Just in case you’re didn’t believe me when I said I’d be catching some mermaids, a huge fun box of sea creatures arrived at the workroom yesterday. There are seven prints showing fish, sea horses, octopi and pretty mermaids swimming around and lots of fun colourways to choose from.
The contest to win a stack of eight fat quarters from the Mendocino mermaid collection by Heather Ross is still on until Friday September 19th midnight. Just go to the original contest posting and leave a comment, telling me your favourite mythical creature and why. There have been so many awesome creatures mentioned already, but I’d love to hear yours!
I threw dress 12 together in a hurry when I realized we had tickets to the closing night of the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thompson Hall. They used the word ‘gala’ on the ticket and when I looked at all my new dresses, none of them said ‘red carpet’ to me. I had never been to see any films at TIFF before, so I decided a new fancy dress was in order.
Over the years, I have rescued various textiles and threads, not ever knowing what I would do with them. I only knew that they couldn’t be thrown away. I have a box of vintage custom-dyed charmeuse silk remnants. The colours are gorgeous and the fabric is super luxurious. One side of charmeuse is glossy and smooth, while the other side is quite matte. I always imagined they would make lovely fancy dresses, if only I had fancy dress occasions.
I went through the pile of silks and chose a ‘film strip’ grey called, ‘Smoke’. I folded the fabric in half unevenly, to create two layers of fabric. The top shiny side was shorter, revealing the matte side along the bottom. I serged a rolled hem along the top fold with light pink embroidery thread and did the same on the two bottom hems. I sewed a quick seam up the length of the fabric to make a ‘tube’. I think you know what’s coming next – shirring. Three sets of three closely spaced lines of shirring and my dress was done! I had thoughts of doing a dress more complicated or even just cut on the bias, but it was Friday night and the film was on Saturday. Plus, I wanted to watch episode 2 of Gossip Girl. My girl crush on Blair is growing. She is by far the most interesting girl on that show.
I wore my Chie Mihara grey shoes with the dress. They are one of my prized shoe possessions and they were a perfect match to the grey silk dress.
The movie, “Stone of Destiny”, is based on a true story about four university students who plan a heist to steal back the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in England and return it to Scotland. It’s a sweet, feel good movie and I enjoyed watching it all dressed up in my fancy new dress.
ONE MORE DRESS TO GO! Dress 13 has no shirring, I promise. I’m super excited, as it uses cute Japanese fabric and will be the perfect ‘fall transition’ dress. Perhaps worn with coloured tights? If I can pull that off.
As I headed out the door this morning for a long walk with Maisy, I was bundled up in a long cardigan and scarf around my neck. Fall is quickly approaching. Today is a rare day off for me when I don’t have a meeting or a slew of errands to run for the shop. I have a lot of work to do, but I get to sit at home on my bed with my laptop. It’s a treat.
Before getting into all the work that needs to be done (website updates, newsletter, scheduling new classes, etc), a brisk walk in High Park seemed the best way to start the day. We stopped at the dog food store and I loaded up on treats for Maisy, then we crossed the street to Starbucks and loaded up on treats for me (extra hot chocolate and a donut). This relaxing excursion to the park used to be a weekly event which I realized today that we haven’t done in months. I also spent some time in the garden admiring how green and overgrown it got over this rainy summer. I’m particularly proud of my mossy stump planter.
You might notice that there’s a new page on this blog – an evolving list of crafty projects i hope to try out… I have a feeling the list is going to grow faster than I can check things off of it, but I’ll do my best. (and i LOVE making lists)
p.s. I’ve just started making Dress #13!! You’ll be hearing all about Dress #12 tomorrow.
I just wanted to gush a little over the darling little coin purse I made in a class taught by Reva on Sunday. Figuring out how to make these purses with the metal frames was on ‘my crafty list of things to do’, so I was delighted when Reva proposed this as a class at the workroom.
I used fabric from Denyse Schmidt’s new line ‘County Fair’, it’s a heavier canvas weight perfect for home decor and accessories. The lining is a print of antique coupons by Anna Griffin.
These little purses use very little fabric, so you can make a few from just a fat quarter or make good use of your scrap stash. With all the different sizes of frames in the shop, I see a matching token purse, sunglass case and clutch bag in my near future.
In order to lure the mythical readers of this blog to reveal themselves, I’m having my first contest! Up for grabs is a sweet stack of eight fat quarters of the Mendocino line. Eight fat quarters equals lots of mermaid fun for the winner.
Here are the details – leave a comment on this post between now and September 19th midnight with your name and tell me what your favourite mythical creature is and why. Don’t forget to include your email address (it doesn’t get published) so that I can contact you if you win. I’ll draw a name and announce the winner on September 22.
The chilly fall nights have me craving warm comfort food. Macaroni and cheese made from scratch always leaves me feeling completely content. The recipe I use is from Martha Stewart. Her recipe is meant for 12 people, so I usually divide the recipe in half and still have leftovers.
