Look what we have here:

Our friend, Vicki, over at Another Sewing Scientist has come up with a crazy cool way to see who is where and what they do : ) She’s made a MAP onto which you can ‘pin’ your lovely self and blog address. We can now SEE, at the click of a mouse, where everyone lives/creates !

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Go to her website, check out the directions for getting yourself on there and do it!

THANK YOU Vicki for thinking of, and executing this, in a very busy time for you.

The Facts
Fabric: Printed denim from stash, at least 10 years old!
Pattern: Vogue 2442
Notions: A zipper, one jean button and 4 rivets
Year: 1977/8
Time to complete: 4 hours
First worn: February 2013
Wear again? Absolutely! Maybe for Valentines day

Total Cost: $6.30

Finally! My ode to Gina Clarke : )

I have two looks for this outfit, but first notice the skinny jeans. Then you’ll notice the pink hair. My ABSOLUTE favorite post of Gina’s last year was the “Mad Fun” post she did for the Children’s Literature challenge at Sew Weekly. Notable were her skinny pants, pink wig and hat-made-from-fencing-material.

I didn’t do a hat but I used a piece of AMAZING printed denim that reminds me of the fun and fantasy Gina brought to this challenge. I tried pairing the pants with a sequined 50’s inspired cardigan and cute sequined collar but felt it was a little “off” for my tastes.

I do love this leg where you can see the roses, and then the eye watches you from behind my knee…

Then I changed things up a bit and pulled on a white denim jean jacket I forgot I had until I pulled out my shoes! Complete with rhinestone buttons I also threw on my very large rhinestone necklace and earrings and remembered why I never wear this jacket. I cannot stand the sleeves! Too long to be cute, they remind me of something my grandmother’s friends might wear. Don’t get me wrong, I admire my grandmother and her friends, I just don’t want to be there yet! I don’t have arm issues so these will be getting shortened soon : )

So I’m doing my best “Gina” pose here, trying for that contemporary fashionista thing. I have to say that I LOVE these pants! They fit really well, are comfy and the print makes me laugh whenever I look down.

My one criticism is the zipper – I don’t know if I had a brain fart when I put it in or just read the directions and did it as they say. It needs to be moved a little to the left. I’m also thinking I should have reinforced the front fly with a piece of woven non-fusible interfacing to mitigate the stretch. Ah well, I still like the pants and no, it may not be worth the frustration to take out 5 rows of stitching. Viva la zip!

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My daughter tried to get me doing some “fashion” poses but they were dorky so this pic is for Vickie. Gina has that whole “I’m too cool for school” thing down : )

Here’s a close-up of the print. We’ve got lips, eyes, HUGE pearl and rhinestone jewelry, and roses…

We took these pics at the local Peace Garden. Gina embodies a soul seeking peace in a harsh world and this place is a little hamlet of quiet and solitude. The Peace Center is nearby and the path I’m standing on in the above photo leads to a labyrinth. I know Gina’s spirituality is very important to her and this place emobodies that to me. Parts of the area are certified Nature areas where deer and wild turkeys roam daily. The local community gardens are down below, where Chloe and I walk everyday. If you follow me on twitter or Intstagram you’ll see I’ve been taking a picture of a certain Oak tree everyday, and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. At the end of the year we’ll compile all the photos into a “movie” to see how the seasons ebb and flow.

So Gina, I dedicate this to you. Thank you for the inspiration not only creatively but spiritually, for showing us the ups and downs and day-to-day journey that is you : )

And now….another take on Gina!! Look what Liz made –

NOT only did she made a cutie of a dress but she made her own WIG! We both channeled Gina’s pink hairdo in completely different ways!! Check out her blog for all the fabulous details : )

Isn’t she amazing?

I also re-discovered my opinion that A) I don’t want short hair again and B) the whole crayon-colored hair thing isn’t my style. My daughter was every color of the rainbow at some point, it’s just not me.

Cute photo of the week:

Max “I’m King of the World” !

I came in from the backyard and found Max on the headboard, surveying the sleeping cat colony on my bed. You can’t see Olivia under the covers but Max found her as soon as he hopped down.

Phew!! I feel like I’ve climbed some huge mountain. I took a couple weeks off from sewing and blogging and am rusty! I’ve got stacks of projects in the sewing room, oodles of ideas and a fabulous weekend planned. The sun has shifted enough to hit the crystal in the window of my kitchen so early spring is here, the creative sap is rising : )

I’m heading into Stone Mountian Daughter on Saturday for their anniversary sale. I don’t know if I’ll be able to snap pics but I’ll try. On my list is Kazz-inspired fabric for the Kazz challenge. I’ve got a 25% off coupon so there may be some serious purchases in the works… They are also my source for decent stretch fabrics and I NEED new underwear. While that may sound a little TMI I’ve got a new vintage-inspired pattern to try that looks like fun and why put off the fun?

