a little tour

i know i haven't posted since june, but i've been meaning to, 

and i plan on posting more frequently in the future :) 

in honor of my return to blogging & sewing, i thought i'd share with you the place where it all happens!

here's an overview.

this is my knick-knack shelf. it has decorative things, but also hold jars of buttons and clothespin that i use.

this is the shelf on the left of the room. 

the giant key is from a wind up doll costume i made a couple of years ago. maybe one day i'll blog it :)

i like to put my thread in color groups rather than straight-up organize it. i think it looks more interesting!

the wooden organizer used to hold figurines on the wall of my childhood room. i removed the glass doors and decorative top piece, and now it holds things like pins, buttons, and other notions.

the tall dresser is filled entirely with fabric. here's a peek inside!

i have a chalkboard wall which i probably should have cleaned off before taking these pictures...instead you can see the weird night that my friends & i traced each other and drew cats.

in the opposite corner i keep my craft and sewing books, and some scrapbook paper too.

the other dresser has more scrapbook paper, a box filled with bits of lace, two huge spools of lace, and the organizers that hold my school things.

i sew on a small conference table i bought at ikea. it has adjustable legs and i made it tall enough that it is comfortable to cut fabric while standing. there's extra stools for projects with friends :) bonus- since it's a conference table it has a box that holds a power strip, so no cords on the table.

here's some neat vintage patterns on my bulletin board!

and this is where the magic happens :P

think i went a bit overboard with my color scheme? haha

that's all! 

weekly roundup: 5/30-6/6

this week has been made good by sweet friends. 

i love the little surprises they give me preceded with "this reminded me of you."

whether it be something for my ridiculously color-coordinated sewing room or a note that makes me smile; i always display it somewhere that i'll see it and remember how lucky i am to have these people in my life.

i also had a mini getaway to my favorite place in the world: the camp/conference center that i've spent summers at since i was nine. i'll be counseling at their youth camp this summer and attended an "enrichment sleepover" for the counselors and staff.

since then, i've been hard at work on my prom dress & accessories (that i couldn't have waited any longer to start..it's on friday!) and occasionally documenting the progress. there's way too many issues with it right now and i still have quite a way to go, but that's my own fault for procrastinating and improvising.

also: i put my dad to work on the rotary cutter to speed things along while i sewed. :P

i guess we'll find out soon enough whether or not i'll pull this one off!

eighteen.

wednesday was my birthday.

spent most of the day sick in bed, but got in a few nice hours with close friends; 

sipping sparkling cider and having silly discussions. 

i don't think i could ask for much more :)

on a random note, these were the pictures i took on my birthday last year:

my theory that i've stopped aging keeps proving itself truer and truer...

prommin: round one.

so. matt's prom was this past weekend.

personally, i think the whole thing is kind of silly. i'm not a fan of the fake tans and raunchy dancing.

but i am a fan of any opportunity for fanciness! 

the night turned out to be pretty alright, but my favorite part was taking these ridiculous pictures.

as usual, there was plenty of cat fanciness as well.

i didn't make the dress this time around, but i'm getting to work on the one for my prom now :)

i did however make the petticoat, which was time consuming but a lot of fun!

and matt's bow tie too.
(he picked out the fabric himself!)

while he was on his way to pick me up, i whipped up a messy little fabric flower in place of the boutonniere i forgot about. oops.

so we swung dance the night away to bass-heavy club music, and tried to pretend everyone around us was wearing more clothing and doing less grinding. but all in all, it was a good time. :)

a new record!

i may have to put this is my personal top 3 fastest projects ever completed. 

in an effort to avoid doing laundry, i made this:

a fully lined circle skirt in 45 minutes? yes please :) 

thrifty finds

i just felt like sharing some random objects i have acquired in the past month :)

first up, this wine colored wool hat. i'm not sure how to style it yet, but i think i'll figure it out come winter time

i got these wonderful vintage patterns that i love too much to lay a hand on

this not-so-attractive green suitcase has beautiful insides. pretty profound for a piece of luggage :P

it was a $1 garage sale find, along with another suitcase that i'm turning into a chair!

these little crafting magazines are so cute. and bizarre. i've found some of the most ridiculous projects among these pages. they seem to be aimed at scout den mothers of the early 60's.

....i think that says a lot about my personality haha

and lastly, my absolute favorite: 50's era detachable collar

it still has the original tag!

and came with a backstory, told to me by the vintage shop's owner. i love pieces with history :)

that's all for now!

various life happenings

last friday i went to see these lovlies play in the city:

http://www.aprilsmithmusic.com/

i admire april beyond words, so i wanted to sew a dress for the occasion!
i spent the night before and morning of creating a dress that was as "april" as i could possibly make it
i'm rather pleased with the results :)

it got quite a few compliments throughout the day, but the best came from april herself!

i don't think i could have asked for a better night to happen.

i don't have any photos of the dress from that day, but my mom and i are moving into a house that has a HUGE field in the back, so of course a trivial photoshoot was in order

...but unfortunately none of the pictures really show the dress.

oh well!