It's Only July

I've recently been seeing some things in the store/on the internet that are...  dismaying.  Even though it is only July, fall/winter clothing has already begun to make an appearance.  And then I realized... summer is halfway over.

My solution to this discovery?  Getting out a brightly colored sewing project that was stashed in my closet (yay for continued stash busting!), and looking at summer clothes on Pinterest.  Maybe it's time to start thinking about fall fashion, but I'm not ready yet!

http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n601/seamsforadesire/mayo2012/IMG_6524.jpg

http://capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com/post/30660123699

There's still another month and a half of summer!  Enjoy your summer fashions!

Be Bold, Be Bright

Recently I've done a lot of Pinterest searches for "bright skirts", "bright, full skirt", "brightly colored skirt", and so on.  This may or may not be related to a sewing project I'm working on...  But you'll see that when it's finished.  For right now I'm here to share some of the inspiration I've discovered.

http://www.asos.com/ASOS/ASOS-Belted-Full-Midi-Skirt/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=2340309&cid=13632&sh=0&pge=4&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Bright+pink&r=2

http://www.simplyboldblog.com/2012/01/do-you-subscribe-to-nordstroms-catalog.html

I love each and every one of these.  Bright colors are just so fun!

http://www.merricksart.com/2013/05/sunshine.html

http://www.simplyboldblog.com/2012/01/do-you-subscribe-to-nordstroms-catalog.html

And I rediscovered one of my favorite photo shoots of Jennifer Lawrence.  This yellow skirt is serving as current inspiration, but the whole photo shoot is great.  Her hair and clothes are simply perfect!

ppsl-05-jennifer-lawrence-cov.jpg

What's inspiring you this week?

Drawstring Dress

I never got around to posting it...  But I was able to finish my dress before the conference we attended back in November!

I combined New Look 6936 and vintage (well, 80s) McCall's 7572 to make the bodice that I wanted.  It worked quite well, though if I make this pattern again I will make the neck hole bigger.  I guess I have a big head.  :P

I mostly followed the New Look instructions, but it called for elastic rather than the drawstring that I really wanted.  It was simple to make a fabric "string" and run it through the casing instead - quick, easy, and I like it much better than elastic.

This may be one of my favorite machine sewing projects I've ever done.  The fabric is a silky knit that hangs well, and it was very easy to make.  It's not often that something turns out exactly how I wanted, but this one is exactly what I envisioned.  Definitely a project I'd enjoy doing again!

Sailboat Bag

When you find an adorable, sailboat-covered upholstery fabric there is only one thing to do;  make a messenger bag!

I'd been looking at this tutorial for a while, and this was the perfect time to try it.  It is wonderful!  Very easy to follow - great for an afternoon project.

I like larger bags, and this one has great pockets which makes it really nice and easier to find things.

My newest purse is definitely a winner!

Pencil Skirt Inspiration

I love pencil skirts.  Neutrals, bright colors, it doesn't matter...

 

http://www.studentswife.com/

http://www.kendieveryday.com/

http://www.extrapetite.com/

Now don't you want one, too?  :)

Winter Inspriation

Here's what I'm feeling inspired by today - I love all the bright colors.  :)

I'm feeling ready for freezing temperatures, lots of Christmas lights, snow piled on the ground, a warm fire, and all the other things that make winter Winter.  This is one of my favorite times of year!  Hope you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season!

Sorry, I haven't had much time to put together posts this week...  I've started working on my Eowyn vest, so I'll be sure and give you an update soon!

Orange Tights

Found this picture which I believe is a JCrew model and was feeling so inspired by it!  I'm a lover of tights, especially colored tights.  I think it's great how they took a neutral, preppy outfit and added splashes of color with the bright pink belt and burnt orange tights.  It looks really cute and really nice!

This served as the inspiration I needed to go ahead and buy some tights from Target (their $5 tights are the best price I've found, and they come in a variety of colors) and I'm so glad that I got them!  :)

Hat Inspiration

I tend to be a sucker for hats and right now am feeling inspired to wear them more often.  They can add such a cute touch to an outfit, instantly transforming it from basic to adorable.

Some of my main inspiration has been MJ in Spiderman 2, Sarah in I Am Number Four, Claire in Elizabethtown, and recently Gwen from The Amazing Spiderman.  (I’m not necessarily recommending any of these movies, you can find reviews here)  They all manage to look so sweet and trendy, pairing them with everything from graphic tees to cardigans to dresses.  They really add something to an outfit!

Looking at these and other photos have really put me in the mood to knit, hence the hat I started a couple days ago.  I'm planning to do a fair amount of knitting in the near future so as to improve my skills to the point of fulfilling my dream to knit myself a long sweater...  :o)

Photos from kinopoisk.ru

Casting On

Recently I've been very inspired by lots of adorable hats - so even though I should be working on my quilt or cross stitch, I began a hat last night.  :o)

I'm basing this hat off one of Sarah's in I Am Number Four (review here).  I didn't love the movie, but Sarah always looked very cute and I completely fell for her slouchy hat.

So I started a search for a pattern like hers.  Surely someone on Ravelry would recreate it, right?  But alas, I have been unable to find one, so I'm attempting to make it up.  I'm borrowing the shaping from the All Day Beret (the pattern I used for the last hat I made), and am really hoping it turns out well!

Tomorrow I'll be back with some more hat inspiration!  :o)

Summer Inspiration

Wow. I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! I'm so sorry to all of my dear blog friends! I'll try to get back into the habit of posting regularly!

At the moment I seem to be in a dresses mood... summer dresses. With flip-flops... Or cute hemp-heeled sandals... Bright colors, full skirts, perfect for almost any occasion, and lots of fun to wear!

There are great selections at two of my favorite places to shop - Old Navy...





...and Target.





Yes, I like stripes. Can you tell?

I'm thinking about trying to make my own knit dress this year, but I'm not sure if I am brave enough to work with stretchy fabric.

In other words, I'm very excited today because I've pulled my flip-flops out and am hyped about wearing them again, and Celtic Thunder's newest CD finally arrived from Ireland; it makes me happy. :o)

Anchor Bag

My old cross stitch bag was just a freebie I got from a homeschool conference. It worked fine, but it was very small, making it hard to fit everything. Even finding anything without completely emptying was hard! So when I saw these bags at Forever 21 for $1.99 I decided it was time for an upgrade.



My "cross stitch bag" carries stuff for my cross stitching, quilting, and any other portable project I'm working on, so the larger bag is much nicer! I'm loving all the extra space, and the anchor is totally me! How perfect!

Saltwater Dreams

Since this is my senior year I'm afraid I haven't had as much crafting time as I would like. But Saltwater's website has some adorable looks in their 2011 winter collection that I thought would be fun to share, and hopefully I'll be able to update with some sewing next week...



I love the pose with the book. Books make awesome picture props.



I've been looking at my fall/winter wardrobe and thinking it's a bit lacking. Something similar to this simple dress could definitely be included in the inspiration for my sewing plans. :o)




And I'm feeling very inspired by the tights and leggings their models almost always wear! It's a very cute style for the fall and winter months. :o)

Perfect for a Funeral

I'm really not trying to be morbid. But you know how in the movies funerals are always held on a rainy day so everyone can carry black umbrellas? All the gents wear black suits, the ladies don black dresses and coats, and everything is amazingly set for the most perfect tear-jerking scene.

Don't worry: no one has died. It all started when I saw these adorable gloves at Dress Barn...



Which led me to putting together my current version of the perfect funeral garb. Hopefully that's not terribly morbid.

First and most important: the dress. I found this LBD on Chadwick's website which made the perfect piece for my funeral dress.



Now, let's accessorize. Simple, yet elegant, necklace and shoes from Ann Taylor... (Hope the rain hasn't been too hard or the heels will sink into the muddy ground. But even if it has, fashion over function, and they are relatively washable, right? And on a movie set, I'm sure we'll figure out some way to keep the heels up.)