I was also going to try to make it to the Hand Made Book Fesitval on Sunday. My daughter did a class on bookmaking not long ago and I thought she’d love it. I was really wanting to meet some of the type-press people but sadly my poor daughter eneded up in the ER last night with a horrible cough and chest pain. She’s ok but is staying in bed for the forseeable future so no book fair : (  Instead I may try to head to the Academy of Sciences in the city to see my friend Ruth, the Smile Lady. She’ll be talking about the science behind smiling and happiness and maybe sign copies of her book (I hope!) She’s getting ready for a trip to Paraguay with Operation Smile, which helps kids with facial deficiencies get the surgery they need. This dark and dreary time of year I can always use a reason to smile : ) Sew on!

TWO quick side notes:
1) Someone asked if they could send me fabric to work with as part of a challenge. ABSOLUTELY!! Email me for my address and I would LOVE to incorporate your “finds” into a creation.
2) I was asked what makes the Not Your Daughters jeans “lift your butt”. I only have a suspicion of the answer SO I’m going to do my best to find out why : ) Stay tuned…

For all my east coast friends I hope the storm heading your way isn’t too bad, please stay safe.

Just a few more steps until I’m done…

First up is fitting the legs. While this pattern was considered “tapered” in the late 70’s it isn’t so much by todays standards. I basted up the side and under leg seam and then tried these on INSIDE OUT. Pinning in the side seams and underleg seam isn’t the exercise in contortion-ism you might think : )

Keep in mind the grainline, which should run straight down the front and back of your leg. Ever worn a pair of jeans that “twist” around your leg? Most often happens in the cutting process. Manufactureres don’t cut one or two pairs at a time, they stack the fabric into a pile that can be a foot high and use what looks like a jigsaw to cut (at least they used to! Once time many years ago I toured the Levi’s factory in San Francisco before some genius closed it down and moved the whole shebang to China.) BUT you could just as easily take too much out of one side of the leg and end up with the same result so be aware!

You can see the pins on each side, I ended up taking out quite a bit, about 5″ around. I do have another pair of pants that I really like the tapering on so I used those as a guide. I re-stitched the legs, cut off the excess and tried them on again. Success! Now for the rivets!!

These are the standard kits you’ll find just about anywhere. I used to buy my leather goods at a wonderful western supply store in San Frrancisco called Western Storex, run by the same gentleman for a million years. He retired a few years ago so no more store : ( I still have quite a bit of “stuff” but wanted to show you what you can get without a lot of hunting. Most of the grommets carried by retail stores suck but the rivets are pretty good. They sell a kit for installation that I bought just for giggles but when I checked out the goods I said “Nope” and tossed it back in the bag to return.

Chloe is “helping” me here : ) I guess she thought the packages were going to run away.

 Here’s what I’m using instead:

A standard hammer, every girl should have one! A cutting board from IKEA (genius idea from another costumer AND AFFORDABLE ) and a professional hole punch. The hole punch is part of the kit for doing grommets and a little expensive but here’s the deal – you can buy the silly little kit from JoAnn’s for around $5 and it will last you a few times and be trashed. Or you buy the professional model and have it for years. The other parts and pieces in the Dritz kit are redundant, you really only need a good hole punch and a hammer. Then it’s as easy as punch the hole where you want the rivet, put the two pieces of the rivet together through the hole and pound with the hammer, twice. Not just once, three times is probably too many, just twice : ) I played around with a couple rivets in some scraps. Might as well trash a couple of them to get the technique down than put the first one in your jeans and not like it. This is the finished product:

And wouldn’t it have been a lovely thing to see the rivets as they go in? Yes it would. I thought of that the day after I did the rivets, went to find the box of them to take a couple more pictures and have spent the last week searching for them : ) This post is days later than I would have liked all for the box of rivets that I’m sure are somewhere very safe because I just can’t FIND THEM!

One thing I REALLY like about this pattern is the curved, fitted waistband. You can see the finished band above, with all it’s top stitched and funky pattern glory : ) I also bought a jeans button, nothing fancy about them. Make a buttonhole, mark where you want the button and it’s literally two pieces that you just push together. Took less than 5 minutes to do all 4 rivets and the button.

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If you want a really wonderful tutorial on making jeans “by hand” check out the Wakefield Hotel in Wellington (Designer Ande Whall runs his own one-man design shop, VERY cool!)

And now….just another brick in the wall (I’m thinking of you Tempest!)

