tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005673748236017602024-03-14T08:57:47.520-04:00kate makes a...Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-74054150912514418742012-09-28T12:05:00.004-04:002012-09-28T12:05:48.786-04:00... Infinite DressOK, so it's been a while, but things are basically getting back to normal. I had the baby (whaaat? I know!) and we're getting used to being parents and everything, and I 'm slowing getting back to making non-baby things again (albiet with a baby slung around my torso, which adds a delightfully challenging level of difficulty to pretty much everything). So, what kind of things? Well, lately I've been working on a custom project: bridesmaids dresses for a good friend of mine.<br />
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My friend is getting married in November and was interested "infinite" or convertible dresses for her attendants. Have you seen these? They're basically knit dresses with circle skirts and really (really) long straps that you can wrap around yourself in a theoretically infinite number of ways to create different styles: halter, strapless, one-shoulder, cap sleeve, etc. For a wedding party, the upside to this is that everyone is in the same color and fabric, but can wrap the dress in the style that is particularly flattering to each person. I told my friend I'd give it a whirl and see what I could come up with.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Test Dress - fabric was too heavy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One back option</td></tr>
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For the basics of making this dress, I am hugely indebted to a tutorial on the <a href="http://sewlikemymom.com/little-red-infinity-dress-tutorial/">Sew Like My Mom</a> blog, which gives guidance on what measurements to take and how to put the dress together. What I found was that the dress was pretty simple - four pieces in all, sewn together on one seam. The edges are all raw (meaning that you have to use a nice heavy knit fabric that won't roll up on the cut edge, unless you want to have to finish the edges, which would be a huge pain in the behind). It really couldn't be easier.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winning fabric!</td></tr>
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By far the most complicated and time-consuming parts of this dress are a) finding suitable fabric, and b) cutting out the pieces. Since there aren't a ton of fabric stores near me, I ended up ordering lots and lots of swatches online. I made a test dress for my friend out of a "slinky" fabric which was 90% lycra and 10% acetate, but found that that fabric was way too heavy and stretchy, which resulted in the dress being way too big (did I mention my friend lives in NJ? This meant a lot of sending measurements and test dresses back and forth until we got the fit right). For her actual bridesmaids dresses, we went with a lycra/spandex blend in a deep merlot color that had a nice weight to it and a little bit of shine. Needing a specific kind of fabric definitely limited our color choices, which is tough for someone planning a wedding, but we luckily found something that my friend really liked.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting out the straps requires a very clean floor</td></tr>
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So the other difficult part of this project was cutting out the pieces, particularly the straps. Since all the edges are raw, you want to be really careful about making nice, straight cuts. The straps are so long (about 100") - longer than my usual cutting surface - so I had to lay the fabric out on the kitchen floor (after swiffering the heck out of it). I still wasn't happy with the straightness of the cuts, so I ended up doing a rough cut with shears, then going back with a rotary cutter and straight edge to make sure the width of the straps was uniform and the edges really clean. Time-consuming, but worth it!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying out different styles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I dig this cap-sleeve option</td></tr>
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So after making a bunch of these dresses, what tips would I give? When you take your measurements, measure your waist at its narrowest point, because the waistband of the dress will pretty much migrate to that spot anyway. Be really aware of the stretchiness of your fabric: if it's really stretchy, you'll want to take and inch or two off your waist measurement. I would definitely make sure you have a really sharp pair of shears (or rotary cutter) before you cut out your pieces. Baste everything together before you sew the seams - it's really easy to catch in the different layers when you're stitching. <br />
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Hopefully after the big day my friend will let me use some of the pics of her wedding party so you can see the full effect!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-16152626502086806412012-07-26T08:59:00.002-04:002012-07-26T09:29:57.316-04:00... Random Round-Up: Baby Edition (Pom-Pom Curtains, Crib Sheets, Baby Clothes)So here's my reason for being so lazy lately: I have been gestating a baby! It's true. Not that this actively takes a lot of time, but it has made me fairly tired at different points and has certainly taken up a lot of mental energy as we try to get everything ready for our new tiny roommate. All this preparation has involved making things, of course. So what follows are a few baby-related projects I've been working on in the last few months. I have to warn you, the word "cute" figures heavily into this post.<br />
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<b>Pom-Pom Curtains</b><br />
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Several of the projects have been for the nursery, which is still in-progress but happily getting closer to completion. One of the first things I made for the nursery was a set of pom-pom curtains for the room's lone window. I started with a pair of fairly sheer white voile tab-top panels that I picked up at IKEA for about $10. The window looks directly at the building next to ours, about five feet away - not the most attractive thing to look at - so I wanted something that would let in light while still screening the view. I decided I didn't like the look of the tab-tops (they were weirdly long, so the curtains hung low and exposed the top of the roller shade) so I cut them off and sewed in rod pockets instead (the curtains came unhemmed, so I had a lot of extra length to work with) and then hemmed the bottom.<br />
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Attaching the pom-pom trim was really easy - just a matter of pinning it down to the inside and bottom edges of each panel and stitching down the center of the trim.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I got the trim on Etsy for about $2.50/yd. I think I used about 8 yards (with some left over), so the curtains cost me about $26 all told. I think that's a pretty good price for something this cute!! </span><br />
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(Oh yes, as you might have guessed from the pom-pom color, we're having a girl. Not that boys can't do pink - and the nursery has lots of bright colors, of which pink is just one. But I couldn't resist just a little pink. Moving on...)<br />
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<b>Fitted Crib Sheets</b><br />
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We're planning on having the baby in our bedroom for the first few months, so we have a tiny little crib for that purpose. This tiny little crib has a tiny little mattress which is too small for most crib sheets, so I made some of my own. Each sheet took about a yard of 44" cotton, with some muslin strips sew to the short ends to make it long enough to wrap under the mattress.<br />
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Making the corners is very easy - I folded the two edges of a corner to make a triangle, then used a pencil and a straight edge to mark my sewing line perpendicular to the folded edges. This makes a nice square corner. After sewing each corner, I just had to sew a casing for the elastic and thread it through. Super easy!<br />
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I made a few sheets in different prints, just for fun. And also because I expect them to be peed on and then need to be changed.<br />
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<b>Baby Clothes</b><br />
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OK, I held off on making baby clothes for a while, because I had other things going, I didn't know how big the baby would be, etc. etc. But now that I've started, I can't stop. I've said it before: making baby clothes is instant-gratification sewing - you can make a ton in just an afternoon. Plus, they take so little fabric - I'm using up loads of my scrap collection. It's awesome!<br />
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Because of my complete lack of personal knowledge about infants, I'm really clueless about sizing. So I started by sniffing around the internet for free infant dress patterns, of which there are quite a few. Behold, my growing obsession:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jksvfb6FqXrHxySDa3goO8n8c4c_JsDACM7dqoEIhyphenhyphen0bOudTYFeWDtOgr9s_CMTFlxbE6mC_2_KHSm3aZ4UxnJDb9vxpDZHTwj3hsLdl246fQah32ezb8bA0r2QeJnUQRUbC9IbtPCM/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jksvfb6FqXrHxySDa3goO8n8c4c_JsDACM7dqoEIhyphenhyphen0bOudTYFeWDtOgr9s_CMTFlxbE6mC_2_KHSm3aZ4UxnJDb9vxpDZHTwj3hsLdl246fQah32ezb8bA0r2QeJnUQRUbC9IbtPCM/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made this dress from a tutorial on <a href="http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/01/infant-peasant-dress-free-pattern-and.html">Sew Much Ado</a> - a little peasant dress with a rick-rack hem. Come on, that's adorable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWn0g1OX5y4Zxwc2edhfdY7Mq2IiiEHLoScdtC6-HLlShSxL_TGlRVQSWyr-wM7ctyGdXSA-BPHSyvChwMDkvELVgKn-OaM7zpltv2zloX-nS499M5rusdasddLQ7zl7WZp3gAr4i28bw/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWn0g1OX5y4Zxwc2edhfdY7Mq2IiiEHLoScdtC6-HLlShSxL_TGlRVQSWyr-wM7ctyGdXSA-BPHSyvChwMDkvELVgKn-OaM7zpltv2zloX-nS499M5rusdasddLQ7zl7WZp3gAr4i28bw/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was based on a tutorial at <a href="http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2010/04/pretty-easy-sundress.html">Craftiness is not Optional</a>, which has a ton of ideas for terminally cute kids' clothes. I'm not sure how old things have to be to be considered "vintage", but I'm going to go ahead and say that this fabric and button are vintage (they are at least from the early 80's - they come from my mum's stash. She thinks she probably got them while making baby clothes for me). </div>
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This dress is so cute, I can barely stand it. I made it with a tutorial at <a href="http://www.made-by-rae.com/2008/04/free-itty-bitty-baby-dress-pattern/">Made by Rae</a>. And then once I made the dress, I felt like it needed a little hat...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9WZcQrXdcFDlkLhTYrAbu0Ks0S4DaZkJWHYU9k9NWXeKBOeRXHWLIyoTizieMT1nkpN5IFldaYtix9DeaT_QTcXGEKQUN0HVMi1aGsMNfVx-zJsWnjecrdSnbKsdQAEGndm71OWnzgs/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9WZcQrXdcFDlkLhTYrAbu0Ks0S4DaZkJWHYU9k9NWXeKBOeRXHWLIyoTizieMT1nkpN5IFldaYtix9DeaT_QTcXGEKQUN0HVMi1aGsMNfVx-zJsWnjecrdSnbKsdQAEGndm71OWnzgs/s320/009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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And then all the dresses obviously all needed matching diaper covers, which I made with a pattern from <a href="http://www.danamadeit.com/2010/08/the-perfect-diaper-cover-tutorial-and-free-pattern.html">MADE</a>... I know. It's becoming a problem. I'm trying to hold off for now, because I know that babies grow wicked fast, and they poop all over everything, and all that. But it's hard.</div>
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So that's what I've been up to lately, besides sitting around being as big as a killer whale, debating middle names, and being unable to pick up things from the ground (problematic when you drop things as much as I do). I'm still working on some projects for the baby's room - I just finished up a skirt for the crib - which I'm hoping to show when it's finished. I'm starting to think that the baby might beat the nursery into completion, though. Just a few weeks left! </div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-23824790479214379092012-07-17T19:28:00.002-04:002012-07-17T19:34:08.190-04:00... reupholstered caned-back chairI... I can hardly believe it. We finished reupholstering that chair!*<br />
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I feel like I've been looking at it in it's half-finished state forever. It feels so good to have it finally done! Not to mention it helps to have an extra seat in the living room. Here's the "before" shot and the whole story:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNjiAlV7udg5HBssYGhqZYbthtzjQQanYU8dkTbsmRhnOENdZLXaQE_rJUt2BSEQCzHbgAycY9WltTD78TwlOMCAaXeM2LofcqwfiD77ZxsR3Q85WDF5eMjc-cEzZmmX_uBeU7zDEJRU/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNjiAlV7udg5HBssYGhqZYbthtzjQQanYU8dkTbsmRhnOENdZLXaQE_rJUt2BSEQCzHbgAycY9WltTD78TwlOMCAaXeM2LofcqwfiD77ZxsR3Q85WDF5eMjc-cEzZmmX_uBeU7zDEJRU/s320/019.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the inexecusably awful pic. It's apparently the only one I took.</td></tr>
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We got the chair at a yardsale a few years ago for about $20. The seat was really comfy and the caning was in remarkably good shape. We knew we'd eventually have to do something about the fabric on the seat, which was getting really threadbare. We used it as-was for a couple of years, until the fabric finally split and the front legs started to detach a bit from the rest of the frame. Rehab time!<br />
