Pollinate
I have six other posts abandoned in my drafts folder, but fork it. What’s one more?
If you’re reading this, eh, that number isn’t seven just yet.
The purpose of this post mostly is to share my friend Gwyn’s beautiful work. Sure, she has her own blog for that and she’s a much better writer than I, but she fully admits she hasn’t shared her work from the last time she sewed for an Art Gallery Fabrics lookbook. Gwyn ( @clever_colleen on Insta) took all the photos I’m sharing in this post AND she sewed the children’s clothes featuring Pollinate fabrics.
Pollinate is the latest collection designed by Jessica Swift, who’s obviously also a star here.
Jessica with her two children, C and G
Can you even with these beautiful ladies?
In addition to sewing and taking awesome photos, Gwyn created the beautiful little human below. #triplethreat
The official Art Gallery Fabrics Pollinate lookbook follows. You’ll find all the fabric and outfit details there, as well as lots of other inspiring creations. (Don’t miss the Wiksten shift sewn by Alexis on pages 48 and 49!)
My only contribution was that I made the jumpsuit Jessica is wearing.
The top portion you may recognize as the popular Orchid Midi Dress, view B, by Chalk and Notch. I used the shorts from Sanibel pattern. (The Parasol pattern was designed as the companion to create a jumpsuit, Orchid X Parasol, but I don’t own that pattern so I subbed the next best option from my pattern library.)
Jessica is wearing size 2 for the Orchid, size S Sanibel bottom. Fit adjustments- one inch added to the rise and two and a half inches added to the hem of the shorts.
#ithaspockets
Pollinate’s rayon print, Seedmap Dim, is such a delight; a true love at first sight situation. I have several yards, supplied by Jessica (along with a sampling of the Pollinate quilting cottons) as compensation for creating her jumpsuit, set aside for myself. I’ll likely shamelessly copy Jessica’s jumpsuit.
Orchid bodice construction in process
Gwyn and I previously collaborated for Jessica’s Lugu collection blog tour and lookbook. A few other posts feature my creations with Jessica’s fabric.
Here’s the part of the post where I’d love for there to be a profound paragraph about our friendships with corollaries to other Earthly interconnections such as those between the flora and pollinating fauna. If i waited for that beautiful prose to form, unfortunately, the number of post drafts certainly would be seven. And so friends, thanks for stopping by. It’s clearly time for a caffeine refuel.
I’ll leave you with some Mary Oliver.
Hum
What is this dark hum among the roses?
The bees have gone simple, sipping,
that's all. What did you expect? Sophistication?
They're small creatures and they are
filling their bodies with sweetness, how could they not
moan in happiness? The little
worker bee lives, I have read, about three weeks.
Is that long? Long enough, I suppose, to understand
that life is a blessing. I have found them — haven't you? —
stopped in the very cups of the flowers, their wings
a little tattered — so much flying about, to the hive,
then out into the world, then back, and perhaps dancing,
should the task be to be a scout-sweet, dancing bee.
I think there isn't anything in this world I don't
admire. If there is, I don't know what it is. I
haven't met it yet. Nor expect to. The bee is small,
and since I wear glasses, so I can see the traffic and
read books, I have to
take them off and bend close to study and
understand what is happening. It's not hard, it's in fact
as instructive as anything I have ever studied. Plus, too,
it's love almost too fierce to endure, the bee
nuzzling like that into the blouse
of the rose. And the fragrance, and the honey, and of course
the sun, the purely pure sun, shining, all the while, over
all of us.
