a little bit country

Hey kids! So... I really debated whether or not to post this project, since I wasn't sure if people really wanted to see another Archer from me, but in the end I decided it was totally worth it.  If for no other reason than to muse on what it is that makes me want to make a pattern again, and again, and again...

This could be a long post (ha! All my posts are long posts! Sorrryyy...) so I'm gonna give the details up front - this is my third Grainline Archer (you can check out my first here, and my second here). I used some super soft and cozy plaid flannel from Mood (here) and decided on pearl snaps instead of buttons, which I had a helluva good time hammering in! I enjoyed matching the plaid (a big thank you to my plaid goddess,  Lauren, for her de-mystifying tutorial!) which was a first time for me, and made this a bit less of a mindless sew than it could have been. I made no changes to the pattern since the last time I made this shirt. I loved sewing it, it went together without a single hitch, and I've literally been wearing it everyday since I finished it (which, by the by, was over a week ago. And I'm pretty sure I don't stink yet. Or maybe that's just denial...)

Cool! So for those of you that were just curious about the details of this make - there you have it!! For any one else that feels like meandering with me through some thoughts on creating my own wardrobe, and the makings of a Tried And True (TNT) pattern... git on in!!!  This train's a'leaving!

I'm pretty sure that every sewist, in her (or his) quest to create their own, unique, handmade wardrobe comes to that point where they look at all the lovely clothes they make, and then look at the clothes they reach for day in and day out, and notice a discrepancy.  This has been well trod territory for the online sewing community (think Tasia's cake vs. frosting post, or Sunni's Everyday Wardrobe project ) and yet I still think many of us find ourselves in that dreadful paradox where you have a closet full of beautiful, handmade, clothes, and yet nothing to wear.

I've been trying for a long time to close this gap, and it's led me to make things like jeans and shirts and simple, loose dresses - perhaps not the most glamorous of clothes, but I'll be damned if I don't wear them week after week and day after day! But yet I still find myself thinking that I have nothing to wear. Some of this could just be a deeply ingrained dissatisfaction with all things that I own, and a desire to acquire something new - just for the sheer newness of it. Sure. Some of it could be that... Or some of it could be that I don't do my laundry nearly often enough (stop giving me that look, Mom!) Okay. Yeah. It could be that too... but.... but

Couldn't some of it also be that I actually don't have enough of the clothes I actually wear? To be sure, making a great, basic, top that you know you'll want to wear every day is a great step towards making a wearable wardrobe - but that's only one top! That gets you, like, one day! Ideally you'd have enough of those tops to fill an entire two weeks worth of I-have-nothing-to-wear moments!



Which leads me to the TNT pattern. My longterm sewing goal is to build a pattern library of weekly go-to's - the sort of things I wear on a day to day basis, when I'm not taking blog photos, or doing anything more glamorous than making dinner. And then actually make them! Again and again ad nauseum. Pieces like I'm wearing here, in this post. Consider this my rather unapologetic 'real me' look.

I love skinny pants and loose fitting, button-up shirts (in the summer I also love my silk dresses). I feel good in this look - confident. I don't feel over-dressed. I can take on pretty much all tasks that my day might throw at me. And I like the versatility of the look - pair it with a blazer and nice shoes and I'm ready for a meeting.

But I've made lots of patterns that I've loved. They looked good on me. I've enjoyed the experience of sewing them. I wear them pretty regularly. I've even sworn I'd make them again. And yet I don't... which has led me to ponder: what makes a TNT pattern?



So far, I've made my Built by Wendy pants pattern 4 times (the most recent iteration is this pair of jeans I'm wearing here - in all their saggy knee-ed glory - and no, they haven't been laundered recently either) and the Archer 3 times. And I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon. I've decided that they share the same properties that, for me, makes them TNT patterns:

