it all ends in failure

Recently I’ve experienced both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Two sides of the same coin here in my little world of thrift and craft. Before I tell you about my defeat, I want to tell you about the small victory I had.

My friend Maryellen and I went to lunch the other day and she took me to the most amazing shop. (I have of course forgotten the name so Maryellen, do you remember it?) It’s a vintage clothing shop/costume rental place but that isn’t the amazing part. When we arrived we headed straight for the back of the shop that was curtained off. The shop owner took us back there where she has been collecting every fabric imaginable for the past 30+ years. I practically had to keep my hand under my chin so my mouth wasn’t gaping the entire time. Stacks upon stacks of fabric in every color imaginable. We headed straight to the 70s section. (Yes, she has them organized by decade!) There she pulled out so many different pieces for us to look my head started to spin. What do I choose? How could I choose? I finally decided to limit myself to two pieces that I absolutely loved and vowed to return for more soon.

I wasn't going to get this first piece (photo below) but Maryellen pointed out that I had been carrying it around the store the whole time we'd been there and it was obvious that I really liked it. Sold! It was originally the bottom half of a dress. I love, love, love the bold pattern and colors. The second piece is a vintage hairdresser’s smock. It has long sleeves, two ties in the back and is made of an perfectly 70s turtle patterned fabric. What’s not to love?

Now my friends, it is time I told you about the failure. I woke up with a start about two weeks ago on a Saturday and realized that I had under an hour to get ready for a friend’s baby shower. I could have dealt with it is the waking up late part was as bad as it was going to get, but it got worse: I had forgotten to make a gift! I rushed to my craft room and started thumbing through my copies of Martha Stewart Baby issues looking for a quick and cute idea. There it was... quick and easy felt baby booties. Hadn’t I seen this done on half a dozen different sites recently? It should have been a piece of cake. Granted, I only had 40 minutes to create my template, cut, pin and sew it all together so if something went wrong there was no time for a do-over. Can you guess what comes next? As soon as I’d sewn the first bootie I knew I was in trouble. (See image below for visual confirmation.) I had made the opening for baby’s foot way too large and his little toes would never have been able to stay inside that shoe. I thought about making a patch but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. Five minutes and a quick little fabric card stuffed with cash later I was out the door. I thought the worst was over but no, I got a little lost so I called my sister-in-law who was helping out at the shower for directions. She helpfully guided me to the correct house and told me that she’d accidentally remembered the time wrong when she told me about the shower – I was an hour early! I couldn’t believe it, I had a whole hour extra in which I could have remade those booties. Oh well, that’s the way it goes. You win some and you lose some and I’m grateful for both. Mind you, it took me a little longer to be grateful for the last part of this post than it did the first.

Comments

[Scribbles & Bits]

Those fabrics were a great score! I think the booties are adorable!

[Maryellen]

Hey, Laurie! The store's name is "Color Explosion Fashion" on Yale Street. I do hope you are still loving those fabrics--I almost feel like I strong-armed you into choosing the top one :)

Your bootie looks a lot like my first attempt at that pattern! I love your choice of colors, and try again because the end results are so worth it. There is someone out there in this blogging community who has taken the idea and run with it and sells her embellished booties. Does anyone know who I am talking about?

[dagne]

i was just looking to send you an very late email letting you know we got our robot and ninja iron-ons. thank you so much they are perfect! but your bootie story caught my eye because i did the very same thing about 2 years ago! very cute bootie design and i hope you didn't toss them because an easy fix would be to sew some wide colored elastic. this way you can add color, save those booties, and have a gift for the next shower.
thanks again.

[lisa]

oh, but the victory is so sweet!

[marybeth]

Those booties are precious! I am sure your friend is THRILLED!
What a RETRO MATERIAL GOLD MINE!!!!
My new blog opens SAturday, so come on by anytime and see if there isnt something you cant live without !
MB
http://thriftbarterbuy.blogspot.com/

[Maitreya]

Ha ha, it looks so easy, doesn't it? My first attempt was waaaay to small.

[Sarah Hazel]

Reese and I both had a really bad day at parenting our teenage daughters very recently. I feel your pain.