This June, I spent two weeks visiting Love to Sew Studio in Chadds Ford, PA. It was exciting to be back at my old home, visiting friends and family, catching up with old students, and getting to know new ones. Those fourteen days were eventful. In fact, they were nothing short of an adventure. A tornado ripped through the county, a tornado I ignored as I read an old copy of Nancy Drew while my mom and brother observed the black, funneling clouds in the skylight windows overhead... Sadly, several cottages at Chester Heights were destroyed by fallen trees and wreckage, but, fortunately, we were safe. We did lose power for five days and had to resort to showering and cooking at friends' and relatives' houses. Imagine the craziness of cooking an iodine-free diet without a stovetop or oven...
Love to Sew Studio managed to keep sewing camps open through it all by running the sewing machines off a generator. Studio instructor Zoe perked up our mornings by bringing in fresh, hot coffee for studio head, Judi Harris (my mama), and me. Even with extreme weather/end-of-the-world setbacks, the girls made wicked cool projects. Gabbi proved to be a trendsetter by making a stylish, functional pinstripe backpack using a free pattern she found online at Trash to Couture:
http://www.trashtocouture.com/2012/10/diy-backpack.html. She worked with an upholstery fabric that proved fashionable and sturdy. (Maybe she can fill it with textbooks come September!) Julia followed suit, and made a backpack to house her handmade pet manatee, Doughnut. America Girl Doll outfits were designed and created, not to mention doll camping tents and sleeping bags!
Fashion was danger during those first two weeks of camp, with Olivia building her collection for this fall's Fashion Show at the Double Tree Inn Ballroom in Wilmington, DE. She made an excellently constructed woolen jacket to represent the Candor Faction, as her line is based on the best-selling "Divergent" book and movie franchise. The jacket has a tuxedo shawl collar and is color-blocked cream and black. Olivia altered the pattern to include piping in the center front panels.
Jackie made it work her first week of sewing camp. Starting from the very beginning, she managed to complete a plaid vintage-inspired croptop; fitted, high-waisted denim shorts; and a "Rosie the Riveter" style hair scarf in four days! The theme of her fashion show collection this year is style of the states, and this look represents Texas. She'll be pairing cowgirl boots with the giddy-yup getup.
Check out the slide show below with pictures by Zoe. You can find more Love to Sew photos on their website and instagram:
http://www.lovetosewstudio.com/
https://instagram.com/lovetosewstudio/
Love to Sew Studio managed to keep sewing camps open through it all by running the sewing machines off a generator. Studio instructor Zoe perked up our mornings by bringing in fresh, hot coffee for studio head, Judi Harris (my mama), and me. Even with extreme weather/end-of-the-world setbacks, the girls made wicked cool projects. Gabbi proved to be a trendsetter by making a stylish, functional pinstripe backpack using a free pattern she found online at Trash to Couture:
http://www.trashtocouture.com/2012/10/diy-backpack.html. She worked with an upholstery fabric that proved fashionable and sturdy. (Maybe she can fill it with textbooks come September!) Julia followed suit, and made a backpack to house her handmade pet manatee, Doughnut. America Girl Doll outfits were designed and created, not to mention doll camping tents and sleeping bags!
Fashion was danger during those first two weeks of camp, with Olivia building her collection for this fall's Fashion Show at the Double Tree Inn Ballroom in Wilmington, DE. She made an excellently constructed woolen jacket to represent the Candor Faction, as her line is based on the best-selling "Divergent" book and movie franchise. The jacket has a tuxedo shawl collar and is color-blocked cream and black. Olivia altered the pattern to include piping in the center front panels.
Jackie made it work her first week of sewing camp. Starting from the very beginning, she managed to complete a plaid vintage-inspired croptop; fitted, high-waisted denim shorts; and a "Rosie the Riveter" style hair scarf in four days! The theme of her fashion show collection this year is style of the states, and this look represents Texas. She'll be pairing cowgirl boots with the giddy-yup getup.
Check out the slide show below with pictures by Zoe. You can find more Love to Sew photos on their website and instagram:
http://www.lovetosewstudio.com/
https://instagram.com/lovetosewstudio/
A lot was going on at the home front as well. Not only was it Father's Day weekend, but it was also my parents' 30th anniversary and my brother's 24th birthday. The extended family went to see Jaws in theater, and I was reminded what a perfect (and terrifying) film it is. I was happy to visit my older sister Jacqueline and her husband Joe in their new home in Clifton Heights, in suburban Philadelphia. I met their adorable new kitten Castiel, who was friendly and cuddly! I also had the opportunity to watch my talented younger sister Jamie perform at Oxford's First Friday event, where she sang a gorgeous rendition of Landslide to the backdrop of fireworks on the eve of Independence Day.
I spent Friday July 3rd with my life-long friend Danny Riddle, exploring the small town of Phoenixville. Even though it's only a half hour from where we grew up, we both had never been there before. Phoenxville is made famous by 1958 B Horror flick, "The Blob," which was filmed in the town center. The movie theater from the iconic scene (when a horde of teenagers rush out of the theater as the town is taken over by a massive, oozing...well, blob) is still there, still working. Every year, the town hosts a Blob festival, with a rockabilly swing dance, a screening of the film, a Blob run, and more.
Danny and I visited the weekend before Blobfest, while all the local shopkeepers were decorating their storefront windows for the upcoming event. But even if it hadn't been embellished in Black Lagoon style creatures, the entire town would still appear to have never left 1958. Its quant streets are filled with vintage clothing shops (I purchased a cardigan clip); a record store; a secondhand, children's bookstore that local author Jerry Spinelli frequents (Danny bought his 3-year-old niece Senna a copy of "Madeline"); and Steel City Coffee House, a chic cafe where we sat by the window and drank refreshing smoothies on the sweltering summer day. I half expected to hear "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes playing by the soda fountain, and discover the Delorean we had arrived in was broken...
Natural disasters aside, I had a great time in Pennsylvania and was sad to go. But I was even happier to return home to Ben, the best man in my life, and recharge at my own studio...
I spent Friday July 3rd with my life-long friend Danny Riddle, exploring the small town of Phoenixville. Even though it's only a half hour from where we grew up, we both had never been there before. Phoenxville is made famous by 1958 B Horror flick, "The Blob," which was filmed in the town center. The movie theater from the iconic scene (when a horde of teenagers rush out of the theater as the town is taken over by a massive, oozing...well, blob) is still there, still working. Every year, the town hosts a Blob festival, with a rockabilly swing dance, a screening of the film, a Blob run, and more.
Danny and I visited the weekend before Blobfest, while all the local shopkeepers were decorating their storefront windows for the upcoming event. But even if it hadn't been embellished in Black Lagoon style creatures, the entire town would still appear to have never left 1958. Its quant streets are filled with vintage clothing shops (I purchased a cardigan clip); a record store; a secondhand, children's bookstore that local author Jerry Spinelli frequents (Danny bought his 3-year-old niece Senna a copy of "Madeline"); and Steel City Coffee House, a chic cafe where we sat by the window and drank refreshing smoothies on the sweltering summer day. I half expected to hear "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes playing by the soda fountain, and discover the Delorean we had arrived in was broken...
Natural disasters aside, I had a great time in Pennsylvania and was sad to go. But I was even happier to return home to Ben, the best man in my life, and recharge at my own studio...