Monday, August 3, 2009

Weekend Catchup: Plotted Pants

I had an awesome weekend.

Take that, reality!

Friday night, as previously noted, was pizza night at Chez Mimi. The Child and I got our new favorite (sausage and onion) from Nicolo's - the closest thing to Chicago pizza in town, mainly because they cut the pie into squares instead of wedges - and managed to snag a copy of Coraline much to her delight.

I was so proud when I got home, though, because Kid had been incredibly crafty all afternoon... she rode her bike to the quilt store, bought a fat quarter, came home and stash-dove, and proceeded to design/whip up a purse she can use on her bike handles without having it bang into her legs. I exclaimed mightily, as you might imagine, and she was seriously proud, as she should be.


SHE EVEN LINED IT.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then headed out to our respective destinations after brief stop at DSW, which is her new FAVORITE PLACE EVER OMG - she's such a shoe junkie, and is now the proud owner of a brand new pair of Chinese Laundry flats. (Insert awed admiration here, please... she'll appreciate it.)

I, of course, found nothing, because I have bizarre feet and am stuck wearing Crocs until I win the lottery/get a book deal and can afford Dansko and Keen. Stupid feet!

Anyway, after our brief foray into consumerism and regret (as in I should have known better than to open that can of worms), I dropped her at her grandfather's house for the night and made my way down to Denver.

And so... Denver Fabrics. No photos because I'm lame and forgot my camera, so you'll just have to trust me when I tell you it was large and amazing.

I think we spent about 2 hours in there, fondling various bolts of this and that and finally ending up with an ungodly amount of fabric - all of which came home with me, as I am in charge of making these:


There is a whole, very dangerous catalog of this brand's patterns - don't say I didn't warn you

As there's a bit of a time-crunch involved, the jacket will have to wait - there are some alterations to the pattern that I'm not confident enough in my abilities to pull off without involving consultation with others with more skill than I currently possess and/or uncontrollable weeping - but the pants? The pants I can totally do.

And did, in 3 hours flat Sunday afternoon.

And they're perfect.


Please ignore the need for ironing, and instead concentrate on the beautiful crisp cuff, because it is awesome

They may need some tweaking for the intended wearer, but it's easy tweaking that even I can manage without screwing it up too badly or involving the previously mentioned potential for crying.

Once we get the pattern to the his liking, I'll be making 2 more pair (for now)...


Do other people photograph fabric? I hope so...

On the left, awesome palm-tree batik (it's even better in person), and on the right... satin. I know, I know, I'm asking for pain and misery on that one, but they'll just be so FANTASTIC that I'm sure the craft gods will smile upon me.

Do tears stain satin? I hope not.

Anyway, to say thanks for whipping up pants, TR gifted me a couple of fabric yards, one of which is destined to become what may well be my favorite purse ever:


OH MY GOD

There were other versions but this was the best... I love it so much I'm going with this pattern just so I can make two - one where it's the outside, and one where it's a fantastic surprise liner.

Then he sprung (sprang? sprong?) for Thai food.

THAT is how to win a girl over: food and fabric. (Well, this girl anyway!)

And then there was this:



Not only was this a good story (survey says it's a traditional Chinese folk tale), it also had some of the absolute best, most t-shirt-inspiring subtitles ever... I gather that subsequent releases of this very popular and award-winning movie have been re-subtitled in a more general-audience-pleasing manner, but I thought the literal translations were equal parts charming and hilarious, so I'll stick with the original.

It was a fabulous day from start to finish.

Sunday (after my last virtual trip to Telluride for now - they'll be assigning me something else shortly) I made the Pants of Glory and did a lot of laundry... I'm getting The Kid ready for a 2-week road trip with our friend Nova (& family) to points North-West (she gets to go whale-watching and I am totally jealous) so we've got some seriously creative packing to do.

Here's hoping your weekend was equally delightful!

7 comments:

Dandy said...

Your child whips up bags?!

You make pants?

Can you please come over and teach me how to thread the bobbin of the sewing machine that I haven't touched in probably 9 years?

Dandy said...

I need to add that she did a fantastic job!

And I love Chinese Laundry.

curegirl0421 said...

Aw thanks Dawn... I just figured it out about 3 or 4 years ago myself but I would *happy* to come over and show ya. Next time I'm in Cali consider it done.

And yes she totally did a fantastic job, I was super proud!

Did I mention that it was LINED?!

Julie said...

Wow! I've been so busy on Facebook that I forgot to check in! Hello! I will use more exclamation points!!!! The kid's bag is perfection, your fabric is to die for, you will weep over satin but love it anyhow, and you are, like, the luckiest person I know. Keep going for that book deal, though, cause Crocs are just the ugliest things ever. You should so get some Danskos. Maybe Santa will bring you a pair. Oh, sorry, I meant maybe SANTA will BRING you a PAIR!!!!!!!!

curegirl0421 said...

OMG it is SO TRUE that CROCS ARE UGLY!!!!!!!! But they are totally comfy. :) Yay for exclamations.

*Sigh* I know I'm going to cry about the satin, I was debating doing it last, but I think I'll do it *next* so that the lovely, crisp, easy-to-iron cotton will be waiting for me as a reward in the end.

Chris said...

GASP! Dia de los Muertos fabric?!?!!? Destined to become *MY* purse!!!!

Chris said...

Oh... forget Dansko and Keen... they don't make wide widths. I can't fit in them and I've never had foot surgery. Just wide feet. It's pretty much only SoftWalk, SoftSpots or *some* Clarks.

But of course my absolute fav's are the *discontinued* (don't it figure) Crocs slides (that were somehow designated as mens shoes even though the regular Crocs are unisex??)