Trolls and Summer

Dear recent visitor to my blog:  while you were busy leaving your comment, the Billy Goats Gruff snuck across your bridge. 

I guess I should be grateful that in the almost-three-years since I started my blog, this is the first time I’ve had to deal with a troll.  An internet troll is someone who posts inflammatory or mean-spirited messages on a public forum with the intent of causing harm.  This morning I awoke to a comment posted on my blog that was a very unkind commentary on my work.  Very unkind.  I’ve had to deal with my share of spam comments on my site, the sort that invite me to purchase handbags or watches, but this was new to me.  This was from a real live person who, it turns out, I know (isn’t that friendly?).  Not that they left their name for me (trolls typically like to remain anonymous) but in today’s world I’m just two clicks away on the internet from identifying someone’s email address. 

I try to keep the mood on my blog upbeat and positive, to use this space as inspiration for others and to uplift and support everyone who loves to create things with their hands.  So, dear readers, you’ve been given notice:  if you post mean comments on my blog they will be removed.  And, unless you are willing to pose naked, so to speak, and share your own work for the internet world to see, you have no right to criticize my work.  This doesn’t mean you cannot disagree with me; but please do it in a way that is true to the spirit of this space.

Well, now that I’ve gotten THAT off my chest, let’s move on to the last day of summer.  Which it is.  Tomorrow my oldest starts kindergarten, and one week from today my youngest goes back to preschool.  And I can’t wait for the extra time I will have to put my hands to work.  But, the summer had some lovely moments.

We spent a wonderful week with family on our little island in Maine where I managed to get some stitching done

and other family members got in on the craft action, too.

We swam

boated

climbed and skipped rocks

played board games

and ate good food.

Mostly we unplugged and relaxed.  It was great.

I also took my boys on some local-to-home adventures where we experienced nature up close and personal.

Now the days are getting shorter and it’s time to refocus our attention a little closer to the hearth and home.  I’m looking forward to sharing some of the things coming out of my sewing studio with you soon.

Pique for Summer

Summertime and the living is easy. . . .  I think summer is made for wearing dresses, and dresses are the things I like to sew the very best when the temperature rises.  I've got a pretty good collection now of simple, slip-them-on-and-you're-dressed items, and I'll be sharing some pictures and thoughts over the next few weeks.

I'm starting out with a short sheath dress, one of the very first garments I made with Pattern Master Boutique software.  This dress was drafted to my personal measurements, but the pattern catalogs are full of other similar patterns.  This one has bust darts as well as waist darts.

The fabric is a darling pique print with umbrellas in blues and greens.  I used a lime green linen to pipe the armholes and neckline.  The hem was also piped, out of necessity, when I discovered the length was a bit on the short side.  I made a facing for the hem and stitched the piping into the 1/4" seam that I allotted, leaving the maximum length possible.  The lining is bemberg rayon.

Tomorrow I am off to see Natalie Chanin give a lecture at the Textile Museum in DC and will write a full report a little later in the week.  Until then. . . .