Pins

I just tried this dress on - the red one. Lots of pins still in it. Sorry to Jane and Maggie, I remember you being so angry about me making you try on dresses with pins in them. It hurts. Sometimes it can't be helped.

Vogue 8241, the blouson sheath! I took it up another 3/4" or so to remove the green bar from around the hem. Looks much better. That bar was weighing down the bottom half - on grain - of the dress. This is a great pattern! I would like to make it again. I believe the whole thing would be nice cut on the bias. Depending on the fabric, of course, but, yes, I would definitely try that next time. With something lightweight. Challis, silk, that's it, wool challis or silk. Faille....................

Congratulations......it's a.....

Dress!
Worked on a red tartan blouson shift - yes. Blouson shift. It went from a piece of folded yardage politely waiting for me for almost a year to a heap of red plaid pieces all tangled up in my machine and then, magically, voila! I turned it out and it was a DRESS! Can't wait to wear it come fall!

c-c-c-c-c-c-co-ca-coo.............

Cacophony, Catastrophe, Calphalon, Concoction, Conundrum.....what's the word I'm thinking of? Oh, carillon, that's it! Oh, how lovely it is to walk from my car in the morning taking in the smell of freshly cut grass and silence cushioning the happily melancholy sound of the carillon playing earnestly for the campus.

Dress #1

Dress #1 arrived today. It's gorgeous and fits like a dream. It will be a fun one to style with shoes and accessories. It will look great with the wedding colors and I'll be able to get Joe something stunning to wear that will compliment it very beautifully. It's just so pretty. Pretty. The neckline is soft and sweet. It does need about 3 inches taken off the hem. But what dress doesn't need that alteration? Dress #1: check

"yes"

Believe it. People who find out I sew ask me to rude excess if I will 'teach them to sew', 'make them a dress', hem their pants'. NO, no. No. But, on one occasion, to one such request, the biggie in fact: 'will you make me a dress?', I answered 'yes.'

This was also a dress I had to pay for. Construct. Deliver. And, there was even a DEADLINE. What? This dress is precisely why I say no, and the experience had to be turned around in my reality, pronto. Stat. This couldn't have happened to me! Well, the gratitude and satisfaction of a job well done, a pleased young girl, a thankful, inspired, and humble young girl would make it all worth it, right? The money, in excess of $100, the time, no less than 20 hours, the fact that the time was carved out of my schedule according to her deadline, priceless. I was preparing for my own wardrobe needs and wishing to make a frock for Miss Jane, my dear, thankful, humble, polite, joyful companion and friend, Janie-the-great.

No gratitude. No proper thanks. (a quick thank you so much upon delivery was all that was offered). No photo. NOt an email, text, twitter, FB message. NOTHING.

I did it for me. To share, to give, to please myself. For the love of creating. In total.

Watch [that] Plaid

My newest dress project is looking a little Amish. That's all I see. Amish-ness. I'm still confident that all it needs is a belt, some boobs, and to be shortenend within an inch of its life. Can't wait to accomplish those things! I hope to yet this week and when I do, I think the picture I post will be a significant improvement over this:

Shorts

Metallic muted gold and dark carnation pink brocade ............. shorts! I love shorts. Dress up shorts are my specialty. LOVE them. I hope these don't have just a wee bit too small waist. I thought they would sit a little lower....need to make them again. I won't bring the top in so much and instead let it sit on the hips a little more. The crotch is short enough so as to accommodate such an adjustment. I believe I'll wear these with my pearl colored silk camisole or they might just look funky cool with my navy schoolboy blazer and a scarf. With flats. Heels if i wear the cami.

Frock

Frock Frock Frock

I'm captivated, no, fixated, no, consumed by dresses lately. Looking at photographs of them, trying them on, designing them, wanting them, wearing them, making them, even looking at the goods with which to make them. Frock Frock Frock

Be they pretty, provacative, playful, practical, proper, prudent, pretentious, or preposterous, I'm passionate for them all.

This dress is one I own. Mine is brown and I have the perfect pair of metallic brown patent pumps to wear with it. I had it hemmed three inches, it's a size 2 and it fits me like a glove. It looks better on me than the model. I had a nice time in it on the non symphony date Joe took me on in February 2010. We had a lovely dinner at Duck City Bistro and made the discovery that I love red wine and chocolate for dessert. Joe was dashing in a sweater and sport coat. I felt special -- because I was special to Joe. That dress is ready to go out again.

I wrote this over a year ago. I like it.



When I got home I cleaned in preparation for Thanksgiving at my house and did laundry. I had originally set the day aside for lunch and some shopping with Mom and Margie -- they wanted to celebrate my birthday but it was too hectic for Margie and it was cancelled on Friday. That's how I ended up with a whole Saturday free. I got dressed up anyway and had fun on my own. I inadvertently grabbed a pretty melancholy mix cd from my ipod collection to listen to in the car but, hey, it wasn't the radio at least. It was pretty grey and windy. I wore a grey sweater dress, tights and boots. I left my coat in the car. I wasn't in the mood to Christmas shop, so I didn't.

I blog now

I raced a storm on my way back to Moline early this evening. Victory is mine~! (sayeth me) I do not bring this to light to brag but to seque into a description of the inspiring sights along the journey. In my rear view mirror, only black, save the construction worker in his monster truck still wearing his neon green tee; in front of me, only blue sky with billowy white clouds just barely aware of impending domination. The wind was kicking up its heels, swirling its skirt and calling out a do-si-do to the leaves and they did their best to spiral, dip, and dive for my amusement. Deep, vivid greens and blues were the backdrop for the leaf dance -- even the browns and greys were captivating and deserved to be noted. So noted.
I never lack for inspiration, always notice and consider the baubles nature provides for my pleasure.
Never lack for inspiration, instead always seek and consider the baubles nature provides for our pleasure. Quotable, I am.

blue

Surface Design

I am extremely motivated and inspired toward exploring some of my recent surface design ideas. Lightweight, or not, wool or wool blend tweed with sequins - clear - strewn about. Bright tartans either covered in translucent sequins or pattern specific designs. Application of silk ribbon in random squiggly patterns across silk faille or wool dressweights.

evolution