gettin' stuff done!

i started this post a while back, and THOUGHT i saved it to finish later.... but obviously didn't. balls.

anywho.... so that market i mentioned a month ago came and went, and it was SO fun! the market was held in the beautiful space on the riverwalk just beneath a fabulous old theater. look at my cute little ol' booth!

i think it came out pretty cute! it actually looks a lot like a mini version of my living room....

those little doggie pillows were a real hit, and lemme just say, were a brilliant last minute idea! i seriously whipped those all up the night before the market out of all of the scrap fabric left from my dresses! 

there were even a few dresses for sale with matching pillows!

 i only ended up with a few left out of nearly 20! not bad at all :)

in other good news, i finally finished making a sari that i had started working on over a month ago! look at this beauty, in her beauty-ful sari!

i hope she doesn't mind my posting these....

it's before she was ready and before the final pressing so everything is a little poofy!

ok, and i should say a friend of mine corrected me that this isn't actually a sari, but an anarkali... but i don't want to embarrass myself trying to pronounce that so i'm calling it a sari! oh! i even made the churidar pants to go with it! i should have taken a photo of those... dammit! 

i am pretty happy with how this came out, and with the fit. this was one of those magical clients that is- to the eighth of an inch, the same exact size as i am, so fittings weren't even needed! it was amazing! courtney bought all of the supplies for her garment, but i went ahead and added in this pretty glass button detail from my button stash to the back.

 you know, just a little sumthin' sumthin'

now my big project is pulling a 3 piece suit out of my ass in a week. i've gotten all of the meticulous measuring down, most of the patterns cut, the fabric bought... i just have to sit down and finish it! only... i'm off for like 4 days in a row and am having a pretty hard time focusing on it. today i spent a LONG time cleaning off the top of my dresser and sorting out my crap-ton of jewelry.

see? its MOSTLY clean!

poor tyler, i don't know how he puts up with my messy messy self! so now i am off to ATTEMPT to focus on that suit, right after i dig this frito out of the keyboard, because i am not just messy, i am also a fat ass.

another puppy dress? HOW AM I 25???

so i am crawling around on the floor, cutting out a pattern and i realized all of a sudden that i let a week past without posting a new dress i made! so i stopped everything i was doing and stared at my camera that is RIGHT NEXT TO MY SEWING MACHINE and asked myself 'how have i not posted this dress?' so, here it is: the puppy dress!

arf! arf!

now, this is probably just more proof that i am in fact a giant toddler, but i don't care. (well i do a little, but not enough to not make and wear things like this) this is just the cutest damn dress i've made in a while!

 

i found the perfect buttons and trims to match! 

 the fabric is something i have had stashed away in my dwindling fabric hoard for a few years now... and i have been too terrified to use it. you know how when you get some really fantastic yardage, you get so scared of wasting it you can't use it? that's this. that's actually this and half of the rest of the fabric i have. anywho, i got it at the wimberly market days for like, $15 for about 3 yards. the pattern is (again) simplicity 4270... which makes this the 5th or 6th time i've made that dress! it is obviously my current favorite.

i also recently finished up a project i have been slooooooowwwwwlllllyyyy working on since summer- new shades for the living room! check these babies out!

i guess really this is just one baby, but still, you get it.

there are 4 windows in our living room, all the same size, so this wasn't too hard to do. first i decided this was what i wanted... then i just HAPPEN to find a whole bunch on craigslist (only 30 miles away!).... then it was all just cutting them to size and attaching them to new roller shades! it really should not have taken me so long, but you know what? i get distracted pretty damn easily so that's just how things go around here!
the other windows are the east coast, europe/africa/australia, and texas. they are all different styles, so it looks pretty great. i am very happy :)

now, that market i mentioned in my last post, you know- the one i was teaching a workshop at and was going to post all these great pictures from? let me sum it up for you real quick:

pppppppppppppffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in other words, it was stupid.

mainly, it just wasn't my 'scene,' but at least the little workshop went well! i am setting up this friday at another little market on the riverwalk downtown at taste of texas wines with a bunch of friends :) good thing this one is at a cool wine bar-- momma needs her craftin' juice!

