Folks, the seller called me yesterday to say she’d be out of the house by Saturday. A quick call to the moving truck company and we’re good to go to move in this Sunday, a whole week earlier than planned. I guess I don’t need to say this, but I’m thrilled to move! Unless something crazy happens, this is the last time I intend to move in my life and that makes me very happy indeed.
I hope ya’ll are experiencing similar happiness!
Eileen
Do you ever go to your local fabric store and fall utterly head over heels over a fabric and rush to the cutting table only to end up buying up the whole bolt much to the chagrin of the jealous onlookers who comment on your lovely fabric that is now yours all yours? Because I sure did. Observe.
How the heck could I walk away and NOT buy all this fabric, I ask you? I swear, after purchase, I took it home and gazed longingly at it and it’s companions (oh, guess I failed to mention that I bought other fabric too, hee hee). If you would like some too, I bought it at Joann’s in the better quilting fabric section.
I knew I had to pick a pattern that would do it justice because if I ended up making something I didn’t love with it, I would be oh so sad. So all that night I pored over my pattern archives, both vintage and modern searching for the perfect pattern to pair with this fabric of wonders. I also knew the pattern would have to have a bit of structure to it as quilting cottons aren’t known for their drapey qualities. After agonizing for hours (literally) I finally found the solution. Enter Vogue 8577. I’m talking the short version sans sleeves. Now I know what you’re thinking, it’s so plain! But after seeing other lovely versions of it, I knew I’d made the right choice. Also LOOK AT THOSE GLORIOUS POCKETS! You can fit your life in them! Ahem.
Well here’s my version of the dress.
Sans Crinoline
What do you think? Cute non? Folks, I’ll be honest here. I’m in love with this dress. I think it’s some of my best work and I’ve hand tailored a coat! It looks very ’50s to me, which pleases me to no end and I think it’s a great marriage between pattern and fabric.
With Crinoline
I made a lot of changes to this pattern. For starters, I cut the top in a 10 and graded out to a 14 for the skirt. I also completely omitted the lining as I felt it would make an already heavy dress unnecessarily heavier. What I did instead was draft an all-in-one facing with the neckline and fronts, stitched it right sides together to the dress and flipped the facing to the inside and top-stitched up and around the fronts and neck. I think it turned out great! Finally, I added a bit of rick-rack to the midriff band and neckline just to further emphasize those particular style lines. I thought about adding it to the pockets as well, but that looked a little too “vintage apron” to me so I opted not to.
Great for a can-can dance!
I’m so pleased with this dress and I forsee that it will be getting a LOT of wear this season and into Summer. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go agonize over patterns to figure out what to make out of that plaid in the picture below!
Until next time,
Eileen
Now that I have all this free time, I’m not sure what to do with it! See, I’ve been going to school full time and working full time for the last six years. My schedule has largely consisted of the following; wake up, go to work, work all day, go home, work on school work until dinner time, have dinner, hang out with family until children go to bed, study/work some more, go to bed, wake up, repeat. Despite this busy schedule I’ve always managed to squeeze in some form of creativity or another and now that my time is truly mine, I’m looking forward to getting in a lot more.
If you’re anything like me though, you don’t just have one hobby. I have many, many hobbies, perhaps more than any sane person should. They include sewing, knitting, embroidery, reading, banjo-playing and exercising (is this a hobby??). I’ve been reading a lot of “real food” books lately, and I plan to add food-growing to this list come Spring time. I also plan to blog about all these things (too disjointed??) My question is, how is a girl supposed to manage all these interests?
See, I’m a planner. I can’t just fly by the seat of my pants or I’ll get so flustered that nothing will get done. To that end, I’m thinking I need a schedule of some kind to fit in all my hobbies. Things like banjo playing, gardening and exercising will be daily tasks with alternating weeks for sewing and knitting. What do you think? Insane or efficient?