1. They look like RTW things I already own, love, and wear, or have already worn, literally, to shreds. This winter I wore the same, old, ratty, red plaid shirt pretty much every day until it dawned on me that adding another to my closet might not be a bad idea!
2. They can be made in a variety of fabrics and patterns without losing their integrity. I've made my Archers in lightweight linen, sheer silk, and now thick cozy flannel - and each one worked beautifully.
3. It's easy to tweak the pattern to make it, truly, made for me. Sometimes you stumble upon a pattern that just fits you, but more often than not you have to make that pattern fit you. Let's be honest, I'm not going to wrestle with an ill-fitting pattern to make it work for me - I have better things to do (and sew) and besides... been there, done that (ahem! coughcoughclovers... ) But if it's just a matter of straightening out the hip curve here (BbW pants) or narrowing the shoulder there (Archer) than we're in business.
4. They can easily be used to create a different style of garment. I haven't tried this yet with the Archer, although I have plans to, but I've used my BbW pattern to create shorts, pants of different leg widths - even leggings! And they have never failed.
5. I reach for earlier iterations of the pattern day after day, especially when I might not be feeling so great (bloated, tired... hungover... you know... generally kind of blah). As I said, this look is pretty much my daily uniform.
6. It can't be so simple that it bores me to even think of making it. There will always be a time and a place for easy patterns that come together in just a few hours, but, generally, I like a little bit of a challenge when I sew. Whether it be perfecting my topstitching or matching plaids, or finding the best way to finish a collar stand, I need something that's going to hold my interest.

And there you have it! Hopefully throughout my sewing life I will find more beloved patterns, and maybe one day I'll get to the point where I can open my closet and know exactly what to wear!

But maybe first I need some to see a shrink about that 'newness' issue, and get my laundry habits up to par? ... Nah!

So what are your TNT patterns? Or what do you look for in a TNT pattern? And do you have the perfect wardrobe yet?

xx

disco butt

Things my husband said after seeing my newest, completed make:

"Ooooh baby, you've got disco butt..." (what does that mean..?)
"What I really like about this is that you can go right from the roller skating rink to a karate dojo without having to change your outfit!" (and I added: "And then right to BED!!!")
"This makes you look really skinny. Like Mia Farrow!" (I didn't even pay him...)



This, my friends, is a jumpsuit. And while we're on a roll here with the list making, I've been keeping a mental list of all the things that jumpsuits are awesome for:

• High kicks
• Impromptue yoga
• Looking dramatic in a breeze
• Lounging (obviously...)
• Striking poses
• Calling people "Daaahling"
• Riding bikes (but I roll up the legs, because those are some biiiig hems!!)
• Looking like you got dressed on those days when you don't want to get dressed
• Collecting cat hair (well... I can't speak for all jumpsuits on this one...)

And here's the list of things that jumpsuits are not awesome for:

• Ohmygodwhatthef**k TOILETS!!!

Here I was, thinking to myself:  "Why don't people wear jumpsuits all the time?? They are so comfy!!" And then I think I uttered an audible "oh shit" the first time I was confronted with a toilet while wearing my jumpsuit.

But how I manage to do my business in this jumpsuit is not the point of this post! I made a jumpsuit! This has been on my 'to make' list forever. I sort of "drafted" this pattern myself.  I say "drafted" because I'm not totally sure that my method of 'Just Drawing Shapes on Paper and Hoping For the Best' is really a method of pattern drafting.  If it is - than I am a master! I did test the bodice part out first in some leftover jersey I had laying around and deemed it 'good enough'.  The finished jumpsuit is made out of some black rayon modal jersey.  That stuff is just so slinky and soft! Perfect for this sort of swishy, drape-y, unstructured outfit. Also, completely forgiving of my haphazard drafting methods! 

One of the tricky things about (cough cough... ahem) drafting your own patterns, is that they don't come with any instructions! I mean, no duh, obviously, but you really have to spend a bit of time thinking through how you're going to construct your garment - how edges are going to be finished, what areas need to be interfaced, etc.  I was having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to finish my neckline edges.  My first thought was to bind them, but no matter how careful I am, anytime I bind edges in jersey it always looks like a huge, hot, mess. Then I thought about encasing elastic - similar to how Heather instructs you to do it with the Bombshell swimsuit - but I wasn't sure I wanted all that zig-zag topstitching to be visible.  Finally, late at night (when I should be sleeping, but instead I'm thinking about sewing... come on... you do it too) I had the aha! moment of using facings! It's also a sort of 'no shit' solution, but for some reason I always underestimate the power of facings.

The other completely obvious, yet also revelatory discovery I made while making this jumpsuit is how effective a fusible knit interfacing can be on jersey (I know, I know... minds = blown I'm sure...).  The interfacing has just a teensy amount of stretch, so it works with the fabric, but it also stabilizes it, which is perfect for a 4-way stretch knit like modal.  I interfaced my facings, pocket edges and hems.  Interfacing the hem was totally revolutionary for me! No more crazy, ripple-y hems! I interfaced about an inch around the bottom, serged the raw edge, turned it up and did a double-needle topstitch.  Seriously the most gorgeous hem I've ever gotten with a knit. Of course this only works because I don't need the hems to stretch.

