So Many Books, So Little Time

You can't get a cup of tea big enough, or a book long enough to suit me.
~C.S. Lewis

I took a trip to the library tonight (a little monsoon-esque weather didn't thwart me, no siree!).  I haven't finished the last two books I started (I do intend to), but that didn't prevent me from getting a few more.  Is it just me, or are libraries just about the best things this side of heaven?  Books fill me with awe-- do you remember that scene in Beauty in the Beast when Belle goes to the bookseller?

Belle: Good morning.  I've come to return the book I borrowed. 

Man: Finished already?  

Belle: Oh, I couldn't put it down.  Have ya got anything new? 

Man: (chuckle) Not since yesterday! 

Belle: That's alright.  I'll borrow... this one. 

Man: That one?  But you've read it twice! 

Belle: Well, it's my favorite: far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise! 

Man: If you like it all that much, it's yours! 

Belle: But sir?!? 

Man: I insist! 

Belle: Well, thank you, thank you very much!

Yep, that's how I feel about books too! (Oh, side note: I went to the movies last night and couldn't help noticing that Beauty and the Beast is coming out again in theaters in 3D on January 13th.  Yay!)


I haven't done this in a while, but here are a few of the books that I picked up tonight (in no particular order):

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I'm definitely NOT pregnant, but this book was on display and caught my eye.  It talks about different factors that influence pregnancies and babies.  Interesting, right?  Also, my bff, Corrie, had her baby not too long ago, and I'm the proud Godmother, so anything about babies interests me at the moment.  (I also have a slew of friends at the moment who have babies or are expecting-- it's just that time in life, I guess.)

WHY I PICKED IT UP: Selected by Caroline Kennedy, it's a collection of poems that cover all aspects of womanhood.  I have a friend who emails out a poem a day with his insightful commentary following.  It's making me appreciate poetry in a whole new way.  While flipping through the book, my eyes fell upon these intro lines to a poem:

oh this man
what a meal he made of me
how he chewed and gobbled and sucked

in the end he spat me all out

I was hooked, and the book came home with me.

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I'm intrigued by the idea of choosing to be happy.  I desire to be a person who is satisfied with my life.  The author spends one year setting goals for herself and making every effort to find happiness in the life she has.  I'm going to follow along on her adventure and see if it holds any secrets for me.

WHY I PICKED 'EM UP: I'm a sewer-- a skill I use primarily in making clothes for myself.  I want to learn how to embroider, or more particularly, to do beadwork embroidery.  I love clothes from the 1920s, and I can't help but notice that beading seems to be a hallmark of that time period.  I'd like to work some beading into my designs if I can manage to get the hang of it.


What about you?  What are you reading these days?

Sewing Challenge- Necklines with Bows

I just saw these images from the Dior 2012 cruise collection (via here) and was immediately smitten with the bow detail and the off-the-shoulder neckline.  My fashion designer brain started to imagine what the pattern must look like.  I don't think it would be that hard to draft a pattern for this, assuming that I had the time.  It's cute, no?  (Scroll down to see the closest detail shot that I could find).

And while I'm posting pictures from this particular collection, I'm going to throw in this one.  I LOVE that shade of green-- it may very well be my favorite color.

Oktoberfest Sneak Preview

The Oktoberfest Dress

This is a sneak preview of something I'm whipping up for this weekend's Oktoberfest festivities.  I used a vintage pattern (from my great aunt's collection) and turned it into a dirndl dress.  The yellow flower-print fabric comes from my mother's stash of fabric and is probably at least twenty years old.  I'm almost finished sewing the dress-- I need to adjust the hem and add a back zipper and then this dress will be ready for a spin on the town.

On another note, I'm sorry that I disappeared from the blog for a bit.  I was in Vermont for most of the summer taking German language classes at Middlebury College.  I had intended to keep the blog updated (although all of my entries would have had to be in German-- that's one of the conditions of the "Middlebury Pledge"), but I ended up being so busy going to classes and studying that I hardly had time for anything else.  With any luck, I'll be able to get some of my summer photos posted.  Vermont is seriously gorgeous!  Anyway, I've missed you guys.  I'm going to ease back into this blogging stuff, but I do hope to be more committed!

Two Things at the Same Time

I don't really seem to be able to handle doing two things at the same time.  To wit, I've been posting semi-frequently on a different blog, The Great Vintage Sewalong of 2011, and have dropped off the face of the earth here at Dum Spiro Spero.


Here's what I've been busy working on:

Isn't it cute?  The dress is from 1941.  I'm making it out of a deep pink velvet.  And I'm hoping to have it completed by Valentine's Day.


I've sewn it up in muslin once, made some alterations, and sewed up the bodice part again in muslin.  This is how it looks:

I'm happy with my progress, so I'm ready to cut it out in the fashion fabric and to proceed.


