what i wore

SOURCES:

1. shirt: banana republic, skirt: old navy, shoes: target

2. shirt: old navy, jeans: citizens. Just for the record, I don’t find this outfit the least bit appealing. One time in college I came out of our apartment wearing an outfit that I thought was cute and my best friend told me I looked a little like I was in 8th

grade. That is how I feel about this one. I think I’ll resort to wearing this shirt only for pj’s.

3. skirt: old navy from about 6 years ago, shirt: target, sweater: banana republic, shoes: target

4. shirt: walmart {love this ruffle shirt and wish I bought several}, jeans: banana, shoes: target

And LOOK! I got a pedicure!

5. shirt: gap, shorts: banana republic, shoes: payless

6. shirt: nordstrom, jeans: seven dojo

7. shirt: target, sweater: martin + osa, jeans: seven A pocket, shoes: payless

Original article and pictures take http://jonesdesigncompany.com/fashion/what-i-wore-3 site

Wedding Dress Ideas

If you’ve just got engaged (congratulations!) – it’s highly likely that you’ll be pouring over wedding dresses on the internet right now. It’s that lovely peaceful time between Christmas and New Year where you don’t really want to leave the house, but you’re itching to start wedding planning! People will tell you that you should do the sensible things first, like thinking about your budget and choosing a venue and a photographer…

But we won’t tell if you don’t

So without further ado, here are some of our favourite dresses from the best British Bridal designers out there – all of these brands are championed by Rock My Wedding and every designer will make you feel like a Princess, but in your own unique way, as you can see from the variety of dresses on show.

If you want more wedding dress inspiration, just head to the What To Wear pages where you will find hundreds of gowns at your finger tips from the best British bridal designers, all ready to be pinned and shared with your best girls. Happy dress dreaming ladies!

Trinity top with Maggie skir overlay by Karen Willis HolmesSee more of the Wild Hearts collection here

SS16 Collection by MonsoonSee more of the Monsoon Bridal collection here

Marguerite by Charlotte BalbierSee more of the Willa Rose collection by Charlotte Balbier here

April by Naomi NeohSee more of the Summer's Eve Collection by Naomi Neoh here

Stevia top by Sally LacockSee more of the 2015 Bridal Separates collection from Sally Lacock here

Scarlet by Suzanne NevilleSee more of the Songbird Collection by Suzanne Neville here

Fleur with Guipure jacket by Naomi NeohSee more of the Summer's Eve Collection by Naomi Neoh here

Bridal Gown by Stewart ParvinSee more gowns by Stewart Parvin here

Camellia by Suzanne NevilleSee more of the Songbird Collection by Suzanne Neville here

La Vie en Rose by Ian StuartSee more of the Runway Rebels collection by Ian Stuart here

Cilla by Amanda WyattSee more of the Promise of Love collection here

Bridal Gown by Stewart ParvinSee more gowns by Stewart Parvin here

SS16 Collection by MonsoonSee more of the Monsoon Bridal collection here

Clarisse by Karen Willis HolmesSee more of the Wild Hearts collection here

Stevia top with Bay skirt by Sally LacockSee more of the 2015 Bridal Separates collection from Sally Lacock here

Mabel two piece wedding gown by Karen Willis HolmesSee more of the Wild Hearts collection here

Lainey by Charlotte BalbierSee more of the Willa Rose collection by Charlotte Balbier here

Summertime by Ian StuartSee more of the Runway Rebels collection by Ian Stuart here

Wedding Dress Ideas

If you’ve fallen for any of the dresses above, just click the image and a link will appear to let you know the

designer. You can also see the rest of their collections by clicking the link. Below is a handy guide to wedding dress shopping, created with advice from the fabulous designers themselves. We hope you find it helpful!

Original article and pictures take http://www.rockmywedding.co.uk/wedding-dress-ideas/ site

Wall hanging made from swapped inchies - Quilting Daily

Thanks for your comments!

Peggy, you’ll need a whole morning to make the whole cloth from which to cut your inchies, so invite a group of friends around for at least that amount of time. We used heat guns and soldering irons on acrylic/nylon organza, tulle and any other sheer fabrics we wanted to try. Those were layered on a backing cloth and free motion stiched before being cut into one inch squares.

Spirit2sew, yes a discarded quilt would work wonderfully well, but you’d only use a teeny bit of it because you don’t need more than about 10″ square to make more then enough inchies! I thought of trying one along similar lines using 3″ squares instead. That would use up more of your quilt.

Barbm, I don’t know about talent! My mother used to call me the “plodder” of the family ….. I can’t take the credit for originality because I got the idea out of Quilting Arts “2, an article about something Dale from The Thred Studio had done.

