Tags
cats, clothing, Ellie and Mac Memphis Top, Fab Scrap, Mt. Vernon, Pooh, sewing, Shelby, travel, Tulip Festival, Tulip Town, WIP Wednesday, Zero Waste Daniel
Tulip Town in Mt. Vernon, WA.
WIP = Work in Progress
Hello again!
Inconsistent posting continues, but I hope you’ll bear with me while I work through the stressful and busy phase I’m currently in. Sewing has been very sporadic, but I’m hoping the next few weeks will be a little more settled and I can get back to making things, as I miss it!
In the meantime, I have a few pretty pictures to share with you, such as that beauty at the top, from the Tulip Festival up north in Washington’s Skagit Valley. My honey and I signed up to go on a trip up there that was being organized by his workplace. I’ve always wanted to go, but the 5-hour drive and other logistical issues had held me back, so I jumped at the chance to take a tour where all the stressful stuff was taken care of for us.
This is Tulip Town, up in Mt. Vernon. They have some displays there that have to do with all the countries that tulips come from, and some stalls where you can order your bulbs or have your face painted, but the main attraction is this one big, square field with rows and rows of tulips. You and a mass of people wander around in the mud and take pictures to post on Instagram, while employees hover and make sure you aren’t stomping the flowers.
Am I making it sound a little weird? Because it kind of is. Everybody takes pictures like the ones above, while the actual experience of being there is more like this:
I have a lot of conflicting feelings about Instagram (and other social media) and how they’re used to show the world one’s perfect, glossy, gorgeously curated life–and monetize it!–while filtering out all the messy, complicated bits. Maybe I should rebel and institute a policy of only posting pictures on social media of cooking failures, messy makeup, and my kitchen with its sink full of dirty dishes . . . 😉
Despite my complaints, we did have a lovely time, and got to have a fantastic dinner of fresh, local halibut with my buddy Heidi while we were up north.
Anyway, back home, I finally did finish and hem my Memphis Top. I’ve been wearing it most days since then, so I’m calling it a win. It’s so comfy, and so cute, that I love wearing it, even if it might make me look a little bit pregnant.
Not ready for Instagram.
I wound up taking 3 inches off the hem, and I think it’s about the perfect length now, though I have found it to be a bit aerodynamic when the wind blows! That fun, full skirt does fly around with just a little bit of wind, which we tend to have a lot of here in the spring. Note to self: maybe find something else to wear when we have those 25 mph days.
The other big news is the little treat I got myself the other day as a reward for being brave (that kind of makes it sound like I was wrestling bears or something, but when you have anxiety, “being brave” can look a lot like doing normal grown-up stuff). I heard about a company called Fab Scrap recently (I think on Facebook?) that resells fabric remnants generated by the New York garment industry. I was sorely tempted by the prospect of unique, high-quality fabrics packaged in grab bags, but the shipping costs all the way across the country made me hold off and wait for a sale. Which finally happened a few weeks ago.
I got myself a dark yard pack–5 pieces of at least 1 yard each–and a black scrap pack. (Yeah, I seem to be going through a black phase right now.) Here’s the yard pack, accompanied by a nice note:
The photo shoot didn’t last long before things got a little out of hand —
But here they are:
The two on the left are ponte (or something similar), and the one in the middle is a pretty standard synthetic lining, but I think the two on the right are probably silk. The black on the far right is particularly nice–it’s one of those sandwashed silks that were popular during the early ’90s, and it has a beautiful drape and weight to it.
And here’s the scrap pack, which is comprised of mostly knits:
I got the scrap pack because I saw this video a while ago, and it’s been at the back of my mind ever since.
The tops I love in this video are the monochromatic ones–the white one that she’s wearing, and the gray one he hangs up–and I’m a little bit obsessed with the idea of combining different fabrics with the same colors but different textures. So I’ve now got the scrap pack and a few other remnants I’ve picked up, and I’m going to have to try this idea soon!
Have a wonderful week, and I hope you’re finding crafty inspiration all around you.
STH
