Couturesmith

2008-04-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'VE MOVED!!

Please come and visit...

On to the Next...for real!

2008-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Erica (that would be the #1 daughter of "The Fashion Critics X 5", gave me my very own website.

So from now on, set your dial to

Couturesmith

or www.couturesmith.com

for any further posts.

Please feel free to add me to your blogroll!

It is not too "pretty" (hey doesn't Iman say "fashion isn't always "pretty"!!!! but give me a chance - remember I just started a new job!

Overdosing on Project Catwalk!

2008-01-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

It was a glorious sewing day today! I was expecting Daughter #2's boyfriends parents to come for a visit- but noone showed. Or if they did, I was in too much of a zone to notice them!

I found Project Catwalk on Youtube. I embarked on a marathon viewing/sewing session and got so much done! I really, really hated Project Catwalk though! In general the designers were, um um not good at all! I am watching to the bitter end though!

I finally finished the rejected New Years dress. I will wear it to my parents 50th Wedding anniversary party this week instead. No pics on me - you will have to settle for my dressform supermodel.

I also started on Laurens new coat. I am making it in a grey tweed wool that I got from Metro Textile in NYC. I am using Burda 7878. I don't really use Burda patterns often, although I am a BWOF fan. When I read these instructions through- after cutting out the fabric, I found out that there were instruction sheets missing. A trip to the fabric store was to no avail, as the only copy they had left included the same instructions. I have left a message with Burdamode and hopefully they can remedy my problem. I know you are all saying "Connie you do not need the instructions", but still I would like them to know about the problem.

It is constructing itself very well andvery quickly, although it looks a titch BORING to me. Lauren requested a double breasted coat and this one, while it has cute lines, does not really avail itself to much in the way of embellishment.

Lauren darling if you read this- what do you think of something like this to pretty it up?

Some sort of deconstructed look involving black wool, net or chiffon and beads? I was also thinking of handstitch outlining some of the seams in black.

Let me know!

Oh yes - I just finished watching the runway episode of Season 2 of Catwalk. They have vindicated themselves - Wayne's runway was "brilliant"!

Is this YOU?

2008-01-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

'Cause it is me to a tee!

I have a lot of interests outside of sewing. I ski, I cycle and I play golf. All of those I do regularly. Other activities such as curling, hiking, and cross country skiing, I do occassionally.

Let's take last month for instance. We were invited to a fundraising curling bonspeil. So do I read up on curling, the correct stretches, the techniques etc..?

NOPE

I research what one wears while curling and proceed to make an outfit!

How about cycling? I try to do 15K 3 times a week during "Ontario Cycle Wimp Season" That would be May to October for us cold wimps.

I have 6 cycling patterns, including shorts, shirts, jackets, and panniers, but have yet to design the "perfect outfit". Hence I cycle in 10 year old Dragon Boat racing shorts and an old tee.

Golf - same story - Lots of ideas - just no just the right attire. Have you ever PURCHASED golf wear? You can spend an entire salary on a skirt! I am crazy not to develop a golf line of women's wear considering I am part owner of a course for goodness sakes!

Skiing- I am a Ski Patrol (hoping by the way to Patrol at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver)

What do I wear under my jacket and pants? The rattiest old fleece in all of Thorndale! Either that or handme downs from the girls and their racing/instructing wardrobe.

Okay I admit that I did make a great pair of ski pants and gloves, but even THEY need replacing after 8 years of hard wear.

So tell me - does THIS cartoon describe YOU to a tee?

Did you sew when the kids were little?

2008-01-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

I get asked this question often. Either that question or "how long have you been sewing" are questions people ask when they notice something I am wearing.

So to answer those-

Yes I sewed a lot when the girls were little. I came across this photo yesterday for example.

My mother and father in law were celebrating an anniversary and the entire family was getting together for family photos. (Mike has 3 sisters who live locally and 2 brothers and their families who live in Alberta)

So, very pregnant with baby number 5, and with the assistance of Mike's sister, I seem to recall, I decided to make new outfits for them all. Baby Lauren was only a few weeks old in this photo, Erica 6, Micaela 5, Kate almost 4(it was close to her birthday), and Leah was 2 1/2. Yes I was nuts. I was also only 29!

I made dresses or outfits for them every Easter and Christmas. Here is a "what were you thinking?!" Christmas photo. They remember me saying " don't look at me, look at the doorway"! I loved that overalls that little Lauren was wearing. I used pink flannel for the lining and contrast and it was really cute as well as warm.

And the beauties now! We used this shot for Mike's advertising campaign when he was running for council, with the caption "We're not on the fence, we're voting BONTJE" He won, but I am hoping for his platform, not for the good looks that run in the family!

So WHAT did I end up wearing for New Years??

2008-01-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

Ah you want to know do you? Actually I should tell you what we did first! Usually we do one of two things- go to the local town dance, where we know pretty well everyone and dance up a storm, or go to a house party with some very close and dear friends. This year we decided to mix it up a bit- friends of ours invited us out to dinner at a well known, small (holds 32 customers) restaurant run by two hilarious gay guys. We always meet the most interesting people when we eat there! You end up talking to almost everyone in the place just because the place is so small and intimate feeling. The owners play up the alternative card in a very clever manner- the "girl" in the hidious dress behind the bar is really a guy, they have posted every letter and card they have ever recieved on the wall on the way to the bathroom, the drinks they offer have embarrassingly funny names- you get the idea. Most people in the area know of the restaurant, including my 82 year old mother in law!

Yes Connie, but did you end up wearing the dress you were working on?

Sorry readers, but no I did not- hanging my head in shame as I was galloping so happily on my high horse of going beyond the "glitsy" New Years Eve dress trend.

I ended up loving the dress- it fits well and looks good. The "Fashion Critics Times Five" (or the ones who were home anyways) decreed that the dress was cute and all, but infinately more "going to a meeting" or church worthy than attending a soiree for New Years. "sigh" I promise photos and a review soon.

Back to the drawing board it was. I found some black sheer fabric with beading in the stash. It needed a simple design so I chose McCalls 5425. It was in the stash and was quick and easy.

I lined the dress with bright teal and made the scarf/tie from some black chiffon.

I did not want to ruin even more needles by doing a rolled hem on the hem, so (whispering here) I used fusible stuff!! It worked, but is not, not up to Couturesmith standards!

Here is what it looked like! I was so excited about my hair. I hate doing my hair because I really suck at it. French braids for the kids easy. Making my hair look presentable - not so good. I have been channeling Debra Messing lately though after watching reruns of Will and Grace on DVD while sewing. I love her hairdo's and tried pinning mine up a la messy organized Grace. It actually worked! This is me mugging for the camera and totally eclipsing Mike! This one is better of Mike in all his splendor. We had an awesome time, met some fun and interesting people and were back to work- yes work on New Years Day!- by 9 am.

Happy New Years Everyone. Now time for Resolutions!

Oh here is a heads up as to what is going on in the Bontje house soon- a NEW website all my own courtesy of Erica. As soon as we can get together - and honey that should be soon you new graduate you!- it will be ready for all to see. Second is my new job which begins next week. I am very excited about it. By the way it is in addition to not replacing my current job so I am a bit worried about sewing and blogging time!

Dressing for New Years Eve

2007-12-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

For New Years this year I decided that I don't want to be sparkly or glittery. I want to be classic and understated (riigghhtt Connie!)

With that in mind I am in the middle of this Christine Jonson wrap dress. Yes I have finally admitted to myself that a REAL VonFurstenberg wrap will not be gracing my pattern stash in the near future. $150.00 (ebay) for a pattern is more than I am willing to spend! I can live with that! There have been times that my bid finger has been itching to hit the button though! But keep looking for me Louie!

So here it is so far. Recognize the fabric?I added a collar. It was not originally a pattern piece, but the company sent a pattern addition to me last year and I like the look of it. I know, I know- a collar is basically a rectangle. But they WERE nice enough as to go through the trouble of mailing the addition to everyone who bought the pattern. It was the least I could to to try it out.

I think I want to add cuffs to the sleeves. Not the cuffs that are included in the pattern. By the way the sleeves are 3/4 length.

I am in the middle of deciding how I should treat the bodice attaching to the skirt. The skirt is a bit heavy feeling, and I think some twill tape or something like that is neccessary to help stabilize it.

Any suggestions?

Have you ever made a wrap dress? If so, which one, and did you like it? Did it compare favourably to the Von Furstenberg classic?

On a similar note, I fell in love with this Von Furstenberg dress at Holt Renfrew Last Chance. Even at the clearance price I couldn't justify it- and it WAS a size O, so it would fit my right leg perfectly!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T19:16:00.000-08:00

I received this from a friend and would like to share it with you.

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I did not have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a seat on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was surprised and delighted by the title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood - the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE"

May your Christmas be filled with Love, Laughter, Family and Friends.

Love to all,

Connie

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2007-12-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

What a week- I found out the hard way this week that I am allergic to Amoxillin! Suffice it to say that my face looked like a chipmunk and my lips looked like I was addicted to collagen injections ! I am feeling like a normal human being now although for a few days I actually spent most of my time in bed- getting nothing accomplished!

I decided that I want to make aprons for my sisters, sisters in law and both moms. That means 8 more aprons to be done by Monday. Yes I am nuts! Luckily I have all the fabric I need, and there are lots of hours in a day.

Newly married Katelyn came over today for some sewing help. The entrance to her basement has no door and is right at her entrance. Her two new grandmothers are coming over for a visit tomorrow and she wants it to look "nice". We (I only helped with measuring and pinning. She did all the sewing! ) got the panel done in record time. The grommets had us fretting for a few minutes as we could not get them to "lock" with just hand pressure and a hammer was not doing the job either. We grabbed an old hardcover book, centred everything and gave the book a good hard whack. That did the trick.

Oh yes -I have some news! Good news! I got another job. Now most of you who read this do not know much about my non-sewing life. I do have a job- I am a farmer. Buuutt if I am not super, over busy I get bored, so I am always on the lookout for something that sounds interesting. The new job - and yes I still get to keep my old job too- involves doing insurance adjusting for a government agricultural agency. It should not be fullfull time - that means at times it will be full time and other times not so busy. I am looking forward to starting in two weeks! As Kate would say "Yay Me!"

Some Christmas photos to share.....an angel..the last christmas ornament the girls ever gave to my grandmother...this ornament made by my motherHerman the cata paperpieced nativity scene that I - appropriately finished while on a tour of Israel, the girls stockings made years ago and a Santa that my mom made many years ago. Treasures all

Are you all CrAzY?

2007-12-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

People, there was a snowstorm today. To quote Environment Canada, "a Crippling Snowstorm"!

So what do you do? I mean, the kids are driving you crazy, and you want to relax, so you drop the darlings off at the local ski hill. Yes, I know, you can't get to church, but the ski hill- yes-sir-ee!

Do me and the other adults who give freely of their time so you can get your shopping/sleeping done wouldya? Teach them basic manners ie: not line cutting, staying out of out of bound areas and thowing out their garbage? Tell them to leave the little kids alone and respect their elders.

Members of the Canadian Ski Patrol (including me and My Mike) thank you.

Sorry for the rant - it was a tough afternoon!

Christmas Aprons

2007-12-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas is approaching way, way too quickly! I just realized this afternoon that I have yet to get a package together for my sister and her family in Alberta! We don't exchange gifts, but I like to send a little something out to her. The rest of the family all live within 40 minutes of each other, Jeremy's family is in Wales, and she does get a little lonely at Christmas time. At least that is what I tell myself- I know I would!

What a better night than tonights stormy one to get her apron drafted, sewn and reviewed!

You all remember the fabric-

(Hey wow - Blogger has changed! I can see the photo in draft view-how cool is that!)

Next was the "opportunity" to draft my own pattern as-

a) I do not have the perfect pattern at home

b) the perfect pattern is a McCalls that goes on sale NEXT week

c) I lost the Ebay bid on the set of 4 vintage apron patterns that I Really Wanted

d) It is too stormy to get out to Fabricland

So - after searching online for "free" "apron" "pattern" for a really, really long time, I decided to draft my own.

