graduate.

i know all of you are probably wandering where i have been, all two of you out there who read this thing. well i have been a little busy you see. last saturday i did this little thing called... graduate from college. it was fun.. i guess. mostly weird. and then i went to florida with my girl friends, we call ourselves the unbirthdays. i am convinced that that trip was a blessing because it helped suppress our feelings of "oh crap, i graduated? there's no more school? what am i going to do with my life?" but now that i am back, back at home to be more exact, those feelings are creeping back up on me. stay away!

so here are some pics from the festivities... and my best witty commentary to keep you entertained.

here i am standing so patiently on stage... please note my adorable stick on collar they so kindly provided. and my facial expression? i didn't know if i was supposed to have a ridiculous smile the whole time and i didn't want to sit there like i was bored out of my gourd so i think i went with half and half.

here i am praying on stage. thank you hope for taking this picture. i'm telling mom you didn't have your eyes closed!

here i am saying blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... it wasn't exciting or moving. just some faculty awards.

and then i ran back to my seat on the floor so that i could be alphabetically in line for this....the moment my parents have been waiting four years for... president lowry was so glad to see me!

here i am with my all time favorite teacher at lipscomb. mrs. kathy bates. she's my textiles and apparel role model.

here are my beautiful best friends. we are the unbirthdays. (liz is not pictured) i kind of think we could form our own nashville version of the rocketts, in fact when we were at disney world this past week someone did ask us if we were a dance team, to which i said..yes, yes we are.

and here is my first friend i made at lipscomb. we bonded over the fact that she had a crush on the older brother of my crush. confusing i know. neither of us followed through on our crushes (thank the lord) but we did stay friends all four years. so thank you to our freshmen year crushes for bringing us together.

and here is my favorite picture from the day. it was after gradation and we were all running separate ways but we had to get a picture together.. the three amigos. and even though we are not living together anymore i know that no mountain is to high, no river to small to separate us. we are kindred spirits.

so now that i am on the verge of tears i guess its time to stop typing. there is a reese witherspoon movie on, got to go.

until next time.

much love,

mary morgan

i sew.

first, i wanted to show you the beautiful roses i got this past week. we had our last SGA meeting at school and it was bittersweet. bitter, because it was my last meeting as student body president and sweet, because they surprised me with these pretty little things and an hour massage at essential therapy. thank you. thank you. thank thank you. to 'my boys' and the senate.

now on to more crafty things.. i went home and picked up this heavy, heavy, heavy machine. its my necchi sewing machine. its my favorite because a. it was free (a hand me down from my aunt and uncle) 2. it is HEAVY duty (no plastic here, its pure metal) 3. its simple (no fancy computer screen or tricky buttons)

four years ago i couldn't sew a straight line. but thanks to many, many, sewing, construction and flat pattern classes and many, many hours spent in the closet (literally) they like to call "the clothing lab" it think its time to put all that education to some good use.

so i went to fabric heaven, aka textile fabrics and found these pretty little prints.

and then i decided to make another "katie dress." here it is mid-progress (right before i screwed up and had to rip out the whole back side with my seam ripper, hey i never said i was perfect. it takes lots and lots, multiply 'lots' times 100, of practice.

and here is my favorite part about sewing, the pressing (aka: ironing). i love ironing. it's my stress release. there is just something about taking a wrinkly old piece of fabirc and making it all smooth and pretty again. and proper pressing is the key to a well made garment. i promise. its all about the details.

and drum roll please. here is the first finished product. and my cute friend laura modeling, thank you. i have also started a shirt and a baby's dress. so stay tuned.

so heres to putting your degree to good use. somewhere my parents are wandering what they are going to do with me.

got to love a middle child.

much love,

mary morgan

words of wisdom.

this hangs above my bed. i hope it brings you a little encouragement and joy today.



it says,
"for beautiful eyes, look for the good in others, for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you will never be alone."

oh audrey. you are simply wonderful.

much love,

mary morgan

i love modge podge.

man, could modge podge be any more awesome than it already is? i just love this stuff. in case you have not had the privilege of working with modge podge you need to go to your nearest hobby lobby (and if you dont know what hobby lobby is, thats a whole different story for another day) and buy a bottle. now. seriously, your craft life will be changed forever. here is what i made my mom for her birthday this year. it was super easy to make and made the perfect personalized gift.

modge podge, thank you for your existence.






happy crafting.

much love,

mary morgan

the katie dress.

this past sunday afternoon i was looking around the craft room at home trying to find something to do and then i found this old floral fabric. four hours later..a dress. (if you ever want to learn about patience, learn to sew. or if you are a boy, learn to fish).

it was super easy to make.. i simply sewed the skirt portion, hemmed and ruffled the top. i bought the tank at target and used the excess fabric to make the ruffle and voila a simple sundress.

i like to call it "the katie dress."

special thanks to my best friend, roommate, kindred spirit, katie for being my model.

much love,

mary morgan

independent study.

as a senior textiles and apparel major i was able to pick a special topic for an independent study for my last semester in college. i chose to study surface design. i researched the history of textile surface design, techniques and surface designers, but my favorite part of my independent study was researching textiles through out the decades and one of my best resources was this blog.

here are some of my favorites.

1920

1940

1966

1950

much love,

mary morgan

pure joy.

i cannot even put into words how much joy the artwork of tricia robinson brings to this young southern girls life. check out her website and adorable blog. i am convinced we are kindred spirits (she talks about anne of green gables a lot) and would love to paint with her one day. on my recent trip to 30-A i halted my bike one day as we were riding past a little art shop to take a peak and i swear my heart skipped a beat, i as so excited! i cant wait till she comes to nashville to the harding academy art show at the end of april! here are some of my favorites (although i am pretty sure i would adore anything she created)....

this cake makes my heart smile every time.

this is the life i have always dreamed of.

home sweet home, dancing in the moonlight and a good southern boy in gingham.

i want to buy this one for my dad, although i just dont think

he would appreciate it as much as i would.

if you are ever having a bad day here is what you need to do:

go get yourself a cruiser, a basket and go for a ride.

it will bring your heart instant joy. pure joy.

thank you for spreading the joy.

much love,

mary morgan