adventures in adventuring!

another puppy dress? HOW AM I 25???

2012-02-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

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!

2012-01-18T14:09:00.000-06:00

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!

2012-01-05T15:10:00.000-06:00

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!

2012-01-05T14:18:00.000-06:00

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!

2011-11-11T11:29:00.001-06:00

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?

2011-11-10T14:02:00.001-06:00

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!

2011-11-07T17:09:00.000-06:00

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....

2011-11-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

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!!!

i am dying.

2011-11-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

or at least i feel like i am. i do not enjoy being sick, and i am sick as a dog. if you didn't already know, flu season is here! uuuughhhh.....so, while i'm at home drowning in my own snot, i figured i may as well get off the couch for a bit and make a post. finally-- the poodle dress!!!!

yesssssssssssssss...........

i totally made this weeks ago, but i haven't gotten around to taking decent photos of it until now! i used this pattern-

simplicity 3961

which i grabbed at the same estate sale as the fabric. as soon as i held them both up, i knew they were meant to be! well, actually my first thought was "oh my god-- these would be the BEST KITCHEN CURTAINS EVERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!" but i didn't quite think tyler would go for it. our whole house is pretty bright and less than masculine already... so second thought... this dress:

woop woop!

i seriously loooove this dress! it has pockets, puppies, and looks fantastic with a big, big crinoline! i wasn't totally sold on the bows, so they are both detachable. so far i've worn this with just one bow attached, and i stuck this marvelous pin on it that tyler's lovely aunt sherry got me for christmas last year

go on, say it. d'awwwwwwwwwwww.....

speaking of the house....you know, a few paragraphs back.... we FINALLY got a coat of paint on it! holllaaaaaaa!

once i have my shutters and flower boxes, i will be happy

if you don't know already, tyler and i moved into this house in january of this year. true story- used to be a crack house. really. and it totally looked the part when we moved it. it took WEEKS before i would even get naked here!

while it may not be the biggest or greatest house in the world, it has a lot of potential! it was built in 1948, has all wood floors, a detached garage, a fig tree, a pecan tree and two pomegranate trees, is in a nice neighborhood with MULTIPLE ice cream trucks, is walking distance from the grocery store... and also we have a KILLER back yard! it is huuuuuuge!

we still have a lot of work to do, but fixing it up like we want it is pretty amazing. there is some more exterior work to be done, and the kitchen is pretty bare right now, but it does have a new ceiling, walls and tile floor! the bathroom has been our greatest accomplishment so far. we have some trim to paint and need to fix the window frame, but check this shit out! we are awesome!

i know these are too big, but you have to look at it up close to really appreciate the work we did!

so, it has been awesome! with all of the time im spending at home i wish i could be doing more productive things, but it just isn't gonna happen. i plan on doing nothing more than sitting on the couch eating soup and watching this show until i get better.

poor, poor tyler....

too busy for the internets? perhaps....

2011-10-21T22:05:00.001-05:00

i have just been caught in the middle of the busiest month of all time!

first-- there was this this dress for my friend emily

from simplicity 6465

then i got things ready for a local market (which ended up getting cancelled at the last minute!!!) so there was the big '15 dresses in 36 hours' ordeal

mccalls 4003 simplicity 4270

simplicity 7689 advance 9648

self drafted simplicity 3430

simplicity 4270 simplicity 9152

mccalls 7647 spadea n-1171

yes i know that's only ten, but some of them really don't photograph

very well... so just trust me on this one!

there is some more detail on those at sew weekly...
and while that was going on, i also gave my friend kiki a quick silk screening lesson. she learned fast and whipped out a huge batch of these for the same market!

she still has tons-- let me know if you want one!!!

and i made my first renaissance fair outfit...

could of gotten a better photo.... really wish i did

and i have also been up to my ears in mending, alterations, fixing a brides maid dress and halloween costumes! AAAAAND the san antonio beard cultivation society needed a flag, so i made that too! i have been crazy busy!

....

oh! and THEN, there was this super cool estate sale i went to with my brother, and we got tons of cool sewing stuff! i have been teaching him to tailor his own clothes, and he has caught on really well! ok so here is the loot:

a future dress....

a future winter coat that i already have a fur collar picked out for....

i could not even wait to use this!!! im wearing the dress right now...

photos to come!

more patterns i didn't need....

and a few more...

and OH MY GOD! that 3961 is the poodle dress!!!!

in anticipation of cool weather, a nice wool catalina sweater

and craftin' shit

basically, a pretty good haul! the yard sale probably should have been a separate post, but oh well! seeing as how it's only the 21st, and i've still got another 10 days left of this super month, i'd say i'm not even close to done yet... but we will have to see. i have to sleep some time!

now, where was i...

2011-09-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

oh yeah! sewing some shit!

as you may know, rarely do i let a holiday pass without making a dress to match. well, this past weekend was labor day, and once again we spent it at the river house. so, learning my lesson last time (that dress will be off in 5 minutes once i see that water!) i whipped up a new patriotic swimsuit the night before! AND, i took (awkward) photos in it so you's guy's can stop askin ;)

good GOD. taking these was the most awkward moment of my entire week.

well, the top came from mccalls 2722. not really a vintage pattern (why did i say that? not at ALL a vintage pattern.) but view D really had it goin' on.

i was gonna put a close up of the top... but it felt creepy so

just use your imagination. unless you're a pervert.

the bottom i just drafted up. they are basically underwear with a tube sewn over it, it wasn't fucking rocket science or anything. i traced the bottom of a pair of panties i love to make sure my ass wouldn't be floppin' all over the river... but i think a cheek or two snuck out here and there.

i probably shouldn't have waited until the night before to make this... because i made two stupid mistakes.

1) the center panel is soooooo not straight. while i doubt anyone would ever notice (besides a seamstress) the fact that i know it's there is enough to make me uncomfortably aware constantly.

or maybe i had a tumor on my right side i haven't discovered, and it's just pulling this funny...

2) i didn't put a zipper. or buttons. this entire thing is pull on, pull off and let me tell you, this fabric is NOT that stretchy! going pee right after swimming is almost impossible. its like sliding into a small wet paper bag. oh yeah, this isn't swimsuit material. just a stretchy tick gingham i had layin' around! so maybe it's more like three mistakes... lesson learned. again.

so i ALSO made this the other day for my friend shelby's shop, where, if you find yourself in san antonio, be sure to stop by it to pick up a few crissy baker originals.

ok so here is the cheesy dress, myspace style:

"if i look to the side, people will think i'm deep"
"from way up here, the camera won't pick up all of my 300lbs"

i can't find the pattern i made this from. its something old, like everything else awesome in this house. the boobs have pretty awesome cone-ability... but with a bra its a nice smooth chi-chi silhouette. it wasn't even 10 AM when i took these, so a bra and makeup just weren't gonna make it in these photo. not today bud, not today.

kinda goin' back in time it looks like....

the back was just a nice low halter... if i were keeping this, i would probably have done shirring or something nice and comfy back there.... its a bit snug.

as you can tell from my muffiny back?

ugh, i really wish i knew where the pattern was. currently my sewing room looks like this

so there is no way of finding ANYTHING in there, and until i'm done with tommy and amanda's wedding, i probably won't even step foot in there.

...unless tonight i decide i need a new dress.

...which i probably will....

ugh.

and now for something completely different

2011-09-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

a wedding post! you know how sometimes you meet a couple who have been together for years and years and years and every time you see them, it's like looking at a couple who just started dating and are still in the puppy love stage and they are SO friggin' perfect for each other that it makes you want to barf?

well, that's tommy and amanda.

tommy and amanda are two amazing friends of mine who are getting married on saturday. technically i think they got married last year at the court house (something about loving each other so much they couldn't wait more than a month or so after getting engaged or something disgusting like that) but now they are having a big ol' ceremony and reception! i have the honor of making all of their floral arrangements for the wedding and i am so excited about the boutonnieres, i thought i would share them and also make a tutorial if someone else wants to make some like this too!

first off-- check this shit out:

two things you need to know about tommy and amanda-
they love comics, and they are dance MACHINES!

so flowers made out of comic book pages really seemed fitting. tommy does some super cool artwork using comic books, plus it seems like he has quite the collection. so, here is how it's done ladies and gents:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

step 1: gather up supplies

things you will need for sure:

-comics (durrrr)

-wire cutters

-about a 14 gauge wire, paper wrapped is better

-floral tape

-your trusty hot glue gun

-scissors

and if you want to make this same type i did, you will also need some greenery (i'm using rose leaves) and green hypericum (there is already so much color, green won't get so lost)

step 2: pick out your flower colors and get yourself some comic books

tommy and amanda's wedding colors are 'peacocky,' so we needed a lot of greens and blues. flip through the books and try to grab some where the main colors are something you need. thor and the x- men were blue and green enough for me. it is important that you watch what you're using. you don't want to use a page that is comic on one side and an ad on the other... which happens all the god damn time.

not awesome

awesome

step 3: cut out 9 billion hearts

yep, just little ol' heart shapes! make them about 1-2" big, and make sure the two round tops are the correct colors on at least one side. they don't need to be perfect, the same shape, or the same size. if you didn't care about colors, it would take about 2 pages worth of cut out hearts to make one flower. since i really, really care, i used about a dozen books to make 10 flowers.

you will go from this...