One of the projects on my “List o’ stuff to do” is finishing up some hardscape projects I started a few <ahem> years ago. I live on a hill, most people in Walnut Creek live with some kind of hillage in their lives. Which makes it very nice since it’s not all cookie-cutter-y but can be tricky if you want to play croquet. This particular part of my yard is sloped pretty well, at one point someone who lived here long ago started flattening out parts for planting. They even went so far as to put in a crude sort of retaining wall in wood that was fairly useful until a couple years ago when a large Acacia tree (40+ feet) decided to lay down. Took out part of the retaining wall, punctured the pond liner beyond repair and generally caused mischief and mayhem in the kingdom. We cut the tree up, pulled out the old pieces of wood and brought in many, many, MANY concrete blocks. The problem with this whole process is that it looks pretty good when it’s done so I want to do it all at once! However, as one who has a crushed disc between the L5 and S1 vertebrates, I can attest that moving thousands of pounds of anything QUICKLY is a really. bad. idea.

So it’s taken me years to get this project done but I’m ALMOST there! Last year we got a bunch of blocks from freecycle that I fianlly moved into place as the base for the last wall and in the last few weeks I’ve made three treks to the land of the big-orange-box store and in total hauled 6400 POUNDS of blocks around!

The bottom and curved wall is what replaced the wood wall a couple of years ago. Chloe is standing in front of the first tier and you can see the newest wall all the way at the top. It’s sitting in front of a decent sized hill that I do NOT want sliding down!

Here you can see the tiers behind my newest blueberry bushes. I’m so excited to have my own “patch”, I can’t wait for summer to just stand and eat blueberries in my own back yard!

I’m so excited to start planting this year, just need the weather to warm up a bit! Now that most of the heavy lifting is over I’ll spend a little more time behind the sewing machine : )

Chloe is helping : )

Next up – the finished GINA!!!

The whole question of fit is fascinating. This is what sets apart well made clothing but we each have our own “issues” or how we think we look, how we want others to see us and how to accomplish that. I personally have big boobs thanks to some decent genetics from my father’s mom : ) I look completely different from my own mother – she’s wider at the hips, has no boobage and a flat derriere. Nothing wrong with either one of us UNLESS we’re trying to look like something we’re not. I won’t even go into what the fashion magazines want us to emulate! The best WE can do is deal with what we have AT THE MOMENT. I’ve dressed thousands of people, from dancers to actors, amateurs and professionals. I’ve seen what I would consider  THE MOST ROCKIN’ BODIES and they are usually attached to individuals with fairly low self esteem. Not all the time but more often than you might think. The happiest people are those that can look themselves in the mirror each morning and be content. I’m not saying we might not have room for improvement but unless you can be content in the skin you’re in then making clothes that fit will be as elusive as sleep before a big party  : )

To that end I’m going to show you a simple way to get better fitting pants, a technique borrowed from men’s tailoring.

One of the “hot” trends of the last few years are pants that “take a size off”. Other than selling spanx with each pair how do they do it? Simple. Let me show you the inside of a few pairs of name brand jeans –

First up are our friends from Levi’s. Good local brand : ) Made in China : ( Notice the pockets. You can see the rivets, the stitching that outlines the pocket but the lining goes all the way to the center front/zipper area.

Next up are a pair of the Macy’s brand, Style. I like them, I’ve bought them in the past. I can usually get them on sale for around $20 a pair or less, depending on the coupons : ) They, too, have a pocket lining that goes to the zipper/center front seam but notice the extra rows of stitching. That gives you a “girdle” effect, or helps hold the tummy in.

And finally a pair of Not Your Daughters Jeans. These are fairly expensive for jeans, starting at $110 and up. They, too, have the pocket lining that goes to the center front but the stitching lines that create the “girdle” are a different design (can we say trademark?). Are they worth the extra price? That depends on your values. They DO fit better than the Levi’s on me and their biggest advantage is the “Made in USA” tag. I would support them even more if the fabric was made in the US but that’s just me.

One reason for doing those rows of stitching is to hold the weave of the fabric in place. The reason we cut our patterns with the length of the grain parallel to the selvage is the long fibers, or warp threads, are the long, strong threads. The side to side threads, or weft threads, are not continuous and so ‘weaker’. If you’ve ever had a pair of pants get “knee sprung” it’s because you’ve stretched out the weft threads and that’s their job. That’s what gives you ‘give’ in the fabric if you’ll forgive the play on words : ) So what those rows of stitching are doing it holding those weft threads in place to prevent stretching out and hold the tummy in. If you like pleated pants and want to keep the pleats in place us this style of pocket, then they won’t spread and look like bad 80’s pants.