Here is what I came up with- I took a rectangle of fabric 18" X 32. I wanted a few gathers at the hip line, so I softly gathered a 4 inch section that was 4 inches from the centre. (on the top edge of course!)

Hemmed the bottom.

Sewed on the waistband, basically a 3" X 29 inch contrasting fabric, adjusting the gathers to fit.

Narrow hemmed the side seams.

Made two ties about 3 inches wide and 36 inches long. Narrow hemmed 3 sides.

I like the look of a pleated tie, so I made a pleat where I was going to attach it to the waistband.

Then I sewed the ties on. On the photo I crossed them to the front and tied them there.

I found this pocked on my searches. I cannot take credit for the original design, but I did tweak it to my needs. ie made it bigger and the tie ends fatter. Here is the website where it can be found POCKETPDF

Voila la apron for my little sister- well she is over 40 but she is still younger than me!

Merry Christmas Lisa!

2007-12-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post reviews here, but in order to make the people who are not PatternReview readers happy, I will start.

Christine Johnson 426. Princess Seamed Shirred Top

In advance- sorry for any lack of continuity in this review. I began this review when I made the first(brown top). It has been languishing in draft form until I made two more and decided that I really needed to get this finished.

There are no photos of the #1 top - the brown one. It is nice - Really! If you do not yet have this pattern - stop here and order it NOW! I know there are a myriad of reviews for this top, but wanted to add my 2cents (Canadian).

Pattern Description: Close-fitting, pullover, wrap top with gathered waistline detail and sleeve variations

Pattern Sizing: XS to XL. I made a Small and tapered to Medium at the hip.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? OMgoodness - yes! I actually hugged myself I loved it so much!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Easy as pie! I actually used them as I wanted to know if they made sense. They did!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love that it fit me right out of the envelope. The neckline hugs just as it should and is low but not too low.
I can see that a few more situps are in order - get thyself to the gym more often Connie- but I think a medium would have ended up too large in the bust area. A note to the very tiny people here- I am not a small boned person and I used a small- I think even the XS may be too large for my daughters who wear a RTW 4. I have the feeling that I am going to find out though!

Fabric Used: I've made this top 3 times now.
#1 was a luscious thin chocolate brown knit that I either got from EOS or Wazoodle. I think it was EOS. I wish my fabric stash was organized! (in fact I really should just make that a priority as I just discovered that I have 2 identical green linen pieces of fabric - both purchased recently for pants- I do not remember buying EITHER!)
#2 was a cool geometric print from EOS
#3 a lovely graphic knit from Metro Textiles in NYC. This must be my personal best in the "NYC purchase to garment" category! I have Christine Jonsons wrap dress cut out in this fabric already as well!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: #1 In order to make the neckline a bit more interesting, I added some elastic with a very pretty picot edge. As well as looking "pretty" it helped to keep the neckline tight. I turned the neck edge under and hand basted (I do like hand basting) then topstitched the elastic on with 2 rows of stitching. I am embarrassed to say that I looked at my new coverstitch machine while I used my sewing machine to sew the elastic on- I am still not as confident with it as I should be mainly because I would rather sew than practice - bad Connie - practice makes perfect. I make the excuse that I wanted to get something actually SEWN, as there has not been much time for that lately.

The Two New Tops

#2 was made straight from the pattern with no alterations.
#3 I trimmed the neck edge with some black very very narrow fold over elastic. I got this last year in NYC at MJ Trims (I think!) I serged the edge first, then hand basted both sides on individually. Very finickity but well worth it in the end. Oh I almost forgot to mention that I coverstitched this baby - Yeah finally made friends with the machine! Looking closer I can see that my grain line was off a bit- I was pretty careful so I may check the grain line on the pattern piece next time.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Oh yes! I love, love, love this pattern! Easy and looks good too!
It took about 2 hours from start to finish. Did I mention that I think this pattern is wonderful?

Conclusion: Fast, easy to put together and looks fantastic on so many body types! This was just the pattern I needed to shoot me out of my sewing slump!

My "New" Friend

2007-12-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

I made a new friend today. More specifically, I made up with an old one! My Pfaff Coverstitch 4852! I have been on "hello, how are you?" superficial, kind of rocky terms with her since she came into my life -oh my gosh- almost 3 years ago! She was not tooo horribly an expensive friend at first. I brought her home for $900. Outfitting her with jewellery was more costly- and even more so when I realized that I had no idea how these accessories actually worked!
So she sat there. Decorative but not horribly funtional. I did make Mike a nice pair of boxers. They only cost $1000.00 if you figure it our using dollar cost averaging! Then I roll hemmed a dress. Okay the underwear then only cost $500.00!
I roll hemmed 20 6 feet long table runners for the wedding. Boxer cost - $250.00

"Darn it all" I said to myself this morning. Actually I said "damm", but..well you know! "I am going to conquer this thing today!" I am mechanically inclined. I drive and can fix(well sometimes!) a combine for goddness sakes! This little glorified sewing machine was NOT going to continue its life in this house as a drape horse for fabric any longer!

So I reintroduced myself politely. I read a few blogs and some PatternReview threads on coverstitch machines. Since this lady was going to have dedicated Coverstitch usage, I read the manual. Cover to cover. Three times. All I got for my troubles was a snarly mess. So I started over URGGHH
The second best advice I read said that one should thread using different colours to properly analyze the problem. Well Eureka! I was always assuming that the bottom looper was the culprit, when actually the left needle path was not threaded perfectly! I had not "flossed" the thread in the tension disc.
Then it ws accessory time. I had the "M" foot and the hemmer guide. I found this great website from the UK that has a myriad of videos pertaining to Pfaff feet and other accessories. That made it a cinch!
Hemmer Guide

Ahhhh now we are friends. Soon to be best of friends I am sure!

I should be sewing!

2007-12-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

And I am! I'm working slowly on my SWAP- I will do an update on it soon! I am in the midst of a blasted silk charmeuse blouse that is bugging the heck out of me. I finished that BWOF dress-finally got the kinks out of my system. I have a myriad of almost but not quite finished projects that I do not want to blog about till I get - further... and photos taken...and happier about...
But what? I keep on getting sidetracked and start new projects that are "so cute" and "oh I need to make that"
Frinstance? Our Santa Clause Parade is the 14th of December and I "offered" to make Elf costumes for 2 of the Council members...
Lauren wants a coat...so I decided I need one too...
A friend is having a Christmas party on Saturday and I wanted to craft up some ornaments as a hostess gift for her...
And all of the blogs that I have been reading lately have been going on and on about the most adorable aprons...Connie you don't wear aprons! Yes, but I WOULD if I had those cute aprons...I might even be tempted to make all of those delicious holiday cookies and squares and pies....
Aprons like these...

So what's a girl to do? Finger shop and wait by the mailbox for these fabrics...

Maybe I should sew whilst I am waiting for that Tonic Living order. Or I will be naked under those aprons! And it is cold out beside that mailbox!
Check out my newest fav CD- Ann Murray and friends- I love Ann!

Instant gratification

2007-11-26T18:18:00.001-08:00

It's a snowy, blustery night. My plans for the evening (practice with my singing partner) were cancelled, "My Mike" is in Alberta celebrating his brother's 50th birthday (Mike brought his mother - isn't he sweet!), and I do not feel motivated to work on my sewing projects.
Sooo I took a visit to some of my favourite sewing blogs, and saw that Cidell made some uber cute mittenettes. I had admired them when I saw her in New York City, and re-admired them on her blog. "What the heck" I thought.
An hour later I had three pairs!
Two grey pairs with some beading I had laying around. I used the sleeves and the body as well to get two pairs.
And some striped ones. I unravelled some wool to make some freeform flowers.

Thanks Cidell!!

Bontje ladies- Claim away, the fight is on! ... Erica I could make brown ones to match your coat...

Is seaweed beneficial?

2007-11-21T07:16:00.001-08:00

Erica - you may well skip reading this post. You and I will butt heads over this one!
Lululemon® is a yoga inspired athletic apparel company. It is a Canadian company, however I see that it is available in some American cities, as well as in Sydney, Australia.
Around here you are not considered "dressed" for any excercise class, walking your dog, hanging around the house, reading the newspaper (I think you get it), unless you are wearing Lululemon®! Our children were counting down the hours until a store opened in London, Ontario. My niece visited the store twice-or was it three times?-the day it opened. I will admit to owning one workout top that has the Lululemon label. Hey, I wanted to see how it was constructed!
You can understand the following. Young people (and not so young people) want to jump on the latest bandwagon. Want to be in the it crowd. Want to be seen wearing overpriced, under designed clothing made of the "newest and most innovative" fabrics. Unfortunately too many people blindly follow "labels" often never thinking about questionable claims.
The Lululemon® label is fresh, although the designs to my mind are boring, boring. Their biggest hype lately has been the exciting offerings of fabric. Yes they have hemp and bamboo, but the newest claim is SEAWEED.
Here is what a hangtag proclaims... 24 per cent seaweed content, reduces stress and provides anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits.
Apparently when you wear it and work out, the beneficial seaweed is absorbed by your skin providing those exciting benefits. So what happens when you wash it? In my mind, those benefits would be washed away after a couple of trips through the washer!
Apparently I was not the only one to think that. Here is an article that was in our local paper this morning

Lululemon prompts probe

Wed, November 21, 2007

By CP

TORONTO -- The federal Competition Bureau is examining the entire industry of eco-friendly materials and how they are promoted.

The probe was announced following a controversy at Lululemon Athletica Inc. that pounded its stock.

The yoga wear retailer was forced to drop its seaweed-related health benefit claims from its VitaSea line of clothing.

Late last Friday, the federal agency revealed Lululemon had agreed to remove the tags with the claims or cover them with a sticker until it could produce scientific evidence to back the assertions.

Bureau spokesperson Larry Bryenton says the Competition Bureau now is focusing on all firms that make health, therapeutic or environmental claims about sustainable fibres such as bamboo and soybeans.

"We'll certainly keep a careful eye on where the industry is going," Bryenton said in an interview. "It's certainly something that's caught the bureau's attention . . . Lululemon happened to be a situation where they made unsubstantiated claims that happened to relate to one of these new types of products out there."

Robert Meers, chief executive officer of Lululemon, said in an interview he doesn't plan to re-institute the seaweed-fabric health claims. "I don't think they add anything."

Bryenton said the bureau is satisfied Lululemon has removed the labels on its VitaSea shirts, which cost up to $69 for a long-sleeved men's top.

The tags said the clothing, with 24 per cent seaweed content, reduces stress and provides anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits.

Think about it before you purchase any product that touts almost mystical beautifying properties already wouldya!
As a footnote- the accompanying photo featured the "Pose" tank,

which looks eerily like this BWOF tank right down to the crossover back!Now for some seaweed fabric!

Oh the frustration of it all!

2007-11-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

I wanted a nice quick and easy project for the weekend. Enter Burda WOF 10/07 and the cute jumper dress.
At least I thought it would be quick!
It was the age old story of more hurry, less speed- or is that less speed more hurry- it should have been less of both I am afraid!
I had the pattern (albiet in Spanish. I know 3 words in Spanish- none of them are used in pattern directions!)
I had the fabric- striped stretch suiting from Paron's in NYC.
I had the vision - Jaeng wore the dress in NYC
I had the time.
I also had the "connie you are an idiot" bang myself on top of my head experiences that only a rank amateur should have!

This is what happened. I cut out the fabric...with the stripes going the wrong way....twice! Which left me no fabric for a belt. Micaela - there will be no belt unless it is black.

I did a good job on the bodice- the understitching is perfect. I used self fabric for the lining. Yay me

I put the sleeves on backwards - only once though!

I sewed the back lining on backwards - and left the stupid thing that way!

I sewed the bodice AND the facing to the skirt instead of only the bodice then hand stitching the lining on. And I did not notice that until I double stitched, and also sewed some grosgrain on for stability as the skirt is heavier than I thought it would be. I would not have done that when I was 12!

Then - to add insult to injury...

