she has an amazing eye for beautiful shots. Her photos are romantic, whimsical and completely unique. Not to mention her posts are witty, fun and inspiring. 


She recently featured our Business Card Wallet in one of her posts; and of course she took fabulous pictures of the little blue ditty. 


I'll be at and in several weddings she'll be shooting this fall and winter, which means I'll get to see her in action! Can't wait!


--Sarah

Yard Saling with the Girls

Every year, on the second  Saturday in September all the churches in Durham,  New Hampshire have a  yard sale. Touted as a 700 + family yard sale this thing is a behemoth, and a popular one at that! The event starts at 9am, but people line up to scope out the goods WAY before. Everything is roped off with caution tape and when they blow the whistle everyone RUNS to the object of their desire.

Here's Everyone waiting for the whistle to blow.

It has been a tradition amongst the gals in my family to attend this yard sale, last year I went while 7 months pregnant with Sophia. It was great, everyone got out of the way. This year I carried Sophia on my back instead of my belly. 

My mom, sisters and a few friends  all converged on the yard sale in time to scope out a few things from a distance before mad rush.

Here's what we could see from our vantage point.

The line of people wraps around that big tree and down the street on the other side of the church. 

I was looking for a dresser to refinish, and a little rocking chair for Sophia. I didn't find a dresser, but I did find a little rocking chair which I plan to paint. It's quite sturdy and the cain seat is in great shape. 

I haven't decided on a color: I'm thinking a bright pinky-red or maybe a bright green. 

Here's Sophia enjoying her  new chair.

Here are some of our other finds: A white antique high chair ($8, mine), a yellow shelf which my  mom plans to re-paint and use in her sewing room ($20), a wall mirror ($8, my sister Rachel) and the rocking chair ($15, mine).

And this red chair: LOVE! I'm leaving it exactly the way it is with its worn read paint. So cute! I also found that galvanized bucket ($10) and a Bake King loaf pan (free!). 

And the piece de resistance! My sister, Alissa got this great steamer trunk for $20! It's going to make a great end-of-the-bed storage or coffee table. It's awesome, and who knows where it has been in its lifetime. 

Old things are SO FUN and yard sales are great way to spend a Saturday morning. Can't wait 'till next year to do it again!




--Sarah

Weddings Weddings Everywhere

It seems like so many people are getting married this year (my youngest sister included). Along with making me feel like I'm getting old, it makes me happy and excited! I've been lucky enough to be a part of all my sisters wedding plans: dress shopping, picking out flowers, talking colors and caterers. It's fun, mostly because I love the organized, creative aspect of it. I thoroughly enjoyed planning my wedding (at least that's how I remember it: my Mom or Husband may tell a different tale.)


What's adds even more fun is that a friend of mine asked me to do the floral arrangements for her wedding reception. My mind has been a buzz with all kinds of creative ideas: think fall, think vintage, think natural, think beautiful! There's inspiration everywhere, like on Wednesday I went for a run in the woods and everywhere I looked: IDEAS!  


Here's some inspiration I've been looking at:

--Sarah

Zippered Pouch

I tried my hand at a zippered pouch and I'm actually surprised at the results. I have very little experience sewing zippers (only one other time have I ever sewn a zipper) so it took some deep concentration to make sure that I got the lining, the outside fabric and the zipper all sandwiched together in a way that would result in a functional piece-which explains why there are no step-by-step pictures or bumblebee tag, I was just way to focused on not messing up.

As soon as I can get my hands on another zipper (which requires a 45 minute drive down to the closest notions store [yuck!]) I'll give it another go, this time taking pictures along the way so you too can give it your best shot! But for now, here's the finished product:

--Sarah

News and Upcoming Events

This weekend was the calm before the storm: we're gearing up for a very busy fall. We will be attending several fairs and festivals throughout the fall and holiday season, so you can come and check out all the cuteness in person!

On September 25th and 26th we will have a booth at the Newmarket Heritage Festival in Newmarket, NH. Come and stop by our booth if you get the chance, festival hours are 10am to 9pm on Saturday and 10am to 7pm on Sunday.

If you can't wait until then...our pieces are still available for sale at Lucy's Art Emporium in Dover, NH. In fact, I'm taking a whole new load of burp cloths and pacifier clips down there today. Stop by and check out some of the latest fabric combinations.

I'll be posting more experiments in sewing later this week, like the zippered pouch and another recycled-fashion baby top! Check back for more fun and exciting stuff!

--Sarah

Ruffle Baby Top

I found this adorable tank top (size 12-18 months) at Old Navy yesterday for $1.50 (quite a bargain!). I bought it in part because it was dirt cheap and super cute, but also because I loved the ruffled detail and wanted to try my hand at copying it. I'm very pleased with the results...

Using the Old Navy tank top as a pattern/template, I matched the outline of the neckline with that of a shirt I got from Goodwill (the same one I cut the arms off to use to make leggings for the Rocker Baby Outfit.) I then cut out the outline of the arm opening. I repeated the process with the piece that would become the back. I used a zig-sag stitch to finish the arm openings on both the back and front piece; knits don't take well to being folded over and I don't have a surger, plus I liked the rough-edge look.

I cut strips of fabric in varying lengths from a tank top and what was left of the guitar t-shirt from the Rocker Baby Outfit.

Using a running stitch I created the first ruffle and attached it to the front.

I repeated the process of stitching a running stitch then attaching with the remaining two strips of fabric.

I layered all the ruffles then attached the back piece to the front at the collar.

And here's the finished top:

Cute Right? Especially the tag.

Close up of the ruffle: the best part!

-Sarah