Who needs a cottage!

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

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?!!!!

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

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...

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.

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

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!

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

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??!!!

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

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!

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

- 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

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!

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

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!

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"

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

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!

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!