any occasion to make a new dress....

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!

ain't no post like a over due post!

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 :)

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

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.....

while im eating my left over curry....

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. 

 

 perfect. 

 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!

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!

tagged by clare!

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!

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....

guadalajara

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

beach weekend!

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!