And just so this isn’t an entirely picture-less post, here’s what I wore to work this morning. Save for the long hair, I was channeling Bonnie Parker. I wore three hand-knitted items (hat, gloves, scarf) and one hand sewn (Lady Grey coat!) This was a great outfit for the 28F weather I encountered this morning. Pretty cold for a gal who just moved here from Florida!
All I Need is a Tommy Gun
TTFN!
Eileen
Well uh, hullo there! It’s been quite a while hasn’t it? Well a lot has happened since July. For starters, I found out that I’d landed an amazing opportunity. It’s a generously paid internship and while it isn’t in my field of study, it does have amazing promotion potential so I thought I’d try it on for size and see if it fits. To take advantage of this, my family and I had to leave sunny Florida and move to, of all places, Ohio! I’m happy to say that the slower pace and cost of living is agreeing with us. As a girl who grew up in Northern California, I sure did miss the seasons living in Florida.
I’m pleased to report that the internship is going well. I’m learning a lot but it’s a bit like learning to swim by having your Dad throw you in the pool. I’m not used to working so hard at work (I’m not complaining though!) but then to come home and have to work hard on my last semester of my Masters degree made for a very busy me. Though there has been some crafting, there hasn’t really been enough to justify a full blown post.
Pattern buying has continued in earnest though I find that I’m much more picky. When I look at them, I no longer buy based on prettiness, but buy based on how well it will fit into a more modern wardrobe. See, my internship is in a pretty business-y field so one must dress the part. No more frivolous dresses at work for me (though plenty on the weekends!). To that end, I’ve been buying a lot of early 60s patterns as evidenced by today’s Pretty Pattern Sunday!
McCalls 5803
Isn’t she a beaut? I can definitely wear the fitted version to work. I don’t plan to make this soon though. Temps have been in the 30s and 40s here so I’m not sure that would work! Plus, before I wear a fitted skirt I need to get down to my “fightin’ weight.” Since I’ve been so busy, I’ve not had time to exercise as much as I like. I plan to remedy that post-haste as I’ve managed to pack on more pounds than I care to mention!
I’m so glad to be back! Expect more posts, a blog re-vamp (if I can figure out how!) and more projects real soon!
xoxox
Eileen
Hullo folks- this week finds me a happy girl; standing between me and FIVE GLORIOUS SCHOOL FREE WEEKS is a final tomorrow night and if it is anything like the midterm, I’ll be out of there in five minutes. I’m a test-taking animal, what can I say?
So right now I’m planning and plotting what to make while I’ve got this time off. I’ve got loads of lovely fabric in the stash just waiting to be made into dresses.
Currently on the sewing table is a much needed wardrobe staple- a white linen skirt. It’s still needing a zipper and the waistband sewn on so I won’t show it just yet though I will show you the pattern I used.
Shaped waistbands, how I love thee!
Up next will be a turqoise sun dress. I’ve been craving a turquoise dress for some time now so imagine my excitement buying the last of a bolt of turquoise dotted swiss to make this beauty.
So those are the first two most pressing items. I want to get the dress complete before I head out to Las Vegas and then California later in August. I’d also like to make some sort of 1950s sleeveless collared shirt to wear with my dirndl and circle skirts from that era. Is there anything fresher than a crisp white shirt? I think not. I’ve also got a length of light purple rayon challis with white pattern on that is begging to be made into this:
And finally I’d like to make some pin-up shorts in yellow rayon and some sailor shorts in a navy linen I purchased earlier this year.
What do you think? Totally do-able in five weeks right?
Well Hullo! I’m just going to plunge in as though I’ve not been absent for over a month. If you’ve been reading you know I’m working on my MA in addition to working full time and raising a family and keeping up with my various hobbies and interests so I’m sure by now you know the routine- I don’t always have time for this ol’ blog.
I wanted to quickly post about something I’m very excited about. One of my dearest, best friends is getting married in August (to coincide with my visit West- what a doll!) and I’ve been named as Matron of Honor. I recently posted on my Facebook account this picture:
I adore my hat + dress!