I've pretty much been wearing this jumpsuit non-stop, even despite the awkward bathroom moments. It's just that comfortable, and yet I also feel sort of chic in a  70's disco(butt) kind of way!

As a matter of fact, my jumpsuit was the first thing I packed when I jetted off to NYC two weekends ago! Yep... that happened!

All photos, except that last one, are from the lovely, amazing, Jennifer

Wanette, Oona, Sonja, Latrice, Devra, Jennifer, Kelli, and of course, my girl Heather.

So, forgive me for a second you guys - I'm sure this is going to sound like just another love-fest of a blogger meet-up recap - but let me put this in perspective for you: I have been sewing for a little over three years now, and blogging over two, and I have never had a real, live, in-depth chat with another sewist, let alone another sewing bogger! I was seriously over-the-moon. Getting to meet these women in real life, who's blogs I look to for inspiration, education, commiseration, to be awed and amazed, and for a good laugh, was such an incredible experience.  It re-newed my creative energy, and reminded me why I blog and make the effort to be a part of this space - because our little on-line community is made up of some of the most creative, talented, brilliant, kind, genuine, open-hearted and FUNNY women (and a few men) I have ever had the immense pleasure to come across. 

My weekend was epic. And one that I will hold close to my heart forever... at least until it happens again! And a special thank you to all you ladies up there that I had the chance to meet and talk to and get rowdy with.  Ya'll are precious.

xx

fire hazard

Sooo... this is pretty much a complete 180 from my last make...

I made myself some faux leather leggings. I blame this on Pinterest. Then again, I blame a lot of things on Pinterest these days, so maybe it's time I (wo)man up and take responsibility for my own actions, or something... 

Let me explain. A couple months ago I made the truly rare excursion to an H&M store. This never happens. But one of the things I wanted to check out was leather leggings. As the fine purveyors of cheap trends that they are, I knew H&M would have an example of this particular trend in stock, and lo and behold, they did. So I tried them on and I remembered why I hated shopping at H&M. They fit like crap, they smelled weird and they squeaked when my thighs rubbed together. They were also somewhere in the realm of $30. Pretty steep just to try out a trend. Coincidentally (or not coincidentally at all) around the same time I decided to check and see if the local fabric store had any non-hideous options for fake leather. And, would you look at that! They did. Enter the dark-chocolate-almost-black-stretchy-light-weight faux leather of my dreams. 

My husband was seriously worried when I came home with a yard and a half of the stuff.

I used my trusty stand-by for skinny pants - or really any and all pants - the Built By Wendy SewU pants pattern which I've sliced and diced so many times I feel like it's mine.  After an ill-fated first attempt I decided to omit the center-front zip fly and instead installed an invisible zipper at the side. Way cleaner finish.  Because of the zip fly debacle I had to scrap my first try at the pants fronts and I didn't have quite enough leftover fabric to cut a whole new front out of. So I cut the pants fronts in two pieces, adding a seam just above the knee. I figured if they were real leather pants they'd probably have similar seaming anyway - and what the hell we're having fun here.

I have to admit - a lot of questions and doubts went through my mind as I was making these. Questions like...

- Is it wrong to sew something so trendy? I know a lot of the sewing blogging community is anti-trend but what's so wrong with it? I actually feel like I might wear these crazy pants for many years to come. They're surprisingly versatile...

- Can you wear leather leggings and not look like Sandy at the end of Grease? I thought that if I paired them with opposing textures and long layers I could prevent this. However my husband just told me that I look like Princess Leia on the Forest Moon of Endor (that's Ewok Land to all you non Star Wars nerds...like me) in these pictures, which wasn't really a look I was going for either... Editors note: Nick would like you all to know that he is NOT a Star Wars nerd. He just happens to know about the Forest Moon of Endor...

- Which is worse? Buying real leather hides from animals or buying fake leather from petrochemicals? Either way, I'm guilty of both sins.

And the big question...

- Are these pants going to melt to my legs???

No really! This is a serious concern of mine! It just so happens that on the two occasions when I wore these to work we had a bonfire (remind me to tell you what I do for a living again... it's pretty awesome...) The first time I was so wary of the flames and my legs catching on fire that I left to go change into something less...combustible. The second time I called my husband to bring me another pair of pants.

