Notes From Neptune

I write about people, places, and things.

Breakfast Fish, Vikings, and the Very Purple Dress

Longtime readers of the blog and knowers of me will be familiar with Maggie. So once upon a time in her junior year of high school, Maggie went to Sweden as an exchange student. She stayed with a lovely family, and promptly fell in love with their son. As doomed adolescent romances tend to go, she left and they split, but she kept in touch with him and the rest.. Read More

Playing Catch-up: Wardrobe Architect 2015!

Guys. I have so much stuff to show you. And in true me-form, I’m going to smoosh a bunch of them into one post to save time and money! (Well, not money. Money doesn’t really enter into the equation when you’re blogging about your passion projects for free. But still.) First, a little administrative update: as I am wont to do when whims strike, I rejiggered my plans for the.. Read More

Finished Object: Mesa Dress

From Colette’s Seamwork magazine, the Mesa Dress. Apt pairing of fabric and pattern? Methinks yes. Fabric is a rayon jersey I got from the same Craftsy sale as the tank dress from last summer. I’d had it earmarked for this specific pattern, and then (big shock) added this project to the Wardrobe Architect pile. It’s a simple shirtdress style, very comfy and good for wearing over leggings in the fall and winter… Read More

Finished Object: Negroni

Guys. Almost 3 years after receiving the pattern and buying plaid with the intention of making this shirt for the Husband-Dude… IT IS FINISHED. And it wasn’t really that hard at all. While this is not the lovely Pendleton flannel I originally bought to make this happen (it’s still hanging out in the stash, though, so it’ll happen soon), it is truly a dream realized. This soft cotton version (in.. Read More

Finished Object: Bristol Skirt

Bristol…what a quickie. This was my first time making up a pattern from Colette’s offshoot Seamwork Magazine. All their patterns are intended to take under 3 hours to put together, and I can definitely say that’s the case for Bristol (not counting cutting, of course). I had this medium-weight cotton in stash from a Gorgeous Fabrics binge a couple years ago, and I thought the big, bold floral on black.. Read More

Finished Object: Spellbound Anna Dress

By Hand London’s ubiquitous Anna Dress, in the midi length with boat neck. I stitched it up in one of Cotton+Steel’s Spellbound prints, released for Halloween. I mean, it’s CROCHETED SPIDERWEBS, people. With spiders. SERIOUSLY. How could I not get this fabric? As you might infer from the witch hat perched atop it, I wore this for my Halloween costume to the store to hand out candy. But since I.. Read More

Finished Object: Clara Dress

Otherwise known as “The Octopod Dress.” I bought the fabric and notions for this at Brooklyn General right before I started working there (Cotton + Steel Mystery Food Cotton Lawn with brass buttons). It’s something of a joke that all the staff there purchased some of this fabric, so that the first bolt sold out before the customers even got to see it. 🙂 My plan was to make this.. Read More

Wardrobe Architect 2015-16: It Begins.

You guys may have noticed that I like to make stuff. I especially like to make clothes, and especially clothes for myself. There are myriad reasons for this, from commitment to ethical production practices, to custom fitting, to just plain liking the process. Whatever the motivations, I am working hard to replace everything in my wardrobe with something I made. That may sound like a huge undertaking, and it is,.. Read More

Summer’s Last Gasp

It’s official, y’all. Summer’s over. But before it bit the dust, I managed to finish one last “summery” thing–this rayon jersey tank dress. Otherwise known as McCall’s 6347, this was an easy-peasy one to put together with the help of the lovely Veronica (my serger). I had to chop off quite a bit of length and width, as this is one of the patterns purchased before I really got into.. Read More

Finished Object: Wrap Pocket Tote

Procrastination, thy name is me. I finished a little shell top in a wool/silk/linen blend for summer that I want to put the pattern together for. So of course I’m doing everything BUT that. But for good purpose (sometimes)! My little sister is turning 13 in a few days, and I wanted to make her something fun to commemorate teenagerdom. Enter the Purl Bee’s Wrap Pocket Tote: Worked up with.. Read More