...to this!

step 4: check yo'self before you wreck yo'self

once you have them cut out, make sure the hearts are ok on both sides. i ended up not using a whole bunch i cut out because they were great on one side, but the other side ended up being too much of the wrong colors. while both sides won't always show, its easier if you just have all usable pieces.

step 5: roll the edges

this is the most annoying step. grab your paper rapped wire (or a kabob stick- that's what i used!) and gently roll the top of the heart, starting at the center so it doesn't tear anywhere. the side with the best coloring on it will be the side that the stick doesn't touch

next, fold it in half around the stick hot-dog style with the top curves facing away from each other

it should look like this....

but here is a video if i didn't describe it well... obviously the 'good side' i mentioned above is the big critter mug in the video

do all of the hearts before you start gluing. it's annoying, but easier when you start gluing

step 6: glue sticks are gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

time for the glue gun! starting with the smaller hearts, you are going to glue them from the flower center, out. the first you use shouldn't be your favorites, because they are just gonna be little tubes.

it's easier if you just watch this video instead of me trying to describe this, but basically you just go in a circle gluing this shit down!

(side note in both videos in this tutorial--

don't criticize my lack of painted nails. not only does nail polish chip off after like, 1 hour because my nails don't know what shape they are supposed to grow in, but i also sewed off half of a fingernail last week and it looks gross, but if ALL my nails look chipped, maybe no one will notice!

also, i'm not a creep. yes, barry white is playing in the background while i make my internet videos, but the sam cooke station on last fm is the bomb. i can't help it.)

keep on adding until you are happy.... and after all that, hopefully you are somewhere around here:

step 7: tape time

hopefully that helped and now you are ready for the floral tape to bust out. if you haven't used floral tape before, here is a tip: pull it a little tight as you wrap and it will get sticky enough to stay. if you pull it TOO tight, your fingers will get sticky and you will most likely rip that shit up and get mad. so don't use your hulk strength for this step. start just under the flower, roll up, and then wrap to the bottom.

make sure the 'stem' is the correct length before you wrap it all up.

step 8: trim your trimmins

you only need like, a leave and a tiny bit of hypericum. i went from this

to this and that already wasn't a full stem AND i cut it down a little more after i was done!

step 9: more tape, really.

get your trimmin's close to the base of the flower, and carefully wrap floral tape around it. the stems from these should be shorter than the length of the paper flower stem. once these are wrapped-- BAM! you are done! curl the bottom, pin that shit on and go get married!

from nerdy to flirty!

2011-09-01T16:28:00.000-05:00

yesterday a wonderful wonderful woman i work with gave me this dress

'used to belong to a square dancer!

she got it at a yardsale forever ago for less than $1, but hasn't worn it in ages so she gave it to me! now, this is an ADORABLE dress, but on me, the length and fit made me look like a super nerd. it was a really awkward highwater length, and fitted strangely on the bodice AND it had a drop waist which, as i have mentioned before, i despise.
so here it is! after a quick revamp-- my new dress!

taa daaa!!!!!

isn't that just god damn adorable? ruffles and flowers and a big ol' bow in the back! look at the cute detail on the fabric!

d'awwwwwwwwwwwww

i do with the the person who made this originally had used a matching thread with the rick rack, but as an incredibly lazy person, i can understand seeing this as too much effort. seriously.

well, with my new dress finished (i promise the crinoline doesn't hang down this far under it when i wear it...) i went out to run errands today and got lots of compliments from all of the old southern gent's i ran into at the grocery store. that must mean it was a success!

hey world, you might as well not exist anymore-

2011-08-30T20:26:00.000-05:00

because the greatest dog who ever roamed the earth is gone.

yesterday we had to put down master splinter, and my heart could not be more broken.

he lived a long life, and spent his last years spoiled rotten and couldn't have been more loved.

we came into each other's lives at just the right time, just we we needed each other most.

words can't express how crushed i am, but i'm so glad i had the opportunity to adopt him and show him the love he deserved.

yeah, he was kind of an asshole, and maybe wasn't the most handsome dog in the universe....

but he was mine and he meant the world to me.

hopefully there are no hernias in dog heaven....

kid's dress, shmid's shmresh

2011-08-30T17:01:00.000-05:00

have you seen that episode of glee where kurt describes rachel as
"she somehow manages to dress like a grandmother and a toddler at the same time"well, as soon as that episode aired, my sister declared that as the best description for me ever. try as i might to deny it.... i always end up proving her right... like last week when i made this dress to sell, but ended up keeping it for myself--

it could be my back to school dress... except i'm a bum and am not back to school....

technically, it is a child's dress pattern.... but its not my fault if it came out super cute and *happen* to fit me perfectly! geeze!

i don't think i bought this... i much have inherited it

right? its a real cute dress! i made it without taking in or adding inches anywhere. all i did was enlarge the armholes and shorten the darts so the boobs wouldn't come out shaped like waffle cones. i don't know what sort of bizarro measurement this pattern was taken in, but it came out fitting me perfectly... me, who is not a girl's size 12, but is actually a 37-27-37 adult... whatever simplicity. whatever.

this actually probably makes people dizzy against all of my freckles

i got the fabric from an estate sale, which means the sweet scent of mothballs filled the air every time the fabric moved for the first few washes... either i finally got the smell out, or i have become immune to it (which would take the grandma part in this ensemble i suppose) tyler helped my pick out the perfect buttons. i used to have my sister for that, but since we moved in together tyler has become my official fashion consultant! i'm preeeeeeeeety sure he hates it.
he usually looks at me like i'm crazy or shrugs his shoulders and says something like "i don't know! why do you keep asking me?" he did good this time though. also, check out that belt! i usually dip into my own belt collection and stay away from covered belts or belt kits... but i figured since i HAVE the belt stuff... why not use it for once! god knows i don't want to become a hoarder. oh hell no.

also since my last post, i ended my month with yet another stupid, stupid sewing injury.

chomp!

god DAMN those rotary cutters! i pinked the shit out of my finger! luckily, i was able to play it off...

SHARK WEEK!

cashing in my good karma

2011-08-05T23:27:00.000-05:00

i must have been really, and i mean REALLY good in my past life.
i get some of the COOLEST STUFF for free! today-- no exception! this evening tyler and i went to a family dinner at his aunt and uncle's house where were greeted at the door by his uncle steve who first apologized to tyler for what he was about to say, and then informed me that there had been an old sewing machine in front of a neighbor's house all day long with a "free- take me" sign taped to it.
we hauled ass and there it was... my beautiful new singer 301.

aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.........

why is that photo yellow? my walls in there are blue! weird. anwho, its soooo pretty! i checked the serial numbers on it and it dates to 1950, when they first came out. it is in incredible shape, runs impeccably, and came with a bunch of goodies!

buttonholer, hem feet, gathering foot, bobbins, tracing paper, blah, blah, blah...

look at the cool case the button holer is in--

cuuuuuuuuute

according to the ol' interweb this machine is 'the best straight stitch machine ever made' and i have to say, so far it seems like that might be accurate! as soon as i plugged this in and threaded the needle and bobbin, it ran flawlessly.

the pink and green thread were already there. i promise im not making
anything that bizarre right now.

so it's totally safe to say i am blown away by this sewing machine. i've been prancing around the house all night singing show-tune type songs to tyler about how much i love this sewing machine. (now that i mention it, this is probably why he turned off the lights and went to bed early...) not only is the machine awesome, but so is the desk it came in. i read online that this was the first sewing machine that could go from portable machine to desk, and i was like, "'the hell do they mean? this beezee is stuck in this desk!" which was understandable to assume, this is the view looking down--

i dont know if this makes sense... those are my knees poking

out from my grey dress... use your imagination or something.

then i fiddled around and found out the foot pedal is just in this little nook and i could take it out with ease, making this a portable machine. dur.

once again, i am an idiot

the way it is set up, to sew you slightly push in a lever hanging from the desk bottom with you right knee. i like this, and would probably keep it this way, except my consew has a lever like this to raise the foot and after last week's accident, i dont need to confuse stopping and going on that machine! so, pedal to the ground.

so it looks like ive got my weekend planned out. i will be playing with this while i finish up a big project ive been working on for the next few days!

it hurts....

2011-08-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

but i've started phase 2 of narrowing down my pattern stash...
so, if you're lookin' to spend some dough on some pretty patterns from the 30's and 40's, help a sista out and bid on this

there's some real cool stuff....

see?

so get busy bidding!

christine

well, i'm an idiot.