I also don't know that I will ever wear these in the car on the off chance I might get in an accident and the engine explodes and my pants catch fire and melt to my legs and I have to go to the hospital where they pick little pieces of burnt plastic off of me with tweezers and my legs are forever scarred from my ridiculous petrochemical pants...Good thing I rarely drive.

I made this top too. I was very inspired by Papercut Patterns Sloppy Josephine Tee which I decided was the perfect casual top and was all set to buy it. Until I saw that it wasn't available to download and it had to ship all the way from New Zealand and I wanted it noooowwwww (P.S. I will plan ahead in the future because their new collection is seriously blowing my mind!) So I pulled out my ruler and french curve and set to work drafting my own. 

Then I got totally frustrated and remembered that there is a raglan t-shirt pattern in the Built By Wendy SewU Home Stretch book. Those Built By Wendy books... I had no idea they would be paying off big time when I bought them! So being much more comfortable altering patterns to my liking than drafting from scratch I went ahead and deepened the neckline, added a little bit of "dolman" to my sleeve, and added a longer, curved hem. 

From there it was so easy-breezy-beautiful-covergirl! I cut into this sheer, white, tissue-y rayon jersey and, I swear to God, I blinked my eye and a second later I had a new t-shirt! A t-shirt that I have been wearing literally every day since then. No really. It's getting kinda gross...

And with that lovely thought, I'll leave you!

To all my U.S. friends, I hope you had a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving, and I hope your hangover wasn't as bad as mine!

xx

the final days of me-made-may

well its been a fun ride. i've never done a wardrobe-challenge-month and i was really curious to see if i would stick with it or not. and i did! even the weekends - though i have no photographic evidence so you'll just have to take my word for it that i pulled off at least one me-made article of clothing every day, including weekends, for the 31 days of may.

5/29



top: american apparel
skirt: self-made silk midi-skirt, blogged here
shoes: frye
belt: jcrew
check out mister muscles' new collar! he hates loves it! and now i can hear him coming so he can no longer sneak attack and destroy my ankles!! sallie = 1, mister muscles = 549....

5/30



i'll be honest, i almost forgot to take a picture this day. it wasn't until we were almost about to go to bed that my husband asked if i had taken my picture for mmmay and i realized i forgot, so he quick snapped this one while i was working on some hand sewing. its hard to tell but i'm wearing this dress.

5/31



top: self-made (proof in the picture above) more info to come, promise!
jeans: i had to end my me-made-may with my champions, the stovepipe skinnies.
so the pictures this week kind of devolved. but hey! it lasted up until the last two days! thats pretty good! this picture gives you a wonderful profile of the lovely lucille, and also a glimpse of my bum toe (and our very wire-y and um... old... sound system)

a huge thank you to zoe for hosting and organizing and conceiving of such a fabulous month-long celebration of our me-made wardrobes. and a huge thank you, blog readers, and flickr pool for all your kind words of encouragement.

i definitely feel like this challenge made me more aware of my own wardrobe and my dressing habits than i ever have been before. i think separates really serve me well in the day to day and i seem to have a fondness for red, white and blue (hmm... perhaps i should remedy that...)

but really, i need to give a huge thank you to three darlings who, hands down, made my me-made-may:

the draped leather jacket (worn 4 times), the stovepipe skinnies (worn 9 times), and the red midi-skirt (worn 4 times).

without you three i don't know where i would be. probably posting pictures of my stark naked self on the internet. but not in a sexy way, you know? it was through this powerhouse trio that i really found the full potential of my me-made wardrobe, and it will be with this triumphant triumvirate in mind that i consider my future makes. 

in other words: i really gotta make myself another leather jacket, pair of jeans and midi-skirt, already!! sheesh!

congratulations to everyone who participated in me-made-may! you're a rockstar!! pop open your poison of choice (me? i'll be clinking some ice around in my campari and soda, squeeze of orange, please) throw on some (non-me-made) sweatpants and contemplate just how awesome you are!

cheers!

xx

a (toe)tally awesome mmmay...

warning: this post gets a bit gory at the end...

and another mmmay week comes to a close. it began with me rocking some me-made outfits, and ended with a trip to urgent care. lets begin at the beginning.

5/22

top: anthropologie, a beautiful gift from my beautiful mom. just cuz she loves me.

jeans: these ones here that i've been wearing nonstop. seriously. are you sick of them yet? because clearly i'm not...

shoes: shoemint

earrings: old old old...

5/23



dress: my ikat blanket dress - blogged here
shoes: frye
beach: beautiful, isn't it?


