Feeling Boxed in, but it's OK!

Thinking about the day I received my box from Merchant and Mills at this point in time is quite different than my thoughts on the day.  I was so excited and rarin' to go, now I'm thinking about savoring and slow sew projects.  I'm so glad to have the new patterns and fabrics to keep me entertained while I'm hiding out. 

When it arrived in Michigan it had been almost 2 weeks from the time I was picking out stuff to ship home and I really couldn't remember exactly what was inside.  I had picked out a lot of things and then had to narrow it down a bit ($$$$$😲).   And the way they pack things...each piece in its own little parcel, tied up in strings, with little notes.  It really is like a Christmas package. 

What a haul!  Of course the things that I had made at the retreat were there....

My shortened, hooded version of the Parka

My Indian cotton Fielder dress

...And my linen Eve pants.

I couldn't resist a few other patterns.  And I also got the Workbook which includes a whole bunch of the original patterns.  

I checked out several of their bags while I was at the shop and brought home some hardware and straps to try the Costermonger bag.  

I had seen the Whittaker jumper (called a dress in England because a 'jumper' is a sweater.) on one of the shop helpers at Liberty when I was in London.  It was really cute.  She had made it in a small hounds tooth linen instead of the denim that is shown on the pattern envelop.  It was much softer and hung closer to the body.  I wanted to try it, so I got the pattern and a stripy linen.

I found a really huge waffle weave linen.  By huge I mean that the texture of the fabric was very pronounced.  Thick and spongy.  (And even more so after a wash and dry!)  I have no idea what to make with it, but it came home in the box.

...And of course a few lengths of miscellaneous linen...

As I mentioned, I had visited Liberty of London on the trip and, guess what?  They have fabric!!!😏

The series of fabrics for 2020 were done by artists all over the world and were supposed to represent a 'Love Story.'  The prints are more contemporary than the older Liberty prints, but still just as luscious.  I chose a silk and two cotton jerseys.  If you look closely you'll see that the silk and one of the jerseys are the same print just in different color ways.  These came home in my suitcase.

I have made a couple of things, which I'll share, but as I said at the beginning of the post, sewing right now is about savoring...making a project last for days instead of hours.  This is different for me, but OK.  As we talk about the "new normal" in our world, slow luxurious sewing may just be part of my new normal.