Creative juices

The creative juices. They've been flowing lately.

Just LOOK at what my SIL made for me! Isn’t it just dreamy? She makes all kinds of fantastic thingamabobs. I can not only recommend her talent/brain because she’s an artsy genius, but because I like her, too.



You can find more of her dazzling creations here.

I mean, wasn't it Gwenyth Paltrow who declared "Headbands are the new bangs?"

I recently had a hankering for a sewing project. Maybe it was being turned down from graduate school. Maybe it was the fact that the beautiful sewing machine Harry received over a year ago for his birthday had been sitting below our entry way table for 8 months. Maybe it’s also the fact that my brother’s homecoming lead to another Eaton family picture and I wanted something exactly fit to my specifications. Whatever it was, I made



A dress! It was a good warm-up project for me, considering I hadn’t sewn anything in a year. There was no zipper/pleating/waist seam/sleeves; it’s basically a glorified tunic with a belt. And I loved making it. It was the thing I was obsessed with over Memorial Day weekend. Harry sat next to me the entire time, buried in law books for finals while I stitched away, and occasionally helped me pin and tailor it. The fabric and pattern were ridiculously marked down, and they were exactly what I wanted. The dress even has pockets! I need pockets in my life. Pockets are what enable me to sneak treats and candies into movie theaters, and these ones are big enough for a phone and camera and keys.

Pockets are the new purse.

When I brought the fabric home, Harry said, “Oh… you’re making a black dress?”

I said, “Yeah. Why?” He just smiled and said, “Nothing.”

I wondered about that for a day or two. It occurred to me the other day why he thought it was so interesting. I’m fairly certain I have a subconscious fetish for black dresses. I counted in my head that I now have in my possession (note: these are a mish mash of hand-me-downs, clothing swap finds, dresses sewn by my mom, and the occasional purchase) eight black dresses. Yes. EIGHT. All different cuts and styles and materials.

Oh, come on. Black is the new black.