I’ve decided to take off this coming Monday and Tuesday so I can hole up in the sewing room and go through some things. I’ve got a ton of stuff that I don’t want anymore (at least I think I don’t) and a couple dozen projects in mind for this year, easy, and if nothing else I want to be able to get at those two categories a little less obtusely. At least with my actual hands, and not just in some less-than-perfectly cobbled together flickr set. That said, I do appreciate my cobbled together flickr sets, because they at least afford me a starting point when, in many cases, I don’t have anything else tangible to look to for some soothing affirmation. Also tags: I tend to go a little nuts with the arbitrary and/or less than actually descriptive tags on stuff. I’d rather wanted or hoped or blindly assumed or pipe-dreamed that I would draft a list of loose priorities for what I’d like to have accomplished by these days, but (although the day is mostly young) I sort of don’t think I’m going to tackle that before I duck out of the workplace this afternoon. In part because I also want to browse around the webs to look for a good desserty option to bring to a wine tasting tomorrow afternoon.

Another thing I want to do, or at least start, is finishing up some projects floating around, up to and including just documenting their completion. I do love having an at-a-view record of things I’ve done, not only because I like itemized lists and layouts but also because it makes me feel capable of accomplishing Real Things. It’s easy and, I guess, even tempting to tumble into my own head about all the stuff I want to do, all the half-baked ideas I have involving bias tape and button loops and detachable sleeves and stuff, and then I sort of swirl around too quickly and get all discombobulated and overwhelmed and have to sit down and let my hair catch up with my zipping brain, and then juiceman cries outside the sewing room door and I think oh juiceman! you’re such a cutie! come on in and get some pets. And then I don’t get *anything* done–unless he decides to take a nap.

I may update VP with my progress, or at least to check in and confirm that I have not, in fact, perished under the weight of all my awesome floral prints. Also there’s only so much hard candy I can consume in a given day, and I’ll need coffee and/or beer to keep me going, so I’m bound to venture out at least a couple times between this evening and next Wednesday morning.

So there! Next time I’ll make a list of, I don’t know, something.

See that little beaut? Although I didn’t cling fastidiously (or even basically) to said image while settling into a pattern and fabric and all that, this was the picture I had in mind when I decided I wanted to sew myself a yellow skirt. I bought a particular piece of fabric and then cut it out and started sewing on it; and now that I’m close enough to finishing it that I can easily compare the two, they are NOTHING alike and I sort of feel like a punk.

It makes me feel like a failure, like I don’t know how to make good decisions, like I think I can put less than complete thought processes into my wishes and just have it work out like magic. At worst? I feel petty and selfish and childish and ungrateful and lazy and whiny and conceited; and at best, well, who cares? If it’s possible to ascribe that whirlwind of total awfulness to my reactions, what kind of benefit could a silver lining have to offer? That’s my initial feeling, and while I wouldn’t recommend it to ya it does feel familiar to me; and I’m going to briefly entertain stepping away from it for a hot second. At best I feel like I could make a better go of it with a second try. I can try to deconstruct it into smaller pieces: the fabric, the interfacing, the piping, the pattern, all (all!) of which I’d change up if I wanted to for serious attempt a more accurate knockoff. Which would leave me with the current waistband facing and the lining and the zipper to use–in which case maybe I could squint real hard and see a wavy image of the real thing in the distance.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time on it so far, and it’s not awful or anything, but it does not look like that little cutie thing up there. Granted that cutie little thing up there is like 16″ long or some nonsense and is still for sale at Barney’s for $1,100, but I blindly assumed that I’d hit a little closer to “quirky take on a tailored classic” than “boring ass old republican lady who shops at dillard’s.” Guess not.

In all fairness there’s more going on here, and I know that; it’s just tempting to make extreme associations between the decisions that I halfheartedly follow through with and the admittedly unfair (and off the mark) consequences of the results.  So what, you want a trickle of generosity toward myself? FINE.

If nothing else, I feel pretty good about the fit of the skirt itself (which I do not have a picture of just yet). It’s a nice color, and though the lining doesn’t allow enough opacity for me to wear my blue stripey underpants with it, it’ll be a good excuse to get some better-fitting nude options. (Ooh! TMI! now you have some G-rated knowledge of my underpants drawer.)

