An Owl and a Dress

Yesterday I had a sewing success and a sewing failure (maybe that's a little strong; disappointment might be more accurate). My success: this super cute appliqued owl burp cloth. Don't you love him? He's so cute

And Now the disappointment...

In the last post I mentioned my attempt to make a dress for the wedding this weekend. I was inspired by a Louis Vuitton dress I saw in Allure magazine:

 Pretty isn't it? I love the crushed velvet belt with the wool plaid. Seems to me very 50's-house-wife-get's-dressed-up-for-a-night out.

I love the crushed velvet belt. I'm not sure what the bodice is made out of but it's darn pretty.

Yes. That does say $6,450.

So...inspired by this dress I thought of a sweater vest I was going to donate to Goodwill:

I thought: "Hmm. This could be the bodice, now all I need is the plaid and the crushed velvet."

 So I got myself to the fabric store and purchased a very pretty purply/blue plaid and gray crushed velvet:

 

 They looked quite nice together. 

More often than not I sew without a pattern and the results are quite good. But this time, I was not so lucky. I'm at the stage where the dress is 3/4 of the way done and I'm wondering if it is worth it to continue and complete what I've started or stop and save the fabric from further cutting and sewing for another project (perhaps one with a pattern?).  

At this point, I'm wishing I had a dress form, because all this in and out of the dress makes it very hard to fabricate what I envision when the dress is one me. Plus the dress is really hard to get in and out of since I thought I could get away with not using a zipper. 

I'm not entirely happy with what I have so far: the seems are slightly off, making it look crooked in the back. So I doubt I'd even wear it to the wedding if I did finish it (I've got a back up plan in my mind, that includes a very cute top I already own). Either way I'll show you the end result: if it is good, you'll see pictures of me in it at the wedding. If it's bad, you might end up looking at the carnage created by a frustrated girl with a seam ripper and a pair of scissors.

--Sarah 

Sneak Preview

This week has been/will be a bit on the crazy side. I'm preparing the centerpiece arrangements for a friends wedding this weekend and I'm trying to make a dress for the wedding at the same time (more on that later). I'm incredibly excited about the "vintage fall" look of this wedding! Fall in New England is of course beautiful in it's own right, but when you put a vintage spin on it: gorgeous!

Here's a preview of a few bits and pieces for this weekend. Just wait to you see the arrangements in their entirety with the ambiance of a fall evening....hmmm. I love weddings! And thanks to Deborah Zoe Photo, you'll have the best possible look at them!

Stay tuned for my wedding-outfit fiasco....or could it possibly be a victorious triumph? You're guess is as good as mine;-)

--Sarah

Festival Wrap Up

In the least it was an exhausting weekend, but overall a successful one. Saturday was unseasonably warm, if not hot, for New England in the fall which drew the fair weather crowds and Sunday was a typical New England fall day: cloudy, windy, a bit rainy with temperatures dropping as the day progressed which drew the hearty New Englanders who prefer cold weather and bulky sweaters (after four years of living in Arizona I really can't say I'm one of those folks: I'm more of the fair weather type). By 4pm on Sunday I was exhausted, cold and ready to pack everything up and head home, which I did in short order. 

Here are a few new items we debut at the festival:

Matching onesie for the re-cycled fashion skirt.

Corduroy Twirl Skirt

Tunic in White Gardinia and brown floral.

 Zippered Ruffled Wallet

 Burp Cloths in new girly colors!

 This beautiful tunic went home with a sweet little girl!

Minky Lap blanket in soft pinks.

Saturday was unseasonably warm, if not hot, for New England in the fall which drew the fair weather crowds and Sunday was a typical New England fall day: cloudy, windy, a bit rainy with temperatures dropping as the day progressed which drew the hearty New Englanders who prefer cold weather and bulky sweaters (after four years of living in Arizona I really can't say I'm one of those folks: I'm more of the fair weather type). By 4pm on Sunday I was exhausted, cold and ready to pack everything up and head home, which I did in short order. 