2011-07-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

why am i an idiot? because i decided that the little guard thing on my walking foot was too much of an inconvenience when it came to threading my consew so i took it off and then this happened.
i sewed completely through my finger. my good finger. my pointer finger on my right hand.

you SEE that? it went in my nail, and out my fingerprint.

i'm an idiot.

so the guard is going back on and i have officially learned my lesson with high shank sewing machines. so, after a two day break from sewing while the swelling went down and i gave myself ample pouting time, it's back to sewing.....
until i do this again.

weekend dresses and a good ol' ramble

2011-07-18T15:18:00.001-05:00

i had a pretty busy weekend full of fancy dress! on friday we got to celebrate tyler reaching god (or alcoholic) status as they unveiled his plate on the wall at the flying saucer!

we all dressed up and made a big deal out of it, which meant new dress for me! i used advance 6394 for the second time,

which turned out to be a really easy and really nice dress to make!

i got the fabric from a market a while back.... and the zipper i had just laying around in my stash. i drunkenly kept referring to it as my 'slut zipper,' which is probably i sign i should not be wearing this while drinking. things could get dangerous for my modesty.

i got the whole of fabric bolt for like, $5 or something incredible like that, which makes the dress way better than if i had paid full price! saturday we were both a little hung over so nothing happened.... i could tell i was gonna be hungover when i was looking at my camera on the way home and the only photos that weren't blurry were things like this. awkward dancing and using tyler's tie like a dance partner while our friend lee watched us with the most judgmental faces known to man.

but then on sunday when we were all feeling tip top again, my most wonderful aunt carol retired from the texas film commission, so everyone threw her a big party and dubbed her queen of the film commission. here she is arriving in style in a 1962 rolls royce. the guy picked up up early so we got to ride around in it a little bit. it. was. AMAZING.

the thing about our family is, we are all pretty much the same person, but with different quirks and different ages. while my sister and i were standing around waiting for carol to arrive, one of her friends came up and said "oh you must be relatives of carol's!" and we told her yes, and she said "yeah, you have that same.... thing about you that she does!" apparently that 'thing' is being a gaudy, over dressed red head. i LOVE that it is that recognizable of a trait! so, for this i made a dress out of mccalls 8449....

and then just added a little skirt to it.

i loooooooove the collar on this thing, and the little strap detail in the back.

i will make this again probably 1,000 more times. i used a new fabric that i got last week at a closing joann's. i originally planned on using the inside of the fabric, but last minute decided the right side would be better... and i was right.

oh yeah! and before i end this.... i also was super productive today and started a facebook campaign with tyler! we have this incredible chain of book stores here called half priced books. maybe you have one where you live? if you don't, you are missing out! last week they opend a new store so tyler and i went and i got a TON of great new books!

they always have great craft, sewing and fashion books and they are always super cheap! well, earlier this year we moved to a house on the south side of town, and you know how many book stores we have?

NONE.

not one single book store on this entire side of town. isn't that disgusting???? bleh! so, we spoke to a manager at one of the other stores, and they told us that when they were figuring out where to open this newest location, it was between the southside and the location they chose (very very north)

but we lost. obviously. SO we started this facebook campaign, because we figured if it worked to get betty white on snl, it could maybe bring us a book store! so, if you find yourself on facebook, even if you aren't in SA, like our page! it might help!

click here to help us get a book store and i'll love you forever

momma didn't raise no fool

2011-07-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

i know a good deal when i see one, and i know how to appreciate a rarity when i see one. i don't know if you've ever been able to witness a Joann's fabric store closing, but let me tell you- it is AMAZING!
twice i have been lucky enough to experience this. once when i was in high school and didn't sew enough to need a fabric hoard, and then again yesterday.
i knew that there was a location closing because my friend shelby (who runs an incredible vintage shop [where i occasionally sell my clothes at] and etsy store with her hubby even) told me about it a few weeks ago. i decided to wait because i know that instead of moving the merchandise to another store (they don't close one without opening another!) they mark things down more and more as time passes...
and then i forgot.
luckily, this weekend my friend viv told me about it again and i realized it was time to go! i told my sister about it and we headed out for our treasure hunt! dang.

jackpot.

we really liked the outside of the fabric more (left) because the inside looks stupid and memaw.

kathy and i have a deep love of nautical themed clothing... so when we saw this fabric, we went ahead and bought it all.

this ladder fabric will probably become a home repairs dress,

and the other will be a winter capelet for kathy

i also prefer the outside of this fabric (left)

here we have a future sarong dress and pencil skirt, both for kathy

and this is going to be a long dress and a hamburger themed dress.

(you read right. im planning an amazing burger dress.)

and the best best best BEST part?!?!

saved a buttload.

crap, am i doing this right?

2011-07-13T21:17:00.002-05:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

a vintage collar for our house guest

2011-07-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

tyler and i are once again dog-sitting, only this time for a rambunctious little beast named gracie. she's a pretty awesome dog and she, unlike my dogs, does tricks! she high fives, sits, lays down, gets off the furniture when you tell her to... she's great! so, i made her a new collar yesterday so she would feel like a lady.

i inherited about a dozen of these collars from a relative's hoard in pink, blue and yellow flowers. they are super cute and pretty and look great with lace and rickrack, but they are also pretty small... so gracie might end up going home with one in every color and maybe even a few to spare...

shorts on a sho'tay!

2011-07-10T16:21:00.001-05:00

it's summer time and its hot as a crotch so i decided to make some shorts! also, because it sometimes get a little too hot for a crinoline and lifting my dress up and cooling down my lady bits at every low fan or window unit i see apparently isn't "socially acceptable."

.....whatever that means.

so here are my shorts! sorry about the awkward positioning of my body, but it is hard to take photos in a poorly lit hallway all by my lonesome!

there were some pretty intense issues with these and the massive fupa they created... i told them, HELL NO!

also, check out this cool button i used! i found it in a purse i bought at a vintage shop!

so i used mccalls 9021, view a. i can't remember where i got this pattern from, but i did like it after all of the altering was done. oh yeah, i also had to make them considerably shorter than they suggested. they length they wanted made me look like a softball coach.

and in conclusion, if you are looking for a cameltoe enhancing, fupa creating, softball length pair of shorts, make these! if you want normal shorts, make these anyways but be ready for a crap ton of alterations!

dear world of zippers,

2011-07-07T21:57:00.001-05:00

don't you ever, and i mean EVER, suggest culottes again! what are you thinking??? maybe it's the 4 glasses of cheap wine i've had already today, but i'm feelin' frisky and i won't hesitate to sew you onto a fanny pack or something else horrible! you best watch yo' self, bitch.

xoxo,

moderately intoxicated crissy

a non-patriotic dress

2011-07-02T22:41:00.001-05:00

for once, i'm letting a holiday pass without making a dress to match it. partly because i don't need more red white and blue dresses than i already have, and partly because memorial day wasn't all that long ago and i don't have anymore fabric in my stash to match. instead, i finally decided to use some fabric that i had been saving for just the right pattern... and i found it. behold!

from simplicity 4116- thats right, this pattern is only 5 years old!

i even used a NEW pattern for a change! course, i had to make a few alterations to make it more me.... like a fuller skirt, tighter bodice and a MUCH higher waist... i mean really, does a dropped waist look good on ANYONE????

finally used some of my trim stash!

i also had to add some cute purple and black trim. the pattern called for lots of ruffles and lace and what not, but i'm happy with just this. i looooooove the colors and print of the fabric. its all cakes and mushrooms and mysterious things that i can only assume are also food related!

omnomnomnom!

i wish i had more of this fabric, but i only had enough for this. i also realize now that iron this before i took those photos would have been a good idea. we came home from a little get together with tyler's family and i had a hankerin' for some bloggin' so y'all are just gonna have to deal with it

a weekend on the grill

2011-06-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

this was a pretty productive weekend! i ended up spending pretty much the rest of friday and a good chunk of saturday morning setting up and playing with my new sewing machine.

basically, i am in love. it is just SO AWESOME! it sews through everything! i'm not a huge fan of the walking foot it came with, but i need to go pick up some other attachments anyways so i'll worry about that then. after tyler got up saturday, we made out way to the farmer's market for basil fest and snagged up some goodies (bison meat, fresh veggies and fresh goat cheese) took them home and got busy!

this tasted as good as it looked. particularly the little portobellos!

we also picked our first batch of figs from our tree,

they taste better than they look...

ate a few, and then i made a really good vanilla meringue with fresh fig slices in it! it was goooooooooood...

sunday we traded some of these for cupcakes from our 75 year old neighbor!

and then on sunday tyler and i went to a birthday party for our friend josh and had some wonderful drinks and eats. i (of course) made a new dress to go to the party in-- behold: the jazz bear dress!

i think this is for kid jammies, so it is REALLY soft!

i love the fabric so much, just look at that print! bears, squirrels and raccoons!

i used a pattern i hadn't used before, butterick 2906.... and lemme just say that had the most inaccurate measurements EVER! it should have fit me perfectly, but i ended up taking at LEAST 4" off the bodice!

i guess it's always a good thing when you're smaller than you thought, but i was trying to finish this in about 2 hours and could really have done without the extra drafting! in the end, all was good and i got to wear the most girly shoes in the world-- and they matched perfectly!

a few new additions to the house this week

2011-06-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

yesterday was a big day at our house! first, MY NEW SEWING MACHINE IS HERE!!!!!!

huuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

and then, tyler's momma dropped off her dog and parakeet for us to watch while she's on vacation with her mother, and to keep her company, my little puppy audrey finally got to move in too!

that's bella the shih tzu in the back... no point in showing her face.

its totally covered in fur right now!and that's my little one in the front

so far all has gone well. i got the machine set up and running this morning, the dogs are getting along fine, and splinter has taken up residence in bella's bed. looks like a good weekend for everyone!

i forgot these...

2011-06-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

i actually forgot to post these for a long time...

these are two dresses i made to wear to funerals (bummer) and have not posted yet..... so here they are! the first is from spadea N-1245 ( i wanna say this is 1963 but i'm not totally sure)

looking at it like this, the front and back totally look the same.

another pattern i got for free! wooooooo!

i made the entire dress in this black lace, which my sister picked up a bolt of for me from a huge yard sale at a big local theater

she loves me....

it's really light weight and soft, which is good for our weather. i've already worn this a couple times! the second dress is from simplicity 1536 from 1956.

this dress is a little too heavy to wear in the summer... it'll be a fall dress for sure!

the pattern is from my favorite vintage shop in town. they always have great patterns and clothes and furniture for super cheap! i think this was probably 50 cents or a dollar... and now that im writing about it, i realize i haven't been there in ages and perhaps i'll have to add that to my todo list for the weeked!

any occasion to make a new dress....

