My video camera is on the fritz so this may be the last youtube for a while. Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
To Save a Vintage Purse
I have to start this post off by saying I have some generous friends, especially lately. Quite a few people have passed on their family vintage treasures to me. It's one thing for me to have something that belonged to my great-grandmother or my husband's grandma and quite another thing to be entrusted with someone else's loved one's belongings. The latest treasure to come my way is this lovely vintage purse that needs a little tlc.
The funny thing about vintage purses is that I'm super picky about them and have yet to buy one myself. All of the vintage purses I have were given to me and I love them all. Weird.
The handle is coming apart so I'll have to sew it back together. That part I think I can handle.
I'm not sure how to clean it either. This purse had been living in a basement before it came to me, so I wiped it down with a damp cloth. I'd like to do a more thorough cleaning but I don't know were to go from here.
Have you ever brought a vintage treasure back to life?
The funny thing about vintage purses is that I'm super picky about them and have yet to buy one myself. All of the vintage purses I have were given to me and I love them all. Weird.
The handle is coming apart so I'll have to sew it back together. That part I think I can handle.
It's also missing the top part of the latch. The fabric here has a big hole. Any suggestions on how to work with this? I was thinking maybe trying to make a loop of bias tape. I'm not sure the fabric would hold up to another real purse latch and I'm not sure I could remove the other half safely or find a new latch to fit with the old part.
I'm not sure how to clean it either. This purse had been living in a basement before it came to me, so I wiped it down with a damp cloth. I'd like to do a more thorough cleaning but I don't know were to go from here.
Have you ever brought a vintage treasure back to life?
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Wearing History Kind of a Day
The weather has finally hit a bit of a dip in the temperature department. So instead of dressing for triple digits this weekend, I got to dress for highs in the 90s.
Cool was the name of the game so I opted for light cotton pieces. The blouse is made from Wearing History's Smooth Sailing pattern and the skirt is based on Wearing History's Sailor Playsuit pattern.
I whipped the skirt up Saturday evening and here are the facts.
Fabric: broadcloth of some kind (given to me by a friend)
Pattern: Wearing History's Sailor Playsuit but I took out the button placket in favor of a side zipper
Year: 1940s
Notions: zipper ($2) (woot for having the perfect pink zip in my stash!)
Time to complete: just a few hours
First worn: July 2012
Wear again? Yup. The zipper is not the most amazing but my theory on zippers is that functional is good enough especially when you only have 1/2" seam allowance. I think it will be a nice basic in my wardrobe if a bright pink can be considered a basic. Somehow, the drafting went arry and my waist band was too small for the skirt. I think part of it was due to not stay stitching so the skirt pieces stretched. I made it work.
Total cost: $2
I had a good hair day too. I think my color is starting to fade already. :( I am going to pick a different shade next time because this one has a blue base and the hubby thinks it's weird.
Cool was the name of the game so I opted for light cotton pieces. The blouse is made from Wearing History's Smooth Sailing pattern and the skirt is based on Wearing History's Sailor Playsuit pattern.
I whipped the skirt up Saturday evening and here are the facts.
Fabric: broadcloth of some kind (given to me by a friend)
Pattern: Wearing History's Sailor Playsuit but I took out the button placket in favor of a side zipper
Year: 1940s
Notions: zipper ($2) (woot for having the perfect pink zip in my stash!)
Time to complete: just a few hours
First worn: July 2012
Wear again? Yup. The zipper is not the most amazing but my theory on zippers is that functional is good enough especially when you only have 1/2" seam allowance. I think it will be a nice basic in my wardrobe if a bright pink can be considered a basic. Somehow, the drafting went arry and my waist band was too small for the skirt. I think part of it was due to not stay stitching so the skirt pieces stretched. I made it work.
Total cost: $2
I had a good hair day too. I think my color is starting to fade already. :( I am going to pick a different shade next time because this one has a blue base and the hubby thinks it's weird.
I've been planning my Costume College wardrobe and it really hit me that a lot of my me made vintage pieces are Wearing History especially in my summer wardrobe!
But with such cute and versatile designs, it's hard not to reach for these patterns again and again!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
4th of July Fabulousness
Last Friday was my church's annual fireworks event so I had to go all red, white and blue for the occasion!
I made this dress last year but it needed some work to make it fit again. I took two inches off of the back bodice piece and made a two inch inverted box pleat in the center back of the skirt. It's not really noticeable with the busy gingham print.
Originally, I had planned to wear a fab hat with this outfit but after helping set up Thursday night and a quick check of the weather to see that it was, in fact, to be just as hot on Friday, I nixed that idea. Friday arrived just as hot and humid as expected which is just peachy for an outdoor event with no ac! Then in the late afternoon, a crazy thunderstorm rolled through. My husband called me from work worried about me because he just saw a roof get blown off a building across from where he works. I was at home sewing away and completely oblivious to the fact that it was even raining.
But the crazy weather caused the temperature to drop 30 degrees. I ended up bringing (and wearing) a sweater! Two other local events had to be canceled, one because their stage was damaged. Thankfully, our concert stage and equipment was undamaged. The event was fabulous! The weather was now perfect. There were two awesome bands and a sword swallower before the fireworks and tons of people showed up for food and games! And to top it off, one of my friends got proposed to! Really, it was so awesome how God made everything work out!
