Fashion Friday- The ruffle dress

Like most craft enthusiasts, I heart the fabric store.

While I buy most of my designer fabric online, I do love a good trip to the fabric store.

To see all of the bolts lined up in their kaledioscope of loveliness inspires me. 

I usually leave the store with half a dozen projects swirling through my mind.

Well, there is one particular store in town that, tho slightly more expensive, usually dazzle's me just a wee bit more with their fabric choices.  I love Amy Butler, and I like to see her beautiful material in person...to see what it really looks like... the entire pattern, and what it all coordinates with.  This particular store is the only one in town that carries her sweet textiles.

However, the customer service at this particular favorite store of mine stinks. It's terrible, actually. All of the people employed there are over the age of 65, and do not assume your typical matronly, child loving,  sweet sewing, grandma stereotype.  To be honest, they are just plain rude.  I sometimes wonder if their glasses ever fall off their noses from looking down so far.  Rather than a smile and nod greeting when you walk in the door with your loud enthusiastic children, you can literally hear every last one of them sucking in their breath, without so much as a curteous nod in our direction. Perhaps they only act this way for me.

Well, it's this attitude that has forced me to label them the Blue Haired B's.  And trust me, I'm not one to use mean words, unless they are absolutely necessary :).  Every time I go there, I swear to Tim I will never set foot in that store again.

A few weeks back, my 3 big kids were attending a camp at a local church in the evenings.   I was down to 2 kids and 2 hours to kill before I had to pick them back up again.  I had just bought this lovely shirt fromTarget for the sweet clearance price of $3.14....

....and my warped brain was scheming up a way to unite it with Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms Joy line.  In my mind, they would compliment each other perfectly... but I did want to see all the coordinating fabrics in person, just to make sure it would be an acceptable union.

After much internal debaucle, we headed into the store that I knew would have my fabric.

And the Blue Haired B's didn't disappoint. 

As usual, Ellery was in a mood. If I held her, she would kick me until I set her down to run...usually to dismantle the scissors display...and then she would either start crying to be picked up because she realized I wasn't holding her, or run away further into the abyss of fabric.  This distraction went on until I made my choices and brought my bolts to the counter.

I made my way to the counter with 3 bolts of fabric tucked under one arm, Ellery in the other, kicking me and screaming because she didn't want to be restrained, and Stella trailing behind, begging for candy, and saying "Ooh MOM! let's get this one!"  no less than 32 times on the 15 foot journey to the counter.

Well, we get to the counter, and my bolts drop down in an unmistakable thud, because they were getting rather awkward and heavy under my left arm, and my patience was wearing. There is a BBB on the other side of the counter, literally an arms length away, peering down at some sort of brochure through her glasses.

I wait for her to look up and acknowledge me....say hello, ask me how many yards I would like....you know, typical customer service stuff.

She continues to read her literature, clearly ignoring me. So, I continue standing there....talking to Ellery and Stella.  Having conversation with them that "Yes, we are almost done.  Mommy's just waiting to check out"...just loud enough, in case the woman was confused by my intentions. 

Well, after a bit,  the lady still doesn't look up, and I get annoyed.  I can't stand there a moment longer, so I leave my fabric on the counter and walk around to look at the fabric in the vicinity of the counter.  I pretend to look at buttons, all the while my eyes are trained on the BHB.  I should have walked right out of the store...because this isn't the first time I've been ignored....but I really wanted my fabric.

From where I was standing, I see another lady come to the counter with her fabric, and I can see the sales lady push my pile aside, and give a shrug of her shoulders and confused look to the customer.

My patience with my little gals was starting to run thin by this point, so I promptly got in line behind the lady who is now ahead of me.  When she is finished, the sales lady peers down her nose at me through her glasses, and with a scowl, asks me how many yards I would like.  Not a smile, not a "thanks for waiting" or "how are you today", or a "did you find everything ok, maam" or "I'm sorry, I'm such a snob".

Nope, nothing but rudeness.

So, while she cut my fabric, I unleashed Ellery and let her run amuck.  With squeals of delight, she flung every last container of beads at her level off the display by the register.    And with great delight, I watched the BHB glower at me with her haughty eyes.

Mark my word blogger friends, I will never go there again!

....and yes, I did pick up all the beads, because I am ridiculously responsible :)


Okay, phew, I got that story off my chest.

On with this post...I loved the Target shirt so much, that I didn't really want to cut it up in any way.  So, I made 3 separate ruffles, and sewed them onto the bottom of the shirt to make it a dress!  I added white rosette trim (to match the rosettes on the collar) around the now drop waist...and voila! a new dress for Stelly Jane!

Happy Friday all~