The lovely Ashley has been contributing for the past year and her final post has arrived! So sad to see her go (she's not gone forever...she'll be back with some special posts now and again) but so grateful to have had a lovely new voice here at NDAD. All the pieces she's created and worn directly from her mother's and grandmother's closets have made me swoon and today's are no different. Ash, you're a gem. Thank you for sharing your creativity with us. xo My final My Mother's Attic of the year! Twelve posts! Where on earth did the time go? I cannot thank you all enough for welcoming me into this lovely, supportive community. I learned so much this year. It was really fun to go back and review the year of looks and be reminded of just how far I've come. My goal was to learn the basics of sewing, and thanks to Marisa and this column, I no longer fear my sewing machine! Hoo-rah!
This final post was a fun way for me to pull together the essence of this project and show off the skills I've acquired. My mother grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia in the 50s. My grandmother, a woman of her era, would purchase classic Indonesia batik fabrics and then ship them back to the U.S. to have a seamstress turn them into dresses in the latest American styles. I am so very lucky that my mother held on to two of these pieces, and they are in AMAZING condition (and fit me. Bonus!).
The batik fabric is so unique and special, and both dresses have a timeless essence. I love that I can so easily wear them today.
I had the joy of discovering a stash of leftover batik fabric from my mother's childhood in Indonesia. It had been sitting in a pile in my "craft" closet for years. I knew I wanted to create a quilt out of the material for my mother, but had no idea where to begin. Thanks to this year of regularly working with my sewing machine (and tackling a small baby quilt project this summer), I felt I could finally handle the project.
I used the scrap fabric to piece together a lap quilt. I lined the back with a marbled, navy flannel. It's super cozy, and I love love love that it incorporates that leftover fabric into a piece that my mother can truly use and enjoy.
During a super snowy day this December, James and I ventured outside to shoot both the quilt and dresses together. I styled the looks using a vintage fur coat of my great-grandmother's (mother to the batik dress owner :))
(I KNOW the fur is going to upset some people, and I hear you! But this piece dates back to the early 1900s. There is no way I could ever part with it. And on a really cold day, it sure is warm).
The longer dress has tons of fabric and can be an amazing formal ensemble. In fact, I wore it to my engagement party back in 2007 when James and I were first engaged. The short shift dress I wear to work and the style feels very Jackie O.
The scarf I'm wearing is a classic fisherman's style scarf hand knit by my great-grandmother for my mother when she lived in Paris in the 70s.
These images bring me so much joy as they showcase the generations of women that have influenced by style, while also showing the skills I've acquired this year thanks to being a part of the New Dress A Day community. Thank you for letting me share these stories with all of you. Happy happy happiest New Year to all!
To keep up with Ash online, find her over at Blog a la Cart and here on Twitter, Instagram, & FB!