It's a vintage dress party over at the other blog.  Do stop by and check out all the fun garments people are making!

Oliver + S Contemporary Sewing Patterns for Children

Aren't these sweet?  I just discovered this line of sewing patterns for children over at Butterick and McCalls-- each comes with a 5" paper doll!  Click here to look at all of the Oliver + S collection.

The Dresses of Peggy Hunt- Exquisite Details

I recently subscribed to the Colette Patterns blog-- I seem to be a sucker for anything sewing or fashion related.

The dress that first caught my eye.  Isn't the tromp l'oeil lace bow fabulous? I wish I knew the technique to make something like that!

On Wednesday, the blog featured pictures of dresses by Peggy Hunt which made me stop what I was doing and immediately go in search of more information about this dressmaker.


Peggy Hunt was born in 1892.  She began as a home sewer who enjoyed making clothes for her baby daughter, but her dresses were soon noticed by the owner of the department store where she worked.  Mr Haggerty, of Haggerty's Department Store, asked her to sell some of her designs in his store.  The rest, as they say, was history. (Biography via here.)

Peggy Hunt's trademarks were illusion necklines, appliques, and lots of  lace.

Peggy's granddaughter Jacqui lovingly keeps her grandmother and mother's (also a designer) memory alive by buying their dresses wherever she can find them, and by sharing the pictures of her collection via her Flickr photostream.

I love the pale pink of this dress along with the tulle skirt.  I can see this one at a red carpet ceremony!

I really think Peggy Hunt's use of sheer overlays is genius.  This top would also be beautiful as just a blouse.

This Peggy Hunt dress is one of my favorites.  I love how modern it looks-- like something you'd buy from Anthropologie!

Oh Joy!!

This beauty came in the mail today:

I haven't counted it yet, but I think all the pattern pieces are present (unlike this playsuit pattern I bought off of eBay a while back).  I've been wanting to make a playsuit for a while.  I have the cutest picture of my grandma wearing one, and I want to make one similar to it.

My Golden Grams, on right-- isn't she stunning?

It's fall here now, with winter well on its way, so I may put the pattern aside for the time being, but it is going on my to do list!

XOXO,

The Paper Bag Waist

When I bought this cotton fabric in South Africa last winter (their summer), I knew I wanted to make something unique and distinctive with it.  I am not sure where I got the idea to make a paper bag waist skirt-- I think it just came to me.  After I decided on the silhouette of the skirt, I did a search on the internet for similar styles, and while there were not a ton of skirts with paper bag waists out there, there were a few (I was directly inspired by this Fendi Spring 2010 look).

According to one website, the paper bag waist is hard to wear: "A super slim, non-curvy body type, plus height, a smallish chest and great gams are the prerequisites."  I don't fit that description; I am slim, but my body is definitely curvy.  I do think my legs are nice, which is one reason I chose this style.  I am not sure how the skirt will look on me, but I think I can pull it off.

I had hoped to finish this skirt by tonight-- I wanted to wear it in honor of the Fashion's Night Out festivities.  In typical fashion, it still needs a little work (the balloon skirt is pinned up at the moment and still needs to be attached to the underskirt).  Hopefully I can post pictures of me wearing it soon, and you can be the judge as to whether or not it looks good on me.

XOXO,

My first Homemade Vintage Dress

I cannot pinpoint when it was that I started loving vintage fashions.  Growing up, my sister and I loved watching AMC (American Movie Classics), and later, TCM (Turner Classic Movies).  I don't know how we got into that either (although my parents did consider an almost yearly watching of Gone With the Wind as an integral part of any good Southern upbringing), but afternoons after school were generally filled with the visages of Jimmy (Stewart), Cary (Grant), the Hepburns (Katherine and Audrey), Liz (Taylor), Paul (Newman), and others plastered on the television screen.  I can only imagine with so many beautiful clothes in the movies, designed by the likes of Edith Head and Adrian, that it is only natural that many of the styles sank into my subconscious.

I have been eyeing vintage patterns on eBay for some time, but decided to go with a current Butterick pattern.  It is a reissue of one from 1947 (B5209).  The great thing about buying these reissued patterns is that you know all the pattern pieces are there, the patterns are printed (many older pattern pieces don't have anything printed on them-- they're simply blank pieces of tissue paper), and the directions are modernized.  It really is the best of both worlds.

I wrote a review of the pattern on PatternReview.com, detailing what I changed about the pattern and my recommendations.  You can read it here.

Cover Girl

One of my favorite clients to work for is the McCall Pattern Company, who also owns Butterick and Vogue Patterns.  Everyone there is wonderful, and I have been working for them for a while, so they feel like family.  I also always thought it was a perfect fit-- I love sewing, and buy their patterns frequently.  Moreover, my great grandfather, who died in 1933, worked at McCall's as a printer.  It feels like things have come full circle!