I looked at it this afternnon and DDUUHH I sewed both the sleeves AND the skirt to the WRONG side of the bodice- and now of course the understiching is glaring me in the face on the (now) right side of the bodice! It is too late in the game to rip it apart so the only fix is to take out the understitching and hope it will roll to the (now) inside. I won't be able to undertitch that - I may have to topstitch.

Sometimes I wonder why I sew!

Almost forgot a Vintage pic
Mike and I on our wedding day over 26 years ago (yes I made the dress)

Work Clothes

2007-11-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Does what you wear to work say anything about you as a person? I sure as heck hope not, although I am afraid it does!
When I work, I get dirty..and smelly..
Over the years I have gotten in the really bad habit of wearing the oldest things I have to work. Old sweatshirts that the kids have discarded, old pants that have definately seen better days, or are too short or too big. In the summer I have been known to hack off old sweatpants to shorts levels.
I work at home, and I always wear coveralls in the barn. We do however have an increasing amount of people- salespeople, friends, repair crews- who come around. They always seem to appear when I am outside=looking less than stellar.
They don't make a lot of work pants for a womens figure. Lauren (18) looked for a loonngg time last spring looking for work pants that fit nicely. She found exactly one pair, and that one was a men's pant. One of her biggest beefs was that there is very little availability for a nice fitting "fashionforward" work pant.
Is that counterindicated? fashion forward and work? I should hope not!
She also notice that in the "Dickies" line the marketing label for the mens pants showed a rugged guy type man, the womens marketing hang tag featured a stick thin wonan holding up a wine glass. Now what is with that?
All this does have a point!
I came across a video about nursing scrubs that echoes the same theme. You can view it here. I believe it is the middle video on the right hand side "Scrubs for Scrubs" Madame Erica, if you can figure out if I can save the video clip to my comupter then I can post just the video here.

So the point is, I don't want heavy clothes for work. Wouldn't it make sense for me to make "work scrubs" for myself? Using the right fabric, and styling I can see this making sense to me.

I am going to start posting "vintage shots" of me and mine.
Here is one of my parents when they were dating- over 50 years ago!

Wedding Photo's

2007-11-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

Thought I should add some

Pattern Review and Pattern Reviews

2007-11-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

Just came home from an absolutely wonderful couple of days in NYC with some very special friends. No Mike not Virtual Friends- real friends! Too tired right now to share anything, but I was reminded - not so very gently!- that none of the clothes I was wearing had been reviewed. Yes I am lax.
So here is a list of the reviews I promise to post on Pattern Review and here in the next week- or as soon as the desktop computer monitor gets replaced...

1. The only pants pattern that I use - Vogue something or other
2. A jacket that is either Vogue or MC Calls
3. The fabulous vintage dress
4. MOB dress
5. Wedding dress #1
6. Linen Dress and Jacket- Vogue

I cross my heart, stick a finger in my eye promise that I will get them up - I even wrote most of them on the 12 hour train ride!!

Jacket..

2007-11-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

Lauren and I saw a great jacket at a wedding last weekend. I keep a notepad in my purse especially for design moments like that!! Today I saw this Butterick pattern on EricaB's site and had a - "That's it" moment!

Take this jacket, cut the sleeve off above the elbow, add a 1" band (embellished) and the bell shaped sleeve from this McCall's Blouse, and do it up in a metallic tweed.
I will look for the right fabric in New York this week!

Just so you know - I love making jackets! I hate hate making blouses! I am half done the silk blouse and have to drag myself to work on it. It looks good, and is going together fine. I don't know what it is about it that makes me hate the blouse process- a jacket is exactly the same. More finickity if you think about interfacing, lining and all that. But I still hate blouses!

Blouse time

2007-10-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get a start on the SWAP - without getting the entire concept down in black and white yet.
I have a wonderful piece of Silk Charmeuse that I bought at Rosen and Chaddick in New York City last year. It is a geometric abstract pattern, in shades of ivory, brown and lime green.
I like lime green in small doses, and this one has just the right amount. It told me that it wants to become a blouse. Now it doesn't want to be stuffy, but it can't be too fun either! I also have leftover silk charmeuse in brown that I want to use for facings and such.
I looked at these four patterns. I have them in my stash so I am determined to use one of them. They are, in order of appearance, Butterick 4985
McCall's 5471
Vogue 7903
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And style 105 from Burda 1/07

I like the McCalls pattern, but it is most definitely not the pattern to use for this fabric. I must remind myself to get some crisp white to use for this design!

I looked at the Vogue pattern next. While I really like this one too, I think that I want a front band. Yes I know that it would be easy to draft, but I wanted to look further.

The Butterick version is also out. Too much choppy, choppy for the fabric methinks. I love the sleeves though!

I wandered though Pattern Review to see what blouse patterns had been sewn up lately. I found the Burda WOF during my search and really like it. It has a front band, has darts back and front, and a collar with a band. I am not sure about the yoke in the back, but I can always eliminate that.

So Burda WOF it is. I will cut it out tonight, while waiting on the dozen or so trick or treaters we will see.
HAppy Halloween!
A parting shot of our girls on a Halloween night long ago..

Wedding Day!

2007-10-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Wedding Weekend! I am wayyyy too tired to give you a complete rundown right now, but suffice to say I would not have changed a thing! Apart from the weather that is - darn sky was full of rain and wind all day!
A few teaser photos to appease you all!
I made Kate, Flowergirl Chloe and myself stoles in case it was cold - and it was. Here are Katelyn's and Chloe's
I decided that no bridesmaid is complete without a monogrammed handbag...

Kate!!!
and her girls
With Scott
Mike and I - so joyous!

Katelyn was gorgeous, the ceremony was beautiful, I got (mostly) through my speech without crying and the dance floor was PACKED all night. What else could you ask for!!
We had 70 guests for brunch today, and they were all still on a high from the festivities. Back to reality tomorrow though!

The next wedding dress

2007-10-22T14:49:00.001-07:00

I am in the process of slapping myself on the hand! One wedding is not over yet, and I am busy looking for ideas for the next dress! AND as Erica will be sure point out to me- the dress is not even my choice!

But in case Erica wants to know MY favourites...here they are

I stayed up till 3:30 last night finishing up 5 handbags for bridesmaids -Yay me!

On To the Next

2007-10-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

I don't want to be a bore with wedding sewing details! However, lately, most of what I have been creating is wedding related. Most of that is out of the way, or at least the light at the end of the tunnel is visible(!) so I can now start to think about my next sewing projects.
I have to admit that I have never done a SWAP (Sewing With A Plan). The bulk of my sewing has been either A. I WANT that, as in a cool jacket or fabric I fall in love with, or B, I NEED that- a dress for a wedding for instance. Looking through my closet lately though, I realize that with a full closet -I don't have a THING to wear! With that in mind, priority number one after wedding is to put together a collection of clothing that go well together, and -and what? "Fashion forward" well yes. "cuting edge"? well yes. I can call it my "Fall Line"!!
One thing I do have to keep in the front of my mind is that my lifestyle, while busy is certainly not 5th Avenue, even though my taste runs that way! I will have to make sure there is a good mix. Another decision that I made is that most of the fabric must come from my stash. I have an embarassing amount of wonderful cuts that need to be seen made up into fabulishious outfits. There would be no harm in augmenting with New York City purchases in two weeks though!
I was toying with the idea of entering the Timmel Swap but their timeline is not condusive to mine. If I get finished in time, I could always create a "Spring Line" for it!
So this is how far I am. Please don't let Katelyn know that I have been working on this instead of writing a Mother of the Bride speech, or finishing handbags or the bustle of the W. Dress!
I have changed my original grey and teal colour scheme with a brown, green and blue one. It's what I seem to have in my stash. No fabric swatches yet- give me time! You can see from the fabric description what they are and where they came from though.
And to end, here is a vintage photo of our beautiful bride to be!

Websites

2007-10-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Fabric websites- I love them! I drool, imagine and occasionally I even buy! My personal favourites are also your favourites! Gorgeousfabrics and Emmaonesock are my two top must see sites. You all know them - and you shop there too I am sure!

Today though I have to give a shout out to an online store that I have mentioned before but had never personally shopped with. Tonic Living sells futon covers and pillows but also sells the greatest home decor fabric. Not only is the line wonderful, but so is the customer service. I placed an order on Saurday afternoon. The Saturday of a long Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. They say they will process the order in 1-3 business days. I reallllly needed the fabric quickly and mentioned that in my order. Truthfully, I did not expect to see it this week. I was incredibly surprised to open my mailbox(well really Scottie brought the mail in to me,but "opening the mailbox" sounds better!)
and find a perfectly wrapped package from Tonic Living! For those of you who care - that is 2 business days to get from the order desk to my mailbox! As well as the fabric in the package, there was a coupon for 10% off my next purchase and a busiess card. Not necessary but a very nice touch.
Now I know that I am only a 2 hour drive from Toronto, but when I consider that it took over a week to get wedding invitations to friends in the next town, well -you get my point.
For anyone living in SW Ontario- you also can't beat the shipping costs - exactly ZERO dollars.
To give you some inspiration, I found this Pottery Barn advertisment and these Tonic Living fabrics that could easily create the same look...

On to the next...

Project Runway Canada

2007-10-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Project Runway Canada (EH) premiered today on Slice. Normally I would have completely missed this because in MY house we don't believe in satellite (actually the husband man does not believe, and I am too lazy to do anything about it!), EXCEPT...
A. EVERYONE I know made sure that I knew it was on tonight and..
B. I just happened to be spending a few days at with a friend who gets Slice and understands my preoccupation with anything fabric related.

So why is it that we have to pretend we are the USA? I mean to the extent that the term "make it work" was used almost word for word. And Iman - hell we can't even get our own supermodel - we have to borrow one from Somalia- or is it Saudi Arabia?!
I liked some of the redesigns in this first show. The designers had two challenges. The first to design a garment in 30 minutes using white stretch lycra and the second to design an outfit using 3 items from a competitors suitcase. It would have been more exciting to see them choosing fabric themselves. Hopefully we will get to see that in later episodes.
I'll keep watching as often as I can though to see what up and coming Canadian designers have to offer. And maybe to see if I should have entered??!!
www.slice.ca/shows/projectrunway/default.aspx (sorry - I am on my daughters IMac and don't know all the formatting shortcuts on it !

Turkey, kids and handbags

2007-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! The weather has been glorious- I cannot remember another Thanksgiving in my history when we were able to eat turkey and tooo many wonderful desserts on the deck in tank tops! It is so nice to have all of the "childrens" around even though Lauren will be heading back to Ottawa tomorrow. Even Leah graced us with her presence - for a couple of hours!

Kate and I decided today that it would be nice to put all of the bridesmaids gifts together in a handbag. Ummmm so I offered to make them! Only four of them, plus a mini for little Chloe. I sped off to Len's Mill End - where you CAN find nice fabric if you are willing to dig. Leah and I came up with a cute brown and pink swirl cotton for the lining, but no suitable outer fabric. I hate it when I have a certain picture in my head that has to be satisfied.
Then I remembered Tonic Living- a Toronto based company that has the cutest fabric. We picked this one
and hope that it will arrive very very very soon! If you live in Ontario, there is FREE SHIPPING to postal codes that begin with N, M, and L!!
I have about 15 different bag patterns in the house, but of course none of them were what the little screen in my brain was projecting. This evening was actually a free one - those do not happen often let me tell you! - so I designed a pattern, and 2 hours later had a handbag that is too cute for words- I think anyhow. The exterior fabric came from the stash, but I used the lining fabric that I bought for the bridesmaids. I have a friend who will monogram them for me, and I think that I may try to put a little piece of the wedding dress lace somewhere - maybe around my label.

I think they will like them. One more thing for my list!!!!
Now it stands at- finish the wedding dress, finish my dress, hem 3 bridesmaids dresses, make 3 more pew flower thingys, 5 more centrepieces, rolled hems on 6 table runners, finish putting up the new backsplash, wash all the windows, monogram 20 pumpkins..you get the idea! I am so lucky that my family believes that it takes a village to marry off a daughter!

