This month's post from Ash makes me long for an East Coast fall. There's nothing like crisp weather, cool fresh air, leaves changing color, and dew on the grass to get me excited to sip warm apple cider and go pumpkin picking! I'm living vicariously through her right now to fulfill my autumnal dreams...
Happy Fall, all! It's my favorite time of year! It helps that Vermont is truly the most magical place on earth in late September/early October - the foliage, the crisp clean air, the leaves exploding in vibrant shades of oranges, reds, and yellows, apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts, cozy sweaters, tall boots, golden sunlight - I love it all! As I've mentioned, my family had a rough summer, so we are heralding this gorgeous autumn with hopes of equally happy days. While this remake is probably the least remarkable of all the ones I've shared this year, it's definitely the one I'll use the most in my daily life, and it really put my sewing skills to the test. PLUS, I get to show off some of the critters that are making life on Cartwheel Farm this fall such a joyous, silly place. (Hint: We welcomed a miniature potbelly pig into our barn family).
This dress is from the early 90s and is something my mother wore for comfort during her years parenting me and my sibs as small kiddos. It is breezy and comfortable - but every time I've worn it I've felt frumpy and "peasant-ish."
I figured with a few adjustments, I could turn it into a simple jumper for layering (like this black dress that I rock all the time in the fall and winter).
I started by removing the skirt from the top of the dress, as the waist line was at an awkward height and I wanted to have the skirt sit higher up on my waist. I then brought in the sides of the top and shortened and re-hemmed the base of the top to move the waist line.
I then took to The Internets to learn how to gather a skirt - and mastered the right tension/stitch length to sew along the top of the skirt and pull the top thread through to gather. I lined it up with the base of the top, pinned, and sewed the pieces back together.
Lastly, I hemmed the skirt to take the dress just above the knee.
I then layered galore with tights, a long sleeved tee, and my favorite Frye boots.
James snapped pictures of me in the look early one day this week as we went about our usual "farm" routine: letting the hens out of the coop, collecting fresh eggs, dumping our table scraps from the night before in our compost pile and letting Penelope, our potbelly pig, pick through and turn the pile, running Hanna our super mutt in our meadow, etc.
I just delight in these foggy, moody fall mornings as the sun begins to pierce through the mist.
And I feel so lucky to live in a place that allows my family to have these sweet animal creatures.
We're welcoming a new puppy into our family next week (so expect her in October's post) and alpacas in the spring... so very much fun!
To keep up with Ash online, find her over at Blog a la Cart and here onTwitter, Instagram, & FB! Can’t wait to see next month’s post with the new addition to the animal family!