5/24

jacket: draped leather jacket - are you sick of seeing this one yet, too? blogged here

shirt: silk colette sencha - made (very poorly) in the early days of sewing. actually i think this was the first real pattern i ever made. it never fit quite right and i keep thinking i'll remake it, but it looked pretty cute in this outfit.

shorts: old. urban outfitters, possibly? these are actually the only pair of shorts i own. which needs to be remedied...

belt: jcrew

shoes: shoemint

5/25

top: vogue 1247 - blogged here

jeans: same as always - blogged here

shoes: falling apart and yet i keep wearing them.

this top always gets worn the same way. i wish i could get more creative with it - but this always seems so perfect!

and its all down hill from here...

5/26




top: stripey knit from burdastyle - blogged here
jeans: same as always...
icepack: loaned from a friend...

so today started out like a normal saturday. i got up, got ready (a bit tired so i just threw some clothes on, thinking about how i'm going to have to justify wearing these jeans as much as i do on the blog, and lie about how i swear i'm washing them...) went to work. we had a small event the night before so i wanted to try and clean up from that and in one of those weird accidents where the action doesn't really seem to justify the outcome, i opened a door on my foot, experienced a shooting pain, and looked down to see my big toenail had come off!!!

... thats only a mild exaggeration, it came almost all the way off - but thats what it looked like to me at the time. i remember thinking how that seemed like cruel punishment just for opening a door on one's foot. then i saw blood. lots and lots of blood. 

now, if there is one thing about me that becomes crystal clear in situations like this it is that a) i have a low tolerance for pain, b) the sight of blood (or really even the mention of it) in general, but especially my own makes me queasy and c) i rely very heavily on the people who love me to care for me when faced with an injury.

but i was alone. so i limped and dragged my seriously injured foot over to the neighboring building where my husband has his studio, knowing that he had a first aid kit in there (my husband is a valiant prince of a man who laughs in the face of pain and is no stranger to gruesome injuries) then i dragged myself, leaving a very dramatic trail of blood behind me, to a large sink where i cleaned my (truly disgusting) toe, wrapped it in gauze and stuck a band aid around it. 

then i limped back to my office - leaving one lone bloody shoe and a manic scattering of first aid supplies behind me, so they'll know what happened to me when they found the body...

and i called my husband. i was certain that i hadn't done a good job cleaning the toe because i couldn't even bear to look at, let alone touch it to clean the nail bed. as i waited for him to come find me in my pathetic state i sensed that i was feeling very nauseous, and i was having trouble breathing.

my prince came to my rescue. then he told me he was going to have to remove the rest of the nail. and the room went white and i felt like vomiting and my husband told me to elevate my foot. this part was just so traumatic its all a blur (wink).

after a quick call to my mother in law, who's a nurse practitioner, we were advised to go see a doctor, who could clean the toe and - possibly - cut the nail away. insert shuddering, heaving breath and room-spinning sensations here.

and thats how my saturday ended up at the urgent care! we waited for about 3 and a half hours till we saw a doctor, who was very nice, but told me he wasn't going to do anything. nothing! that the nail will come off by itself in good time and that i should soak it in epsom salts to keep it clean. thats it!!! no scary scissors, no me having to bite down on a wooden spoon while a doctor hovers above me with a saw and yells "nurse! bring me more laudanum! for god sake woman!" while the nurse vomits quietly into her apron. in other words, it wasn't the hospital scene from gone with the wind. go figure. just some free gauze and instructions to keep it clean, massage the nail bed so it regrows, and...

STAY OUT OF THE OCEAN!!

say what?!!? apparently salt water is great for disinfecting, just not the salt water in the gulf of mexico.  blast!! there goes my weekend (and next weekend, and possibly the weekend after that) plans!!

and here ends the gruesome story of sallie and her toe(nail). its tragic, i know. 

now, dear readers (those of you who aren't as delicate as i and actually made it to the end of my sad tale) i have a question for you. what does one wear when you have a zombie toe?? (zombie because of its blue-ish, purple-ish, black-ish coloring. like a zombie. duh.)

do you hide your toe under wrappings and closed toed shoes so the people at the table next to you at the restaurant don't lose their appetite at the site of your ghastly digit? or do you let your zombie toe breathe?

inquiring minds want to know...

xx

mmmay week three!!

high five for the weekend! i plan on spending my two free days thusly: 

spend one day at the beach. spend one day sewing. mix and match. mornings and evenings for cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping et cetera, et cetera, and so forth, and so on.

will you support me in this? good. i thought so.

i kind of felt like i was kicking this me-made-may's butt this week - until today. something happened and every single thing i put on this morning felt like someone else's clothes. i think this was because it was sunshine-y and warm and the only thing that would have felt comfortable was a bathing suit, wide-brimmed hat, and sunscreen. accessorize with sandy feet and salty hair. but apparently thats not appropriate work attire. or so they tell me. jk. i've never shown up to work in my swimmies. yet.

okay! enough chit chat - let the me-made-may week three parade begin!