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We stripped off the fabric and the old foam underneath. Luckily for us, the cotton batting and coils were in decent shape so we didn't have to much about replacing those. George reattached the front legs and shored them up with some strategically placed wood screws. For the reupholstering, we followed the same basic steps we used when <a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/2012/03/reupholstered-ottoman.html">redoing the ottoman</a>. Since we already had the coils, burlap and batting in place, the next step was attaching a new piece of 1" foam (George was on staple gun duty once again). Then the chair sat for literally months while I dithered about what fabric to use on the seat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6r5_UHfb29J_WcPjKAOV4rTs74A6-MabcmVywIyR94JWIfxpuy_76_A1pC5ir323F8PnwXKwrs8gPcPsbY5P-Lc0Nixz3AyMRoNBGP_GCJoYNiTUrdACK7Wz-oeYooiVM-VtCgM57Ak/s1600/021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6r5_UHfb29J_WcPjKAOV4rTs74A6-MabcmVywIyR94JWIfxpuy_76_A1pC5ir323F8PnwXKwrs8gPcPsbY5P-Lc0Nixz3AyMRoNBGP_GCJoYNiTUrdACK7Wz-oeYooiVM-VtCgM57Ak/s320/021.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Finally I bit the bullet and ordered some velvety chenille (it was poly - all I could find - so really reasonable, about $12/yd) in an elephant-y gray. I think it makes a nice break from all the patterns in the living room - it's soothing (as far as chair fabric can be soothing). We stapled down a layer of batting before finally attaching the fabric. We chose to pull it all the way under the chair and staple to the underside, rather than to the front of the chair as the original fabric was attached. It was just a heck of a lot easier. Attaching the fabric was a little more complicated than in our ottoman job, because we needed to make release cuts around the arms and legs. They aren't perfect, but I was happy enough with them at the end of the day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRFzv9ff59iZL7IKxwpIr-Hb88x1IXe9KEnFeATV13vOJXoYkRViN0VQuAYO0uFl_QZ5FE9tEJY3zH9O8ceu89elLgrdyhjcT36Pms9xtgJCXOif7s6gKggQvumJTRJbm0UTZ-5SZIWU/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRFzv9ff59iZL7IKxwpIr-Hb88x1IXe9KEnFeATV13vOJXoYkRViN0VQuAYO0uFl_QZ5FE9tEJY3zH9O8ceu89elLgrdyhjcT36Pms9xtgJCXOif7s6gKggQvumJTRJbm0UTZ-5SZIWU/s320/029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YSorzuBJn2zyJHzokx42twnSFD6Er8yA3E4GtEnn_k24O99xG7oxqFrJeuKw6f_7_z2mQf7Gab40fo_Y_61xxM6xJeGpdLGry4M9ujFtEDIGlUmTJ38HUavYMZOd4qHNYUqksCOTLrY/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YSorzuBJn2zyJHzokx42twnSFD6Er8yA3E4GtEnn_k24O99xG7oxqFrJeuKw6f_7_z2mQf7Gab40fo_Y_61xxM6xJeGpdLGry4M9ujFtEDIGlUmTJ38HUavYMZOd4qHNYUqksCOTLrY/s320/032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The last step was sewing a few lengths of double-welt cord and hot gluing it around the legs in the front, to cover the raw edge of the fabric and make it look purdy. Then... finally done!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dHvq-5fwxXGPQdh6q5LaPsoeXDR1LFAaiT-ApnIeKkIhXhv897sdwoGMuVUuzYUbZShUNNELRgKiXLS-pZbV24rDqEKzb4sRVOmoriJWBc8YUY1mRiPomyDjAyl21T38BXIT8H42Pys/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dHvq-5fwxXGPQdh6q5LaPsoeXDR1LFAaiT-ApnIeKkIhXhv897sdwoGMuVUuzYUbZShUNNELRgKiXLS-pZbV24rDqEKzb4sRVOmoriJWBc8YUY1mRiPomyDjAyl21T38BXIT8H42Pys/s320/042.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Well, almost. We could still attach single welt cording around the entire bottom length of the chair for a really finished look - but I ran out of cotton cord. So until I get some more, this is finished enough for me. It looks puffier than the original, but I think it'll wear in over time. Plus it is just super-comfy to sit on. George has his favorite reading chair back, and the cats have another surface to completely coat in cat hair.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6omJS_vKMwu3ZIdrKCQ0_vytG2gdOgV9eE85rjAMSP0DZJu58TNCMnXJ1ePGzKWaGi3XMtI_b2L38VDW5XAGmpGRIyqY4hLflNvp4vsL_VNrVGPyNPxI8x0S2DP-UgxzlJU-ZW69PCBQ/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6omJS_vKMwu3ZIdrKCQ0_vytG2gdOgV9eE85rjAMSP0DZJu58TNCMnXJ1ePGzKWaGi3XMtI_b2L38VDW5XAGmpGRIyqY4hLflNvp4vsL_VNrVGPyNPxI8x0S2DP-UgxzlJU-ZW69PCBQ/s320/038.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIz6aUU51TuuzVzbHOAAd79AFp_SuCHM3N4iSRadQ40bwiplN9dYvvn5VXUOiSYERHPtklXdHa8taCn7WRB64f3Jpo8Euuv9LEmLLUli2JSMo5dBKhLe1Vm18fGYE_ee_jLaAB8xfj_g/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIz6aUU51TuuzVzbHOAAd79AFp_SuCHM3N4iSRadQ40bwiplN9dYvvn5VXUOiSYERHPtklXdHa8taCn7WRB64f3Jpo8Euuv9LEmLLUli2JSMo5dBKhLe1Vm18fGYE_ee_jLaAB8xfj_g/s320/043.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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So what the heck else have I been doing for over a month since I posted anything? Lazy, lazy. I do have a few more projects to write about, one of which will explain my questionably legit excuse. More soon, but first let me bask in the glow of finally finishing* that damn chair!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaKDBdwP882CL1PbWolJZKWHypTrS_u77GuzPDLTSOW7IXRK3Ux_bJNdNUIFFTitp1CI2hb9LuaWMfLvYxQ89uYjhuUE8jyIICybjqImmV6wVpql9Ccbxn0rwO8mB_kfsibP2AZ585cs/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaKDBdwP882CL1PbWolJZKWHypTrS_u77GuzPDLTSOW7IXRK3Ux_bJNdNUIFFTitp1CI2hb9LuaWMfLvYxQ89uYjhuUE8jyIICybjqImmV6wVpql9Ccbxn0rwO8mB_kfsibP2AZ585cs/s320/045.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
*Mostly.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-84833779123789147572012-05-18T10:30:00.001-04:002012-05-18T10:31:19.154-04:00... filia dress preview - Flea-for-All, May 19This <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">Flea-for-All</a> dress preview is a bit of a cop-out because, as you unusually astute readers will not doubt notice, there are no new dresses in the following post. But! This doesn't mean I don't have anything new for the Flea this week. I do, in fact, have some skirts in new colorful prints and also, something I don't usually do a whole lot of, new summer-weight tops!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dyJLi5F1Xg9n_e-lgyHJ_N3MbW8jwyOtyNxFXdfF7amgfk6VYVjIRmToilPeIML-oPaabeya7XuJUGkmoFldNmv7m3wRm4eKj3zItzvv0B4JvUd1c6W4y78dpQ5jFklrlP7hA9bp85k/s1600/026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dyJLi5F1Xg9n_e-lgyHJ_N3MbW8jwyOtyNxFXdfF7amgfk6VYVjIRmToilPeIML-oPaabeya7XuJUGkmoFldNmv7m3wRm4eKj3zItzvv0B4JvUd1c6W4y78dpQ5jFklrlP7hA9bp85k/s320/026.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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These tops (blouses? tanks? I'm not entirely sure what the best descriptor is) are really lightweight, perfect for summer with shorts, jeans or skirts. They're a little bit shaped, but loose-fitting for a relaxed look. Pleats around the scoop neckline and button closure at the back of the neck. I've got one in the great brown-and-ivory print seen above and a few in a fantastic pink/teal/purple/navy print that I call "Yellow Submarine Print" in my head because I think it looks pretty psychedelic-fabulous.<br />
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(The shorts in these pictures look a little funny on Estelle because they're just pinned onto the front of her. I couldn't actually put them on her because Estelle, unlike most of us, has a metal rod sticking out the bottom of her torso which effectively prevents her from wearing pants. Don't feel <i>too </i>bad for her though - she can also lose like five inches off her hips with a couple clicks of a dial and about twenty seconds. <i>That </i>I wouldn't mind).<br />
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In addition to the new tops, I also have some of my classic elastic waist skirts in bright new prints, including a preppy kelly green geometric print and a fantastic print that's like a cross between fireworks and Spriograph drawings on a royal blue background. How perfect would that be for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July?? I'll have a few sizes with me this weekend, with enough fabric to make more if I don't have your size on Saturday.<br />
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So come visit me at the Flea, 125 Kennebec Street, Portland, Maine from 10AM-5PM this Saturday, May 19! (It's also my parents' 33rd anniversary - Happy Anniversary, Mum and Dad!!)<br />
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In non-filia news, god that chair that we've been working on forever - still not done! I am totally creating the hold-up because I just. can't. decide. on what fabric to use. I don't think I've ever been so indecisive about a fabric choice before. Our living room already has a lot of prints going on, so I think I'm leaning toward a solid (even though I'm always drawn to prints) just to even things out a bit. So maybe a grey or dark blue velveteen, something like that. Maybe. I just need to decide so we can finish it! Here it is looking all forlorn and halfway done:<br />
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Somebody decide for me!! Gah!<br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-61802827827833910532012-04-25T13:51:00.000-04:002012-04-25T13:59:23.721-04:00... filia dress preview - Flea-for-All, April 28The last two weeks flew by and my second <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">Flea-for-All</a> appearance is this coming Saturday, April 28! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit and shop on Opening Weekend - it was a blast. Hope to see even more on Saturday! And here's the newest dress I'll have with me:<br />
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If the <a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/2012/04/filia-dress-preview-flea-for-all-april.html">last dress</a> was a little modern, this one's a little bit country at heart, I think. I thought of the shape as soon as I found the fabric - a super-soft cotton voile in a tiny floral print (mostly reds, pinks and blues on a ivory background). Because voile is almost sheer, the dress is fully lined in cotton muslin. It also features pockets on the side seams, a red button closure at the back of the neck, and a drawstring waist. I had a very limited amount of this fabric, so I was only able to make a few of these dresses (I'll probably make more in another fabric if I find some I like). Find me at the Flea this Saturday if you're interested! <br />
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And that Flea is once again located at 125 Kennebec Street in Portland, Maine, open from 10AM-5PM. See you there!!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-53714858352365391822012-04-12T14:04:00.000-04:002012-04-12T14:04:35.773-04:00... filia dress preview - Flea-for-All, April 15<a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-show-schedule.html">As previously promised</a>, here is the first dress I'll be debuting at the <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">Portland Flea-for-All</a> this Sunday!<br />
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</div>(Sorry for the lack of human modeling in these pics. I can't fit into anything for a while, and I couldn't recruit anyone on short notice. So you'll have to make do with my lovely dummy Estelle and just imagine how good these would look on an actual person. Like you!)<br />
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It's make of crisp cotton poplin in colorblocked red and navy (I also have a few in red and khaki). It has a comfy wide elastic waist, button closure at the back of the neck and pockets on the side seams (of couse). Available for the first time this Sunday, April 15 at the Portland Flea-for-All!<br />
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And because it's the big Flea <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/216832501751586/">Opening Weekend</a>, here's one more sneak peak of a new item I'll have there:<br />
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This skirt is made of navy cotton eyelet (fully lined), has a really cute paper-bag style elastic waist and those trusty side-seam pockets. I came across the eyelet in one of my favorite fabric stores in Boston and snapped it up (I wasn't letting it pass me by, considering the epic quest I went on to find navy eyelet for a dress I made for a friend <a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/04/party-dress-for-friend.html">last year</a>). I turned it into a limited number of skirts, so stop by Sunday to grab one for yourself <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">http://portlandfleaforall.com/</a>before they're gone!<br />
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So, one more time, the new <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">Portland Flea-for-All</a> opens this weekend on Saturday, April 14 and your truly will be there on Sunday, April 15th. It's at 125 Kennebec Street in Portland (in the Bayside neighborhood). Hope to see you there!!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-83824854905969239732012-04-08T21:47:00.000-04:002012-04-08T21:47:44.613-04:00... Spring show scheduleI'm taking a quick break from making things to bust out some info about some really fun and exciting retail events I'm going to be participating in as a vendor this Spring. I've got a lot in the works so I needed to take a time out to organize everything!<br />
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First off, I hope everyone's heard about the Flea-for-All, Portland's new indoor flea market located at 125 Kennebec Street. I'm so psyched about this, as a vendor and as a shopper! It opens this weekend, April 14 & 15 and will feature tons of amazing vendors selling vintage, antique and handcrafted items. Check out their adorable website <a href="http://portlandfleaforall.com/">here</a> for more info. I'll be there with my filia wares for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/216832501751586/">Opening Weekend</a> on <strong><u>Sunday</u></strong>, April 15 and also on the following dates: <br />
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Saturday, April 28<br />
Saturday, May 19<br />
Saturday, May 26<br />
Saturday, June 10<br />
Saturday, June 30<br />
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I have a ton of new styles in the works for the spring and summer, so at every appearance I make at the Flea-for-All, I'll be debuting a new design. Stayed tuned this week for the first new dress!<br />
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On May 12, I'll also be at <a href="http://thebigthawportland.wordpress.com/">The Big Thaw</a>, a very cool local arts, crafts and vintage fair held at the Mayo Street Arts Center in Portland, ME. It's the day before Mother's Day, so it's perfect for last minute shopping! I'll have some of my clothes there as well as lots of giftie items. filia was also recently spotlighted on the event website, which you can check out <a href="http://thebigthawportland.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/vendor-spotlight-filia/">here</a> and wherein I talk a lot about my mum.<br />
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So with all the filia stuff going on, I haven't been able to focus on making much else lately. I still have a deconstructed chair sitting in my dining room that needs to be reupholstered, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger on a fabric choice. But I'm hoping to squeeze that project in soon!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-18140566591880130042012-03-05T10:40:00.001-05:002012-03-05T10:54:57.959-05:00... reupholstered ottomanThe ottoman, it is finished! I am so seriously happy with the way it came out, and the fact that it's done. This is a project that we've had on deck for months, so it feels really satisfying. Without further ado, the process!<br />
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I was taking a walk around my neighborhood with my mum back in the fall when we spotted this oversized ottoman frame out by the side of the road. Incidentally, "the side of the road" is one of my favorite places to find old furniture. In our very college-y neighborhood in Boston, we found tons of great stuff that way, especially when everyone was moving out at the end of a semester. Anyway, the ottoman seemed sturdy and, being made of wood, seemed to have a low possibility of harboring bedbugs (I left it outside for like a month, just in case), so we picked it up and carried it back to my apartment. In the "Before" shots below, you can see that we basically started out with the wooden frame and coils with most of the padding and fabric already removed.<br />
