Sunday, July 03, 2016

Multi-Post: Canada Day, a Hummingbird Skirt, and a Dream Wardrobe

Okay friends, I'm going to mash 3 topics into this blog post, because I have a ton of post ideas and very little time to write right now.  BTW, owning a store?  Simultaneously epically awesome and completely exhausting!  I love it.  :)

Topic 1: Canada Day!

HAPPY (belated) CANADA DAY!!!  And to you folks in the States, HAPPY (early) INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

Canada Day!
I reduced the shop hours on Friday so I could go watch the parade in town, and I do not regret it for a moment!  The parade was a ton of fun, and I went a little crazy waving and cheering at everything and everyone with my wee little flag.  My favourite float was this one:

Canada Day!
It's hard to tell at first, but it's a little glass-blowing studio!  We've had one open up in town this summer, and I'm so impressed they got a float going for the parade!  The folks on the float pretended to repeatedly heat and blow "glass" (aka balloons and umbrellas) and a few people walked along side, blowing more "glass" and giving out candy.  I'm stoked to go do one of their glass-blowing classes - clever buggers also have a "date night" package, which is awesome!

Canada Day!
I might've gotten into the spirit (though I didn't think of a float - NEXT YEAR!!!!) and was up until 2 am the night before (/that morning) knitting up an ugly colourwork hat for a Canada Day display.  Don't look to closely at it, the colourwork is atrocious.  But it did the job, and looked pretty good surrounded by all the red and white Canadian-made product and string I could find!

Topic 2: Hummingbird Skirt


fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt
Holy crap I sewed a skirt!

Haha I've been missing my poor sewing room lately, and I've gotten an itch to sew that was getting unbearable.  After closing up the shop at 4 on Canada Day, I came home to have some quiet me time (I'm an introvert - though granted a socially-inclined introvert.  I've been needing some me-time to recharge after the last two crazy weeks).  I'd planned to sit and work on a store sample and watch a movie, but the sewing room - she called!  I wanted a quick project and, needing a skirt desperately in my wardrobe, I pulled out the pieces of a navy Hummingbird Skirt (by Cake Patterns) that I'd cut out literally years ago.

fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt

fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt
I put on my favourite audiobook and proceeded to sew for the next few hours.  Ah bliss.  Look at those pockets!  I sewed them wrong at first and swore a lot while ripping them out, but otherwise everything went smoothly.

fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt
Hey look, straight side seam!  I can't remember what size I cut (I'm assuming a size 45" - based on how this fits across my hips and the size range), but I did absolutely no alterations and the fit is pretty spot on.  Granted, I'm not entirely certain how a skirt should fit, but it's pretty comfy.  It might be a little snug across the hips, but seems fine.  I'd probably add an inch or so length next time though.  I'm actually sort of happy with this length, but I don't normally wear shorts and most dresses I wear are closer to knee length.

fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt
This is the best invisible zipper I've ever done!  It really is invisible - there's just some weird shadows happening in the picture above.  And some wrinkles and various fluff that accumulates in a yarn shop - what can I say, I finished it the night before and promptly test run it at work the next day.

Don't ask me what the fabric is - some sort of suiting that feels a bit wooly, but definitely has a poly-content.  It was part of a box of fabric sent to me from a friend, and I'm glad to get more use out of it.  :) 

fo: Navy Hummingbird Skirt
So I definitely need several more of these!  I think they're going to be a wardrobe staple, that's for sure.  :)

Topic 3: Dream Wardrobe

During MMMay'16 (erm - things got a little insane and I never got photos taken of outfits the last week or so of May, though I did stick with Me-Makes.  After hearing about the shop, I hope you now understand why), I won one of Zoe's giveaways!  It was a fun little 'go to the Fabric Godmother website and suggest a pattern you think they need to have on their site (mine was Cake Pattern's Tiramisu, btw - I do love me some Cake!), and I was so lucky to win one month of Fabric Godmother's Dream Wardrobe!  It was pretty cool, actually; Josie contacted me with a consultation document that I had to fill out, describing my colouring, my personal style, likes and dislikes, etc, and then she chose a pattern and fabric she thought would suit me.  I received her package last week, and this is what she sent:

Fabric Godmother Package
It's perfect!  I love the simple but fun fabric, and I've been eyeing up Darling Ranges for years now!  This was definitely a good experience, and I'll probably recommend this service to family members back home who want to send me something special for birthdays or Christmas's. 

Itch to sew...RISING!

9 comments:

  1. Yes, I love the hummingbird skirt too. I've probably made it 10 times (totally serious)!! I make a couple each time my body changes (i.e.: pre-baby 1, post-baby 1, pre-baby 2, post-baby 2...) Something about a great fitting skirt with pockets gets my sewing machine humming (no pun intended, lol). In fact, I'm wearing one right now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that's so cool! I love how you make and live in so many of them. It's a very wearable skirt, and I want to make more basic ones and some more wild ones. I'm also wondering if I could A-line the pattern, since I like that shape of skirt...

      Delete
  2. Also, I remember being confused about the pockets the first couple times I made it too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sort of wish that pieces "L" and "J" were labelled differently. I don't know why, but I couldn't keep those two straight no matter how many times I read the instructions. I'm going to go change one of them to 'Z' or something.

      Delete
  3. You're amazing! Good to know you're doing other things and not just shop owning. It does get less exhausting, I promise. For the first few weeks I was falling asleep in a chair by 8pm. ow I can stay awake until...oo...10! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I took yesterday completely off from the store! It was amazing. I dyed yarn with a friend! Okay, time off store, not time off yarn. :D But yeah, I'm actually finding more motivation to do things for me in the spare time I have, instead of dicking around like I normally do. Being busy makes me much more efficient. :)

      Good to know that the busy-exhausting bit does taper off eventually! <3

      Delete
  4. Looks like your new life is giving you a bit of a boost. And having a U.F.O around just waiting for that sewing moment - how wonderful. Looks good too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pooped, but very happy and brimming with creative ideas! <3

      Delete
  5. Oh my goodness, you've been so busy! I'm so glad to see you settling into the store well, and the Canada Day parade looks like it was a blast! The skirt looks ah-mazing on you (but no surprise there) ;)

    ReplyDelete