Bag from Dress Barn...



And if it's cold (as it usually is on those rainy, autumn, funeral days) add this coat from Chadwicks, this hat from Dress Barn, and, of course, the hounds-tooth gloves from the beginning of the post.



Black umbrella optional. We'll leave that up to the director.

Next time I'm working on my costume design for an upcoming film that entails a funeral scene, I've got one scene of the heroine's wardrobe covered. :oP

Pictures from Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, and Chadwicks

60s/70s Patterns

Because people know that my sisters and I like to sew, we are sometimes given sewing things, which is so lovely! We're handed anything- fabric, notions, patterns. All very fun and often times useful! This time it was a bag of vintage 60s and 70s patterns.



I prefer 40s/50s fashion over 60s/70s, but I really like this basic 60s dress, and have thought about making one before off Simplicity 3833, which is very similar.



Maybe getting these will inspire me to organize the sewing stuff in my closet... And it's probably time to make a list of the sewing projects I have going and the things I want to make in the future!

Of Slouchy Berets

I've always liked hats, though I've never really had any. I recently decided it was time for that to change! So after looking through many, many pages of free patterns on Ravelry.com, I found a hat I really wanted to make. Now it's finished, and I really like it!



I chose the pattern for the All-Day Beret, and I found a ball of silky light blue Caron yarn on sale. Only I didn't read the directions thoroughly enough, so I had to rip out the first 5 inches of the hat... But after that it came along very smoothly, and in just a few days I had a new hat!



I love the way the center back is shaped as the stitches get fewer and pull into a small circle. While I was knitting I wondered how it would finish off (I really had no idea because I've never made any kind of hat before), but I really like the way this pattern was made. :o)



I think this hat will incorporate into my closet very well, and I'm heartily excited about this new step in my fashion life! I already have a 2nd beret ready to start!

50’s Fashion Pages

My mother gave me these delightful vintage clothing pages from my grandparents! The pages are fashion drawings from Paris designers, and almost all of the styles have small swatches of the fabrics attached to them.



I think I might get a couple of them framed to hang on my walls, because they are just so fun!

Gingham Headband

I finished another headband, this time using scraps from a yellow gingham project on which I’m currently working! (Consider this hint two!)



Rather than doing another bow, I made three yoyos for flowers. Thanks to my sister, Keely, for giving me the idea!



I had been planning to use yellow buttons for the centers, but we had these white ones in our stash. And using the yellow thread gave it a nice contrast!



Another fun and quick project!

Nancy Drew Dresses

So, as you may have noticed on my sidebar, I’m trying to read all 56 Nancy Drew books between June 1 and September 1. So while I was reading The Secret of the Old Clock, I got to one of the adorable drawings that are scattered throughout the books. I looked over and noticed that she was wearing a dress EXACTLY like one of my patterns from Vintage Vogue! (Well, I suppose technically Nancy’s middle pleats are slightly different and her buttons go all the way down the skirt, but who wants to be technical anyway?!? :oP)



I was so excited! It’s supposed to be the same dress she’s wearing on the cover, though it is drawn slightly differently. But I think I need to make the pattern in a bright green. I mean, wouldn’t it be lovely to have a Nancy Drew dress? :o)

Summer Dresses

Since I started my blog I have wanted to post some of my favorite past projects, which were two summer dresses I’ve made in the last couple years. The first one I made was my lemon dress from See and Sew 4957. (Doesn’t it remind you of a 50’s/60’s housedress?)



I liked it so much that I made another one, with a few slight alterations…



Well, I decided that having three dresses off the same pattern is okay if it’s a fun pattern, right? So, when I was at JoAnn’s and discovered that their clearance fabrics were 40% off the clearance price, I just had to get some floral for only $2.50 a yard!



I have the dress cut out and ready to line. I just need to get out my white cotton... Hooray for clearance sales! It’s an easy pattern, so it shouldn’t take me too long, and I’m hoping to have it finished before we go to the beach. :o)