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</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first thing we did was spend some QT with the pliers, a screwdriver and a claw-foot hammer, removing the many, many staples left over from the previous reupholstering job and the last bits of fabric that were hanging on. I'm not going to lie, this part was no fun. But with two of us (the two being me and George, who was my partner in crime on this project) working on it, we banged it out in a few hours. The next step was re-tying a few of the coils where the original cord had broken. Luckily for me, most of the string was in good shape and I didn't have to do too much. Then we stapled a large piece of burlap over the coils.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMgQIhuYDbiDTR4S60gwDAP4vmeb3kb8iA9ZcWQ1LfxjHeI0EgoIoC7derdnJ7Uj2gTl44kasBuzMnKyakEZy97hJ_ormyDSMyduzgD-XF6XCJIxTc3AnHXczr83xQQ72RsNxCqZ9vzI/s1600/146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMgQIhuYDbiDTR4S60gwDAP4vmeb3kb8iA9ZcWQ1LfxjHeI0EgoIoC7derdnJ7Uj2gTl44kasBuzMnKyakEZy97hJ_ormyDSMyduzgD-XF6XCJIxTc3AnHXczr83xQQ72RsNxCqZ9vzI/s320/146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At this point I should mention that for the majority of this project I followed the excellent Upholstery Basics tutorial on Design*Sponge - you can check it out <a href="http://www.designsponge.com/2011/09/upholstery-basics-constructing-coil-springs-part-2.html">here</a>. It's incredibly detailed and helpful and it you're tacking this kind of project for the first time, I think you'll find it invaluable. OK, moving on! Next step was to add a bunch of stuffing for cushioning. I actually used the insides of some couch cushions we no longer use, so we got in a little extra bit of up-cycling there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jEhFyJ2SUkaCu0KJZsQsb6vgFSbPmpaimT2-EkXuOFKu_NXhZseO7eMrUetmqwkRwIaworJ6ZfpKoA4btNEp6t_gD5pCK2Mb6kJBquzp7lX5J4cFv3MaQqD2xelkFpgtuAQOcyDsuRE/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jEhFyJ2SUkaCu0KJZsQsb6vgFSbPmpaimT2-EkXuOFKu_NXhZseO7eMrUetmqwkRwIaworJ6ZfpKoA4btNEp6t_gD5pCK2Mb6kJBquzp7lX5J4cFv3MaQqD2xelkFpgtuAQOcyDsuRE/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The cats were super-intrigued by this part, so it was hard to get an in-progress shot without them in it. So after the stuffing, it was time for the foam. We used a large piece of 2"-thick foam, cut to the size of the ottoman with an extra half-inch on each side. George used spray-adhesive to attach pieces of burlap to the edges of the foam rectangle, which we used to pull down and staple to the frame. This gave a nice rounded edge all the way around.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LViztnRrGGBwsGrfSJFyWKLRCYR2CMw1EeLoh4xvN1vyVI0lWvUDRcX_OPE7jiGBf6XaHCCX2uCUMdk376WYfZRjc6GwNt-MSo3VYen44ElUVVYwrg_fXdwSevmRh4gdTHeYG_ckBPM/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LViztnRrGGBwsGrfSJFyWKLRCYR2CMw1EeLoh4xvN1vyVI0lWvUDRcX_OPE7jiGBf6XaHCCX2uCUMdk376WYfZRjc6GwNt-MSo3VYen44ElUVVYwrg_fXdwSevmRh4gdTHeYG_ckBPM/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the crap picture quality - we were working on this at night. And watching TV.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next was a layer of batting. I used high-loft quilting batting, which is the kind that comes in a big roll. We cut a large piece to fit and draped it over the top. To attach it, we actually separted the layers a bit around the edges, stapling the bottom layer and then smoothing the top layer down to hide the dimple left by the staples. Neat trick, huh?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqFbGnuQ2-o66bKyQ8kh2FEbnGTOxd6QKapfDc1O0FMY2s9VkrgZwzjlwsZNnTD_UwWazDfyBJapvJCVBGI0vUxaNc1dUGOU4v6lZQXHkmx-T-qId_YHda2A7mbMYsjiTVA0ZCngH8lU/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqFbGnuQ2-o66bKyQ8kh2FEbnGTOxd6QKapfDc1O0FMY2s9VkrgZwzjlwsZNnTD_UwWazDfyBJapvJCVBGI0vUxaNc1dUGOU4v6lZQXHkmx-T-qId_YHda2A7mbMYsjiTVA0ZCngH8lU/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God, this picture is even worse. Sorry!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At this point, it was ready for fabric! I used a cotton slub (feels kind of like linen) in a yellow and white ikat-ish pattern. This was another drape-and-staple layer - the only tricky bits were the corners and making sure we got the staples as close to the bottom trim as possible.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3i8CTnmD8XnS87K5YoIjvNU1JK9XwqWWa-Q5Mi8tmLJUEPQW0zr5mUHjfbznpQIKpV7wYVJRx6KCU5vkctxhD1_J2KjR6r_C-SywTa9urs-CYhLJiSJeGoBt2XEXpJPlpOv8H6doA0c/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3i8CTnmD8XnS87K5YoIjvNU1JK9XwqWWa-Q5Mi8tmLJUEPQW0zr5mUHjfbznpQIKpV7wYVJRx6KCU5vkctxhD1_J2KjR6r_C-SywTa9urs-CYhLJiSJeGoBt2XEXpJPlpOv8H6doA0c/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was the point at which we could actually sit on the ottoman and use it, so we got a little lazy about actually doing the finishing work. This weekend we finally completed the last step, which was to sew double-welt cord and glue it over the exposed staples. I used <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/tag/double-welt-cord/">this tutorial</a> on Centsational Girl for tips on how to sew the double-welt cord without the special presser foot made specifically for doing so, since I didn't have one. Then it was just a matter of hot-gluing the cord over the exposed staples, just above the decorative wooden trim.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZFX7-aklhSWXB3JTsMvk52Zhbm0osNRJaWPXxmUoSETkRQN2pFmf7K3j8ETGkLebSdfisgjIxIPe3bjzhLN9R5w_l8VBnz4HpJVmDQIU2MxqAP5tmAtqUXpvu2xfrFGLprOQR8Fn2io/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZFX7-aklhSWXB3JTsMvk52Zhbm0osNRJaWPXxmUoSETkRQN2pFmf7K3j8ETGkLebSdfisgjIxIPe3bjzhLN9R5w_l8VBnz4HpJVmDQIU2MxqAP5tmAtqUXpvu2xfrFGLprOQR8Fn2io/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6pv-tuyAtuNaNv6bVO5C5MY5paYkW2w_ZVZXwNXumaKwB5Y1313ZfB9lW4qHh5yZCSD562Wy_cK1EoQPOP88mUVX92Mz3QH6WP5gTj5r0xiRXWBPWZQPjXux2X20MArOUDHfEUEZXOU/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6pv-tuyAtuNaNv6bVO5C5MY5paYkW2w_ZVZXwNXumaKwB5Y1313ZfB9lW4qHh5yZCSD562Wy_cK1EoQPOP88mUVX92Mz3QH6WP5gTj5r0xiRXWBPWZQPjXux2X20MArOUDHfEUEZXOU/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's it! I just used a little Murphy's Wood Soap on the frame to shine it up, and it was 100% done. I'm so happy with the way it came out. It was definitely the most complicated reupholstery job that I've tried, but was also the perfect piece to start on since it was just a big rectangle - no arms or back to cut around. I was trying to figure out how much it cost overall - I think the materials set me back $60-$70 altogether (that's for the burlap, foam - which is always super-pricey although I got a pretty good deal on this stuff at Mardens's - fabric, batting and cord) which I don't think is too bad for such a large piece and I do have a bunch of materials left over for the next project. In terms of time, I'd say we spent 3-4 days on it, although we obviously weren't working on it all day on those days. Definitely a success for us - it's really comfy and has added two more much-needed seats to our living room. Well, really just one seat in the aggregate - while I was sewing the welt cord, George was stripping the fabric off and reinforcing the legs of an armchair that will be our next reupholstery project. It never ends! But that's kind of the point.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyDIBVoxFHHEaYj4ZR4Qiw23xD_il-OWHro0aet33-Ev7u6aLy-u0yTVYDpzpTUgIZLcxRg6mVXVQHu2KMGu2ETIpm5Ti5aUpBzCRWg-M80KfFhFXlkvB4NW-zrelZFuFV-XcZX7YrNk/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyDIBVoxFHHEaYj4ZR4Qiw23xD_il-OWHro0aet33-Ev7u6aLy-u0yTVYDpzpTUgIZLcxRg6mVXVQHu2KMGu2ETIpm5Ti5aUpBzCRWg-M80KfFhFXlkvB4NW-zrelZFuFV-XcZX7YrNk/s320/031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-48264170747750739902012-02-27T11:25:00.000-05:002012-02-27T11:25:24.926-05:00... Facebook page for filiaJust a quick update to let all my readers (hi, mum!) know that I've finally created a Facebook page for my sewing business <a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/p/shop.html">filia</a>. I'll be posting about new filia items that I'm working on or that are available on Etsy or at the Merchant Company, craft fairs in which I'll be participating... all that jazz. You can check it out (and even "like" it, if you are so inclined) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Filia/394763827205143"><b>here</b></a>!<div><br />
</div><div>In other news, I am almost, <i>almost</i> done with my reupholstered ottoman. It really should be done by now actually, but we made the mistake of getting it as far as it needed to be actually functional and then taking a break (the only thing left to be finished is the trim, which covers the staples but is essentially aesthetic). So now that we can actually <i>use</i> it, we kind of lost the motivation to do the finishing work. But I just need to bite the bullet and do it, and I'm going to do it soon. So since I don't have a picture of anything new to post at the moment, please enjoy this picture of my cats sleeping. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vHtnVfqwEckLpj6I-pclcnDeXSEeGLBDCnKr4HNIMEIZZSl8sfI0aGW2fdtvwuc-ZXDCMo8QZ5A4vOOfMIAPKSenKF-B2ACMJpb0OGkVRuuorLTfiOuMf-N-TsdkAF96U5k7Vrg2v34/s1600/cats+sleeping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vHtnVfqwEckLpj6I-pclcnDeXSEeGLBDCnKr4HNIMEIZZSl8sfI0aGW2fdtvwuc-ZXDCMo8QZ5A4vOOfMIAPKSenKF-B2ACMJpb0OGkVRuuorLTfiOuMf-N-TsdkAF96U5k7Vrg2v34/s320/cats+sleeping.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-42942599098975394582012-02-10T11:55:00.003-05:002012-02-10T12:07:43.877-05:00... Random Round-Up: iPod Sleeve, Floor Pillow & Plush Toy<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m working on a reupholstering project that’s more complicated than the </span><a href="http://set-of-reupholstered-dining-chairs/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">chair seat covers</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I did recently, so it’s going to be a little while before I can share it. In the meantime, I’ve made a few little things that, in and of themselves, didn’t really seem to merit their own post. That happens pretty often, actually – so I decided that maybe I’d start grouping these little projects together in a kind of odds & ends Random Round-Up. And for this inaugural RR post, I’ve got a couple of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> rando items: an iPod sleeve, a floor pillow cover, and a stuffed dragon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So up first: the iPod sleeve, made at the request of my sister Erin. For this little project I got to use fabric scraps that I had lying around, which I LOVE to do because I am neurotic about letting anything go to waste. The owl pinwale corduroy Erin chose was leftover from a </span><a href="http://www.katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/11/baby-gift-and-characteristic-mistake.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">baby outfit I made for a friend</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and the sleeve is lined with matching green corduroy. The sleeve is open at the top and I used some silk cord I had lying around to make a loop that would fasten over a button sewn to the front. This was a super-fast project – instant gratification sewing!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVrEa8LwTu1tTnK57EYIxDpURXwVgxz2CKARfWzEPtAYS6JKWnqbxy1K9aJmosSnXVfDB9Y6EKRjd4tQECbRkxxR6RDTXI8oBYcTyhzFgFCi4maxSu9vd9sFhBoej648BOsRow1W1iXk/s1600/149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVrEa8LwTu1tTnK57EYIxDpURXwVgxz2CKARfWzEPtAYS6JKWnqbxy1K9aJmosSnXVfDB9Y6EKRjd4tQECbRkxxR6RDTXI8oBYcTyhzFgFCi4maxSu9vd9sFhBoej648BOsRow1W1iXk/s320/149.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BKTEyu7577vq4jfldFcaWHyY2Di4TYokbJNbnjyhY7fwVpHRBWVorb6KWP7U-87IscEfkDBpN-GdtoxChqyoxwkp1A8Lz6ZQdNmkDcKldy51Iu8AdN0yYJGYMnm5YarPGLvDD0vDfTA/s1600/152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BKTEyu7577vq4jfldFcaWHyY2Di4TYokbJNbnjyhY7fwVpHRBWVorb6KWP7U-87IscEfkDBpN-GdtoxChqyoxwkp1A8Lz6ZQdNmkDcKldy51Iu8AdN0yYJGYMnm5YarPGLvDD0vDfTA/s320/152.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a sleeve for an iPod Classic, by the way. I probably should have taken a picture with the iPod half out of the sleeve so you could get an idea of the size, but as exceptionally clever readers I think you can picture how it works. I was happy with how it came out though - what do you think, maybe a new product line?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moving on to the floor pillow cover! Right now we have kind of a seating issue in our living room, which is that there isn’t enough of it, and half of what there is, is in the process of being reupholstered. So my temporary, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>budget-friendly solution is to make some floor pillows to sit or lean on, and very fortuitously, Joann’s happened to have a sale on pillow forms last week and I got a few 27”x27” pillow inserts for half price. The design for the cover is as basic as it gets: Just a big square with an invisible zipper. I love using invisible zippers for pillow covers – they are really easy to put in when you use the special little invisible zipper foot and I think they give you a really finished, professional look. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFM6mZRMVQkoZoEJ3bPpwdAf2tcxgJ_F2xESmbaDwuGCSmP2ChbVt_NpsOn-1yvxUcyQFmMbAOs4jelbCh9gQysztajGMDlZIbiVFXCiQ6Z-Y8V3xu7Y3gvzU9iwmmNnoS5troHpdPVnM/s1600/164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFM6mZRMVQkoZoEJ3bPpwdAf2tcxgJ_F2xESmbaDwuGCSmP2ChbVt_NpsOn-1yvxUcyQFmMbAOs4jelbCh9gQysztajGMDlZIbiVFXCiQ6Z-Y8V3xu7Y3gvzU9iwmmNnoS5troHpdPVnM/s320/164.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt9hpYu53ERBrDwARVSdHgNd3i-6QmpwZuy2myZMraXErLnjb929VUT6Rmqix2PL3DqpIXZlcgbGfT2-GeU1KndPBPwFAnBMzCPAvPGmu1uiMxmM3TnH1tXbNGxWPvFfoZMHH3i4MbFI/s1600/165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt9hpYu53ERBrDwARVSdHgNd3i-6QmpwZuy2myZMraXErLnjb929VUT6Rmqix2PL3DqpIXZlcgbGfT2-GeU1KndPBPwFAnBMzCPAvPGmu1uiMxmM3TnH1tXbNGxWPvFfoZMHH3i4MbFI/s320/165.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like, I said, super-basic and not terribly noteworthy (and, obviously, already covered in cat hair. I should probably just say it's the new cat bed and call it a day). The fabric is Ikea – I previously made throw pillow covers out of the same fabric for the couch. It’s a ridiculous deal, something like $8 a yard for a nice, thick cotton that’s almost a canvas. The only downside is that you actually have to go to Ikea to get it, and now that we live in Maine, that is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">way</i> more onerous trip than it used to be from Boston!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So last thing for today – a stuffed dragon! This was my first attempt at a making a plush toy and was made as a late Christmas/Chinese New Year gift for a friend’s daughter (it’s the Year of the Dragon!). I ordered the pattern from </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62631671/yoki-the-fat-dragon-sewing-pattern-pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DIY Fluffies</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> on Etsy and had it via e-mail the same day – how cool is that? The .pdf included the pattern pieces and really good instructions to put the whole thing together. It’s made of fleece and stuffed with poly batting and is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pretty dang cute</i> if I do say so myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyqEo3ywvvvirBawdmjoStW-CZCMA8TAhRinIqH24VxdcLRaIm3nsNy2KATwVjEpZnw3aw9DZfE7xUSNn7GrrAqm_uNBY683Hw0UPgLlrKCOGSYtqkFMq0Gv204dAfmmiTI7aIGtdH-g/s1600/Dragon+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyqEo3ywvvvirBawdmjoStW-CZCMA8TAhRinIqH24VxdcLRaIm3nsNy2KATwVjEpZnw3aw9DZfE7xUSNn7GrrAqm_uNBY683Hw0UPgLlrKCOGSYtqkFMq0Gv204dAfmmiTI7aIGtdH-g/s320/Dragon+1.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7QTM_Afuj1a69n7HVYvsWl9nCykJyGOsIlX66UeiBcIgmWimuO44A1Mn6zaIfKfzKXRFT6-GVvXzlVn74jYZQyOrJndAxq8ORAUbQUbMEslwUQfnWkjaiBil-TIoeTZOxubHinUPuFg/s1600/161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7QTM_Afuj1a69n7HVYvsWl9nCykJyGOsIlX66UeiBcIgmWimuO44A1Mn6zaIfKfzKXRFT6-GVvXzlVn74jYZQyOrJndAxq8ORAUbQUbMEslwUQfnWkjaiBil-TIoeTZOxubHinUPuFg/s320/161.