I was reading through one of my favorite design blogs, designsponge, and found this fabulous project for knotted trivets. Please take a peek at their site for instructions!

I have too many projects taking up space in my imagination--and closet, since that's where I keep my fabric stash. This list, I might add, does not include my 3 bins of alterations. Thus (I raise my right hand) my goal is to complete one alteration/sew-up every two weeks. And I cannot buy anything that needs to be altered (save hem length, since that's a given for shrimp-sized gals) until I conquer my stash. The End.

I've bought some fabric for the first dress pattern from my post below--a blend of linen and rayon in a very '50s print. And the fabric was only $2 a yard, so buying the four and a half yards was not so very painful. Deciding which buttons to purchase was the hardest part--it's rather difficult to find buttons that don't look like cheap plastic afterthoughts. I toyed with the idea of wooden or shell buttons, but in the end I decided to use fabric-covered buttons so that they wouldn't overpower the dress. Afterall, the design calls for nine down the front, and I don't want people to think "buttons" when I approach.

I've got the fabric drying in the nice warm sun right now, and hopefully I will get to cut the dress out next week.

Ohhhh my. I am head-over-heels in love with these dress patterns from the Vintage Vogue collection--I own the first two and aim to get the third when the next pattern sale arrives.

Here are some images from Pattern Drafting and Grading--aren't these reason enough to learn pattern drafting?

I have been quite preoccupied with sewing projects lately, and every night before I fall asleep I steal a few minutes to read up on pattern drafting. These two books are my favorites:

• Make Your Own Patterns by Adele Margolis (1985)
• Pattern Drafting and Grading: Women's and Misses' Garment Design by M. Rohr (1968)

The first book offers detailed explanation of dart control and shifting the control to seams lines or pleats or other stylistic details. It is written in two parts, the first of which is entitled "Pattern Whys" with chapters on the dart control system, creating a finished pattern, control seams, and shaped fullness. The second part, entitled "Styling," has chapters devoted to necklines, openings, pockets, collars, sleeves, and sleeve finishes, as well as a final chapter on draping and muslin models and pattern layouts. It's a wonderful resource, worth reading from cover to cover.

The second book is more inspiration than explanation, and it is best used when one has pattern drafting experience. But just look at some of these designs--

I've gotten the bug to sew dresses again, so as usual I go right up to my closet (half is devoted to fabric and patterns) and pull out pretty fabrics and drape them across reasonably clear spaces like my floor and bed (which I didn't make this morning)...

...the dusty aqua linen is lovely but I don't think I have enough for the type of dress I want to make...shall I finally use that black and white woven windowpane I've been saving for a special dress?

...I snatch up a few of my patterns and toy with the idea of making that dress I designed a few months ago--then I remember that I have two very minor alterations to make, so I search out my sketch pad--which happens to be on my floor right in front of me, partially obscured by the vintage '70s and '80s patterns which, despite their decades, seem to have possibility...

...my hand brushes against a shirt I haven't put away yet, and I pick it up to study the seams and slightly gathered detailing; I've been meaning to construct a dress like it, for its shape contains the perfect amount of drape and ease without looking frumpy (a line I'm usually in danger of crossing)...

...my measuring tape is rolled up as it should be and where it should be, and I take the opportunity to record the hem circumference of my shirt. I'll continue its a-line shape a few inches further in my pattern...

...I remember some pictures of dresses I'd seen on flickr awhile back and retreat downstairs to use the computer...then I get sidetracked looking at all the beautiful handmade creations of fellow sewers and spend an hour in fruitless inspiration...

but here's a pattern I'll buy whenever Hancock's or JoAnn's is having a drastic sale on Simplicity patterns: it's a Built by Wendy number 3835, and I've seen some inspirational versions of the dress sewn up by some talented sewers...

(clockwise from top left: ellybeth, WheresBeckybean, CharlotteCarotte, and treschic_veronique)

He's part puppy, part goat, part horse, part donkey...ready and, I might add, eager to play at whatever part he's needed. He's an animal of many faces and moods, something the world has never seen the likes of.

He had humble beginnings as a man's extra-large lambswool hand-me-down, fabric scraps, and buttons. Actually, I never used the buttons, but they were nice in the picture.

All of him fit on one felted sleeve, a truly economical sort of chap.

Sewn by machine and stuffed with shredded batting, he emerged in three dimensions, ready to claim the heart of any unsuspecting child.

He's attentive...

and eager to play...

He's mysterious...

and content to ponder the intricacies of life.

He is called Philbert, and he's waiting for someone special.

I've found the artist of the alphabet prints I like so much--I first saw them somewhere in England (or was it Scotland?), a perfect union of strong lines, tender colors, and vintage subjects.

William Nicholson's work has inspired me to work on my own set of letters (especially since these prints were so expensive), so I'm having fun thinking of all the A for ______, B for ________, C for __________, that sort of thing. I'll probably carve each print out of linoleum.

I'm approaching graduation now, scurrying to write my final papers on the Psalms, Keats' poetry, and the cultural events I've attended throughout the semester, some of which have been an amazing lecture given by Dr. Michael Ward on Lewis' Narnian series, David Hirson's play La Bete, and scenes from Thomas Cranmer written by Charles Williams for the Canterbury Festival.

But, lectures and papers aside--well, I'll stop there, because that is something I've been tempted to do these past weeks: scrap the school work for sewing and painting. I've got some old clothes I want to reconstruct when I get home--you know, making alterations such as adding a bodice to a skirt to make a dress, bleaching designs into solid tee-shirts, or even just salvaging the fabric and making a whole new garment or pillow or quilt. Reconstructing old clothes is something that's all too easily lost when it's cheaper and faster to get something new rather than rework what we already have. But with the ease of buying factory-made clothes, we lose an opportunity to exercise our creativity and our minds.

As for painting, I've recently started Japanese brush painting and have been painting birds and rabbits and fish and trees as much as I can. It's such an exercise in distilling the complicated network of muscle and movement and texture down to a few strokes which still must convey the animal. Sometimes my birds don't look like birds and my carp rarely look like carp, but I still love the process of grinding the ink stick and mixing it with water and experimenting with all the strokes of which the brush is capable.