I’ve been making this recipe for many years and it is one of the things people always remember when they think of me. To some, I am ‘the girl who makes that Macaroni & Cheese’. This dish is so delicious that I am often specifically requested to bring it to potluck dinners. One girl told me that years after she had it, she dreamt about it and hoped I would make it for her once again.
The cheese sauce is flavoured with Gruyere cheese and Old Cheddar. Don’t substitute the Gruyere for something else, this nutty flavour is key. There is also a bit of nutmeg and cayenne pepper in the sauce that gives it a slight and unexpected kick. What sets the whole thing off is the bread topping. Don’t skimp here on the buttery bread (pile it high) and put extra grated cheese over the whole thing. This bakes into an amazing crispy, cheesy coating that could be a heavenly dish in itself.
If you have a similar ‘legendary dish’ you’d like to share, I’d love to mix up my cheesy repertoire and be known for something else.
There have been many teen dramas in my life – Party of Five, Roswell, Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls and Felicity, to name a handful.
I tried really hard to resist watching Gossip Girl when it came out. I hardly have time to make that kind of a regular commitment to television anymore. But curiosity won out partway through the first season and now I’m hooked.
Last night I watched the season premiere for Season Two on my laptop. (I downloaded a copy since I missed the day that that it aired) I greedily enjoyed every minute of it and simultaneously scarfed down three freshly baked Pilsbury Cinnamon Buns. (If I’m confessing, then I might as well be completely honest).
If you don’t already watch, maybe you’ll be intrigued by the following:
1. bitchy rich girls (that you love to hate, but secretly love)
2. wicked fashion and styling (where can i find that cute green jacket?)
3. it’s shot on location in New York City (love love love)
4. it’s trashy and girly and completely fluffy
5. little ‘J’ (Jenny) is an aspiring fashion designer, so there is some minor crafty content
The best thing about this kind of guilty pleasure is the guilty gossip afterwards. Totally dissecting ‘who wore what’ and ‘kissed who’ and ‘what do you think will happen next week’. The problem is that I don’t know anyone else who watches it, or do I? I’m looking for at least one person out there who will admit to watching the show, so that we can indulge in some necessary gossip girl talk.
Did you see Blair’s white rick rack dress in the season premiere? I love this idea, maxing out on the rick rack. I see a future skirt/dress idea there for sure.
One last thing – headbands? I like the look, but I don’t think I can pull it off. Is anyone out there rocking the headband these days?
Some might say that a pristine white bunny like myself should stay at home, safely displayed on a shelf or propped up on a desk. I’m just not that kind of bunny. I love to tag along and see the big world.
New York City was a fun place to visit, though I didn’t see another bunny the whole time! I made you a slide show of the trip to show you all the places we went.
Now that I’ve been to the Big Apple, I’m hooked on traveling. Where will we go next?
xo PB
p.s. I’m not incredibly detail-oriented, so Karyn is posting the specifics below
Porter
What a treat to fly from downtown Toronto, off the Toronto Island Airport. Porter makes flying seem luxurious again with a swanky lounge stocked with drinks, snacks and free WiFi while you wait for your flight. The small planes have a bit more leg room and serve a nice meal and drinks (including wine or beer) out of real glasses.
Duane Street Hotel
A cute new hotel in TriBeCa. The rooms are compact but comfortable. They leave miniature baked goods by the bedside every night. A good location for quick access to neighbourhood restaurants. Next trip we’ll stay closer to the West Village where we wanted to be most of the time.
DELICIOUS
The food is one of the best things about New York. I love French bistro, so New York is the place for me.
The Odeon
145 West Broadway
Classic New York French Bistro in TriBeCa that never disappoints.
Balthazar
80 Spring Street
My all-time favourite place to have brunch which means Eggs Benedict. Balthazar is always bustling, so reservations are a good idea, especially for more than two people.
Cafe Gitane
212-334-9552
242 Mott Street
French Morrocan food in NoLIta. The herbed goat cheese with Pomegranate syrup and baguette is especially delicious.
BROOKLYN
Brooklyn is a MUST and there are so many great neighborhoods to choose from. We decided to check out the new Brooklyn Flea, which was fun but incredibly hot. There was nowhere to escape the heat in the middle of the concrete school yard. The cute tree-lined streets on the walk from the subway were worth the trip alone.
Brooklyn Flea
Every Sunday from 10am to 5pm
A mix of vintage and crafty, but the snacks were my favourite.
Kumquat Cupcakery
Sweet little mini cupcakes for $1. I got a 4 pack with Chocolate Peanut Butter, Red Velvet and Strawberries & Cream. Delicious!
People’s Popsicle
They weren’t at the Brooklyn Flea this weekend, and I was totally disappointed. I’d read about their amazing popsicles and was dying to try them.
BLEECKER STREET
Marc Jacobs
There are now three Marc Jacobs outposts along Bleecker Street. A great time to snatch up some goodies is during their seasonal sales, the discounts are generous. They had cute wellies for $29 when we were there.