The pattern I’m using for my jeans is the Calvin Klein jeans pattern from 1977/8. I made it when it was the new, hot pattern on the market and I really wanted a pair of Calvins, just couldn’t afford them! The interesting thing about this pattern is the one paragraph on the back:

“It makes sense that the ONLY way to have Calvin Klein jeans is to have them with the exact fit! That’s why Vogue patterns (always a stickler for proper fit) brings them to you in his sizing rather than our traditional one.” Keep in mind that in the 70’s we were into large legged pants and Calvin’s weren’t. It was the beginning of the “pencil” trend in the late 70’s when it came to pants.

So here are my jeans, the front complete : ) You can see the pocket linings go to the zipper. Sorry about the white-on-white thing, I tried to photoshop in some shadows.

I decided NOT to do the “special stitching” for two reasons – 1) my machine is old and cranky, it REALLY needs a spa day and 2) MY denim has lycra in it : ) Back in the late 70’s the only thing that had lycra in them were the pants sold by Frederick’s of Hollywood meant for discos and somehow were relegated to Ladies of the Evening. But NOW we add lycra to ALL KINDS of things and there is a good amount of stretch in my denim. I want to see how this works, I may regret not adding the stitching but I’ll never know if I don’t try.

Most manufacturers are using a lightweight cotton for pockets and lining because it’s less expensive. I had enough fabric to just cut the pieces from the denim and let me reassure you, the hold factor is GOOD!

Now that my pockets and the zipper is in and done I’m halfway there. Had to take a cookie break.

One of my goals this year was to try some new recipes, and I have a fondness for back-of-the-box concoctions (ever tried the Ritz cracker Mock Apple Pie? Amazing). A couple of years I ago I tore out a recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies off the back of a bag of Gold Medal flour. “Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies” it says. Are they?

They’re actually pretty good : )

The recipe is EASY, a definite plus. And it makes over 4 dozen, another plus. Took about 10 minutes to mix up and thanks go to Miss Amelia (brown) and Miss Prudence (white) for the eggs. These are the ultimate free range, organic eggs from very happy chickens!

1 1/2 cups butter (I use Earth Balance that I buy at Trader Joes, real butter makes me VERY sick and EB works beautifully!)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
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1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
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2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
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On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoon 2″ apart. Bake 11-13 minutes or until light golden brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1-2 minutes, remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Cookies!

Yes it does : ) You’ll notice the amount of chocolate chips is actually TWO bags worth so this recipe is good for a family or just cookie-lovin’ folk. Next time I might cut down a bit on the sugars, and I didn’t have quite 2 full packages of chips (I used dark Guittard chips for extra yummi-ness) and they are fine.

After she laid her egg Amelia headed out side to sit in the sun with Chloe. She’s on her side, opening her wings so they get air and sunlight to kill any “bugs” that have hitched a ride. This is why battery cages are so horrendous, those girls don’t have enough room to lay down let alone access to sunlight. Miss Amelia lived in a warehouse for the first year and a half of her life. She and 4460 sisters were rescued from a facility in Turlock almost a year ago after their “owner” decided to stop feeding and watering them. She survived for 2 weeks before rescuers brought her “Into the Light”.

Chole and Amelia in the sun : )

I know it seems like I haven’t done much updating lately and I apologize. I’ve had some pretty big projects in the works so there will be several updates in the next few days! AND I’ve had a request from Kat of Modern Vintage Cupcakes of Wellington (as in New Zealand!) to post a calendar of my challenges honoring the other Sew Weekly contributors. I will be getting that up in the next couple of days : )

Up next – Legs, finishing touches and 4,000 pounds of bricks

Originally inspired by a list of “101 things to do in 1001 days” on Kat’s Petticoats and Peplums blog I thought I’d put together a slightly smaller but relevant-to-me list : )

Since I’ve neglected my garden for a year and a half I’m going to spend a good amount of time there, at least until early summer. By that time, in this area, if you don’t have it in place it ain’t gonna get there…so my first category is “Yard & Garden”. There will be PLENTY of sewing, don’t fret : )

Yard & Garden-

1) Finish 3 hardscape projects started 2 years ago. (1/3)
2) Plant raspberry patch
3) Stake and tame blackberries
4) Plant strawberry patch
5) Make bird bath from rhubarb leaf and cement; install.
6) Get Outpost hot tub up and working!!
7) Plant at least 9 types of veggies, 3 of which we’ve never tried before.
8) Plant a Sunflower/morning glory “house”. Pray it grows.
9) Get some type of vine along fence and supports for clothes line.
10) Take locally offered compost class/re-do compost set-up.
11) Re-do front porch in all turquoise and red to go with vintage porch swing.
12) Restore bench in barn; slipcover with linen or burlap (whichever one I can find!)
13) Clean off and organize back porch & deck, make it a mini-retreat/tea area.
14) Refinish found dresser; if no time or can’t figure out what to do then Freecycle it!
15) Refinish drawer unit salvaged from desk for thread and notion storage. (See if top will be salvageable for a side table.)