I also decided to add piping to the waistband yoke, side seams and bottom hem, and I learned that slicing up 1″ bias strips of a spongy wool is actually easier than I anticipated: it took to the rotary cutter better than some of the cottons I’ve used in the past. I opted for a smaller upholstery-sized cord, which I now know was too much. Matter of fact, I probably could’ve used a whole lotta nothing in there, just folded the tape in half, and it would’ve been totally fine (and I might not feel like such a sofa cushion while wearing it). The interfacing in the waistband yoke might also be too heavy, but it’ll do. I like the contrast facing I added and the lining attached with no problem, and I am a sucker for lined skirts and funky little prints snuck in whenever possible.

Also I did a pretty good job of matching the piping across the zip, and the back vents are even and a good depth, and because this is a thick wool it’ll be warm with tights. (Even if it does make me look a little like margaret thatcher.)

Now come down from that cloud, do your best to stifle those dust-triggered sneezes, and join me on what really happened.

It was sort of crowded and a lot of kids were there, but on a fifty-degree drizzly Saturday afternoon you can’t expect much different. In all I was there right at an hour and I feel pretty good about my haul: three vintage sewing patterns, including a couturier design from Belinda Belville (196-?); a modest handful of buttons; a two-yard cut of a lightweight plaid cotton/blend in a good colorway for Beck; and what may actually be a couple hundred yards of soustache braid in navy and beige (I haven’t counted–and probably won’t, for $8 total).

At several points in I think every trip I ever make to scrapx, I mutter with nostrils in various levels of flared-outedness ‘what the hell is that?’ and, this time, the internet came to my rescue. I found these two little strips of a card of buttons that’d been cut up, and while they looked pretty good (basic black, no cosmetic damage, usable and pretty standard size), I couldn’t figure out how the hell they were supposed to work. Plus they were marked $1 for four, and that’s a little steep for a crazy cheapass like me if I can’t even determine how to work them. On one of the cut-up card backs I was able to read “the old reliable ‘Pilcher’ button” so out came the iphone to find me an answer. I came across an etsy listing that featured the pristine card imagery with this handy little closeup:

So I pried out the center disk there and voila! the back tack came right out; I felt like a cross between Miss Marple and Betty Homemaker right there in public. They seem sturdy and attractive enough to not save for an emergency, and they’ve got a nice rivet-like aesthetic that would work great for a jacket. Plus if I need more, I know what to search for on ebay.

Yes hello allison? EARTH to allison. You love this crap–remember? Your Queen of Slackers Tiara is over here with a stale glass of champagne.

Fabric! sewn or just bought at bargain basement prices!

Shoes! worn or just bought at … like you know, whatever!

Cocktails and cookies! (which I’m never on the ball enough to actually take photographs of before they are ingestedly decimated.)

I miss myself–is that hopelessly conceited? I think I’m owning up to it, at any rate.

There are certain garments that I feel I must have now that we’re all fully and awesomely moved into our deco-fantastic home. The weather is warming up, Beck is getting a super swanky grill for her imminent cumpleaños, and we have the best ever porch right off the living room that I will use to cement my awesome presence in downtown Durham by playing the ukulele in late afternoons whilst wearing tea dresses. Which is to say, I totally need a tea dress. I found an excellent fabric at the scrap exchange when we were in our temporary place (i.e. there was NO ROOM for new fabric purchases but I went an’ did it anyway), and I am *in love* with the idea of making it into this, for example. Something long and slim-fitting (though I’ll probably shorten it a little ’cause those dresses from the 1930s were for real almost ankle-length) with a fitted waist a smidge on the high side and little flared sleeves, maybe with a pleat in the center. I have about a hundred images I’d like to partake of, but I should probably start with what I have on hand. I’m not sure if I’ll wear it with a slip or underline the bodi—whatever. No. Totally making a slip. Just thinking about underlining a summery dress is making me cross my arms and assume the ‘no way jose’ stance you see moms of younger tots do in toy departments. Plus I need a slip to wear with that ancient simplicity dress I am practically done with, so there! Add to my list of summer sewing: One White Slip.

*ETA: the excellent fabric for my tea dress:

It’s going to be so boss; I can’t wait.

Next: a housecoat. I so, so badly need a housecoat for weekend lounging and midnight trips to the fridge. Every single character in Golden Girls has several, and dammit, I need to strut down the hallway with a long floral print billowing behind me.

made out of

Plus it will be excellent for brunch hostessing and running downstairs to grab the times on Sunday morning. (I’ll just have to reinforce the sideseams and buttonholes at the waist in case I eat too many tim tams.)

