wonderland5

Blue and Orange swap

A little while back, I was invited by the lovely Jeannine to participate in a swap of blue and orange items.  I had sort of sworn off swaps in the last few years, feeling that I just didn't have time to do them justice, but I really liked the idea behind this one, so I joined in.  I was amazed at just how much blue and orange started popping up around me--it must be one of those things that you never notice until you are looking for it. 

These are the contents of the lovely package I received from lindalee, a jewelry maker from Texas.  Loving that yarn and the little scallopy notecards are so cute--the envelope flap is scallopy also.  The earrings are great--very well crafted.  I am thinking that the blue ones will just match a dress I am making for a costume wedding we are attending in September ( more on that later.)

I sent to a mixed media artist in Germany--I don't think she has gotten my package yet.  I sent tons and tons of paper, vintage pillowcase, stickers, and some of those little felt flowers I have been making.  Stupidly, I took no pics, but maybe she will post one.  All in all, a satisfying swap. 

The first sewing project failure of 2007

Well, it's happened: the first total sewing screw-up of the year.  Usually it takes a little longer. I've kind of convinced myself that it's good to break the ice early.

I'm not going to show a pic of the failure itself, as it would just look like a pile of green corduroy on the floor.  I will, however, show you this:

This is the book from which the failure sprang, but please don't misunderstand: I fully believe that the problems resulting in the failure rest squarely upon my shoulders.  The book itself is cool: a big section on creating your own skirt patterns based on your *actual* measurements (practically revolutionary, that)  and a number of very cute skirts, including but not limited to the T-length wrap skirt that I was psyched to make for myself.

Long story short: corduroy does not work for a wrap skirt that is cut out in a half circle type way.  The front looked great, the back looked insane.  Why I did not anticipate this problem is anyone's guess. 

Silver lining: the piece is so big that I can still use it for something substantial. 

Next up: an apron for my twelve year old niece.  I think I am going to do a two layer number with tons of trims and a vintage hankie pocket.