Sewing-

16) Host at least 8 Sew-Alongs honoring other Sew Weekly contributors. (1/8)
17) Make another swimsuit from Mrs. DePew’s pattern using a woven fabric.
18) Finish dog bed cover for rectangular bed.
19) New couch and chair slip covers.
20) New over-blanket for bed.
21) Sue’s kitchen curtains.
22) Make black wool coat from 1930’s pattern.
23) Get rid of at least one full box of fabric from stash through use or donation.
24) Mend all the clothes in my mending pile.
25) Make NEW UNDERWEAR!!
26) Make new robe…soon.
27) One new outfit/piece a month, preferably from stash. Bust that stash!!
28) Finish chicken quilt that matches apron.

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Home

29) Paint all trim in kitchen (finally).
30) Paint ceilings in bedroom, dining room and sewing room.
31) Curtains in office.
32) Finish at least 2 chairs of 6.
33) Convert studio space to chick hang-out.
34) Clean up work bench in garage!
35) Clean up back deck. Technically I have both a back deck AND a back porch but after looking at a couple other things that need to be done I’ve decided to combine the deck and porch, cross deck off the list as a separate item and add “Earthquake kit!”.
36) Organize all vases and outdoor pots. Paint pots to go with current color scheme.
37) New island wood top
38) Pour at least one new concrete counter top.
39) Make doors, drawer front and kick piece for new kitchen cabinet.

Crafty/Foody things

40) Complete at least 12 Mary Jane Butters Farmgirl badges. (1/12)
41) Host an Art Party complete with tea and scones.
42) Finish knitting fingerless gloves.
43) Crochet or knit hat the wear when I ride my bike to BART in the mornings.
44) Start a Kombucha culture.
45) Try a new recipe every month – make sure the Mojito cupcakes are in there!

Celebrations

46) Host a Bob White party.
47) Host a Regrettable Foods party.
48) Celebrate my birthday in FINE style this year.
49) Another trip to the Longest Yard Sale???

Life Stuff

50) Fix car or buy new one.
51) Lose 10 more pounds. If 20 lost then I get to make up Vogue 8705 but not before : )
52) Ebay, ebay, ebay. There is WAY too much stuff downstairs that I’m never going to use. It needs to move on to new homes where people will love and appreciate it.

I’ll update the list as I go, Bold will mean I’m working on it, Italics will mean it’s done. I may add to it if project A leads to project B and on and on. I’ll be updating SOON on the sewing projects and your feedback and comments are always welcome! I’ve also installed a “widget” that will allow me (if I found the correct one!) to respond to your lovely comments quickly and easily. I’m also working on some new graphics and look for the page as well as getting up some links to “stuff” – books I’m reading, places I’m going, people I’m meeting…

Coming up soon – my take on Gina Clarke’s style, my own Sew Weekly 2012 in numbers and a visit with the Smile Lady : )

The Facts
Fabric: Gold Brocade
Pattern: Butterick 6582 and Vogue 1137
Notions: A zipper…that’s it, just a zipper!
Year: 1960
Time to complete: 3 1/2  hours
First worn: December 2012
Wear again? Yes, on New Years Eve : )

Total Cost: Dress $21.19, Coat is from Christmas challenge

Since I’m not sure if we’re doing one final challenge of the year I figured I might as well! After all, can you wear the same dress for Christmas and New Years? I think not : )

I was originally inspired by this purse:

It was in the collection of my costumer friend that died earlier this year. It just SCREAMS party, don’t you think?

I thought it would go nicely with the 1960’s gold convertible Cadillac that the gentleman with the 1940 Packard has. Unfortunately with the craziness of the holidays we couldn’t connect to do photos but we will soon… : )

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But since this is so much amazing gold-ness I thought it deserved a dress with MORE gold to it and here we are!

Since the car was unavailable I decided to set up my dining room early for New Years dinner. I think between my dress, the purse and the table setting there is sufficient glitter for a party : )

I am also wearing the coat from last week, I’ve reversed it so the lining shows and the burgundy is on the inside. It does indeed reverse and looks pretty good. Whodda thought??