Wedding progress

2007-10-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Some wedding progess was actually accomplished today!
A huge shout out to my mom and sister who spent a few hours with me in the warm afternoon creating the table centrepieces. They are made from wheat that Mr Scottie McHottie planted and Katelyn harvested. It is apt that they use the fruit of their labours! Can you believe that I even got a SUNBURN! On October the 3rd no less! This is where we sat.....
watching our cute guys tear my barn down so that I can have a new, "state of the art facility" (don't get an incorrect impression of me - I am generally one of the ones getting my hands filthy- it's just - jeeze -sometimes a girl has to bond baby!)
Here are a few shots of my guys (The future son-in-law Scott, darling of mine Mike and my dad -aka"workaholic"I am sooo pleased with this shot of my dad. Generally he mugs for the camera or is shy about it, but I was using a telephoto lens and I got a great one!

Can't leave wedding planning talk without a few photos of some other of our design skills. Some of the wheat sheaves in temporary containers(they will be free standing)
!
We are going to "monogram" some pumpkins as the wedding is Oct 27th. Just a little something to fill our hours the evening before the ceremony whilst engaging in deep,meaningful conversation with our out-of-town relatives and friends while emptying a keg of beer!
A couple of the pew decorations
- we grew and dried most of the materials used- Yes, we are nuts thank you very muchAs payment for helping me today my sister wanted to see my dress, and the wedding dress. How could I refuse! Since it is unfair to show her and not all of you- here is a VERY BAD snap of the top of the dress!Please ignore the green thing happening underneath the dress - I have a temporary green tee on that dressform - nuff said!
Did I happen to mention today how absolutely sweeet my darling husband is? Someone came over today to interview 2 of our daughters who are going to be the Brownie leaders in our nearby town. She commented on how pretty my dress was, so I simply said "thanks". My husband leaned over and said "she made it herself you know" Well gobstop me- the lady had assumed it was purchased! DUH- it was in the kitchen on a ducttape dressform with a note pinned to it as to what is left to do on it!

I never really thought he cared about or admired my sewing before- I am thrilled beyond belief that I was wrong!!

Am I a Snob? or a Couturesmith?

2007-10-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law popped over last night with an auction listing. She knows I am looking for about 300 metres of fabric to use as skirting for our Fair Board display cases, and this aution had

Partial List- Over 500 Bolts of Various Materials ( Gaberdin-Fancy Trims – Edging -Fringes-Satin-Wool Blends-Bridal-Suiting Material-Cotton Prints-Chiddon-Party Fabrics-Upholstry Material-Rope-Elastic-Chintz Brocade-Swag Backs-Poly Blends-Etc.) Huskylock 340D 4 Thread Compact Serger Sewing Machine, Husqvarna Prism 990s Computerized Single Thread Portable Sewing Machine, Singer 251-12 Heavey Duty 1/2hp. 110v. Table Model Single Thread Sewing Machine (leather-canvas-boat tops-etc.), Singer Diana 860 Single Thread Portable Sewing Machine, Display Stands, 2 New Dress Maker Models –Fully Adjustable Up To Size 50, Boy-Girl-Adult Manequins, Large Quanity Related Items New & Used – Scissors-Zippers-Embroidery-Threads-Links-Plier-Fasteners-Hooks & Eyes – 5 Draw Metal Pattern Cabinet – Craft Supplies Halloween Christmas – 60 Gift Baskets – 40 New Winter Wool Sweaters Etc.

Whew! So I went!
What a mishmash of CRAP- whoops I mean one persons treasure. We ( a lady I befriended and I) managed to find out that everything came from one lady's home based dressmaking and wedding decorating business. We saw tags from Polka Dot and Montreal Textiles- both of which have been out of business for over 20 years! Don't people know what a trash bin looks like?

Having said that, I did manage to snag 100metres plus of red (all unknown fibre) fabric. I really don't care what it looks like for the table skirts that people see for 2 days once a year.
What I could not get over was what some people will buy to make quilts out of. Even if it is for "charity", don't the recipients deserve good quality?
I did also pick up a pattern cabinet in good quality, and 2 antique dress forms ($15 TOTAL for the 3!) Also when I went to pick up said cabinet, the auction house pressed upon me 200 patterns that someone decided they did not want. Mostly circa 1980! I took those home, ruthlessly weeded and ended up with about 50 that I will keep. Those were nice staple, vintage childrens patterns and a bunch of wedding dress patterns that I may be able to take some styling from.
So does turning my nose up at inferior fabric make me a snob? Nah- just a couturesmith with taste!

Another Fair Done

2007-09-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a country fair? Do you know the work and organization that goes into one? Our fair - The Thorndale Fair- celebrated its 150th Birthday this past weekend. Our family lives for the fair. We enter baking, crafts, sewing, flowers, run a swine show, judge the baby contest, work the gates- and this year I am President of the Homecraft Division. Talk about a whole different outlook on the whole thing!The real work begins the Saturday before the fair. We spend the entire day transforming the Progress Building from an empty shell
, to a building full of display cases. The next week is spent organizing people, getting the display cases cleaned and generally worrying that no one is going to enter anything!!
Thursday is the big day for entries. The doors open at 7pm and area residents stream in with baking, crafts, sewing, vegetables - you name it! It is really cute to watch the little kids with their marshmallow creations and collages of their families.
Friday is the last day for entries and we skurrie around like madmen making sure everything is where it should be for the judging. We stop at noon for lunch, the judges arrive, and the fun begins.

My job is usually photography, but this year I handed the job over to some very capable women as my new role includes the final tallying up the points. There is always a good contest between a couple of women who want to win! This year we had an especially difficult job as there was only a ONE point difference between first and second! We also have to make sure the contestant who wins has enteries in at least 7 of the 10 categories. This year our winner won almost every "root and fruit" section, but did not win anything in the craft or photography sections, so we had to make sure that she did indeed enter in those other two. The next step is to contact the Homecraft winner and runner up, and the Junior and Senior Royal winners. (Junior and Senior are the winners of a special homecraft class for 10-13 year olds and 14-19 year olds involving baking, sewing and crafts) We have to make sure they are ready to recieve their awards at the evening ceremony. By the time all the cases are prettied up and all the little details were taken care of, I only had 1/2 hour to talk to the MC for the night and get home to change for the opening ceremony! The evening was topped off by a pie and quilt auction. The pies usually bring an average of 250$- this year I bought a peach pie for $300! It was the winning novice pie baked by my own daughter Katelyn! She and Micaela both entered pies and got 1st and 3rd repectively. We then trundled off to our house where we continued an age old tradition. We always have a party on the friday night of the fair. Generally one of our daughters or a friends daughter have run for Ambassador or Junior or senior Royal. We invite whoever wants to come, put about $1000.00 worth of pies on the counter and eat! I forgot to get a shot of the "pie counter" but here is the empty pie plate!
Saturday morning was the fair parade. I am usually a parade watcher but this year got to sit in a friends convertaible and wave to all my friends and neighbours! To commemorate the 150th I wore a circa 1800's outfit that I borrowed from a friend who is the general manager of the local pioneer village.
The other photo is Daughter #1 Erica who got to reprise her role as Ambassador a few years ago.
The rest of the weekend was spent running from one event to another, judging the swine show and generally basking in the glory of another successful fair weekend!

The Mother of the Bride is going to look FABULOUS!

2007-09-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about my dress! The bodice fits like a dream, the neckline is perfect, and the zipper in the back turned out right the very first try! All that is left is a bit more handstitching on the lace at the neckline, taking in the sleeves a titch and getting the loops and (gulp) 24 buttons sewn on. THEN and only then can you have a peek. Well I should steam some wrinkles out too.

I was combining beans the other day. Dark red Kidney beans if anyone cares. They get exported to England, so next time any of you Britians open a can of beans, think of me. It is a hot, dusty job that requires me to watch 4 things at a time, but it gives me some me time alone with me, the radio and my lines for the next Murder Mystery
I was tired of my own thoughts and Dr Joy Browne was over, so I was listening to CBC Radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corp). I listen to them on and off- I get peeved when they start agriculture bashing- but that day they had an interesting piece. It was about a family with five daughters aged 15-22. Here is a transcript of the intro..
The Dargis family is still in mourning. The five girls, ranging in age from 15 to 22, lost both their parents, Jean and Joanne, and their grandmother, Anita, in a plane crash a month ago. The girls, though, have vowed to continue to family business -- a large farm and feed company in Alberta.
It hasn't been easy, but a few days ago, the community stepped in to help out. Nearly thirty neighbouring farmers showed up with their combines and plows to help harvest three quarter sections of barley.
Leona Dargis is the eldest of the Dargis girls. We reached her on her combine on her family's farm in St. Vincent, Alberta -- about two hours east of Edmonton

It made me wonder how our own 5 daughters would cope if anything (God forbid) were to happen to Mike and I. One difference between those five and our five is that we didn't raise our girls to necessarily be farmers. They all have grown up with such varied interests. Film. Kids, gerontology, criminology- and one agriculturally minded girl. They all know how to feed and care for animals, but it just wouldn't be their first choice. I know our neighbours would be the kind to pitch in.

The girls are all quick to lend a hand as well in the community - does that come from so many years of being volun-told? (voluntold is our term for when the darling mother (me) says at a meeting, gettogether, church, random situation "Oh (insert name of any or all daughters here) would love to help out. You say you need her at 6am for the entire day? Well she was just going to the beach, but she can do that any day! That being said, Micaela came home from work the other day and said that she had decided that she wanted to be a Brownie leader. Well it just so happened that our town was without one. Less than 24 hours later her and Katelyn were Brown Owl and Tawny Owl!
Don't you just LOVE moms?

It's been a while!

2007-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yes I know!!!

I have been busy I promise you. I have my MOB dress almost ready to show! I have a few issues with the zipper in the back. The top 4 inches is only lace, and I am afraid that an invisible zipper will look *blech*. I am thinking of (for that section) using small covered buttons - like on the back of wedding dresses. I think that will look more elegant. Other than that it looks great. I promise to take a photo when the zipper is in!

I am in the process of attaching the lace to the wedding dress- I am NOT going to show any more photos of that until it is finished! Kate and I were trying to decide what to put at the junction of the ruching and the lace- about empire height. After trying a million ideas we found that a simple band of ruched chiffon looked best. For the sleeves we were alternating between ruched chiffon or lace. The chiffon won out. It will be a bit more work but I think I can do them tonight.

Life has been hectic lately. People ask me if the wedding is keeping me busy- my reply is that there are too many things to worry about BEFORE that! The Western Fair and our 4H kids is done. 42 kids plus 42 hogs for a day at the fair is tiring! The stag and doe is done! It went over very well- check out the girls site fiveblondes.wordpress.com (or click on the link at the side) It went very well. Lots of friends, great music aaanndd I got to live out my "dance on the bar" fantasy!

Still to come? The Thorndale Fair (of which I am Homecraft President) goes on next weekend. Really a whole week and a half if you consider that set up, judging etc all occurs the week before the fair. I will do a whole post on that afterwards.

I am also newly involved in a Murder Mystery group. Our first performance is the end of September and well of course I need a new costume or two!

I am planning on attending Pattern Review weekend in New York City again. I need to make a list of what I NEED this year! My next plans are to do my first SWAP. I am tentitively thinking of revolving around peacock blue
Grey, and black. More thought on that to follow!

Officially insane

2007-08-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Every bride and brides mommy need a stole to wear to church correct!
With that in mind I found this Vogue Pattern and decided that a "mink stole" would be in order.

I have the faux mink- and I can easily do that at the last minute if I find the time. If not - there will be other weddings!

I am not sure if "Stag and Does" are the vogue in other areas of the country. Wikipedia says that- A stag and doe party, also known as a hen and stag party, is the equivalent of a combined bachelor and bachelorette party. This is gaining popularity among wedding parties that have an overwhelming majority of attendants who are in relationships, where there are not enough single people to steer their half of the group to a strip club, or to convincingly blame afterwards.

