Ambitious Weekend Recap: Day 1

Phew! I'm peacefully exhausted but I've got a lot to show for it. Settle in over the next four days as I share my ambitious weekend in review.

My long weekend started on the eve of the Fourth of July with a pedicure. No better way to start a long weekend than with some much needed post-winter pampering. Unfortunately my dark red toenails do nothing to detract away from the horrible tan lines earned on my first flea market trip of the season. Sadly my left big toe was marred soon after I left the shop in a mad determination to vacuum all the sand out of my car. Another farewell to winter, I guess.

My first day's project was the sun hat from Simple Sewing. For the exterior and lining I chose fabrics from Heather Bailey's Freshcut line. I've been saving the piece of fabric used on the exterior for over a year. I think this is the project it has been waiting for.

Having read many reviews of this sun hat all over blogland last summer I knew I would need to make a change to the pattern. I shortend the brim by 3/4 of an inch at the outer edge in the hopes that I would actually be able to see out of the hat. It worked though I wished I'd shortened it just a little bit more.

Although not difficult I would not call this a simple sewing project. Sewing the hat top and crown and having it look like a circle when it was done was no small feat. On top of that it had to be done twice, once for the exterior and once for the lining. It was similar with attaching the brim to the crown. In both cases clipping curves and lots of pinning helped to enusre I didn't end up with more fabric on one raw edge than on the other. I barely even had to use my seam ripper! And if that isn't success I don't know what is.

This project was a bit more time consuming that I thought it would be. In fact I could be found slip stitching the lining in as the dudely drove us to a barbeque that afternoon at the home of Elise and her grillmaster hubby. Our contribution to the festivities was an out of the ordinary potato salad. It was a perfect addition to the pork tenderloin, chicken, green salad, and corn bread made by our hosts. And dessert, well, just amazing lemon sorbet or sherbet depending on where you're coming from.

It was a perfect first day.