2011-06-03T11:19:00.000-05:00

today i am going on a big business shopping trip with my new boss to buy a new sewing machine, fabrics and other dog bed things.... so i thought i needed a good new dress! some of the places we are headed to aren't the most well air conditioned places, and also this is south texas so i whipped up something cool and cute!

taa daaaaaa!!!

this is simplicity 6982 from 1975. generally, im not the biggest fan of the seventies, but a cute pattern is a cute pattern!

i went ahead and left the sleeves off.... it might keep me a little cooler that way!

the fabric is really nice. i had about 4 yards of it and its very very comfy! the pattern called for a curved edge on the skirt, but i didnt want to mess up the border print so i just cut it straight and used my ruffle foot to bring it in... plus now it looks killer with a little crinoline! the pattern is really great. i wish my camera captured it better than it did, but what can ya do?!

i also dont think the colors are done much justice here

in addition to this, i also finished up a shirt i made for that handsome piece of man i call tyler. he loves him a pearl snap, and i love him, so i made this:

showing off before work... and shakin' that sweet caboose!

this is from a stretch and sew pattern, 1762. the men all look super doofusey on the envelope, luckily that wasn't transferred to tyler in the process. the collar was HUGE on this, so i ended up having to take it off when i was done, cut about 2 inches off, and then sew it back on. ridiculous.

view c looks like my dad in the 70's

i did finally get to use these awesome snaps i've had in my stash for a while. i had 2 packages, both from 1950. i think that i got these at a flea market, but i cant really remember anymore.

these only came in packs a 4. how stupid.

this was the first shirt i made for tyler. i had started another a while back but i lost one of the sleeves before i could attach it. he came home from work yesterday with 3 packs of pearl snaps he bought online, so it looks like i'll be venturing into mens shirts a little more often from now on!

attack of the down/feather blend!

2011-05-31T22:46:00.000-05:00

so i'm finishing up another dog bed today. we are trying to make them as luxurious as possible... so far we have tried cotton batting, poly blends and a memory foam mattress, but this bed- oh, this bed.....

FREAKING FEATHERS!!!!!!!!

good GOD they are everywhere! i knew this was going to be messy, but i didn't expect them to be literally in everything. when i went pee after doing this, there were feathers in my undies. no joke.

the good thing about this is that i got to make my second trip to the foam products store, which has become (embarrassingly so) my new favorite store. it is so cool in there! they have so much neat stuff for pretty cheap! you can get all kinds of foam and mattress in absolutely any shape or size... they have cheap leathers and upholsteries fabric dyes, binding, glues, things for ironing, things for wrinkles, neat tools, commercial sewing machines.... i feel like a kid in a candy store!

when i got the feathers i decided i would see how big the bags are to determine how much to buy. you can only buy in 5 and 10 pound increments, and in 50/50 or 25/75 down/feather blends. the 5 pound bag didnt look like it would fill a whole bed so i got the 10 pounder. it was about as big as if i held my finger tips together like a ballerina. seemed perfect!

WELL...

then i got home, untied the string at the top and it EXPLODED into a bag 3 feet tall and spewing with feathers!

i probably should have known it would take a lot of compressing to make a 10 POUND bag of feathers so small. and i should have known 10 POUNDS of feathers was a shit load of fluff.

there is soooo much left over! in all i was able to stuff a big bed, 2 pillows, carpet my house and dog, involuntarily stuff my panties and stir up tyler's down allergy.
lesson learned: next time charge more for feathers.

memorial day dress!

2011-05-30T18:54:00.000-05:00

i'm sure it has become obvious by now that i can NOT pass up an occasion to make a new dress/dress up when totally unnecessary.

so yesterday we went to a big bbq on the river with mine and tyler's families and i got to wear this:

(this is the front, and the back is on the right...

tyler kept saying i had my dress on backwards all day...)

i only wore it for a little while before we got in the water, but then i got the give my new swimsuit a good run! it worked out perfect by the way...

i made the dress from mccalls 5314, which i used earlier this month for the market is sewed for...

but this time i took a photo that didnt make the dress look like a turd. i even was able to completely do all of the sewing in the 2 hours i had in the morning before we left! those are some speedy skillz, yo. i am 100% sure i am the only girl in texas who wears petticoats to the river, but i dont think anyone else had a dress this awesome for the holiday either! i loooooove the back detail, it is such a fun dress!

(probably should'a ironed the bow first.....)

and just to make you jealous before i post this, behold-- the amazing place we spent the day:

at the river...

looking towards the house....

suck it anthropologie!

2011-05-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

like i'm sure most of you have done (because i keep seeing it mentioned on blogs) i too recently fell in love with this swim suit from anthropologie... but realistically, most of us aren't gonna shell out that much money for a one piece swimsuit. i mean, come on guys. thats just silly.

so in an effort to feel better in a swimsuit with my newly grown big ass, i took a little trip down to hancock fabrics (which is still weird, i almost never use new fabric) bought a yard of their swim wear fabric and a bundle of black elastic and went to work! i drafted and sewed this up today in about an hour-- CHECK IT!

in your face anthro! i'll be spending my $143.64 elsewhere, thank you.

POWER WEEK!!!

2011-05-24T10:20:00.000-05:00

so just to explain why there was never a picture of my in my madonna get up- i was defeated by a crummy plastic zipper. as we were about to walk out the door the zipper busted on it so i ended up wearing just a slip and a vintage bra :/ what a bummer....
on the bright side though, i already have my halloween costume done!!!
in new news-- about 2 weeks ago i was asked by a really wonderful girl who owns a really wonderful vintage shop in town if i would like to sell my clothes in her shop! how could i say no??? so i busted ass to make a shitload of clothes for her to sell in a little market that was held this weekend at the pearl brewery- which used to be a brewery but is now an incredible live/work/eat/play/market/awesome space that i also work out of now for the dog bed job! so behold! this is only SOME of the stuff i whipped up for her!

i was given this fabric last year and i had apparently been sitting on the

shelf waiting for this dress....

this actually has a waist on it. i regretfully did not get good photos of

pretty much any of these. i just rushed out the door with crap-shots.

this was my favorite, but these photos couldn't do it less justice. i am

remaking this for myself and will get the good shots!

this came out so cute!!! it is a plus size, which was a little new for me

to work with, but came out easy! i looooove the lobster :)

in all i sent her 16 outfits. i was BUSY!!!!

AND i have been doing sewing other than for the shop! my sister's birthday was on the 8th, so we had a party for her the following weekend. the theme was one my siblings and i have been dreaming of using for years-- HANNA BARBERA COSTUME PARTY!!!!! it was soooooo rad :)

i used these two patterns for tyler and my costume shorts:

and i came up with these:

taaa daaaa!!!!

we kicked ass as the harlem globe trotters! we also had the entire cast of captain planet, shazaan (the birthday girl), 3 or 4 pebbles, 3 shaggys, a member of the hair bear bunch, lots of scooby doo and flinstones characters, and sea lab (an exception since its not hanna barbera but is awesome.) it was a great night... it actually got cold which is totally bizarre for may in texas, but it was pleasant all the same.

so not that that is all done with, i am now working on tailoring some suits for my brother, who recently graduated college and is ready for interviews, altering my cousins 1930's style wedding dress and i am also (this is my favorite new project) making a dress for my beautiful friend lauren who is going to a vaudeville themed wedding this week! she needed something fantastic so we designed a paul poiret inspired dress! its being made with a nice cobalt blue satin with a white and black striped under layer. pretty much this is going to be the best dress ever! hopefully i will post the photos today or tomorrow!

because i can NOT do anything the easy way....

2011-04-29T23:28:00.000-05:00

i love costume parties. and i mean, LOVE.
i love making outfits, getting dolled up, mingling with other people dressed up like crazies... there just isn't one thing about them that i don't love! tomorrow is my friend anita's birthday party, and it it not a costume party.
the theme: lingerie party. seriously. underwear.
well, i decided not to let that 'theme' get in my way, and i have created possibly the most ridiculous outfit possible. this is my choice for lingerie:

hell yeah i'm making a coney unitard!

most likely i am just going to look crazy, but I think that i would be crazy NOT to! i already have almost a full bolt of pink satin, belt kits and plenty of t.p. to stuff the cones with-- so i started my sketches and got to work!

this is my attempt to sketch. laugh and i might have to pulverize you.

luckily for me, jean paul gaultier has twitter account (yeah, twitter! 'the fuck??) so when i was google-ing for better photos, i came across this gem and others he has posted up on twitter that really helped put some detail into my sketches...

unfortunately for me, i did not add the handy pee slot that looks like it has.
(i hope its just for peeing....)

so far this is where i'm at. and i want to say, i am NOT this short and stumpy... at least i don't think i am.

taa daaaaaaa

a little detailing around the leg hole

mother of pearl hardware on the shoulder straps

i am basically finished... i still need to attach the garters in the back, do a little reinforcement stitching...

because wearing something this tight when the fabric has ZERO stretch to it is a little rough on the seams, and i need to figure out the boobs. they are a *little* to spaced out i think. they kind of get all wonky when i put it on, like one is looking east and the other is looking west.

i looked at madonna's photos on line, and it looks like she had 2 of these outfits. one has the boobs real close and looking forward, and the other one has a pretty decent sized gap between so both boobs are looking backstage at the same time. i might leave the spacing, only because i don't want to jeopardize this profile:

you know someone is getting stabbed before the night ends!

also, i really like how the stitching came out on the cones

the inside isn't as pretty, but there is hidden boning in there! about 8 pieces per pyramid!

in all, this really has not been too difficult to make. i used the clown hat from simplicity 4863

which belonged to tyler's grandmother, she had 2 in different sizes for each of her girls!

and because i didn't want my ass hanging out, i used simplicity 5525 to cut out the back pieces.

i had to use my imagination to add stretch room...

all the rest was just cutting and guessing. like i said before- wingin' it is totally my thing!

now since i still have a little bit more to add, tomorrow i will post of a photo of me wearing this. i think im gonna have to set my hair in curlers (even though my hair is already curly-- i DEMAND ringlets!) and maybe draw on a big dramatic mole (even though i am already all freckle-y....)

