Pink pinking shears and other exploits of a non-sewing Saturday

Having finished my vintage dress for the contest, I decided to focus on other pursuits for the weekend, including hanging out with my husband and napping.  And shopping, apparently.   Saturday, my husband and I spent the entire afternoon running "errands": one thing we had to do, and the rest fun stuff.   We saw a movie.  We stopped by Rice University briefly to see the James Surls sculptures that are currently on display there.   We walked to five of them, and glimpsed the other two from a distance.    (The weird metal things pictured here are two of the sculptures, rendered extra arty by the Hipstamatic iPhone app.  The bottom one features needles, which is fabulous, but also makes me feel like I'm seeing sewing everywhere I go, which cannot be healthy.)  


I also bought cupcakes, cardigans, more cupcakes and more cardigans.   The cupcakes came from two different shops -- I had already purchased some from the tried-and-true Sugarbabys when we heard about a new place called Celebrity Cupcakes.  So what the heck, I acquired a few more.    I've had one from each source already, but can't decide which is best. I'll need to eat a few more and get back to you on that!

The cardigans all came from the Gap -- I wear a cardigan or a hoodie pretty much every day, year round, so when I find one I like I usually buy in bulk!    My latest find was this lightweight one with 3/4 sleeves -- prefect for summer.  I got kelly green,  dark purple, black, pale pink, and a golden orange not pictured online.   In fact, between the two Gaps I visited I saw several colors that are not pictured on the site.  Lest you think five cardigans is not a show of restraint, let me assure you it is: remove said restraint and navy, true orange, turquoise, and a lighter shade of green would have come with me too.  And I would not have said no to gray, deep garnet, light brown, the brighter shade of purple, medium blue, or light blue either.   It seems that the more colors a thing comes in, the more of them I need.   Which is probably why so much of my wardrobe comes from the Gap in the first place.    And why I need to stop thinking about this.   The Gap's open until 6pm on Sundays, right?   So help me, I love to have a cardigan that perfectly matches my outfit.  Or something in my fabric pile that I can imagine being an outfit some day!

I also saw this dress, which I love because it looks so comfortable, and because it's very much the same shape as another dress my mom made me in 1991 that I love and still wear.   But I got the pattern for that dress from my mom last year, and instead of buying Gap's version that almost certainly won't fit me right (sour grapes here -- didn't actually try it on!)  I should just make another like my favorite.  Incidentally, it's most like view 5 pictured on the pattern, but more knee-length.   It looks cuter than the pattern picture, I swear.

Fortunately, our meandering path took us near JoAnns,  and we did not pass it by.  My husband cheerfully parked himself at the pattern book station and read a book on his iPhone while I wandered JoAnns with my little green basket.  I got the last of some very nice cotton batiste (Or is it voile?  It's very lightweight.) embroidered with large pink and purple hibiscus -- three yards, and it's 56 inches wide.  That's certainly enough to make a nice full skirt, but also enough for some dress patterns, which is the way I'm leaning at the moment.   The fabric is pictured beneath my fabulous new pink scissors, another acquisition from this trip.   I needed new small snips, since mine are getting a little dull.  Pink coordinates with my pink sewing chair and is my preferred sewing room accent color so that was a no-brainer.  I wasn't looking for pinking shears, but I didn't have any, and I've always seen them listed a basic sewing supply. And these are PINK PINKing shears.  Must. Have.

I also got some other odds and ends -- a few colors of thread, and some stain-remover products because my last sewing project is a chalk-mark mess, and I want to see if I can get that stuff off without putting it through the washer.   And three New Look patterns -- maybe I'll post them later?