Tag Archives: travels

M6885 Goes to Washington

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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How do! Last week, I headed down to Washington, D.C. for a work conference and brought a number of me-made items with me. In fact, I wore handmade all but one day while I was there. Hey, only the best for our nation’s capital. ;)

One brand new piece I brought (along with the M6886 dress from my previous post) was McCall 6885, which I finished in early October. (Just realized these two patterns follow each other in pattern numbering. Guess I really liked McCall’s offerings in that section of their website!)

The first few photos in this post were taken at the top of the Washington Monument, which is the center piece of the National Mall and built in tribute to our first president, George Washington.

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Butterick 5546, Palm Fronds Wrap Dress

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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So, as I’m a little behind schedule with posting my finished projects, here is another one that I completed in late May. This is a pattern I’ve used before, but this time I went with the short flutter sleeves option. I really love the look of those wee sleeves! Although as you’ll notice in these photos, the right sleeve flipped up from when I had my bag straps on my shoulder. I was in a bit of a rush to take these photos so I didn’t take the time to notice. Oops. Also, my name tag flew over my shoulder. That white string isn’t a necklace. ;) Why was I wearing a name tag, you may ask? Well, read on…!

The fabric is a cotton jersey that I bought for super cheap several years ago. I remember loving the softness of the fabric at the time, and the print just seemed happy for whatever reason. Probably because it reminded me of, well, palm fronds and warm weather. :)

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To Paris with Fabric

Posted in Musings & Everything Else by

Bonjour! I was lucky enough to visit France earlier this month and I bet you can guess what I did while I was in Paris… Yep, fabric shopping.

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So happy in my Minoru jacket. All fabric stores behind me!

I ventured into some of the bigger stores in Montmartre before checking out a smaller discount store. Two of the big stores had several floors of fabric, but only the first and second floors (or ground and first floors depending on where you come from!) had garment fabrics. As much as I’d love to say I made curtains from luxurious French fabrics, I’m not sure how much that’d go over when it came time to hauling that onboard the plane!

These fabric stores are located on a few streets close together. There was a ton of Liberty fabric to be had, but since they weren’t any cheaper than they are here in New York I decided to walk on by.

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New Trinkets and Fabrics

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Our trip to Florida last week included a stop at the Japan Pavilion at Epcot in Disney World, and there I found some fun cotton fabrics to take home with me! They’re not fat quarters but they’re sold in small amounts. I had no idea you could buy fabric in Disney.
I should say, the bottom 3 fabrics are from Epcot and the top brown one is from Sew L.A. Fabric. I said I wasn’t going to buy more fabric until I completed 5 projects, which I haven’t, but I can’t actually make a garment from these so I’ll give myself a pass (and I was on vacation!).
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Thrifty (and Not-So-Thrifty) Finds

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Last weekend I visited a friend in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Little towns and villages popped up around the countryside, and every once in awhile we’d pass an abandoned century-old building that’d make me wonder just how long it had been sitting there vacant. We checked out a couple of main streets with brick buildings no more than a story or two high, a definite sleepy Southern town vibe to it.

…Thrifty Finds…
Ever since I started sewing I’ve loved visiting sewing-related stores when I travel. There was one antiques store we wandered into that had a bunch of different stalls. At the back of the store I spotted it — a basket of sewing patterns! Jackpot, I thought to myself. I came away with two patterns, a knit wrap dress from 1972 (McCalls 3080) and a skirt from 1982 (Simplicity 5454). Unfortunately, the wrap dress is a few sizes too big for me, but I couldn’t pass it up for $1. I also grabbed a bag filled with bias tape, piping, lace, etc.

1972 Wrap Dress (the styling on this one is so cute!); 1982 skirt

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