Testing 1, 2, 3...

Here are two of the patterns I'm planning on testing, and the fabrics I have paired up with each.  Let's hope they go smoothly!  I figure it will be easier to teach them, if I've already tried them myself.  As an added bonus, the students will be able to see a finished product!

And then October Happenned...

Wow, what a crazy month (and a half!) since I've posted.  October whizzed by in a blur, as it always does.  A happy birthday for my brother at the beginning of the month, and then lots of craziness helping with Extreme Makeover Home Edition for it's Joplin build.  Then enrollment for my students, and holy cow Thanksgiving is this week!  How the time flies!

So, I'm back and I have some fun stuff coming up for you (my first giveaway), and some actual sewing to show off.  But first, some vintage fabric finds.  A couple of them from the flea market, and the others from my Grandma's house.  I went shopping a couple weeks ago for some fabric at my local Jo-Ann (which is in a temp location because of the May 22 tornado), and sadly, they have very little apparel fabric.  When I got home, I got to thinking that maybe my Grandma would have some fabric I could use.  I called her up, and she was happy to fix me up.  I brought home way to much, and here is just what I have washed and determined is suitable for use (not double knit lol).

 And here are my thrift store finds:

I've already whipped up a dress out of the purple/red pattern fabric, and I'm going to use some of the fabrics my grandma had for testing patterns for next semester.  I'm teaching a sewing course, so I need to pick out which patterns we will use!

Flashback Fridays: A friend and J.Crew

For Flashback Friday today, I'd like to tell you about my good friend Rudy, and J.Crew.

Rudy & I met when we were roommates interning at TOMS shoes. We were not instant friends, because it was an election year and we seemed to have nothing in common, including politics. What we did find we had in common was a love of shopping at J.Crew and Anthropologie. There were many weekends spent (window) shopping at the Grove, Beverly Center, and Third Street Promenade. Eventually we realized we had more in common than we thought, and by the end of our semester together we vowed to keep in touch. One of the things I love about Rudy is that we have often done this via good old-fashioned snail mail. I sat down this last rainy weekend and decided to make her a postcard:

The idea came from our old shopping adventures when we would peruse J.Crew, and touch each and every cashmere sweater wishing we could take it home in every color. I used a recent catalog for inspiration for an outfit, and completed it in watercolor & ink. Here is the finished product:

I do miss those shopping trips to J.Crew and Anthropologie since I do not live near either. But what I miss more is seeing my friend :)

For more Flashback Fridays, click HERE.

Sewing for Mom

After finishing my own DKNY knit dress, my mom requested that I make her a knit dress or two. I ordered some fabric on emmaonesock.com that she liked, and then I had her pick some patterns from my stash that she liked. Now I'm just trying to decide on the final combination I will make. Here are the fabrics with the patterns:

Opinions? Which do you think I should make with what patterns?

Beginning to feel like fall....and a recipe!

Finally caved and joined Instagram. It's been fun to document the small things, and I'm loving it for my fall mini-book. Here are some "Fall" things for me:

My fall spices lined up on the most convenient rack:

Chanel & Tigger helping me plan my fall sewing:

A rainy weekend view of our backyard & pond:

Mini Pumpkin loaves....yummmm:

For me, pumpkin is what fall baking is all about. Here's the recipe I use for Pumpkin bread and it never fails me! If you use 4 mini-loaf pans like I did you have to adjust the baking time to about 1 hour depending on what your pans are made of. Mine is a pampered chef stoneware pan, and 1 hour is perfect. Enjoy!

I found it!!!

What once was lost, now is found!

I have been looking for this book since the middle of the Spring semester to make an alteration to a pattern I wasn't sure about. It finally made an appearance this week. Yay!!! :) In the midst of my string of bad luck, a gem.

Self-Stitched September Week Three-ish

If you can count, you will notice there were 9 days since my last SSS post, and only 5 photos here. That is because sometimes life sucks....not in a "I hate my life" way, more in a "How do all these crazy things happen in one week?!?!" kind of way. This to me is just as comical as it is upsetting. It's just reality and there are a few days this last week where I simply didn't want to photograph my look. I have still been wearing handmade, everyday, just not documenting every look. Also, in regards to the life sucking part, notice I might not look as happy in these photos....ignore pitiful looks lol.

My Anthro-inspired tee over a fave dress:

My tie-neck blouse with my Missoni cardi & skinny pants....I look like a grandpa and actually it cheered me up:

Right after this photo was taken, I was standing in our dining room waiting for Matt, and a raindrop hit my head...yup. Our skylight was leaking. One of the funny things this week. I'm wearing my eyelet tank with a Cardigan:

Going on 3-ish hours of sleep in this next one. My corset look top with a skirt:

And, the DKNY dress:

We also found out our rental house's heater will have to be fixed for quite a pretty penny, and I locked myself out of my gym locker one day. Sometimes when it rains, it pours, and this last week has been stormy....luckily I take the perspective that it is funny or I would be a mess. Here's hoping I document the rest of the month better!

