An LBD that's not for me!

Three weeks ago, my sweet friend Sam e-mailed me with a special request:  that I custom make her a Little Black Dress for her 21st birthday in October.  Considering how much I enjoy this girl's company, admire her convictions, and love her personality, there could only be once answer:  YES OF COURSE OBVIOUSLY DUH.

The idea she had was to take the front of one dress she saw on Urban Outfitters and combine it with the back of another dress from the same website.  (And no, I am not going to show you the two original dresses as not to give away the final result!).  I studied both dresses, Sam sent me some measurements, and I got started.

First, I drafted a pattern and cut out the fabric parts.   Then it looked like this:

I sewed the top first, in two identical parts:  one for the facing and one for the shell.  Then it looked like this:

Next I sewed the pretty little back, with cut-out designs, WHICH I LOVE (anybody remember the back of my wedding dress?).  Then it looked like this:

And tonight, I sewed up the skirt (Sam, I gave you pockets!), attached it to the bodice, and did all the final clean-ups.  The very last step was adding this:

I really should start leaving my mark on everything I sew...

And now, off it goes in the mail to Fayetteville, Arkansas!  Happy early 21st, Sam!

If you haven't read The Hunger Games, you won't get this.

On Tuesday, I hosted my book club's monthly meeting, for which we read The Hunger Games (if you haven't read this yet, you should be regretting it.  Stop reading this post immediately, go to any sort of establishment that sells books, and buy the first copy you find.  Begin reading before you get back to the car).

Here's our meal:

Left:  Prim's Goat's Cheese and Mushroom Taquitos

Right:  Cornucopia Vegetable Salad

Top:  Mellark Family Bakery Cupcakes (thanks, Mary!)

Bottom:  Poisonous Capital Rebellion Berry Terrine

Multigrain Rolls Sponsored by the People of District 11

And then we talked (gushed) about the book, discussed our ideal cast for the movie, found out what District of Panem we would belong to, figured out our own personal strategies if we were Tributes (run far and fast from Laura if you ever meet her in the arena) and ultimately decided to read the next book in the series.  BECAUSE THE HUNGER GAMES IS AWESOME, Y'ALL.  also, so is my book club.

Read Mary's take on book club here!

Current Work Status.

(via someecards)

Good Ol' Fashioned Bloomers

What I made:
Colette Patterns bloomers pattern, for free!  (you know how I like that!)
Fabric from my granny's quilting stash

My rear is not this bubbly in real life...

When I made it:
Over the past month, a little at a time.  Want to know why?  Because I was making them via webcam with this girl!  She's a beginning sewer (but has been making all sorts of cute things!), so we went through all the steps of this pattern together.  Here's her super cute final result.

What I like about them:
They are my first attempt at loungewear!
I also like the gathering, here, there, and everywhere.
Let's be honest, they're just cute little things, right?  :)

Weekend.

SSS - The End of the Road

hreadsFirst of all, let me say THANK YOU to everybody who stopped by to check out what I was wearing for this entire month.  All your visits and comments and nice things you had to say really helped me stay motivated - like my own personal little online cheering section.  Accountability is a good thing when you're trying to reach a goal, so thanks to everybody for being supportive and liking (or at least pretending to like!) the stuff that I made.

And now, like a good former teacher that I am, I would like to share with you things that I have learned through Self-Stiched September this month:

1. 
   
   Posing is weird and feels awkward and I now feel sorry for models.  It's hard to think of poses.  I think I had a total of about three different ones this whole month.  The only one I felt halfway comfortable doing was hands-on-hips.  Kudos to all you models out there.
2. 
   
   Even if I make something that I find really ugly (such a disappointment and waste of man hours!  Argh!), I will wear it proudly anyway, because I made it with my own two hands, Kelly Clarkson!
3. 
   
   The difference in clothes you make yourself and clothes you buy lies only in your emotional attachment to them.  I will never, ever throw away anything I've made myself, yet one of my literal favorite things to do is purge things out of my closet I don't wear anymore! 
4. 
   
   The goal, I suppose, when you make your own clothes, is to make things that you're going to want to wear for years to come (and pass down to your children - Future Daughter [who, nobody panic, I am not currently pregnant with], get ready to wear some of your mama's clothing!  And to wear all the clothes that I make you with a smile on your face!  Like your prom dresses!) and also to make things that can be sustained for years to come.  If I'm making it with my own hands, I'm doing my best to make it where it lasts.
5. 
   
   There is almost nothing in the world more fun than planning out everything you are going to wear an entire month in advance (or at least not if you are someone like me...).  Thus, everyone rest assured that this was one REALLY fun month for me!

And finally, the month in review as we say so long to Self-Stitched September (until we meet again in Me-Made May!  Or if anyone can think of a cute alliteration for another month in between...I'll do it):

Tops:

Chef's Jacket Blouse

Upcycled T + Roses

Zombie Flora Tunic Top

BM Dress Restyle

The Biggest T-Shirt That You Ever Did See

Outerwear:

Jazz Hands Vest

The Blazer That Thought It Could Beat Me

Cord Vest

The Smoking Jacket

Dresses:

My Least Favorite Shirtdress

Bright Orange Sundress

Grey Quilting Fabric Dress

The Nellie Dress

Dress with a Ruffle on the Front

The Child's Jumper

Back and Bow Dress

Skirts:

Sound of Music Skirt

Secretary Skirt in Ink

Tiny Stripes on a Tiny Skirt

Orange Ruffledy Skirt

Secretary Skirt in Eraser

Ivory/Black Border Print Skirt

Mash-Up Skirt

Beetlejuice Skirt

Pants/Shorts:

Widest Leg Pants Ever

Chambray Shorts

Biggest Loser Pants

Cropped Pants

Accessories/Add-ons:

Suspenders

Red Scarf

The Bling-Bling

Last Day of Self-Stitched September: Make-up Day 9 - Beetlejuice Skirt!

I'm going to be honest with you all and tell you that this skirt is a little bit out of my comfort zone.  It's a little loud for me, and also reminds me of this guy:

Everybody have the Banana Boat song in your head now?

However, within the past few months, I have been noticing and really liking the black-and-white-stripe trend that I've seen emerging in different places.  The first time it registered on my radar was when Kendra showed me this skirt (okay, not this EXACT one, but one that was literally exactly like it, but from Anthropologie).  Then the stripes started showing up other places, like on a shirt at Piperlime and a dress at Modcloth and a romper J. Crew.

Then fate stepped in, and led me to this article on the Threads magazine website about playing with the grain of fabric, and I knew this was MEANT TO BE.

And geez, after all that introduction, here it is finally:

What I made:
New Look 6003 skirt pattern
Cotton shirting fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics

When I made it:
Last weekend!  Partially during this jam session, then finished it up the next day while watching Friday Night Lights. (Panthers Win State!)

What I like about it:
You might remember yesterday that I said this is one of my favorite things I ever made.  And while that is true, it isn't necessarily because of how it looks.  A lot of what I love about is just how hard I worked on it - I had to think creatively to cut out all those stripes to be going the way I wanted, I lined it, I pressed seams I normally don't bother pressing, I handsewed.  I just really took a lot of time to make sure this looked as professionally made as I could make it and, as a result, I think I have my most "real" looking garment to date.
That being said, I really also do like the STRIPES!  And also the STRIPES GOING DIFFERENT WAYS!  And also the fact that it kind of hurts your eyes.
I've been wanting to make a skirt with a peplum for a long time also, and now I have one! (peplum = a full flounce that covers the hips)