Original article and pictures take http://www.quiltingdaily.com/media/p/5097.aspx site

Waiting = stitching (Jennifer Coyne Qudeen)

My bag nearly always contained a roll of black cotton and a pouch of brightly colored threads. The stitching was intuitive while varing direction, stitch length and contrasts. The action itself gave me joy, a sense of contentment. It came as a great surprise toward the closing of 2015 to find myself no longer enamored with this work. It had become a chore and ended up being undone most often than not.

One morning during that week between Christmas and New Year's, as usual I found myself downstairs before the house woke, wanting to hand stitch, but being a bit reticent to do so. My old way was not working and I knew it, but what next? Try stitching on white cotton? On my rusted cottons? Or on that pad of St Armand Canal black denim paper that I'd bought in Santa Fe? Hmmm...now there's an idea.

2016 waiting = stitching #1

I began with 's by punching holes in the back for the rows

2016 waiting = stitching #2

and then proceeded with this one. It was too much like what had come before and left me frustrated.

2016 waiting = stitching #3

This luscious paper wanted to be different. Wanted me to stitch in a new way. Wanted me to embrace the chaos that I felt around and inside me. So on the third piece, I punched holes and then more holes on the back

2016 waiting = stitching #4

before beginning to stitch...all the while promising myself to stitch only through the holes already punched,

2016 waiting = stitching #5

to not look at the front and decide that another was needed just here...or right there. Just let go and accept what exists.

2016 waiting = stitching #6 Acceptance = a sense of freedom = many ideas on where to go from here.

2016 waiting = stitching #7 in progress from back

I'm enjoying this new waiting = stitching series very much and am trying to take it slow and let the process guide me and grow organically rather than to rush and get ahead of myself.

By the way, if anyone knows where more pads of St Armand Canal paper in black denim (9 inches by 10 inches) can be purchased, would you mind dropping me a note? I'd be very grateful for the info.

Original article and pictures take https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/post/6313845/4732901377 site

Visible Mending as an art form.

I’ve been known to swear about the mending pile. I’m sure many of you are with me. I avoid it and wait till it builds up – aaaand finally get around to it when it is absolutely necessary.

However after years of having little kids I have come to love the fact that a bit of creative mending means that I am able to extend the life of their clothes in a way that non-menders can’t*. One way that I do this is to add cuffs to things like the top below. This was a size four that I purchased for him when he was 3, that he is still wearing at 7. I call that a win. It's longevity has come with a very small price and that is maintenance. Small boy puts a hole in it and I put a patch. You will notice the difference in the pictures between the top patch and the bottom. Same fabric for cuffs, patch on the sleeve and patch on the bottom but each patch has a different type of mending. There is a third that you can't see.

*What do people do about leggings in real life. Those cheeky things seem to breed holes. Do they just chuck them? Btw - All photos today except for the top two are new and were thoughtlessly taken in the tent. The tent is blue inside - which means we have super whacky light that

no amount of creative Lightroom work could fix. Squint a bit maybe. It might help?

The fact that I can extend the life of their clothes so much, means that I am able to love the product that comes out of the process of mending. However, I admit that I still struggle with the process. Which leads to today's post - I have just read about a new way to think about it….

It came from something I read on the Fringe Association the other day about a course Karen did on "Boro and Embroidermending". And as part of that course she talked about the idea of visible mending. And those words - visible mending and embroidermending changed something for me. Karen's post is about a shift in her thinking, which in turn has caused a slightly different shift in mine.

Different leg - slightly blurry Fix #2

Two down and one (still) to go.

Now I generally do visible mending as I am a little bit too lazy and not skilled enough to do invisible mending. But what I love about this idea, is that it is taking visible mending and with a little shift to my thinking, making it a thing of beauty rather than simply ease or utility. I started thinking about the idea of visible mending as crafting - or as another art form if you will. Rather than a mending as a hassle, I could make mending part of my craft. Thinking about enhancing a garment as part of the mending process should ultimately make it more enjoyable? I'm going to try it and see.

These were favourite small person jeans (that are BRIGHT red) that have been fixed once about 9 months ago. I have avoided this one quite a bit second time around.

Patches on top of patches on the super messy back.

If you need a little inspiration for your mending pile have a look at these lovelies on pinterest. Especially these as they are amazing!

How do you feel about mending? Avoid it, love it? Swear about it or does it make your heart sing from the sheer utility of your work?

Felicia x

PS. My apologies (again) - today was supposed to be a post about the extra workshops at the retreat this year. Unfortunately we have had a little car trouble this week and I haven't had time to finalise the post. Soon I hope - Rex is fixed and we are back on the road tomorrow.

Original article and pictures take http://thecraftsessions.com/blog/2014/6/13/visible-mending-as-an-art-form site