Summer White- Finds on Etsy

I hate to admit it but then why should I?  I still stick to the old school rule of white after Memorial Day and before Labor Day.  We have been having quite a heat wave in NYC.  It is our third this summer.  Harper, my new little baby, has been handling it like a champ.  Of course it is difficult to figure out if the ac is bothering her.  She has been wearing with style her sleeveless white onesies.

Why do we wear whites in the summer?  It makes us feel lighter? Refreshed? Thinner? Pure?

Winter whites are nice in the winter but don't have the same feeling.  Whatever the reason is there are many white items to choose from.

Check out these cute beaded earrings on Etsy by Elegance by Elaine

They remind me of vintage chandeliers.

I love this! And being an avid reader and lover of the English authors, this is so unique!

"Dearest Jane! Who could have done less for her" this scarf has sections from Pride and Prejudice printed on it.  Find it at storiarts on Etsy and the designer is based in Portland Oregon, my old dwelling place.  So many artists and creativity is coming out of Portland these days.

A vintage linen dress from dustysociety that looks quite modern. 

More dresses! Look at this adorable baby doll dress with a Peter Pan collar!  This is from DressupComeon out of Thailand.

We don't want to forget about the men. I stumbled upon this fantastic retro shirt from a shop called thebazarhome.

Are you a believer of white after Memorial Day and before Labor Day? 

How do you feel about this tradition?

Should I just stop being so traditional or conservative?

My wedding in Well Wed Magazine

It's hard to believe my wedding was almost a year and a half ago.  Seems further away than that.  Me being a crafty person, I wanted to add my own touches to my wedding.  Why am I blogging about this now?  Well my wedding was recently in a magazine called Well Wed, the Winter 2013 edition.  Our florist Dawn, owner and creative director of Soiree Floral, submitted it to the magazine and they accepted it for their most recent issue!  I was so excited to finally see it.  It took months!  The submission was last year.
If you are getting married or having any similar sort of celebration, Well Wed is a fantastic magazine to use for inspiration.  If you live in NYC, you can find the Hamptons version at Barnes and Noble in Union Square.  If you live in New England you can find the Cape and Island edition.  You can also purchase them online.

A photo of the runners I made for the tables.  This is an Amy Butler home dec fabric.

The center photo is our wedding invitation I designed.  We had them printed up from vistaprint.com

The photo to the right are my nieces who were the flower girls.  Their dresses I designed and hired a seamstress to sew them.  The fabric here also is Amy Butler.  I used a contrasting light blue polka dot for the sashes and the dress border.

The bottom left corner picture are the favors I made.  These were luggage tags using all of the Amy Butler fabric I ordered when trying to decide on the runners for the tables. These took some time to make.  I definitely recommend not waiting till the last minute.  

Dress is by J.Crew I did design the sash with fabric I found at Mood in NYC. 

In addition I designed my head piece, a fascinator, with feathers, mesh netting and beading found at

 M and J Trim. 

All photos were taken by Claudia Kronenberg Photography.

Tutorial: Father's Day Pocket Square / Hankie

Since my last post, I delivered a baby! Yes, little Harper Scarlett came 2 weeks early.  Since my husband is now a father and father's day is coming up, I thought it only appropriate to post an easy pocket square for you to sew for the dad in your life.  Pocket squares are making a come back, influenced by the show Mad Men, seen in GQ magazine as an "indispensable tool" and now J.Crew is carrying a line of pocket squares.  Pocket squares are a great way to dress up a suit, add a dash of color and a fun print.

This doesn't have to be just for dads, my friend Kayte loves these pocket squares for herself.  She uses these as a hankie all the time especially in the New York City humid summers.   If you are a beginning sewer this is a great project for you.

The key ingredient for this pocket square is you want very soft cotton.  I used Liberty of London which is called a Lawn Fabric.  The count is high, which means there are a lot of very fine threads per inch making it softer (think of high count bedding sheets).  RobertKaufman, a popular fabric manufacturer, also makes a lawn fabric in solid colors.

Materials:

1/2 yard of fabric ( you will be using a 12" square but stores usually require you buy a minimum)

matching cotton machine thread

size 8 needle

fine pins

Step 1:

Cut out a 12" square and iron.  Fold over 1/4" twice on 2 opposite ends.  I pin down, iron, then secure the pins into the fabric.

Step 2: where the raw edge meets the now folded edged, fold in the corner at an angle, this way your corners will be nice and neat and have no fabric overhang. Repeat step one, fold over 1/4" seam allowance twice.

Step 2

Step 3: all fabric is pinned down. Because this is such a skinny seam allowance I do pin it parallel to the seam. Normally in the classes I teach I tell my students pins should be perpendicular so the pins can be pulled out while you sew or the needle can jump the pins.

Step 3

Step 4: Sew on the inside fold. This ends up being about 1/4" seam allowance.  If you are using the Liberty of London or the Robert Kaufman Lawn fabrics use a size 8 needle since it is finer.  Start your sewing somewhere in the middle, not on a corner.  This reduces the risk of the fabric getting bunched up on a corner or pushed down into the machine.

Step 5: when you reach a corner, sew to the end and back stitch to the beginning of the fold.  Leave the needle in, pick presser foot up and pivot.  Sew down the next seam. Repeat on all corners.

Step 5

Step 6 all finished, iron and steam and gift!

 

 If you aren't a sewer or just don't have the time to shop for fabric and make the gift, you can purchase one in my etsy shop. 

Click here to see my Liberty Pocket Squares. 

If you decide to sew this let me know how you do or if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Peter Som at Anthropologie -Illustration meets fabric

Once the warm weather hits I love wearing dresses, skirts and shorts, anything for my legs to be free!  Anthropologie is currently working with Peter Som, a San Francisco native and graduate of Parsons.  I received the email announcing the collection and loved his illustrations.   So many fashion companies don't use illustrations anymore,  they feel it is such a waste of time and everything becomes about making money.  With technology, drawing your ideas and dreams have become obsolete.  I find this to be so sad.   Illustrating is a talent and to me it will never go out of style.  No one can replace an illustrator but someone can always replace computer drawn sketches.

All images from Anthropologie and Peter Som.

I love the way they transferred his images onto the fabric.  It's like a water color or oil painting of a garden.  A total success! 

Happy Weekend!

from Little Rock Pie Cycle

It's been pretty busy here, so busy I have barely sat at my computer! I currently am working on an order of aprons for a fabulous restaurant in Nantucket called Cru.   Cru is an oyster bar and restaurant located right on the water on this tiny little island.  If you have been reading my blog you may know I worked in Nantucket while in college and now visit there every summer.  I also was married there.  Once I finish the apron order I will be posting a similar apron tutorial.  In the meantime, with this gorgeous weather here in NYC and maybe because I am now 9 months preggers, I have been in a total pie eating mood.  Yes pie. And today a friend on facebook posted an article about her new business, baking pies!

photo from Arkansas Times

I met Hannah Moore at Purl Soho.  We worked together for a few months, and like many Purl employees she is an artist and creator.  She moved back to Little Rock Arkansas with her husband last fall.  I thought she would look for a teaching position while she created her art but today I find out she has been pedaling her goods.   Baked goods.  Look at those tasty pies above!  The pies are hand held single serving pies, in fruit flavors and she uses local ingredients when possible.
She posts her location on her facebook page for the upcoming Saturday on where you can find her, her bicycle and the tasty homemade pies.
If you live in Little Rock be sure to hunt her down and check out this recent article in Arkansas Times.  Good luck Hannah!

photo from Arkansas Times