:: we put our feet just where they had, had to go ::

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments yesterday about my “studio” and my outfit! They really brightened up my day!

I have been obsessing over Beirut the last few days; I’ve even managed to get my indie-critical sister hooked on their music. In the process, I discovered another, amazing ensemble: A Hawk and a Hacksaw. Seriously, go give them a listen: their music reminds me of Eastern European gypsy music, 1920s silent films, and 19th century side shows (all tied up in one package... perfect!). If you love Everything is Illuminated or Amelie, you’ll probably like A Hawk and a Hacksaw. I know it’s been garnering a lot of great ideas and creativity for me just by listening--love that!


Saturday Mom brought home a large canning jar full of old buttons she had purchased at a home decor/antique store. She had planned to use it in some decorating scheme she’s got going. Being the button *ahem* fanatic that I am, I immediately told asked if she expected me not to swipe those at some point? And then proceeded to offer her five dollars more than what she paid in order to get my hands on them (she got a good price, and I know how much large button lots are going for on Ebay these days... talk about highway robbery!). Instead she offered to just let me go through them and pick out which ones I wanted! (Such a good mother!! Thanks, Mom!) So I got a nice little stash of “new” vintage buttons to add to my (now completely full) jar. I need to start organizing these babies because they are earmarked for use with garments I’m designing, and I hate having to dump them all out and dig. lol.


Today I’ve steadily been working on the Little Red Schoolhouse muslin. In many ways I think this is going to be a cute design... once I get some of the bugs ironed out! Some projects fall together effortlessly (like my Farmer’s Daughter dress) and others--like this one--take a little more fiddling and attention. Still, it is impressing upon me why I’ll be directing my attention to this book later this week:


Having a sloper in at least one size will make my life loads easier right now. Slicing and dicing a sloper is easier than draping each new design (which is what I do at the moment; time consuming but fun!). I just need to finish reading through this section and all the steps, take some measurements and I’m set to go. Here’s hoping it’ll work... *fingers crossed*

I’m off to spend the afternoon with my mother wiling away the hours in a local bakery that she recently discovered! This is my first real “outing” since I got ill a month ago, and thankfully I feel like my energy levels might just be up for this. Or at the very least the lure of coffee and pastries is making me feel more energized! lol. Have a lovely Tuesday, all!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

p.s. Jessica of the Shiny Squirrel blog (one of my perennial favorites!) has just launched her online Shiny Squirrel shop! Jessica has awesome taste and is representing a lot of very talented artisans. Go check it out!