Now I am almost always blathering on about dresses these days, so that’s not really something y’all haven’t heard before, so I’ll ‘fess up that I need to start my list o’ summer dress madness with something specific. I’m quite fond of the bateau neckline, and I have a decent length of black stretch sateen that I found for a song at–you guessed it–scrap x. Pattern options: Simplicity 7574, a vintage find from 1968:

or maybe this recent Vogue designer dress from last summer,

And you know, the more I think about this latter Vogue, the more I think I may just get it. The bow in the back is growing on me more and more, and I don’t think raising the back should be too hard as long as I convince myself to make a muslin first. Also I have an awesome book that will help me approximate that curly-q updo the model is rocking. There are some fantastic reviews of this Vogue pattern over at PR, so … maybe I’ll move this one up on the list. Although I do totally still want to try out the ‘68 simplicity, perhaps in one of the many VWL brocades I bought last year?

Now rest assured that there are still about 36 things I want to sew up in the next two weeks, so my list is really much longer than this, but I think this is enough for the first installment. Plus I still (OMG STILL) have some pics to take of a couple fabrics I’m thinking about, so … yes. Till next time!

So weekend report: success! accomplishments! and so forth. I got started on the V1170 skirt out of a black stretch cotton twill, finished cutting it out and got cracking on the assembly. I was shocked and awed to learn that I didn’t have a black 7″ invisible zipper, so by the time I stitched the pockets onto the skirt front at 10:38 on Saturday night and in doing so miraculously ran out of bobbin thread, I decided to call it a night.

Sunday we spent being good consumerists and buying things, including but not limited to speaker wire, underpants, and shelves for all my beautiful, beautiful shoes; then we came home and smacked up said shelves.

So first off, holy cow I have a lot of shoes. Old news, nothin’ novel to speak of, no duh allison; but don’t they look *fantastic* up there? Gawd where the hell is beautiful sunny weather with no chance of rain, because it and my most excellent metallic-acid-green-leather clompy-to-end-all-clomping-wannabes have a hot date scheduled ASAP. I love those things (although our downstairs neighbors might have words to another end) and am looking forward to coming up with fun outfits to pair with them.

Secondly, plaster walls are sort of a pain, yes, but more to the point they require traversal of a hairpin-sharp learning curve: which is to say, We are at least learning. (Read: oops.)

I also decided that I want to pair up my striated-orange-blobs stretch cotton with a bottom contrast panel of the VWL navy ribbon faille into view A of M5991, but without the slanty side pockets–just regular ol’ side seam pockets. I am afraid of slanty gaping at my hips, so I’m hoping to avoid it by going less fancy with the pockets. Except for the two strips of the navy ribbon faille, I still have to cut all that stuff out (and figure out exactly what I want to face the hem contrast with, and whether I should underline the orange-white cotton or just line it), but I’m sort of excited about it. And it’ll be way easier for me to shoe-shop my collection for a perfect complement now that they’re all on display! wooo!

Next time: I’ll try to make some progress on the V1170 skirt, and maybe the blouse too (those tie-ends for the sleeves are a royal pain in my ASS) and, well, one day I’m going to have to officially finish that zebra-print wrap dress: buttons on the cuffs and beltloops, stat!

Sigh. I’ll get over it.

Anyway.

In other news I am rocking out another bowling pin; it’s been hanging out in the hallway for about four days now. I’m not sure if I have anything even inspiring me yet, in a finite sort of way. I mean, I’m always got about forty-five ideas rollicking around the ol’ grey matter, but nothing that’s emerged as a ‘Eureka!’ kind of thing just yet. Maybe that’s the way it goes? like I’ve got to cradle the scratched up plastic-coated wood bebeh in my arms before it speaks to me? What do y’all think? any fun ideas you ever wanted to see on a bowling pin?

