Sorbetto and Soft Serve

Mags and I got together for some sewing fun on Saturday and had a surprising role-reversal, in which she worked on a detailed wrap-dress and I whipped out two shirts (and a muslin for some pants, which need a lot of work), one of which ended up as a pajama top because the fabric was crummy, and then there's this one:

The Little Folks voile was the perfect weight and drape for this top. The pattern is the Colette patterns freebie, Sorbetto, which has been making the sewing blog rounds for good reason, as it's quick, easy, and flattering.

A few pattern notes:

• With some careful cutting, I got this out of less than a yard of 54" fabric near the top end of the size range.
• I added about 2 inches to the hem when I cut it out
• Like others have mentioned, the bust dart could probably be 1/2 inch lower.

I think this pattern would look great in a silky solid too. Pretty much anything drapey will work well.

In other ice-cream related news that I'm mostly posting about for my brother, at Maggie's instistance I grabbed a Blizzard at the local Dairy Queen (DQ) this weekend (and supported a local dog rescue).

For the first time in 15 years.

I've avoided DQ's for the the past decade and half due to a overload on an extended roadtrip through the heartlands with my Grandparents at age 12.

So how was the break fast Blizzard? Not bad.  Not great. But not bad.

Just don't make me get the "Hot Eats" ;)

Roadtrip: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

On Saturday, Mr. Cleaver and I made the drive up to Boothay to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This was our second visit to the gardens, the first being in the dead of Winter back in 2009.  THe cold tuend us out of the garden that February, but we vowed to return when the place was in bloom and it was well worth the return trip:

The blueberries were close to ripe and since you were encouraged to pick the ripes ones - we managed to fine one or two

My Dad always called Lamb's Ears "Cowboy Toilet Paper"

Maybe the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen:

Is it weird to take a picture of yourself with a sign with your fake last name?

Some red, white, and blue....

Which reminds to post a sneak peak of my 4th of July dress!

Fish and Finery

As promised I'm here with my latest sewing project and my mysterious 9-months in waiting project, which I just now realized could be construed as a pregnancy. It's not. It's goldfish.

If you've known me in the past 7 years or so, you may know that I love goldfish more than most people love goldfish. I've taken multi-state roadtrips with goldfish. I really like goldfish.  Our last Goldfish, Franklin died when we were in Chicago, and Mr. Cleaver , who had gotten quite attached, wasn't ready to commit to a new pet right away. When we decided to move back to Maine, I made Mr. Cleaver promise me that after we moved I could get a fish tank and some goldfish.

True to word, we got a 10 gallon tank/hood/filter set up on sale in mid-November. But as we were planning on going away for Thanksgiving, we figured we'd wait until we returned and the hustle and bustle of the holidays were over. Come the new year, we still had no fish, but more glaringly in our somewhat furniture-light apartment, no place to put the tank. We looked and looked, but found no suitable tank stand until a few weeks ago, while I was still working on the History Boys.

The show over and now May, we finally went and picked up a pair of lovelies. So without further ado, meet Gil:

And Jac.

They've adjusted nicely to their new home and are Mr. Cleaver and I are thrilled to have 'em.

You know what else makes me happy? Having time to sew and finishing a project in a day! The project?  Rae's Ruffle Top Tutorial from Sew Mama Sew!    

As soon as I saw it on the blog I knew I had to make it and picked up the great leaf cotton/bamboo fabric at Z Fabric and the contrasting green from JoAnn's.

I made a few modifications, namely the width of the bottom was limited to 1/2 the width of my fabric (I thik it ended up being 27" at the bottom), but I don't see that it made much difference. I also omitted the arm cutouts and side shaping, choosing to do a french seam on the sides and keep everything as simple as possible. I love the end result . It's pretty and airy and the perfect summer top. I think I shall be making at least one more this summer, which as someone who rarely makes patterns twice, is saying something.

Next up: An awesome start to summer!