Fabric Mart Fabricistas

A little while back, Fabric Mart had the most adorable elephant printed cotton fabric available , and even though I wasn't 100% sure of what I wanted to make with it, I figured it would go fast, so I took a chance and purchased three yards of it, knowing I could likely make three yards work for something! After receiving it, and seeing all the ridiculous craziness that came with the Target/Lilly Pulitzer collaboration , I decided I *had* to make a Lilly inspired dress from this fabric AND because it is pink and green, I knew that if I didn't make a dress for my daughter from the same fabric, I would never hear the end of it.  ;-) Well it turns out, upon doing research with Mr. Google and Miss Pinterest, that I happened to have bought actual Lilly Pulitzer fabric from Fabric Mart, or if it isn't actual fabric from them, it is a darn good duplicate.  Above you see some items from Lilly Pulitzer's 2014 summer line!  And, yep, those look an awful lot ...

I have always been a fan of Lilly Pulitzer and the fun, unique prints used in her garments. I was first introduced to the brand while I was an undergrad in a fine arts program. During a luncheon, we listened to an alumni that worked in the fabric design department at Lilly headquarters in King of Prussia, PA. While she talked about various aspects of her job and the Lilly brand, she told us how they get inspired by traveling to exotic locations around the world. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun and from that day on, I was hooked.  I was also one of many that trekked to their local Target last Sunday to snatch a piece of the Lilly Pulitzer for Target Collection. But with dismay, I came home empty handed. I didn't feel the need to sit outside the store before it opened, but rather walked in around 8:20 a.m., only to find everything was gone! I don't believe there was a huge line out front of my local Target (I have three within a 5 mile radius of my house.) I beli...

If you live on the east coast or know someone who does, you may hear a lot of complaining about something that starts with the letter "S"...SNOW! It is nice to look at for a little while but when you have to go places, it is not as fun! We have been bombarded with snow lately and more is on the way! The only nice thing is when it snows, I can lock myself up in my sewing room! I'm honestly not all that interested in making winter items at the moment, but have three projects in mind to make for early spring.  1) A basic blazer made from black ponte knit.  I need a basic blazer and I've been seeing knit blazers in the stores for at least the past two seasons. I made one last year, only to find out I never washed the fabric before I used it and the entire blazer shrunk! (That's a lesson for those of you who do not pre-wash fabric!)  Here are some of my inspiration pieces:  All images courtesy of Pinterest. I am using Simplicity pattern #4698 (out-of-...

I love reading blogs and catching up on posts before bedtime. There are so many posts that I love and like to revisit and I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you.   My friend over at Madalynne wrote a little piece on one of my favorites: Lilly Pulitzer. I was surprised to find out that the headquarters is so close to Fabric Mart! R.I.P. Lilly! This is a great tutorial on how to wallpaper your wall with a projector and sharpie! How cute would this be in a child's room or as a fun accent wall or hallway? Visit the blog Owen's Olivia to read the post and see how she did it! (It's easier than it looks!) This post from Sewaholic I am quite fond of because it speaks the truth about my sewing life. I love making pretty fashionable pieces that I wouldn't wear everyday. But then I run into a problem. I have nothing to wear to my day job. It doesn't seem like such a bad thing until you are actually in the position of deciding wheth...