5/13 and 5/14 not pictured but i wore some combination of my new(ish) stove-pipe skinny jeans, that mint green t-shirt, or some other t-shirt and blue shorts. mix and match. match and mix.

5/15

lets go from the top down, shall we?

hat: random beach store here in galveston

necklace: so old i don't remember

bra strap: you really don't want to know

top: self-made burdastyle, blogged here but i cut the sleeves off (the ties never laid right and i just felt i'd get more wear out of it this way)

jeans: emersonmade

clogs: frye

where: to work. obviously.

5/16

topknot: so silly with my short hair

braided thingamabobby: american apparel from many moons ago

jacket: draped leather jacket - blogged here - i've seriously been getting my money's worth out of this jacket!

shirt: self-made from the drape-drape 2 book, never blogged

jeans: emersonmade

shoes: shoemint - not gonna lie, i didn't wear these all day. i just got them in the mail this day and thought they might spruce up my look

where: i might stop doing this, because i don't go anywhere other than work and home! so there. done. not doing this anymore!

5/17

sunnies: rayban!

necklace: madewell from last year

dress: self-made, self-drafted, super soft nani-iro double gauze fabric. made about a year ago, never blogged

shoes: shoemint

5/18

necklace: same old one from 5/15

tshirt: altered built-by-wendy pattern from sew u home stretch, blogged here

belt: jcrew

skirt: self-made, blogged here - this skirt has also been another all-star in my spring wardrobe...

shoes: shoemint, and this time i actually wore them all day

i felt totally awesome in this outfit! i suppose this is me taking part in the "colorblocking" trend but i sort of hate that word and i'd much rather prefer to think of it as "three differently colored things that i happen to be loving right now and i'm gonna wear them all together just for shits"! i gave a little talk in the morning to some middle school kids and one of the girls came up to me and said "i'm loving all of (waves her hand around in the air) this" yeah. thats right, my look was 12 year old girl approved!

5/19

sunnies: rayban

top: urban outfitters, self-altered

tank top: jcrew

jeans: stovepipe skinnies, blogged here

shoes: frye

and i think i used up all my good-outfit mojo on friday because today it just wasn't working. i don't usually do the whole thing where i change outfits 50 times in the morning, but this was one of those mornings. nothing seemed to be working, so i just kind of defaulted to my jeans. it seems almost like cheating, but hey - they are the most wearable self-made article of clothing i've ever made!

and thats it for this week! now if you'll excuse me, i have about 4 yards of beautiful ikat fabric that needs my attention

jealous?

xx

mmmay week two

phwew! i'm running a bit behind schedule this week. i was talking to my dad this weekend and he said that since he didn't see a new post up he assumed i was no longer participating in me-made-may! well! how wrong you are daddy-oh! my wearing of me-made clothes is still going strong - and i've got photographic evidence to prove it (except for the weekends...a girl needs a break...)

my camera batteries died on saturday leaving me a bit slow in recharging them and getting these pictures posted. but the greater contributor to my mmmay tardiness was.... drumroll pleeeaassseee ...

this weekend my husband and i decided to do our part as young americans and stimulate the economy by buying a new car. like a real car. not one off of craig's list.  at least this is what i've been telling myself we were doing to avoid the all-consuming anxiety that grips me every time i think about taking on more debt! i think i'm just hardwired to hyperventilate when faced with this kind of purchase, despite the fact that the numbers keep telling me that we can afford this.  there was also a serious need factor involved here. our poor little car was on its last legs - quite literally wheezing and burning its oil - and (perhaps the biggest strike against it) we were facing our third texas summer without air conditioning. we just. couldn't. do it. again.

so my mind has been a bit preoccupied with paperwork and numbers and budgets and the anxiety and exhilaration of our brand spanking new car!!!  you guys, she's so purdy. she even has power windows and locks (apparently thats become standard in the past 20 years...) so yeah. big weekend in the sallieoh house!

oh. you didn't want to hear about my new car?? well fine then - without further ado, my mmmay week two in review:

5/6 and 5/7: not pictured. wore a self-made, self-drafted blue polka dot dress. it'll be worn again, no worries. and yes i wore it both days. don't judge me.