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, I probably should have taken a picture of the dragon next to something else so you can get a sense of scale – it’s about 10” tall. Hey look, here he (she?) is on the half-reupholstered ottoman!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt0qaGLM6hdaoguslLcYFAGyw6CiWr4FCA5WoKN-CEFpE-z_5OtbfRFZt_o8aQh9EXwqMWm0BuKQRmrb0aJsckQaGG08iL8jP_KGkuAM9YHv-xo9YyleCwdCDPA5Qmm7rPtCmP4wfHuA/s1600/163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt0qaGLM6hdaoguslLcYFAGyw6CiWr4FCA5WoKN-CEFpE-z_5OtbfRFZt_o8aQh9EXwqMWm0BuKQRmrb0aJsckQaGG08iL8jP_KGkuAM9YHv-xo9YyleCwdCDPA5Qmm7rPtCmP4wfHuA/s320/163.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there’s a little sneak peek at that project, which hopefully won’t take <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i> too much longer to finish. In the meantime, Happy Valentines Day to you all! I hope someone buys you one of those heart-shaped doughnuts from Dunks. Those things look wicked good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-13053290162077188572012-01-04T14:00:00.000-05:002012-01-04T14:00:36.158-05:00... set of reupholstered dining chairs<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I sing of chairs and a (wo)man! My dining chair refinishing/reupholstering epic is finally over. Truth be told, I actually finished them up about a month ago - but December is always crazy busy and I was lazy about downloading and editing all the pictures I took of the process. But I’m really psyched about the way they came out, so I’m excited to talk about them now!</span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> <div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here’s the backstory: my parents gave us four Queen Anne-style chairs that had originally belonged to my great-grandmother and were subsequently used by my grandmother and later, my parents. I remember our family using them when we were younger, but they had been in my parents’ basement for at least ten or fifteen years. We were pretty excited to get them, because they’re in pretty good shape and we needed some dining room furniture, as we’ve never actually had a dining room before. Because we were planning on getting a big table, we picked up two additional chairs at a local used furniture store in Old Orchard Beach. They weren’t a perfect match, but since they also had generally the same “honey oak” wood tone, tall backs and upholstered seats, I thought they’d look pretty well together. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLZyxKRU-UE/TwSQUtz7nyI/AAAAAAAAANA/w92FfAIruFI/s1600/chairs+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLZyxKRU-UE/TwSQUtz7nyI/AAAAAAAAANA/w92FfAIruFI/s320/chairs+before.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Before" chairs, from left to right: previously refinished Queen Anne chair, lone original Queen Anne chair, and "fancy" chair from a second-hand store </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So here’s where I was at the beginning: four Queen Anne-style chairs, three of which had been refinished by my mum (wood stripped and stained, seats re-covered) and one which was virtually untouched; and two second-hand store chairs (which for ease of distinguishing the two sets I will now refer to as “fancy chairs”), which originally had caned seats but now had very worn leather seats. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I tackled the recovering the seats first. When I really examined the Queen Anne chair seats, I realized that they had actually undergone several re-coverings, but that everyone that had done so had just put new fabric right over the old. I decided to strip all the fabric of and maybe add some new foam for a softer seat. Particularly when I found out what was the actual “cushioning agent” in these old chairs.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xUDUkDYyos/TwSRBedGguI/AAAAAAAAANM/NnmDdO7kFno/s1600/seats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xUDUkDYyos/TwSRBedGguI/AAAAAAAAANM/NnmDdO7kFno/s320/seats.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Before" seats, clockwise from top left: pulling away layer #1 to reveal layer #2; layer #3 (groovy); original fabric (on un-refinished chair), and nasty, nasty horsehair.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HORSEHAIR. Isn’t that super-gross? <i>I </i>thought it was. I was particularly glad I stripped all the layers off outside, because the horsehair was so old that it was disintegrating into a fine dust and getting everywhere. Gag. The other tough part about the seat-stripping process was that the older fabric was attached with ancient, tiny, rusty little tacks that were too small to grab with a regular claw hammer. My dad luckily had a little tool called a cat’s paw (how cute is that?) which worked really well. And in showing my how to use it, he did half the work for me. Bonus.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">While I was outside, I figured it was a good time to strip the Queen Anne chair that had never been refinished. The finish was way darker than the other chairs, so I hoped that using a stripping agent would lighten it a bit. That stuff is super-toxic though, not my favorite.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JvkCBtUQeH0/TwSRtvQ8vzI/AAAAAAAAANY/W7L82pLii2A/s1600/IMG_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JvkCBtUQeH0/TwSRtvQ8vzI/AAAAAAAAANY/W7L82pLii2A/s320/IMG_1920.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think I was actually smiling under the mask.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It worked OK. What <i>actually</i> worked a lot better was vigorously sanding the crap out of it. That lighted the wood to the point where I thought it would actually take some stain. I used what literally may have been the same can of stain that my mum used to refinish the other chairs, as it looked like it has been in the basement for twenty years or so. After two coats of stain and about four coats of poly, I think the wood tone is pretty reasonably close to the other three. It’s a tiny bit darker and not quite as warm, but good enough for me.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CdcWT-IxR7E/TwSSCV_lGFI/AAAAAAAAANk/DSe1XB6Tb8Q/s1600/IMG_4283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CdcWT-IxR7E/TwSSCV_lGFI/AAAAAAAAANk/DSe1XB6Tb8Q/s320/IMG_4283.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Back to the seats! I now had four completely stripped wooden seat bases for the Queen Anne chairs - no horsehair in sight. The leather and plywood seats from the fancy chairs were in such rough shape, I decided to replace them completely. I used the discarded seat to make a template of the seat shape on kraft paper, which my dad used to cut me two seat bases out of plywood. Then it was a trip to the fabric store for fabric, 1” foam, and batting. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FCtWlhnGAXw/TwSSZpCFQeI/AAAAAAAAANw/oPrqV7ceawQ/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FCtWlhnGAXw/TwSSZpCFQeI/AAAAAAAAANw/oPrqV7ceawQ/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks, dad!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ckrYQPXPcQ/TwSSeN6ZoOI/AAAAAAAAAN4/qminA30SsrA/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ckrYQPXPcQ/TwSSeN6ZoOI/AAAAAAAAAN4/qminA30SsrA/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chosen fabric - I put a bird on it. I can't help it.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">These seats are absolutely the easiest type of reupholstery project - you just layer on all your materials and staple gun that junk to the bottom of the seat. For these seats, I cut the 1” foam to the shape of the seat, plunked it on, then wrapped the batting around it to soften the edges and stapled the batting to the bottom. Then it was just a matter of cutting the fabric a bit bigger than the seats, wrapping it over the batting and foam, and stapling that to the bottom. It’s really easy, you start by putting a staple or two in the middle of each side and then working all the way around. You have to finesse the corners a bit, but honestly the hardest part was deciding where to cut the fabric so that the pattern on the seat was aesthetically pleasing. I obviously bought exactly the amount of fabric I needed and then promptly cut one seat out upside-down, necessitating another trip to the fabric store. Obviously.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVHrMloHnAI/TwSS7XZqC6I/AAAAAAAAAOE/KaSDnvdQ-HM/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVHrMloHnAI/TwSS7XZqC6I/AAAAAAAAAOE/KaSDnvdQ-HM/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Layering the materials</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BwkVSDplFsY/TwSS_GRVWyI/AAAAAAAAAOM/85bxEpV_5e4/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BwkVSDplFsY/TwSS_GRVWyI/AAAAAAAAAOM/85bxEpV_5e4/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love staple guns. I got a new one for Christmas, actually.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once the seats were covered, I had to reattach the hardware that was holding the fancy chair seats over the hole where the caning had been. Finishing the Queen Anne chairs was as easy as popping the seats back into the chairs. Done! Six relatively similar chairs, tied together by general shape, color and upholstered seats. I’m really happy with the way they came out. I’d show a nice picture of them in the dining room with our new table, but we ordered the table two months ago from West Elm and it’s still backordered. Details!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vk-ElI0_abI/TwSTlcTE3KI/AAAAAAAAAOY/qZ1-tftbclM/s1600/IMG_4309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vk-ElI0_abI/TwSTlcTE3KI/AAAAAAAAAOY/qZ1-tftbclM/s320/IMG_4309.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sVBRtn--qb8/TwST4y7e9ZI/AAAAAAAAAOg/pFnVxnLMtG0/s1600/IMG_4314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sVBRtn--qb8/TwST4y7e9ZI/AAAAAAAAAOg/pFnVxnLMtG0/s320/IMG_4314.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp5Q_ML_gBU/TwSUEz_l0GI/AAAAAAAAAOw/kT5-IkoupcU/s1600/IMG_4311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp5Q_ML_gBU/TwSUEz_l0GI/AAAAAAAAAOw/kT5-IkoupcU/s320/IMG_4311.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr_9tmk-_3U/TwST8P4zWoI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xhj8hFLvggU/s1600/IMG_4310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr_9tmk-_3U/TwST8P4zWoI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xhj8hFLvggU/s320/IMG_4310.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-9960053555155667092011-12-02T10:49:00.004-05:002011-12-02T10:54:19.904-05:00… retail location for Filia<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have really exciting news to share: my handmade clothes and accessories collection, Filia, is now available at <a href="http://www.themerchantco.me/">The Merchant Company</a> at 656 Congress Street in Portland, Maine! I’m really thrilled to have a brick-and-mortar retail location, and even happier to be among the awesome stuff available at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/themerchantcompany">The Merchant Co.</a> Seriously, this place is stuffed to the gills with cool handmade and vintage items, lots of it from local vendors: ceramics, clothing, knit items, jewelry, bags, vintage housewares, skin care, baby stuff… you could find a gift for pretty much anyone in there (including, of course, yourself).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuQdQwvbeLDY9T_LMLvFGoSVIfCQ5_lotw5M6hfwsEcY_scyk71iallv0yVSE_1ZxSyWpH2NuLQhCZYN80Y2N5TN35oARSAluytC297XzFLUDrkvTkBIsn-tLy9k6Rj6ijOtyFJfyglo/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuQdQwvbeLDY9T_LMLvFGoSVIfCQ5_lotw5M6hfwsEcY_scyk71iallv0yVSE_1ZxSyWpH2NuLQhCZYN80Y2N5TN35oARSAluytC297XzFLUDrkvTkBIsn-tLy9k6Rj6ijOtyFJfyglo/s320/014.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVHprahe7y7jLNae1NLEvNRPVyzgoAL1ruJWxzofSNcs28L_kDeU-e8aUapYGDBXvhJNFFZJMA1LWonQIdhx4o8jfFgikdAB0zLqHoj3SpJWMhffKv4ntsJHRzpx_OMDLURdepqJN6AE/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVHprahe7y7jLNae1NLEvNRPVyzgoAL1ruJWxzofSNcs28L_kDeU-e8aUapYGDBXvhJNFFZJMA1LWonQIdhx4o8jfFgikdAB0zLqHoj3SpJWMhffKv4ntsJHRzpx_OMDLURdepqJN6AE/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikTYlLw4z8r4q8p22amqDcSvtEZQe4PSb2D7zZb5DUoKxvyderHkN5bj5ZgpezS8fjuM6B9dNWV8fTBSdcFk2WSpbJV5lgd1zW4L9rsNrjYNp_1eX9bbars0Avwae0Uhyphenhyphen9A1BDXNoqyI/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikTYlLw4z8r4q8p22amqDcSvtEZQe4PSb2D7zZb5DUoKxvyderHkN5bj5ZgpezS8fjuM6B9dNWV8fTBSdcFk2WSpbJV5lgd1zW4L9rsNrjYNp_1eX9bbars0Avwae0Uhyphenhyphen9A1BDXNoqyI/s320/013.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So the pics above are my little set-up. Items available right now include my wide elastic-band skirts in a variety of fun prints and solids, a few linen dresses, some newer print dresses and tunics, small zipper pouches, and cotton yoga mat bags. Some items are similar to ones available on my <a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/">Etsy</a> site, while others are unique to The Merchant Company location. I'll be adding new stock pretty regularly as well!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H4TQ03Yz_CsAIthGOcUUx-gBciRQCVo0Ui96zN3ZbZ3Xv27fa6IQMy5fDj84DN0Jrem1uqwLxoLKh6jMCZ-Pms6xP4a5Zizp3B_g7aC_S8b6NIkEzC6mKppPSNosTDP8SLmBWz3AKWE/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H4TQ03Yz_CsAIthGOcUUx-gBciRQCVo0Ui96zN3ZbZ3Xv27fa6IQMy5fDj84DN0Jrem1uqwLxoLKh6jMCZ-Pms6xP4a5Zizp3B_g7aC_S8b6NIkEzC6mKppPSNosTDP8SLmBWz3AKWE/s320/009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLP_V102Rl3SuIpTTkVTpODNSNE7WcmvmpgbNPuXqTPAt7yfaGSaPDMfcpPm6EcMxusht5PCO9hNmlW9vVTiWZ-aBIuu8LS8rDLmzerJUXLCpHFX7s3wyvoAECCrtjJi6Oe7aUHxO-5Y/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLP_V102Rl3SuIpTTkVTpODNSNE7WcmvmpgbNPuXqTPAt7yfaGSaPDMfcpPm6EcMxusht5PCO9hNmlW9vVTiWZ-aBIuu8LS8rDLmzerJUXLCpHFX7s3wyvoAECCrtjJi6Oe7aUHxO-5Y/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 248.55pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some close-ups of the yoga mat bags. May I suggest, I think these would make a fantastic holiday gift for the yoga enthusiast in your life! They’re handmade with 100% pre-washed cotton, fully lined, reinforced in the bottom and the strap, and have neat features like deep side pockets (for your cell phone, socks and whatnot), a key ring, and an adjustable strap. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho15AqjqKx_gCIFVp8l0fiHX3WcHEFg406xt3Df9OAicT1zxK12BMkkcj_5pL7GQionahYtBjQ1y7V4IXMZ4nfL081rai05K22HBlrbZtGWOEaCHjhhyNdJAGJC-Lf9SxNEEVFKr6zNi8/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho15AqjqKx_gCIFVp8l0fiHX3WcHEFg406xt3Df9OAicT1zxK12BMkkcj_5pL7GQionahYtBjQ1y7V4IXMZ4nfL081rai05K22HBlrbZtGWOEaCHjhhyNdJAGJC-Lf9SxNEEVFKr6zNi8/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 248.55pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">George and I knocked together this display for these flower pins I make from fabric remnants. We used scrap wood from my parents’ house, but my dad wasn’t around to help us use the table saw (AKA The Mangler), so we had to use a hand saw! It came out pretty dang good, though.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 248.55pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this holiday season, consider shopping local and check out The Merchant Company! It’s right down by Longfellow Square on Congress Street in Portland. And then let me know what you think!