In Canada, a stag and doe, or buck and doe, is a wedding tradition popular in rural Southern Ontario.[1] The event is held by a bride and groom before they are married, similar to a combined bachelor party and bachelorette party, but acting as a fundraiser for the wedding. Guests purchase entrance tickets and are entertained, typically, with games, food, and alcohol, all of which usually also cost money. Door prizes and raffles are also common events at a stag and doe.

It sounds pretty shady said like that, but they are almost mandatory in our part of the country- and I stress country. The kids have a large circle of friends, most of whom we cannot accomodate at the actual wedding. This way they all get to celebrate anyways. Kate and Scott were going to hold it in a friends barn converted to a party place, but an illness in their family caused them to ask us to find an alternate venue. We decided this was an opportune time to clean out the driveshed! The shed is clean, the fatted pig is ready to barbeque and the band is booked- imagine having a band for the party and a DJ for the wedding! I hope I survive!

Mother of the Bride! Times TWO!

2007-08-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am now the proud mother of two brides to be! Erica and Denis became engaged last weekend- Congratulations my darlings! How sweet that it happened for your 25th birthday,and at one of our most romantic locations - Niagara Falls. Here they are (on the right) along with daughter number2 Micaela.
Give me some time to breathe after Kate and Scott's though!

On to the current wedding and my mother of the bride dress. I have always loved this dress, and am making the view on the right hand side.
It is OOP but I managed to get it from a fellow PatternReview member in California. I got some luscious brown - more of a mocha than deep chocolate- silk charmeuse with a bit of stretch(LA Fabrics in Toronto) and am lining it with some brown bridal fabric also with some stretch (from Fabricland). For the upper bodice with ruching I am going to head back to Toronto. I am picturing a copper or brown lace. I know I saw some when I was last there, but I was not ready to commit. I am now! We (me, hopefully my friend Deb, husband Mike and his friend Bob(a great fabric shopper btw for a straight married 25 years farmer guy!)) are heading down to a Blue Jays game in Toronto and the Rogers Centre just happens to be a couple of blocks from the fashion district.
I cut back a titch on the train of the dress- but the grooms mother and I decided we rate at least a bit of a train! She is great -as his her son! - we used to play baseball together back when the to-be-weds were kids. She is wearing a "mother of the groom beige" (her label not mine!) with lots of bling. But i digress.
Well this post was perculating in blogland, and since then I was able to watch the forementioned Jay's LOSE against the Oakland A's from our front row, 1st baseline seats. I dragged the wonderful friends around the various fabric shops of Queen Street and came home with this EXPENSIVE beautiful lace. The photos are simply awful- late nights are getting to me!
Mom - don't even ask what it cost a metre- just be thankful you do not have to do any embellishing!

I cut it out tonight and it looks gorgeous! ANDDDD it matches these totally fantabulous shoes to a tee!
I have never had shoes that came with their own shoe bag! And I probably never will.
The other things that are occupying my time now are our new barn, our local fall fair- of which I am Homecraft President and realllllyyyy need to get to work on, and a Murder Mystery that I agreed to act in. arrggh I need more hours in a day.

Monday, Monday

2007-08-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

No sewing accomplishments to report - I'm afraid that Round Tuit hasn't helped much yet! I have realized however that those of you who stumble across this blog - and you are out there!- do not really know much about me the person.

So, for your reading pleasure, here is what I did yesterday, Sunday August whatever it was!

I was up around 7ish- early for many people on a lovely, HOT Sunday morning, but I had things to do. Made a fruit salad and a few other brunch type foods, and headed to the barn to make sure the pigs were happy. *sigh* there is just no pretty looking polite way to say I am a pig farmer. Picture a teacher or a nurse or a corporate laywer and you all picture tidy, confident, CLEAN! Say you are a pig farmer and all people think of is filth and smell. Just to let you know it ain't so! Okay, I could rant about this all day, but I won't. Suffice to say the sows were wanting a cigarette after I was done with them.
Back to the house, a shower and a pretty dress, and Mike and I were off to church. I have played guitar in the choir since I was 12, and still enjoy doing that every week.
After church we rushed home as we were having brunch guests. Old friends Deb and Ken, new friends Pam and John, our daughters Mic and Lauren, Mike and myself. We didn't linger long over coffee as the daughters were offf to their jobs, and the rest of had to meet 2 other friends on the golf course. Deb, Pam and I golf together on Tuesdays at the course that our family owns - The Fox and we thought it would be nice to try a different course. Cobble Hills Golf Course is where I generally spend my winters as a Ski Patroller- I know what you are thinking- a golf course that is also a ski hill??? We take what we can get in Southwestern Ontario! We met up with Bob- a lonnnnnggg time friend and Norma - another long time great friend, and golfed 18. Norma actually met up with us on hole number 4 as she was finishing up playing 18 for the club championship! We laughed a lot, duffed a lot - but I managed to birdie #9- yah I know - me and Tiger! It drizzled a bit, but we need it badly so no one was complaining.
I bet you think our day was done! Not so, not so. We drove into London to meet up with Norma's husband Jim, and Bob's wife Cathy who had cycled into London. They are golf holdouts, and Cathy had never cycled into London before. Jim has his bike permanently attached to his butt! We were going to eat at Ribfest-a local fundraiser, but it was raining too hard by that time, and Ribfest is an outdoor event. We plunked ourselves down at a local restaurant and spent even more wonderful, hilarious times with some great friends, good food and liquid refreshments!

Now you know what I do for fun! I promise I will get back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

Around to it

2007-08-03T14:46:00.001-07:00

Okay I finally got a round toit - now to get AROUND TO IT!!!!

I'm feeling HOT HOT HOT

2007-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Sizzling! That is the only word for the weather here this week. I believe it hit 37 degrees celcius yesterday- and for those of us without airconditioning - that is almost unbearable. I had wonderful intentions of cutting out and sewing two of these blouses yesterday.
I even had the fabric all ready to go- a lovely white cotton with minor ruffling. The heat however, coupled with a dickens of a head cold-"Connie it must be allergies" said my darling, albiet nonsensical husband- "I (insert haughty italics there), do not have allergies"! ANYWAYS, I ended up doing nothing but reading and watching some dumb TV movie that I do not even know the name of! So much for good intentions.
I do hope that one of these days I get sewing ambitions again. Everything seems to be so much work - even though I know it really isn't. Maybe once this heat wave breaks I will feel differently.
What I really should do is a SWAP - Most of my sewing projects are whims. I crave this pattern, or that fabric one day, then a different pattern and totally different fabric the next. I see lovely things in stores, and my creative juices ran rampant. And of course I can MAKE them so much cheaper, and better quality. But do I get a round to it? NO! So now here I am with nothing that goes with anything, and Me- with a closet full of clothes and fabric enough to cloth a large army- I have nothing to wear.

Who needs a cottage!

2007-07-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

I was walking to the house from the barn the other day -a beautiful July afternoon, with just the right amount of sun and beautiful whipped clouds in the sky. It is on days such as these that I am glad that I live where I do. My most favourite thing in the world to do is to sit with a glass of wine - or a GandT, and sew or read on our front porch. Here is a glimpse of my "porch with a view"

Weddings and dresses

2007-07-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

A bride I know who is getting married this weekend called me up yesterday and said to tell Miss Kate to elope as the total stress of the wedding was overwhelming. I mentioned that little fact to Kate's fiance who said- "what's so difficult- as far as I can see we both show up, I wear a tux and that is all we need" MEN!
Did I mention that the dress bodice is done??!! Kate is trying to decide whether she wants beading on the bodice or not. Here is a shot..okay three shots....a row of chiffon pinned on
The bodice - complete - but not yet steamed We had a little lace sequining party last night. Mom, Kate, Lauren and myself, with my dad offering glue (again MEN!) and drinks. Our very own little sweatshop!Here is the Bride working on a piece of the train.This shot is of Lauren - little Miss Thorndale Fair Junior and Senior Royal past winner (baking/sewing and crafts)
I especially like this shot of mom's hands- those hands don't look 70 do they? She can do absolutely ANYTHING with them. Like me, sewing is her passion although quilting and other hand work is her forte. And little old me- bent over that lace thinking "why the double 7 3 4 upside down did we not just buy the friggin already embellished lace"!! By the way -does anyone have ANY sleeve ideas"
...did I mention the bodice is done?!!!!

2007-07-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Ottawa for a few days. Our Baby Lauren is off to University and we have an orientation tour booked. I am excited to visit our best friends Karl and Katrin- we get there a few times a year and they are always so hospitable. Sadly, Lorna will be out of town, but I promised to visit Darrel Thomas Fabrics while I am there. Things you do for your friends! I also will drop in at Rockland Textiles . I happened upon this fabric store a few years ago when Katrin first started working in Ottawa. It's only a few miles from Carleton University, so it's almost criminal not to.
While in Ottawa we are going to the Renoir Exhibit at the National Gallery. I adore Renoir and Katrin says it is a great exhibit. I know that Erica would appreciate this more than Lauren - sorry Er! We will have to visit Lauren this winter and catch another one!

Patternreview

2007-07-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

While browsing sewing related blogs today- I know, I know - I should be sewing instead! Anyways, I was at Leora's Journey to Couture and noticed that she has a link to her PatternReview reviews. Totally cool - I wish I had thought of that.
So check out if my own PatternReview link works. I really should update and publish the myriad of reviews I have started!
Off to see "Hairspray" with my favourite FiveBlondes and entourage. I'm sure they will post a review of it soon.

Saga of a Wedding dress...

2007-07-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Oh the ruching. I think it only took me 20 hours - and 10 trips to the chiropractor!
The bodice is going to be a crossover done with ruching silk chiffon. I experimented with just gathering and pressing the silk chiffon, however it did not look quite "right". I ended up cutting a large bias piece of the silk and hand stitching each row on to the bodice. We didn't want a perfect look - so the rows very from 1/8 to 1/4 inches apart. I let the chiffon "talk to me" about where it wanted to go - for the most part. I had to take over a few times!! This photo is just the start - about twenty-five percent done. The number of rows you ask- hmmm, I did not count - I promise I will. It looks good- even Kate of little positive critiques said "wow, that looks pretty"! I still need to add the Swarovski crystals. They will be randomly scattered over the bodice and the top area of the lace as well.
We have decided to use a ribbon to delineate where the silk and lace meet. That will make things very easy at that juncture.
I still have not decided where to go with the sleeves. At the moment there are two options. 1. more ruched chiffon.
2. lace
The sleeves will be little caps that sit on the shoulder point. They won't really hold anything up, but add a bit more coverage for church. Kate thinks she wants them off for the reception. Her choice.
My mother called in a tizzy yesterday. She is worried that the lace will not be sequined in time- come on mom 7000 sequins- a cinch! Kidding.....
The girls and I are going to go over and work on it whenever we have time. I think a lacing bee is called for.

2007-07-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

What to do, What to do!

I came across this program offered at the University of Guelph. It is a Diploma in Agricultural Communications and is an 18 month, 5 course program "The Diploma in Agricultural Communications is designed for agricultural managers, communication and public relations officers, agrologists, journalists and freelance professionals. Enhance and strengthen your ability to communicate complex issues about agriculture, agri-food, the environment and life sciences within industry organizations, government, non-governmental organizations, and special interest groups." Right up my alley!
I have always been interested in writing especially with an agricultural slant. For a few years when the kids were young I wrote occasionally for a local farm paper and have always been "the public relations person" for organizations that I belong too. This would be a great opportunity to learn more about the field and get back into practice.
The course load is not too bad - especially since it is mostly a distance ed course with some on campus time. The cost may be the sticky point. Putting 5 girls through university has taken a financial toll, not to mention the upcoming wedding!
I think I will call my accountant to see if it is a business expense, and look into bursaries or scholarships.
Now to talk Mike into it!