...you know, all i have to do is show up in any underwear. i don't have to do this and really it couldn't be less necessary, but where is the fun in that?

sewing room is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2011-04-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

pretty much all done in the sewing room, and im just gonna say- hot DAMN is it fantastic!
BEHOLD! the wonders of the craft space:

i. have room. for. EVERYTHING!

all of my machines have a place...

i am so excited, i think i even peed a little....

space for my buttons,

all of my patterns,

and my vintage herbert levines- which come on, deserve their own space!

and i even have space for BOTH of my dress forms which means i can finally finish these three pieces i've been working on-

i've used the shirt and skirt patterns before, and the pink dress is self drafted but has a pretty vintage collar on it that i got for free by smooth talkin' an old man at the flea market

the dress is un-attaching from the collar, thats the part that needs more work

i also found these vintage birds i got from my favorite vintage shop. they look like they are cut off of something, so it might be tricky to use without the old fabric showing.

they are sequins and beads and are much better looking up close

and, best of all, little stinky splinter finally got to come over and move back in with me! he got his own special bed in the sewing room today, which will SOON be replace by a expensive one i made :)

look at them crooked arms and tongue! i just love him to bits!

so hopefully this means lots of new projects coming up soon. i still have a couple of boxes to unpack still which i know are full of more vintage treats :)

ain't no post like a over due post!

2011-04-25T15:31:00.001-05:00

also, ain't no blogger like an unemployed blogger- and as of today i am once again unemployed!
(this time by choice. no lay-off for this hard ass! and also i don't usually work weekends so i'm counting today as day 1)
on friday i bid adieu to my job that i actually am not entirely sure i ever even mentioned here... so i'll do that now. i *was* working as the seamstress for a chain of dry cleaners here in san antonio. we did about 50/50 military and civilian. it was pretty much an awesome job and i feel like my sewing skills are possibly the most awesome ever. i mean, come on- the sign out front said "PROFESSIONAL TAILORING" and you know what? they meant me! ME! and i was god-damn-fantastic!
things just didn't work out for me [financially] so i told them 'toodles, bitches!' and got my self a new sewing job that could be even better because definitely in my list of favorite things, in the top 5 are sewing and puppy dogs, and i am going to be making super froo-froo dog beds for a living now! hollaaaaaaa!
i am going to be working with this really amazing woman who is a great combination of pretty, smart, dog lovin', and wicked stylish!
my last boss looked like the big booger in the mucinex commercials and was always looking at my boobies, so i look forward to the change.

i guess he wasn't green, but this is fairly accurate...
and to be honest he is a really really nice guy

the only prob-rem is that i won't *exactly* be working there full time for a while, so until then i am just gonna wing it. wingin' it is *kinda* my thing.
now i guess what i was trying to get to with this, is that since i will be having a bit more free time on my hands, hopefully i can get back to sewing more and even occasionally making posts! i even got my sewing room mostly put together! today i plan on finishing it up, but i am building up from a yucky space-

took a little cleaning after this, but here is my blank canvas...

so far i have it painted on all but 1 wall where tyler has like, 3 big book cases FULL of books and what-not, added shelves and a desk and just finished putting together my favorite chairs of all time. probably i'll go finish this right now and post up my finished project :)

cold weather and wieners, but not cold wieners.

2011-02-11T00:24:00.001-06:00

good ol' texas! if there is one thing you can count on, its that the weather here is wonky as hell. last week we went from shorts and tank tops, to snow in like, 2 days. thanks right-- i said

SSSSNNNNNOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!

here's ol' dexter, wondering where his ground went

im sure some of you are out there stuck in 20' of snow and havent seen the actual ground outside for months and probably want to stab me in the eye for being so excited while youve been stuck in a blizzard, but this is the first time i have EVER had a snow day... so suck it.

snow in my back yard? whaaaaa?

i know it isnt that impressive, and honestly its not like i even got to enjoy it that long. it was:
a) not that much
b) melted mostly that day
and c) the weather changes every 15 minutes here!

for example, it was like, 30 degrees when i left for work this morning, and this evening i had the air conditioner on when i drove home! the only time you can ever predict the weather for sure is that from march-november, prepare to sweat you balls (or lady balls as the case may be) off.

so later that weekend my sister kathy and i went to our soon-to-be sister in law's bachelorette party.

lets see.... bride to be is the girl in red with the wang necklace, kathy is in the blue tights next to her and i am second to the right in some killer shoes i got and havent stopped wearing yet!

we learned a few fun facts about dildos (they had one of the sexy toy sales women there), male strippers (funnier than i expected) and tequila rose shots (they sneek up, bastards,) but more importantly, we learned that we aren't mature enough for any of those events to come up. this became apparent at this moment:

shes a magical unicorn!

aaaaand thats the bride to be putting it on her. my family RULES.

so completely different topic, i have fallen in love with a picture of a dress, so as soon as my sewing room is unpacked (cross you fingers next week!!!!) i will be making this:

so prepare for greatness.

i'm not gonna try to make and excuse for not posting in 5,000 years-

2011-01-23T19:22:00.000-06:00

because tyler and i have been moving into/rebuilding our new house and that bitch has been a pain in the ol' tookus! and that means, *ahem,* i am excused.
check this beezee out-

this is what my bathroom looks like RIGHT NOW.

im not totally happy with this, but i am ok with it because believe it or not, that is an improvement. there were some *slight* mold issues with that bathroom, as well as a few issues with rodents.RODENTS! (yeah. you can go ahead and throw up in your mouth a little bit now.)

by the way, it currently sucks to be those furry little bastards. i destroyed their nest and set traps everywhere! they ate holes in my pretty area rug. i will show no [maybe minimal] mercy. they are being lured to their death by the sweet smell of nutella and dog food. buwahahahahahahahahaha!

there are a LOT of things wrong with the house... like we have had to do work on the outside, completely redo the bathroom and kitchen, paint every single room (which we are still working on), paint the outside and garage (which we still haven't done) and plant grass- so something will be there besides dirt- in the yard.

BUT there also are a lot of great things about the house... like the cost, the huge back yard, the big fig tree, hard wood floors, a big cast iron bathtub, a separate room for sewing, a garage, the paint colors we picked for everything, and the absolute best part- i get to fall asleep and wake up next to this every single day:

i mean tyler, not the puppy dog...

uh, and also check out my awkwardly shaped boob there... 'the fuck is goin on?

so, we are mostly settled in now. saturday was 'destroy the bathroom day' and today was supposed to be 'oh shit, put that back together day' but it looks like that one will be carrying into the week with next saturday planed to be 'set tile in the tub surround day'
should be interesting.... but hopefully i can be a little more loyal to the ol' blogger site and put up some more photos of the chez awesome as it comes together! we will see.....

oh yeah-

2010-10-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

and how the HELL are these two releated???

this is father and daughter

while im eating my left over curry....

2010-10-14T10:53:00.000-05:00

i s'pose i'll do my incredibly overdue post/update/recent projects...

(but just so you know, it is a DELICIOUS curry!)

ok, so what have i been up to since summer.... still trying to live without a *real* job, still surrounded by puppy dogs, still have the best boyfriend ever, still working on the hoarder house... BUT tyler and i are getting ready to move into a house in a couple months!!! i am sooo excited! the yard is HUGE and has a pecan tree and a beast of a fig tree in the back! the house was built in the 1940's- its right up my alley! i recently accumulated a lot of incredible mid-century furniture including a beautiful ceader chest and a black 1950's dining room table! the house WILL be a time machine, dammit!

aside from that... i don't want to get into every little thing that has gone on that i SHOULD have been posting up here... so i'm just going to post things as i remember... but basically just pick up like i hadn't quit writing...

hey! look at this book!

and go 'oooooooooooooohhhh!'

tyler's dad's girlfriend showed me this incredible book that belonged to her mother- it's her work book from the 1930's from her sewing school in (i think i remember this right) new york!
the pages we full of different stitches and detailing, mostly all hand done, but a few were by machine. each one was on a pretty pink silk swatch, and then labeled:

perfect.

also perfect- look at the shadows!

i loved this. i wish i had gotten better photos, but this was post-funeral and we had done a little bit of grievin ' drinkin' so... you know how that goes. joann (jerry's girlfriend) said that her mother was a master seamstress! she is in her nineties now, and apparently is also a badass. i like her already!

super burfday grape time!