a workshop and some babies, baby!

excited news! my brother kyle- who i mentioned was having a baby, is having twins! aaaaaah! i am so thrilled :) it was bound to happen sooner or later. twins run in his wife's family, and twins and triplets run in ours! in fact- kyle is a twin!

look at those sweet little peanuts!

i have known this for a few weeks now, so i should have posted about it already, but you know how i love to procrastinate! they should find out the sex(es) soon, so i will definitely post about that sooner since i already have a crap-ton of baby patterns set aside. i just need to know what colors to use....

in other news, i got all sorts of giddy last week when my friend kiki asked me if i would be interested in teaching a quick 1-hour workshop on how to use a vintage pattern at a d.i.y. clothing fest on the 21st! of course i said yes! i looooove teaching people how to sew! i think everyone should know how, it is soooo nice knowing that when i leave the house everyday, i am wearing something that no one else in the entire world has! it feels gooooooooooooood!

so, there is also going to be a market at the workshop. i've been busting my little hump to crank out a lot of new dresses, skirts and tops.... and i've also been raiding my own closet since i recently lost enough weight to not fit in some of my favorite handmade dresses! hopefully i will have a bunch of new photos of my market clothing and myself kicking workshop ass this weekend!

oh yeah, i got photos of my baked potato new years dress! enjoy!

i think its pretty obvious i don't like taking pictures of myself...

good thing booboo jumped in to make the pictures better!

and now some new stuff!

last week i made two cute new dresses! it felt sooooo good. i haven't made myself anything since november... and as someone who NORMALLY makes at LEAST a garments per week for myself, i was going crazy. but, that's the holidays for ya! i made a pretty great new years dress, but i made it from a metallic brocade and photos do NOT do me or the dress any justice. i look like a baked potato in every photo i took. it was bad. so, instead of embarrassing myself, ill just post my other dress for now....

i made this cute black and white dress from some super soft vintage cotton i got a while back.

gotta say, i feel pretty damn cute in this....

also, those aren't orange stains. those are fluffs from another project

i used simplicity 1538,

view 2, obviously....

which i have had for a couple of years but never used. i don't know why i haven't... it was SO easy and only took a little bit of altering to get the fit right. needless to say, i will show up again in the near future.
the fabric i got from the mother theresa of sewing patterns, a woman named yvette. i don't think i've ever mentioned her, so let me tell you about ol' homegirl real quick...

so, when i first started sewing from vintage patterns in 2008, i put an ad on craigslist that said something like "i am looking for vintage sewing patterns, if you have any i would love to take them off you hands, blah, blah, blah, blah..." and like, the next day i had an email from a girl named yvette that said something like "oh, i have a few small boxes of patterns you can just have, you can pick them up or ill drop them off, blah, blah, blah, blah..." so we arranged a day for me to go get my "few small boxes" and let me just say, what an understatement.


she gave me like, 18 large postal boxes overflowing with patterns from the 1930's thru the 2000's, plus fabric, plus a machine carrying case, plus permission to use any of HER patterns anytime i needed.... and let me just tell you-- i would bet no one on the planet has such an incredible collection of early vogue and 1920's mccalls patterns!!! it will make you pee your pants its so amazing! so, i took home what was actually like, 1,000 patterns, sorted them out by date and type of garment, filed them into 22 boxes and started my pattern collection.... and then i lost all of her contact info.


