MOOD

Last week, while in NYC, I finally got to visit Mood Fabrics. Do you all know about this store?

Has anyone else ever been there before? It’s absolutely amazing! It’s three stories filled with

every single kind of fabric (including some absolutely gorgeous designer fabrics), trim, button

or accessory you would ever want or need. They have over 31 different kinds of fabrics, for

example, and 14 different types of buttons. As you can see, one entire wall is just buttons – floor

to ceiling! I have never seen so much fabric in one place. It was so hard to make a decision about

what I wanted because there were so many choices! I felt like I just walked around the store

endlessly touching just about every bolt of fabric in the store, thinking about what I could use it

for. I was so tempted to just buy a couple yards of random fabrics, just because I loved so many

of them. In the end, though, I restrained myself and found a really pretty, black and white plaid,

wool blend jersey. I’ve had a pattern for a cape/jacket for a while now and the fabric I chose

was just the right weight…I think it will be perfect! It’s the project next on my list – as soon as

I finish the lavender sundress I am currently working on. That should be done this week and,

hopefully, will be next weekend’s blog post.

From Free Bin to Fabulous

After not posting for a couple weeks in a row, I'm trying hard to get back into the habit of posting every weekend, which explains the new post so soon after the last one. Anyway, it finally seems as though spring has descended upon the Boston area. Yay!

This cardigan is so incredibly easy to make and is perfect for a chilly spring day. Did I tell you about the "free bin" at Smith College? It's a box in the lobby of Anya's house - what they call dorms at Smith - and students put in anything that they want to give away. Anya's found not only clothes, but linens, and shoes, too. She says things never last very long in there and it's really a great way to find things to upcycle!  Anyway, she found this long sleeved tee one day. It's a pretty color but ended up being just a little too small to be comfortable. As you should know about me by now, I'm a big fan of upcycling so, instead of just putting it back into the free box, she gave it to me to transform. All I did was make a simple cut up the front of the shirt, add some pretty vintage looking ribbon along the cut edges and it's a new cardigan! It's the perfect accessory for a chilly morning and looks really cute!
So, next time you're tempted to give away a long sleeved tee because it's too small, think about transforming it into a cardigan instead!

Darling Dolls

Sorry I've been a little behind in posting lately! Lots of homework in the past couple weeks took up all my time. Well, not quite ALL of my time since I did manage to make these three dolls. I have a new baby cousin who's now just three weeks old. We went to meet her and, since she has two older sisters, we decided to make a doll for each of them.

 Aren't they cute? They're our version of the Black Apple doll by Emily Martin.

 I love how each one is just a little different. I do need to give Anya some credit here - she is the one who painted the faces and made the little animals since we thought it would be fun for each doll to have a special friend. We just found out that the little girls love their dolls and sleep with them every night (yay!) but they fight over the little bunny. Oops! We'll be visiting them again in another couple weeks so my next project might just be making another little bunny and maybe a few more little animal friends. I have another little cousin (another girl!) who is due in June who also has a big sister. I just might have to make another couple dolls for them, too.

See you next week!

Sarah xo

(black apple doll photo credit: http://theblackapple.typepad.com/inside_a_black_apple/dolls/)