Art Deco PJs

My youngest boy loves lounge wear. Playing on his computer or with his video games are his favorite things to do after jumping on the trampoline.  When he gets home from school, he just wants to put on something soft and comfy.  So, as soon as he saw a sample of Spoonflower's fleece he wanted something made in it.  It is very soft and not too heavy to wear.  I let him select any of my designs and he picked the turquoise and green shades of Modern Style Art Deco Greens and Japanese Fan Scale Dots Green and Turquoise because the geometric patterns appealed to him and the colors made him happy. 
You can purchase almost the same thing in a pre-printed pattern from Sprout Patterns--the Jasper Pajamas and the Kids Recess Raglan or for a bigger sized top I would suggest the Lane Raglan. 
While you are at Sprout Patterns get in on the 50% off Sale of the Holiday Stockings and Lined Zipper Pouches 'til 11/9.  Use code BOGOFQ.  You still have enough time to make them for gifts and they are super easy.  (I shared making some of these pouches in an earlier post.)

Getting Ready for the Kentucky Derby

One of the families in Ghana has decided to host a Kentucky Derby event.  We can not go to the actual derby of course, but we are all looking forward to this event with the seriousness of people going to the real thing.  This is the first derby for many of us.  The women have been searching for the perfect hat in the local markets and visiting milliners.  Click here to check out some local hats. 

I found a local fabric shop with sinamay, a woven, flexible plant material used in hat making, and decided to try to make my own fascinator.  Dee's videos were super helpful on sinamay and other hat making information.  Aside from the feathers, I crafted all of the items on my hat including the flower.  The peach flower is made from cut shapes of peach polyester and cream silk.  I stiffened the fabric with Stiffy and sewed the layers together.  Coiled wire rimmed ribbons make the little silver flowers peaking out.

The outfit is just as important as the hat, and I wanted to highlight one of my fabric designs.  This box pleat skirt is made from my Boho Blossoms Elegant Blush and Sage Petite in Organic Cotton Sateen Ultra. 
And lastly, SALE!
Get 15% off of yardage of any fabrics through 10 am, May 9th EDT.

Ghana Fish Market, Star Dress and Animal Families

Myrtle Dress at the fish market

Yesterday, I got out of the house and went to visit the international fish market in Tema, Ghana, a waterfront and factory town outside of Accra.  I have been to a couple of other markets in other countries and this one was cleaner and less chaotic than most.  Although, anyone planning on going should be aware you may be mobbed as soon as you exit your vehicle.  It might also be a good idea to know what you want to buy before you get there.  This is not a market to casually stroll.

Kai the fisherwoman cleaning some Tilapia

 In addition to the fish market, I visited a couple of Korean grocery stores, a German butcher shop and had a very nice lunch at a Korean restaurant.  The town felt very relaxing because there is more space between buildings and lacked the close packed feeling of the city.


Another version of Star Attraction

I wore my the dress I just finished sewing the night before from Sprout Patterns.  Sprout Patterns is a new service from Spoonflower.  At Sprout Patterns you can select a Spoonflower fabric which is preprinted with the cut and sew pattern.  I am wearing the Myrtle Dress from Colette Patterns with my own design Star Attraction in Mint and Deep Teal.
Today, 1 day only, this pattern is available for 25% off.  Other patterns will be on sale at Sprout Patterns until Thursday, November 26.

Also today, a new Spoonflower contest begins with the theme Family Portraits.  My entry is based on animal families of the American southwest.  Pictured here are the quail, armadillo, prairie dogs, porcupine and black tailed jack rabbit.  This pattern coordinates with others in my Southwest Animals collections.  Please consider voting.

Kitties and Tea

My sons went to Shop Rats excellent STEM oriented summer camp this past summer and while they were there having fun, I took my daughter into Mason, MI to look around.  Mason is a cute little town with all of the things that make me happy to see.  They have a nice coffee shop/book store, a quilt shop called Yards of Fabric, and antiques mall and artists coop and many other cute shops downtown.  Sadly, there had been a fire and so several other shops were closed during repairs.  All in all it was a town I recommend kicking around in.
Anyway, while there, my daughter picked out some kitty cat fabric (Window Tails by SPX fabrics).  It is nice to see we are diverging from PINK these days.  She wanted a dress, so this is what I came up with.  We are living in a hot climate now, so I went sleeveless.  It is easier and I didn't really have enough fabric to add them anyway.  I used one of her woven shirts to model the top of the dress on and then angled down from the waist to give it a slight A line skirt.  I finished the sleeves with bias tape since I did not have enough material to make it from the kitty fabric.  I also added the ruched insert and bow to provide a little variation for the eye.
And now for tea.  It is that time of year for Spoonflower's Tea Towel Calendar competition.  I chose to draw a modern day version of the Greek Goddess Hestia.  She was the goddess of the hearth and kitchen and one of her symbols is the kettle.  Seemed like a great fit for a tea towel.  Please consider voting.
Lastly, the new site, Sprout Patterns is having a sale today through Friday 12pm EDT.  This site prints patterns directly on the Spoonflower fabric of your choice.  The sale is for a $1 lined zippered pouch pattern.  WORLDWIDE shipping $1.  Limit three.