fast forward to november 2011... and there i was cruising through craigslist again, looking for awesome estate sales and patterns.... and i saw an ad that said somthing like "looking for old vintage patterns, let me know your price, very interested in 1920s, blah, blah, blah, blah..." and i just had this feeling that even though i live in a city with 1.33 million residents, there are only two people who would make a post like that on san antonio craigslist... me and yvette. so, i took a shot in the dark and sent an email about how IF this was the person i thought it was, how greatful i was for the patterns, how i've made my living off of sewing because of her for the past 3 years, how appreciative i am for her generous gift... and more mushy stuff. and- IT WAS HER! she didn't just email me back, but she also said she had more stuff i can have!!!! AAAAAND- we have both moved since our last meeting and now we only live a mile and a half apart! ISN'T THAT NUTS??!!?!? so, i went over, and she gave me 4 sewing machines (two don't work, they are decoration for a friend's vintage shop now), lots of fabric (including the fabric my black and white dress is made of) and a couple hundred new patterns!!!! check it out-- here it is while i was sorting

what i brought home- all of those machines, 2 boxes, 4 bags and a sewing caddie

sorting out the complete patterns- yes, she goes through each pattern and marks 

what, if anything, is missing

 a more close up look at the 1930's - 1990's

 the highlights of the new 1930's and 40's patterns

isn't that all incredible??? this woman is a goddess. true story- i think i am in love.

aaaannnnnnd.... I'M BACK!

it only took me 2 months....

so, i have obviously been super busy lately...my part time job is working in a toy department at a hippie store... so as you could imagine, between the holidays and christmas craftin, i have had basically no time. 

so, UPDATES!

-my brother kyle has recently learned to sew. so far he has been a god damn CHAMP! he's been taking awesome old suits and jackets and giving them a more modern/european fit. he even started (after i nagged the crap out of him) his own blog! i think he probably intended it to be a blog about everything... he also makes wine and beer and is a great writer, but it's really hard not to want to write just about sewing when you are doing such a bad ass job at it! right? so-- check out his blog! 

-also in kyle news, he and his beautiful wife are expecting their first baby! 

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! 

i will be the best aunt EVERRRRR!!!!! i already started sorting out my baby and maternity patterns! as soon as they find out the baby's sex, i will crank out so many outfits!!!!!

-oh! and my crack house is almost finished! in fact, check this out:

january 3, 2011

 january 3, 2012

not too shabby, huh? we moved in about two weeks after the first photo was taken. we still need to put on shutters and window screens.... and there is a little more of the house on the right that you can't see in these pictures- over there is the front door which i still need to paint red. on the inside we only have to finish the kitchen, and also our garage needs to be painted, but that is IT! once it is all done i'll post up before and after pictures that will knock your socks off!

aside from those things, i guess i don't really have anything. after my periods of no posting, i always feel like a little update needs to be done so my future ramblings will make *slightly* more sense. hopefully, this is a success!

not bad for a pair of curtains!

operation fall wedding guest dress accomplished! BOOYAH!

isn't that rad? i have been drooling over this dress 

from the tv show pushing daisies for a looooooooooooooong time now, and now i will drool no more! if you haven't seen that show, you should. even if you don't like the show itself, anna friel's (chuck) wardrobe is the most amazing thing i have ever seen! google it. i dare ya.

ok so the fabric i used i got from my momma last week with all of those cool patterns. she bought this one curtain panel at a yard sale, and when i started taking the seams and pleats out, we realized it was TWO panels doubled up! this was extra good because where were random paint sploches on one.

god i hope those are paint sploches. 

look at the texture of this fabric-- i think it makes the dress even more fabulous!

it isn't even itchy. i think it looks like it would be itchy or uncomfortable, but it isn't in the slightest!

ok so making this was easy and not so easy. it was a lot of frankensteining. the top is from simplicity 3430, the bottom is from simplicity 7995.... and the bubble skirt i drafted using my brain. its not hard. its a rectangle and a more different rectangle. anyone can do it. the worst part of this dress was trying to figure out how /where to put the zipper. i went with center back, and had to keep the top bubble layer open so that i could add tulle in there to poof it up if i want. which i do. and also i didnt want it to get flattened in a zipper. so, the top layer snaps together and the zipper is underneath! i hope that makes sense. you can kinda see it here....

the other worst part of this was when i kept breaking needles on my serger because i was so determined to serge all 4 layers of fabric at once and my serger was like "OOOOOOOMMMMFFFFGGGGG WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME???!?!! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" and i was like, "DO IT BITCH! SERGE MY SHIT!" and then i WON. HA!