The pattern went together quite easily. The only thing I changed about it was fully lining it since those gold threads ITCH. I also used the “inside” of the fabric instead of the “right” side. I didn’t care for the yellow tint to the satin, not my best color, but the “wrong” side looks pretty good AND is sparklier. Yes, sparklier is a word : )

I’ve also got on enough sparkly jewelry to make a drag queen happy. I know this for a fact since I bought the necklace at a well known drag store in the Haight some years ago. The earrings and bracelets are new additions to my collection thanks to H&M’s after Christmas sales. Buy one, get one free. Love that!

Since I did this all at the last minute I didn’t have time to track down a photographer so once again I’m using the timer feature on my camera. I’m getting pretty good at this I think : )

Just for fun I’m including an outtake for Vicki –

Not the best shot of me but can you see Miss Amelia in the lower left corner?

Have a WONDERFUL 2013 everyone!! I hope you stop by my blog to say “Hi” every now and then. Drop me a note and I’ll stop by to see you as well : ) I have made so many new friendships this year, it has been truly amazing. I want to thank Mena for allowing me to come play. And thanks to each and every one of you who left me a comment. You don’t know how much I was surprised and delighted each week. It was truly incredible.

If you ever get out my way drop me a note and we’ll get together for tea or hot chocolate. By the time you read this I’ll have (hopefully!) met Djamila from Berlin. And I’m going to host a few sew-alongs this year if you’d like to join in : ) First up will be doing something in the style of Gina Clark. You MUST stop by!!

Again, thank you all SO MUCH!!!!

The Facts
Fabric: Plaid poly taffeta for dress; Burgundy wool blend and gold satin lining for coat; cotton interlining and poly lining from stash
Pattern: Simplicity 2928 and Vogue 1137
Notions: Interfacing, zipper, belting and red bakelite buckle all from stash; 4 buttons
Year: 1950′s
Time to complete: 9  hours
First worn: December 2012
Wear again? Yes on the dress, maybe on the coat

Total Cost: Dress ~$30.00 and Coat $35.00 so a total of $65.00 plus tax

I love the movie “Desk Set”. It’s on my list of ‘must see’ movies every Christmas season, along with “Holiday Inn”, “The Grinch who Stole Christmas” (the animated one, not the Jim Carey one), “Charlie Brown’s Christmas”, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Home Alone”. I secretly wanted to work in a Research department like the women in the movie, and the whole ‘computer’ thing never ceases to amuse : ) One of my favorite outfits has always been the very festive dress/coat combo Katherine Hepburn wears to the office party. Her version is a sage green silk wrapped around her impossibly tiny waist with a bright red coat that has a Christmas green lining so she looks like a present!

While I like the silk I was too lazy to go searching for the right color but when I found this plaid taffeta a month ago, brand new and hidden amongst some truly ugly holiday fabrics I had a hard time making a decision. I settled on this one, passing up a mulit-toned purple plaid and a green/purple plaid that I may go back for to make a fabulous 1860′s dress for Dicken’s Faire next year. For now this one makes me happy.

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I chose the dress pattern for the way they manipulate the stripes/plaid. Of COURSE the pattern is a junior size (insert snorting sound here) so I needed to grade it up….way up…since I haven’t been a “junior” size in decades. The mistake I made with the muslin (yes! I made a muslin) was getting too clever for my own good. TOTAL brain fart and I adjusted the bodice so the armholes were nice and flat against my chest, like I’d do for a sleeveless dress. The problem with that little plan was when I inserted the CAREFULLY cut sleeves, so that the pattern matched up all the way across,  I COULDN’T RAISE MY ARMS : ( Couldn’t move much really… I had worked on it for about three hours to that point. I had two trains of thought on tracks so far apart it made my head spin. Thought #1 – leave them as is and fix them at some point in the future. Thought #2 – make a whole new top and take care of it NOW. I went to bed.

“We never have time to do things right but we always have time to do things over.” The next morning I bit the bullet and cut new fronts. Instead of wasting and tossing out the back pieces I carefully took the old fronts off and replaced them. It actually took me about an hour to get things back on track but it felt like half a day because of course I had lined and interlined the whole thing. Once that was fixed it took less than another hour to get the entire rest of the dress put together including those sleeves and cuffs! Then I started on the coat.

The pattern has such potential. The cover is quite charming. There are a whopping 4 pattern pieces to cut out (front, back, collar and sleeve cuffs) and the coat is “supposed” to be completely reversible. I really wanted to line it with green something but how much green anything do you suppose is left in the fabric stores a week and a half before Christmas? Not so much. Why gold? Deep sigh…I was asked to make a shroud for Ari’s coffin in Gryffindor colors. The Gryffindor lion was in the center in that gold on a burgundy background with the word “Brave” below and “Ariel” at the top. My intention was to wear the coat to the memorial to honor Ari’s love of all things Harry Potter but the shroud, while not technically challenging, was emotionally challenging and took everything I had. I didn’t get the coat any further than cut out. The lining fabric is the same fabric I used for the lion, my connection to her. I also thought I was being terribly clever, the plan being to reverse the coat for my New Years outfit. We’ll have to see, I’m not convinced it will work.

