Thread, Tent Stakes, and Twenty Degrees

eating sweet potatoes in the snow, a cowly tunic living its best life and dreams of the perfect townie dress for spring

The sun is shining in my neck of the woods, a rare treat on a cold, February day near the 45th parallel. And there’s something about sparkling snow, bluebird skis and temps above 20 degrees F that infuses me with energy. And hope. And a wee bit of giddiness!

As I type this, I’m wearing that cozy, cowly tunic made from a deep navy blue french terry, the one I shared about last week, as the sun warms my face and my eyes squint into my computer screen because I refuse to draw the curtain on my unexpected guest.

Truth be told, it’s a bit too cozy for indoors, particularly in a sun-infused window, but I’m about to join friends for two nights of camping in the woods…in tents…and I’m banking any heat I can get.

Winter camp is an annual adventure I both look forward to and consider reasons to cancel every. single. time. I mean it’s cold. And while I truly love winter, it’s COLD all night long!

We’ll do just about anything to avoid discomfort won’t we? But come Sunday, when I’m bone-tired and nestled on my sofa with a good show and a hot meal, I am always glad I’ve gone.

It will be a weekend full of sledding our things in, setting up camp (maybe this year with the feet and feet of snow we have, I’ll make a snow shelter!?), carving cross country ski trails in the unbroken snow, cooking ribs and baked sweet potatoes on the campfire and then squeezing in close and watching the stars twinkle.

And you may remember, such adventures are JUST what this tunic was made for!
It will be living it’s best life!

Before I go though, I’m thinking about the next dress in With Ease…the one that has me dreaming of a townie adventure, with sunshine to be sure, and a bit more heat!

The kind of dress that I want to don while gazing at artwork in a museum followed by a luscious lunch in a sparkly cafe and a trip to a bookstore with a wide open afternoon to oneself, following only the birdsong and whims that next take you.

A spring dress.

One that has movement and flow and bit of vintage flair. In fact, since designing this dress in my mind and imaging the places I’ll go in it, I’m now on the hunt for the perfect kitten heel to smell the apple blossoms in!

I knew I wanted to play with texture in the bodice, a few pintucks on both the front and back bodice (because why not!?) and a sweet line of tiny pearl buttons or perhaps delicate snaps that began at a deep v-neck. Made out of a drapey and soft rayon blend, that blouses just a wee bit as it tucks into a wide-ish waistband.

And out of the waistband, a lightly gathered skirt moves a dream when meandering about in a shop or in the breeze that catches it on the sidewalk. The sleeves are simple and three-quarter length, my favorite as I’m always pushing my sleeves up anyway!

And so this sweet little number, easily dressed up or down, is altered dress #2 in our spring season of With Ease...which kicks off March 1st!

In With Ease, I will take you from sewing and fitting a basic raglan dress (or tunic or shirt), a beloved garment in my everyday wardrobe, to altering that now well-fitted pattern into new designs…like this one!

And the beauty of it is, you can follow my design to the T or you can peel off and do only what suits you…both your style and your skill. I’m here for all of it! You will learn so much about patterns, drafting and creating exactly what you want.

Join us! It will be sew. much. fun! (I couldn’t help myself…blame the sunshine on my face!)