...so. i will be wearing this tonight to a wedding. nice photos to follow!

oh yeah! it has pockets. awwwww yeahhhhh!

this works for fall, right?

honestly, i don't think i've ever fully grasped fall and winter wardrobe colors. i try, but deep down i've never really gotten past my inability to dress weather appropriately, or even to match my own clothes for that matter. that, my dears, is why i wear dresses all the god damn time. no matching issues.
i blame a lot of that on the fact that we only get a couple weeks of cold weather here... its pretty summery most of the year. its hard to dress for cold when it isn't happening!
well, i decided to try to make something fallish for a change. i thought i would at least try to wear something that isn't unicorns or floral or bright! granted, this isn't the most adult thing i've ever made... for some reason i have been making nothing but silly dresses for the past month.... BUT it is still awesome!
SO, i pulled out my ol' pal simplicity 4982 again,

grabbed some fabric that i've been hoarding for a year or so, and whipped out this:

sorry the colors are so weird. that part of the house has the worst lighting ever.

reason #1 why i like this dress: pockets. big ones. i think that is one of the best parts of being a seamstress- being able to put pockets in everything!

reason #2: i feel pretty fierce in this. i think its the family of lions on my shoulder...

all of the other reasons (comfortable, easy, light) aren't as important. ya know? it hardly gets cold here, so i think this will work quite well for the remainder of 'fall.' also, you totally can't tell in the photo, but i have the greatest boots on with this. fo' real.

now my next challenge for the day is to make a NICE fall dress to wear to a wedding tomorrow! my fabric stash used to be incredible... but lately, it's been widdled away to (what feels like) nothing.

don't get me wrong, i have a lot of fabric still, plus now its all color coordinated! its just that none of it feels right for a wedding in november. i have a few ideas, but i think need a cocktail or something to help me decide...

finally- some skirts!

my momma loves me. she does. this weekend she picked up a bunch of patterns at a yard sale for me, and she did a great job picking them out! i've already made two skirts today using this one!

simplicity 7995

the first one i made was with this awesome horse fabric i got from the horder house last year-

you KNOW i have the best boots ever to go with this!

i did a little top stitching on the sides. the insides are all serged edges, but i thought it would have more of a blue-jean feel with this on the sides! 

 the print almost matched enough on this seam that all of the horses just look like martians


the second skirt is in a really nice print i think (if i remember right) is alexander henry... but i really might be remembering wrong. anywho, my friend lacee gave it to me earlier this year with a whole MESS of zippers, buttons and threads she had accumulated over the years.

this one is my favorite 

this pattern has a great shape to it. they are like, just between a pencil and an a line. i took in the bottom for a more shapely silhouette... i just have a real big booty so it doesn't quite look it here! 

so here are the other patterns momma got me:

 

 

 

 

the last two are my favorites of the bunch.... and i think that the vogue pattern is going to be made from this fabric i got last week from my secret san antonio fabric spot!

in other news- i have been working on this dress all day also, and was wondering if you guys might have a better idea of the date on it. i really wanna say 1940's... but i am not 100% on that. what do you think?

this is gonna be real nice when i'm done...

like i need anything else to drool over....

i'm not big on buying new fabrics... i prefer to sew from recycled or second hand materials.

BUT... my mom just told me about this fabric company and one line in particular, and after staring at all of the amazing patterns for like, and hour, am having a REALLY hard time convincing myself not to spend $16 a yard on this:

uuuuugggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! i need this. i need this soooo badly....

someone be a dear and gimme.
that is all.

as long as i'm dying, i may as well be ridiculous

i couldn't do it. i just couldn't sit at home doing nothing anymore.
i stared at my fabric wall, sorted through my pattern boxes, and made the most ridiculous thing i possibly have ever made.... 

UNICORN DRESS!!!!

woop woop!

i am 100% sure that this is not anything close to what they had in mind when they made simplicity 3045,

got mine for a dollar!

but that is their problem, not mine. now, as soon as i am done being sick, i get to wear this dress out. 

come on crissy! suck it up! get that flu outta here!!!