Peace, Love and Giant Pants

this is a click happy post, click away!

I decided my maudlin approach to the coming Autumnal season wasn't doing me any good. It was time to take action and squeeze out whatever left-over summer giddiness I could into my graying environment. Taking a last taste of summer from a bag of peaches, turning them into a cobbler and promising that I would embrace whatever may come. As the cobbler came out of the oven; perfuming the house with summer sweetness, the sun came out from behind the clouds and gave me a feeling of peace, love and understanding.

Contributing to this state of groovitude, was the fact that I was also riding a small wave of blissed out satisfaction from finishing up a dress for Pony Girl. A dress that had gone from a twinkle in my minds eye, to paper pattern, to completed garment in under 3 hours. A dress that was no doubt created under the influence of the music on the stereo and the incense I was burning to cover up the cat smell in the basement.

Using up some scraps of quilting cotton from my grandmother's stash, I whipped up a little number just to see what I could see. I give you the Holly Hippie Dress...

So named, because it hints of vintage Holly Hobbie and smacks of Happy Hippie. Pony Girl fell head over heels for it and pronounced it "Beautiful!" As you can see, I was still holding onto summer but, it can be worn with a long sleeve Tee and tights... to be seasonally diverse.


I was still feeling mellow, when I found myself with a couple of sewing hours yesterday afternoon. I felt fond of Fall and put on the AM station I'd been listening to before; this song came on and I thought, 'O.k. break out the soft cord in muted tones and make a pair of "Natural Born Tree Hugger Pants ©".'...

(Pony Girl, from the time she could stand, has always been a passionate tree hugger and conversationalist. There are times it takes us ages to walk two blocks when every tree must be hugged and chatted up. "Oh, it's so nice to see you. I missed you. So, tell me how you've been. You look so beautiful.")

...A baggy legged, free form pant, simple, honest and good for brisk, bare-branched days. Well, there is truth to the saying "too much of a good thing." Drafting under the influence is tricky. Perhaps all the good vibes had gone to my head and clouded my judgement, made me feel invincible, cocky even. I tuned in and dropped out. I went wild and went free hand! Now that I look back I see, there were warning signs. Turns out, it was "Three for Thursday" on the AM radio. Turns out, Simon and Garfunkel had just gotten started. When this song played, I remember thinking, 'these look a little big.' I dismissed it choosing not to doubt, reminding myself to "Be here now." I kept on, hand printing wee trees and leaves, I was swept up in being a bridge over troubled water, stitching things together, making good.

I worked as if in a trance, sparks flew from my top stitching, all was done but for hemming and a few embellishments. I held them up to the light to have a look see and I heard, "Hello darkness my old friend...". Suddenly, it was all too clear; what I held before me was a serious buzz kill in the form of a pair of giant pants. They were tried on and hilarity gave us the giggle fits. When Elvis Costello asked, "What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?", he obviously had not seen these giant pants. Ah, well...I wont let it get me down. By the time Pony Girl is in Jr. High, corduroy culottes will be all the rage, right?

Well folks, I've done worked my 60's love fest theme to the bone and all I am saying is...give peace a chance but, lose the giant pants.

Have a groovy weekend!