I couldn’t believe the amount of animosity that I received about my choice of hat! I thought clearly, anyone could see that this was the most perfect, fabulous hat to ever grace this earth, but apparently I was incorrect. I was asked by several people why I was choosing to wear a basket on my head. A Basket! Of all the silly things, anyone can see that this is a lovely 40s pancake/saucer topper! Lucky for me, my dear friend asked me to wear my hat to the wedding and reception. You can’t argue with the bride!
I bought the Trashy Diva “Doll Dress” in the new fab “Slap and Tickle” print to go with it. What do you think? Does the hat go with the dress?
I say “yes” but I wonder if others see it the same way. I’ll be pairing it with leather round toed black pumps and possibly may add gloves . . . but I’m still undecided on that. So what say you? Fabulous hat? Or silly girl with a basket on her head?
TTFN!
Oh dear, it’s as I anticipated. School is taking over my life once again so I do hope you’ll excuse me if this poor blog is neglected. I even forgot “Pretty Pattern Sunday.”
This pattern from my collection hails from the 40′s when long capes were en vogue. I’d love to make it- it’s so dramatic looking! Alas! No time for fun!
October has to be one of my favorite months. The weather turns cool, the humidity dissipates and most importantly, I start planning my Hallowe’en costume! Yes, my friends. Hallowe’en is my absolute, hands down, FAVORITE holiday. I trick-or-treated until I was 18 because I did not want to let the magic go.
In fact, it is Hallowe’en that prompted my first for-real use of a sewing machine. For my fifteenth Hallowe’en I decided I would be Queen Elizabeth I. I believe this was shortly after Shakespeare in Love had come out. Up to this point Mom had always made my costumes but this year she saw her home business flourish while her available time diminished. I got a very basic quick and dirty sewing tutorial and then I was on my own. And you know what? The costume turned out okay! This is pretty amazing considering that I basically disregarded proper pattern sizing, seam allowances and other sewing basics. But, I digress!
Another reason I always loved Hallowe’en because it was a time where I could dress up and play at being something other than I am. The majority of my costumes have been vintage-related; I’ve been Betty Boop, a flapper, Scarlett O’Hara and last year’s costume was Rosie the Riveter.
We Can Do It!
For this costume I did a ton of research on real “Rosies.” I also learned that the iconic poster that we see when we think of Rosie the Riveter is actually not the correct one. “Rosie the Riveter” was the title of a cover done for the Saturday Evening Post by iconic American painter Norman Rockwell. I drew my inspiration from both works. Note the buttons on the bib of the Norman Rockwell Rosie; I hunted down actual WWII pins on eBay that “Rosies” would have worn on their overalls. I managed to win a Red Cross pin, an “E” award pin, an Army Air Corps (before the Air Force) sweetheart pin, and my particular favorite- the “V for Victory” pin. I bought an original Coleman lunchbox complete with thermos so I’d have the proper vintage props as well. I don’t mess around when it comes to my costumes!
It should come as no surprise then that I’ve been happily plotting my costume for this year. My daughter has also kindly put in her request for a costume and has provided me with a lovely drawing of how she expects it to look! As for my costume, well you’ll just have to wait and see. I’m keeping SILENT about it for now. Stay tuned!
I’m having an amazing amount of trouble with my Lady Grey Muslin (see previous post) particularly with the back. I sloped the shoulders downward from the neck to the shoulder and deepened the armhole. I took in 1/4 inches on the princess seams. But now the dang thing looks like this!
Actually, it doesn't look TOO bad!
I’m getting there, but it’s slow and steady, that’s for sure. I had a few nice people in the Flickr group point out that I may need to do a swayback adjustment. I’ll give it a try and see if that helps!
As a parting shot here is the same as above, only with a sweater underneath which is what I assume I’ll be wearing if I’ve got a coat on! It looks a lot worse than with the blouse above.
Now the waist is too tight! Oy vey.
Hmm. Clearly I’ve got some work ahead. Wish me luck and any helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I knit. I sew. Mostly from vintage patterns. I geek out over the clothes in old films. I search for the perfect shade of red lipstick. Weekends, I practice pin-curl settings. I was born too late.
