Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Mushrooms

With Mia starting a new job so quickly, she was not prepared in the work wardrobe department. As many of you know, trying to find clothes for a specific need is not fun. It usually ends up with you buying something that is “meh” and that you end up hating and not really wearing. Finding something that is your fit, style, and color in a hurry almost never happens.

So it’s mom to the rescue with sewing skills to make some fun work attire.

Mia chose view C of this pattern, and I had just happened to find this mushroom fabric at Grandma’s fabric store when I was at Grandma’s house making the cross body bags. (See previous post) We both felt like it was a great choice for this pattern.

Mia’s need for clothes made me jump around in my pattern drawer. I had started this sewing challenge with the intention of sewing them in brand and numerical order. But when duty calls, it calls.

While I sew here’s some mushroom stories for you.

Grandpa once told me when he was a little boy he would build wooden crates and go out hunting for wild mushrooms. He would take the crates of mushrooms to the train station, and the train would take the mushrooms into San Francisco where the restaurants there would buy them. When the train would come back through town, he would go to the train station, pick up his money, and drop off more crates of mushrooms.

Here’s a picture of Grandpa around the time he was selling mushrooms. So much thanks to my cousin Melanie, the keeper of the pictures! I text her randomly about pictures and she is on it! My blog would not be as fun without her helping me in the picture department!

Can we just take a moment to admire those overalls? I say it at home a lot, but this is the first time I am saying it here on my blog, Grandparents ARE fashion!

My husband’s grandma is Grandma Joyce. She is from England, and the sweetest, most kind and loving person you will ever meet. She will be 99 this November. She was friends with my Grandma long before I was ever born. Small town stuff I guess.

When Mia was a little girl, around the age in the picture below, she was at Grandma Joyce’s house. Mia was stepping on the mushrooms that had come up in the yard, like little kids do. Grandma Joyce told her not to step on the mushrooms because fairies lived under them, and if she stepped on them they would not have anywhere to live. Little Mia was very concerned but Grandma Joyce told her she had scared them away, but not to step on mushrooms again. Mia said to this day she thinks about Grandma Joyce and the fairies every time she sees mushrooms growing.

Here is a picture of little Mia and Grandma Joyce, enjoying a day at the beach. I’m sure they’re hunting for sea shells and not mushrooms, and Mia is certainly watching where she steps!

Story break over, back to the sew.

I quickly got to work pinning and cutting out the pattern. It is a simple one, so that was a good thing.

This dress is gathered all the way around where the dress attaches to the bodice. I gathered it the traditional way that I know how to do, then it was suggested that I get a gathering foot for my machine. I will be looking into that for future sews. (Thank you, Sheila!)

I finished it in no time, and moved onto another which will be my next blog post. I got them in the mail and sent to Mia fast, and she put them to work just as fast!

When you have to take a work break to pose for your mom’s blog…

A fun print and a fun style makes for a fun work environment!

I love the way this dress turned out! I am glad that I can sew, so that Mia, and whoever else I sew for, get to have some custom clothes that they love. Being forced to turn to fast fashion in the stores never ends well…but don’t get me started on fast fashion! 🙂

Maybe when she wears this dress she’ll think of little Grandpa, hard at work selling mushrooms, while she’s hard at work too! And just maybe she’ll also remember, to take a break and day dream about fairies that live under mushrooms. I guess life is all about balance.

As for me, onto the next!