I'm happy to say that today I'm not going anywhere, it's raining outside and I have a cup of tea in hand. Ahhh. Relax. And spend time with my festival buddy, this little cutie:

--Sarah

Newmarket Heritage Festival

If you happen to have the afternoon free tomorrow, you should come down to Newmarket, NH! Not only do we have a booth there (featuring some of our newest items that have yet to be posted here or on our Etsy shop) but you can watch local potters, leather workers and carpenters at work crafting beautiful pieces. There's dancing and drumming, train rides and kettle corn, face painting and more! It's a darn good time in New England!

--Sarah

Capturing the Moments

Last night Sophia and I were in the kitchen, just as the sun was casting a swath of evening light in through the window and onto the refrigerator. Mesmerized by her shadow, Sophia began reaching out as if to grab hold of the silhouette of the little person she saw.

I wanted to capture the moment--like I want to capture almost every moment with her. I tried to snap a few shots with one hand while helping her stand with the other. At that moment I wished I'd had a third hand, or an alter-ego that only saw the poetic moments in life and was there to take pictures.


I love the profile of her face because it reminds me of the profile from her ultra-sound, when she was still so unknown to us. I'm so grateful that what was just a silhouette is now soft little face that I can hold in my hands: kiss and caress, and so aware that this little person won't be little for long: which makes me want to savor and capture each moment even more.

--Sarah

Recipe Organization

A few years ago I decided it was time to get organized. I had a small spiral bound recipe book, the kind that you'd find in a gift store. I'd filled the pages and had begun stuffing recipes between the pages. It was a mess. 

I was frustrated by other recipe organization systems because they didn't have enough categories, so I was left with recipes that didn't fit anywhere. 

So I decided to get myself a large three ring binder, page protectors and a tab dividers and organize my recipes. The hardest part about organizing your recipes is dividing them into categories.  I labeled my tab dividers with the following labels:

• Appetizers/Beverages
• Salads/Dressings
• Soups/Sandwiches
• Veggie Sides
• Casseroles/Crockpot
• Meat/Poultry
• Fish/Seafood
• Grilling
• Pasta/Rice/Grains
• Breakfast/Brunch
• Breads/Pastries
• Cakes/Cookies/Desserts
• Holiday/Entertaining
• Cooking Basics/Instructional 

I put page protectors on the page dividers too, so they would be protected from spills, splatters and slimy hands. To accommodate the tab I made small slits down the side of the page protector, usually static cling keeps the page protector sticking to the divider, but you could also use double sided tape. 

In my recipe book I have both full-page print outs, clippings from magazines and the pages cut-out from my old recipe book. I've taped the clippings to blank 81/2x11 pieces of paper. 

The page protectors also act as pockets, for say, little recipe booklets that come with some appliances: like I have a small booklet that came with my crockpot which I keep in the "Crockpot" section. 

There's nothing that makes me want to cook more than a well-organized recipe book!


--Sarah

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Over the river and through the woods to Great-grandpa's house we go! That was our (Me: Sarah, my husband Mark and daughter Sophia) weekend: a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my grandfather and Sophia's great-grandfather. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the few days that we were there, which afforded us a nice afternoon at the Trexler Nature Preserve and Lehigh Valley Zoo. If you happen to live in the area it is a great place to spend the afternoon, especially the Trexler Nature Preserve; there is no admission to the preserve and the views at some of high points along the car-path are amazing: vistas of the entire Lehigh Valley. There were a few picnic tables along the way: perfect for a picnic lunch.

At nine and half months I wasn't quite sure what kind of reaction to expect from Sophia at the Zoo. We were all surprised at her response, while she wasn't able to distinguish some of the smaller animals in their natural habitat enclosures (like a lynx among trees) she was able to see and observe the larger animals: the camel, ostrich and zebra. 

And she was fearless when we arrived at the goat pen, of course it helped that the goats were equally as interested in her (well, the food they thought we had) as she was in them. 

The trip gave my grandfather the perfect opportunity to show off his great-granddaughter to his neighbors, the members of his church and his favorite waitress at Yannni's Tavern, a greek restaurant in the town where he lives. This trip was really about Sophia and her great-grandpa, we were just along for the ride:-)

I love how nothing changes from the first picture to the second, except for Sophia's expression. 

Of course, this trip was really about Sophia and her great-grandpa, we were just along for the ride:-)

--Sarah