I'm spoiled

The green-eyed monster took ahold of my eBay account yesterday. I had no idea what I was doing. I mean really, over $10 for a pattern? Thats a little much for me.

Vintage McCall's 3633 from 1956. It's a gathered-neckline halter with a criss-cross back. I think the back is even closed with buttons! I'm really excited about this one - it's not even in the Vintage Pattern Wiki. 

So, even though it was pricey by my standards - $12 - I'm glad I won that bidding war. I'm going to have a gorgeous new party top

While I was in California, I drove to Sac to see my Oma (grandmother) and Opa (grandfather). My Oma never liked sewing much, but she did quite a bit of it after moving to the US to marry my Opa. I was telling her about some of my recent projects when she offered to give me a few of the materials she had leftover from the massive garage sale of '89. Enter my newest friend

McCall's Step-by-Step Sewing Book, circa 1967. There are tons of instructions and diagrams, both photographed and drawn.

I have not yet scoured it cover to cover, but I did look AT the cover. My Oma had scribbles all over it.

"McCall's 9097" is written on the front. My dear friend Vintage Pattern Wiki had it listed

Cute, right? My Oma has good taste, thats for sure. I could totally see me her wearing view A. 

I'm trying frantically to finish my self-drafted tank so I can start the other designer knockoff I had planned, and then make myself a new makeup bag, camera case & laptop cover - all before Thursday. 

Me-Made-May-Lite Composite Photos

Me-Made-May-Lite is officially over. While I had lapses in my commitment to this project, overall I think it was successful. MMM resulted in 4 new, wearable garments and 1 wadder.

Before, from top to bottom; Black McCall's 6070 maxi dress, purple headscarf, purple swiss-dot cotton New Look 6873 skirt, green Amy Butler cotton A-line skirt, pillowcase skirt, mod green dirndl skirt. 

Of these garments, the pillowcase skirt got the most wear, by far. I have grown to loathe the maxi dress, entirely because of my fabric choice, and I think it's due for a refashion. I did not wear the mod green drindl skirt once, because it is so short (due to fabric constraints). 

After, top to bottom; black McCall's 6070 maxi dress, grey McCall's 6070 top, striped McCall's 5853 tank, semi-transparent McCall's 6121 swimsuit cover-up tunic (to be blogged about soon), purple New 6873 Look swiss dot cotton skirt, ethnic border print New Look 6178 wrap skirt, green Amy Butler A-line skirt, pillowcase skirt, mod green drindl skirt. 

Whew! I don't even remember sewing all that much this month. I feel like most of my efforts were sewing for my mom's birthday and the aforementioned wadder, the Ruby Shorts. I'm proud to have made 4 wearable, albeit simple, garments in May. 

As you can see, Auggie stubbornly proudly sat right in the middle of everything whilst I was taking these photos. He has quickly gotten used to hanging out in my sewing room over the past few days, as I have uncharacteristically been leaving projects strewn about. More on that latter. 

My next project? I have two tops I MUST make before I leave for Zurich next Thursday, but I'd also like to copy this top:

I found this Ella Moss tank at a thrift store last spring, and its one of my favorite summer tops. ShopStyle has her tanks listed roughly between $75-120 each. I got mine new, with tags, for $3. Can you say score?

I love the swishy cut and the direction of the stripes. I'm pretty sure I've figured out how to cut the skirt, and I have a black, white & purple stripey cotton knit in about the same weight that I think would look quite nice made up like this. First though, I'll probably work on redrafting McCall's 5853 to work with the floral chiffon I found at SAS a while back. If anyone has ideas or comments about knocking off the Ella Moss top, let me know! 

Happy Sewing,

Jana