If you happen to be in a fabric store anytime soon, you can see me on the back cover of the Fall 2010 Butterick catalogue.  I am on several of the patterns inside the book as well.

In sewing-related news, yesterday after dropping my parents off at the Philadelphia Airport (they're off to Italy for vacation!), I took advantage of my proximity to the city to go to one of my favorite fabric stores.  After being relegated to the fabric-cum-craft stores in Delaware, it is indeed a divine experience to browse through the bolts of cloth in a real fabric store.  It is a strange thing indeed, but I derive true joy from examining and petting all of the different textiles and trims that they had on offer.

Just a peek in my buggy (that's the southern term for shopping cart, y'all) reveals some of the tempting delights that I treated myself to.  My modus operandi was to walk around and put everything in my cart that caught my eye.  Most of the fabrics I chose were wool, although I had a few satins as well.  I didn't purposely choose colors in the same colorways (the blues and the salmons), so I guess that is just what I am being drawn to these days.  I do have some projects in mind-- here's hoping that I'll be able to follow through.

XOXO,

You Win Some, You Lose Some

My mom unwittingly set me off on an eBay buying spree last week when she clicked on a link that led her to some 1940s patterns on the site.  In all of my madcap (as of late) buying of patterns, it somehow had not occurred to me check this rather obvious source of patterns.

A 1920s pattern that I bid on but did not win.

I immediately created a wish list of sorts, and began bidding.  I set my eye on some pretty fabulous patterns, losing a few auctions, and winning a few.  I finally cut myself off and would not allow myself to visit eBay anymore.

Beautiful 1920s patterns that I would LOVE to own but decided not to bid on since my spending was getting out of hand.  The patterns were in the same auction and only one dress was in my size.

I was surprised by the number of 1920s pattern I found.  I love the silhouette created by the drop waist, and I think it would be cool to have a dress made from an authentic 1920s pattern.  However, I am not sure that my body is suited to this particular style.  The 1920s silhouette looks best on women with longer torsos and narrow hips.

Another pattern I did not win.  I did not bid on this, but now wish I had as it was my size and sold for $4.00.

I learned the hard way that when the seller says that the pattern pieces are not counted that the buyer should take caution.  If you are buying used, vintage patterns, make sure the seller has counted all the pieces.  The one dress pattern I bought had literally five pattern pieces: cuff, collar, shorts back, shorts front, and facing.  It is totally my fault since I bought the pattern knowing that the seller had not counted the pieces, but I feel swindled in a way as it is obvious without counting that this pattern does not have everything included.  I really wish the seller had been more upfront about this, but, oh well, my lesson has been learned!

Here are the three dress patterns that I won:

Ironically, the one I wanted most (the last one with the playsuit) is the one that does not have all of the pattern pieces.  I have been wanting a playsuit ever since I saw Teresa Cotton wearing one in the 1943 Hitchcock film, Shadow of a Doubt.

Alas, just when I thought I had given up my eBay obsession, it seems I have reason to go back again.  I WILL find a playsuit pattern!


XOXO,

Roaring Twenties

Did you know that after I graduated from design school, I turned my back on all things sewing and design related? It's true. I had spent my entire college career slaving away over garments until the wee hours of the morning. Each garment would start with a series of sketches and inspiration boards, and from there we would flat pattern or drape the garment, create a pattern, fit it in muslin, and finally sew it in the fashion fabric. It was an enlightening process, but, oh, what labor of love (with the emphasis on labor)!

I moved to New York City seven months after I graduated college, and while I took a job in fashion, it had little to do with fashion design. Instead, I decided to play the part of muse, pursuing modeling rather than designing.

Well, seven years after putting down that needle (with a few exceptions here and there), my passion for sewing seems to have returned with a vengeance. These days it seems that all I think about are patterns. I am not drafting my own so much (I don't have a personalized fitting shell, nor a dress form in my proportions), but am working with store bought patterns.

A screen capture from Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

I have bought a few modern patterns, but mostly my interest runs to patterns from earlier eras, namely the twenties to the fifties. I have spoken of my love of the styles of the 1920s before, but not unlike the protagonist of Thoroughly Modern Millie, my shape just doesn't accomodate the silhouette of the twenties. Nevertheless, I was practically salivating over this pattern book from spring 1923 that is on Ebay right now. The going price is still quite low, but I'm sure it's going to shoot up, and alas, I have no room in my budget these days for such items. Below are the seller's images from the book. They're lovely!

If you happen to be the lucky winner of this magnificent book, won't you please share the images with us?


XOXO,