Friday, May 25, 2012

Me-Made-May Week 3

It's time for another Me-Made-May round-up post.  I must say that I am enjoying this year's me-made month so much!  Fellow pattern lover, Denise, from The Blue Gardenia suggested I show the vintage patterns for each outfit as well as the photos.  Brilliant idea! It's always nice to see how things look when they are all sewn up....so here we go...

Day 14: My 'Ruffled Goodness' blouse made with Simplicity 1222 (pictured below) and my 'Yipppeeee Trousers' made with Simplicity 3688 (also pictured below) worn with a cardigan my mom gave me.


Day 15: My 1937 'Birthday Dress Suit' made with McCall 9156 (pictured below)


Day 16: My 'Pumpkin Pie' Dress, which is view B from the Style Print 1283 pattern below.


Day 17: I didn't even realise that I wore my two iterations of the Style Print pattern two days in a row! This is my 'Midcentury Madness' dress or view A of the Style Print 1283 pattern above.

Day 18: I wore my 'Union Jack Peek-A-Boo' hooded dress from the 1940 McCall pattern no. 3678 (pictured below).  I might just have to wear this again for the Diamond Jubilee next month as it has a fun union jack lining!


Day 20: Sunshine has arrived in Scotland!  To celebrate, I wore my 'Now or Never' halter top and the 'Perfect Day' matching bolero and skirt outfit.  The halter and bolero are from Simplicity 3879 and the skirt is a modification of the skirt from Butterick 8074.


Day 21: Anniversary day!!  Can you believe I've never made cookies since David and I have been together?  9 years without baking!! My goodness...well I indulged us both by making some yummy chocolate chip cookies that went oh so well with champagne! hehehe.  I wore my 'Whippin' Something Up' apron from the 1941 McCall pattern below and my 'Celebration' red velvet dress from Butterick 8132.


What a fun and varied week!  Which pattern is your favourite from this week?
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Monday, May 21, 2012

9 Years Ago Today...

In a galaxy far, far away (i.e. NYC)....

I saw a gorgeous man across a crowded room......

we made eyes at each other for what seemed like eternity until we both got up the courage to talk to each other....

That was 9 years ago.  I still go gaga every time I see him....


Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!! Looking forward to many more happy adventures together!
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Friday, May 18, 2012

The Big 4

This month and next it's all about the big four....I'm not talking about the pattern companies we all know and love but about the four big projects I've set out for myself in May and June.  I'm not sure if I've officially gone crazy or what.  Perhaps you can talk some sense into me.  You see, I've been very busy with work this month and in addition to my full-time job, I've picked up a consulting project on the side.  I've also mentioned that we will be celebrating a big event in June--David's graduation!!  We are both super excited.  There's the graduation event, the graduation ball and a garden party!!  So here's the big four plan:

1. The Gilda Gown
You may remember me already talking about this one.  Originally I was planning on using the bombshell dress as the basis for the gown, however given everyone's reviews (especially in terms of how long it takes) I'm wondering if I might be better off with a pattern like this one (thanks to lsaspacey for pointing this out as the perfect Gilda gown):


The only problem with this is the reviews on pattern review suggest this is difficult to piece together and a troublesome pattern...

Or this one:

This one has had really good reviews and people have said it was "easy" to put together. 

Here's the inspiration gown again:


Thoughts?  Other patterns I should explore?

2. The Bonnie Prince Charlie Jacket
This is the traditional jacket to be worn with a kilt (isn't it the best name for a jacket?).  Here's a photo of David and I with him wearing his current Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket:


His graduation is white tie--meaning a black Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket.  I found the perfect pattern from Folkwear (you can make your own kilt and the pattern even comes with instructions for knitting your own argyle socks...don't worry that's not on the agenda for the next two months..lol.)

Folkwear Pattern 152:


3.  Traditional Waistcoat/Vest
You have to wear a vest under the Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket (also included in the Folkwear pattern).  This version will be made in white.  Have I mentioned that I've never done welt pockets before?

4. A Garden Party Dress
Part of the graduation includes a garden party event (yipppeee).  I asked David to pick his choice of pattern for me to wear and he choose the 1933 Katherine Hepburn Butterick 5156 frock from EvaDress:


I've made this pattern before and it sews up very nicely:


I LOVE this pattern.  And for those of you who may be thinking...'Won't this outfit be too warm for a garden party in June?'  I can assure it, it won't be that warm in June.  It was only 43 degrees today.  Sigh.  So it's not exactly the floral chiffon frock type of garden party--but hey, I can live with that if it means I get to play with lightweight wool!

We've already been swapping ideas for fabrics and let's just say there will be tartan and bright colours involved.  The only hitch?  I seem to have missplaced my pattern (grrrrr...I HATE it when I do that).  I distinctly remember that the pattern did not fit back in it's envelope and so I put it in with another pattern (but now I can't remember which one).  So, I'm going to look for it this weekend (wish me luck!)

