I have been wearing this scarf around for nearly a year but never blogged it because it seemed…well…rather simple. But the fact is, it’s my favorite scarf to wear, hands down. I do love my velveteen-voile scarf and the liberty one as well, but this one has pompoms. Need I say more?

Actually I will; the other thing that makes this one a favorite is that it’s super soft and lightweight, because it’s made completely of shot cotton, one of my favorite fabrics of all time. Shot cotton has a very soft feel and loose weave, but it’s not as sheer as a gauze and it has a nice drape. And of course for some reason no one seems to be…

I’ve been in love with this print ever since I saw it for the first time last spring. From Ladies Stitching Club collection by Oliver+S.

Better with the red or the gold sweater? You know I’m so bad at decisions.

Love the way the pockets pop out on their own even when there are no hands in them. The pattern is just a very simple flat-front / elastic-back rectangle skirt with roughly 4x my waist circumference. It’s super-duper full. I’ve always felt that if you’re going to go full, you should go ALL OUT dudes. One last shot here, you can see a bit of the waistband:

Why does it seem like whenever I have a clear concept in my head that seems easy to sew, it never turns out exactly the way I had envisioned? Case in point: this top. I won’t show you the sketch I had before I started, m’kay?

The main thought was: pleated top, cinched in at waist (something you could also do with an elastic casing or drawstring), with sort of a faux peplum at the bottom. Which now that I’m looking at in photos, needs to be a bit shorter. But OK, I will admit that I got the overall concept. I guess I think I was picturing it more flowy, less poofy. Maybe I’ll try this with the new AMH rayons when they…

I thought it was about time to take the Washi Dress into fall with this lovely print by Melody Miller. Perfect for layering under a sweater. And guess what?

SLEEVES!

Works great with tights and boots.

Sometimes it makes me a little sad that my kids won’t grow up with records or tapes. I remember listening to a kid-sized (maybe fisher price?) record player when I was a kid. My dad had a really nice turntable and scads of vinyl that slowly got replaced with CDs in the 80s. CD’s are disappearing. Elliot thinks it’s a novelty when we get a book on CD from the library and he gets to put it in the tray and press “play.” I think…

I have to admit that reading your comments on the Orange Washi Dress post last week made me freak out, just a little bit. For one thing, it made me really excited to see how excited so many of you are for this pattern. NO PRESSURE.

But the other thing: I worry that some people might think that because I have spent so much time on this pattern, getting the bust darts just the way I want them, for example, that the bust darts will automatically be perfect for you as well. Knowing what I know about women’s bodies (that we are curvy and all shaped differently), I know that just simply isn’t true. And while the Washi Dress has some really awesome…