And then, also, there is sewing: I have not done a single finishing stitch on those V1098 pants and I still don’t know if I want bound inside seam allowances or to line them. I wish I’d put some pockets in there somewhere, but … I guess I could still slash the back and sock one in there. I did manage to move the snaps on my zebra dress over and I finished hemstitching the facing to the bodice and I picked out which buttons I want on the cuffs–but I think I might want the buttons to be superficially attached and for the cuff closure to be accomplished via a small snap. Oh and then I also decided I want a blouse AND a skirt from the new Rachel Comey V1170 pattern, so I got all my pieces traced out in their respective sizes and the blouse has already been cut out. I grabbed a piece of thin-ish, drapey and soft bright royal blue rayon from ye olde stash (which of course I don’t have a picture of) that I think will be comfy and offer a lovely *pop!* to my black and white summertime ways. The back calls for buttons but it’s a pretty loose blousey fit, so I may alter that decision at some point when it’s closer to being done. Or maybe little pearly snaps? would that be weird? is it possible for anybody out there to have half a clue what the hell I’m talking about when there is Not One Single Picture! to accompany all this mess of rambling? Maybe I’ll see to that over the weekend. I’ve also been going a little nuts with buying fabric lately, too: now I have actually been sewing some of it up, and I do always look for stuff on sale, but I’m very often battling the urge to click on the “Proceed to Checkout” option and make that admitting click. I just bought a box o’ stuff from fabric.com, one of which was a long-lost Vera Wang Lavender Label print, a navy blue polka dotted silk chiffon for a whopping $2 a yard. That one was gone pretty quick, but I managed to score it (along with a few other things that would, you know, push me up to the $35-mark so’s I could get free shipping). There’s a current wishlist shopping cart full of stuff I have at two other online spots, and I’m sorta fighting the urge … perhaps I will return on Monday to share with you how I fared! (And to share some photo love.)

(Do not feel the need to respond if your name is BECK. I know how you feel about this already.)

In other news, I really am almost done with my zebra print wrap dress. I actually already wore it to work on Tuesday of this week, so it’s definitely already serviceable, but I have a few more finishes to crank out. I need to shift the snaps over about 3/4″ because, as it is now, it’s just a hair too snug. I also need to sew on a couple of buttons on the cuffs, add beltloops to the waist sideseams, and finish hemstitching the facing to the upper bodice. And then?! THEN you will get a picture of me in a very animal-print dress, which I never really thought I would say, but it does look sorta good. And it would also look quite good with at least two of the three aforementioned pairs of shoes that I don’t need.

So there have been some changes all up in the life in the seven months since I pretended I have a blog. We sold our house and moved out of it, got a quick and awesome intro to living close to downtown and being able to walk places, developed the initial strains of awesome stamina by carrying 463 heavy-ass boxes up a big flight of stairs, and hauled butt to host our Annual New Year’s Eve Super Party less than a week after having moved in completely. And now? Now it’s time to not have to uproot any more; to relax when we want to without feeling guilty about not getting a thousand things done every night after work; to get back in the habit of a Full and Complete Life Under a Single Roof, for real. And it’s been pretty awesome: I’ve been sewing, I’ve been listening to music I totally forgot I had, I’ve been spending money on fabulous fabrics, I’ve been wearing fancy shoes that’d been packed away for months. And I even heard a rumor that I was going to think about not being such a patsy when it comes to my poor neglected VP. My poor, poor various pants! Also we need to get you a better design honey, I know.

So, to look forward to: projects. I actually managed to get a smidgen of sewing stuff done at our temporary digs (though you’d never know it): I finished the Wicked Witch skirt for Hallowe’en, finally finished the sleeveless floral print blouse, and started *and* finished a slim-fitting skirt with a back flounce from the midnight-blue wool crepe I got from Asheville last January. Those three projects are all done and I should probably write pattern reviews for them, because I do like having a big fat number next to my profile name on PR. I’m also super close to being done with a long-sleeved wrap dress, the 1976 Simplicity Jiffy 7705, and I’m more than halfway done with my first ever (!) pair of real pants, from Vogue 1098. For these last two projects I have used up actual amounts of stashed fabric, which is sort of awesome in two parts: it was gathering dust already, and now it’s not, and I know at least the 7705 is a pattern I’ll make again in a nicer fabric. Which means more room will be created in my cedar shelving options to accommodate NEW PURCHASES AW YEAH. I have also resolved that I must sew more dresses, because they kick ass, and also that I need to be more hands-on with trying out my vintage patterns.

I also need to attempt greater timeliness with taking and actually uploading pictures, as is evidenced by my total lack of photographerial involvement with this post. I mean, Lisa is cool! she looks like Blossom! ‘Sall good.