Happiness is …….

07 Aug Happiness is …….

I don’t know what makes me the happiest right now……

 … the top I made, the pants I bought, or being back at Edisto Beach where I can eat fresh shrimp, silver queen corn and home-grown tomatoes until my heart’s content.

Greetings from George and Pink, a hot spot on the campaign trail for South Carolina politicians, and the finest produce market on the planet in my humble opinion.

I was once hesitant about shopping at the dirt floor market amongst the chickens and goats that roam the property, but once I quit worrying about getting my clothes dirty, the quality of our Edisto meals surged bigtime.

Since this is a sewing blog I’ve never written about the very few clothes I’ve purchased, but I can’t keep quiet about the Derek Lam pants I purchased for $20.00 at an upscale clothing boutique in Columbia, SC on Saturday!

Having just given my now too-big white slacks away, the 90% mark down was a bargain I couldn’t resist! My plan was to make a pair…..  but I think I made the right decision 😉

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 To this day I remain inspired by Annebelle LaRoque, a young clothing designer in Columbia, SC. As a new college graduate while working for a pharmaceutical company she decided to take an evening sewing class. Six months later she quit her job, opened shop as designer and is making great strides in the profession.

Discovering this talented woman was so motivating to me as many of her designs were made with fabrics I recognized such as Amy Butler and SisBoom.  I knew if she could sew cute, feminine clothes for the general public, then I could certainly sew these for myself.

For this top I began with Butterick 4735.

 This is my third time sewing the pattern. I substituted a 1-inch ruffle for the flounce. The small ruffle keeps the top from appearing too frilly, yet provides a nice feminine detail.

Rather than securing the top on my left side with a small tie as seen in View A, I left an opening in my right side seam and turned the small ties into long 3 ½ inch sashes, one of which is pulled through the right seam opening and then wrapped around the waist.

    

 I also lined the top with batiste.

The fabric – Would you believe the soft cotton arrived in a box of Amy Butler quilting fabrics four years ago by mistake? One of those sure signs I needed to sew clothes again!

At any rate, I’m loving this easy cool top that’s quite compatible with soft ocean breezes …   but now that hubby and I have had our three days of fun together, it’s time to greet family today followed by friends, boyfriends and dogs tomorrow.

One thing is certain – NO SEWING for a few days!

Be back in mid-August!

 Best Wishes for a Happy Wednesday!