5/8:

top: urban outfitters, from many moons ago, self-altered (i shortened the hem)

skirt: watermelon silk midi/maxi skirt - blogged here

shoes: frye

where: to work. same old same old. weirdly enough this has been one of my favorite outfits to wear this spring. i'm not really sure why since the silhouette isn't the most flattering. i think i just really like the way it billows in the breeze. i'm a sucker for some billowing...

5/9:

blazer: christmas gift, several years old by now. from urban outfitters i think.
top: rachel comey for vogue in tessuti silk, blogged here
pants: new stove-pipe skinnies, blogged here
shoes: shoemint
where: work. so much for this top being a special occasion top...


5/10:

dress: self-made, self-drafted red wrap dress. never blogged. made about a year ago in a post-flu delirium where i began maniacally serging this red modal knit. despite the fact that the hem is uneven and the ties are oddly, like, 6 feet long each - this has got to be my most loved self-made garment to date. and this is because when i put it on i feel like the lovechild offspring of marilyn monroe and sophia loren. bam! bombshell...

shoes: shoemint. 

bod: all mine, baby, alllllll mine

where: yeah. just to work.

5/11:

sexy rain jacket: not sure what brand, but i got it at the sporting goods store

tshirt: self made just recently. incredibly unremarkable so it won't get blogged.

pants: self-made stove-pipe skinnies, blogged here

shoes: my trusty (and oh so sexy) old lady worifshofers. 

where: to work. the internet told me to expect thunderstorms all day so i dressed appropriately (i even had some awesome galoshes on earlier) only for it to be stupidly sunny. allll freaking day. go figure.

5/12:

jacket: self-drafted draped leather jacket, blogged here

dress: the second dress i ever made! it also happens to be self-drafted (yeah, i worked backwards...) made a few years ago now and never blogged. its made from some fun poly (!!) knit from the 70's. 

shoes: frye

where: to work. duh. sorry about my stupid face in this picture. my camera battery was dying so this was the only one i snapped before it quit on me. no time to preview and try and arrange my facial features in some way that doesn't look like i'm possessed by the devil...

and thats week two!! i didn't really get any sewing done this week because my mind has been elsewhere. perhaps inspiration will strike this week and i'll have something glorious to post later, but i'm not going to force it!

have a great week, ya'll!

xxoo

basic uniform

in my heart of hearts and in my soul of souls i am a jeans and tee kind of girl. who isn't? unfortunately, its not always easy to find a good pair of jeans. until this recent pair of jeans, i owned two pairs that i wore in heavy-ish rotation. one was my colette clovers, which i don't think really count as jeans since the styling is more trouser-like. the second was a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans from jbrand that i bought a bit big and the waist has a habit of scooching down from its high-rise heights which leaves me with a saggy crotch problem. not very comfortable! 

so it was time to make a new pair of jeans. not the most glamorous sewing - but necessary! i had this stretch denim from mood leftover from my denim clovers. it was just enough to eek out this pair of jeans! i used the simplicity built by wendy pattern that came with the book, sew u (it looks like the pattern is now out of print, but maybe it still comes with the book?) i've had this book since i was a teenager, but this is the only pattern i've ever made from it.

i cut these in a straight size 6 but after sewing up the inseam and basting the rest of the legs together i had to take them in a whole lot. i think the 4 would have fit better, although i may still have had to take it in a bit. the jeans look a bit baggy in these pictures because, well i've been wearing them non-stop since i made them! time for a washing!! 

this pattern has a really modern fit. a low (but not too low, no butt-cracks please!) waist and a very straight-through-the-hip cut. which is great for me since i'm also kind of straight-through-the-hip! i obviously changed the leg, narrowing them to the knee and then keeping 'em straight and skinny to the ankle, leaving the length long so they bunch up at my foot. 

the built by wendy pattern isn't necessarily a jeans pattern. as a matter of fact, you don't really need a specific "jeans" pattern to make jeans! because when it comes to jeans, the devil is in the details.  when i sat down to sew these i had my pair of jbrands by my side and another super old pair of levi's. i kept opening up both pairs and checking out how the fly was inserted, where were the bar tacks, how the belt loops were attached, and most importantly, what was topstitched and what wasn't.

