sew happy

I'm on a roll with the posts lately!  Yay!

The weatherman told me it was going to be sunny today, but it turns out he lied, and I got stuck with more clouds.  So when I started to get dressed this morning, I thought about wearing a black and grey ensemble, but once I put it on it just depressed me more!  That's when I noticed the skirt I bought at the Blacksburg thrift store last weekend, and thought I'd pull it out and see what I could do with it.  This is what came of it:

Sweater: Old Navy ($?)

Vest: Charlotte Russe ($?)

Necklace: gift

Belt: American Eagle ($?)

Skirt: B.Moss via Thrift ($4)

Tights: Dillard's ($5)

Shoes: Payless ($8)

I love when I can wear things old enough that I don't remember how much I paid for them...

If the green sweater wasn't enough to make me think of lush "lay-in-it" grass of the spring, I spent a long time at the fabric store picking out the perfect summertime fabric for a new sewing project I'm starting!  And, true to my style, I couldn't leave the store with just one pattern and one fabric - I got TWO patterns, and THREE fabrics!!
Once the sun comes back out from behind the clouds and warms the air, I'll be ready with these:

Any guesses as to what summertime accessories I intend to make with these gorgeous patterns?!  Keep a look-out over the next couple weeks for the finished products!

Jabberwockies succ

The succulents of the NBG hot-house look as if they come straight out of an adventurous story:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyle and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

and the mome raths outgrabe.

Mimsy borogoves

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!"

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch

Beware the jubjub bird and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

The frumious Bandersnatch

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought --

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

Tumtum trees to rest by

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the thulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame

  

One, two!  One, two!  And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

Snicker-snacking vorpal blade

 "And has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day!  Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

Chortling in joy

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Outgrabing mome raths

--Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Aice Found There, 1872)

A mid-morning affair

It started out to be a fairly slow day at the greenhouse.  The main project of the day was to cut back petunias and use the cuttings to create new plants.  Each cutting was to be trimmed of flowers, flower buds, and excess leaves (to help promote root formation as opposed to bigger flowers and leaves).  It only took a couple hours of petunia-trimming for the following events to progress...

One bucket full of petunias, waiting to be turned into cuttings!

After trimming back 4 different cultivars of petunias, my mess became quite colorful!

Take a second look and you might find, like I did, that my mess was no mess at all...

...but it was, in fact, a mid-morning ball!

A gentleman bows and a lady curtsies to start the dance

Bystanders watch the dancers from the balcony

A shy fellow peeks out from behind the stairs to catch a glimpse of the one he secretly adores

The belle of the ball blushes as this young man reaches to kiss her hand

A sensual dance between two lovers causes a stir among the onlooking crowd

Hands in pockets and staring at his shoes, this poor fellow wishes he'd asked her sooner if she would be his date

Girlfriends chatter while waiting to be asked for a dance

Leaning against the wall, he's wearing his shades and flipping a quarter - eyeing the girl he plans to bring home tonight

A couple runs off into the night, looking for a quieter place to be alone.  She lets out a shiver, and he swings his coat onto her shoulders.

Sadly, the ball only lasted until noon, at which time everyone was thrown into the compost bucket and I went to lunch.

This is my tribute to A Beautiful Mess and Color Me Katie, who have both been inspirations for creativity and fun!

Packin' my bags...

After quite the busy week (including my first sewing class! yay!), I finally get to pack my bags and drive to Blacksburg!!  Unfortunately, I'm so tired right now I'm totally uninspired, and can't figure out what to pack!  Let's hope what I throw in my suitcase will work out for everything from hiking in the woods to foosin' at the pub to schmoozing with my sweetheart on Valentine's Day!
Perhaps a look back at my outfit from my day off on Wednesday will help...

icicles and footprints

The sun was out, the sky was blue, and the icicles couldn't have been better! Here are a few of my favorites:

The icicles are blurry for a reason... see the bird?

Took me a while to notice it, because I thought it was just a small spot on my computer screen, but just in the center of the full picture you can see an icicle water-droplet! Looking back, you can see one in the first picture posted as well (a few icicles to the left). Love it!!

Birdie footprints

Makers of the tracks