... sparkly bridal bolero

In my last post, 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 moi. But it does kind of drive George nuts.

ANYWAY, back on topic, I have a really fun project to share. I do believe that I mentioned my exceptionally talented friend Emily 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!). 

Here's where we're going with this. Read on for details!

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!

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. 

Estelle, helping me work out the design in muslin

Faaaaabulous fabric

... Picnic wrap-up

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.

Despite a hurricane threatening the northeast that weekend, we ended up having great weather for the show (it was 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!

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 particularly 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.

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!

... Etsy store

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).

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 here 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!!

... Picnic sneak peak: tunics & things

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 Picnic 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:

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 sweet Etsy site).

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:

And some with printed twill and poplin:

I was thinking of doing something fun with the pulls, but I haven't quite decided yet. (Clearly I have to decide pretty quick).

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. 

...adventure in dip-dyeing fabric

I 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 Picnic. 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.

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.

Eye of newt, toe of frog

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).

...Picnic sneak peek: pink linen dress

Another quick update and a sneak peek of what I've been working on for Picnic! 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:

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:

Cinch it.

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. 

Also, I've set up a Etsy store where my clothing will be available beginning September 1. Check it out here (there's nothing available at the moment). There you will also see my excellent logo, created by my amazingly talented friend Emily of Three Little Words, 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. 

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!

... announcement (or really, two)

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, possibly 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!). 

So with that in mind, I’m excited to introduce Filia, a small collection of women’s apparel designed and sewn by yours truly. My new little label is making its debut at the Portland Picnic + Arts Festival 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:

(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:

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. 

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 so 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. 

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:

Cats, I know it's hot, but could you lie somewhere else?

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.

Seriously though, this face.