To see all Self-Stitched September, click HERE.

Flashback Fridays: Vintage DVF

For this Flashback Friday, I thought I'd share one of my favorite dresses that is vintage. It is a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress that I got in NYC my senior year of college. I was there on a study tour for my Fashion Merchandising degree, and got it for a steal at Filene's basement. It debuted that very week for St. Patty's day...ha! I think I'll hold on to this one forever :)

To see more Flashback Friday Posts, click HERE.

Missoni Madness

Yes, I did get in on the Missoni for Target madness. I love the Missoni brand and have one original piece that cost me more than it should have....so when I heard there was going to be an affordable collaboration, I put the launch date in my calendar. Their color combos, and signature zig-zag are really fun and quirky. Lucky for me, I live in the Midwest, and there was still plenty of selection by the time I arrived late in the day. Here's my picks!

A fun tee:

A pretty scarf:

And a cozy cardigan:

I'm pretty excited to work these babies into my fall wardrobe! I'll have to show you my actual Missoni piece sometime....It's a poncho and I LOVE it :)

Summer Mini-Book: The End

I finished up my Summer Mini-Book over the weekend, and I'm just thrilled with how it turned out. I've fallen in love with this style of journaling/documenting. Here is my last spread:

The quote says:
"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see in truth that you are weeping for that which has been your delight." -Kahlil Gibran

This perfectly sums up my summer. The sad things were only sad because they once brought me joy, and they have moved on from my life.

I love how the book turned out to be nice and fat:

Now it's on to Autumn.... :)

I've already got my book started for this new season, and I think it will be a great one!

Self-Stitched Sunday Week 2

I am declaring this past week my lazy week of Self-Stitched September. A couple of good reasons: a) lots of lounging barely worth photographing b) outfits worth photographing and too lazy to do it.

So here we go!

Day 5: Labor day, cuddling Chanel my cat (she looks happy...)

Wearing: Stripe tank & I don't remember what bottoms. Yes, there were bottoms.
Thoughts: This top is perfect for lounging and even as a sleep shirt. I might need to whip up some more.

Day 6:

Wearing: Cut-out shoulder top- by me, ponte knit pants-VS, Shoes-Shoedazzle
Thoughts: I like this top and usually think it's more of a going out top, but here it worked for work, too.

Days 7 & 8: No photos, so Polyvore it is :)

SSS 2011 Day 7&8 by sashadanae featuring a cashmere cardigan

Wearing Day 7: Fourth of July Dress- I tried to make this dress not scream "Fourth of July" so loud by toning it down with a cardigan, and a multicolor belt.
Thoughts: I think it worked and this dress might not be limited to only holidays celebrating Red White and Blue.

Wearing Day 8: Pendrell Blouse
Thoughts: Not how I thought I'd debut this one, but I was feeling lazy (remember, theme?) and threw it on with Jeans and some sandals. Surprisingly, it worked and turned out cute.

Day 9:

Wearing: My pleated neck shirt layered over a maxi dress.
Thoughts: I loved this combo and got lots of compliments. Once I figure out how to wash this shirt without destroying it, I think it will be a favorite.

Days 10 & 11: (Wait, what? You're wearing the same shirt both days...yes, yes I am)

Wearing: Stripe Tee.
Thoughts: So this is a nice simple comfy shirt. I ended up wearing it only part of Saturday, so I threw it on today. Yep, because I'm just lounging around home being LAZY. I did switch to RTW for a date night Saturday, so a little bit of a cheat, but I did have this on part of each day.

To see more Self-Stitched September, click HERE

Flashback Fridays: Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book

It's Flashback Friday time!

I think this is a fun one, because I was lucky enough to receive a gift that I can feature for this week. My parents went on a little trip in Missouri wine country and happened upon this book for a steal....$3! They thought of me, of course, and brought it home to live in my sewing space. Thanks Mom & Dad!

The book is a Better Homes & Gardens Sewing book, with copyright dates of 1961, and 1970. I was already familiar with the BH&G Cookbooks because I have a current copy, and my mom has a couple of versions. The sewing book was not familiar to me, and I have really enjoyed looking through it, and anticipate it will make a great (even if dated) reference.

The front cover:

The title page and inside cover art. Look at that stylish sewing space!

The contents page. I love that it has tabbed dividers to make it easy to find the section you're looking for:

One of my favorite finds so far is Chapter 16, about Wardrobe Planning. The illustrations are fabulous!

