Finally Finished

I finally finished the dress today. Overall I'm pretty happy with it.

Now on to the next project...

Almost finished

Remember this pattern I picked a few weeks ago? Well, I've been working away on it and it's almost done. Although I have a whole collection of vintage patterns, this is the first one that I've completed (I've only the hem left to finish). It came together really quickly as there are only six pieces to the pattern, including the belt.



The hardest part was the inset collar. It just wasn't matching up to the dress and I ended up taking in the top arm seam so it would all fit properly. I also added to the difficulty of the collar with the addition of vintage mint green piping I bought at the Goodwill. It took quite a while to pin it all, but I'm really happy with the results. In fact I liked the piping so much that I added it at the cuffs as well. As I was worried that maybe you would see down the sleeve, I decided to finish it off nicely by encasing the piping edge with emerald green bias tape. The result is really crisp and pretty. It made me think of my mom's sewing advice - the inside should look as nice as the outside. Here's a detail (in which you can also see the elbow darts on the back of the sleeve) -



The floral fabric it quite heavy so when the dress is on it's not nearly as full as the dress on the pattern envelope. I was thinking of trying the dress in a crisper fabric to see if it would be fuller, but maybe they wore crinolines in 1954? I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished dress on.

My sweet mother sent in a parcel with my dad to work for me the other day. Look what was inside -



The Sewing Manual for Home Decorators (dated 1943 - cost 15 cents) was my grandmother's. It has fantastic illustrations of inexpensive ways to brighten up a drab and dull interiors. All of the illustrations are black and white, but the text goes into great detail about the colours. It's really quite cute. There were also some little craft and knitting booklets dating from 1947. Finally there was the Miriam Toews novel - Summer of My Amazing Luck. My mom had previously lent me A Complicated Kindness, which I loved, loved, loved. I am looking forward to getting started.

Thanks Mom.

Jodie Anne in all her glory

Just because Jodie was missed in the last post, and only because she gave me permission (sort of, I think) I'll share here one of my favorite photos of Jodie.

Look at how happy, and bubbly, and just plain gorgeous she is. This picture was taken at a Halloween party I had years and years ago. I remember watching her park her station wagon and then go around to the passenger side of the car and do some fiddling around and entering the party as the most amazing housewife with that spectacular paper-mache beehive! (It was the beehive she was fiddling around with - it wouldn't fit on her head inside of the car!)

Somehow to me this is the perfect example of Jodie and her creative greatness.

Recent Studio Pics

These pictures were taken in the studio a couple of weekends ago. It was a warm, sunny day and we all were in a painting mood. The warmth was nice for a change, as it can get pretty chilly in our studio. For instance, the pilot light went out in the furnace again (and I seem none to bright at getting it re-lit - thanks to my brother-in-law for his pilot lighting abilities) so tonight we were working with our down jackets on and drinking lots of hot tea. My feet are still cold. But back to the sunny day that these pictures were taken --nice light, warmth, great companionship with enlightening feedback and criticism.



This is the painting I started and I am excited to see where it goes. I think the patterned cloth will be really nice if I can manage to pull it off in a John Singer Sargent kind of way.



And look how adorable Grace is in her little elf hat - so adorable. Who wouldn't want to work in this studio?



You can sort of see Jodie on the right hand side. She didn't really want her picture taken, and the one that was taken she didn't want shown. But she was there too, and it wouldn't be the same with out her.



And who could forget our loyal mascot, Kya.

Thanks to all of my treasured studio-mates for so many great studio sessions.

My Sunday

I woke up this morning and wanted to accomplish something. Do you ever have days like these? Ones where you are wired from the moment you wake up.

I started by making buttermilk pancakes. They were only so-so and not really very good or satisfying. Then the dog got a bath. Now she smells like coconut and is all fluffy and white. I got soaked, the floor got washed (a fortunate byproduct of dog bathing), and every towel needed to be washed and dried. That still was not quite what I was looking for so I entered the sewing room.