2010-08-03T09:06:00.007-05:00

this past sunday my great aunt rose put together a big birthday party out on our creek to celebrate half of our family having summer birthdays... good news- ITS GRAPE SEASON!

omnomnomnomnomnom

only too bad because they are mustang grapes and they aren't really good for anything except imagining what eating an eyeball is like.

you cant even eat the skin. it will fucking burn your mouth. wtf?

any who, team girl cousin went out on the hunt for some grapes to eat. after swinging a shovel at a bunch up high, we saw these grapes within reach. after wards, we saw some even closer.

here is super-fox katie picking some treats

and we pretty much felt like goobs. then we played washers and tyler strutted around all handsome-like in his halo of super brownie points he earned this weekend helping my mother and i at a yard sale.

its not a party without parrot ice!

kathy, like always, made her over-the-top birthday cake with very meticulously cut little green leaves and tiny little bows and flowers and i think she spent too much time on this...

but it was sooooooooooo good!

also in good-ness, my other brother got engaged! well, he finally got engaged... after dating for years and years and years- 8 i think... he popped the question with a BEAUTIFUL ring! here they are reenacting the proposal.

the real one had less dogs and less overacting... i think.

so it was a pretty exciting weekend. also i got a new dress form... for FREE! hot damn! this homegirl is named Lenore. shes got some curves! its nice having a plus sized form, so etsy store, prepare to be plus sized!

puppy dogs and what-not

2010-07-23T10:20:00.005-05:00

so this week we are dog sitting for my brother... and i am in love with this little lady!

awwww.......

meet jenny- the toe biting, shoe chewing, super shedding new addition to the baker family! she is very playful, and also very clingy. before she came over audrey had been following me around like a shadow, and once jenny showed up she joined in. kathy keeps calling me the pied piper of dogs.

dick.

also dog related, i noticed this similarity yesterday:

just missing some spots!

i wish i could find a better photo of spunky, but tyler and i recently watched a whole lot of rocco's modern life and when ol' waddle-a-jara made this face i immediately thought of that cartoon pooch!

and now in non-dog related news- i got a little side job as a wedding-helper-sort-of. i am in charge of all floral arrangements, table settings, boutineers and what-not. i finished all of the boutineers already, and they are badass!

taaa-daaaaaaa!

the tables are all gonna be covered in old books and neat vases and what-not.... im excited to be putting this together! hopefully, people dont steal all the cool shit i bought.... if they do ill just have to knock some skulls together or bring on the thunder or something like that.

'cause i will.

hot damn my magazine came out!

2010-07-08T11:23:00.005-05:00

check it out beezees!
i got my copy yesterday from tyler! im all giddy.... oh geeze...

i also snagged up a lot of great vintage clothes from a girl i found in craigslist- which never ceases to amaze me! AND i got some new patterns!

i couldn't not get them...

plus these go well with a few others i snagged up this weekend:

the reproductions are both patterns i've been looking for for ages- score!

and in other news, some sort of monster beast ant bit my god damn foot and now i have the foot version of sausage fingers:

sausage toes

maybe they aren't that dramatic, but my foot is all poofy and i am upset. i literally JUST got my other foot to where i can wear normal shoes again and this is what happens!
this is why no one likes ants.

...bunch of assholes.

leeches and fireworks

2010-07-08T10:37:00.004-05:00

i was so on a roll. i was doing so good posting on here fairly regularly and then... ugh.
well, here is a wrap up of my weekend before the new weekend starts!

first, here is my fourth of july dress! i finished it up on the 2nd and wore it out friday night to a big art event in town which had some amazing highlights! my favorite was a large woman in a denny's uniform who kept whipping tyler in the ass!

stars and stripes baby!

i made it from this butterick reproduction:

shortened length... trains aren't practical in the rain

and then i ended the night with two HUGE blisters on the bottom of each foot from my super wedges i wore. sucked.

so then saturday was 'nurse a hangover day' and sunday i went to the river with some friends, audrey booboo and tyler's family. it was sooooooo nice and the weather was beautiful! after that we went to see fireworks which was also beautiful.

on monday me, my momma, my sister and our brother's fiancee roxy all went to blanco state park where roxy and i developed the most mad crawfish catching skills of all time.

oh wait, that was us being total whimps! f those pinchers!

we did catch them eventually! we made a system- i would pin them down with a stick and roxy would pick them up! shes braver than i am... but in my defense, those were friggin' lobster sized beasts!

yeah! like tom and huck!

it was pretty nice out there. a couple of fellas came by to do some fishing... i think our high pitch squeals ran them off, so we had the whole dam to our selves! it was best that way, because after mom and kathy had been laying down in the stream for a while and then realized they were COVERED in leeches, they were able to scream and run and freak out in private.

it was hilarious. luckily for them it wasn't this kind:

best. dog. ever.

2010-07-03T18:06:00.002-05:00

isnt he handsome?

hoarding house sneek-peek!

2010-06-28T17:35:00.003-05:00

so, here it is after WEEKS of cleaning, organizing and sorting.

weeks.

so here is wall one:

here you can find every sewing notion ever created

wall two

every color of the rainbow represented in thread

wall three

magazines from the 80's on

wall three continued

more magazines, needlework, ribbons and more

and in the livingroom

we have elastic and serger thread mountain!

now keep in mind, there is still a patio and barn full of fabrics! plus, pretty much all of those drawers in all of those dressers are totally packed with fabric! so, again, if you need ANYTHING i am selling these all for cheap! shoot me an email at
crissy_baker (at) yahoo (dot) com

photo shoot pictures!

2010-06-25T12:17:00.003-05:00

i got some of the photos back from the magazine shoot this week! i dont look like a melty tornado at all! hot damn!
im pretty excited so here is the one i think is going in my article:

and here is a great photo of me and tyler

and of us and our 'baby' which was totally delicious!

well done josh huskin, well done indeed.

tagged by clare!

2010-06-22T12:24:00.008-05:00

the lovely clare tagged me in the 8-questions to answer chain letter thing yesterday. im pretty sure i know how this works. if i dont answer and forward it to 100 friends by midnight, the ghost of a 12 year old girl who was killed by a train will sneek through my window and suck my soul out of my nose and eat my eyeballs and i will never find true love, but if i DO, i will win the lottery, someone i care about will reveal something totally important to me in 5 hours and my clothes wont shrink in the dryer or something like that.
so, here goes!
1. Have you ever had a sewing-related injury? Give gory details! If not, any irrational fears?! if i had a nickle for every time i have slipped my finger into the moving needle on my sewing machine, or sliced into my own leg with a rotary cutter, i would have at least $10. the rotary cutters are the worst, they just bleed and bleed and bleeeeeeed! i also have burnt myself with the iron about a billion times. i seriously have some sort of non-sexual (i swear) iron fetish or something where i HAVE to iron every pattern piece, inch of fabric, bias tape-- everything!

2. What would be in your perfect picnic basket?
a bunch of cheeses, but none from cows (allergies), fruits and berries, this really good peach and chicken salad my sister makes and a bottle of wine. but i would like with my basket, tyler, my doggies, a big hat and a croquet set

3. If you had to spend 3 consecutive days on the same train, who would you want with you and why?
definitly tyler! we are equal assholes and can have a good time anywhere we go. plus a train sounds like it would be awesome to go on!

4. What garment/accessory do you wear the most?
easily, my crinoline. i wear it probably 2-3 times a week! i love it soooo much! i got it super cheap on etsy from this fine woman and it has been one of my best vintage purchases so far!

5. What’s your “desert island” book/movie and why could you read/watch it over and over?
the book i choose is easily the little prince. i am *obsessed* with this book. i even have a tattoo on my arm of the little buckaroo!

my pasty-ness keeps it lookin' new!

my movie would be metropolis. there is nothing about that movie that isn't absolutely amazing. last year tyler and i saw it with a live orchestra, it was amazing!

6. Which pattern/vintage style have you been thinking about lately?

tap shorts. they are all i want to wear- if not a skirt or dress! this morning actually i finished up these pretty little shorts for my etsy shop!

from one old pillowcase!

7. What’s your sewing threshold? As in, what will you let go, what must you absolutely fix?
anything that still has life in it. right now i am putting a 1930s/1940s evening gown together again. all of the thread dried out and the dress fell to pieces, but the pieces are still fine so its going to be brought back to life! thats also why i use almost exclusively old linens to sew from. as i see it, there are enough beautiful fabrics and materials in the world already, so why not use those up before we make new ones?

8. What are your favourite / least favourite words? These can be connected to sewing or not!
i call people 'buster' and 'buckaroo' a lot... tyler is always greeted as 'handsome' and my sister and i make that weird noise master pain makes in 'kung pow' all the time... you know, the one that goes, "meeeeeggggghhhhheeeeeeerrreeeeeee!"

ok, so girl from the ring, back the fuck off! im passing this on to:

molly at molly's sewing and garage sale adventures
debi at my happy sewing place
vivian at vivian von dimples
tilly at tilly and the buttons
and
sarah at rhinestones and telephones

so ladies, if you ever want to go on a date or kiss a boy or win the lottery or get both socks out of the dryer ever again, answer 4 of those questions and these 4 below!

1. What wouldn’t you be caught dead in?
2. What is your favorite holiday?
3. How do you relax?
4. What is one place that you really want to visit that you haven’t been to before?

freebies and not-so-freebies!

