I haven’t been sewing too many outfits lately… besides working on my photo greeting cards, I’ve also been working on a UFO that has sat around for way too long. I’ll reveal it soon – but for now I am keeping it under wraps for reasons I’ll reveal later.
Anywhoo – I wanted to share an outfit I made back in March/April with fabric I picked up from the Sewing Expo. This is the Emmie top, with bonus sleeve modification, from Seamwork Patterns. I love this top so much! I ‘believe’ the fabric is a voile from Art Gallery Fabrics and was purchased at the Pacific Fabric booth (if I remember correctly). It’s my color and has these tiny little olives on it – it practically called my name as I passed by!
I love the little details – such as the hook and eye; and since I didn’t have access to cording I made my own by braiding strips of fabric.
This top reminds me of a prairie style top of the 70s with the bell sleeves and open neck – I’m really happy with the way it turned out!
The pants are from an old McCall pattern that I modified to add pockets. The fabric is a linen fabric also bought at the Pacific Fabrics booth – primarily because it matched the top fabric. Since this is the 3rd or 4th time I’ve used this pattern the pants went together fairly fast. The modifications include the pockets and elastic waist, front and seat adjustments.
Years ago I lived in Seattle for about a year or so… In fact, Seattle was where I joined the Air Force from. At the time I was working for TGI Fridays and just ‘surviving’ as the saying goes. I wanted to go to school, but couldn’t afford school and rent, so I decided to join the Air Force. I remember telling the recruiter that I wanted to leave as soon as possible because I didn’t want to think about it and worry that I had done the wrong thing. Committing myself for four years was such a huge commitment back then.
The weekend before I left I decided to take a drive around the Washington Peninsula. I left early enough, but got side-tracked with all the sights to see along the way and before I knew it I wasn’t even half way around when I realized it was 8p.m. I didn’t plan on making it a overnight trip – and there was no way I could afford to extend my drive to two days – back then I didn’t have the money, and I think I had to work the next day anyways. So, I high-tailed it back to Seattle as fast as I could, catching the very last ferry from Kingston into Edmonds.
During one of my stops I got out and walked the rocky beaches just as the sun was setting and thought about what it was I was about to embark on. I’m not going to lie, I was scared, but I knew that joining the Air Force was my ticket out of having to struggle all my life. On that rocky beach I prayed to God I was making the right decision… I even asked him/her to give me a sign that I was doing the right thing, and when I looked down the beach I saw a couple of twinkly things. I had no idea what it was – but I knew it was my sign and so I walked down the beach to see what was twinkling, and when I got there I realized it was a rock…. just like all the other rocks on the beach. It wasn’t even twinkling by the time I go to it – so I knew that God had given me a sign that I was doing the right thing and that I was going to be okay. I kept that rock for YEARS – and I always remembered that drive as being one of my favorite.
Flash forward to today – and I decided I really needed to get out of the house! So, I made some camping reservations, packed my tent, some snacks and my dogs and off we went to drive around the Washington Peninsula! This time I gave myself plenty of time, 3 days – but decided that two was plenty given that most everything was closed. The first day I made it to Ocean City State Park and pitched my tent. I took the dogs to the beach and we pretty much had it all to ourselves. I lit a campfire, read a book, worked on a crocheted blanket, and relaxed!
The next morning we got up, took down the tent, visited the beach again and then were on our way. I drove up the coastline for the most part, until the roads closed and I was diverted back to the 101. I really wanted to see Cape Flattery, but it sits on the Neah Bay Indian Reservation which was closed to outsiders. So, I turned around and headed home, catching the ferry while it was still day light.
The trip was exactly what I needed. It felt good to get out of the house for longer than an hour at a time. You can check out some of the photos I took here. I’m in the process of making greeting cards with them. But more to come on that later.
Sewtropolis 