Just Swimming Along...

I've been sewing and reading all of your blogs regularly, just nothing extraordinary to discuss over here. I'm looking into getting myself a serger, as I've gotten used to using the one in class and find it makes sewing much quicker and therefore more satisfying. I'm sewing a few Christmas gifts, and a few things that are more craft then sew, such as headbands and scarfs. I'll catch up with photos and project posts nearer the holiday, most like.

P.S. I LOVE repurposing fabric from old garments - it's fun and I get to think on my toes. I'll do a post on it soon.

Vintage Pattern Goodness + Fabric

I love this skirt - it's similar to the Colette pattern's bignet, but in my opinion even better. This skirt is perfect for my body type, too! I love highlighting my waist. A great 70's find.

Ok, it's a 90s pattern, not really vintage. But the back cutout is cute, nonetheless. 

This pattern is one of my favorite from this haul. The cut of the pants is super current - checkout Vogue's fall 2010 collection booklet - and I would love to make them. 

This reversible wrap skirt has a lot of potential, too. I'm going to keep my eye out for a fabric combination for it. 

A great 50's button up. 

Vintage slip pattern for knits. I'll probably use this for a tank or summer dress. I don't have much use for a slip right now. The princess seams are elegant though, right?

All of the above patterns are from elisesmommy on Ebay. I highly recommend this seller. Very quick shipping, huge selection, and her prices are very reasonable. 

I bought a few new cuts of fabric last month while I was in Sacramento. The above photo is a poly chiffon. I've never worked with chiffon before, but would love to try. I'm just not sure what I want to make from it. I bought the fabric because I loved the color combination - I don't have anything like it. 

I'm not really sure why I bought this Levi's print. Maybe because it's super soft, maybe because I love vintagey branding. Regardless, I can't decide on what pattern to use with it. I think I want to turn it into a casual, drapey top to wear with jeans. Sort of a gloomy winter day top, very simple. Maybe Vogue 8690 or McCall's 6241?

Senior Pictures!

Not about sewing, but I am wearing a vintage dress and a vintage suede coat, so that counts as fair blogging material right? The coat is from my Oma. I love it!

On another note, I just joined a great new blog called Crafty Christmas Club! It's all about gifts to make, be it sewing, crocheting, baking, whatever. How cool is that? I just posted a tutorial for these awesome baked-in-the-mug "coffee" cakes topped with homemade marshmallow.

Dry-Patch

The last month has been difficult. Difficult to find time to sew, difficult to work on projects that I have no motivation to work on, and frankly just difficult to do anything but sleep. My Opa, who has been severely disabled and has had a very poor quality of life for the past 5 years, passed away in early October. This has been a very melancholy event, but at 80 years old and with 7 children and who knows how many grandchildren (12 or 14?) he had a life full of love. My Opa kept diaries for 65 years almost religiously. They are very blunt and mostly just lists of things to do, or what he spent on dinner that day, or his flight logs. I am lucky and get to read through them. I have read 1967-1969. My Opa had 5 daughters and bought every single one of them a sewing machine, and from what I can tell was very comfortable with buying them patterns and material. He also bought my Oma a sewing machine just after they were married and insisted that she learn to mend his clothes and be able to sew for children. I never realized how much my Opa valued sewing, and I'm very tempted to make my dress for his memorial just for him.

My Oma and Opa had a very hollywood-esque love story. He was a pilot for Saturn airlines, flying to and from Berlin and Oakland several times a week. My Oma was a German stewardess, and by chance filled in for someone on one of his flights. They got married two months later. Thats fate, if you ask me.

I have been sewing, although poorly and reluctantly. I did not finish Vogue 2811 in time to turn it in for my skirt project in class, and instead turned in my pillowcase skirt. I got a decent enough grade on it. Vogue 2811 is an awesome pattern, and I decided to abandon the version I have shown in favor of one that will actually fit and be a more modest length. Plus, I found a fabulous dark red-purple denim for it. I am going to take my time and not be stressed with this one. I really dislike sewing class, and I'm unsure if I'm going to keep going.

I would like to start a coat for winter (it's Arizona, winter is a relative term!) but I just don't feel inspired by my previous pattern choice - Vogue 8623 - or my fabrics, grey and white worsted wools. I might choose a new pattern to get the ball rolling. Pattern suggestions for a lightweight jacket or coat?

It's pretty likely that the blog will be mostly "dream sewing" for a while. I have traffic court twice this week (Arizona's traffic laws are completely unreasonable and inconvenient, and there are speed traps everywhere. I was pulled over for going 19 in a 15, even though I had literally JUST turned from a street that was 45. Go figure). I also have to take my SAT subject tests (US History and Mathematics) and try to finish college applications this month. Oh, and halloween.