2010-06-21T23:52:00.006-05:00

so in the last week or so, i have continued accumulating more crap that i do not need...
b u t . . .
it is all totally awesome so check this out! here are some treats from the hoarding house:

i did need more tracing paper, and i am a total sucker for packaging...

and this cool-tool for marking patterns without destroying them with a tracing wheel!

a button spacer (awesome!) and button holder

seriously- its like they invented this for carpal tunnel. if you have it, you need this tool!

and the best. apron. ever.

and then i went estate/garage sale-ing and to the flea market with tyler and i snagged up these treats and more:

$10 for all these hats!

tons of new brooches and pins and sweater clips... even though it is currently 100 degrees outside with a heat index of 4,000, they were all maybe $15 total!

and i also got 4 skirts from the 1940s, an evening gown from the 1930s, a party dress from the 1950s, a robe from the 1940s, a fonzi puzzle, some necklaces and a chef hat!
now, here is the BEST FREEBIE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE:

i KNOW! its friggin' awesome!!!!!

the woman who i am cleaning the hoarding house for *gave* this to me this weekend! pretty much made. my. life.

just wanted to brag....

sewing helper

2010-06-16T12:45:00.003-05:00

god damn adorable.

how did i forget this?

2010-06-16T09:25:00.008-05:00

i had probably the most productive day ever last week! i mean, usually i can get a lot done in a day, but i even surprised myself! so friday i came home from tyler's in the morning and started sewing and i did. not. stop.
well, i stopped for a little while to make a wedding gift but thats in a second....
i made a shirt, shorts, sewed button holes and buttons on a skirt that i made in november, and then i made a bad ass dress! WTF???
the shirt i made for my sister kathy. she bought this fabric ages ago and picked out a pattern and i kept putting it off and putting it off... and then one day we saw the *exact* same shirt on modcloth for $107! WTF???

theirs vs. mine:

mine is from simplicity 7896, suckas

and i made these cute little 'tap-shorts':

simplicity 6973- you better believe my ass hangs out the bottom!

and this friggin' awesome dress:

anne adams 4769

and, AND i did a glass etching on a champagne bottle and glasses for a wedding we went to the next day!

im just gonna out the design from the bottle here because they never show up in photos.

clearly, someone spiked my coffee.

its like... atlantis or something!

2010-06-14T12:41:00.000-05:00

you know how some people look like things... and you cant put your finger on what it is they look like but then when you finally realize what it is its like the universe makes sense?

exhibit a

i really wish i could remember who i described as looking like a melting wolf the other day. its been bothering me nonstop.

anywho... so ive been over at the hoarder house a lot lately and i hope you ladies are ready for some goodies! last week i organized *all* of her books. all 200+ of them. several duplicates but there are books about everything crafty!
this week ive been going through all of her dressers in there and ive been finding things that i didnt even know existed! amazing things! its like treasure island or atlantis! magical goodies around every corner! haazaaaah!
i also am bracing myself for the 40+ boxes of fabric in the garage. ive brought home some fabrics already and made myself some nice things- like this! but there is still soooooo much more!

and on another side note, next month i am going to be in a local magazine for my vintage sewing and collecting! tyler is writing the article and on monday our friend josh is coming out to take some photos. i hope he understands that this is a challenge because i just so happen to be the most un-photogenic person of all time.
pretty much every picture of me includes at least one of the following:
- crazy eye
- crazy hair
- a look like i need to poop or something
- a look like i am pooping or something
- weird contorting that makes me look like a tornado
- sudden disappearance of upper lip, eye brows, and/or all feminine qualities
so either he will be like, the best photographer ever and get a good photo, or ill go in the magazine looking like this:

how do i even have a boyfriend?

i feel like i should note that in the photo we were at my humid out-door camping birthday party... things were tough.

guadalajara

2010-06-09T17:28:00.005-05:00

we got hit by a SUPER storm last night and lightning struck the transformer for our house, leaving us without power for about 13 hours. what with this being south texas and all, it was both hot-as-balls, and humid.
so! to pass the time my beautiful baby girl guadalajara and i had a photo shoot outside!

after that, my mother found my diary from 1997 which was absolutely PHENOMENAL!
apparently i was a bit of a creep. the obsession i have for john and steven- whew! its a wonder i didnt grow up to be a total stalker (or did i???)
puberty also hit me pretty hard:

i would be lying if i didnt say i was confused about the 'length' of my boobs... which never did get all that big either. all i know is after tyler sees that i have made that photo my status on facebook and tagged him as the boob line, i might be single.

later blog,
crissy baker

ps
my boobs totally got bigger!!

pss
they are about
___________________ long

i enjoy being a girl

2010-06-08T15:40:00.006-05:00

because i get to make and wear stuff like this:

and i totally have the perfect hat to go with it!

i have a wedding to attend this weekend so of course i had to make a new outfit! plus its tyler's family... and i believe they have all come to expect this sort of thing by now.
... as well they should.
i am in love with this dress though, totally serious. its made from simplicity 4637 from 1954.

AND this was a free pattern!

i started it last night about 7 and just finished the ol' girl up! yeehaw! i think i am allowed to be at maximum sass in this dress because thats what i was getting putting it together.
first, i didnt have all of the pattern pieces
second, i ran out of the thread i was using at the sleeves with exactly ONE FRIGGIN INCH LEFT.

its true, i measured!

then my iron, which i use on EVERYTHING when im sewing was getting all poopy-doody so i had to stop today and clean it up

'the fuck did this even come from???

and THEN i didnt have any more of the bias tape i was using for the trim so i went to that hoarders house because its a hell of a lot closer than any fabric stores and its the one color she DIDNT buy in bias tape so i came home all cranky- but not too much because i grabbed some patterns while i was there- and found the size/color i needed like, 3 feet from the sewing machine!

OHMYGODDDHGKNSKFHSODRSOELDFJSODSJDFZSLUJSDF!!!!

i was upset.

but then i finshed it up and twirled around and now i feel good because its so darn pretty!

just look at all those pleats!

everything i like about girlyness in one dress! pleats, petticoats, flowers, bows, matching hats! i might even have to get out some gloves!

i have enough fabric left over to make audrey a pretty bow or dress or shirt or something too!
not that she needs any help being fucking ADORABLE or anything. shes completely got that down.

beach weekend!

2010-06-07T10:35:00.009-05:00

this weekend i joined tylers family for a lovely weekend beach trip! it was so nice :) the weather was perfect and the water, perfecto! we even had the opportunity to meet a bunch of parrots!

thats tyler in the back with the orange bird on his head and me in the front in the 2-piece. normally i dont think i look so uncomfortable in photos, but he totally gave me the bird named peepee. seriously dude? .... its just asking for trouble.

and BONUS: i didnt get burnt like last year when we went! this is a BIG accomplishment for me. i might be the whitest white girl out there, so the sun rays hunt me down and get me every time. last year, i ended up all red and blistered like this:

shits nasty, yall

we also passed up a shopping center that was clearly designed with me in mind:

thats right- fabric, donuts and booze!

so i also happened to have on the best beach outfit of all time while i was there! it is the one i have on in the bird photo

sorry for the awkwardness, i cant find my tripod so i have to take photos like a 15 year old on myspace.

the skirt is from butterick 9633 and the top is from view c on stretch & sew 1362.

i made the whole thing from one full sized fitted bed sheet. i was hoping there would be enough for some cute little bloomers but the stripes wouldnt fall together right. i really like the top, and will definetly be making another one in a more 'water-friendly' material.
so i had this amazing get up and then i also got a package in the mail just before we left. it was the shoes ive been waiting for all week long! the *perfect* shoes for this outfit- behold!

a.maz.ing.
i love these shoes so much! they are comfy, cute and have a wedge! i got theme here if anyone interested... which you should be! this also was the first time ive gotten to wear 2 shoes in a month! i got my foot x-rayed the other day (not broken, possibly a torn muscle or ligament) and they gave me a new air cast i can fit either in or over my shoes. thank goodness, i was getting really tired of hobbling around in one shoe all the time!

and speaking of, let me show you my skirt i made for that dr appointment!

hazaah! its TIME 2000!

i dont know what is the deal with this fabric, but i love it! it used to be a set of curtains (little ones) but i really needed something lazer-y to go with x-rays... right? its from simplicity 8126.

i decided against the pleat in the front, partly because it wasnt right for this fabric, partly because i didnt have enough of the fabric. it can out awesome though and tyler, who loves him some sci-fi, really like it a lot.
win.

*update-ish*
i found a photo sort of, of my awesome beach getup!

foreign territory

2010-05-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

holy crap y'all. i haven't made a post in a LONG ass time! geeze.
well, a lot has happened. . .
ive mostly been working on a boatload of clothes for my friend, which has been a most difficult task. she is spending the summer in europe studying and what-not and wanted she slick stylish clothing, so i obliged! she went through my mondo-vintage pattern stash and picked out a few gems and i've basically been sewing that for the past month or two.
she is a *very* busty gal... like, we are talkin' 10+ inch difference between her waist and bust... i probably have like, 3 inches tops. this is like, total. foreign. territory.

(like, come on. homegirl's got some knockers)

lots and lots of drafting and muslins have been cut. and recut. and recut. but at this moment i am taking a break from sewing one of the very last pieces!
as per my style, i am rushing at the last moments to get this finished in time for her departure, but for once i can honestly say this has not all been due to my procrastination!
earlier this month tyler and i were in a big car accident. we totaled his car and i probably broke my foot.