</span></span></div><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgImdYm68LHdUlQXTVAuy4flp-09ik4f35IbqNoZlqGk_wwEPlq58qD6nItHyowY8vlr5LAZ9GhYjwtZErcPme4MKGxC7BK1-Vt-GMDx53xAt6sfsO47ecCNgQnOShXkFvrbDrCJ6KWMY/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgImdYm68LHdUlQXTVAuy4flp-09ik4f35IbqNoZlqGk_wwEPlq58qD6nItHyowY8vlr5LAZ9GhYjwtZErcPme4MKGxC7BK1-Vt-GMDx53xAt6sfsO47ecCNgQnOShXkFvrbDrCJ6KWMY/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2A6yevwZEQwlXr-k7ID3R8XjBWbgOVep5oPKpJt0JjNajBRcd8q1A2jLxbCwfgZERaRQ1L-ENoodgqpWgaQ9jEAoOCoURcDifedhmjjYD6rAXze5J8IgBiIN9Cz6L4HH78UMbUlMRDE/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2A6yevwZEQwlXr-k7ID3R8XjBWbgOVep5oPKpJt0JjNajBRcd8q1A2jLxbCwfgZERaRQ1L-ENoodgqpWgaQ9jEAoOCoURcDifedhmjjYD6rAXze5J8IgBiIN9Cz6L4HH78UMbUlMRDE/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-1584961782395692022011-11-23T15:27:00.001-05:002011-11-23T15:58:33.483-05:00... appearance on another blog<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A few weeks ago I was contacted by Laura from <a href="http://www.forefrontfashion.com/">Fore Front Fashion</a>, a very hip blog that chronicles the innate fashion sense of us Mainers - Bean boots and all. She ended up stopping by the apartment to chat about my little clothing venture <a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/">Filia</a> and take a few pictures of my sewing room and inventory. You can check out the results <a href="http://www.forefrontfashion.com/post/13157483711/last-week-i-headed-up-the-hill-to-meet-new">here</a>, <a href="http://www.forefrontfashion.com/post/13157478784/1-cotton-poplin-skirts-you-can-purchase-here-2">here</a> and <a href="http://www.forefrontfashion.com/post/13157466554/1-pandora-loves-to-hide-in-the-clothes-pile-2">here</a> (as usual, I think my cat steals the show). I was super flattered that Laura wanted to feature Filia on her blog and am still blushing at all the kind things she said in her write-up!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you’re not already a regular reader of Fore Front Fashion, I would totally recommend that you add it to your list. It does a fantastic job of spotlighting modern Maine fashion without veering too far into what a friend calls “lumberjack hipster”. It also has great info on local fashion-related events, local shops and vendors. Flag your favorites and patronize them this weekend on <a href="http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/">Small Business Saturday</a>!!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In other making-things news, my sister Erin and her friend September helped me rephotograph a lot of my Filia items for my Etsy shop. Thanks to them, it looks a whole lot brighter and attractive! There are a few new pieces, too, so check it out <a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/">here</a> if you’d like to see the fruits of that labor.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEg-zADv6B9vv1xJ7OGR4NniKppK5YVRzG9WC8H9Lckpuv8tl4-Gsgz93dpT9Fvw0gLj5pgSQTW4XMZFG2eGbRqOPCWMpN4ZJm7uqTXNo3myOW-P9CVT_y6Ki3IET3XvmIpgZzvgHnxqg/s1600/IMG_4225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEg-zADv6B9vv1xJ7OGR4NniKppK5YVRzG9WC8H9Lckpuv8tl4-Gsgz93dpT9Fvw0gLj5pgSQTW4XMZFG2eGbRqOPCWMpN4ZJm7uqTXNo3myOW-P9CVT_y6Ki3IET3XvmIpgZzvgHnxqg/s320/IMG_4225.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Noted* fashion photographer Erin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I’m also in the middle of a chair-refinishing project that has unexpectedly turned into a bit of an odyssey. I’m hoping to finish that up and have something to show for it this weekend. After, of course, eating myself stupid. Hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!! </span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-38811474490813015602011-11-16T11:48:00.000-05:002011-11-16T11:51:15.905-05:00... fabric-covered roller shade<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The fixing up of our new apartment continues! And while I never feel like a room is ever really “done”, I’m getting pretty close to “done for now” with my sewing room. In fact I’m almost ready to do a whole before-and-after post about it, but in the meantime here’s a quick little project I knocked together for the lone window in that room.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First I should say that I really have a thing about mini-blinds, and that thing is deep dislike. They are ugly, insanely irritating to clean, and it drives me absolutely nuts when the bottom is crooked after you pull them up. So of course there are mini-blinds in every single window of our new place, and I will be systematically eradicating them one by one.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The mini-blinds in the sewing room were particularly bad in that they were broken - some of the strips were snapped off on one side. This left an exposed hole when the blinds were down and when you pulled the blinds up, some of the strips would hang diagonally below the bottom. It looked like the mini-blind had a hernia. </span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfb-NnZiwZV-rQXOzjKoSrU3C2FdurTrlQy-Jktdmh76gzWZ4-n7_YbZPxEXxtvPWyTkPQrv0uChMuB0Dxz0aw8OJjqVtUHOaJ-ZWE7aB6j5sIHxhWAyRByYyWPq64W5HXwU0pQ0euro/s1600/IMG_4207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfb-NnZiwZV-rQXOzjKoSrU3C2FdurTrlQy-Jktdmh76gzWZ4-n7_YbZPxEXxtvPWyTkPQrv0uChMuB0Dxz0aw8OJjqVtUHOaJ-ZWE7aB6j5sIHxhWAyRByYyWPq64W5HXwU0pQ0euro/s320/IMG_4207.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To replace it, I wanted something clean and simple - no drapes that I would bump into or get caught up in when I’m moving around the room working on sewing projects - but would add a shot of color to the room. Privacy isn’t much of an issue for that window, because it looks at the side of the building next door about four feet away. For the same reason, light quality really isn’t a big issue either. So I decided to use a simple roller shade and cover it with a colorful fabric - done and done.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Eb0sP7s0KdDZKAT8zjQz9oin-3MOMKYogGIKPCZ3eWPrxGJtTql4QZf7fMWPn1C4gib8VOA1bkloowqnyxmVqO2h_44a0YLRZ2W2x-P7t9OiHzUkS8s-BYHoUhxjpH8h6tutFCtRIE/s1600/IMG_4212.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Eb0sP7s0KdDZKAT8zjQz9oin-3MOMKYogGIKPCZ3eWPrxGJtTql4QZf7fMWPn1C4gib8VOA1bkloowqnyxmVqO2h_44a0YLRZ2W2x-P7t9OiHzUkS8s-BYHoUhxjpH8h6tutFCtRIE/s320/IMG_4212.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssFWIAPJRgtPnWkcAv58IXnGNcQuuVy7VCDfF66VHoLczLlP1rTQa2APUOgvAYFMnVy9Td4jdccPqwx5sPKdsDS5RsNgg2P3IihjQTT15AWvDseN2_mB2A6R5fQco7kIOHlTEjwpu6k4/s1600/IMG_4216.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssFWIAPJRgtPnWkcAv58IXnGNcQuuVy7VCDfF66VHoLczLlP1rTQa2APUOgvAYFMnVy9Td4jdccPqwx5sPKdsDS5RsNgg2P3IihjQTT15AWvDseN2_mB2A6R5fQco7kIOHlTEjwpu6k4/s320/IMG_4216.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This was a super easy project to prep for - just unrolled the roller blind and washed it, measured it, and cut the fabric to fit with a rotary cutter (adding about two inches to each side). The I ironed the fabric, took everything outside, and used my trusty spray adhesive to adhere the fabric to the shade. The one issue was how to finish the sides. I initially thought I’d wait for the adhesive to set and then use a rotary cutter to trim the extra fabric right to the edge of the shade, but I was concerned it would eventually start to fray. So I decided to wrap the sides around and glue them on the back, thinking no one would see the back side, anyway. However, I totally forgot that you see the back side of the shade on bit that’s rolled up. I don’t hate the look of the fabric on the sides - because the fabric I used has a white background, it kind of looks intentional, like a border - but I do wish I had trimmed the excess so that the sides were even. Right now one side is wider than the other. But it’s not driving me crazy (YET). So if you use this method, make sure to trim the edges even before you glue them down to the back. Or, you could cover the roller up with a valance or something (I’m just not a huge fan of valances).</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUY7kJrkhBcDYOMIZkZdnmTuC-JknnqIqoKNi10Gx0QOG0pYGq8nccbx-4BwBb2fIZ4xagUy3xw-KuVq6ctHL9yw7pyBSM6d7mzjojJXn4VCoXGV4PL05PxcNIvvB4H-JKYOrgZMmB-Y/s1600/IMG_4217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUY7kJrkhBcDYOMIZkZdnmTuC-JknnqIqoKNi10Gx0QOG0pYGq8nccbx-4BwBb2fIZ4xagUy3xw-KuVq6ctHL9yw7pyBSM6d7mzjojJXn4VCoXGV4PL05PxcNIvvB4H-JKYOrgZMmB-Y/s320/IMG_4217.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzrXlZlsSq3oPb3UXiB1IZj0ncfO0HQ2wc7LqB8IOinkSkSFUWYgFz1gRlvYzeLyAmXmeVjT5ZJtTruAf3i_YzYexGvB8mXZK0NBveI54p1bpirRUBBTHINxCSlO85hJ0u4gS32GhYw4/s1600/IMG_4219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzrXlZlsSq3oPb3UXiB1IZj0ncfO0HQ2wc7LqB8IOinkSkSFUWYgFz1gRlvYzeLyAmXmeVjT5ZJtTruAf3i_YzYexGvB8mXZK0NBveI54p1bpirRUBBTHINxCSlO85hJ0u4gS32GhYw4/s320/IMG_4219.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then George took down the hated blinds, installed the roller shade hardware, and we hung the shade. That’s it! I will say, the fabric makes the shade a little heavy, so it doesn’t spring up as quickly or enthusiastically as a shade normally would - but this doesn’t really bother me. I love that this was a pretty dirt-cheap project, which is my favorite kind. The fabric was from Marden’s and I think was about $4/yd, and I bought two yards, so that’s $8 for the fabric. I actually got the roller shade from my parents, who had a few leftover after changing some window treatments in their house, so that was free. And I already had the spray adhesive. So all in all $8 and about 2-3 hours (including drying time and installation) and I’m up one unique, colorful window treatment and down one nasty set of mini-blinds - I’ll take it. Only 13 more windows to go!!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyViWOBUZXboJdDEygDiVYTsEaEserpUfQKSuQs6koVWhUnlLTHYb2IMOZ8P_sJUfkYH0Vwn1vv2Rm2JYb3JjEG-pKfOmF8apt1mTFfT1zYPxAk8Lz2znPRrTSojMp5NrHsIEkxWZFnc/s1600/IMG_4223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyViWOBUZXboJdDEygDiVYTsEaEserpUfQKSuQs6koVWhUnlLTHYb2IMOZ8P_sJUfkYH0Vwn1vv2Rm2JYb3JjEG-pKfOmF8apt1mTFfT1zYPxAk8Lz2znPRrTSojMp5NrHsIEkxWZFnc/s320/IMG_4223.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQislMEM4VW-Q0mPabu_zfc-ytWbzcccbrlXibf2qA_bYGwLHiUah3a1mWJbWYIE_71kam0mOQ7la0iJTXt-9ULPFGrrVl2QrK_fiY8TNrlCns833HupaFQ3ooClMKXGlG-ruHeXMGhc/s1600/IMG_4220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQislMEM4VW-Q0mPabu_zfc-ytWbzcccbrlXibf2qA_bYGwLHiUah3a1mWJbWYIE_71kam0mOQ7la0iJTXt-9ULPFGrrVl2QrK_fiY8TNrlCns833HupaFQ3ooClMKXGlG-ruHeXMGhc/s320/IMG_4220.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-13181594736864859552011-11-09T10:05:00.000-05:002011-11-16T11:49:07.644-05:00... baby gift and a characteristic mistake<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lots of my friends have been having babies lately, so I find myself making my fair share of baby clothes as gifts. I mostly enjoy it, because baby clothes are so small that they work up quickly - it’s like instant gratification sewing. Plus I think it’s generally accepted that things that are smaller versions of regular-sized things are magically cuter, like kittens and Smart Cars.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My friend recently had an adorable baby girl, so I was excited to make something ruffly and pink. I decided to work off of a pattern (<a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-1531-babies-separates.aspx">Simplicity 2572</a>), which I find relaxing every once in a while. Making my own designs usually involves a lot of agonizing over the measurements and details, whereas working off a pattern is just following the directions. It’s like playing with Legos - clearly the best part of Legos was throwing all your sets together and making whatever you wanted, but sometimes you just want to follow the directions and end up with a giant pirate ship, you know?</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For this project, I found this adorable printed pinwale corduroy at Joann’s that</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> matched some solid pinwale corduroy I had leftover from another project. I wanted to make the jumper and matching hoodie, so I got right down to it. I had my fabric, my pattern - so far, so good.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here’s the jumper:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk4-YCoTGjsZZsr9hhVRA_VfNprsahKIMTiZNTr8dQ1QvQEiU7UbTK3XTdoXLViOUFbvtRR3S6ppkeGAOBk4SSUBfzcLEBECpRaVe3x-IXnj1NfNVcExeJVoGoFecQJQp9X_ryCte6uk/s1600/IMG_4179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk4-YCoTGjsZZsr9hhVRA_VfNprsahKIMTiZNTr8dQ1QvQEiU7UbTK3XTdoXLViOUFbvtRR3S6ppkeGAOBk4SSUBfzcLEBECpRaVe3x-IXnj1NfNVcExeJVoGoFecQJQp9X_ryCte6uk/s320/IMG_4179.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vfxB1YCSGCpd1ag2PGLsfMMZx6fyNfnAcHzggsxxs5SqCfyMc98whMIe8LAbuzsZRgMtr9zPQCBuDkMvXYTJGvmqBlL-UFDXXeWqPWHUAYQgS7lOHrEz0T2RptzFpkCtbrYc7Dsm1pI/s1600/IMG_4180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vfxB1YCSGCpd1ag2PGLsfMMZx6fyNfnAcHzggsxxs5SqCfyMc98whMIe8LAbuzsZRgMtr9zPQCBuDkMvXYTJGvmqBlL-UFDXXeWqPWHUAYQgS7lOHrEz0T2RptzFpkCtbrYc7Dsm1pI/s320/IMG_4180.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBeSGobZ0jt7pvd_9ycbYZi7xxcal_IRbru-TW63KLsMqFXwz_8mezhc0pMuMb6zfKbixjIULQ_Ql7owO0PbBn8E-JurigD9DIy81ktZFUUnNucWiiahI2td38HY-AyxTH_qvzlbg9PM/s1600/IMG_4181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBeSGobZ0jt7pvd_9ycbYZi7xxcal_IRbru-TW63KLsMqFXwz_8mezhc0pMuMb6zfKbixjIULQ_Ql7owO0PbBn8E-JurigD9DIy81ktZFUUnNucWiiahI2td38HY-AyxTH_qvzlbg9PM/s320/IMG_4181.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cute, right? Kind of a pain to have to put in a zipper - I usually try to avoid them on baby clothes - but otherwise straightforward. And here’s the hoodie:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNP5ey53HiS3ftSb0c0H5Rz2uSGUlSqgSLfVeC8V0JCRtXxUoj4l_fCEA2XiMrCsROQ-me-wGIOISfYTeYLAyKNqTAID8R924ydSphOZ_ekXYdkRKl3K_kk7QbkVzW5cL5hnL2WMoOKys/s1600/IMG_4185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNP5ey53HiS3ftSb0c0H5Rz2uSGUlSqgSLfVeC8V0JCRtXxUoj4l_fCEA2XiMrCsROQ-me-wGIOISfYTeYLAyKNqTAID8R924ydSphOZ_ekXYdkRKl3K_kk7QbkVzW5cL5hnL2WMoOKys/s320/IMG_4185.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNx3aqbL8eZyb_Ezl9J2wBJAK8Fab9Dg_7b0Qfj7qJoXnis2k4Tv125JwBrMaftAq5WlStGXZcoydwBZZlZj8DGEq0Tn_7NXRcrd4JsvokMXnEAm_FfnxFXnwPfXzJInkg2udZcGiWAk/s1600/IMG_4186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNx3aqbL8eZyb_Ezl9J2wBJAK8Fab9Dg_7b0Qfj7qJoXnis2k4Tv125JwBrMaftAq5WlStGXZcoydwBZZlZj8DGEq0Tn_7NXRcrd4JsvokMXnEAm_FfnxFXnwPfXzJInkg2udZcGiWAk/s320/IMG_4186.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOiiTq_fMvJXmsETLJ6XCJD-Escbh2msJtKIVq4NKauaRXfO_DDCmac0A5QwbbXA-MIbKa6u9_22AFpTelWOBPrQGUoI_V1L-jIUlf1bbWac3B_rapvf-0szyRz5pQWXwBVKcVvQGqYE/s1600/IMG_4187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOiiTq_fMvJXmsETLJ6XCJD-Escbh2msJtKIVq4NKauaRXfO_DDCmac0A5QwbbXA-MIbKa6u9_22AFpTelWOBPrQGUoI_V1L-jIUlf1bbWac3B_rapvf-0szyRz5pQWXwBVKcVvQGqYE/s320/IMG_4187.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Have you spotted the problem? That’s right, I cut out the entire hoodie UPSIDE DOWN. All the owls and the trees and the hearts are wrong side up. Such a silly, easily avoidable mistake!! I didn’t notice until I had already cut all the pieces, and then I didn’t have enough fabric left to start over. Plus </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">it would have seemed an awful waste to toss the upside-down pieces and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I really didn’t think my friend would mind all that much. But it was a good, albeit aggravating reminder to slow down and double-check all my fabric and pieces before I cut - basically to measure twice, cut once. Classic advice for sewers and carpenters everywhere!