A word about this coat pattern – it it LARGE. I cut out a 16, remembering how much room I had with a similar pattern when I made my Art challenge coat. It is HUGE. And long. Again, I cut three inches off the hem before I put a 2 1/2″ hem in and I’m 5’4″, people! It was at my ANKLES and the industry thinks the average woman is 5’7″ but this would be nowhere near the length on the cover. For our taller friends (like Trish) it would probably be fabulous : )

I made the mistake of trying the coat on when all I had stitched was the shoulder, side and center back seams. Can you say sack? I decided to keep going more for curiosity sake than actual intent of wearing it. I figured I could always cut it apart and make something else. It turned out better than I thought but I’m still not convinced I’ll wear it. I still find the dress of this pattern intriguing and have plans to make it soon but will keep looking for a good, simple coat pattern.

When it came time to do pictures we were in the middle of the second of three storms. There was rain and wind, and rain being driven sideways by the wind. It was so dark all day Sunday I couldn’t get outside to do photos. The weather finally broke, and I headed downtown to take pics by the very large Christmas tree they install in our downtown plaza. The rain is no longer coming down sideways but can you tell it’s 42 degrees out? Fahrenheit, not Celsius : )

The more I wore the coat the more I liked it but those sleeve cuffs need some engineering work so they stay in place. It also needs a good press job but since I finished this challenge by the skin of my teeth, and this is just fine : ) I really LOVE the dress, it will be worn at my parents annual Christmas Eve party. If Mena doesn’t post this before I get home I’ll try to add a party pic or two!

One of the best features of the dress are the sleeve cuffs. They add that extra bit of perky to make this very festive : )

We’re not entirely sure if this is our last challenge of the year or not. I’ve had several other contributors email me to ask if I know anything (I don’t!) but I decided to go ahead and do one more before the end of the year… If Mena does another week of postings next week then you’ll see my sparkly New Years outfit : )

I wish you all a lovely Christmas, a wonderful New Year and all the Magic and Love you can handle.

The Facts
Fabric: Turquoise stretch denim and red/grey/turquoise dotty poly print : )
Pattern: Favorite shirt (New York 1779) and skirt (Simplicity 2723)
Notions: Interfacing, zipper, 5 buttons, all from stash
Year: 1940′s
Time to complete: 4 1/2 hours
First worn: December 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: Skirt $7.50 and Blouse $5.50 so a total of $13.00 plus tax

This week beat me up like no other. If you’ve read the post below you know how it started and by the time we reached the end I’d have to say, in all honesty, this was about on par of 9/11. When I thought about this challenge a few weeks ago I had the foresight to do something that would make me REALLY happy and be EXCEEDINGLY useful. My latest craving these days includes the turquoise/red combination, and when I saw the blouse fabric at Joann’s I yanked it off the shelf and went in search of turquoise skirt fabric. The fact that this is denim with lycra doesn’t bother me a bit. I didn’t think this out all the way so I only bought a yard of fabric, pockets would have been nice but I literally had a very small handful of pieces left when I was done cutting.

There was nothing unusual or exciting about the sewing process. I will say that I took a mental health day from work on Thursday and figured I’d get the whole outfit done until I went to cut out the shirt and remembered I took the pattern to work to copy for Barbara : ) I threw the skirt together in an hour and made the blouse Friday night, along with 3/4 of another one. In amongst all this I was working on one of THE most difficult projects…ever…but we did get a few minutes to take some pics : )

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This UTTERLY ADORABLE little car is a Nash Metropolitan! I’ve seen them through the years but they shot to the front of my consciousness in “Clueless”. Christian drove a yellow one in the movie, the guy Cher has a crush on until she figures out he’s gay. Isn’t it amazing? It almost looks like it need a key in the back to wind it up : ) And yes, it has two seats and a bench in the back, perfect for a dog or two. This one is also my favorite color combination, I used to have a 56 Chevy in these colors.

So how perfect for this challenge! A new favorite outfit with an old favorite car.

The blouse is great EXCEPT that I didn’t check myself in the mirror and you can see the blouse ends over my tummy. Angie dropped off a big bag of red stuff for me to play with – shoes, belt, purse and an umbrella we didn’t need. It wasn’t raining but it was a lovely 48 degrees out, the sweater stayed on.

I did manage to laugh as Heid’s daughters were making life interesting.

Yeah, different belts, different looks.

