Antique Show Hunting

This past Saturday was the Christie Antiques Show in Dundas, ON.  This event is a semi-annual event (May and September), with over 300 dealers and almost 10 acres of antiques.  This is probably Canada's largest show, and the funny thing is that it is literally a stone's throw away from my parent's place (well, if you have a really really good arm).  Point being, it is an easy commute for me, and this was my fourth show as an attendee.  I usually go to the spring show however, so I was interested in seeing how the fall counterpart compared.

I was excited to bring a bit of a crowd with me this time:  my mom and sister, my aunt and cousin, and my cousin's husband (and new baby!).  We usually have a few items we are looking for, but we (my mom and I) are always intentional in scouring the tea cup selection.  We love our tea cups, and a good number of my collection has come from this show.  I've even started pin-pointing my favourite vendors!  Sadly, my go-to vendor wasn't at the fall show this year, but we did find a vendor with great prices and selection - and we learned a thing or two from another shopper who knew her tea cups!

Leanne (my cousin) was looking for a ewer, which I found out is a larger water pitcher, usually accompanied by a basin.  It's what people used to wash up with before there was running water in the house! And she found one she loved.

An antique show (or store) can be a bit intimidating if you don't know what you are doing.  I'm not an expert, but below are some tips from my experiences.

ANITQUE SHOW TIPS:

1. Go early if you want the best picks, to beat the crowds.  Go late if you are hoping for end of the day deals.
2. If you see something you love, don't expect that it will still be there if you leave it.
3. Know your stuff:  if you are looking for something in particular, do some research ahead of time so that you will know what to look for, and if the price being asked is fair.
4. Negotiation is possible.  The best thing to do is to ask: "Is this your best price?" or "Can you do better on this price?" or something similar.
5. Don't insult the vendor by commenting loudly if you think something is overpriced.  It could be that it is overpriced, or it could be that you aren't as knowledgeable on the item as you suspected.  If they won't come down on it, say thank you and walk away.

(This isn't one of mine - I grabbed it from Google images.  I will post my tea cups soon!)

Hot Chocolate

 I am not a fan of email forwards.  Who is?  They are often cheesy at best and threatening at worst ("If you don't resend this to 10 people...").  When my mom first signed up for email, she for some reason thought that we all wanted to watch slideshows of cute puppies and read jokes likely first published in Readers Digest. After some online etiquette advice and threats of blocking her emails, she hasn't really sent as many.

There was one email she forwarded to me that I have saved though. It is a story that was packaged in a powerpoint presentation, but the moral at the end is one that I always want to remember, and that I want to share with you! .

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.  During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.  Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.  

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:  "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of hot chocolate.  In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups.  And then you began eyeing each other's cups.  

"Now consider this:  Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups.  They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have.  Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.  God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.  The happiest people don't have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything that they have.  Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly.  And enjoy your hot chocolate!"

HELLO FRIEND. I REMEMBER YOU WELL.

It's been a long while since I have posted.  To cut the story short, I think I felt too much pressure to post only great blogs: the haunting challenge of avoiding mediocre writing, or heaven forbid, a rambling of thoughts that range between poor and "why did I even open my computer today?"  Maybe I didn't have enough to say, or perhaps I was all too eager to please my (potential) audience, knowing my real audience was myself.  Too deep?  Probably.

Yet my love for writing I cannot run from for (too) long.  And here I am again, ready to write about anything and everything.  Except for the really really personal stuff, because hey - I'm a private person, and this isn't Hello! magazine.  I'm sorry.  It's not.

For the rest of you that have decided to keep reading now that that has all been cleared up, welcome!  Let's have fun with life together; let's observe and comment on the comings and the goings of the day; let's share what makes us smile and what we are passionate about.  And by "let's", I mean me.  And I hope you come along for the ride!

Which Dress is Best?

Below are the two dress options I am considering for my class project.  Make sure you read my ideas along with looking at the pictures - it will make a huge difference!  I hope you are able to "see" what I see - my vision for these dresses.  We don't need to have our patterns picked out for at least a week or two because we are going to start working with these fabrics to give us a better idea before we decide exactly which dress to make.  Who knows - maybe I will change my mind completely after working with lace next week! 

Let me know which dress you like best!

