Pocket Squares for Christmas

After my initial Christmas idea fell through I decided to make Ansell some pocket squares with various cool fabrics from Spoonflower.com.  Ansell has recently bought a couple of new suits and being a fashion sensible gent liked all the cool stuff that goes with it including cuff links, the occasional tie pin, and pocket squares.

Some may ask, “Do people still wear pocket squares?”

My answer is “If you’re awesome you do.”

Stylin'

Men rarely get to dress up and even the classic suit has been diminished from a three piece with cane and hat to something far more simplistic.

Why do you look so confused? Lost your pocket square?

But I stray from my point. Ansell likes pocket squares but wanted something more unique than the average paisley crap they usually sell, so Spoonflower.com and my sewing machine stepped forth to fill the void.

bland

I choose the fabric “Cotton Voile” since Spoonflower said it was good for handkerchiefs. I only had to buy the fat swatch size (which averages $5 each) as that is about the size of a pocket square. This was great since my dollar stretched father and I was able to get 6 fabrics.

Of course I had to get fast shipping or else I would have had a really good bargain. I was still a little worried that the fabric wouldn’t reach me in time since Arika’s had some problems with Spoonflower’s shipping but they were good to me. My package arrived within 10 days of ordering.

Upon opening though I was immediately disappointed with the “Cotton Voile” fabric. The description is: “100% cotton voile, combed, delicate, silky texture." 

Where was the silkyness? I’d wanted something between cotton and silk but this was neither. The threads were very far apart. Compared to the quilting weight cotton fabric it seemed very threadbare indeed.

Cotton Voile

Quilting Weight Cotton

The fabric was also so thin that it was easy to see through.

The ironing board is rife with fruit.

To combat future fabric choice related disappointment I have since ordered the fabric sampling book from Spoonflower. It arrived today!

However, despite the poor fabric choice the print was really lovely. Unfortunately, again due to the fabric itself, I felt the colors were not as saturated as they could have been. Never the less I was really impressed with the quality of the ink and print.

Mesoamerican Idols by Kristi_Oh & Mustache Gallery by Avelis

La Chasse & Toy Soldier both by Nalo_Hopkinson 

Spiral Branches by Helenklebesadel & Ro-co-co and a Bottle of Rum by Ceanirminger

Ideally I would have put a backing on but there was no time so I ironed the sides into their hemming lines so there would be no errors. After that it was a simple case of sewing in a straight line.

Sadly they weren’t as perfectly square as I would have liked but you’ll never notice.

To keep it styling and unique I also wanted a really cool box to put them in and I thought of the beautiful boxes cigars come in. Ansell loves cigars and we had a good cigar shop close to where I lived. Idea!

At the cigar shop I spoke to the manager and he let me rustle around in the cigar room for any empty boxes that I fancied. After much deliberation I picked a gorgeous light wood Arturo Fuente box with red, black, white and gold detailing. Not only was it the best box but also Arturo Fuente is Ansell’s favorite cigar brand and we actually met the owner last summer.

 

Of course I had to buy a really nice Arturo Fuente Reserve cigar to go with it to compliment Ansell’s vice. The manager was very kind and sold the beautiful box to me for $1!

I bought an Arturo Fuente Romeo & Juliet box too since I thought it would be a beautiful method of holding my threads and bobbins.

 

Here is Ansell’s present put together.

In the end, Ansell received the pocket squares in the cigar box, a bar of lemon soap (a scent he loves), and his primo cigar. We opened our presents to each other in Savannah, GA.

Merry Christmas Ansell!

A Southern Christmas - Savannah, GA

Our romantic day in Savannah, GA

       Ansell and I passed through Savannah before, on our first road trip from Florida to DC. It was Ansell’s idea to stop in then and I loved it. My only regret was not getting to stay longer so we were determined to get at least a day there for Christmas.

Outside a fancy hotel (not ours)

We got a pretty good deal on a nice hotel room. It was huge! Shame we were only there one night.

  

Savannah has some beautiful spots. Parks are plentiful and everywhere you walk church spires peak through trees laden with Spanish moss.

The old houses were lovely and most of them had little garden areas or porches; very southern.

