As I mentioned in my last post (er. only post up until now) I had plans for making the adorable Ruthie Clutch by Anna Maria Horner for a friend's birthday. I received the fabric last Thursday and by Friday was hard at work on it. I am so pleased with the fabric that I chose. The Little Folk's Cotton Voile is GORGEOUS and so. incredibly. soft and smoooooth. Ah, I just want to rub my face all over it. Seriously. It's fantastic. I've got plans for this fabric. Big plans.
This past Saturday Dan and I headed to fabric row in search of buttons. I am not very familiar with this overwhelming array of fabric stores. Our first and only introduction to Fabric Row was an afternoon a few years ago in which I drug Dan through every single store in search of a fabric for an upholstered headboard that I, 1.5 years later, have yet to construct. It took hours to find the perfect shade of green with the right texture. But we found it, and it is now it patiently sits under our bed awaiting its impending metamorphosis into the greatest upholstered headboard ever.
So, in order to make Saturday's Fabric Row adventure as quick and painless as possible for Dan, I referred to Dragon's Guide to Philly Fabrics. This is a very useful site and I recommend it for anyone in search of fabric in Philadelphia. One of my favorite stores in the city is Spool. It is not on the list. My other favorite store is Jo-Mar. It is on the list. I've got a lot of love for that place and I intend to profess this admiration in a later post. Anyways, we b-lined it to Albert Zoll, which is described as having a large selection of buttons in the Dragon Guide. They had so many unique buttons. My selection: a mustard-yellow, concave wooden button for the Ruthie Clutch and an extra large one for me, another in the same style but in magenta, and finally a yellow and brown wood inlay button. I have a feeling I will be returning to this store often as I create my various Parfait dresses.
I foresee a spring and summer filled with cute dresses and the most interesting buttons! I can't wait. But first, I have a Ruthie Clutch to complete.
I've been intending to get around to this whole blog thing for quite some time now. . . and by "quite some time" I do mean to say two maybe three years. I never understood why people blogged until I stumbled upon Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate and Zucchini- and then there was Molly Wizenburg's Orangette- and it all sort of made sense and seemed very right, even for a girl who had a habit of purchasing the most beautiful journals but never seemed to know what to write.
I've started this blog as a means to catalog my many ventures into the great craft abyss by way of a tiny apartment in Philadelphia that (much to my boyfriend's dismay) also serves as my studio space. By day, I am a historian for a very old stained glass studio. By night, a mad woman attempting to conquer as many projects as humanly possible. Again, much to my boyfriend's dismay. I mainly work in polymer clay, creating handmade beads that I use in jewelry. I also love to experiment with new recipes in our even tinier kitchen. However, this is not to the boyfriend's dismay. In this case, he's my partner in crime as we tackle new cuisine and bribe our friends into coming over for barbecues to test out the goods. I like to think that we don't have to twist their arms too much. : )
There is lots of excitement on the horizon (read: "I've got a crazy amount of stuff going on. What the hell am i thinking???!") and rather than talk poor Dan's* ear off, I've decided to channel it all here. Lucky You!
Let's see:
-Sewing projects! My parents (I love you!) bought me a sewing machine for Christmas and I am getting all of the practice in that I can. Currently en route is a package filled with delicious Anna Maria Horner cotton voile that I intend to use for Ms. Horner's Ruthie Clutch. I'm planning on making this for a dear friend for her 30th birthday. Let's hope it gets here within the next day or two as I would like to give it to her this weekend. At this point I should point out that I am afflicted with the terrible habit of procrastination. In this case however, I was too busy fighting with my very first hand made article of clothing- a denim wrap skirt- and forgot to order the fabric. Also, I couldn't decide on a pattern/color-way. I'm also incredibly indecisive.
-Baking! I'm entering a pie contest. This is very exciting as I have never been involved with any sort of baking competition. It's really not very serious, however. I think it's more of an excuse to get lots of pies to a Twin Peaks inspired art opening. A very good idea, I might add. I've got two pies lined up that I would like to make. This coming weekend will be the weekend of pie, in which I perform recipe experiments and force Dan to try my pies. Sadly, the boy has an inhuman power to say "no" to all things dessert. Unless it is steak, and for some crazy reason it is listed under the dessert category of a menu.
-More sewing projects! I figure that if I have my own sewing machine, I may as well use it to make clothes that I actually like and can afford. Therefore, I am planning on taking part in Made By Rae's Spring Top Week. So, I have from March 30 to April 30 to post at least one hand made spring top to the Spring Top Week 2010 Flickr Pool. So far, I've have a Sencha Blouse by Colette Patterns in the works and Amy Butler's Cabo Halter on deck. Anyways, enough for now.
Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you enjoy my little sewing/polymer clay/cooking adventure.
I leave you with a photo of our tree. It isn't very exciting I know, and it has nothing to do with what I've just rambled on about, but I like it. It's calming and it makes me smile.
*Dan = The Boyfriend (Will surely pop up from time to time)
