Despite my cheery outer appearance, I am currently in mourning. Please, let's hold hands, take uno momento, and bid ado to that most perfect, carefree month of the entire year: JUNE. I know she's not past yet, but the end is nigh and it's moments like these that I like to channel my inner Shakespeare and fancify my vocabulary. Won't thou take heed and join me, kind lord -n- lady? Gracias. (That'd be Mexican Shakespeare, FYI).
I know some of you non-teacherin' type out there might be all, whut are even complainin' about, you got a whole nuther month of?! Ah, you are correct. However, July marks the Beginning of the End and is the sad predecessor to The Return. The month starts innocently enough...until you walk into any retail store and are slapped in the face with Back to School stuffs. Binders. Notebooks. Glue bottles. Markers. And the smell of No. 2 pencils and crayons permeate the air. It's seriously enough to make me avoid Target for a whole month (which does wonders for the pocket book, y'all. Not gonna lie). It's seriously depressing! I always end up complaining to whoever is nearby that will listen, which usually is some stay-at-home mama with a cart full of snotty -n- screaming children. I'm all, "I have another month, they can't take me yet!" like it's some sort of Back to School Rapture. Picture it: teachers lounging at the beach, gone; savoring that trashy paperback poolside, vanished; taking sewing classes with buddies way past their bedtime (I swear I am gonna get to this here blog post at hand sooner or later), taken. I'm tellin' ya. Come August, non-teacherin folk, you just watch: Back to School Rapture. It's a fur realz thang.
Meanwhile, that stay-at-home mama is not giving me any love. Frazzled and at her wit's end, reminding me of myself at the end of the school year, July is the longest of her life. And what about those teacher mamas?! There is no mercy for the likes of them. Saints, I tell ya. Those are the saints among us.
Speaking of saints...that'd be the ladies who taught me how to sew my Grainline Studio Scout Tee at Craft South! (Did you see what I did there? A weak attempt to bring my wee rant full circle and back to the post at hand.) Sweet Devon Iott of Miss Make lead the first couple of sessions and was such great teacher. The owner of Craft South, fab fabric designer Anna Maria Horner, lead our final class which was super fun. This was a beginner course with a simple tee project. And, while I've made plenty of clothing (okay, dresses. And the occasional skirt) I knew I'd get a lot outta the class cuz 1. I'm self-taught. Which isn't bragging as I don't actually think that's a good thing. With sewing, you need to do it right otherwise you're just another crazy art teacher with a stapled hem (cough). and 2. Because I've never made a shirt! How cray is that?! And this tee is one that will lend itself to lots of replications cuz it's so stinkin' versatile.
Now that I've made one and seen how simple it is, I do believe I'll be adding several more to my closet. Ya know, because I practically have nothing to wear. By the way, if you are interested in the class selection at Craft South, check here. I so wanted to take Devon's next class but, alas, I've a conflict. So take advantage, scoop up a spot and make something super cute!
For my top, I went with this sweet fabric I'd picked up a while back. Which was good because that meant I used something from my stash! Woo-hoo, me! I did have to be super careful when pinning and cutting this fabric because of the flower placement. I didn't want those sweet flowers to become giant booby flowers if you know what I mean.
Using quilter's cotton does give this top a big of a scrub shirt vibe which means you nurses out there could totally rock this shirt and pattern!
To remove that scrub shirt vibe, I tucked in top into a skirt that my sewing buddy gave me. I love that the fabric matched to a tee, if you'll pardon the pun.
And, of course, as a Treat Yo'Self reward for my hard work, I just had to scoop up this precious necklace from Craft South. Isn't it presh?
My next scout tee is gonna have to match this made-from-a-kids-shower-curtain circle skirt Ima bout to embark on. Isn't that curtain the greatest? I alllllmoooooost can't wait to wear it upon The Return to that one place where I art edumacate chillrens. Almost.
Ah! I will say my scout tee ensemble brought me good luck at the Nashville Flea Market this morning! A buddy and I loaded up on pancakes before hitting the flea and taking it by storm. I've started collecting Enid Collin's wooden box purses so I was thrilled to score these lovelies on the cheap.
So, what are y'all up to? Teacherin' friends, time's flying, soak it all up whilst you can!