Now, here is the part where I ask you if I have gone mad.  Is this doable?  Should I try?  I forgot to mention that David has agreed to tackle all the hand sewing on the jacket and vest (yippeee) and do some guest posts for my blog in June to help us accomplish our goals. 

So what do you think?  Brilliantly ambitious OR looney bin overload (i.e. not humanly possible)?
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Monday, May 14, 2012

Me-Made-May Week 2

Wow, can you believe we are already in the middle of May? Unbelievable!  Here's a recap of what I've been wearing for Me-Made-May this last week...

1950's 'Betty's Riding Blouse' (Maudella 1268 ), my Ness waistcoat (I'm so happy the blouse goes with this so well!) and my 'Yipppeeee' Trousers (Simplicity 3688)

My '1940 dress' (McCall 3638) with matching Ness shoes and me-made belt

My '1931 Spring Suit' jacket (EvaDress repro pattern) with my '1933 Deco the Halls Tunic Dress' (VPLL repro pattern)

My '1940 Sundress' (McCall 4043) with my Ness shoes and thrifted cardigan

My 'Raspberry Sorbet' dress (a favourite me-make from McCall 5384) and my favourite shoes again (from Ness)

The 'Kitten' skirt (McCall's 8947 from the 50's) with a thrifted blouse and cardigan sweater.

YAY! I'm having so much fun with Me-Made-May!  
Which of these outfits is your favourite?
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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing woman I know!!! I love you!!
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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Me-Made-May: Week 1

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post! It was like receiving a hundred virtual hugs from around the world. It meant so much to David and me! Thank you!!

I've been participating in Me-Made-May and it's time for a little round-up of outfits from last week (I missed the first day as I thought it was still April...hehehehehe):

The Lady of the Lake dress (McCall 3228 from 1939)

 The 'Life Happens' Blouse (McCall 1192 from 1945) and my 'Yipppeeeee Trousers' (Simplicity 3688 reissued pattern from 1941)

 My 'Paddington Goes to Scotland' dress (McCall's 8877 from 1967) with my Ness belt and shoes

 My 'I Need to Do More Lounging' Pyjamas (Simplicity 1558 from around 1933) and my 'Deco the Halls Tunic' (1933 reproduction pattern from VPLL)

 My 'First Blouse' (DuBarry 5327 from 1942) and my 'Going Green' trousers (Simplicity 3688 reissue from 1941).  I should call this outfit 'Rain, rain, go away....' 

 I tried out Casey's new tutorial for a 1940's braided hairstyle (LOVE it)! Hers is way neater than mine. Lol.

It's been fun to follow everyone's Me-Made-May outfits!  Do you find that you experiment more this month than normal with styling your handmade outfits?
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Goodbye our sweet little Ebi


Yesterday we said goodbye to our dear little Ebi.  She was a ray of sunshine in our lives.  A sweet, gentle soul.  She loved people, she loved playing, she loved sleeping under blankets and duvets, she loooooved purring, she loved her daddy and she really loved cheese.


She had one crooked whisker, was notoriously hard to photograph and loved standing with her two front paws on a desk, chair or table.


She never left her Papa's side.  He would pull up a chair for her when he was working at his desk and she would perk up the minute he opened the door when he came home.  It was in his loving arms that she passed away yesterday.

I keep expecting to see her beautiful face everytime I walk around a corner.  There aren't really the words to express how much we feel her loss.  She brought so much love and joy into our lives.


We miss you so much, Ebi.  We are so happy you came into our lives.

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

That's Sew Cinematic Inspiration: The Aviator


There's one more 'Sew Cinematic Challenge' outfit I want to make before I tackle my Gilda gown and that's the Aviator dress pictured above.  Have you seen the movie 'The Aviator'?  It has some fabulous fashions in it.  My favourite are those worn by Kate Beckinsale (as Ava Gardner).


Gah! Isn't this dress divine?  Ok, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the actual movie.  I'll be honest in that I didn't really like it.  I felt it painted Howard Hughes in an overly dramatic (as only Hollywood can do it) light.  I guess the screenwriting left me wanting a bit more....

LOVE this photo of Kate Beckinsale reading a McCall's magazine:


So the project I want to tackle is this colour-blocked dress with the cute keyhole opening and funky sleeves:
Photo from NY Times

I've been wanting to do this dress for ages (ever since last year's Sew Weekly Oscar challenge) and I have the perfect pattern for it--Advance 4143:


I'm making View A without the pockets in the same colour combination!  Don't you love it when you find the perfect pattern?
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Me-Made-May 2012

Sorry I missed the Pyjama Party this last week! I loved reading through all your posts!!

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be participating in Me-Made-May.  This will be my third time participating!!


'I, Debi from My Happy Sewing Place, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made or me-refashioned piece of clothing or accessory per day for the duration of May 2012.'

Huzzah!   Are you participating?
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