Heidi clowning around with Miss Julia. Thank god for kids : )

I like the outfit, I love the car and I adore my friends.  I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate your comments and feedback every week. It’s been an amazing, changing, emotionally charged year. Can you believe it’s almost over? I can’t. But it will be soon. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy the company and make plans to keep in touch.

The Facts Fabric: Purple wool from Stone Mountain & Daughter
Pattern: Decades of Style 5007
Notions: Interfacing, zipper, 2 buttons, all from stash
Year: 1950′s inspired
Time to complete: 4 hours
First worn: December 2012
Wear again? Maybe, if and when I fix it

Total Cost: $53.15

Not long ago Stone Mountain sent out an email with a 25% off coupon in it. Since Joann’s regularly puts 40% & 50% off coupons in their mailers that may not seem like much but that is a GREAT deal for Stone Mountain! I was SO EXCITED when I headed out to shop and I had the beginnings of an idea, to make a dress to go with the fabulous vintage purple shoes I had worn with my Autumn outfit. I put a shoe in a bag to match fabric to and set out. Did I get to the store with the shoe? I did not. Did I find some fabric that would go with them? Yes I did. AND I found this fabulous pattern, newly released from Decades of Style that was included in the 25% off!! What would have been quite an expensive outfit became affordable.

I wanted to do something to honor my Grandmother, as I had done with the Mother’s Day challenge. Her favorite color was purple and somewhere I have a picture of her in the most amazing purple chiffon outfit with matching shoes so this was “supposed” to be my modern version of that outfit.

The week started out with a flooded garage (from that series of 4 storms in 4 days that gave us the great pictures last week) and I took the day off work to pull everything out, dry things off and re-pack/organize/toss. Wednesday one of the chickens was killed by a mid-afternoon raccoon attack and by Thursday I thought I was coming down with the cold du jour so I crawled onto the couch with 2 dogs and a cat and hibernated.

I didn’t start the dress until Friday when I cut out a muslin of the top. I was a little nervous how those pleated bodice panels worked but I followed the directions carefully and all went well. I figured I’d have all day Saturday to sew and wasn’t worried. I should have worried : )

Here’s what I like about the pattern:

~Easy to follow directions,

~Few pattern pieces.

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Things I didn’t like:

~Side zipper – yes, it’s period but I don’t like them so I cut the back bodice with a center back seam rather than on the fold.

~Those skirt insets – yes, they’re half of the design elements but I just couldn’t get them to work quite right on me. I have a feeling if I either line the entire skirt with a lining fabric with some stretch everything will stay where it’s supposed to be. Either that or back the insets with some power mesh but the wool is so nice I’d really like to line it. It looks great on the mannequin but when I went to do photos I managed to pop the buttons off because I had done such a fabulous job sewing them on the begin with : )

~The neck edge facing – woke up at 4 am on Sunday trying to solve the problem of the bubbling. Figured it had to do with one side being sewn from the center back down while the other side was sewn from the center front up. That and the feed dogs of my machine need some adjusting. Did I get up at 5 am to fix it? I did not. So it’s uneven and icky. I’m over it.

This dress REALLY needs a couple things – lining and a professional press job. I was so discouraged by the time I was ready to hem it that I didn’t even want to do THAT! I forced myself to try it on (again), cut 2″ off the skirt and then put a 2 1/4″ hem in it. I pulled out my grandmothers high school graduation pin:

We found it in the corner of my grandfather’s jewelry box when we moved him into an extended care facility many years ago. My mother is sure that if he’d known about it he would have tossed it. They divorced in the mid-60′s and it was NOT amicable. We have so few things of hers that I cherish this.

I went to look for the shoes and found…one. Then I went to get a pair of earrings that would go with the pin and found…one. I couldn’t find any of my usual photographers home so was setting up to take pics with the automatic timer feature when Heidi called and was available. I hiked it up to her house with a bag of “ornaments”. My grandmother made those too : )

By the time I got to this point, with one shoe, popped button and pouffy skirt details I was SO OVER this dress that Heidi and I joked about my bad attitude. You want to see someone with some REAL style?

Miss Isabella is rockin’ the leopard pants, pink & black plaid skirt and butterfly shirt : )

Here’s the one shoe I have:

That little button in the center would go really nicely with the button detail on the pocket when I get them sewn back on and find the mate.

Honestly, this is going into the back of the closet. It has great potential, needs some work but I need to find my sewing patience before I tackle it. It shouldn’t have been *that* hard, I just wasn’t in the best place to deal with it.

To salvage the whole day I did a little photoshop project:

Yeah, I wish : )

Here’s to a MUCH better week next week. I have plans and they include YET ANOTHER fabulous vintage car!!