Wedding Dress....the laced up back

2007-06-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

This is turning out to be quite a challenge - this laced up back.
The lacing holes were a cinch - I did a couple of million when I made my wedding dress. The trick is getting the layout right. I visited a friend of Kate's who had a laced back wedding dress and measured her "openings". They were 1 centimetre "wide" by 2.5 centimetres long, and placed exactly next to each other. I made a grid on paper using those measurements. I sewed 2 long bias tubes - very narrow(I think 3/8 of an inch), turned them, stretched and pressed the heck out of them and also inserted some (I think) rattail. That is what I call it anyways. That was to add stability to the holes. The next step was to baste the bias tube on to the paper, decide on the EXACT placement of the tube on the dress back and (cross my fingers!) sew the lacing, and paper to the fashion fabric and the corset.
I stabilized the lace-up by sewing a strip of organza on the wrong side of the dress.
It looks bee-uu-ti--ful! See for yourself- keep in mind that I do not have the actual lacing up sewn yet- so the lacing is just ribbon.She also wants a modesty panel under the lacing - I made it out of the lace and the peau de soi (SPELLING!) and will embellish it like the lace will be.
Speaking of lace - we are a step farther on that too. My wonderful mother came over and we fit the lace on to the dress. One side came out just like I had planned - the other side was extremely wierd but looks as perfect as the other side. Without photos it is difficult to explain. Let's just say I was glad Kate was not there - although Micaela may extort some money from us to keep her quiet regarding our worries!
Mom has taken the lace home to begin the embellishment. There are 170 separate medallions and 34 medallions on the fancy lace edge. Each of the medallions is to have 4 curved rows of sequins - individually sewn on! I saw her yesterday and she said she already has 10 medallions complete. She did guilt me into promising to come help when I have a few minutes to help.
I had 400 Swarovski crystals - glue on, but decided that is not near enough. I have an Ebay bid for 1440 more! We also have about 100 sew on Swarovski crystal beads that Kate would like on the bodice area.

Next up - She decided she wants sleevey things! And the hem is done!

O WOW - a couturesmith heaven!

2007-06-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is what my darling daughter Erica sent me via email...
THE BIG KAHUNA GARAGE SALE

Antiques..small furniture pieces, smalls,huge collection of antique and vintage linens
Household and outdoor things
Yards and yards of exquisite fabrics including velvets, lace, linens, cottons, blends, bridal satins, sheers and much, much more.
Beads and trims of all sorts going individually or as a job lot...try an offer!!
Goods are from an exclusive event dressing/bridal studio.
Clothing..new and gently used.
Wedding dress samples of various sizes and designs.
Everything needs to go!!

Did I go? You bet your booties! Did I spend - well of course! When I got there, there was just some -okay alot- of clothes on racks and some random antiques. I saw an old piece of architectural gingerbread that I picked up- but saw no fabric. I would have thought "lost leader", but fabric as a lost leader - I think not!

Someone near me happened to mention "linens"? The lady said "oh yes I forgot!" So she led us to not one, not two, but THREE of those drive up to storage units. One was full of stuff, another linens and wedding dresses- I didn't even get to that one! and the third was chock full of fabric bolts, buttons, beads, you name it - she had it! I managed to get away with 6 bolts of fabric, a lifetime supply of tracing paper - the kind with dots, and some simply fabulous findings- antique buttons anyone?

Ahhhh a fun Saturday morning doing some "storage unit diving" - I could do with more of those!

"The Wedding Dress" an update

2007-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am honestly getting somewhere on The Dress! I thought I would update - but this is more of an "how I started" update- does that make it a prequel?

I found this photo of Kate while we were fabric shopping in Toronto. While it is not the fabric we ended up going with - it gives a good idea of where we want to go.

Here is the start of our "design (divine???!!!) inspiration wall. Note the lovely teal and lime green wall. I say it adds to the designer feel! annnd some of the pattern design changes I made. We reshaped the bodice front to a sweetheart neckline, and the bodice back to incorporate a lower gradually curved lace up back instead of a straight across zip/button back. I really must visit Kate's friend Laura to examine her lace up back for spacing reccomendations.
The bodice turned out FABULOUS!!!!! Cotton batiste covering with a cotton flannel underlining. I forgot to count the boning - I used a combination of rigaline (too lazy to check the spelling!) and some metal spriral boning. I think there are 11 or 13 pieces altogether. It fit like a dream the first time around!
And now the crinoline. I was making one however it was not "poufy enough"- kate's words. I gave in and bought one off of Ebay. We decided to go with the Extra Full one - why, I will never know! I think we were thinking vendors would "cheat" on their idea of full- but they did not! It came in a teensy tiny bag. Already we have soaked and straightened it 3 times - it may take a few more tries to get it wrinkle free! I am going to add some length. Even though Kate is not tall, it is about 4 inches too short and I remember someone (on Pattern review?) mentioning that if the crinoline is not long enough, the fashion fabric tends to swoop under when walking.
Oh yes - here is the crinoline..
Whew- enough for now. Tempting you .....I have the fabric sewn, and the seams almost seamfinished. You can see it later!

How did I end up with TWO sewing rooms??!!!

2007-05-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

Honestly - it was a gradual thing. I have a great sewing room on the main floor of the house. Built in cabinetry, huge window, room for 3 machines and 2 dress forms. I share half of the room with myself and our business office- 2 computers, three printers and a fax machine. The cabinetry was actually designed for us and featured at a local home and garden show as a "office and craft room"

So why 2 sewing rooms?

Well you all know that Kate is getting married in October. And I am making her dress. And my dress. And Laurens dress.

Perhaps you didn't know that her husband to be works for us. Neither he nor Kate wanted him to see the dress before "The big day" With the anticipation that I would only have one child home for the summer, I decided to designate the small bedroom as "the Wedding Room" I set it up with my extra machine, Kates desk from University and some storage area. It is a GREAT little room - I can disappear and no one remembers where I am.

However - Lauren - who graduates from High School in a few weeks- had originally decided to work at a resort in BC for the summer/fall and put off going to University for a year. All of a sudden she changed her mind and is staying home for the summer and heading off to Carleton in Ottawa in the fall. Of course needs a bed. Then Micaela decided she needed to come home from Vancouver as she is missing us all too much - another bed needed. WELL GIRLS- you will have to do some room sharing for a while. I do remember on our Europe trip when we stayed at the convent- you all were afraid to have your own rooms because you were used to sharing. Well it's sharing time again 'cause I want my 2 sewing rooms!!!!

Fabric and lovely children

2007-05-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

What a crazy weather we are having. Yesterday was beautiful, HOT and sunny - that is until my tee-off time. THEN it poured rain. My golf partner- rain or shine unless there is lightning- which there was- decided to forgo the golfing and go straight to the 19th hole - refreshments! We chatted a while then I headed home to clean the office. To reward myself, I pulled out Simplicity 4076 which is the scoop neck with gathers tshirt. I cleaned the office, cut out fabric and sewed the tee all while watching "Dream Girls". BTW not as great a movie as I had anticipated, but the music made it worth the watch. So I ended up with this- Completely wearable- I am going to make the next one a couple of inches longer and do something to make the sleeves more fitted.
I finally got a photo of the fabric I got in Vancouver. No more kitschy souvenir purchases for me on vacation- a nice length of fabric please and thank-you.
I want to make a jacket from it - I need to find a nice fitted but with not too many pieces - pattern.
I found this note on the kitchen table last week. It is so nice to have Kate back home for a while after her being away for 4 years. She is so good to Lauren- most of the time! I think it is hard for Laur being the youngest - and feeling left behind. Kate likes to plan adventures for the two of them - whether it is a hike or a movie or wedding planning- what a sweet young lady she has become!

My big suprise - and it was successful!

2007-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a surprise visit to Micaela (daughter #2) in Vancouver. Her wonderful, generous boyfriend helped me arrange the surprise. It was so funny to knock on her door at 1am and have her blurt out "MOM- what are YOU doing here"!
We had a perfect week - even the heavy misty days could not stop us. I also got to spend time with my best friend Katrin who was in Vancouver presenting a paper. Silly me- the pictures are on my other computer - but I will post some for sure.
My absolute favourite place that we visited was Bowen Island- It is a 20 minute ferry ride from West Van and I sooooo want to move there- I can see a unique fabric store or town theatre there for sure. I DID call home and tell them to put a For Sale sign up before I got home - but no one listened to me.
I checked out some Vancouvervfabric stores on PatternReview, and managed to get to Elegance Fabric Of course I could not leave there without buying something! I decided on a beautiful Italian cotton in a reversible black and white geometric design for a jacket, and some blue lining fabric for my wool denim from Ann at GeorgeousThings.
I wonder if one can change their blog name? I have decided that seamingly simple sounds too juvenile- There was a shop on (you guessed it) Bowen Island that had the owners name, then underneath was "goldsmith, silversmith, songsmith" I loved it (and it was much better than the van I saw once "Eileen's Bakery and Taxidermy" ouch!
So does "Fabricsmith" sound like it may work? Fashionsmith? couturesmith? hmmm I will have to think on that.

Kallisti quilts

2007-05-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

- Is that not a cute quilt?
Another website! Perhaps this is an omen that I have not spent enough time at the sewing machine lately! I did finish a lovely pair of wool pants today though- pics and review to follow later.
Kallisti quilts has uber-lovely fabrics. Leah (who seems to have an adversion to sewing machines) even downloaded a quilt photo to use as our computer display.
I will try to link the URL- hmm for some reason I cannot get hyperlink to work - here is the addy instead http://www.kallistiquilts.com/
The organization of the site is not great- you have to do some digging to find some of the fabrics- I like the Japanese ones best. They would make a great handbag.
Oh yes- a Canadian company- Michelle is (I believe) near Waterloo, Ontario (an hour west of Toronto for all you non Cans)
Lots to do this week- bottling wine for KAtes wedding, our inagural baseball game on Wednesday(go Survivors!) and I think Gordon Lightfoot is in London at the Aeolian Hall on Thursday if anyone is interested....
Later Gator

Love this website

2007-04-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

I carry my beloved Coach handbag everywhere I go. Imagine my distress last week when I read (somewhere) that you de-quality (my own word) a designer purse when you use it when you wear - say- sweats to the chiropractor! SO yeah I guess I need a dress-down bag!
http://www.tonicliving.com/

It is called Tonic Living and has the cuuutest fabrics. I think they are in TOronto too.

Another suprise blown!

2007-04-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

And I had such high expectations on this one! Mike's birthday is next week and Katrin had invited us up for the weekend. There is a $500 dollar a plate dinner with Stephen Harper and we were going to sit at the table right next to him! For free! Mike would have loved that so much. No go anymore for reasons I refuse to go into. Maybe Katrin can come down here instead.....are you listening girl?

Costume designs

2007-04-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Barry and I have been singing together for a few years. We have evolved from a cabaret ensemble of 12, to a group of 5, to now just the two of us. We are working on a series of shows showcasing each decade from the 1920's to the present. While the vocal arrangements have taken up the bulk of time, I have started to focus on costuming for it lately. Now that we have a gig - this weekend- the pressure is on! Barry envisioned a flapper dress for me that could transform from a modest 19teen's style to the more daring - "oh dear show my KNEE?!" mid 20's. Riiiight Barry!

So I took a BWOF dress - pics later- and omitted darts to loose the image of a waist.
I added two tiers of ruffles, and fringe on those. To do the transformation, I made two additional sets of ruffles on lining fabric, and velcroed them to the main dress. Now, at the appropriate points in the show, I can take them off and "voila" - a new dress! I just hope it doesn't come across toooooo cheesy!

Some hints about my surprise.....looks like I will need an umbrella!

I am so excited that I am wiggling!

2007-04-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Oh boy - big surprises for someone I love VERY MUCH are in store next week. No hints 'cause I heard through the grapevine that people I didn't know read this blog do indeed read it. Let's just say...nope let's not say a thing! Thanks to my bestest friend in the whole world for helping this one happen!

