Stash building in the USA

I admit, this post's title isn't quite as catchy as 'born in the USA', but it certainly sums up what I did while in the States a couple of weeks ago. You see, in addition to those lovely little purchases I made at Portsmouth Fabric Company, I also picked up a handful of colourful prints during a trip to Mary Alice Dalton's Children's Couture shop in Belmont, NH. Mom and I had been told about this hidden gem well before baby G arrived, and it was decided that, on her first visit to the States, we would call on Mary Alice, along with several other mums, grandmas, and babies, to marvel at (and purchase!) the beautiful, skillfully crafted children's clothes she makes. Duly we did, and what a pleasure it was! Mary Alice's tremendous abilities as a seamstress were clear in all of the lovely outfits displayed around her charming boutique, and her amazing selection of bright and beautiful fabrics made me feel like a little kid in a candy shop! It took me several turns around the shop and even more false starts to choose the right combination and colours for the cute trouser and vest set Mom and I picked out for baby G. It's to be a party outfit for her first Christmas and birthday, but I didn't want to go too overtly Christmas-y with the fabrics. When I spotted these, I knew I'd found the right ones!
Sadly, these photos don't do justice to the vibrancy of the colours. 

 I'm very excited to see the end result! In the meantime, I'm going to amuse myself thinking of all the things I can do with the pieces of each of these fabrics Mary Alice kindly let me take home with me along with a large handful of remnants from her previous projects. Mary Alice obviously knows what it is to crave fabric, as she had all of these remnants proudly displayed in bowls and containers around the shop, inviting us to rummage through and pick out what we liked. This was candy shop and ice cream stand combined!

For the moment, the fabric has landed in my stash, but I've got a few ideas already for what I want to do with the pieces. Considering that I'm finding a bit more time to sew these days - last week I attended not one, but two sewing related events: Bee Blessed on Saturday and Common Threads on Tuesday - I have high hopes for creating something fun with them in the near future! In the meantime, I just have the binding to finish and a label to make for the baby quilt I've mentioned in my last couple of posts. Pictures to come, I promise!

 xx Tina



Comments

  1. Sarah14 June 2013 at 16:32

    Hooray for more sewing time! Looks like a very pretty shop to buy baby G's first couture garment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown11 July 2013 at 12:52

    Hi Tina,
    I just found your VERY kind post about your visit to my Shop. Thank you so much!!! And I'm glad I found you ... to say how much I enjoyed meeting you and G and your mom. I had a blast during your visit, and the Shop seemed so empty after you left. I wish you were closer so you could visit more often. Also, I can send you a picture of the little outfit you ordered, if you'd like. It's shown in a different fabric than the ones you selected, but at least, you can see the style. I need to keep this comment brief, so I shall just say again how much I fun I had when everyone came to the Shop; I'm eager to start your outfit (but need to wait a bit to see how much she grows); it was such a pleasure to meet you; and again, thank you for such a wonderful recommendation! Kisses and hugs to G ... Mary-Alice

    ReplyDelete

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