Oct. 10

I've been trying to rearrange my room this weekend in hopes of clearing a wall for the sake of taking pictures. I've ended up moving my dresser, a bookcase, and my bed, and got the wall across from the window clear, but now my room is a mess! At least I now know what I'm doing tomorrow night. I was able to take a bunch of pictures this afternoon of a new batch of sewing patterns to put up on my Etsy, so I'll have to get to that here this week.

Today Hancocks was having a pretty good sale, so I hopped over there to check it out and came back with the apron fabric for my Sound of Music dress (blogged about here) and a couple solids that I'm in dire need of. I've found that when I buy fabric I only seem to buy prints, and that is not always a good thing. There have been a few things that I've wanted to try but I couldn't without a contrasting solid fabric. They also had Simplicity patterns for a dollar apiece, so I got a few of those. I'm really excited about a few of them.

I'm loving these Cynthia Rowley ones... I've been seeing that skirt on the top for months now and I think it looks great every time, the waistband detail is lovely. This second one must be new because I haven't seen it anywhere. I think I'd probably make the version A with the shoulders or maybe no shoulders at all for a summer dress. I haven't ever really made anything with long sleeves, so that version might be good to try as well.

I got this one almost purely for the peplum. You can't see it well in the picture I'm afraid. I've been itching to make a dress with one for a while now. This fits the bill of being more fitted than most of my other dresses as well. Almost all of my dresses and skirts are full or shapeless which I don't think works as well for winter as it does for warm weather. I have a few patterns for pencil skirts and simple A-lines, so hopefully that can be averted this season.

Oct. 4

It has been longer since my last post than I meant... I've been busy, I promise! This weekend I went with a friend to his family reunion in Bentonsport, Iowa which was a very small town and very relaxing. He has some adorable little cousins that we played with a lot... I taught one how to throw a frisbee and take a picture with my digital camera. I believe by the end of the day she took a hundred and fifty pictures, almost all of them being either out of focus or of the floor. The things I do to entertain a cute child!

Today I picked up my sewing machine and I look forward to trying it out to make sure it's all set. I stopped by the thrift store by the sewing machine shop and came out with some sewing patterns for a quarter apiece. I think I'll only sell a few of them, the others I think could make some cute girls dresses. I need to find projects for the fabric that I have! I also have a lot of school work this week, so we'll see which one is triumphant.

I have however, been steadily uploading vintage sewing patterns onto my other Etsy shop. Take a look!

Sept. 27

I don't know if it is because it's getting around Oktoberfest or if I'm just feeling rather romantic at the moment, but I have been dreaming of dirndls this week. Tonight I had a really strong desire to watch the Sound of Music mostly due to the costumes I think. I fell in love with two dresses in particular...

The Baronesses! It's a lovely polka dotted/pink combo which usually doesn't do anything for me, but the cut of the top is killer. The silk looks so dreamy and luxurious!

And of course, Maria's dress in the opening sequence..

Isn't she so beautiful? This is kind of an idyllic picture for me.

I adore it! the stripes and the bodice... I was reminded instantly of the 1912 Kimono pattern from Sensibility Patterns and I'm certain that it could be used to make this dress.

I would have to make the skirt a bit fuller, but that would be it; I'd rather have 3/4 sleeves than full length ones anyways. I've been looking at that pattern for years but I never got it because of the price. My roommate convinced me to go ahead and splurge a little though, since I usually spend so little on patterns when they are on sale at the big fabric stores it evens out. That's my rational anyways.

I'm thinking Halloween if I get the pattern in time... I'm super excited. It figures that I didn't even post any dirndls!

Sept. 26

Yet again, I got too excited about something and blogged it without knowing what I was talking about. The yellow gunk is supposed to be there! I took my sewing machine to the shop today and they said my problem was probably with the belt rather than any kind of gunk, so I left it there and hopefully I can get it picked up before next weekend, though I may have to wait until I get back. It kid of puts a damper on my weekend though, as I was going to sew all day tomorrow. I may have to just cut things out and wait for my machine to come back or embroider maybe. I got a book from the library on making patterns from existing clothes that I need to look through too.

In other news, my roommate told me about this new invention called an EBbra... which is essentially a bra that can also convert into two safety masks if needbe. I can't say I'll be getting one anytime soon, but it's entertaining to say the least.

Sept. 24

I just found another reason as to why my sewing machine hasn't been running smoothly! Despite the fact that it has just recently been checked up, it has been having trouble starting and just been running very heavily. My manual (see how I've learned to read the manual when I have a problem?) said that it could need oiling, so I oiled the bobbin area but that didn't help, so I took the top off of it and found... duh duh duh...! a huge pile of yellow gunk on one of the parts! It's gross guys.

I sent an e-mail to the store that I bought it from and who did the check up to see how on earth this could have happened and if they can fix it free of charge, since I can't fathom how they could have missed something like this in the check-up. Hopefully it will get fixed, since I kind of need my sewing machine to make money right now...

This evening though, I'm going to a new monthly event in Lawrence called Final Fridays. Pretty much like First Fridays, but without the competition between Kansas City for local folks. I think it's a great idea to help support the Lawrence arts scene.

Sept. 23

I have to admit, I haven't been doing much sewing the last few days due to schoolwork. I wasn't so busy studying that I couldn't go to Kansas City yesterday to see the Horror Remix show though!

If you like bad movies, this is the thing for you. It consists of two or three bad horror movies trimmed down to the essential 30-45 minutes each; "All Killer, No Filler" as the slogan goes. One of the movies this time around was almost too crazy and gross to be appreciated, but I still had a great time.

Since I don't have any pictures of what I've been doing since my last post (unless you want shots of cultures from my microbiology class) so I'll leave you with another song from a new artist from Nebraska I just found out about named Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Crazy name, crazy girl, lovely Ukulele tunes.

Sept. 19

I've been a busy little girl this week! I'm trying to figure out little things to make for a craft show I'm going to be in in November... I have a few ideas but I need to figure out how long they will all take and if it's cost effective. I did whip up a reversible bag from this pattern and it turned out pretty good, but my fabrics were too lightweight, so I still need to work on a solution for that. I also made a cute little pincushion though from scrap fabric from my dress and I love love love him. I'll definitely make more of those.

Today I also went to the Renaissance Festival about forty miles away in Bonner Springs and had a grand ol' time. The only thing I left with was a bag of kettle-corn, but I think that's the only real necessity anyways.