I love this spread from the same chapter. It gives styling options for the same outfit. So awesome!

The other wonderful thing about vintage books like this is leftover reminders of the previous owner. This book was apparently given to a granddaughter on Christmas Eve 1971.

And of course the back cover expounding on the techniques to be learned from this book. I'm sold!

Overall, this was a great find to credit to my parents, and I am excited to take more time to investigate each chapter. The book is in excellent shape for used, which makes me extra happy. Hope you enjoyed the highlights I shared! Do you have any favorite sewing references???

A DKNY Dress

Here's a knit dress I finished up this week. It is Vogue 1250 which is a Donna Karan DKNY pattern. If you know me, then you know I love her designs, so this pattern has been on my waiting list for awhile, waiting for me to find the right fabric. This fabric finally made the cut when I saw it on a shopping trip to Springfield with my mom.

The dress is a pretty simple shape, but has an interesting construction. I decided to leave the hem raw because I want to avoid ripping it out anyway when I wear it (since the skirt is slim). Overall, the longest part of making this dress was tracing the pattern. The rest went pretty quick. It looks like my mom might be on the list to have one made for her, too!

ModCloth Inspired Chambray Dress

Quite awhile back, I saw this dress on ModCloth, and had it saved to my inspiration folder:

(Image: Modcloth)

I love the ease of it, and the grey chambray. I also loved the lace detail at the shoulder. I decided to re-create this look with the Anda pattern from Burda. I had made this pattern before in a knit and I thought the shape would work well. I lowered the waist from the first version where it fell right below the bust.
My chambray is actually a pale grey, but it looks sort of like the classic blue color here:

Here's a close-up of the shoulder detail. I used some lace from a stash that one of my neighbor's gave me, that I thought I'd never find a purpose for. I think it works well for this project!

I also think this dress will be great for transitioning from summer to fall, as it's a little heavier weight, and will work for layering. I'm almost all finished up with my last few summer-ish projects, and then it's time to think about what I want to make for fall. Yesterday it actually felt like fall, so I'm getting a little anxious to transition my wardrobe into the new season, and plan out my sewing. Exciting!

Self-Stitched Sunday

Sooooooo....Here is my re-cap of the first 4 days of Self-Stitched September. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed it :)

Day 1:

Wearing-
Coffee Date Dress: Made by Me
Belt: Borrowed (Stolen) from Brother
Shoes: Fossil (back to school gift from mom, and LOVE them!)

Thoughts-
I do like this dress, but it sometimes can feel a bit formal for day-to-day. I've not worn it very many times because my husband will say "Are you going to prom today?" Ok, so it's not that formal, but his comments throw me off. I styled it with a rustic leather belt and some slingback clog-like shoes to try to casual it up a bit. Probably will wear more for special occasions in the future.

Day 2:

Wearing-
Scarf/Wrap: Made by Me
Jeans: Big Star skinnies
Tee: Victoria Secret Tee dress worn as top
Shoes: Colin Stuart fringe sandals

Thoughts-
This wrap is fun, and seems to stump people when they see it. They want to know how it works, and it's fun to show it off. I don't find it the most flattering in the above pic, but I was just wearing it for a casual comfy Friday.

Day 3:

Wearing-
Romper: Made By Me
Shoes: Fossil again (see I really love these)
Cami: ?? VS maybe

Thoughts-
I wore this out to dinner with my husband, and my brother & his girlfriend. Then some mini-golf. It fit the bill for the occasion as it was comfy, but looked a little cuter than a tee and jeans. Also, I got rid of the snap at the front center and just opted to wear a cami. This made me much less worried about showing too much with a wrong move, which is good. I'm not sure how many more wears it will get before it is out of style :)

Day 4:

Wearing-
Tee: Made By Me
Jeans: VS
Flippy Floppys

Thoughts-
Today, I just wanted to be comfy. And this works perfect. The tee is probably one of the softest and fuss-free things I own, because I left the hems raw so there is no extra friction anywhere, and the more I wash it, the softer it gets. I might need to make more of these to get through the month!

So far, so good. I'm looking forward to the next week!

Flashback Fridays: Pattern from 1983

A little something different for Flashback Friday. This time, it's a pattern from 1983 (that looks a little more 70's to me) that I used to help re-create a look from J.Crew on the right:

I used a chambray fabric, and am still looking for the right buttons, but I like how it turned out. It's a little boxy on the mannequin, but I think it's fine on me. If it bothers me when I wear it, I might go back and do tucks or darts instead of the gathers at the yoke. Here is my version of the top:

I'm pleased and I'm really excited to re-create the whole look from the catalog with my grey twill skirt, and Chuck Taylor's!

To see more Flashback Fridays click HERE!