OPTION #1:  Vogue Dress: Badgley Mischka
First of all let's talk about the fact that it is a Badgley Mischka design.  That, in and of itself, is enough of a reason to make this dress!  I think this is a gorgeous dress, but I am uncertain of where I would have to wear it.  The only change I would make on this dress is probably to bring the bust together so it is a little less low cut: a little less "J-Lo", if you know what I mean.  And I don't know what colour I would make it in either.

OPTION #2:  McCalls Dress

This one is going to need a little more imagination on your part.  My idea is to make the dress out of a really beautiful fabric like a dupioni silk or a silk faille (trust me - very nice, and structured) and then add a layer of lace over the bodice of the dress (top half).  Then perhaps I would add a lace trim along the bottom of the skirt.  Version A is the one I would make, but it has the entire dress with a lace overlay - I would probably just do the top half.  Or perhaps I would add version C's sleeves.  How beautiful would a textured dupioni silk with a french lace overlay be?  Plus, I love how the dress has the side slant pockets, which makes it a bit more stylish.  The only pattern change I might make would be to make the neck line a bit lower - a deeper scoop.  As for colour, it would likely be in the grey or champagne colour palettes.  It would depend on the lace colour, but I wouldn't want the underlining to contrast too heavily - moreso just complement the lace (not match it).  This would be a much more "wearable" dress, especially because it isn't a floor-length gown.

Class is in session...

I started my class on Tuesday.  As I have previously mentioned, I am taking courses at Mohawk College in Hamilton in dressmaking.  I am working towards getting my Dressmaking Certificate:  it is eight classes in total, and this one will be my sixth class.  I take one class per semester, and each one is 10 weeks long:  it's a lot of work considering I am working a full time job, plus the rest of my life.

I have been looking forward to this particular course though.  It is the evening wear / special occasion outfit class.  We learn how to work with specialty fabrics (e.g. lace, satin, silks, etc.), boning, beading, shirring, etc., and then we also sew an outfit for ourselves (from a pattern).  I am excited to learn a lot in this class, because every other class thus far has dealt with fabric that is quite easy to work with.  Moreso, I would really like to start sewing more with delicate fabrics:  I love the idea of designing and creating beautiful gowns and dresses.

But because I haven't learned yet how to take my own ideas to the fabric, I am stuck using a pattern!  I have narrowed it down to two patterns, I think.  One dress is gorgeous but I would have nowhere to wear it, and the other one is less fancy, and definitely more wearable (but still would be beautiful).  Perhaps I will post the two options, and see if anyone else has an opinion?

Not what I had thought...

There is one truth that has been glaring me in the face lately, as I have embarked upon numerous renovation and design projects for our home over the last year.  Brace yourself:  it is a sad truth, and one that many of you may be avoiding in denial.  Or perhaps you have already realized it, and now you are wallowing in a deep design depression.

And here it is:  completing a project from design concept to final details never happens like it does on tv.  Darn you, HGTV, for making me think that a renovation or design project can be finished in a reasonable amount of time, with minimal mess.  You have real nerve to make me think I can pull it all together, including accessories, and find exactly what I'm looking for from two or three stores in a week and a half.  Of course I don't just blame HGTV - that would be very narrow of me.  I blame all design shows, and I blame my naivety and my unbridled sense of hope.

One down...

I am happy to say that I have finished the drapes!  Grommets and all!  This is now one thing to cross off my list of projects (sidenote:  I'm a list maker by nature, and the thought of crossing something off a list is so appetizing.  Even if I didn't have it written down somewhere officially, I would make a list just to cross it off!  Right now Tim is somewhere shaking his head in disbelief).  I just looked back at the list I had blogged in August and really the only thing that is unrealistic to get done at this point is reupholstering the chair.  I will have to put that aside for a few months until after my dressmaking class concludes (it starts next week).  The kitchen cupboards are in process, as we all know, and I have plans for the china cabinet.  I will be able to complete that once the cupboards are out of the way: I need the space to work in the garage!

I will post a picture of the drapes when I hang them, which will be after I buy a rod to hang them on.  Simple logic, isn't it?  But I had promised my friend Frankie I would post a picture of the fabric after I blogged about it awhile back, and I never did (and she reminded me of that yesterday).  So for Frankie, and anyone else who was curious to see what I was attempting to describe, here is the fabric that will soon be hanging in front of my windows!