Sunday, March 27, 2011

spring break: pillowtalk

My friend Katie brought back all but one of these lovely reverse-appliqued pieces when she visited Panama this December. How cool and amazing are they? I love all the colour! Since I hadn't switched out my pillowcases since I'd made my own reverse-applique pillows back in 2008, it was high time to change things up in here. So, the panamanian pieces, with a bit of bright fabric from IKEA, made three new pillows. The olive green one with the swirling pattern came from Laos in the 1970s; my mother-in-law gave it to me about 10 years ago, because she was so happy to finally have someone in her family life who loved olive green and appreciated textiles! At long last, I feel like I'm doing this gift some justice. Plus, I like that these brights seem to make our red walls make sense, rather than seeming like crazy colour overload (which I'd feared would happen; I have to admit I haven't got the greatest decorating sense).

spring break: disco, baby

I bought this sequinned applique back in December, from MaryNotMartha's etsy shop, whose lovely trims all seem to go for a song. (check 'em out!) Anyhow, I had this bit of rayon knit tucked away in pale lavender and as it seemed to be a colour that was all over the spring runways, I thought, hey, why not?
So I modified an easy vogue pattern for a top with an uneven handkerchief hem, because I love this look, but I'm not sure it's flattering enough to my hips to justify spending any sort of cash on a drapey top like this in a store. I whipped up the top all the way back in December. It just took me this long to finally finish hand-stitching the applique. Whew! Can't wait to wear it; maybe for the first day back to school!

spring break: anthropologie treasure trade necklace

I loved anthropologie's Treasure Trade Necklace from the first moment I saw it - but, c'mon, $198? Fat chance. $50 later, I have a lot of leftover wood beads (since my local shop would only let me buy them on strings), a LOT of leftover gold foiling/leafing supplies, a bracelet made from some of the leftovers, and this:
totally worth it.