a wee blog break

The posts have been trickling to a halt around here, so I think it's time to put the blog down for a little nap. I've had so much to say, but no motivation to sit and write. There are changes going on in my life, and in periods of transition I tend to need much more time for internal processing. And conserving my energy for all the shiny newness of all the new things coming my way.

But don't worry, it's all good changes! Exciting changes. Twin and I, after living in New York for several years, are heading south again. We're moving to Chapel Hill, NC. Cool town, close to family, slower pace of life. [We are, in fact, 83-year-old little ladies disguised within 28-year-old bodies, doncha know.]

I'll be spending the next couple weeks packing and saying good-bye to the city—cramming all the things I always meant to do and see here into 2 short weeks. Then settling into Chapel Hill and the wicked cool job I've already landed. Finding the grocery store. Locating the nearest fabric shop. And, of course, re-reading the entire Harry Potter series in preparation for this summer's Harry Potter-palooza. I am a Harry Potter fangirl and not too proud to admit it. You can admit it too, I won't tell.

Anybody got tips about the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area, bring em on!

Enjoy your early summers and eat lots of ice cream. I'll be doing the same. While packing boxes. I LOVE packing boxes. You can call me crazy. There is really nothing more satisfying than a perfectly packed box.

xo, take care everyone!
I'll probably be back before you've even started missing me. : )

mama and the grandmamas

Moms are great! Moms are good! Moms love you even when you are ungrateful, needy, full of attitude, just plain stupid, and/or annoyingly self-sufficient. Why? I don't know. Not being a mother, at times I can not comprehend the depth of a mama's patience. They're like glue, you know? Sticky. Holds us all together. For which I am incredibly grateful.

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful mama and all you other mamas out there!

luck be a lady shirt

This shirt is made from the same pattern I used for my His Girl Friday shirt. (I think I might name all my homemade garments after classic movies or broadway tunes. Because that's just fun.) The pattern is Built By Wendy/Simplicity 4112. The fabric is a Heather Ross for FreeSpirit. I love her scraggly sweet flowers. They are so endearing. And I just noticed this print also comes in brown. Oh, must order some of that.

I had some sleeve issues with this shirt. I'm finding that short sleeves are tricky. The short sleeves that Wendy included in this pattern are large and bell-shaped. They are cut on the bias, and hemmed with an itty-bitty baby hem.
I made one of these sleeves, sewed it in, and promptly decided it looked ridiculous on me. I wasn't able to cut the sleeve on the bias as the pattern instructs because I didn't want my flowers growing diagonally. Instead I cut it straight on the fabric, and the resulting drape of the fabric was less than elegant. Fugly, in fact.

I ripped out the monster bell sleeve and set in small cap sleeves from a different pattern. Much better. I finished the sleeve with a bias binding, which gives it a nice shape as well as durability. I do want to try the bell sleeves again. They do look interesting and I think with a lighter-weight fabric they would be beautifully fluttery.

Twin, being my own best critic, thinks I look a little tight-laced in this shirt. She didn't use the words "prim" or "old-maidish," but I could tell she was thinking it. I'm not bothered. As Sky Masterson would tell you, prudishness can have its own brand of appeal.

retail therapy

Twin and I braved Macy's last night in search of shoes. We need to remember that the Macy's shoe department is not for the faint-hearted on a Friday night. I have never seen so many women and so many shoes together in one place before in my life. Shoes and boxes were scattered everywhere. The poor sales clerks traveled around the department surrounded by a perpetual swarm of women, all of them clamoring to thrust shoes into the clerks' hands and shout their size at them. I didn't find any shoes that were worth the trouble of jumping into the fray until I saw these red ones in the juniors department. They are Dr. Scholl's. I didn't even know Dr. Scholl's makes shoes, much less incredibly cute shoes. I also tried on these Keds, though they didn't have my size. I think I'm going to have to order them online, because they have owls on them. Owls! Hoot.
And look what came in the mail! My pin+pocket from Sally. Eeee! Friends, these are as carefully constructed, beautifully designed, and thoughtfully presented and packaged as you might expect from the genius that is Shim. And there was also a sneak peek of the stationery goodness that is to come, and I have to tell you it is gorgeous. I'll be stalking her shop relentlessly from now on.

It is a beautiful saturday here—we're headed to the park. And I actually have been at my sewing machine today, which puts me in a most happy frame of mind. A capital mood, as my friend Pip says. Must be something about spring. Or maybe it's the new shoes. :)

more from the cherry blossom festival

happy friday!!

brooklyn botanical garden

The Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend was just beautiful, though many of the trees had not reached their peak yet thanks to the cool spring we've had. But oh, look, they're in full bloom now. Might be worth a repeat visit this weekend.

Busy busy week here, nothing of interest to share except for this lovely flower display. I took over a hundred pictures, I will post a few more tomorrow.