Money Ideas

So here are some serious variations of the simple "poncho" style top that I copied from somewhere. The first two are from Anthropoligie and the striped one is from Nordstrom. All of the tops are a simple rectangle with a head opening. Fabrics/trims are sewn together to create the rectangle or an opening is left in the side seam for the belt.

Seriously this is like the ancient Greek Ionic chifton. A large rectangle of fabric draped over your body and sewn at the side seams.

Don't over think this and you'll be successful!!

Look What I Made

Okay, just what you've been waiting for...my new weekly feature of an item I have made . Visiting The Sewing Party this week reminded me I had purchased tan fabrics from their sale wall back in April to make into my favorite skirt- McCall's M5591.

I love this skirt pattern because it's already proportioned to be knee length. It has a wide band at the bottom that is perfect for mixing prints AND it has functional pockets!! What's not to love. The first time I made it was from the two batik fabrics ( very subtle ). Second time was the retro squiggles, circles and stripes ( I also made my necklace ) and last ( but definitely not final ) time is the coordinating tan fabrics from Sewing Party.

INSANITY!!

Last week I met with this incredibly gifted man from Laguna Beach that has a theater company. Previously I've worked on costumes for his shows and last summer I radically redesigned 5 marionettes and re-strung 6 other marionettes ( see post from July 21, 2010 ).
Well the dude kinda disappeared to Prague ( with his puppets ) and I JUST got paid for last summer's work. Of course while he was bouncing around Europe he stumbled upon this great kids production that uses, you guessed it, puppets GALORE!!
So he seriously wants me to make like 50 puppets for his show that opens...IN THREE WEEKS!!
Of course I totally want to make each and every one but, the time restraint is HUGE and I don't really feel like my time and expenses will be adequately addressed.
It's just my dirty little secret that I was obsessed with puppets for years and made/sold quite a few before teaching consumed my life.
It's a serious quandary but, I know I'll attempt to make at least 10 to 20 of them and of course I'll post pictures because that's what I do :)

Party in the OC!

I finally found the new location of a sweet boutique-The Sewing Party. It is now located off Ridge Route on Ridge Route ( how's that for confusing ) near the back of a little industrial center. The boring facade does not prepare you for the wonderful treats inside. Love of fabric and all its potential is what I take from this store. Fabric is grouped by textile designers or descriptions like 'shabby' or 'contemporary'. This makes it easy for their target customers of quilters to find the multiple mix of fabrics necessary to complete a quilt. NO emphasis on garments here-it is all about pillows, quilts and purses. But, alot of these techniques can easily be applied to clothing and nice fabric is nice fabric. Prices run from $9 up to $10.50 a yard with a back sale wall of $4.50 per yard.

The fabric here is absolutely beautiful ( do I say that about EVERY store? I just adore fabric ). And while you won't find zippers and thread and buttons and garment patterns you WILL find examples of wildly wonderful pillows, Japanese embroidery, and lots of creative class offerings.

What really brings me back to Sewing Party besides the great fabrics, classes, books, etc. is the fantastic purses. The selection of purse handles, hardware and ideas are inspiring.

And purses are everywhere! There are books of purse patterns, giant grommets, decorative zippers, the little feet for purse bottoms, and just great examples of the purses that can only be purchased as kits. No individual patterns, just kits that hopefully you'll buy when you sign-up for the class on how to make the purse. I really fell in love with the Bostonian purse with its nice size and shape. Plus lots of hardware that makes it look expensive and not at all homemade. No classes offered right now on the Bostonian but, I signed up for it on the store's wishlist of classes. When enough people sign up they schedule a class!

While I was perusing the goods at Sewing Party women kept entering the store murmuring about " Quilter's Run ". I suspected it was some sort of top secret quilting guild activity and I wasn't too wrong. As I exited I spied a Quilter's Run pamphlet and grabbed it. Quilter's Run is a 2 weekend promotion covering the four seasons and 40 fabric stores from LA, OC and San Diego counties. There are prizes and drawings and passports, etc. All I know is that I now have a list of 40 fabric boutiques just waiting for me to visit :) So stay tuned...