it’s red, cherry red, and it’s shaped like a heart. What do you .. .hey, don’t run away!!
Like everyone else in the Madelinetosh Yarn Club, I am anxiously awaiting delivery of this month’s package, which is 3 skeins of pashmina. The last pashmina I got in the club was a wonderful color – (mineral, click here for the post with those photos), so I’m excited to see what I’ll get this month. Every day I have ants in the pants waiting for the mailman.
Today I got a plump package in the mail, and I quickly looked at the return address. No Madelinetosh, but instead some gorgeously-colored Louet Euroflax:
two scratchy skeins of this wonderfully-colored linen
I’m making two Monteagle Bags with the skeins, for these two wonderful friends of mine. Two really powerful and smart and warm and just great women who have changed my life in important ways. Every year I make them each a gift, and I decided to do something different this year. Instead of alpaca or cashmere scarves, as in years past, I’ll give them a little gift they can use all year long.
I heard something scratching at the door a few minutes ago…..scritch, scritch, tap, tap…..what is that? Could it be my mojo?
.
the wedding dress is nearly done!
marnie and tom, so cute
It’s getting close, Marnie’s and Tom’s wedding – July 17. A number of weeks. They’re really adorable, peas in a pod, and their wedding is going to be fun. They asked me to make the wedding dress, which really delighted me…..even if it also terrified me. I haven’t done any sewing to speak of in years. Little quilt blocks here or there, straight seams and who cares if they’re ready for others to see them. But I haven’t made clothing since my kids were young.
When they were here over the Christmas break, we went down to the garment district to search for just the right fabric. Marnie had already picked out a pattern, and given the setting of their wedding, we thought a nice green linen would be great. Here’s the pattern she selected – a vintage Vogue 1954 cocktail dress:
this, minus the gloves
It’s a simple dress, but since it’s Vogue and vintage, it’s not as simple as you’d think. There are bound buttonholes, a strange way of doing the straps, and darts and pleats deluxe….which means it’s got a lot of room for fitting it to her perfectly, and a lot of room for error. Since she lives in Chicago, the fitting part was tricky. She came here for a weekend so we could do a rough fitting, and it’s a good thing she did.
So I got it largely done, then hit a spot that totally intimidated me. I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me, and I so want this to look beautiful, not home-made. So many weekends, I’d say and write “and today I’m going to work on the wedding dress” but the fear and intimidation made me think “well…..I’ll do it tomorrow/next weekend, today I’ll knit.”
She needs it quickly, though, so my mission this weekend was to get it done. And except for some handwork, and making the self-covered buttons, it is done.
just a view of the back
I’m going to get it professionally pressed; we chose a relatively heavy Italian linen, and my little old iron, my no-ironing-board set-up, and my lack of proper pressing tools means it needs to have a professional press. Then I’ll put it in a large box and send it off to Marnie, with my fingers crossed for a good fit.
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