the topstitching (and perhaps also the pocket shape) are really what says "jeans" on a pair of pants. i've noticed that the "fancier" the jean, the less topstitching it has, and the more casual the jean the more topstitching it has. but almost all jeans have some sort of topstitching around the fly, pockets (back and front) and waistband. some have two lines down the inseam, my jbrand pair has none. i made this pair with a single line of topstitching down the inseam. my double needle broke after using it once around the fly when i tried to ease it over the zipper teeth (woops!) and so i was left to eyeball the rest of the topstitching with more or less accuracy!

and speaking of details - what's a jean without the rivets! again, this is a totally optional detail - some jeans have them, some don't. i bought my small rivets and rivet button for the waistband from taylor tailor - who makes some pretty awesome jeans! i'm not gonna lie - they were a tad bit harder for me to get in than taylor makes it out to be in his tutorial! I did a lot of pounding to get them to stay put... but i think it was worth it because it is those little details that makes these look a bit more professional.

since i was on a built by wendy kick i decided to open her other book, sew u home stretch, and make up the crew neck tshirt from the pattern provided. i compared the paper pattern to a favorite tshirt of mine from american apparel and saw that my shirt was about an inch narrower than the smallest size on the pattern. i made the necessary adjustments and what seriously seemed like two seconds later, i had this new mint green tshirt! the fabric is the minted cream organic cotton knit from tessuti that i bought on a whim with my last purchase. it sort of looks like i bought it at american apparel...go figure... 

also! i replaced my twin needle aaandd... twin needles for finishing knits! who knew, right?!?! oh...everyone but me? oh. ok then. well i'm happy to be joining the club!

xx

mmm...(mmmmm!!!) week one

well we've got one week of may under our (possibly self-made) belts! i'll be doing my "week in review" posts on saturdays, since my work week is technically tuesday through saturday and thats just how my brain works.  i'm still contemplating if i want to photograph myself on the weekends. i might leave that optional...

so... me-made-may totally took me by surprise on tuesday morning! for all my posts and putting little gadgets in my sidebar and such, i found myself woefully unprepared! at 8am on tuesday morning i was lazily flicking through my blog reader when i came to zoe's "happy me-made-may" announcement and i exclaimed "shut the front door!! is it may first?!?" to my husband who just raised an eyebrow in the affirmative. dammit! i hadn't done my laundry! and i was really hoping that one zit would heal before i had to start taking pictures of myself daily...

ah well, thats part of the lure of participating in (and seeing everyone else's) me-made-may challenges, isn't it? its a bit of the "warts (zits) and all" thing.  so without further ado, here's my un-momentous opening act to the me-made month!

5/1:

top: jcrew jackie cardigan in navy

skirt: silk midi skirt, blogged here

shoes: shoemint

where: to work, where it is very cold because of the blasting a/c! 

5/2:

jacket: self-made draped leather jacket, blogged here and here and here

dress: self-made (and self-drafted) yellow striped handkerchief hem dress. made about a year ago, never blogged.

shoes: shoemint

sunnies: rayban (my one and only, signature pair)

where: to work, for a very busy day filled with meetings and appointments that left me in no mood to have my picture taken!

5/3:

top: urban outfitters (kimchi & blue) 

belt: jcrew

pants: self-made modified colette clover denim trousers, blogged here (tutorials here)

shoes: frye

sunnies: raybans!

where: to work, to run errands.

5/4:

top: not sure anymore...possibly jcrew? or urban outfitters? its super old...

jeans: new!! self-made stove pipe skinnies, modified from the built by wendy simplicity pattern. a proper blog post to come soon (because i'm super excited about them exclamation pointssss)

shoes: can't really see them but they're the same frye sandals from up above and down below.

hat: from a random beach store here on the island

where: to work for a day where, as is often the case with my job, i needed to be able to get a bit dirty.

5/5:

top: self-made, rachel comey for vogue patterns. blogged here

jeans: self-made, stovepipe jeans, same as above (i'm obsessed with them!)

shoesies: my comfy frye sandals

where: to work for a quiet day.

and thats it my friends! as i've more than hinted, i'm pretty psyched about my new jeans. they will be getting their own post shortly.  also, for all of you that asked for tips on working with delicate fabrics, a post is in the works! i'm just trying to figure out the best way to do it because sometimes, ya know, pictures just don't cut it. so i'm looking into (gulp) video... yeah. we'll see....

i hope everyone had a good may day and me-made-may week one!

xx