Santa's Visit

My Santa's brought me some lovely presents this year. And since loads of them were sewing or vintage related, I thought I'd share with you.

My hubby did really good job shopping for me this year. He found this darling historical sewing kit. It's so cute and will be perfect for taking along to SCA events with a small project! 

He also bought me some pretty red silk. I'm not 100% sure what I want to do with it yet but it's so pretty.

 He snagged a huge lot of belt making supplies including these great vintage buckle and button kits! There's loads more that came in the lot and I'm still trying to sort through it.

Then there were the nerd earrings which you've already seen.

And this cute 40s skirt pattern. It's a bit small but with just three pieces, it'll be a breeze to grade up.

And post-Christmas, I got a bonus gift for storage in my sewing room! Yay!

 And my grandma surprised me with some new sewing tools! I desperately needed a new pair of scissors since mine were getting kind of sad. And I lost my embroidery scissors in the move so this was perfect!

Did Santa bring you any sewing or vintage goodies?

Sewing Room Tour

Take a peak into my sewing space! :D

Starting the New Year Right

We couldn't let New Year's Day pass without a visit to the beach! And we had a few minutes to do some snapshots.

So, sooner or late, you all knew you would see this outfit on the beach! I've always loved nautical outfits and now I have a definite excuse to wear them all the time.

 It was a bit chilly for swimming but walking on the beach is fun too! We're on the Atlantic side of Florida which has chilly water than the Gulf side but that's ok because I'm not big on swimming anyways.

 One thing I love doing on the beach is watching the birds. There are quite a few different kinds that live along the shore and they can run really fast! My favorite are some small ones that run in to grab a bite and then out before the next wave hits.

 Some people might be crazy cat ladies but I'm definitely destined to be a crazy bird lady! Any place with birds is good in my book.

 The waves were great on New Year's Day so we had to get some in the shot. Unfortunately, waves cooperate with photography just as well as small children, but we did get one!

 What did you do on New Year's Day?

Photography by Will Thorpe willthorpe.com

So what's ahead for 2015

Phew! 2014 was quite a busy and crazy year. (If you missed my year in review, you can check it out here.) With the turn of a new year, I've been looking ahead to what this year might bring. There are definitely still a lot of question marks but here are some of the things I'm looking forward to in 2015.

One of the things I'm most looking forward to is visiting the beach regularly! We've already been several times since moving down here and I'm hoping to make it weekly. I've never been big on swimming but I love being near the shore or on a boat. There's just something magical about the ocean that just makes all of life's problems seem insignificant and far away.

I'm hoping to become more involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). It's a pre-17th century group with branches all over the world. I went to a couple of events in Ohio and really enjoyed it. Plus, I need a new venue for my Renaissance costuming now that we had to leave the Ohio Renaissance Festival behind.

On the sewing front, I'm still loving 1930s fashion so expect to see more of them in 2015. I have been day dreaming of 1930s beachwear a lot since I finally have a beach to wear them too! I've also been attracted to easy, practical 1940s separates. Packing is a great way to really evaluate your wardrobe! I need to replace my white blouses and am in desperate need of a basic black blouse! I do have a few TNT blouse patterns so that should be a pretty easy goal to achieve.

Packing also makes you realize how much clothes you have so I'm definitely going to let myself do more frequent and more complex costuming projects. I'm participating in Historical Sew Fortnightly again this year, although it's switching to Historical Sew Monthly for 2015. And I still am planning on making my Borgia dress.

I've also set a few personal goals for myself including drinking more water and eating better. On that front, I've been trying to cook from new recipes. I also need to find a good place to bike around here since falling in love with bicycling in 2014. On the hair front, I'm still waiting to see how Florida cooperates with my hair. I almost chopped it all off again at the beginning of December but my current plan is to keep growing it out so that by summer, it's long enough for up dos.

I'm sure 2015 will have quite a few surprises up it's sleeves too! What are you looking forward to in 2015?

HSF 2014 Round Up

It's been a busy year on the Historical Sew Fortnightly costuming front as well. Since I didn't make it to Costume College this year, I focused most of my costuming on things I could wear to the Renaissance Festival. I also did a few vintage projects since the dates were extended to 1945.

The first big project for the year was to remake the bodice of my court gown to fit over a boned kirtle instead of a corset. I am super happy with the fit now! (HSF#1: Make Do and Mend)

I couldn't wait to make this Wearing History pattern when it came out! I made it in a dreamy rayon. (HSF#2: Innovations)

Another vintage rayon project, I made up a shirtwaist dress for the pink challenge. It was just in time for Valentine's Day too! (HSF#3: Pink)

I remade the bodice on this red kirtle although it was remade again later in the year. (HSF#5: Bodice)

I beaded the forepart of my Elizabethan court dress. Originally, I started it for challenge #1 but got side tracked so it was perfect for the UFO challenge. (HSF#8: UFO)

Not all of my projects were big fancy dresses. I made some underpinnings too. See this new shift and boned kirtle. (HSF#9: Black and White and HSF#12: Shape and Support)

