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this is what the HouseDress looked like in the very beginning.  it is from a piece of natural silk noile
that i got from Dharma Tranding a long time ago.  i dyed probably 4 or 5 yards,   in the walnut vat. 
figuring i would use it for someting.  and then the HouseDress.  so…it's 20" wide.  which turns out
to be almost enough for the top of the dress.    folded it in two and cut the shape for the neckline.
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i wanted it for putting on over my leggings and long sleeved shirts that i wear to bed in the cold months.  so it has to be loose.  roomy.  and als0 why the silk noile is good, because it's thin, but warm.  and then i wanted nothing that felt "binding".  and so, no waistline.  so the skirt of it is mid hip and more fabric so there would be some gathering, some give.   room to squat and tend the fire.
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and Marti had made this beautiful walnut dye.  and i admired it.  she didn't love it so much and
sent it to me.  i wanted to put it on the front, thinking it, in it's entirety would be perfect, but,
i am smaller than i'd imagined….
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and i am also Wider than i'd imagined.  so i added panels under the arms. 
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so…here we are.  basted together.  Looking.  What i want is to get out of bed in the morning,  in a very cold house.  take it off the bamboo hook and slide it on over my head, over the long sleeved shirt and leggings.  pull on some wool socks.  put on the rubber crocks, a sweatshirt and be ready to start the fire.  be ready to wait the half hour till  things are Possible in here.   i can wear it every day and wash it once a week by hand and hang it to dry so it's ready for the NEXt day.  HouseDress.  and if it's really cold,  i can wear it out to do the Goat stuff.  i don't have to take it off and upload other stuff.   just add over it.   so….good.  Tomorrow or the next day i'll finish it.
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and i forgot my blanket robe.  from Cloth to Cloth.  an old wool blanket.  become a robe.  yes.  got it out.
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and there he was.  the little FishBird.  when i understood how applique can be.  how good to see him.  
all this making comes from Jude.  i never would have even tried.  i was really no good at patterns….like McCalls,  Butterick, Vogue.   no good at sewing with the machine.   but…i can make stuff up now.   Make what i need.   and so, in this purposeless day,  i did.  and i made stuffed peppers and played music to the Goats.  
it was a very very good day.
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26 responses to “234 a purposeless day again”

  1. Linda Avatar

    it is great
    will be so useful and warm.
    i love the blanket and always have.
    good checks.
    glad you had a good day..

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  2. Michelle in NYC Avatar

    Oh GRAAAAAAAACE…I should be in bed, but I couldn’t resist…and Now I’m just grinning from ear to ear, and so happy. You can do more in one purposeless day than some folks do in a month…I leave tomorrow. There’s a definite chill….golly, hope their internet is working so I can peek in now and then. It’s only eight days…but I already miss you.

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  3. Mo Crow Avatar

    did you use the hand cranked Singer?

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  4. patricia Avatar

    thanks so much for showing how this goes. i’m thinking–yes, that would be just the thing for here, too. the cover to hold in heat. already. first frost last night, i think. to dark to see but feels like it. up on the roof yesterday cleaning gutters. now that’s something i probably couldn’t do with a cover. but still…. thanks for the post.

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  5. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    It sounds and looks like it was a very, very good day and by playing music for the goats, what came to mind is you, trying out your partially made jumper dress, grabbing your drum and twirling around them for the sheer joy of it! And for the record, it’s not that I didn’t love my walnut cloth but I was trying to get a darker color, more of a blackish brown and so was disappointed that I couldn’t and besides, I loved the cloth because walnut cloths are my most favorite but simply, you loved it more…

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  6. jude Avatar

    i looked first and thought ok, a long dress with a very strategically place hole, but then i said, can’t be, she’s not that tall.

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  7. patricia Avatar

    thanks for the belly laugh

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  8. grace Avatar
    grace

    would be drafty

    Like

  9. Minka Avatar
    Minka

    What a wonderful day! Really wonderful! Love your progress. The patterned cloth reminds me of anavajo blanket. Will you cut it or have you decided to save it for something else. Do you want a pocket on your dress. I love the robe. It looks very warm. The check is perfect and perfectly placed. I wonder if the patterned cloth could go horizontal around the hem. Or not…..

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  10. Minka Avatar
    Minka

    I thought the same thing! I’m still confused by that image. Can’t figure out how to read it. I also thought you had created a cowl neckline!

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  11. Minka Avatar
    Minka

    Or, the patterned cloth could be placed like an apron. Yet, the beautiful,simplicity of the silk jumper is the best.

    Like

  12. jan millington Avatar
    jan millington

    oh how great is that/those! Love your clothes grace. Worn with grace; worn BY Grace! jan, in England, experimenting with walnut dye for the first time.

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  13. Valerianna Avatar

    And I thought the hole was a mirror… weird image!

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  14. grace Forrest Avatar

    yes. i liked the day a lot.

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  15. grace Forrest Avatar

    nope. the hand cranked me.

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  16. grace Forrest Avatar

    THIS IS REALLY MAKING ME LAUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
    A COWL NECKLINE???????????????????????????????????
    this is SO SO FUNNY!

    Like

  17. grace Forrest Avatar

    i don’t know now. i am having to wait til Wednesday.
    Tomorrow is the Old Cowboy’s dental appointment. he has
    one tooth left that he gets cleaned religiously.

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  18. grace Forrest Avatar

    i was thinking that…like an apron. but…..

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  19. grace Forrest Avatar

    Jan in England…i am so happy you are here and knowing
    you are experimenting with walnut…this makes me HAPPY
    too.
    i guess i am feeling quite HAPPY!
    xoxo

    Like

  20. handstories Avatar

    this whole post made me happy (I sat down very grumpy & pissed at something), but here is your wonderful dress, simple straightforward and beautiful brown. Are there pockets there? Not sure. I have recently fallen in love with the word “make/maker/making”, it’s become my new answer to who/what i am for those who need to know i’m doing something. (I, too, thought the first image was a long dress w/an amazing cloth in the center, then realized it was the chair behind, then wondered “What is Grace planning for that space!?!”) I am comforted just reading all of this. x

    Like

  21. Tracy Leppold Avatar
    Tracy Leppold

    Love the dress. We want to see it when it’s done. I’m voting for pockets too. Just don’t keep goat treats in them. Ha ha, Tracy

    Like

  22. grace Avatar
    grace

    you could. you pull it up between your legs and
    fasten somehow…like a dhoti

    Like

  23. grace Avatar
    grace

    remember, you are the dancer. i am the drummer.

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  24. grace Avatar
    grace

    that makes me feel Very Very goood…to have comforted
    you…thank you for saying that

    Like

  25. grace Avatar
    grace

    don’t know about the pockets. it is VERY light weight

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