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5scmEU8eC3Vgx2oDbuAzcBrF3cevG1jq5-8iHLzy8XeiWZWN03u5GzEew6VXnLGwwS7j4JU4dRAPsi0bp1g24hjxU49RADutsQzhXMBZc12M9x1Sc3rn_iIU7OOhbMBJe9McWdUbXFY/s1600/IMG_4183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5scmEU8eC3Vgx2oDbuAzcBrF3cevG1jq5-8iHLzy8XeiWZWN03u5GzEew6VXnLGwwS7j4JU4dRAPsi0bp1g24hjxU49RADutsQzhXMBZc12M9x1Sc3rn_iIU7OOhbMBJe9McWdUbXFY/s320/IMG_4183.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_nlpQkPrOU4W6b60LNGumNnjufbYAKPisn8I0X0FOQnb1MMxmy4KPbgswjLN-rp4jYhMRRJoQgEf4XXgUWa8hNGLAG0R4KimcwP9d5izj92JiAb9rAvSbKGA9zRVMT15AtUdoC8GyJo/s1600/IMG_4184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_nlpQkPrOU4W6b60LNGumNnjufbYAKPisn8I0X0FOQnb1MMxmy4KPbgswjLN-rp4jYhMRRJoQgEf4XXgUWa8hNGLAG0R4KimcwP9d5izj92JiAb9rAvSbKGA9zRVMT15AtUdoC8GyJo/s320/IMG_4184.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-50707459084733462032011-11-02T07:30:00.000-04:002011-11-02T07:30:04.794-04:00... lined jewelry drawer<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am so in love with this project! It was so fast and easy, it almost feels like cheating to call it a project at all. And credit where credit is due - it was 100% George’s idea.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here’s the background: our new place doesn’t have a linen closet or much bathroom storage, so we bought an old dresser at a yard sale that tucks perfectly into a little alcove by the bathroom door. It has three deep drawers and two shallow drawers at the top. The bottom three I filled with towels, sheets and bathmats. I filled one shallow drawer with facecloths and hand towels, but didn’t really have enough of them to fill both shallow drawers. So the question was, what to put in the top shallow drawer? </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The other half of the background story is that I have lots of big necklaces and bangle bracelets and have never found a good way to store them. I’ve kept the necklaces in a jewelry box, but they get all tangled - hanging on the inside of a door, they get banged around every time you open it. And bangle bracelets take up lots of space. So George’s awesome solution was to line the inside of the top shallow drawer with some kind of fabric and store the big jewelry in there - out of sight, untangled, and easy to access.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0S1sYrLxKVqYjr6uLXDf_SGJv-RzNH7qqEtvPHQG3233xSY83LBfDrw5CKP4IoK5RSzwu1sohg8j26NG6iulB73m5mJXJBZejYRI48at73DgKGaCzisYRj0fPrPBWrZa_t-6gHq_Ym4/s1600/IMG_4195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0S1sYrLxKVqYjr6uLXDf_SGJv-RzNH7qqEtvPHQG3233xSY83LBfDrw5CKP4IoK5RSzwu1sohg8j26NG6iulB73m5mJXJBZejYRI48at73DgKGaCzisYRj0fPrPBWrZa_t-6gHq_Ym4/s320/IMG_4195.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Come on, isn’t that such a great idea?! And it was so easy to do. I bought some velvet at Joann’s - about a half a yard, so not very expensive, plus I think I used a coupon. I decided to go with royal blue, as a bit of a joke - like the crown jewels! Except that the priceless items displayed on this royal blue velvet are mostly from H&M, Forever 21 and flea markets.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVG3NApCWR3zra8RCdGn0DzZfdsfJ8_3Qwu9CkS-CrooPL2n9xJT4V0tx-2d1FRrsuzKXYz2u6WK7qcbvn7gtcwZG3d8xg2E8F-rj1-D-YAssLY3_QDVtK5CvhzW1d9z33tqMrus4XDE/s1600/IMG_4197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVG3NApCWR3zra8RCdGn0DzZfdsfJ8_3Qwu9CkS-CrooPL2n9xJT4V0tx-2d1FRrsuzKXYz2u6WK7qcbvn7gtcwZG3d8xg2E8F-rj1-D-YAssLY3_QDVtK5CvhzW1d9z33tqMrus4XDE/s320/IMG_4197.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After I cleaned, lightly sanded and measured the drawer, I used a rotary cutter to cut the velvet into a piece about 1” larger than the drawer bottom on each side. Then I took the drawer, velvet, and some spray adhesive outside (this was before it snowed(!) this weekend), sprayed the inside of the drawer (I stood it up against the side of the house) and adhered the velvet to the drawer. Then, back inside, I used a combo of an Exacto Knife and little snippy scissors to trim the edges off the velvet to fit the drawer bottom perfectly. Then it was just a matter of cleaning up the sides of the drawer with a little Goo Gone to remove any stray spray adhesive. That was it! Less than an hour. And this is the result:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejqY2A-NfaZfjxzhhCMpEsGaRssTCozFpEggYMEkElVa-8-_1Xy0NhhyphenhyphenETcFJGiu-YWiWzAvGktqhLfAMFoj9qjkFwcA-VetUWn98gRAhw_Ni0Pr1gQ-cVzHohd0Ws7pntb6TfIyNJvM/s1600/IMG_4202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejqY2A-NfaZfjxzhhCMpEsGaRssTCozFpEggYMEkElVa-8-_1Xy0NhhyphenhyphenETcFJGiu-YWiWzAvGktqhLfAMFoj9qjkFwcA-VetUWn98gRAhw_Ni0Pr1gQ-cVzHohd0Ws7pntb6TfIyNJvM/s320/IMG_4202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It works perfectly - everything stays in place when you open and shut the drawer, it got all that stuff off the top of my dresser, and frankly I think it looks really cool. A really elegant solution to the jewelry storage problem, my favorite kind.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now what to do with the outside of the dresser is still up in the air. When we bought it, I assumed I’d paint it and change out the hardware, and I had a color in mind. Now I’m not sure about painting it, or at least not about the color. I think I have to live with it for a little bit more before I decide. </span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-13238310429573156152011-10-11T19:50:00.000-04:002011-10-11T19:51:36.539-04:00... sparkly bridal bolero<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In my <a href="http://katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/09/picnic-wrap-up.html">last post</a>, I promised more “soon” - and as that was weeks ago, it’s now apparent to all that I have a very lackadaisical sense of time. Actually, parenthetically, one phrase I overuse more than any other is “the other day...”. For me, it can mean something that happened last week or last year - it’s the perfect temporally ambiguous qualifier for a forgetful person like <i>moi</i>. But it does kind of drive George nuts.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ANYWAY, back on topic, I have a really fun project to share. I do believe that I mentioned my <a href="http://katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/07/picnic-sneak-peek-pink-linen-dress.html">exceptionally talented friend Emily</a> designed the logo/business cards/other assorted collateral for my Filia clothing this summer. As she is a super-busy graphic designer, I didn’t expect her to do this for me gratis, so we bartered for it. I love bartering - it makes me feel like I’m back in elementary school playing Oregon Trail, only with less fording and my whole party isn’t dying of dysentery (I was not very good at Oregon Trail). Emily was planning an October wedding in Napa Valley, so we decided that my half of the bargain would be some kind of coat or wrap that she could wear during dinner (in a wine cave, so cool!). </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL275_X7TY_7xym5SIp4GIS_isuHZ0WJ-uG-y89Qqf_W7EFgpSryX6RjD-qSz3XfQHdm7oeSWx9fNImk2w-bNEMmltwdZ4IFCP5z_t1YKOu5cBupHqtE002ts02VWebOiCUmGtn32NFw0/s1600/IMG_4089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL275_X7TY_7xym5SIp4GIS_isuHZ0WJ-uG-y89Qqf_W7EFgpSryX6RjD-qSz3XfQHdm7oeSWx9fNImk2w-bNEMmltwdZ4IFCP5z_t1YKOu5cBupHqtE002ts02VWebOiCUmGtn32NFw0/s320/IMG_4089.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's where we're going with this. Read on for details!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a bit of brainstorming, Emily settled on a loose, open jacket made from sequined fabric that would sparkle in the candlelight. She bought the fabric in San Francisco and shipped it to me in Maine with her measurements while I worked on the design. I knew the color and shape of Em’s gorgeous dress and wanted to complement that, while also keeping the shape simple (since it was made out of blinged-out sequins) and comfortable. It went through a couple iterations, but ended up being a pretty basic bolero shape with bell sleeves. It was disco-fabulous with a little hint of 1930’s glam!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Working with the sequined fabric was a new experience. After I had made a dry run of the jacket out of muslin to get the shape I wanted, I cut the pieces out of the sequined fabric. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4qCOGjkfsO5GY1OoEd_UVVtKcGBAUyZaqvszeBSEaX6gOFPSIbnHDag4jLXgoIdTWwm1sFTGE7CqoShEY2PSz1qPD1hXYp2FXfnSscJDnesB99MirXESB9E47afvoe3N5avXmLDsKhs/s1600/IMG_4072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4qCOGjkfsO5GY1OoEd_UVVtKcGBAUyZaqvszeBSEaX6gOFPSIbnHDag4jLXgoIdTWwm1sFTGE7CqoShEY2PSz1qPD1hXYp2FXfnSscJDnesB99MirXESB9E47afvoe3N5avXmLDsKhs/s320/IMG_4072.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estelle, helping me work out the design in muslin</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mdSM6TwY_B9XCUZCqtQZK9-YvbuPuuRKG7tq3D_53VQCiWAqJN7vYcAIVyIcXMWrabXEiP1uNTEryYMzhA_OMDA22MNUp_tyJsPBopUjN1A_tHCwHwhXg7-yjefr7qPr5HzoUNYlfkE/s1600/IMG_4076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mdSM6TwY_B9XCUZCqtQZK9-YvbuPuuRKG7tq3D_53VQCiWAqJN7vYcAIVyIcXMWrabXEiP1uNTEryYMzhA_OMDA22MNUp_tyJsPBopUjN1A_tHCwHwhXg7-yjefr7qPr5HzoUNYlfkE/s320/IMG_4076.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faaaaabulous fabric</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To prep each piece for being stitched together, all the sequins on the seam line and in the seam allowance had to be individually removed. Each sequin was stitched to the fabric with three thin threads, so each sequin had to be snipped in two places to avoid cutting the threads, which could make other sequins fall off. This turned out to be hugely time-consuming and left me with a claw of a right hand not seen since taking blue book exams in college.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH7B1TJVjFS2jsnAY6AnL__0ohImDDGdI6nSf6W1rCNnpBVOeSHoqRpQgXv91A2rgKJ443IijErm25Bt9rBbRJm_QK3Ruy7a_bixJWDOOsOqrTo-ZZHssKLgGS6A4x42FNADt2-OZY4w/s1600/IMG_4086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH7B1TJVjFS2jsnAY6AnL__0ohImDDGdI6nSf6W1rCNnpBVOeSHoqRpQgXv91A2rgKJ443IijErm25Bt9rBbRJm_QK3Ruy7a_bixJWDOOsOqrTo-ZZHssKLgGS6A4x42FNADt2-OZY4w/s320/IMG_4086.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work-in-progress</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF22gmG8uABhDhaCER3KhkSbCPN1moRl0sOrF_fu-hMlJDb7ODj6pPdeKeXyFt3U1ZT0dZIsTOszcvRbIaLD0fzawXTrKDqPy-MTvHKKyGpAleAfQ_faAfK4eENzYwqyyMwauL7Rh_DgU/s1600/IMG_4083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF22gmG8uABhDhaCER3KhkSbCPN1moRl0sOrF_fu-hMlJDb7ODj6pPdeKeXyFt3U1ZT0dZIsTOszcvRbIaLD0fzawXTrKDqPy-MTvHKKyGpAleAfQ_faAfK4eENzYwqyyMwauL7Rh_DgU/s320/IMG_4083.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About half-way there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When all five pieces were prepped, I flat-lined the body of the jacket to give it a little more weight (the fabric that the sequins were sewn to was whisper thin). I didn’t do so with the sleeves so they’d be nice and drapey. Then it was basically just a matter of sewing it all together and lining it. The last step was looking at the finished jacket to see where removing some of the sequins had left “bald spots” and stitched some leftover sequins on by hand to fill in those areas. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The result:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrna9j199RHgAuPq7XXr9V-oa8lgReTqzPsQM_MFfQ_wMYkoesy1bcFmcDszbZy4avFRTm_vhPf-3N-ajh4uS_OuaUm6-ARONkCuiqSYwlopvD03ExcMeFsk6Fvqsmk-qnUTqADddpuRY/s1600/IMG_4094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrna9j199RHgAuPq7XXr9V-oa8lgReTqzPsQM_MFfQ_wMYkoesy1bcFmcDszbZy4avFRTm_vhPf-3N-ajh4uS_OuaUm6-ARONkCuiqSYwlopvD03ExcMeFsk6Fvqsmk-qnUTqADddpuRY/s320/IMG_4094.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2gAGgSs5e9z0Ih8D_HvfUK5vnaGVO5wyKx4HwDrV_ZTAoEHUCMrVQV4thWuinnV5ZtQXQos6ZlIrl8cpXIdx53o7_8fzZrBTg530xZnsoqsDMh0MGkMhTqojwcltqopC6rnLSQlUUx0/s1600/IMG_4091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2gAGgSs5e9z0Ih8D_HvfUK5vnaGVO5wyKx4HwDrV_ZTAoEHUCMrVQV4thWuinnV5ZtQXQos6ZlIrl8cpXIdx53o7_8fzZrBTg530xZnsoqsDMh0MGkMhTqojwcltqopC6rnLSQlUUx0/s320/IMG_4091.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was pretty happy with it - overall it wasn’t too difficult and it was fun to learn how to work with new fabric. I admit I was a little afraid it wouldn’t fit when I brought it out to her in California, but luckily there was no problem there. Emily was a beautiful bride and the wedding was stylish, romantic and a heck of a party. Plus, I think every gap and nail hole in the pine plank floors of my living room will be filled with gold sequin bits for months to come. Festive!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-7pgHqhvwcPt0i8GLFr0icWU_gEbVIbKeOwn99KcG3hD4MD5kcB_KlNGY_4_UCeo8qXhxnGst5rYwu9f-F9ra2aqydsQjRWU6pb_J0KWIm9BjPq8VXtoF67bIXKbuCiWuzyjMdKAbUQ/s1600/IMG_4113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-7pgHqhvwcPt0i8GLFr0icWU_gEbVIbKeOwn99KcG3hD4MD5kcB_KlNGY_4_UCeo8qXhxnGst5rYwu9f-F9ra2aqydsQjRWU6pb_J0KWIm9BjPq8VXtoF67bIXKbuCiWuzyjMdKAbUQ/s320/IMG_4113.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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</span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-16476139672540256732011-09-21T09:47:00.000-04:002011-09-21T09:47:27.038-04:00... Picnic wrap-up<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is tomorrow seriously the last day of summer? Gah! Well, I don't want to be a Deb, so instead of lamenting the end of summer I'll take a mo to look back fondly on the Picnic Music+Arts Festival that I participated in on the last weekend in August. It was really just a few weeks ago, but it seems like an age at this point! My sister took all the fantastic pictures below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite a hurricane threatening the northeast that weekend, we ended up having great weather for the show (it <em>was</em> a little humid, which is why my hair looks hiddy). I'll be honest, I found being a first-time vendor a bit stressful - a heck of a lot of work went into getting everything ready and as an introvert, talking to new people all afternoon was an intimidating prospect. And that doesn't even get into how nervewracking it was to put my work out there for people to like or not like or otherwise judge. But I can't overstate how nice and friendly everyone was. All the positive feedback was hugely satisfying and I met a lot of really awesome people. Overall it was a really great event - I only wish I had snuck away from my table to do more shopping!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SO many people helped me out at this, my very first show - so I just want to shout out a few thank-yous. My parents helped me set everything up and stayed all day to help out. My sister, as noted, took all these fab pictures and also spent most of the afternoon hanging out and keeping us company. My mother-in-law lent me the canopy, which turned out to be super-clutch - it didn't rain, but we were under an oak tree that started pelting us with acorns when the wind picked up in the afternoon (FYI, those little buggers sting like anything). It was <em>particularly</em> awesome of so many friends and family members to stop by my table and say hi - I was so appreciative of their support. And of course, George was pretty much indispensable in every way: he shuttled everything to the show, manned the table when I had to go use the ladies', used the Square thingy to run credit cards when I didn't bother to figure it out, and kept me from stressing out to the point of insensibility (not to mention putting up with all the sewing accoutrements all over our apartment leading up to the show, and basically doing all the hard work of moving us two states away when I was busy getting ready for Picnic). In a word, he rocks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Speaking of moving, all our stuff is finally in our new apartment - we are Mainers once again, with new licenses and the plates to prove it! Although I fear we're going to be unpacking for the foreseeable future. I have no idea how all the stuff currently lying around our new place in boxes and piles actually fit in our old one-bed apartment - I think it magically reproduced when it crossed state lines. But we're slowly getting everything set up, so after a little break to get organized, I'll be back to making things!