I made this dress last year but it needed some work to make it fit again. I took two inches off of the back bodice piece and made a two inch inverted box pleat in the center back of the skirt. It's not really noticeable with the busy gingham print.
I accessorized with a new pair of vintage earrings and my Belle Blossom rose.
I also retrimmed my bangs into a slightly different shape so I can really rock this off to the side bang and I love them!
Originally, I had planned to wear a fab hat with this outfit but after helping set up Thursday night and a quick check of the weather to see that it was, in fact, to be just as hot on Friday, I nixed that idea. Friday arrived just as hot and humid as expected which is just peachy for an outdoor event with no ac! Then in the late afternoon, a crazy thunderstorm rolled through. My husband called me from work worried about me because he just saw a roof get blown off a building across from where he works. I was at home sewing away and completely oblivious to the fact that it was even raining.
But the crazy weather caused the temperature to drop 30 degrees. I ended up bringing (and wearing) a sweater! Two other local events had to be canceled, one because their stage was damaged. Thankfully, our concert stage and equipment was undamaged. The event was fabulous! The weather was now perfect. There were two awesome bands and a sword swallower before the fireworks and tons of people showed up for food and games! And to top it off, one of my friends got proposed to! Really, it was so awesome how God made everything work out!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Youtube: Hot Weather Hairstyle
Happy 4th of July! Have a fun day and enjoy a youtube tutorial on a great style for those hot summer days from yours truly.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Stash Busting Progress
Over Christmas break, I organized and cataloged my sewing stash and have been working hard to stash bust! I have a hard copy but also put all of my fabric into a handy spread sheet so now I can make pretty graphs in Excel!
Ok, so Stash 2011 is the fabric that was in my stash at the end of 2011. Stash 2012 is all of the fabric that has been in my stash at some point in time this year and remaining is what is currently in my stash right now. As you probably could have guessed, most of my fabric is garment weight with a bit of quilting and home dec thrown in.
Here's a better break down of what's in my stash right now. Garment 56 yds, quilting 12 yds, home dec 9 yds. I'd like to keep the quilting fabric in my stash down. I don't do much home dec sewing either but some most of that is for costuming.
And this is a break down of the fabric I've actually used this year! 35 yds garment fabric, 21 yds quilting fabric and 2 yds home dec for a total of 58 yds. Wow! And the year's only half over! Now, I do have a few UFOS lying around that this includes but I think I'm doing pretty good. Alas, I'm only down 3 yds from where I started at the beginning of the year but I've still got another six months to work on it!
I pledged not to buy any fabric over the summer except for Renaissance projects and so far I'm doing good on that score. My husband did buy me some fabric but I don't think that counts.... I didn't plan on making an entire new Renaissance dress and I still have like 8 yds of fabric set aside for that that hasn't been used.
How's your stash doing so far this year?
Ok, so Stash 2011 is the fabric that was in my stash at the end of 2011. Stash 2012 is all of the fabric that has been in my stash at some point in time this year and remaining is what is currently in my stash right now. As you probably could have guessed, most of my fabric is garment weight with a bit of quilting and home dec thrown in.
Here's a better break down of what's in my stash right now. Garment 56 yds, quilting 12 yds, home dec 9 yds. I'd like to keep the quilting fabric in my stash down. I don't do much home dec sewing either but some most of that is for costuming.
And this is a break down of the fabric I've actually used this year! 35 yds garment fabric, 21 yds quilting fabric and 2 yds home dec for a total of 58 yds. Wow! And the year's only half over! Now, I do have a few UFOS lying around that this includes but I think I'm doing pretty good. Alas, I'm only down 3 yds from where I started at the beginning of the year but I've still got another six months to work on it!
I pledged not to buy any fabric over the summer except for Renaissance projects and so far I'm doing good on that score. My husband did buy me some fabric but I don't think that counts.... I didn't plan on making an entire new Renaissance dress and I still have like 8 yds of fabric set aside for that that hasn't been used.
How's your stash doing so far this year?
Monday, July 2, 2012
A bit of Carmen Miranda
The weather forecast for Sunday was hot and humid and I'd be spending most of the day without ac, so cool was the main thought behind my wardrobe choices. My Mexican blouse got me in the mood for a little Latin American flair in my outfit.
Outfit:
blouse: Mexico in Epcot
Skirt: me-made Wearing History Sailor Playsuit
Necklace: Charming Charlie
Snood: Arthelia's Attic
Hair flowers: Belle Blossoms
Carmen Miranda always had the most fabulous hats in bright colors so I loaded on the bright hair flowers to give some excitement to my look.
My husband thought it would be fun to have me pose with the birds. They have not spent much time outside and I'm not sure they appreciated the excursion much but they were so cute!
It's been so hot and humid that I've been wearing snoods a lot lately. My hair is finally long enough to sort of fill out a snood again! Woot!
I also wore my 40s tourist style wedges. I love all of the colors which means I can wear them with just about anything.
How are you beating the summer heat?
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