Later y'all

Wedding Dress con't - "Creativ Festival"

2007-04-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

The plan yesterday was to head off to Toronto to the "Creativ Festival" (what a dumb name!) to decide how best to bling up Kate's lace. Leah did not have to work until 5:30 so she decided to spend the day with her mommy. Gotta love that girl. I thought I would head off early - 7:30 am in order to beat the traffic. HAHAHA Madam Lauren missed her bus- she NEVER misses it, so why she picked today I will never know. London is a half hour the other direction from TO! So at 7:30, we headed off to London, had to stop for a train that chugged ever so slowly across Adelaide Street, then stopped and backed the entire length of the train back. We finally got Lauren to school at 8:10, then jumped on the 401 towards TOronto. I always take the 403 into TO when I am going to the COnvention Centre, and the traffic was horrible- how all you commuters do that every day- I would go crazy! I much prefer my 2 minute walk! We also had to stop for diesel - do you know how hard it is to find diesel in Oakville?
We FINALLY parked on Front Street at 11:15am- I think that is the longest Toronto commute I have ever endured. I forgot which building the show is in - I haven't actually been since Lorna (PR friend from Ottawa) and I were there 1 1/2 years ago! OH MY GOODNESS - it was not listed on the events board! I knew I had the right day, and began to have a sinking suspicion that they moved it back to the CNE grounds where it used to be. Nope- they moved it to the INTERNATIONAL BUILDING BY THE AIRPORT!!! uugghhh. So back to the car we went, and fought traffic yet again to the International Building.
We found what we were looking for right away, and it seems that hotgluing Swarovski Crystals to her lace will be a cinch - and work well. So we purchased the Bejeweller , and 4 bags of 144 crystals- size 10 which is 3 mm - of clear crystals

I think we will need more and I found an Ebay store in the UK that sells them fairly inexpensively.

Anyways, the rest of the show was really a bust. Boring with a capital B! If you wanted to buy necklaces or beads, you would be in heaven, and for quilters it is great, or if you need a new machine. Personally I will give it a pass for a long time- I only went yesterday cause I knew that I could find crystals and talk to someone about them. I was going to do a few "demonstrations"- see even the classes have deteriorated- but given my travel "problems" I had to give them a pass.

See you all later!

The Wedding Dress Saga - 1st installment

2007-04-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Katelyn's Wedding dress! How long have I waited to do this! I suppose considering she is only 21 - not THAT long. It has been forever though since I created my own.

It is going well thus far. I think the main reason is that I have been able to sit back and say "what do YOU want?" I will not say anything is impossible- although I will say "wow, great idea, I am going to have to figure out how to do that!"

For inspiration we are using this Maggie Sottero dress that she tried on 2 different times. She likes the shirred bodice mostly. She has fallen in love with an allover lace idea so the draped lace will continue to the floor.

We are using this Vogue pattern as a very rough pattern.

We made a very lovely(!) black version as a mock up. The size 10 fit her almost perfectly.
We headed off to Toronto to look for fabric - specifically lace. I wasn't worried that we would not find any thing suitable as Ann (Gorgeous Things) was sweet enough to do some looking in New York City on one of her buying trips, so we knew that Kashi at Metro had some beautiful laces. The first store we visited was Leo's. The salesgirl was soo great and recommended to us that Kate be draped in the fabric to get a better feel of what she liked. What a difference that made. We ended up loving a Chantilly lace with no beading (75/metre) and a more netting like lace with lots of bling (150/metre). I was hesitant to buy at the very first store, so off we went to the other stores. There was lots of fabric to choose from yes, but nothing spectacular - as well as the fact that we were totally ignored by many sales people. Don't get me wrong, I abhor hovering sales people, but an acknowledgment of our presence would have been nice!
The last store we ventured into was LA Fabrics - bad name great store. Very high end, european fabrics. Kate fell in love with an Alencon lace - it was 54 inches wide which makes me suspect it perhaps is not TRUE Alencon, but at 75/mtre I was not going to argue. What cinched the deal for Kate was the fact that her inspiration dress was pinned to the same lace (in white instead of her ivory) and an inspiration picture that I had clipped was pinned by another bolt. Good Karma! No bling though - so I am off to Toronto this week to the Needlecraft show to explore Swarovski glue on crystals versus sew on beads.
6 -gulp - 6 metres later, we needed to decide on the underdress. We wanted Peau de Soie - and could choose from silk - 65/yd or polyester 6/yd. Kate thought I was nuts for humming and hawing - "gees mom - it's only the underlining- no one will know the difference" So we went with poly - yick. We did get silk chiffon for the bodice. Oh yes and some stretch silk charmeuse in brown for my MOB Dress. Our last stop was a hole in the wall where Katelyn scooped a bag full of perfect sequins for 5 dollars. Kate meet needle, needle meet sequins! (actually my fantabulous mother loves handwork and has offered to help out with the beading)

Next up - the underpinnings and hopefully some fabric photos.

Project Runway - Canadian style eh!

2007-04-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

At least three people have stopped me this week to ask me if I knew about the Canadian version of Project Runway - and whether or not I was going to enter! As if! I know I sew well - but designing is another thing altogether. Now there is real talent. My little copy -copy act is pretty meek comparatively. "But you are designing Kate's wedding dress.." Wedding dresses are a cinch to design. Cop out? yes! I am just plain too scared of rejection on the fashion front to ever put myself out there like that.
All of you Canadian Project Runway wanna be's - the deadline has been extended to April 27- not a good thing methinks. They must be getting desperate if there are posters at! Fabricland stores. For the record I saw the poster in the Fashion District in Toronto.
So hurry on over to www.slice.ca. Daughter Kate scoped it out for me and you need a portfolio of your work - maximum 8 pieces- drawings, images or photos. You also need a an audition tape - gosh I'd need a recorder too!
I can see it now- I would be that sad little thing who they all laugh about when I leave the room!
I think I need to get satellite tv before this baby airs!

2007-04-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

Mourning

2007-03-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Right now I am spending my time mourning the death of a dear friend. I met Mary through her 5 children who were members of a 4H club I lead. She was a wonderful, lively, religious, takative person who was alway great to be around. Everywhere I went with her , she either knew or was related to someone. Last October she was diagnosed with what we originally thought was breast cancer, but later found out was bone cancer.
On March 16th she was on her way to a bone scan and to buy her mother (who was also with her) a dress for her mothers 85th birthday. They hit a truck that did not stop for a stop sign. her mother was killed instantly, and was buried on her birthday.
Mary was in a coma on life support until March 25th. Her family had to make the incredibly difficult decision to disconnect her. I was privliged enough to spend some time in the hospital with her during those last few days.
It is all too too sad to even contemplate. That wonderful family without a mother. Ike without his best friend, the girls without that special person at such an important age, and the boys without their anchor.
Life is not fair

Ahhhhh...I feel good...

2007-03-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

After months of back trouble, Mike finally convinced me to visit a chiropractor. I have always been loath to go - surely I can heal myself, I always think. But it didn't! Working, walking, skiing was painful- even sewing! Snowboarding - forget it. It was getting ridiculous, so I let myself get pushed!
What a difference! I have had three sessions this week, the first one being an assesment and xrays. I feel like a million bucks! I have cleaned, vaccumed and gotten things done in the barn that I was putting off cause it would hurt way too much. I am a new person! Too bad the snow is gone or I would even snowboard this weekend.

Sewing wise I have been quiet for a few weeks. But then again I have not even reviewed or written about the projects that I finished lately.
Here are some pictures - "The girls and their mother. Not a particularly good photo of my dress. With the exception of Kate(bridesmaid with her hair in an updo) I made all the dresses in the last few weeks. Here is Erica and Denis..

Leah and Tim...

Kate and Scott - they are using this photo for their "Save the Date" Stuff
I can't seem to find one of Lauren...whoops here is one although she seems to have make it black and white instead of navy lace over hot pink crepe!

Wedding dress wise - things are going along swimingly. The undercorset(?) fit first try and I constructed the dress out of a not so lovely black crap to see about the silhouette. I will have to wait until Kate comes home to go any further. I want to make the crinoline now and I can't start that until I have the proper waist to floor measurements. Then we are off to Toronto to try to find some lace - like 5 metres of it! Everything we have loved so far is over $100 metre.
Now to post this and see if it works! I don't always have luck in that department even though I am one of the more computer literate people around!

Tagged !

2007-02-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

Ah Lorna - you found me! no more blogging to myself!
So as I understand it, when you are tagged you have to write 5 things no one knows about you in bloggerland, then you tag 5 other people. That last part will have to wait until I actualy KNOW 5 people who have not been tagged!

Point One- I had to ask my husband out on our first date! The first time I saw him was in our driveway - he was asking my dad for a construction job. That long, blonde hair, that yellow bug...it was love at first sight. After hanging around the construction site for weeks, even to the point of helping out, grabbing the coffee and cookie tray that my sister had prepared and passing it off as my own- typical teenager in love antics, I just couldn't wait any longer for him to make the first move. So I asked - and the rest is history!

Point Two- I never wanted daughters. That looks bad in black and white! To my defense, I had always worked with boys- at day camps, throughout college, it was always young boys I dealt with. Girls were silly, frivolous and whiney. i wanted 12 boys -an even dozen. imagine my surprise when we had not one, not two -but FIVE little girls. Now I think - what in the world were you thinking, wanting boys!

Point Three- I quit college! One semester left and I quit! I blame my high school guidance counselor. I wanted to go to university for Agriculture, but she said "girls don't do agriculture". Silly 18 year old me believed her and I took Child Care (now community and youth worker) at College. I knew it was not for me-oh I got good marks and enjoyed the co-ops, but my heart was not in it. So i got married, got pregnant(in that order too thank you very much) and when Erica was born decided not to finish.
There is a post script to that story. The next year I applied to University - for Agriculture naturally- and got my degree by distance ed. It took 6 years, but I graduated top of the class and recieved the Minister of Agriculture Award of Excellence to boot. So there Ms Medway High School Guidance Counsellor!!

Point Four- My secret dream job is to be a back up singer! I think it would be so cool to stand there on stage and not have to worry about being the star - but be the uber-cool girl doing the do-waps in the background.

Point Five - My writing has gotten me TWO makeovers! I have a knack for writing what people want to read- not that this blog is any evidence of that! I wrote a letter to Canadian Living back in 1993 giving them all the reasons why I needed a makeover and less than 2 months later got the phone call! They brought all of us to Toronto and gave us ALL new hairstyles. Mike, darling husband that he is, had to ask how much his cut would cost if he was paying for it. He just about fell out of his chair when they told him $40. He was paying $2 at the time! The Canadian Living crew came out to the farm - a first for most of them- and we had a winter clothing photo shoot on the hottest day of July! The change was from long frizzy/curly hair to a very short pixie cut.
The second time i wrote a letter to the local TV station which was in the process of doing on air makeovers. That time it only took 3 days from emailing the letter to the phone call! A nice long day of pampering later I was a TV star! Well- in my own mind anyways! That change? blonde curly just above shoulder length to RED shorter hair! Now I am not sure if it was my writing skills or my obvious need for a make-over that gave me the nod!

Okay 5 points! Now I am off to nurse this silly bug I picked up. I have to make sure my cast and crew do not catch it from me, AND make sure I am over it before we head off to the Dominican Republic next week.

Saga of a Passport

2007-01-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Lorna asked me to tell all about the experiecnce of obtaining a Canadian Passport the week before the USA implements its "if you fly into or over American land you must have a valid passport" rules.
I missed the part about flying OVER US airspace until I was coming home this afternoon. Good thing as it would have made me really concerned - as it was I thought "oh well if I get it I get it, if I don't no biggie, we are only going to the Dominican and you do not need a passport for that."

