catching up

Whew! I have gotten through Frances's birthday and the end of basketball season with the cheer team. Time to catch up on the blog! Here's another late Christmas present. We stayed at a cool hotel in Palm Springs over Thanksgiving break. In the rooms there were robes to borrow. Some were traditional wrap-around style with a tie belt, like the one Bill had at home. But they also had some that were pull-overs with a button placket. When Bill modeled one down by the pool, I decided what kind of new robe to make him for Christmas.

I wanted him to help pick out the fabric, so all he actually got for Christmas was a pattern envelope. I decided to use a traditional men's nightshirt pattern, with the addition of some on-seam pockets. We hit a little snag with fabric selection--I thought flannel would be the right weight and very robe-appropriate, but Bill was adamant that he didn't want flannel. Quilting cotton didn't seem to have enough body. We looked through some twills and canvas, but nothing struck us just right. We headed to the clearance room in the back of M&L and found this great printed chambray! For $2.50 per yard! It's the perfect weight, and I think the printed pattern makes it more interesting--a little Japanese-inspired, maybe.

It's a great fit and seems to have been accepted as a replacement for the old Washington, D.C. model (which was just plain worn out). No belt to fall on the floor when you hang it up. And it reminds us of the Ace Hotel, which was a lot of fun!