(im getting that bad boy x-rayed this week)

so that was about a week and a half where i couldn't push my foot down on the machine pedal. then my f'ing bobbin case broke so i had to wait a week for that to come in the mail. then some bizarro wiring underneath our house like, deteriated or something and made our power all crazy and surgey and we were sure we were about to burn down but instead we just didn't have power for a week which is probably worse because this is south-fucking-texas and it is currently 4,000 degrees outside. and then i *had* to go to the beach because 2 very fantastic friends of mine moved and it was their going away thing. so.... you see, it wasn't ALL my fault! also all that shit went down one thing after the other.
f. that. b.
anywho... im happy to say that as (extremely) stressful as this has been, it was a fantastic learning experience sewing wise. im used to adjusting patterns to fit myself, but this was like taking a 30" bust and turning it into a 47" bust. not so easy my friends. now i feel like a friggin' champ!

green- because thats what color my world is right now

2010-04-12T16:12:00.007-05:00

so this is the first spring in a loooong time that didn't show up in the middle of a drought. i. love. all of it! when i sit in the sewing room with the windows open all i can smell are the flowers! they are everywhere! earlier i was taking some photos for some etsy stuff and this is the background i got: just on the other side of the yard is this:
and just in the other room is the most perfect part about spring time- baby animals!
let it out, "awwwww...." we have 4 beautiful shih tzu puppies! they are still super cute, none of those inevitable google eyes or under bites yet! tyler's momma is getting this one for her birthday!
this also is perfect yard sale weather- its like, my time to shine! a lot of people seem to be clearing out their sewing patterns lately, which is good news for my unnecessary need to purchase them... not so good for my wallet since i still haven't found a job...
i am making some clothes for a friend who is going to the UN later this year, but i am so far getting paid in sewing patterns and gift cards which is totally fine with me. if i don't get a gift card to a store i'll probably never buy shoes...

well, unless they are like, ten dollars...

procrastinate much?

2010-03-30T11:10:00.006-05:00

yes, its true. i am the biggest procrastinator possibly of all time. deal with it.
so since i've been at home enjoying the unemployed life, i've been working on quite a few sewing projects! so, here it is, about a month's worth of sewing!

i made this out of some yard-sale fabric for a wine tasting tyler and i went to:

spadea s-391

this one used to be a bed sheet, but i needed a fancy croquet dress:

simplicity 4982

actually i made this a while back from one big-ass sheet but never photographed it:

the super-sized pockets are the best part!

i can't find the pattern number! ugh!

some more yard sale fabric:

advance 8524

my pretty purple blouse from yard-sale fabric:

simplicity 6276
and my first britches! sailor ones from an old tablecloth! ahoy:

simplicity 3688 (i drafted my own sailor flap)

and this really quick little blouse from a pillowcase:

simplicity 4438

not too shabby, eh? there is one more dress but it's in the laundry... and i am currently working on one more for myself which may or may not be the worst dress ever, and i am making a super business wardrobe for a friend of mine who will be working with the U.N. next year... photos to come!

...eventually.

hazaah! wimberley!

2010-03-07T22:52:00.004-06:00

my favorite ways to spend my weekends are at garage sales, estate sales, flea markets and other things of the sorts. there also is a once-a-month market in a really small town about an hour away called wimberley. wimberly has it's own special market days were people of all sorts set up shop on a couple of acres and let me tell you, they are amazing! you can buy any/everything there! well, after a short break for winter, this saturday was the first market day of the year. tyler and i went and i scored some really amazing patterns- BEHOLD!

so, so pretty! here is a close up of my favorite:

ugh, i cannot even put into words how excited i am to make style 1!!!
what makes it better? i scored all of these for $7! they were all in baggies of 2 or 3 marked for $1 so i snagged up each and every pattern i could find in that booth! she said she had more, so hopefully next month i can swoop in and snag those up as well!

dont mind me....

2010-03-02T23:43:00.002-06:00

just posting this as a reference for someone....

ye ol' boot boot

2010-03-02T22:49:00.000-06:00

i got laid off on friday. sucks ass. so to make the most of my time i started cleaning out/ organizing the tornado alley that is my sewing space. so far the spare bedroom has been unearthed from mounds upon mounds of fabric and etsy clothing, i found a big box of old sewing goodies, my buttons are almost all sorted out by color:

and i finally set up this sexy beast of a sewing machine:

its pretty much safe to say, i am in love with this sewing machine! tyler's mom gave it to me a few months ago. i haven't set it up yet because i thought it would take a lot of time to get all of the kinks figured out- which it did, but i think one quick trip to the sewing store can have this running perfect!
i already used it on a skirt and a dress i have been working on, but the bobbin case is broken in one spot and cracked in another- i think it keeps catching the thread. Also the light bulb is out... but that isn't too big of a deal.

please, don't let me be the only one who caught this

2010-02-19T16:58:00.000-06:00

so yesterday a completely insane man deliberately crashed his plane into an office building in austin, targeting irs workers. i was trying to find some more info in the incident while it was unfolding, so i went to an austin news station and clicked in the story. thats when i found this gem:
yeah, that really did just happen.

2 stomach pumps please

2010-02-02T11:24:00.000-06:00

So Tyler and I had the worst wine of all time this weekend. I emailed the company and thought I would share here too... Mostly because the email couldn't include as many photos as I wanted. So here it is, the fully loaded letter to the winery:
- - - - - - - - - - - -
To Whom It May Concern,
This weekend, my boyfriend and I opened up a bottle we were given of your "vintage 1977 merlot" by his Grandfather. Though it was a thoughtful gift, perhaps next time you could sell him a turd in a box instead? I would prefer that. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you about our horrible wine experience turned experiment.

We first noticed the off-color of the wine. Last I checked, Merlot was a nice deep red wine. This bottle however, was the deepest of reds on bottom and the clearest white wine color on top. Oh, and also there were chunks. Chunks floating around in the wine.
When opening the bottle, we noticed the cork was dark, moist and sunken down, leaving a nice, rancid smelling residue.

The cork came out in two large chunks, and about a million smaller pieces.

The first glass we pored was honey colored and smelled like spoiled hazelnut death. Always the adventurer, my boyfriend Tyler reluctantly took the first sip and- BAM! Immediate regret. I, not quite as brave, just dipped the tip of my tongue in the glass and immediately began dry heaving.
Oh. My. God. It was terrible.
Thinking maybe it just settled (you know, because most wines do that?) we shook it up and poured another-slightly darker, honey colored glass of wine. Guess what?! This one was somehow even worse. I didn't even have to taste it before I started gagging! The smell was more than enough to keep someone from wanting to drink that wine... But we did it anyway. You only live once right?

Bad idea. More heaving. Lots and lots of heaving. Then, curious as to what was causing the gritty residue we both noticed was lingering in our mouths and sticking to the sides of the glasses...

we taped a coffee filter to a pint glass and filtered a nice drink.

By now this had gone from refreshing beverage to science experiment. All we were missing were lab coats. We set up a second filtered glass to see what was going on at the bottom of the bottle and holy crap, it was once again even worse!

Oh my god, you should be ashamed at what we found. There was enough of what we can only assume was residue from the cork committing suicide, that the filters were brown and cloggy. It looked like we made coffee out of dirt and waste!

Oh, and we solved the mystery of the grit. THERE WERE HUGE CHUNKS OF ROTTEN CORK(?) IN THERE! I drank that dammit! You better hope we don't end up with any worms or the plague or some rare and terrible virus or illness from that! Ugh, it makes me want to throw up just thinking about how bad this was.

Barf and barf.
So here is my suggestion- stop making such awful wine! Blech! This stuff was nasty! I'm no wine expert- more like a wine-o, but regardless I have drank more than my fair share of wines in my day and I cannot think of any person who would want to ingest this god-awful product you made. I hope for your sake that this was just a one- time- deal and there aren't more bottle of this out there. Times are tough man, not everyone can go out using up all their coffee filters to see what dangers are lurking in their wine bottles!
And also, since this was ingested into mine and Tyler's bodies:

Please pay for our stomach pumping, because that is not something I think my body will be happy about processing. Oh, and I would also like 2 coffee filters. We certainly will not be drinking another bottle of your sabotaged wine any time soon. Better luck next time.

Regards,
Christine Baker

P.S.
Maybe you just forgot what merlot should look like? Don't worry, we had another bottle on hand. You guess which is which!

again? come on dog butt!

2010-01-20T14:07:00.000-06:00

splinter is going back to the vet for hernia surgery AGAIN.
seriously, this dog did not learn how to digest or something because this is his third surgery in less than a year and its all because he trys to hard when he poops.
so the first time i had a bake sale to pay for his surgery, and i thought i would repost the flyer i made for that in case you wanna throw some dog money splinter's way.

2010-01-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

what the hell did i do to deserve this?

white russians are maybe my most favorite drink and this shit happens every damn time i drink one! fuck you dairy allergies, fuck you.

on a side note, this weekend it rained a whole bunch and due the the low water crossing on my road, my two day weekend was magically transformed into a three day weekend! it only flooded one day, just enough to get some sewing done at the house with time for shenanigans the rest of the weekend. Anywho, the following awesome stuff happened:
we made and ate DINO BROWNIES:

my brother and his amazing girlfriend got engaged!

(true story- he totally is not retarded... or better yet- is not totally retarded)

tyler and i went to the flea market and i got a bunch of new etsy treasures:(this one is my favorite)

plus i took the photos for about a bazillion other etsy items, so's you might wanna check that out sometime soon...
tyler and i went to wimberley and hungout with his grand-dad and dad-dad, as well as a quick stop for the worlds best bloody mary's in san marcos! ill probably post up the photos of my dress i made and the dress i didnt make tomorrow... unless i forget

which is likely.