A Day at Chicago Botanic Garden

The name is really misleading - Chicago Botanic Garden is really located in Glencoe, IL which is a bit of a drive from where I live, but this is the 2nd time this year that me and Max have gone! (Note: Need membership!)

Today we brought along my friend Shardae who is also a fashion designer! A fun person to bring along.

Every time I'm at the Chicago Botanic Garden, there is something new I never knew existed (today being my 3rd time there.) Today I found out that there is 15 acres of prairie grassland out there. How could I have possibly missed that?

There are 24 gardens overall, but the one I tend to spend much of my time in is the Japanese Garden. We actually found a 2nd Zen Garden with an enclosed rooftop, table, and seats which I had never known to exist there today!

Here, Shardae and I are nearby the Waterfall Garden, laughing at our new duck friend taking a bath in the water below.

Japanese Garden.

It was so sunny in most of these photos! I kept closing my eyes.

This dress was originally much longer, but I thought it definitely wanted to be a mini dress. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of what the original version looked like because that was before I took tons of photos of things I was doing. (I still forget to take photos, actually. It's sort of tedious when you're in the zone of working on a project.) This dress is a vintage piece I found at Hollywood Mirror on Belmont about 2 years back and this might only be the 3rd time I've worn it for some reason!

I like how this dress has a much larger print up top, then fades into another all-over print.

Instagram Photo Op.

My vacation is going by too fast but it's been fun!

We actually didn't get to go around to a ton of the gardens since we were hungry and the cafe somehow closed at 5pm. I guess it is time for "fall hours" already? I have had food in the cafe as late as 8pm before.

If you're in the Chicago area at all, I highly recommend taking a trip out here. It's worth it since there are so many garden "worlds" to walk through. I really like the English Walled Garden they have here too. Coming up, they have a Halloween festival (mostly for kids it looks like), and an autumn beer tasting October 11th.

See all of their upcoming events on this page.

Comments

Latch Hook Rug Update

A little under a month ago I received all of my supplies to take on one of the biggest long-term projects I have ever taken on - a self-designed latch hook rug. I don't know why, but I am clearly nuts. So beginning today I am posting photos each month, (preferably on the 1st of each month) progress of this gigantic shag rug. See how I started it here (scroll down past posting of my $10 dress). This is a photo of it today: Yes, I used the candelabra for scale. Haha. This rug is really soft and is fun to run your fingers through. It doesn't look like much was accomplished, but though the number of packages we have gone through of pre-cut latch hook rug yarn already I have calculated that we've used over 2500 strands for this ie.) 8 packages. I also just ordered 10 more packages of lime green since that's what I ran out of first and 6 more packages of straw yellow. There is still quite a bit to go, but you see the blue row square...

Sport Skirt PDF Sewing Pattern

Hi all -- SO EXCITED that I have completed my 1st PDF sewing pattern that is heading out to testers soon! Many of you long-time followers know that this has been a dream of mine for some-odd 6 years or so at this point, and the moment is finally here! It's honestly a blessing to have more time to work on patterns and design projects at this moment in time. I know it's a very difficult time for many, but I am extremely grateful to be able to pursue design interests and create some more fun things to sew for you all in the mean time! This skirt is slated to be my 1st sewing pattern release -- the Sport Skirt! It is a ponte knit skirt with slash side pockets that are hidden within the contrast of the skirt. Originally, this skirt came about because I had a plain orange skirt from Brooklyn Industries that I loved (and still have!) but I also loved the pocket design I did on what I called my Mix n Match Dress from 2012. Me in 2012 with the Mix n Match Dress The ...

Shingo Sato and the Art of Transformational Reconstruction

So I got really excited on my break at work today when I got an email from Burda about a webinar they're doing on a pattern technique called "Transformational Reconstruction" developed by Japanese designer Shingo Sato. I hadn't even heard of Shingo Sato until today let alone his design technique but oddly, it's sort of the path I'm going down with my designs anyway as seen with the Sunrise Panel dress as well as the Petra Dress and the pattern making involved in those designs. What I did there is perhaps a "light" version of Sato's where the darts and shaping are hidden in the seam lines. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that my design aesthetic focuses largely on color blocking, unusual seam lines, and a love of anything psychedelic. Note: All photos stolen from the internet. Sorry! I'm super-excited. Let me know if it's yours and I'll take it down. Shingo Sato teaching. More designs using...

Manic Pop