 

There were some also special unique things sprinkled along the way, like an antique police car (they were brown) or a gorgeous old fountain.

We tripped across a teashop which I HAD to stop in and try. I had mercy on Ansell and left him to his own devices while I sampled their wares. Anyway, I needed all my faculties to appreciate the cream tea I ordered.

The scones were a little doughy but the cream and jam was top shelf and all together it was delicious. Although it kills me how small they make scones in America. I guess American’s think that they are dainty but I never met a real British scones that wasn’t bigger than my mouth.

YUMMMMMMM!

I tried the Savannah Grey, but was disappointing. It tasted like Early Grey but with less flavor. It was sadly a bit boring but I still enjoyed it.

While at the shop part of the teahouse I discovered a series of tea-related mystery books. You read me correctly. The titles were hysterical “Scones and Bones”, “Chamomile Mourning”, and “The Teaberry Strangler” are just some.

There is also a scrap-booking mystery series. I know.

I bought “The Teaberry Strangler” just for fun. The book covers show different tea sets. Hilarious!

The Christmas decorations were very nice and plenty of the residents went all out with the Christmas trees.

 

Ansell and I had our romantic Christmas dinner at Circa 1875.

We opened our presents (different blog post about those) in the bar area.

Then moved downstairs for our fancy French dinner. Apparently, the downstairs eating area, which they did to a catholic theme, is haunted. ;) Whatever, the food was amazing, ghost or no.

The most delicious Crème Brule was for dessert but I wasn’t able to take a picture of it before it was gone. :D

We had a wonderful day in Savannah and I was sorry to leave, but it was time for our night-drive to Tampa!

Upcoming Sewing Projects!

I’m very excited about the dresses I’ll be making in the new year. It would be more practical to do warmer stuff but for right now I just want to make pretty dresses!

Here are some projects I’m interested in. Feel free to give me suggestions etc.

BlackBerry

 

The blackberry dress is the one I most want to do. I LOVE the fabric! I’ve been thinking about lining it with orange for a surprise kick.

Lobster Sailor

I love nautical dresses and would like to play on the theme. I adore the sweet little lobster print. I’d like the front panel and skirt to be in the print and the side panels in plain navy. I’m thinking the top collar and belt bit would be red with gold buttons. I think the overall look would be stunning.

Brunch

I love this classic dress. It’s modest but sweet, so I think it can handle a bold print. I haven’t thought through how to use the print. I think I would just use it for the skirt, but I’m not sure what other fabric I could use for the top to match with it.

 

I know I will use this basic dress pattern for several more dresses.

Sweet Tooth

This dress is definitely more ambitious. I have wanted to use this print before because I think it’s so sweet (pun intended). I love beautiful candy but actually like looking at them more than eating them. So this print is perfect!

I plan on making the top, skirt, and bow in the print but the middle section and possibly the collar in a complementary color. I would buy the print first then see what colors I think would go well with it.

English Rose

I’d like to try an all over bold, fresh print in a bright color. I love the cut of this dress, it’s somewhat princess without being too obvious and the bodice line is nice. I think the combination of print and dress would be very sweet, if I can pull it off!

Summer Garden

I adore adore ADORE this dress. This is the dress I want to wear on the first day of summer. It is so beautiful! I love the original print of the dress but I haven’t been able to track it down so I’ve been looking at other floral prints. I’m not sold on any of these but I do think they are really nice.

 

I'm back! With new shoes!

I'm so back!

I’m back! My goal was to finish my journey through South America but I’d rather get back into the blogging world then wait for the magical day I’ll actually finish talking about South America. Hopefully I will revisit it one day though. Colombia was amazing and deserves attention...especially the food.

Holding the best shrimp calamari cocktail I have EVER eaten.

For now I would rather focus on stuff I enjoy. I plan on getting back into sewing in a big way and that’s what I will blog most about, along with whatever else jumps into my head.

With that, let me tell you about my new cool shoes. I’d been looking for some new brown knee-high boots but instead I found these old-school wingtip high heels. They were only $18 at Ross! Nice!

Sweater by Ross too. It's super soft!