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....

sewing helper

god damn adorable.

how did i forget this?

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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...