...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.

... summery tank dress

Here's a simple little dress I whipped up recently, made of some white and navy printed cotton lawn (navy again!). 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.

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 taffeta dress 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...

... elastic-waist skirt

Some nasty weather and unexpected life events prevented me from making it out to Brimfield 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).

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. 

Twill skirt

Front (also could be the back)

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.

... super-bright taffeta print dress

So when I said I had some taffeta in a really bright print, I wasn't kidding!

My eyes!

I kind of fell in love with this taffeta at the fabric store. Honestly, the lighting in my apartment is really bad - it's even brighter in real life. It's got a kind of abstract animal print thing going on, which is not usually to my taste, but the colors just jumped out at me. 

garment front

garment back

Since the print was so bold, I kept the shape really simple - it's basically just a tank dress with elastic waist and a button closure in the back. And pockets, obviously pockets! 

... navy linen casual dress

This website, I've been neglecting it! I admit, sometimes I go through a phase where all I want to do when I get home from work is have a glass of wine and watch Masterpiece Theater and be generally unproductive. But I have a backlog of fabric calling my name, so it's never that long before I start a new project. The weather is just starting to feel actually spring-like, so I decided to work with some navy linen to make a casual day dress. The casual dress is my go-to wardrobe element in the summer – I can never have too many! 

... party dress for a friend

 Remember that project I mentioned a while back? Finally finished! And it was a fun one. My good friend Hilary was throwing a surprise birthday party for her husband Tom and asked me to make a fun custom dress for the occasion. I rarely make clothes for anyone but myself, so it was a good challenge for me (not least because we live a hundred miles apart, so I couldn't fit her very often).

As inspiration, we used this Marc Jacobs dress Zoe Deschanel wears in the movie 500 Days of Summer:

picture from ASOS BLOGS 

Very cute, very expensive, very no-longer-available! But a good starting point. It took some searching to find navy eyelet fabric - I finally found some through an etsy seller based in Singapore. I was able to fit the dress to Hilary twice - once with a mock-up of the dress made of scrap fabric (which had an awesome 80's paint splatter print, incidentally) and once more with the actual dress before I put the zipper in. Behold, the result!

And the back, super cute: