Anthea Blouse mashes with the Lawrence Top

This is has been a long time coming…

A couple of years ago I stumbled across the #memade on istagram and instantly fell hard. It called to my younger self - a part that I had sorely neglected in all my adulting.

I LOVE fashion. My earliest memories include convincing my mother to sew me whatever vision I had in my head (pioneer dresses complete with bonnets that I would wear in public…) and in high school wearing fun skirts with knee socks and fake Docs. The sole purpose of the jobs in my youth was to earn money for clothes. I was religious at perusing the thrift stores and creating ‘new’ articles of clothing with what I found by mashing them together or adding a patch.

I am sorry to report that over the years I have become rather practical bore. Practical isn’t bad, but my utilitarian style has become downright frumpy. It really escalated when we moved into our renovation home in September 2022. My daily wardrobe went to a cross between torn, painted, work clothes and sweat suit pjs all the day long. My younger self would have been mortified.

Over the last couple of years I have collected fabric and patterns to sew with the BEST of intentions. I have sewn a handful, but nothing like my heart is begging me to do. IT IS TIME.

I believe I have put it off because somewhere deep down I do not trust that making my own sustainable clothes can actually be my life - where is the time? The money? Somewhere along the way my aspirations and beliefs on what my life can be have become muddled with what I am ‘supposed’ to be or want. I have been working through the internal permissions that seem to keep rooted me in place - my guess is that it is a life’s work with all that unpacking...

But if there is anything that I have come to deeply know is this…

FOLLOW YOUR JOY.

The thing, whatever it is, lights you up for a reason. Side note: Joy is not the same as indulgence - maybe I will yammer about that another time.

The exquisite ANTHEA BLOUSE mashed with the Laurence Top!

For the Lawrence Top I cut a size 4, and then decreased the width on the centre fold by 1” (total of 2” when open). I have a very small rib cage and narrow shoulders.

And, of course, LIBERTY FABRIC! I purchased this fabric as a birthday gift to myself couple of years ago. Tana Lawn is as dreamy as one could wish and I feel a little fairy like wearing it. I have saved every scrap as it costs a pretty penny… fyi for Canadian Shoppers - Liberty includes the duty and taxes!