This past Tuesday I started working on the Butterick 1954 dress pattern from the last post. The fabric is cut and pinned to the dress form, but I wanted something quicker. So I looked through my fabric and my patterns and decided to cut out a simple A-line skirt in a really pretty and super soft aqua corduroy that my mom gave me a few years ago. There was only a meter and I wasn't sure that the pieces would all fit, but lucky for me they did. I sewed away; putting in an invisible zipper, opting to replace the waist band with ribbon, and even using my blind hem presser foot (for the first time!) to figure out a blind hem. I'm not super happy with the hem, but as a first shot at a blind hem I think it's fine. It may get redone at a later date but it is definately wearable. All in all the skirt was easy and quick (I even managed to do all my laundry at the same time). I was impressed that the skirt was finished and worn out for a walk with Miss Kya at 3:30. Not bad, not bad at all.

Oh, what luck

Yesterday was Family Day. A day off work and therefore a day to hit the antique malls. And what a day it was.



I found some great vintage patterns -- with all of their pieces and in my size! The smock pattern (I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of my Grandma wearing one of these when she first got married) and the blouse pattern are both from 1948. The blouse pattern is even unmarked, which scares me a bit. I, until now, had only heard of unmarked patterns. How are you supposed to know what to do with them, let alone which one is which?!? The 1950's Butterick dress is so great, and I've already picked out the fabric for it. I have had some floral fabric in aquas and reds kicking around for a while, so I think I'll use it for this with a crisp white linen for the inset collar. It seems like a pretty simple pattern -- with kimono sleeves! How fun!



I also got this- the Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book. I started reading last night and it is actually really good. It has valuable sections, like the one shown, Making the basic muslin. Now making a muslin has been something I have been thinking about doing for a while, I just wasn't sure I'd know how to adjust it properly, but this section of the Sewing Book is quite extensive so maybe I'll jump right in. I've noticed a lot of the vintage patterns I have don't quite have as detailed instructions as current patterns, so this book should be helpful. I guess everyone sewed back then so they knew what they were doing! I found some nice buttons too. Black iridescent plastic ones in two sizes and some really pretty sky blue plastic ones that have a nice way of sparkling in the light. Also purchased was a complete set of floral iron transfers. These are hard things to find, and I have been looking specifically for florals for a while. I have an idea in my head for an embroidered tea cozy.



I also found these two little cookbooks; one a Magic Baking Powder issue and the other a Monarch Flour. I loved Monarch's clever slogan of "Happy Bakeday to You!" and it contains recipes like Graham Molasses Nut Bread and Sour Milk Gingerbread. Yum. I had to get this specific Magic Baking Powder cookbook (there were a couple), because of the penciled note on the front- Mrs. Hasp, June 1935, Camrose - Be careful of it (the cook book I presume) as there are some of my favorite recipes in it. I wonder if it was returned to her.



And last but not least, the mugs. First found was the pretty milk glass mug with aqua polka-dots. Perfect. Then..... the Medalta bull mug. Now, all I can say is wow. I have another bull mug that I got at the Goodwill years and years ago with a brown band across the top and a different bull and it has long been a favorite. So to find a partner for it is really quite exciting! Coffee anyone?

Since I've been home....

Sorry it's been such a long time since I last posted. I've been enjoying being at home. There's the novelty of snow and the pretty kind of light it reflects. It's so crisp and bright and makes colours so beautiful.

Miss Kya is also happy to be home. I noticed rapid movement out in the yard the other day and when I went to the window to investigate she was playing catch with herself. She was throwing the ball across the yard and then making dramatic dives through the snow to recover the ball. It was very entertaining, although she seemed embarrassed when she noticed me watching her. Yesterday she visited with one of her pups, Arlo. Now that Arlo is bigger than her, she's having a harder time showing (or maintaining for that matter) her dominance!



I've been painting. Not in the studio yet, but in the house. I was lucky to find some lovely mistints at the hardware store the other day and couldn't resist the yummy chocolate and rich putty for the front entry.



I've also been making some curtains for the upstairs bathroom. I was really wanting to be sewing while I was away, so as soon as I got home I got to work. I've had this fabric, which I bought a few years ago, slated for this project forever so I'm glad to be hurrying them along. The feel of this fabric is really nice; nubbley and heavy. I'm really happy with the way they are turning out.



This first week back at work was tiring as I was starting work when my body thought it was still 5 in the morning holiday time! So this weekend I have been enjoying long and leisurely breakfasts. I love breakfast when I have the time to enjoy it. This morning there was fruit salad and toast with lemon curd - yum.