On a Lark » Uncategorized

In the attics of my life

Emily — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:22:57 +0000

Now that I’ve entered the ranks of the job hunters, I’m getting a lot of things done that I didn’t have time for while in school or working. My puppy’s 5:30am wake up is also adding a lot of useful hours to my day . So last week, while stowing my snowshoes and cross country skis in our barn, I had a chance to really look around. The big old red barn next to our house is full of twenty years of relics from our life here.

Hockey skates, old flags from boats my Dad has run in the past, those excellent giant vintage snowshoes, old posters and signs, and all the things that we couldn’t quite bear to throw away but that didn’t make the cut inside the house. But the true treasures are in the garment bags hanging off to the side. I’d never looked inside of them before, but there were some serious classics in there. My favorite was this little number:

I’m pretty sure my Mom looked pretty cute in this in the 70s. I have big plans to cut it down into a sleeveless sundress, but we’ll see if that ever actually happens. The other great find was my aunt’s wedding gown. The gown comes with a sort of cape that is edged all the way around with this beautiful daisy chain lace. I think this lace has a future as straps on a sundress or trim on a skirt.

So, what’s in your attic?

LL Bean does the Hamptons?

Emily — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:05:31 +0000

Like any good Maine girl, LL Bean is a staple part of my wardrobe. Especially some excellent finds from the factory store, like my red slip on canvas shoes and my navy chamois shirt that’s approaching some sort of light blue/gray after several summers cooking on schooners. But LLBean’s never been exactly high fashion. I like to think of it as lumberjack chic. It sometimes tries to be fashionable (Freeport Studio anyone?) and it looks like they’re trying again.

LL Bean Signature has a distinctly “I summer in Kennebunkport” look to it, but in a good way.

I like it. Nice work, Beans. What do you think?

In the mean time, graduation is right around the corner, I’m seeing a weekend full of friends, family, puppies, and lobster in my future. No complaints here.

Stuff I Like: New Fabric Etc.

Emily — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:20:33 +0000

This weekend felt like June. And not even the type of of June we sometimes get where it rains the whole time. The nice type of June. Anyhow, there’s nothing like beautiful weather to make me remember all the news things that I like (and that you might like too!)

1. Ambiance Bemberg lining: This is a really luxurious feeling lining that I’m using for my graduation dress. I’m using this fabric from Fabric.com. It is a bit of a trick to deal with. Case in point, Pattern Review has a three page discussion in their forums about how to handle it (check it out here). But still, I sort of love it.

2. New spring projects: Inspired by this pillow, I bought myself some felt. It’ll probably be a while before I get to actually put it into use, but for now it’s something colorful to think about:

3. Headway on winter projects: And this is also an example of why I need a serger. Or more aptly, need some kind of crafty patron that would like to donate a serger to my cause.

Graduation Dress Bodice Interior

Topstitching Fun

Operation Graduation Dress is chugging along. This is a good project for me because, usually, once I get going on a project, I like to finish it in one shot, even if it takes all night. It’s taken some serious self control to work on it for a few hours here and a few hours there.

4. Chubby puppies: That’s right, the puppy from a few posts ago is now giant. He’s more than doubled in size in his week and a half of life. We’re going to name him Otto (aka the Ottoman Empire or Ottopotamus). He’s adorable.

5. The new Vitamin Water flavor Spark. It is delicious.

What do you like right now?

Weekend Adventures

Emily — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:52:03 +0000

Maine has been having amazing weather lately! Even though I’m secretly hoping we’ll get some more snow for snowshoeing before the winter is over, I can’t complain about warm days days. Along with that, I finally broke down and brought my sewing machine to school. It’s usually at home so that I’m not tempted to skip studying for sewing, but I’m only human. So the machine has taken up residence in the study room. So sewing machine + beautiful weather = excellent weekend.
I finished up my tablecloth, shown in the previous post and even did a little embroidery!

Note the bright pink embroidery hoop. It was a good Valentine’s Day this year.
My roommate and I had a unintentional crafting afternoon and she used an old colorful seed bag to make a tote. It’s pretty amazing and it carries everything! The rest of the weekend was taken up with friends, Winter Olympics, and a walk in the woods with my Valentine and his brown dog. No complaints.

Ask and you shall receive

Emily — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:41:04 +0000

I think I’ve said it before, but I LOVE cool buttons. In fact, I wish they could be on everything I owned. I hot glued some to my laptop. Just kidding….but seriously. Anyway, I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about my love of buttons and my difficulty finding both unique and affordable varieties. Somewhere the button fairies were listening.

I came home a few weeks ago to a big rattling package from my Aunt Jo. When I opened it, it was filled with amazing buttons. A lot of them have a great retro vibe and I almost can’t bear to put them on anything because I feel like I might want to for the next project. When I thought I was set for life, my mom’s friend Peg brought a whole bunch more over, including some amazing buttons that looked like they might have been made from fabric cord.

And finally, when my button bag was overflowing, my excellent boyfriend, who has been dragged along on many a sewing shopping trip, picked out the some great big buttons made of horn and wood that are beautiful! I won’t bother you too much more about my obsession after this: a good button adds character to everything. So here are some photos:

Welcome to onalarkdesign.com

Emily — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:32:11 +0000

Thanks for stopping by! I’ve been sewing for several years now, but I mostly just made unfortunate looking clothes or altered clothes I already had. Luckily, handbags and accessories always fit! Let me know what you think of my work! I’m hoping to open an Etsy store in the near future, but I’m always available for custom orders.