Monday, August 28, 2017

Resting



Greetings. We are resting today, but it doesn't slow down my mind from making ideas for more to do!

Above picture: The hummers ignored commercial food but when I made my own, they visited more often. Hummingbird food recipes are available online.

Our guests from Tennessee only stayed a very short time, having spent most of their vacation on the way to our place,  so we quickly took them to see a few sights:

This has to be called "Sun River, wider than a mile," because of the stream of sunlight on the water towards the close of the day.
Earlier,  this is the way the waves sparkled. I kept thinking of fabric to go with!

We enjoyed watching  approximately every 7th wave hit the rocks like this:
Above: it looks like fabric colors here--fluffy white cotton shawl over a dark blue skirt, light blue blouse, and brown lace up boots. What do you think? (I will certainly try to settle down for a moment and put a sketch here of the nature inspired fashion.)


I went into one of the shops and had a close look at this April Cornell dress to see if I could make one like it. It was made of polyester, and I was thinking about making one in cotton, linen, bamboo, or some other natural woven cloth.  This cost $130 and I joked with my husband that it was such a bargain I should get two!   There may be enough pattern pieces in my pattern collection to create something like it. It looked looked very good on me and it is an a-line, with princess seams, with a nice waistline.


Mrs. Tennessee Company made a delicious
southern breakfast for us and I felt transported into another country! She was amazing. She said she did not know what to do with herself so she had to cook.

I want to get back into sewing dresses soon.  I have the most unusual fabric, which is 105 inch printed muslin often used by quilters for backing.  It looks like something which used to be made for cloth sacks, mattress or pillow ticking. It might be something suitable for making sheets. As there is just enough for a skirt or a simple dress, I am curious about how it would look. 




I bought it because of the dusty rose color, which is not easy to find anymore since it is not as fashionable a color.  In the photo it looks brown but the color is the old fashioned dusty rose, like velvet.

How about a very loose pullover dress with lots of drapey fabric at the sleeves and hem, just for cool wearing at home.  I hope to get started on this during the week and if it is successful you will see a picture of it here. The sketch show a raglan sleeve and little tucks at the waist:


What would you call this print?  Post Mark, Spencerian, Cargo, Faded Rose? Maybe "Other" would be a good name.

One of my grandchildren and I are enjoying drawing clothing designs and naming the garments after places we have visited or things we have been or things we are experiencing: mountain, truck stop, road side, sea side, light house, garden, clouds, waterfall, desert, visit, moving, writing (a writing dress), afternoon tea, etc. We have sketched ever so many dresses and I hope to include some of her sketches here too.

The print looks like something from the 1800's






A quick stop at Goodwill yielded these two cups for $3.20 each. Their good condition showed they had been in a shelf and never used in their lifetime: no scratches, fading of color, cracks or chips.

This one has a print of a nasturtium on it.


Interesting how the labels on these old teacups is sometimes off center.  I would say this is from the 1960's.

The cup also looks good on this orphan saucer:


This one below is probably from the 1970's.

The pedestal on the tea cup gives it a quite a royal appearance, and Red Velvet is an elegant name.


It feels good to have new teacups, and since a couple of others have been chipped and retired to the broken China box and the garden, these two replace them nicely.

If I had not stopped by to chat, I may have had the dress cut out now. Even a simple post absorbs a lot of time but it is something that makes me feel relaxed, that I enjoy. I certainly hope all of you are able to enjoy something today!



12 comments:

Unknown said...

The fabric with roses and writing is beautiful! Can't wait to see what you make with it. It has been so hot (for our area) that I feel like I can't think about projects. Looking forward to fall.

Linda said...

It is always a treat to hear from you.
Love the fabric,it is so unusual. I wish I could sew.
Linda

Lynn said...

Thank you , Lydia, for taking the time to write your post....some very nice things on it...and it is always a treat to find a new post from you when I sit down here at my computer in the morning..with my coffee and toast, or whatever.....I am looking forward to seeing your sketched dress made a reality. Yes..the outfit you first described with the boots would work well. Let's have a look at that too!

Mrs. French said...

I love the fabric. Whatever you end up calling it, it's lovely.

I enjoy your posts! Thank you for sharing with us.

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

I love the teacups. There are several Goodwill and Salvation Army stores in the area, I'll have to mosey over and see if they have any sets.
The fabric is interesting. I think a skirt would be nice. I love the print of the dress in the photo. We've lost a lot of fabric shops except for Joannes. The nearest Hobby Lobby is 20+ miles away.
Hope fall comes soon for you. We're in the low 80's and expected to rise through the holiday weekend.

Unknown said...

Loving your thoughts about everything, the tea sets and the fabric. The first thought I had about what to call it was "stationery".

Lydia said...

Good name--stationery.

Lydia said...

Maybe "the post"

Dawn said...

How wonderful that you were able to photograph that little hummingbird.

Dusty rose is one of my favorite colors. Your fabric is so pretty.

April Cornell has such pretty dresses. I would have my entire summer wardrobe consist of them if I could. I have one April Cornell dress called a "porch dress" in a purple hydrangea fabric. It's the best thing for a blazing hot day.

Willow said...

Beautiful fabric, so much nicer than all the strong, primary colours around in clothing these days! Can't wait to see what you make with it.
The tea cups are a great find - so pretty - and I think tea tastes much nicer in them than in great big mugs! xx

Huskerbabe said...

Such beautiful fabric! I love the dress but I wish they wouldn't use polyester, it's very hot and I am allergic and it makes me break out. There's nothing like a nice, soft cotton dress!

living from glory to glory said...

Oh that fabric would make a nice covering for a table or chair. I love the two cups you found, what a treasure! Wish I was walking on the seashore today!
Thinking of you and may you enjoy your time of resting...
Hugs, Roxy