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEclR1x7XnR7KgJFn3xV8YUdZA_Fferz2-Io_xl7kdRMOM2EkuKMMbq-fGCqFqHXg6uZcxfl1fRkza4vWjl38lP9hwY0I938RmlCSAIZVtkhZ0hgRrXtu5hYBw34C7Fm-6-NuVJrx1wc/s1600/DSC_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEclR1x7XnR7KgJFn3xV8YUdZA_Fferz2-Io_xl7kdRMOM2EkuKMMbq-fGCqFqHXg6uZcxfl1fRkza4vWjl38lP9hwY0I938RmlCSAIZVtkhZ0hgRrXtu5hYBw34C7Fm-6-NuVJrx1wc/s320/DSC_0559.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-10009991774147141052011-09-06T09:11:00.000-04:002011-09-06T09:11:10.887-04:00... Etsy store<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just a quick note to thank everyone who stopped by the Filia booth at Picnic on August 27th!! I had a fabulous time and it was great to see so many friendly faces. That's the short version - the long version will be coming in a few days once I get a chance to organize all the pictures taken by my staff photographer (aka my sister). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Between Picnic, moving, and an out-of-state wedding, things have been a little crazy at Filia HQ (now in Maine). I did however manager to open my Etsy site and continue to add new items, so do check it out </span><a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> if you are so inclined! I also picked up some great new fabric while I was in NY for a wedding, so fun stuff to come with that. More soon!!</span>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-5889328800014583952011-08-23T22:32:00.000-04:002011-08-23T22:36:45.002-04:00... Picnic sneak peak: tunics & things<div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Holy cow, August has flown by – it possibly has something to do with moving to another state, wrapping up the busiest month at work, and getting ready to be a vendor at <a href="http://www.picnicportland.com/">Picnic</a> on Saturday (THIS Saturday, for reals!). I'm taking a quick sewing break to preview a few other little bits and bobs I'll have with me on Saturday at Picnic. First up is a lightweight tunic made with a fun cotton voile:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcCW3sntY1ymRxMHGXX5hzEl-__kgBHjJfO6HS0YStyQ1jPXzJhOvtTaEzXHr7EAGMJ9oWVRBvKoE58wYb4AT9RP0ziSsowzC0lZLc8YJW3BLB4ieAIGzE2GycAXNcLWmRQcSMtJRwUY/s1600/IMG_3872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcCW3sntY1ymRxMHGXX5hzEl-__kgBHjJfO6HS0YStyQ1jPXzJhOvtTaEzXHr7EAGMJ9oWVRBvKoE58wYb4AT9RP0ziSsowzC0lZLc8YJW3BLB4ieAIGzE2GycAXNcLWmRQcSMtJRwUY/s320/IMG_3872.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStbMHvsqkgC1c0bqnY2a6iPAk8Vtc23MidZg9eG1KcZz3b7Aap-qZ3tmBGzzMvSsYlfQbZpeusWXeyvs1JmQPAzhwZ8vIhnU6e1KPzSw_dnKmWzsqnpq6wgiExO9luRsmu5pkOeC4uYY/s1600/IMG_3871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStbMHvsqkgC1c0bqnY2a6iPAk8Vtc23MidZg9eG1KcZz3b7Aap-qZ3tmBGzzMvSsYlfQbZpeusWXeyvs1JmQPAzhwZ8vIhnU6e1KPzSw_dnKmWzsqnpq6wgiExO9luRsmu5pkOeC4uYY/s320/IMG_3871.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'd wear it with jeans, but you could also pair it with leggings (or jeggings, if you are indecisive about pants). I've got a few other great prints that I wanted to use for this design, but I'm basically running out of time. So I'm thinking I'll bring swatches with me on Saturday and if anyone is interested, I can custom-make more on order (or sell them on my <a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/">sweet Etsy site</a>).</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I also wanted a few smaller items to take with me to Picnic, so I've sewn up a few different little zipper bags. I seem to accumulate these little bags like crazy – I have them in my purse, in the car, everywhere. I just find them super-useful. So I made a few out of linen with cute little ruffles:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1MTyhaDjXk6BMVDrNs1wpUancn5ijsmHJyIEOT63Az8mwDJc-fDUdpvxOrrTXU_-oHT53tMlaRQLGt6kRxdCfkW6xoSxm_RYxXgYv29BatA9rdikyZdt6JFuVkDKSrtOdejR5M7q1cc/s1600/IMG_3873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1MTyhaDjXk6BMVDrNs1wpUancn5ijsmHJyIEOT63Az8mwDJc-fDUdpvxOrrTXU_-oHT53tMlaRQLGt6kRxdCfkW6xoSxm_RYxXgYv29BatA9rdikyZdt6JFuVkDKSrtOdejR5M7q1cc/s320/IMG_3873.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And some with printed twill and poplin:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcpAWE5V-EDn5kM0HqJnW59ZEA6p8XOdG-lQkAWHsUMbxpQ875_PsjE2MsLFAFcNHVNBk6naOXsW9RuH1BrTXXSPr9yOg9M5b0TrR7sOiYU6p24AfMQuBixFj6ZfZ5AJELXEqsgp33V8/s1600/IMG_3874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcpAWE5V-EDn5kM0HqJnW59ZEA6p8XOdG-lQkAWHsUMbxpQ875_PsjE2MsLFAFcNHVNBk6naOXsW9RuH1BrTXXSPr9yOg9M5b0TrR7sOiYU6p24AfMQuBixFj6ZfZ5AJELXEqsgp33V8/s320/IMG_3874.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was thinking of doing something fun with the pulls, but I haven't quite decided yet. (Clearly I have to decide pretty quick).</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So if you are in the area, definitely come say Hi at Picnic this weekend. And for the love of all that is holy, cross your fingers that we don't have a hurricane! Otherwise I'll be sitting there in a poncho, and you won't be able to see my cute dress. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSUW-65cyRzQ7LgduhIunOTDdDcDJUP6I7F3xXXSW6-QOXiC4irDFVyMPJ1AfObaRUBzIH7A7v8qg1t5jpEIVC-wIsxq6cnphS9WW_0n-aRnY2dfRxOH5D-HP2ERcie20J0wuEG8RSTo/s1600/IMG_3878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSUW-65cyRzQ7LgduhIunOTDdDcDJUP6I7F3xXXSW6-QOXiC4irDFVyMPJ1AfObaRUBzIH7A7v8qg1t5jpEIVC-wIsxq6cnphS9WW_0n-aRnY2dfRxOH5D-HP2ERcie20J0wuEG8RSTo/s320/IMG_3878.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-7948115119499432422011-08-12T08:21:00.000-04:002011-08-12T09:59:16.648-04:00...adventure in dip-dyeing fabricI spent most of last weekend at Filia's temporary Maine HQ (aka my parent's house), getting an huge assist from various family members on projects for <a href="http://www.picnicportland.com/">Picnic</a>. One project I was really excited to try was dip-dyeing fabric that I would then make into skirts. Dip-dying gives a lovely sort of ombre effect, going from light to dark. I was using white 100% cotton gauze and a mix of red and pink dye, so my ideal result was a dark, fuchsia red fading into a lighter pink, with a band of white preserved at the top. I had never tried this before and prepared by doing really the barest amount of research on the internet and basically winging the rest - which probably factored into the results. But more on that later.<br />
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It took us a while to figure out what our process was going to be. Because I wanted to use the fabric for skirts, it had to be oriented in a particular way. My mum also cleverly pointed out that all the fabric for one skirt should be dyed at once, since it would be hard to replicate the intensity of color or the exact fading pattern in two subsequent batches. The plan was to dip the fabric in the dye, leave it in there briefly, then raise the fabric up a few inches (so that the bottom of the fabric was still sitting in the dye) and let it soak for a few more minutes. We settled on a characteristically elaborate/MacGyverish set-up involving safety pins, dowels and bricks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jr7_4VopXNXv5ziq6uZr6aiwRFkdFK52DGQwc2XMM_d1UfFvBMA79ooyUcAMBqNNWjElC-rOvDqfuwbnvfcEpOOwafPmieefq8d2bmt95ng4X7NcvU3MZTKrPFw5lwzchqK6jxE_0i0/s1600/IMG_1832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jr7_4VopXNXv5ziq6uZr6aiwRFkdFK52DGQwc2XMM_d1UfFvBMA79ooyUcAMBqNNWjElC-rOvDqfuwbnvfcEpOOwafPmieefq8d2bmt95ng4X7NcvU3MZTKrPFw5lwzchqK6jxE_0i0/s320/IMG_1832.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eye of newt, toe of frog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We started out by making the dye bath according to the instructions on the box (as any of my friends who have played board games with me can tell you, I always read the directions). I used half a box of scarlet dye and half a box of fuchsia. Then we took our pre-cut pieces of fabric (cut a bit bigger than I would need for a skirt) and pinned the top of them evenly to a dowel, two at a time. We also decided in advance how low we would dip the fabric and where we would pull it out to in the second phase of the dyeing, and put safety pins on both sides of the fabric pieces to mark those spots (you can just see them on the picture below).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmnGyul5Ouq2_JLnH_oSAaIXT8TiQKKFPkv_-Spf7M07oDaKxFnliHwDtMS7ui_0fJbIeOSh9XhV4tcXDWWrXTSCWCa2D5_LcEbvf7MUC_5EGUDMCBKvNE_FmatryTkt01enpkHiRDwA/s1600/IMG_1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmnGyul5Ouq2_JLnH_oSAaIXT8TiQKKFPkv_-Spf7M07oDaKxFnliHwDtMS7ui_0fJbIeOSh9XhV4tcXDWWrXTSCWCa2D5_LcEbvf7MUC_5EGUDMCBKvNE_FmatryTkt01enpkHiRDwA/s320/IMG_1835.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joint compound buckets have like a thousand uses</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So in this picture you can see that we initially dipped the fabric a bit lower, than pulled it out and let it sit at this level for a few minutes. We rested the dowels on joint compound buckets, adjusting their height as necessary by sticking bricks underneath them. This part of the dyeing process helpfully allowed you to have a glass of wine while waiting for the dye to soak in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVaMoeYUziRrzC0JaA8mrcWyAhjNqs5ljQM0LBQjxSjk32k0VBtX2jvO4Hs5ALb1jgQfosaG5D8m8z-BKyzF5V0exBZqW3ltBMjR7K7mmfK7NNbpzlJ1-XmTRJNRr6IM957j5ETP3ajQ/s1600/IMG_1837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVaMoeYUziRrzC0JaA8mrcWyAhjNqs5ljQM0LBQjxSjk32k0VBtX2jvO4Hs5ALb1jgQfosaG5D8m8z-BKyzF5V0exBZqW3ltBMjR7K7mmfK7NNbpzlJ1-XmTRJNRr6IM957j5ETP3ajQ/s320/IMG_1837.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta da!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the fabric was removed from the dye completely, per the instructions, we rinsed the fabric in warm and them cold water until the water ran clear. Then we hung the fabric on the line to dry.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8m9Rky14v1EMnt65h02EjFtNMmEUP-QYDxRuN044g6ZyuFwEtaJJGIKml1K4XAt1x7OCFZRgtEbiDeXHazBDyyRc8saJKwHBeO4i6bBj4lqmzmImlizfy9OISIfqWDxqwZWu-xKhrdg/s1600/IMG_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8m9Rky14v1EMnt65h02EjFtNMmEUP-QYDxRuN044g6ZyuFwEtaJJGIKml1K4XAt1x7OCFZRgtEbiDeXHazBDyyRc8saJKwHBeO4i6bBj4lqmzmImlizfy9OISIfqWDxqwZWu-xKhrdg/s320/IMG_1840.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBT4UDdI4Kafcu6SftQiugrtTHGz1K7I2FC2r2svojQISRoRxomRIL_96DAnEbag2dOqnQRBht5vEaer7u53fhxnDdpMR35SMY4HvKkHHpFuKtFZxthjFpzzFPeCDdvt_IMeSnDgiYCU/s1600/IMG_1843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBT4UDdI4Kafcu6SftQiugrtTHGz1K7I2FC2r2svojQISRoRxomRIL_96DAnEbag2dOqnQRBht5vEaer7u53fhxnDdpMR35SMY4HvKkHHpFuKtFZxthjFpzzFPeCDdvt_IMeSnDgiYCU/s320/IMG_1843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Not bad, right? It's not exactly ombre, but I thought it was a pretty good approximation of my original vision. If I was willing to put in a little more work and raise the fabric out of the dye more incrementally, I think I could have gotten a smoother fade and more color variation. But I'm kind of lazy, so I was OK with this. Once the fabric was dry, there was one final step: washing the fabric. I was fairly concerned that the dye would run - but if I was turning the fabric into clothing, it would have to be washed eventually. So we put the dyed fabric in the washing machine, in the delicate cycle with cold water. And trepidation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubOqe8puRjW9StX1XFeFdjl3ZSS8aP0vsbygSsntF0ZznDMf4A4Js-e-3d-JIcMNuNdtHJmuViEjtnCTOqnyG8QUW0qewEqZWtO5FXVJc1CSeMz15KUY-XT6XXHK93Q1bgVh3qMFhBvA/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubOqe8puRjW9StX1XFeFdjl3ZSS8aP0vsbygSsntF0ZznDMf4A4Js-e-3d-JIcMNuNdtHJmuViEjtnCTOqnyG8QUW0qewEqZWtO5FXVJc1CSeMz15KUY-XT6XXHK93Q1bgVh3qMFhBvA/s320/IMG_3867.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incongruity detected.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So. That was a valid concern. Basically the colors faded quite a bit, but more importantly, all the white was dyed light pink (it's a little hard to tell in the picture, but trust me on this one). It's not <i>awful</i>, and in fact is still quite usable, but it's not really what I was going for. <br />
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So what went wrong? I thought I had rinsed the dye out really well. My sister, who is a recreational tie-dyer, says that she usually waits overnight before rinsing the dye of of the fabric the first time. The directions also recommend using a fixative (although, side note, the directions on the box of dye are written in like 4 pt font in light gray on a white background, so it could have said a lot of things. Seriously, maybe the Rit Dye people can get on that.) - but I went to a couple different stores and couldn't find any. Maybe the pure white fabric is no match for even the tiniest residual bit of dye and my original vision was a pipe dream.<br />
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In any case, it was pretty fun nonetheless and I'll probably try it again, either waiting overnight to rinse the dye or trying to find some of that mythical fixative. If anyone wants to try it, I will say it was much easier as a two-person operation, especially if one person keeps their hands really clean and dye-free to handle the fabric. The results of this method came out so-so for use in apparel, but I suppose it would be great for something like curtains which you could dry clean, since the fabric looked great before it went into the wash. If anyone has any dyeing tips, I would love to hear them!!<br />