So, last week I filled out Mike's passport on line. This in itself was a feat as the site only supports certain versions of certain browsers. One of our computers worked for this purpose- thank goodnes! There used to be no lilneup if you filled the forms out online, but the stupid newspaper published that little known fact and now the lineups are the same as if you didn't have the foresight.
Mike finally got his pictures taken and forms signed by our pharmas... pharmisi..shoot - drug doctor- you know wht I mean!
I decided to devote today- friday- to the passport cause. I have heard about the horrendous lineups, my sister waited 6 hours, a friend 8 hours- yuck! I brought a book and a good attitude! Really it was my own fault - weeelll Mikes own fault! We could have done this months ago, but of course waited til the last minute.
I put 3$ in the meter, and walked across the parking lot. A guy came over and informed me that he had been waiting 3 hours and just kept leaving and checking back. They give you a number at the door - you probably know the drill from the other places - there is a digital sign that tells what number is up.
But SWEET- you don't actually have to sit and wait if you don't want to?!
When I got to the door, i was given a number. This was at 11:00am. The security guard told me that I might not be seen today. My number was 983- I forgot to see what number they were at.
So I took my number and left. Went to Fabricland - where else! and bought a few odds and ends I needed- only odds and ends as Lauren still had my card from when she picked up some lace for me last week- shoot!
I stopped in at Sears Outlet and picked up a couple of summer skirts and shorts- no time to sew any before I leave! Then the Dollar Store looking for things for table centrepieces for the play. Next stop was Michaels. 90 metres of tulle later and 100$ poorer, i was ready for food. I hit the drive through at HArveys and then decided to head back. I was going to park at the High School, but those dumb busses were blocking the driveway. I found a convenient meter - with 2 hours of time left on it! As it was now 2:30 and the passport office closed at 4:30, I figured that would be about right!
When I walked in to the office I took a glance at the board - to my surprise they were at 982!! I was next in line! The security guard looked at my number and exclaimed - "hey you should be here" To which I replied happily "well, here I am!"
5 minutes later and some friendly conversation with the clerk/teller/guy behind the counter, and I was OUT! The passport will be ready to be picked up on FEB 2!

Total time spent involved with the passport today - 3 1/2 hours. Total time spent actually in the passport office - less than 10 minutes!!

Should I buy a lottery ticket today?

A silly crazy Woman

2007-01-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

I just today realized what a silly woman I am. At this moment in time I have 3 dresses at the machine, drapes for 5 windows- 5 valances, 10 jabots and 6 long curtains, another dress for myself that needs to be BEGUN and costumes for 7 people that need to be altered. It would help if the rehersal hall was warm so that they would even want to try on summer costumes!
And now I just put on my list 2 pair of shorts, and a skirt.
Keep in mind that this all has to be done by Feb 8! Well the drapes could wait but they are right now hanging all over the house.
I don't know why I do this to myself- I have non sewing deadlines coming out of my noodle. 2 reports to be done by tomorrow morning, bills to pay, a shower to plan, ski patrol duty twice a week and that play - oh that play. I am down to Tuesday evenings being mine all mine and I am getting a bit testy with people who even try to call me on that night.
pictures of the dresses in production have been taken - but I am on the wrong computer to download them. later !

Windows

2007-01-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Now that I finally have pictures that work, I have a reason to post!
I have never really liked the way our living room looks. The walls- blue- did not match the sofa and wing chairs at all. The room is not warm and inviting. Kate offered to paint the room over her Christmas break - lovely girl. We chose a warm green, with grey overtones. The room definately needed curtains though. Here are the windows bare.
There are 5 windows in total- three in the bay, one on an adjacent wall and a very large one where the front door used to be on the staircase. The photos are way too dark so you cannot tell that there is a 7inch molding and the top molding is curved, and there is a 5 inch window sill. We had the windows and molding custom made- read $$$$- and hate to cover it all up! - I will photoshop them later. 26 metres of silk and 5 metres of camel velvet later, I just had to decide on a "look" Simplicity 5474 was the answer.
Mom came over to help sew on Saturday so soooon they will be ready for hanging and the final picture!

Micaela and Kent

2007-01-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

Hmm for some reason my posts lately have been about our offspring - not sewing! Bear with me - I will get over it. Just be warned that I do have 5!
As well I have decided to make use of Picasa - the Google online photo album. Maybe now my uploaded pictures will not mysteriously disappear.
Micaela decided last month to move to Vancouver along with her boyfriend of 5 months. Yes, little miss "boys are stupid and only worth one date" and "dad you can eat his letter" ( an inside Christmas family joke about the Dutch tradition of giving out chocolate letters) has grown up!
She has worked hard the past 4 years, earning not one but 2 honours degrees - English and Phyc, and spending 6 months in South Africa. We really cannot now begrudge her an adventure!
We were sad to see her go but realized that this is what parents are supposed to do- raise their children to be the best possible people they can be and let them go. It is hard though.

The first is of Mic and Mike and I before she leaves. Notice the light streak- Kate and I also saw 3 shooting stars on the way to the airport- harbinger of good luck we hope.

Micaela and Kent at the airport - Mic in her new coat made by moi!

A Wedding to plan for....

2007-01-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Kate and Scottie got engaged on Christmas Eve- a real surprise for everyone - but we love Scott so it is a good surprise! They are hoping for October 20- if only the venue people would call back!
I have promised to NOT be the mother from hell! You know what - it is hard! We went to a bridal show last Sunday along with Scotts mother- Lorraine- it is really incredible how expensive and elaborate this whole wedding thing has become - if they took the contribution we are making for the wedding - they could put a down payment down on a house! And FOUR more to go after this one too!

So as chief (albiet self proclaimed) wedding dress designer and builder, I have been faithfully scouting patterns. I thought of this oneBut all I got was "Mom why do you have such a "thing" for the 50's?"

okay then- I showed her the one that has been above my sewing machine for 2 years...

...and I got "the look"

Okay I know when to shut up and sulk! I will show them to Erica - she and I have the same taste and she and Denis will be engaged....sooner or later!

"and it's been such a long long time.."

2006-11-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

It even isn't that life has been that busy. I blame my lack of posting on a simple lack of ambition! I know crazy that it seems, me, Connie, can not seem to get my head or body doing things I should be! That and people like Gigi and Ann and that Dress a Day girl - who actually had a vintage pattern that I am planning on making soon on her site ! (apx Nov 20-06) are so articulate and sew such beautiful things, that I feel pretty silly comparing myself to them.
Sewing wise I have been busy - Finally finished my coat, Micaela's coat, and a few necessary things for me.
Right now my baby is a vintage Mccalls - I will post a pic later. It is truning out quite nicely - who knows, I may even get around to reviewing it!
SO there! I have posted! Next post will be about my trip to New York City and the loverly fabric I bought there.

2006-08-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

A short post today - I know I haven't been posting much lately, however lack of MY digital camera (ahem Lauren!) limits somewhat the scope of what I want to say!
Thorndales Annual Garage Sale was today and I dragged a friend out to see what Thorndalites were pulling out of basements and garages this year. Sad to say only one place with sewing patterns. This cute circa 1972 halter/wrap I picked up for a mere 25 cents! Of course I had to have it.
Notice that it comes from the Northland Polka Dot. Remember Polka Dot - before Fabricland bought them out? The Northland store was the first fabric store I ever went to. Not the favourite- that was Duthlers (spelling?)in downtown London- according to my mother the "only" place to buy anything decent in the way of fabric. Of course it too went the way of the dinosaur!
Off to a wedding this afternoon. I hope the drycleaners has my silk dress ready! I will post a decent photo of it (once I get one LAuren!) and a Patternreview review as well.

A Simple White Tee

2006-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

What ever happened to my "Connie you may not start another project until all of your UFO's are finished"? I had good intentions - really I did. I am almost finished the livingroom pillows, the Cabo halter is - well it is on the sewing counter, the Hot Patterns Bianca Jacket (whispering) "I threw it out - I ACTUALLY threw it out!", Kates tshirt is awaiting the proper colour thread. So see there - I am almost caught up!
And it really is Patternreviews fault. If I hadnt signed up for the T-shirt class, I would never have dug out alllll my tshirt patterns and I would not have remembered that I want a shirt with a gathered front.
So I dug out some white fabric, an old New Look pattern 6779- and my trusty copy of Patternmaking for Fashion Design. Thanks so much for whoever made me purchase that book.
Here is a picture of what I wanted to achieve, and how I did it.
http://f7.yahoofs.com/users/Fw6iIF0FNDYu/__sr_/c0ae.jpg?

I did it a bit too well I am afraid. While the tee is definately wearable, it is a lot too gathered and the back neckline gapes horribly. Funny since I did not alter the back neck except to lower it a titch. I will post a photo later, and try to sew up a new version tonight.
....remembering that experiments are fun, Connie, FUN!

Spadea mail order - Vintage

2006-08-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/conniebontje/album/576460762318243377/photo/294928803166624270/1
In my quest for the "perfect" wrap dress- Okay I really crave the Furstenburg one but I refuse to spend $115!- I found this vintage number on Ebay and only spent about $5.00. "Spadea Couture Pattern # 73324- this Spadea Boutique wrap dress is a perfect version of the short formal. The plain sleeveless bodice crosses to the left side forming a V-neckline. The skirt is full and the left side is graduated to a tie at the waist."

Will I actually make it? ummm not sure - I am not a full skirt fan - these hips don't need more attention. I think if I draft a narrower skirt - but then can I still keep the flutter at the left side of the skirt?

I had never heard of the Spadea line before. The envelope is postmarked July 1976 from G Street Remnant Shop in Washington DC. While I found some other patterns out there, there was not a lot of actual info on the company. Here is what I did find
" Spadea was another of the mail order companies.
These patterns are among the most prized by collectors.
Many of the important and popular designers of the
1950s and 1960s designed patterns for Spadea, including
Ceil Chapman, Jo Copeland, Suzy Perette and Lachasse
of London."
That was from The Vintage Fashion Guild http://www.vintagefashionguild.org/vintagepatterns.html

Does anyone have any more info out there?

2006-08-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Let's see if I learned my "lesson for the day- how to post actual pictures as opposed to hyperlinks"!

This is supposed to be a picture of a dress that I am in love with for the fall. I am embarrassed to say that the fabric I bought for it is similar to the one in the photograph! The squares are a bit smaller. I think I bought enough fabric (yay Emmaonesock) to make some more city shorts too.
By George I think she's got it!

And all I wanted to do was sew

2006-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

(reposting this from an incorrect spot!)
But what did I actually do? Clean the house- by clean I mean stripped beds- 5 of them for goodness sake, organize the girl's rooms while they are gone for the summer, wash windows, scrub tubs, toilets, sinks, vaccuum ARRG! Maybe I won't even need the use of Flybaby a decluttering website that everybody in the word but me seems to have known about forever. How could I have missed it when one of the basic premises of the whole thing seems to generate from a book my mom gave me(YES she was hinting loudly!) at least 10 years ago. Did I think about sewing? oh yes, and caught up on all the lovely articulate blogs that I seem to be gravitating to lately. bad me - reading and writing about sewing is not going to get you new pretty things!So what am I working on - glad you asked, but be forewarned - pretty boring! Curtains for the Kate = yellow for her new bedroom and pretty green and white floral for her front door. A lovely Amy Butler Cabo Halter that I am making from a vintage black and white dress that used to be my moms, or my aunts, or maybe my grandmothers. I will post a picture when I am done. My next project is a few jackets, as I am taking a jacket lining course at Patternreview. One will be the Hotpatterns Bianca jacket, one a jaquard jean jacket and I also want to try a new Vogue Pattern.and now for the quote of the day....I am woman! I am invincible! I am pooped! ~Author Unknown

blogging

2006-08-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

One would think it was simple- think up a clever little blogger name, a password and voila- a blog that shows the world what an amazing, witty person you are! There are, however, the little things that seem to get in my way-
1. I forgot my signin for blog A
...so 2. I created a new blog.
That led to 3. I seem to remember one when I want to remember the other.
4. How DO you add pictures, side bars other peoples blog links

Oh it is way too hot 95.5 F according to the barn thermometer at noon! So instead of real posting (or sewing!) I am going to get all this blog stuff figured out. I am going to consolidate both sites. and get rid of one- hopfully the correct one!

Ahhh Vintage

2006-07-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Found this lovely dress in my pattern stash- I think it will be just the thing for the wedding in August Simplicity 2411 "Lovely afternoon or after -five fashion features a bodice with slightly curved front neckline that becomes a low, softly pleated drape in back. Bodice back extends slightly below waistline... Skirt has sim effect in front with soft pleats at waistline and back swept fullness achieved with pleats."

Now off to find fabric, print or plain? print or plain? and pick up some Vogue patterns that are calling my name!

On to the next

2004-11-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

on to the next