It was pretty much the greatest adventure EVER.
My day started at 3am (2:57am to be precise) when I woke up and leapt out of bed. THE DAY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! I showered, put on my pink travelling dress (a future post to come on that), kissed the Robert goodbye and headed out to my cab. Farewell, sublet!
Fly to the great city of NYC, hop on an express bus to Manhattan, and land on the doorstep of Oonaballoona. OMG. When she and Debi opened the door, there may have been some screaming ... and by some, I mean I may have caused all the dogs in a four block radius to flip out.
When we finally calmed down and assembled our outfits and bags for the day (purchased from this seller at the Renegade Craft Fair - LOVE her Etsy shop), we headed over to El Centro for food and fun!
(photo by Oona)
From left to right, we've got Vicki (who came into town for the meetup just like me - because we are HARDCORE), Daughter Fish (wearing the most beautiful outfit...my fingers were itching to touch her gorgeous cranberry skirt), Cindy (who made her dress in record time - and it was FABULOUS), the one and only Mena, that girl who I am going to put in my pocket, the other girl I am going to put in my other pocket, me, Lisette (there are no words- I was totally geeked about meeting her) and Nettie ( who is HILARIOUS). It was fabulous. There was definitely some hem flipping happening at the table while we examined our last minute work (or maybe that was just me...)
The lovely Lisette, Oona and Vicki having a laugh...and some chips...and some sangria. We are seamstresses, we make our own rules!
Mena's dress was a delight. I have that pattern and I fully plan on using it once I dig it out of whatever box it is in. I may even use staples when I make it :) Her flower was totally awesome because it is a Kate Spade flower, y'all.
Cindy was brilliant. At one point in Paron, she grabbed this AMAZING fabric (because she has excellent taste), got some cut off, and when the man tried to put it back, I was ran after him to get some for myself. That Cindy - she totally knows a good thing when she sees it, and who am I to resist?
The fantastic Marina joined up with us for our fabric journey, and I just adored her. (Have you checked out her blog? She is positively genius. So glad she didn't look closely at my topstitching!)
There was lots of walking involved... and LOTS of comments/questions/looks regarding our flowers. NYC men loved them... the women were like, What is this?
I spent most of the day walking behind Debi and trying to steal her Ness belt. I think she was onto me by the end of the day.
Puu met up with us to journey to Paron fabrics. OMG HER PANTS. It was love at first sight, truly :) When we got there, I followed her straight into the Annex and was met with a wonderous sight: 50% Off.
There was a pattern swap of epic proportions. Seriously. I think Debi was in heaven. I managed to snag a couple of fabulous 70's patterns and I cannot wait to make some flared pants!
Before we left Paron, Peter arrived. He is a fantastic source on sewing and fashion, and he hosts some great sew-alongs! (I swear I will finish my Negroni shirt someday...)
(photo by Debi and the wonderful people at Paron fabrics)
If you need any proof that we were, in fact, a most fantastic looking group, you need look no further than the picture below: Oona in her bombshell bodice and skirt, Daughter Fish in the MOST FANTASTIC COAT (my fingers itched to touch this as well, and she kindly permitted it), and Lisette in her gorgeous peacock dress (the hems on her sleeves were immaculate).
After all of the miserable weather we have been having in Chicago, the clouds parted and we had a beautiful day of sunshine and soft breezes. Nettie's shirt was closely examined by moi when she wasn't looking. It made me desperately wish that knits and I got along better.
This is one of my favorite pictures from the day. All their faces are glowing!
After several fabric stores, we definitely needed caffiene...or maybe that was just me. I got a chai tea and pretended it was as strong as coffee. Trying to give up my coffee habit is tough, y'all.
We definitely perked up after our trip to Dean and DeLuca! These ladies were ready to SHOP.
We stopped at more stores than I could ever remember, but this lovely one had some fabulous vintage notions that peaked the interest of Mena...
...and Debi. Debi ponders which belt buckle to get. Oh, Debi, just get them all and put them in your coat pockets for the plane ride home :)
Debi and Lisette, before Lisette took her treasures and left us...
Vicki manages to find a place to sit. Isn't her Pendrell fabulous? I adored the colors and I think she convinced me that I need to get my hands on that pattern.
I like to make faces, and Lisette tasted fabulous... like sunshine and unicorns.
In a swift move, Debi throws Vicki off of the seat and claims it as her own. What you don't see is that she stuck a Scottish flag in it first and shouted "I claim this for SCOTLAND." (The Ness belt is totally mocking me in this photo. Next time, Ness belt, next time...)
Photo by Marina. Who left us but came back. Which was good because she's awesome and we need to hang out more.
We finished out our amazing day at Room Service, where I ate a cone of pineapple chicken fried rice. Our waitress wore a teeny tiny hat and spilled Prosecco out of our glasses. I had something pink that contained pomegranate juice and sparkling wine...
and then Oona and I got into a drunken brawl, after which, I loved her all the more, but poor Sandy made the mistake of sitting between us. Sandy was awesome. I loved chatting with my fellow Ohioan about Ohio and all its Ohioness. Sandy: coffee soon, yes? (and by coffee, I mean tea. Let's do tea).
It's dark, but I swear Elizabeth and Vicki were having a great time. Elizabeth is the Queen of Kindness and Goodness: she offered me a place to rest my head for the night, which I will always be eternally grateful. I told her she needs to come to Chicago and stay with me, and then I'll come to NYC and stay with her...
Hang on, Sloopy, Sloopy, hang on...O! H! I! O!
The gorgeous Marina. She and I must hang out again, which means I need to go back to NYC. The next trip is definitely in the works, and maybe I'll stay longer than 21 hours :)
After the co-hosts super secret mission, the night ended with me sitting on Oona's floor with Oona and Debi and sipping the best cup of coffee I have ever had. Oh well! I gave up on the giving up of coffee. Coffee is amazing. I should not try to resist.
Eventually, I had to bid farewell to the Lovelies I had started the day with (with many hugs and promises to see each other again SOON) and head to the airport. After snagging an hour of sleep on the floor of LaGuardia (which isn't as terrible as you think because you've got a ton of fabric to cushion you), I hit up Au Bon Pain for some breakfast. Voila! Rosemary crackers from Oona (addicting) and grapes.
Before I went through security, I noticed a slight problem... It seemed I had bought too much fabric and needed to figure out how to stuff my suitcase and tote so everything would fit.
Suddenly, it dawned on me. While at 21 Century Fabrics, the owner quoted me one price on some fabulous material, which his wife then flipped out about. She kept yelling that it was scarf fabric. Scarf or no scarf, lady, I'm only giving you the $8 your hubbie quoted me or you get nothing at all! Eventually, I got the fabric for the $8 (so there, lady. Nyah.) ... and while at the airport, I used it as a scarf. All 4 yards of it. You can see the insanity below.
(Pardon the face, it was 4 am)
And when you take it off, it makes a lovely pseudo-blanket for the plane! Rick Steves would have been so proud.
Overall, the meetup was amazing. It was great to put names with faces, and I loved talking about our passion for sewing and fabric. Many thanks to Oona for putting the day and itinerary together, and many thanks to everyone who came! You are such inspirations to me, and I hope to run into you again soon :)
Hugs and more hugs until the next meetup,
Meg
PS Part two of adventure weekend to come tomorrow! Have a great day til then :)