dabbling in alterations

Last weekend I attended a bachelorette weekend in Charleston, SC for my good friend from college- the invitation requested that we pack a black cocktail dress for dinner and drinks on Saturday night. I totally didn't have one- well, I did have a dress that I bought to wear to a wedding TWO WEEKS after Noah was born that was approximately 4 sizes too big now! I decided that I would try my hand at altering the dress- taking it in a few inches and then hemming it to a more "cocktail" length.

Here's the before:

YIKES!

and the after (excuse the camera pic!):

with the bride:

It really was not as hard as I thought! Luckily, I had Jenn (who sews clothing for a LIVING and works at a bridal boutique) give me her opinion as far as HOW to take it in. My genius self was planning to take it in on the sides (but a side zipper ruined that plan) and she advised me to try taking it in at the pre-existing darts in the front and back (apparently at the rate of 1" per size down). The dress was two layers (the lining and a sheer top layer) so it took a little longer than I thought it would, but I am in love with the results! I think I will definitely wear this dress more often- but then again, I only wore it once before!

I would love, love, love to take a class or get a book on clothing alterations- this opens up a whole new world of thinking: if almost ANYTHING can be fitted to my specific body, then shopping is about to get a LOT easier! If I love the look of a dress but one size it too tight in the bust and the other looks frumpy, I would love to be able to buy the bigger size and take it in. I can't believe I've never tried this before and I can't wait to learn more about how clothes are constructed!

... and just for fun- here we are all, ready for supper at Magnolia's! YUM!

oh, pinterest. (a love letter in pictures)

Dear Pinterest,

At first, I wasn't so sure about you. I didn't quite understand the point but I went ahead and moved most of my bookmarked projects over to pinterest so I could see the photos of the projects. Ok, I was starting to understand- this was easier than a list! Then I discovered browsing pinterest, following friends and the group boards that you can ask your friends to contribute to if you're brainstorming a project.

... and I fell in love.

Although you do waste a considerable amount of my daily computer time, you also inspire me to make some pretty cool things.

Like this potholder sewing kit that makes it easy to sew on the go:

some sweet bandana pajama pants:

a cutesy dry erase frame with daily motivational quotes!

and this awesome (and HUGE and pocket-filled) PB-inspired beach bag (made from scraps and $0.99 IKEA fabric!):

Not to mention ALL of my last minute Father's Day gifts were your idea:

In conclusion, I want to thank you for your awesomeness, forgive you for the lost hours of my life and pray to the good Lord above that you never disappear with all of "my" ideas never to be heard from again.

smooches,

Laura

3 quilt finishes, the beach and a random deep moment.

Wow, it's been a while.

The past few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of finishing up school, scurrying to get quilts finished for gifts (two graduation and one baby!), making end-of-the-year teacher gifts, waiting for my brother-in-law to return from Europe with my camera, a little bit of medical drama, packing, and heading to the beach for one (long, long) week of family time (30 people in one house from 2 countries and 3 states). Sheesh.

It's all over now and I can officially say it's SUMMER (I wish someone would have made me this sign) and we're home and ready for it!

Remember these plans?

They became reality just in time!

(I hand-sewed the binding in the car on the way down to the beach!)

I warned Sarah and Abi that I was totally about to be that person who gives you a gift and is then like "HOLD ON! I have to take a picture of you holding it!". I wish I could have been able to get some more pics of the awesome quilting (can you believe that a friend quilted those two quilts and the baby quilt below and only charged me... wait for it... $40?! Insane!).

The 3rd quilt I finished at the beach is for a dear friend that I met in embroidery class. After having a terrible time getting pregnant, losing babies, debating IVF, and finally turning to accupuncture, she is expecting their first child:

I made this one using the Moda Bake Shop recipe for "Random Reflections", but only made one row of blocks, and the rest white. The fabric is from that random Robert Kauffman jelly roll that I just couldn't figure out and the font for the name is Smiley Monster.

and in the spirit of tradition, I obviously had to take a pic on the porch at the beach house.

Though I am ecstatic to be home, we did have a lot of fun at the beach. Noah is getting to be so much fun and it just blabbering on and on to anyone who will listen. His new favorite thing is telling everyone "hey" all the time. He's been saying it for a while now, but it's just funny to watch him walk into a room and wave and scream "HAAAY!".
Man. I sure love that kid.

It's becoming more and more clear to me that God sent Noah to us for a reason. After a terrible pregnancy with him (and no luck with subsequent pregnancies so far), Noah's sweet spirit and loving heart comfort me when I'm fretting about the future. He has always been the easiest baby and the happiest kid and I know that God entrusted us with his care because we would need that sweetness and love to get us through times of heartache and uncertainty.

I find it hilarious and ironic that Noah's name means "rest" (if you've ever been around him, you know why), but that reminds me of a verse about peace that I cling to when nothing makes sense:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

Not as the world gives, do I give to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

1 John 14:27

That verse is helping me out a lot lately, and I hope that you're finding at least a little peace in your life as well!

I'm linking up to Fabric Tuesday- check out all the awesome projects!