One project I've actually taken photos of!
It's a tank, and the pattern is Cynthia Rowley 2593 from Simplicity.

The top was originally made because I always need something new to wear to weddings. I'm told I attend a disproportionate amount. I wore it with a mustard silk skirt, which seemed alright at the time, but looking back wasn't the greatest. (I'll spare you.)

I much prefer it with these denim cut-offs. And you know I don't buy my cut-offs already cut off. Just sayin'.
It might do well with my Seafarers, too.

The great thing about this nubby organza is that you don't have to iron it! In fact, every time I've worn it, I've have bunched and rolled and squeezed it to get it looking just right. As much as I love using my steam iron, that love really only extends to use while sewing.
The annoying thing about this nubby organza is that you have to wear something under it. Oh well.

 I only had to fudge one thing on this top, which was sacrificing cutting the neckline strip on the bias. Very little yardage.Thankfully, the fabric has a pretty loose weave so it ended up twisting alright. The pattern fit well (how could it not? it's pretty tent-y & long) and turned out just like I'd imagined, so I have no complaints- just questions about what to wear it with to still look fancy!

/woodburning

A few days ago I was going through the closet in my sewing room and found this old woodburning pen! I was a little scared to plug it in (I don't like it when things blow up), but after doing so was relieved to find it was in good working order.

 Let me tell you, woodburning is tricky business. That humble looking pen gets really, really (like, really) hot. This means one must keep their hands up on the black band around the pen if they'd like their skin to stay intact, making control kind of difficult.

I remembered I'd bought a couple of wood plaques at a craft store a few years ago with the intention of painting something cute on them. An illustration might be super cute for the next one, but this time I thought something with a lot of straight lines might be best for a steep learning curve (no practice wood). After brainstorming a variety of succinct Avett Brothers lyrics, I went to it! I think it's obvious which letter I started with (hah, that d is awful!). There are obviously spots that could be cleaned up, but I like the overall look! There's a certain charm when something looks like it was done by a 4th grader, right?

fun facts (?): the art of woodburning is called pyrography. and yes, woodburning is one word.

In other news, I put together a muslin version of the Macaron. The sleeves are amazing, definitely my favorite part!

My official self-imposed deadline is October 6th, so it might be a bit of a wait.

If there were no weddings, I would honestly never get any sewing done for myself!

 

/the biggest fabric store that I had ever seen.

During my 16 days in Minneapolis this summer, this was my only humble request; a little fabric shopping, duh! After thorough pre-trip internet research, and I knew I had found my place.

Here is just a taste of the aforementioned fabric wonderland called S.R. Harris.

I really have had dreams about it.

It's a short drive north of Minneapolis and is GIANT. This photo is just a weeee bit of what they've got! Talk about hyper stimulation of the senses; faux fur, denim, leather, sequins, lycra, silk- EVERYTHING! The only parts I didn't care to look through were the home dec and quilting sections, but you can bet I was quickly lured into both by my mom and sister requesting that I make them tablecloths and dinner napkins. I agreed.

We only had an hour to shop before closing, and had to cut and re-shelf our own fabric in the last five minutes (read: I had to cut all the fabric in the last five minutes)! I lived, because being so stressed out in a fabric store made me feel like I was on Bravo in its glory days. I had the fabric-wielding arms of a Project Runway contestant, and the sweaty brow of a Top Chef. Nothing wrong with that.

I showed major restraint, trying not to buy any fabrics I didn't have specific plans for. I usually fail at this in a big way, but was forced due to very limited suitcase space.

There wasn't too much labeling happening, but here's what I can guess about what I walked away with:

[top to bottom] Nanette Lepore brocade, synthetic blend for lining (purely for the minty colour), slinky knit- I'm guessing a cotton/modal blend? They'll all make their way back here in time! 

Oh yes, and everything at this place is always 50% off. This explains the dreams.

note: the post title is solely because I've watched this video about twenty times today. 

do yourself a favor.