Friends, this past weekend was seriously epic. Saturday was spent napping (I love napping) and finishing the Glinda dress for Rob's three year old niece who currently LOVES The Wizard of Oz:
I used McCall's 6381 for the pattern, eliminating the long sleeves and making sheer sleeves out of the netting. I'm not going to mince words here: the netting was a pain in the ass. The sparkly dots managed to gunk up 10 (!!!!!) needles, effectively destroying my stash of needles used for sewing delicates, as well as two heavy duty needles that were used for attaching the skirt to the bodice.
I had bought some pink sequined trim to add to the dress, mainly to use as cuffs for the sleeves, but it also worked perfectly on the bodice. I originally was just going to make the dress with the satin foundation and the chiffon over-skirt, but the netting adds a great deal of pizzazz to it - something every little girl needs (even if it makes Aunt Meg cry)!
I cut four sleeve pieces and doubled them up, right sides together, to create the epic puffs of wonder below. The edges were gathered and the pink sequined cuffs were added.
The skirt layers were attached to the bodice separately as it was impossible to gather and stitch to the bodice all at once. I encased the layers of seam fabric in some bias tape on the inside of the bias so Jojo wouldn't get scratched by all of the netting. All inside seams on the bodice and each seam on each skirt piece was French seamed - lots of work, but I'm hoping it will help the dress to last - especially that chiffon layer! It was shredding in my hands.
Each skirt layer was hemmed separately for a more princessy look - Jojo can pick up each layer and swish around the neighborhood to her heart's content :)
For a little extra, I made Rob's sister a bow clutch for her birthday and sent it along with the dress. Not as sparkly, but just as fun, I think. I used leftover pieces from the Nautical Ginger skirt. Scrapbusting, FTW!
Sunday began with a most delightful breakfast companion:
DEBI FRY. IN CHICAGO. OMG.
Debi sent me a message saying she was going to be in Chicago, and as we were both free Sunday morning, we met for a most marvelous breakfast. I seriously love Debi - she has a kind, fantastic heart, heaps of talent, and is a fabulous lady to share a cup of tea with on an Autumn morning. Next time, Debi, I'll come to your hometown and we can have a cup of tea there. I think that would only be fair, right? :)
After leaving Debi, I journey north to meet with the oh-so-fantastic Michelle of Will Knit for Food:
Confession: I was totally nervous about meeting Michelle. I mean, have you seen her blog? She knits the MOST BEAUTIFUL things like socks, wee little cardigans, and sweaters (which she then models on the streets of Dublin #jealouslikewhoa). She also sews! She's a complete package of awesome, so I was a bit intimidated by her at first. She made me feel at ease by being crazy kind and giving me a present that was so geektastic, there are no proper words for it but SQUEE:
SHE GAVE ME ALL THE SUPPLIES FOR TARDIS SOCKS.
We are meeting up tonight for some more knitting adventures, so I'll be investing in some needles to start these lovelies asap!
On Sunday, we met at Windy Knitty, and that place is just wonderful! Their yarn selection was so vast, and so well organized. It was like a very colorful, soft kind of heaven. We had exceptional service and conversation with the two shop owners/assistants - there was much laughter as we (read: everyone who has completed a project larger than a cowl - not me - I still got to laugh, though!) compared projects and talked about the upcoming Vogue Knitting Live! (I'm not going, but it sounds like the best thing ever.) After purchasing some skeins for upcoming projects, we departed and headed for the nearby Sifu.
Sifu was a disappointment. We perused their selection, which was scattered around the shop, and we weren't even greeted or acknowledged, even though we were obviously interested in browsing. There were many people gathered in the back (apparently for a brunch?), but I got the feeling that I was very much an outsider when I attempted to see what was going on. We left without making any purchases, and though we had been looking forward to a possible Sci-Fiber Friday in the future, I am thinking I might pass on that idea.
We were still itching for some yarn, so we headed to Sister Arts Studio. I love SASI, but I'm totally biased because I've taken all my knitting classes there and Donna and Alexis are fantastic teachers. I walked in with my project needs in hand, and Donna led me straight to the yarn I needed. Donna was able to assist even though she had an event with at least 10 children happening in the front and back of the store.
After Sister Arts, we were in need of sustenance because yarn shopping is exhausting :) Off to Starbucks for cool refreshments, conversation... and cookies.
And then we took silly pictures, because that was the only proper thing to do!
Stupid sunglasses. I was crossing my eyes, too, but you can't tell. Blergh.
A kind passerby took this awesome photo of me squeezing my new friend. I'm hoping there will be many more photos like this in the future! And more silly face ones, too - those are equally important.
Here are some shots of my yarn purchases:
Windy Knitty: Black Berroco Vintage for the Bright and Breezy Kimono
and some gorgeous green Rowan Lima for the Miss Marple Scarf (Sister Arts Studio).
After Michelle and I parted ways for the day, I headed home to prep for a night out with Lauren, a great friend from high school! We walked on Navy Pier and then came back to my place for dinner, wine, toasted marshmallow milkshakes, and lots of great conversation about the world today :)
All in all, a marvelous weekend with fantastic ladies!! Hooray for meet-ups and days filled with conversation :)
Have a fantastic day, all!