A Rainbow of Packing and Stashoholism Confessional: Thrift Store Edition

I can't believe Cidell and I leave on our bike trip tomorrow!!!! I have been sewing like crazy (as per usual for trips), each time saying, "This is the last one, I promise." I was not supposed to set foot in the sewing room last night, but I found myself sneaking in a wool jersey shrug at the last minute. When I confessed my inability to stop sewing, I was accused of fitting the profile of this Onion article. Lol.

The list of items I have sewn for this trip:
-6 tops
-4 skirts
-2 sweaters
-2 shrugs
-2 scarves
-4 ersatz "packing cubes" (mesh bags with zippers)
-rain pants
-rain pullover
-rain spats
-rain mitts
(the rain helmet cover is for home use; helmets aren't worn in the Netherlands as the bike paths are off the roadway)

OK, that is a little crazy, I admit. I made a list three weeks ago with 7 things on it; I finished the list and made an additional sweater, shrug, and the packing cubes. It's been a busy three weeks!

But worth it! I started packing last night and was just tickled by my rainbow of clothing, building on the items I sewed for the mini wardrobe contest. Each top goes with at least two skirts and vice-versa. I am bringing 6 skirts and 6 tops for 10 days of clothing needs, so one of each will only get one wear. I tried to pare down a skirt and only bring 5, but honestly I felt like I would have been leaving one of my children behind. Not sure I should admit that.

There is no wifi on the boat so I am not bringing my computer and likely won't post again until I get back. Cidell is my best photographer so I hope to have lots of great pictures of all these projects to show you. Cross your fingers for blue skies!

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Cidell and I have been doing training rides for the trip, and on our Gwynns Falls ride we stopped at DeBois Textiles. What a fantastic thrift/vintage store! The front is a well-curated collection of vintage clothing and shoes, extremely well-priced for the vintage market. The front also has a surprisingly large collection of textiles (hard to tell if they are vintage or not). The textiles are mostly home dec, but I did find one fabulous piece that can be used for garment sewing. I didn't make the photo very exciting, but it's a jacquard in off-white and my favorite shade of green.

How perfect is Burda 05-2011-108 for this fabric? I didn't even realize until I looked at it again that it calls for jacquard, and recommends using both sides of the fabric--which I was planning to do. The pattern is perfect for me as it is both professional (with some more shoulder coverage) and bikeable. The holy grail!