I also finally made an apron for my Renaissance wardrobe! (HSF#13: Under $10)

 I also ventured into outerwear this year! I dreamed of making a fitted English gown for a long time and when I scored some wool yardage on the cheap, it was a match made in heaven. (HSF#15: The Great Outdoors)

Since I used my old petticoat to make the boned kirtle for Shape and Support, I needed another one. (HSF#17: Yellow)

And a quick easy project to finish out the year-a 1930s plaid skirt. (HSF#21: Re-do)

And this 1930s dress which you all just saw. (HSF#23: Modern History)

There is also a project that never made it to the blog-a corset for my Borgia dress project that I'll be working on in 2015 (HSF#20: Alternate Universe). Hopefully, it'll both end up on the blog in January so you can see them! So that's a total of 13 challenges out of 24! My goal was at least half so I did good. Next year, the HSF will be monthly instead of twice a month so maybe I'll make all of the challenges! I've already got my supplies for the January challenge and hopefully the sewing room will be ready soon!

HSF #23: Modern History

This was perhaps the easiest challenge of the year for me to find something to do, but difficult to get photographed with the move and the gloomy Ohio weather. But I snuck it in right at the end of the year. So modern history-sew something historical or historically inspired that you can wear in an everyday context (ie what I wear everyday).

The original project for this challenge was a 1930s blouse which I made to wear when we drove to Florida. It did in fact get made and worn but I seriously underestimated how exhausting the whole moving bit would be so no photos got taken. 

This dress is a great 30s piece that was almost finished before the move. I ran out of snaps and couldn't decide on a belt buckle. A quick trip to Jo-Anns and a Christmas present lot of vintage belt buckles made this a quick finish post-move.

The Challenge: Modern History
Fabric: 3.75 yds 1930s repro quilting cotton ($9/yd)
Pattern: Wearing History Tea at Two
Year:1930s
Notions: vintage buttons ($4), piping (stash), white cotton scraps (stash), belt buckle (~$1), snaps ($2)
How historically accurate is it? Quilting cotton is not really the accurate weight fabric for this period and the buttons are 50s not 30s so I'll say 8/10
Hours to complete: didn't keep track...
First worn: December 2014
Total cost: ~$40

 I really wanted fabulous buttons. One trip to Jo-Anns was enough to tell me that actually vintage was the way to go. I looked around a lot because I really wanted white buttons! Buttons, like everything else white, have a tendency to yellow over time but I did score some fabulous 50s buttons that were just perfect!

The belt buckle was another sticking point. I had a really hard time finding a white belt buckle that was wide enough for this belt. Luckily, for Christmas, my hubby purchased a lot of belt buckles that was on my etsy wish list and this blue belt buckle was in it! I'm not 100% sold on it but it will do until I find a white replacement.

I had a lot of fun sewing up this pattern. It's got the original 1930s sewing directions which could be tricky for a beginner sewer but was a fun challenge for me. The biggest construction detail I didn't like is that the peplum is topstitched to the skirt after the skirt and bodice are attached. I think it would be much more practical to sew all three piece together at the same time.

I did have a few hiccups.  Somehow, the peplum came out too big! I made an inverted box pleat in the back for an easy fix. I think it probably was a me adjusting the pattern issue rather than a pattern issue but I'll definitely fix that for my next version. Also, the top is very blousey! I didn't make a muslin because I don't like muslins so that's one more thing to fix for the next version. The wide belt over the waist seam helps a bit to hide this and make this one wearable.

The white accents made my American Duchess 23Skidoos a perfect match! I love these shoes and I'm so happy to have the opportunity to wear them more often!

My hair was a bit of a flop but that's what I get for using a curling iron on a humid day. I can't wait for more 1930s fashions!

2014: A Year In Review

Phew! It's almost 2015 already! This year has been crazy and busy and crazy busy. It's already time for a year end review. So what have I been up to this year?

I attended a charity gala. Yay for fancy fancy!

I hosted a vintage playsuit sew along and made an awesome playsuit!

I chopped my hair off into a pixie.

Took a trip to Florida.

We did vow renewals on the beach and I made my own 1940s wedding dress.

And stopped by Epcot for my 25th Birthday!

I finally got a fruit hat! Yay pears!

I splurged on myself and purchased several pieces from Pin Up Girl Clothing including this lovely dress!

I explored a lighter hair color but eventually went back to my natural color.

I made a ton of Renaissance costumes including this fitted English gown from the Tudor Tailor. It's one of my two favorite Historical makes this year.

My other favorite Historical make is this Italian dress. I got to use stash materials, remake a dress from a portrait and do a new period! Plus this dress is just too fun to wear.

I got a fabulous new vintage dress that fit me perfectly! I don't wear a lot of actual vintage but this dress just had to come home with me.

 I participated in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress and got a chance to wear this darling vintage dress.

My latest fashion obsession has turned out to be the 1930s! And I'm sure you'll see more 1930s in 2015.

And, most exciting, we moved to Florida!