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Extra thanks to my mum for help with the dyeing, and to my parents generally for not minding that their house looked like a fabric store exploded in it for the weekend.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKgbUJVwtO1niUT2q9gC8ss-gWXDka9t1-EGxnk-E-k2vYTIbWIiAseXikKYNUuzSjjOM728_HGUFMnTLQyJCxQ8hOwjPckTvxSiAtzMGFlZa1GzAUH87eLJlDpGAZR6pjdOKv12RD5w/s1600/IMG_1848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKgbUJVwtO1niUT2q9gC8ss-gWXDka9t1-EGxnk-E-k2vYTIbWIiAseXikKYNUuzSjjOM728_HGUFMnTLQyJCxQ8hOwjPckTvxSiAtzMGFlZa1GzAUH87eLJlDpGAZR6pjdOKv12RD5w/s320/IMG_1848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-50537947069431153402011-07-24T22:24:00.000-04:002011-07-24T22:25:54.976-04:00...Picnic sneak peek: pink linen dress<div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another quick update and a sneak peek of what I've been working on for <a href="http://www.picnicportland.com/">Picnic</a>! Holy cow it's been super-hot in Boston this week. Luckily my sewing machine is in the only room in our apartment with an AC unit, but even so, it's been hot work. Howeva, I've been working with some lovely light linen, perfect for the summer heat:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhV-wpeBHGZKHVP0XmkJ_52J2XQefrI3c6rF0Z220zGC-j4OVI59DjK92Z3ZQ_VPUtMxKarrS-KawVott5PuDuSpNJq74Dk6rQltZKvAGv4VaSE7xTS-szq2UGdUoU66S2mDRL-T9Jq0/s1600/IMG_3837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhV-wpeBHGZKHVP0XmkJ_52J2XQefrI3c6rF0Z220zGC-j4OVI59DjK92Z3ZQ_VPUtMxKarrS-KawVott5PuDuSpNJq74Dk6rQltZKvAGv4VaSE7xTS-szq2UGdUoU66S2mDRL-T9Jq0/s320/IMG_3837.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The dress has an elastic waist and button closure in the back. The linen is this really pretty pink - it's called ballet slipper and it looks exactly that, sort of peachy-pink. I wanted to make the sleeves sort of fluttery, but they came out more like cap sleeves. Guess I'll have to work on that! It would look great with a belt. Like so:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDtbOXRlgBH3vv_qHuhZ32JusG9O5BdjOCyUnudxGAEmMHEnqU6gaGYUK0WEiOY85LdUuIadzSLvXROWnXXHAGXjH93xoxG1LccuDRD2MRKRLG-Hb9BSoyVVc6tWhLUQcG6PErPs0D3w/s1600/IMG_3841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDtbOXRlgBH3vv_qHuhZ32JusG9O5BdjOCyUnudxGAEmMHEnqU6gaGYUK0WEiOY85LdUuIadzSLvXROWnXXHAGXjH93xoxG1LccuDRD2MRKRLG-Hb9BSoyVVc6tWhLUQcG6PErPs0D3w/s320/IMG_3841.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cinch it.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So this will be available at Picnic in a few different sizes and variations. I can't sell you the belt though, I still wear that. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, I've set up a Etsy store where my clothing will be available beginning September 1. Check it out <a href="http://www.filiacollection.etsy.com/">here</a> (there's nothing available at the moment). There you will also see my excellent logo, created by my amazingly talented friend Emily of <a href="http://www.threelittlewordspaper.com/">Three Little Words</a>, which you should really check out if you are planning a wedding, throwing a party, or doing anything else that would benefit from hip and stylish paper items (and really, what wouldn't?). Isn't it pretty?? I've also added a link to the store on this here blog – just click on “Shop” up at the top. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I just received another shipment of fabric with some great early-fall fabrics... fun plans for that. So things are cranking right along, and I hope to see you at Picnic on August 27th!</span></span></div><div><br />
</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-68351543474997692812011-07-07T22:12:00.000-04:002011-07-08T09:48:46.135-04:00... announcement (or really, two)<div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.5725569429341704" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This blog has been really quiet, but I have a good excuse, honest! I have two bits of exciting news. Sewing is something I love to do and I’m so grateful for all the positive feedback I’ve received over the years about the clothing that I’ve sewn. Although I originally began by sewing clothing mostly for myself, lately I’ve enjoyed creating special items for friends and family. I felt like the next step would be to consider making my original clothing available to a wider audience, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">possibly</span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> even to people that were not related to me by blood or close friends (plus, I feel like I’ve made myself so many dresses, I can hardly wear them all at this point!). </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">So with that in mind, I’m excited to introduce </span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Filia</span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">, a small collection of women’s apparel designed and sewn by yours truly. My new little label is making its debut at the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.picnicportland.com/">Portland Picnic + Arts Festival</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> on Saturday, August 27th at Lincoln Park in Portland, ME. So basically, I’ve been sewing as fast as my little fingers can sew, to build up inventory for this event. I’ll periodically post previews of items I’ve been working on and that will be available at Picnic. First up, a comfy drawstring-waist dress in a really pretty coral linen:</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9QnmbUyY0z01UIdomA79zjthjuIbwFAv37gjtwDhs68QTCqQEYsdhH-v15O0FTvCEnHkrr4JfR1qMfKIwiHVzkYORZWB93DZvRUxA97Hh434Mj_iyS1Mu4plfst6uz53YArRcwUzXJI/s1600/IMG_3804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9QnmbUyY0z01UIdomA79zjthjuIbwFAv37gjtwDhs68QTCqQEYsdhH-v15O0FTvCEnHkrr4JfR1qMfKIwiHVzkYORZWB93DZvRUxA97Hh434Mj_iyS1Mu4plfst6uz53YArRcwUzXJI/s320/IMG_3804.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">(This is actually a Medium, so it’s a little big on the dummy). This style will be available in several colors. It’s one of my faves - a great little casual dress (with pockets, obviously) - great with chunky jewelry or a belt or what have you. And here’s a preview of some fabrics I’m working with for skirts:</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TI4jh-1AiHDTOZOt3wU5Zq8E0T69RlemiTGj1FtNRriJ4_J8w1Flv2Wh8tATXsvjS9nZRKtF1Xv34TAs_H9U1gWOmp4leAOf-knc5TiEpGLniUMwzGCB-rHDuqE3F8XIazur8rvPU64/s1600/IMG_3755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TI4jh-1AiHDTOZOt3wU5Zq8E0T69RlemiTGj1FtNRriJ4_J8w1Flv2Wh8tATXsvjS9nZRKtF1Xv34TAs_H9U1gWOmp4leAOf-knc5TiEpGLniUMwzGCB-rHDuqE3F8XIazur8rvPU64/s320/IMG_3755.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">So if you’ve liked anything you’ve seen (or will see) on this blog, or are interested in custom handmade clothing, or just want to say Hi, definitely stop by the Picnic Festival on August 27th. I went last year and it’s a really fun event with loads of super-talented vendors selling all manner of cool stuff. </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Moving on! The second exciting development is that, after more than six years of living in Boston, we’re up and moving to Portland (Maine) at the end of the summer. This is causing large amounts of excitement and anxiety in equal measure. Plus, of course, moving is The Worst. But! This means lots and lots of projects in the coming months as we start from scratch in our new apartment on Munjoy Hill. When we first moved to Boston, I was job-seeking and thus had tons of time to repaint and redecorate our one-bed apartment from top to bottom. We tweaked the furniture arrangement and brought in some new stuff from time to time, but I’ve basically been looking at the same decor for the last six years and am </span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">so</span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> ready for a change. Our new place has so much more space (I’m going to have a SEWING ROOM. For reals! And I only have to share it with George’s guitars and maybe a daybed!). I’ve already got some projects lined up – some Goodwill lamps to paint, my great-grandmother’s dining room chairs to refinish, building a dining table – and will really, really try to remember to take some pictures along the way. Really this time! So lots of exciting stuff coming down the Pike. </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">One last thing, I couldn’t resist: we’ve had a couple of really hot days in Boston and I feel like it’s definitely cut down on my productivity. Or it could be this:</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Pmibc_73Ovr12msK5R2WpT1h-PFXckhZQ-Y3OXabv0iEildORZohBhaLLIVWiSi_zHlZR2OiyMT-3klflfuHtXRpikO943c194RIB6Eqs8pgMDsDDifB6WqCMLphnrS6MLNSrJ8g348/s1600/IMG_3817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Pmibc_73Ovr12msK5R2WpT1h-PFXckhZQ-Y3OXabv0iEildORZohBhaLLIVWiSi_zHlZR2OiyMT-3klflfuHtXRpikO943c194RIB6Eqs8pgMDsDDifB6WqCMLphnrS6MLNSrJ8g348/s320/IMG_3817.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cats, I know it's hot, but could you lie somewhere else?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">This is my fabric cutting surface. Please note how Pandora is stretching out to maximize the amount of fabric she’s lying on. Not helpful.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Seriously though, this face.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0RZsG5BnDRB75BiBcvHt75AOvWqBqV1I57MrlYxT4B1hrZd8M61ScNBq_zxoi3t9JDkxO0mGdYqX9h7ZUn6_SEHp5oO2bzmJCZjWervtmfUDENNV2sgK12yOoIXR7gWtujetnLcSOUs/s1600/IMG_3831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0RZsG5BnDRB75BiBcvHt75AOvWqBqV1I57MrlYxT4B1hrZd8M61ScNBq_zxoi3t9JDkxO0mGdYqX9h7ZUn6_SEHp5oO2bzmJCZjWervtmfUDENNV2sgK12yOoIXR7gWtujetnLcSOUs/s320/IMG_3831.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-36858559516810993972011-06-05T20:30:00.000-04:002011-06-05T20:31:41.614-04:00... summery tank dressHere's a simple little dress I whipped up recently, made of some white and navy printed cotton lawn (<a href="http://katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/04/navy-linen-casual-dress.html">navy again</a>!). My very talented sister Erin took these photos, so for once I don't have to apologize for the poor quality of the pictures! Aren't they awesome? I didn't even bother taking any pictures of it on my dressmaker's dummy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ihqW5JKC9qjjw7CfmsClGXU18uSaSdnv_Nc-xXzwe0WrRCPdbDK7RxbM9CZSVb7r0pGOhwJX_iT4hKSwTrcbEnzkpwmn377HsgNsNNVBHtOiJDVna6qeLxNEzljRarxXVTESuJM7NhY/s1600/DSC_0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ihqW5JKC9qjjw7CfmsClGXU18uSaSdnv_Nc-xXzwe0WrRCPdbDK7RxbM9CZSVb7r0pGOhwJX_iT4hKSwTrcbEnzkpwmn377HsgNsNNVBHtOiJDVna6qeLxNEzljRarxXVTESuJM7NhY/s320/DSC_0461.JPG" t8="true" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm6VKH_C_LHVNVIqdyhQ3EaOPXOPPKcHiQBWtL_QvIWVYwVdiDexuDBaDwdOr-h6IWjKYqjIpz16JdHl7KY578AMbmbctSS68D-CKlitQrsSbOlHgy0ggLRFwnVS3L_pqco4Jo1e9ofY/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm6VKH_C_LHVNVIqdyhQ3EaOPXOPPKcHiQBWtL_QvIWVYwVdiDexuDBaDwdOr-h6IWjKYqjIpz16JdHl7KY578AMbmbctSS68D-CKlitQrsSbOlHgy0ggLRFwnVS3L_pqco4Jo1e9ofY/s320/DSC_0412.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I think this dress would be great for hot summer day, or even as a beach cover-up. This dress is very similar to the <a href="http://katemakesa.blogspot.com/2011/05/super-bright-taffeta-print-dress.html">taffeta dress</a> I made not long ago, except that it has a draw-string waist instead of elastic. I'm working some variations on a theme, tweaking a few things here and there. Which is all well and good, but I'm craving some variety! I just need some inspiration...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm81wUcFbWQLTmi3oIzS9IcptpTwZATpsr6AD8yXnfgfYSsYfsH2-3LO8bkB534XLPVzrH8EsE1hsN0CV5u8WphyOtjDg9QElON3GcCIOu7N2FMQLrjV9b4lqBtkvqKEbTkWVQ4BhFPPE/s1600/DSC_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm81wUcFbWQLTmi3oIzS9IcptpTwZATpsr6AD8yXnfgfYSsYfsH2-3LO8bkB534XLPVzrH8EsE1hsN0CV5u8WphyOtjDg9QElON3GcCIOu7N2FMQLrjV9b4lqBtkvqKEbTkWVQ4BhFPPE/s320/DSC_0458.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscfjIurnmhSO9sRULIPc_2y2lHquuxkyfd_IInvPkYf5M2TEkCsYaekc0DDpv-p13YdWNrCsBxRj9aZ0_JZAEcKdS6PzrMuQP94_GKkZ10FcdIyaihSRrbWk45VoMEwI-88Pi2g8aACI/s1600/DSC_0462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscfjIurnmhSO9sRULIPc_2y2lHquuxkyfd_IInvPkYf5M2TEkCsYaekc0DDpv-p13YdWNrCsBxRj9aZ0_JZAEcKdS6PzrMuQP94_GKkZ10FcdIyaihSRrbWk45VoMEwI-88Pi2g8aACI/s320/DSC_0462.JPG" t8="true" width="214" /></a></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300567374823601760.post-15754396977692868742011-05-22T22:11:00.000-04:002011-06-05T20:32:49.941-04:00... elastic-waist skirt<div style="font: 12px "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some nasty weather and unexpected life events prevented me from making it out to </span></span><a href="http://www.brimfield.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brimfield</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> last weekend, which means I'll have to wait for the July show. Bummer! It's been an altogether dismal start to the flea market and yard sale season in the Northeast, in terms of weather. I'm seriously jonesing to dig through someone else's junk (not a euphemism).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12px "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12px "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, more sewing projects! Which are not weather-dependent. I whipped up this quick elastic-waist skirt from some printed twill I picked up recently. I really love the pattern and colors and it has a nice weight to it with just a little bit of stretch. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12px "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUbgxGYHidGAs6OckeTLYrbydGcPa4LDeTIE4LNWyYyc0M6Ws6r5nSDXvGD5cnxAtpOEm6DVZKSQIxeWHujzbvXC26HyfmdELgUEpmbH1imHKZDgiLpCyN1u7MDvUnNO6nEonfsRUMNE/s1600/IMG_3664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUbgxGYHidGAs6OckeTLYrbydGcPa4LDeTIE4LNWyYyc0M6Ws6r5nSDXvGD5cnxAtpOEm6DVZKSQIxeWHujzbvXC26HyfmdELgUEpmbH1imHKZDgiLpCyN1u7MDvUnNO6nEonfsRUMNE/s320/IMG_3664.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twill skirt</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPrb6qd1S_nqXYLmb6lCNZVJbJwF6rUTiFoAMSBK1OuVva4wp3hyPu61o9YO8wh2CrzozbSzDEpbCGh3cmKvdftXD4QOkC6zjrSX_i9vo2FDkZ5ITjagG2A7ZOFU4U8V2_Rc8bYm02Sc/s1600/IMG_3648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPrb6qd1S_nqXYLmb6lCNZVJbJwF6rUTiFoAMSBK1OuVva4wp3hyPu61o9YO8wh2CrzozbSzDEpbCGh3cmKvdftXD4QOkC6zjrSX_i9vo2FDkZ5ITjagG2A7ZOFU4U8V2_Rc8bYm02Sc/s320/IMG_3648.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Front (also could be the back)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The front is pretty much exactly the same as the back, and it has pockets (of course). I finished the hem with some grosgrain ribbon before I hand-tacked it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyL36kufe_cuPEHz7ydbVW8Gwrx04HkRRQzw59WNFkBSRelumWA5UGQ0sUu8qNvsA7tHPWLOaCkv3N8F4TF3EbQWWDbozI-txCINhJw9mn7rKhyphenhyphentHLKAcScfQi8kSNoX0CjHw65Bi1b_g/s1600/IMG_3655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyL36kufe_cuPEHz7ydbVW8Gwrx04HkRRQzw59WNFkBSRelumWA5UGQ0sUu8qNvsA7tHPWLOaCkv3N8F4TF3EbQWWDbozI-txCINhJw9mn7rKhyphenhyphentHLKAcScfQi8kSNoX0CjHw65Bi1b_g/s320/IMG_3655.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finished hem</span></td></tr>
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</span></span></div><div style="font: 12px "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not much else to say about this little project – comfy, cute, quick. I've actually got loads of similar fabric that would work for this project as well. Unfortunately, skirt-weather not included.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU9W298Au5jzvufAMLuWvZvZeWx2VJGSTDxoZ0gkxkwMRdN4YDxLfAzd2OpAwhrjSWEo42HO4qU5ZkVtimhqFoVddckhYaC-gg5qjPWupbbPRGGgFgF6eaxhQAcA9txybuP76RX8pYgQ/s1600/IMG_3650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU9W298Au5jzvufAMLuWvZvZeWx2VJGSTDxoZ0gkxkwMRdN4YDxLfAzd2OpAwhrjSWEo42HO4qU5ZkVtimhqFoVddckhYaC-gg5qjPWupbbPRGGgFgF6eaxhQAcA9txybuP76RX8pYgQ/s320/IMG_3650.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pattern detail</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhRiEJ4aVRwoHyuV4_iw9BAcQnqnaZPpeC-7CAXc9sUhUqHTBkPCXtzoOqZNyDXVOphIvy6NUeHQFLB7v0R4TGqGmEvY4lhyphenhyphenaMZES8cqt_sXugR3kHOs6fCdTH9CZGnU_2tOk_-SzKKs/s1600/IMG_3669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhRiEJ4aVRwoHyuV4_iw9BAcQnqnaZPpeC-7CAXc9sUhUqHTBkPCXtzoOqZNyDXVOphIvy6NUeHQFLB7v0R4TGqGmEvY4lhyphenhyphenaMZES8cqt_sXugR3kHOs6fCdTH9CZGnU_2tOk_-SzKKs/s320/IMG_3669.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe in July...</span></td></tr>
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</div></span>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02258008761599543457noreply@blogger.com0