212-924-0026
403 Bleecker Street
Magnolia Bakery
Usually I’ll line up for these 50’s style cupcakes, but I was already toting around my Kumquat cupcakes. Magnolia cupcakes are delicious with a glass of milk late at night.
401 Bleecker Street
Bonpoint
I wanted everything in this French kid’s clothing shop to come in my size. I wish their website was as good as their shop.
212-722-7720
392 Bleecker Street
Earnest Sewn Co.
My favourite denim brand right now. The shop is a treasure chest of clothing and accessories. I’m promising myself a pair on my next visit.
821 Washington Street
Anthropologie
Urban Outfitter’s older more refined sister. I always get lots of styling inspiration from their shops and catalogues.
375 West Broadway
FABRIC SHOPS
The Garment District will overwhelm you with fabric, notions and trims. This is my shortlist of shops to check out.
B&J Fabrics
Their Liberty of London collection will drive you crazy. Gorgeous fashion fabrics like wools, linens.
525 7th Avenue (2nd Floor)
Mood
Make sure you allow enough time to stroll the aisles here. There are two floors of every kind of fabric you can imagine.
225 West 37th Street, 3rd Floor
NY Elegant Fabrics
Very well priced, large shop filled with home dec and fashion fabrics.
222 West 40th Street
MJ Trim
Trim heaven. They sell a dizzying array of buttons, ribbons, fringe, cording, buckles and rhinestones.
1008 Sixth Avenue (@ 37th Street)
A few months ago, at the Spring Thing Trunk Show, I couldn’t resist picking up a felt bunny by Lesley-Anne Green. Out of the herd of pristine white felt bunnies, I fell in love with this particular one. I named her, ‘Perfect Bunny’ (PB), because she’s pretty perfect.
I quickly learned that Perfect Bunny loved to travel around and was just the perfect size to fit into my handbag. PB has been begging me to take her on a big trip, so this past weekend she came with us to New York City. While PB is preparing her NYC diary for you, I thought you should meet this little bunny’s talented creator.
Lesley-Anne Green is an artist with two distinct styles. Her felt creatures are as sweet as can be, while her ceramic figures tug at your heart strings in a completely different way. Having a recognizable style is something I really admire, but having two is just phenomenal.
What is your creative background? Did you go to school for it?
Lesley-Anne: I went to Sheridan College and took their Ceramics program. My first semester there I took both textile and ceramics courses…I kind of wanted to do both and was really torn, but in the end chose ceramics.
Your work is quite diverse, in terms of aesthetic. Do different things inspire you for your different types of work?
Lesley-Anne: Yah, it’s funny, my ceramic work and my felt work are soooo different. I think because my clay dolls were so intricate and detailed, that when I sat down to start working on the felt animals I wanted them to be the exact opposite….just really simple and stylized….and cute!
Do you have any new projects or ideas that you are working on right now?
Lesley-Anne: At the moment I am getting ready for the One of a Kind christmas show, so that is going to take up every single minute of my time until the show is over! I also have lots of designs in mind for new felt animals…just no time to work on them…if only there were two of me!!!
Lesley-Anne also has an etsy shop, if you’d like to get a fun felty companion of your own.
Stay tuned for the adventures of Perfect Bunny in New York!
Here’s Dress 11, which made it’s debut on the streets of New York City this past weekend. I love the dappled light under the Ginkgo trees in the West Village.
This is another pattern from the Stylish Dress Book. Dress ‘N’ caught my eye right away, but at the beginning of the summer it seemed too summery with all the rainy weather we were having. Field Guided made a gorgeous version of it in grey linen a little while ago that reminded me to try this pattern before the weather turned cool again.
Dress ‘N’ is very simple to make. When tracing out the pattern, I remembered to add seam allowances in all the right places. There are only five pattern pieces to this dress and no sleeves or zipper, so the dress construction is quick. The pattern suggests doing elastic along the back, but I had to follow Field Guided’s brilliant idea of doing shirring. Without the shirring the dress was quite big, so the shirring made all the difference. I tried to do bias tape along the back, but quickly realized that it was too bulky and prevented the shirring from pulling in nicely, so ended up doing a rolled hem. Shirring and rolled hems go hand in hand. I’ve found that a rolled hem is really the perfect finishing when shirring is involved.
The front ruffle is the key feature of the dress. I think anything with a ruffle is fetching. I chose this dark plummy floral fabric with gold detailing and was really pleased with final result. Sometimes a fabric you never would’ve chosen ends up stealing your heart. I love when that happens. This dress was perfect for kicking around Brooklyn, the West Village and NoLita on a sunny day.
It just might be time for me to make a couple of fall-ish dresses to finish off the 13 dress challenge.
I’ve got lots and lots to share with you from our NYC trip, but I’ll need a day or so to compile it all together. The trip was absolutely lovely in every way and I’m totally inspired with thoughts of fun things to make.
