new additions!

That's right friends! I got this awesome quilting cotton as a gift from W's grandmother- a very sweet lady who got me some when I said it would make a good lining for a purse! I have nooo idea who it's by or where it came from, but I think it'll be great with some denim or this khakhi fabric as a schoolbook-sized bag for the times I want to go study without my laptop. The wooden box the fabric's sitting on is the home for my beads as well.... and I've been busy this weekend playing with them! I'll show you those on Wednesday's regularly scheduled crafty post, if I can wait that long!

I'm just running late this week...

But tonight I will be done with midterms and there are already plans happening for something crafty to go on... We have had massive amounts of studying to do, because that's what happens when you're a student. You do crazy things like memorize details out of text after text... in this case, the Bible.

Hey, it could be worse.... I love what I'm doing and am blessed to be doing it!

I hope y'all will forgive me for a fluff post... I'm making necklaces tonight and have fabric goodness to share too!

This weekend, I spent time with my mama and W in Jacksonville, FLA! We visited my godmother and went to an amazing event: a wine tasting for a cause.

There were some awesome bands and the whole thing was at an amazing venue- the Jacksonville Landing. It was a great day- I spent time with an amazing lady I'm fortunate enough to call my mama, heard the Navy Band Southeast make great music- everything from big band to Latin to some jazzy stuff... a blend that was juuust perfect for the atmosphere, and we really lucked out with perfect weather for that last chance to wear a summer dress.

The coolest part of the day for me was after the event- I met an amazing couple with an amazing story as we were loading up cars and after most people had made their way home. Christy's parents told me about her and the amazing story that birthed the CHILD Cancer fund. Go find out about Christy. Her parents are amazing people and she's an amazing girl with a great outlook on life!

Reincarnation: Vogue to Infinity

Does anyone remember the Infinity dresses of a few years ago? Well, I gave in and made one. Because I had a dress that didn't have a back, but that I wasn't happy with. I wanted this vibrant pink to be a happy fabric, and lo and behold, I needed a salsa dress for a fun little outing.

Enter the extra fabric and that inkling for a fun dress that just happens sometimes. These fun times? Well, they tend to happen without the presence of cameras. Luckily, Havana Club hires a company to shoot photos of people having fun, and I have friends who remember to bring cameras when I don't. Havana Club's a great place with an authentic atmosphere and awesome music to salsa to. We had a lot of fun that night, and my skirt definitely passed the twirl test.

This infinity dress tutorial makes these dresses easy and fun, and I was SO happy to give new life to this old dress. It didn't take an eternity, and it made me feel like a million bucks!

The bright pink knit popped and I think the heaviness made the twirl factor just right, and the drape was perfect with the extra weight. I'd definately recommend Fabric Mart's knits for flowy projects like this one. It was sooo soft and great to wear!

Well, off to study more, as I have midterms soon... one a week from today and another a week from tomorrow. This weekend I'll be off visiting family, so Saturday's post won't be about Decatur, and might just be pictures.

Back Review: Vogue knit dress

Well kids, I have this terrible habit of sewing things at the last minute at times, which can mean getting around to posting a review will happen, just not quickly. But with me trying to post more often, it'll happen! I WILL be caught up in my reviews! And sew more too, by the looks of it. There are only SO many things I made in 2010...

Pattern: Vogue 1027, a DKNY dress.
Pattern Rating: Easy. I would place it on the intermediate side of easy.
Pattern Description: "Calf length dress has semi-fitted, pleated and lapped bodice, bias skirt with inseam pockets and stitched hems."
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I know the official format has this question later, but I rarely leave a pattern as it comes. I made a new bodice with a different line and did not use the waistbands as such... I put them in my bodice! It was a dress for a fraternity formal given on a beach, which meant I wanted something more... different. Evening. Beachy. Mission accomplished! I also did not include pockets, and did have to put in some elastic to help support the weight of the skirt.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
The skirt is definately like the photo, but it's decievingly, wonderfully full.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
I read through them and used them to a degree, and found them very easy to follow.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked that the skirt was so fun and full, I did not like the waistband ties. The directions were clear, and the cut of the garment made sense. I could
Fabric Used: a heavy, drapey knit from Fabric Mart in a solid- it was scrumptious and felt great on skin.
Would you make the pattern again? If I made it again, I'd use a lighter weight knit so the skirt would do more of what it was intended to and wouldn't require extra support.

... next Wednesday, I'll show you the refashion and what that dress is now.

Of all the money e'er I had,
I spent it in good company.
And all the harm I've ever done,
Alas! it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit
To mem'ry now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

Oh, all the comrades e'er I had,
They're sorry for my going away,
And all the sweethearts e'er I had,
They'd wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot,
That I should rise and you should not,
I gently rise and softly call,
Good night and joy be with you all.

If I had money enough to spend,
And leisure time to sit awhile,
There is a fair maid in this town,
That sorely has my heart beguiled.
Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips,
I own she has my heart in thrall,
Then fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

Today was my first experience with a burial. We laid to rest a really amazing lady, and it really made me think. We are blessed and life is too short. It was an honor to be asked, and when I got chills, I knew it mas Mrs. M telling me to say yes. The service was beautiful, making toasts to a great woman. This song, The Parting Glass, has its roots in the 1600s in Scotland, and is still a beautiful farewell. The closing of an amazing chapter in her life.

FALL!

Autumn is coming, and I can feel it.

There are tights showing up on campus. Sweaters are making appearances. The leaves are doing all the turning they'll do in Atlanta, and it makes my heart happy. During my bike ride last weekend, I was rejoicing over having to wear long sleeves and the SMELL. The smell of Fall is in the air and just lifts my heart.

A new season is pushing me- making me think about how and why I live as I do. And I realize, bigtime, that I am blessed to be here- taking another 3 years of my life to devote to study and to preparation for ministry, in whatever that means for my life and in my life.

The world is alive in Autumn, bringing forth bounty in the land- a time of harvest and fruitfulness. The world glows with color, and it makes my heart happy. It's a time for change too. A time where we prune back and plan- and I can't help but think about how we get ready for winter besides our wardrobes...

Any thoughts? How do you prepare when you finish changing clothes over?

Race day was awesome.

I am jazzed to report my time for 33ish miles on a bike was 2:40... so roughly 12.5 to 13 miles an hour. Right at what was expected for riders in my distance, and BEYOND what I thought I'd accomplish!

It was amazing... and I think I might just be hooked.

And with the nip in the air, fall weather(read: time to wear fun tights... I have a collection) is upon us and so are some projects... Hopefully I'll be finishing a skirt to wear and show this weekend. W will be visiting, so I'm pretty excited to show him all around my new hometown! I know I've got the tights to go in the outfit, but the time? We shall see.

Sooo excited!

Tomorrow is the big day- a 50 K bike ride... the Kaolin Festival Century! W's dad is a race coordinator who is very much of the opinion that there's no time like the present to start something new. It's gonna be fun.

image courtesy of toonpools.com