But in brighter news, I got my DREAM JOB!! I've briefly mentioned them before, but LUSH is an ethical company that sells fabulous natural and vegan cosmetic products. I have been a LUSHie for going on two years and believe in their mission statement completely, and adore their products. While on a little retail-therapy trip a few weeks ago, the manager (who knows me by name, go figure) asked if I was interested in a job there ("Since you're basically here in shifts anyway! lol!") Um... work for a company that supports fair-trade labor, does not test on animals, AND has super amazing shampoo? YES PLEASE! It was really daunting - there was a "hiring party" with about 35 girls and they were only looking to hire 5 for holiday help, 1 of which will get to stay on after. I was the first girl they called back after the hiring party and did my floor test on friday. I had so much fun! If there is any interested in LUSH's products, I would be totally open to doing photo-demonstrations on the blog, just for funzies.

In conclusion, buying vintage patterns on eBay is a better pick-me-up than a cup of coffee, and I need to go to the gym because I'm getting pudgey.

Greetings from UFO -land

This OOP vogue skirt has been cut out and added to my (seamingly) never-ending pile of UFOs. And now, for your entertainment, a tally of my ADHD sewing habits:

-McCall's 5853 that needs bias binding

-underwear pattern that has been traced, cut and perfected from an existing pair of underwear and needs to be made up for finality's sake

-floral drindl skirt from the last post

-Jeans re-fashion

-pillowcase re-fashion

-two pairs of monster pajama bottoms

-and now the above skirt, which I am (way too) ambitiously attempting to make for my skirt project in class

Will someone shed some light on how to manage, store, and complete sewing projects orderly? Am I the only one this scatterbrained? Will the new season of Glee ever start? 

(*New theory. I sew more when I have glee to watch whilst I do so)

Why I haven't been sewing

It's official. Ashley has moved out of the house and into her dorm at NAU. I loved her staying with us and surprisingly, so did my mom. We had a crazy few weeks. 

Ash was sleeping in the spare bedroom/sewing space. For a while I had just barely enough space on the desk to sew, but the daffodil tank is all I had managed to sew when my fabric shelves fell down. It was a huge mess and even after everything was put away and re-folded, there was absolutely no space. Instead, we got a new distraction...

Meet Boston! Ashley and I saved her from the Euthanasia list. Boston is about four months old and very well behaved. She's already been spayed and litter trained - so we got the fun part! Boston is curious, ambitious and fearless. She also has super-soft kitten fur. Yes!

Ashley left for Flagstaff, AZ and moved into her dorm on Tuesday. I drove up the next day to bring the rest of her stuff. 

NAU has such a pretty campus, her dorm looks awesome and I know Ashley is going to do really well there. 

I'm still in Scottsdale finishing high school, working at Jason's Deli, and sewing when I can. Sewing post coming soon, I promise!

Home sweet home + goals

After six and a half weeks of non-stop traveling, I'm finally HOME! I tried to make a little visual reference of some of the places I've been this summer - Paris, Rome, Sienna, Milano, Brescia, Verona, Zurich, Geneve, Bern, Basel, Neuss, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Offenberg, Cologne - just to name a few. Needless to say, I've had an amazing time. I'm also incredibly tired and have a hundred ideas - I'm so ready to sew!

I have a few UFOs to finish and I think I'd like to make 3 versions of the McCall's 5853 tank for PatternReview's 1 pattern, many looks contest. I also have a fabulous vintage pillowcase from a thrift store in Zurich that is begging to be a swishy new skirt. And then there is my coat for the Trench Coat Sew-Along, which needs to be muslined. And the gorgeous vintage McCall's pattern for a halter top came from Ebay...

More soon, stay tuned!

Things that make me smile

1. Movenpick ice cream

2. Cute china bits from antique stores (especially at 3 francs for 2 little espresso sets)

3. Angie's Perfect Piping Tutorial

4. Metal buttons on wool coats

5. Sweetheart neck lines (Modcloth)

6. Thrifted fabric

7. "Catch me in your net" Nail Polish by O.P.I., which I've been wearing for weeks and just saw in this month's Nylon magazine

8. Piping, which I'm now obsessed with (see #3) (ModCloth)

9. St. Gallen Bratwurst

10. The tippy top of a ferris wheel

Groggy Bloggy

It's 5:08 am AZ time and I'm just climbing into bed. The gorgeous chiffon tank I've been wanting forever did not get done, and I've decided an hour of sleep is worth more to me right now. But, I did make a rockin' laptop cover with the coolest purple metal zip and big pocket on top that fits my computer charger perfectly, PLUS a really cool piped makeup bag. Photos? Pshh. I've got to be leaving the house in two and a half hours.