Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Alabama Studio Style

When I received a Barnes and Noble gift card as a wedding gift, I knew I wanted to choose books that would improve my somewhat pathetic attempts at cobbling together a home. 
This book is positively intoxicating.  It's a veritable lifestyle guide, filled with sewing techniques, printmaking how-to's, recipes, methods for refurbishing ramshackle chairs, and, well, sheer gorgeousness.  I have poured over it for weeks now.  Though I intend to give all of the homemaking a try, the garment patterns are most exciting to me.  My current project is a dark blue tank dress for Juliana to take with her to Africa.  I'll post pictures as soon as I finish it.

The cotton jersey that is utilized in all the sewing patterns is pretty elusive in my neck of the woods, unfortunately.  Juliana and I took a pilgrimage to a fabric store and bought some before I realized that the author, Natalie Chanin, sells her organic cotton jersey, which is grown, spun, and knit in the USA, on her DIY website.  Everything you need to become a homespun Alabama fashionista can be found there. 
Or, if you'd prefer, you can buy her handsewn couture garments readymade here.  I prefer to oggle the designs and utter a fervent prayer that I can one day make a facsimile of some of these garments.

3 comments:

Michaela said...

Now Kate, an Alabama home in a New York town??? That's absolutely preposterous. I love your sense of danger. And your fashion, and, well, you.

Martha said...

Your sister is going to Africa? Where and what for? I would love to go...I really enjoy the Alexander McCall Smith fictional books that take place in Botswana: "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency."

willfulmina said...

I love those books, too! My dad has read the whole series aloud to my mom. They're adorable.

Juliana is going to Uganda for 2 weeks with a group from the Orthodox Christian Missions. She's an RN, so she'll be helping set up clinics and administering shots, etc. It's been her dream for a long time.