I'm Taking the Pledge!

I groan and die a little inside every time I hear the first Christmas carols playing over the PA at my local pharmacy the day after Halloween.  Yep.  They don't even wait until after Thanksgiving anymore.  I can rant for pages about how I hate what the holidays have become, but instead I will sum it up in that the over-consumerism, over-commercialized bullsh!t really makes me strongly dislike the holiday season. I begrudgingly buy into it because I'm told I have to buy buy buy, otherwise I'm a bad person.  So this year, I'm going to keep my money out of the pockets of the big corporations that are spending millions to try to get me to buy their latest POS.  

I've threatened to do this in the past, or tried halfheartedly before and failed, but this year I'M GOING TO DO IT!  I have decided that I do not want to buy impersonal mass-produced presents for my loved ones this holiday season.  I am going to attempt to make presents for everyone this year.  If I need to buy something (materials for instance), it has to be used.  The benefits are twofold: not only am I going to be giving a unique gift, I am also reducing my carbon footprint, something that I always try to be conscious of.

Classic Cloche by Behida Dolic

Though still challenging, I admit this won't be extremely hard in regards to my female gift recipients.  But I do have a very special male giftee and I would have to make something for him, too.  That is going to be tough.  (So if anyone has any suggestions, they are much appreciated!)  

                                 

Nesting Scallop Bowls by Element Clay Studio

Overall, I've always had a tough time finding or coming up with great presents for people.  Even with my life-long crafty skills I've been a buy-you-a-gift-card or just-tell-me-what-you-want-and-I'll-buy-it-for-you gal.  But I'm going to change!

  

A Very Young Calf 
by everyeskimo

So who's going to join me?  If you think you can't make something yourself, you have two options: 

1. Learn how to make something simple via great DIY online tutorials. 

Try design*sponge, Craftynest, Craftster, Crafting A Green World, just to name a few. 

OR...

2. Support an artist/craftperson by buying something handmade and unique.  Etsy has an incredible selection.  I've included some great gift ideas from Etsy sellers in this post.  

  

Little Faceted Silver Studs
by miki and nora

Go one step further and get something local.  Chicago has a great holiday market every year, the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale.  In New York, Artists and Fleas hosts the Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar.

Personal Flight Bag 00
by Matt Shallenberger

So check out what your city has to offer.  I guarantee it will be a lot more interesting and fun than going to your local mall.  And you won't have to listen to the cheesy muzak renditions of christmas carols [shudder].

I know it's a bit early to be thinking about this already, but if I have to make all my presents, then I better get crackin'.  

Pygmy Marmoset Print by
 Berkeley Illustration

Take the handmade pledge!  Give the people you in your life something unique that says "I put a lot of effort into making/selecting this gift for you".  ♥

           

Geometricity: New Embroidery Project

Ok, so I've always been a bit of a math nerd.  I had a knack for the numbers, but I think it all came down to the alluring elegant solutions.  When the puzzle pieces fit just right, when there can only be one possibility for x... Tessellations, the golden mean, fractals, and just simply geometric patterns...  Where math becomes beautiful.  In the end, all art is made up of molecules and atoms and is constantly vibrating and falling into patterns that might not be immediately apparent.  It can be soothing and pleasing to the eye even if it appears to have no tangible structure.  It's no wonder that I ended up becoming a sound engineer (my "day" job): it combines the technical with the creative.

I recently picked up The Geometry of Art and Life by Matila Ghyka, and can't wait to crack it open.  I won't let myself until I finish this current read.






I have rough sketches inspired by this train of thought: nautiluses, schematics...still waiting to get polished.  A recent one that I've finished is this geometric pattern:

I have a deep fuscia/purple skirt that is currently being rehabbed that I've been planning to embroider and its day has now come.  Here's the design being imprinted on the skirt with carbon paper.

I decided it would look most striking in my new favorite color combo: turquoise, silver/gray, and yellow.   So on the hoop the skirt goes...

And finally, Random Photo of the Day:

Went to the Leu Gardens yesterday.  Was surprised to find that yams grow on trees.  Someone please tell me what the f@¢k I'm looking at, please.  Thanks.

Slate Gray & Mint Dream

My sewing machine is in the hospital!  I've had to put on hold quite a few projects, including some that were for my own closet and wanted to get done before I left for vacation.  I had to stick to stuff that didn't need machine sewing.  Enter drab 50's-style dark gray dress.  Cinched waist, full pleated skirt.  I had just a few hours to get it up and running and pack it for my trip.  I salvaged some awesome mint green pearlescent buttons from a vintage raincoat to replace the 3 buttons on the front of the dress that were black.  I also cuffed up the sleeves and added cuff buttons.  You'll be seeing me in this one around town!

New Blouse Sneak Peek

I'm in Boston for a few days so the rehabilitation process has been put on hold for a few.  I recently got some GREAT blouses in some GREATER patterns and snapped a few close-up pics.  Proceed....

...Carriages!  And gas lamps!  And motorbike-type-things!  

Striking vintage Asian-patterned print blouse.  It's hand-sewn and looked to be quite old but was missing all of its buttons.  Why would some @$$ take all the buttons and leave the blouse?!

Well luckily, looking through my stash I couldn't believe that I found the perfect buttons.  Pearlescent black-gray, they match so damn well.  They're salvaged from the navy silk blouse on the right that was used for the belt for this dress.  Serendipitous!  Ok, maybe this is all boring sh!t, but if you can't tell, I love reusing and repurposing.  So if one blouse can be upcycled to make a belt for a dress and supply buttons for a blouse, then I feel like I've happily done my tree-hugging duty.








And just for fun...barn swallows!  Shot at Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan.  Apparently, if you get too close to their nests, they dive down, come within inches of your face and chirp loudly into your ear.  At one point, a swarm had descending on me.  Cute little buggers get defensive, I guess.

From Farmer's Daughter to Admiral's Mistress

My latest dress rehab is too hot to let go of, but sadly it is a bit small on me.  So look for it on Bombshell Rehab in the next few days.  The navy and gold combo give it a military feel and it's so utilitarian with the side pockets!   

When I first came across this dress, it was too long (almost ankle-length), its buttons were chipped, and had some pilling that made it look more worn than it really was.  It was downright dowdy...but I saw potential in its great pencil shape.

I took 9" off the bottom and put in a new blind hem.  Fortunately, I was able to retain the back-slit. It also got a thorough pill removal that gave the fabric new life.

The chipped buttons were replaced with gold crest buttons salvaged from an old blazer and placed lower down to allow for a racer-back look with the straps.

The finishing touch was a vintage belt that seems to have been made for it: textured black and navy leather with a gold buckle in an abstract shell shape.

I feel like an Andrews Sister in it!

70s Strapless Dress

As you can see below, I've been working on converting this groovy 70's skirt into a strapless dress.  It is now finished and will be up at Bombshell Rehab soon!

After putting in the elastic waist, I went on a hunt to find a belt.  Not finding one, I salvaged the fabric from a beautiful navy silk blouse to make the sash belt.  It has a paisley iridescent pattern that matches the iridescent polka dots in the dress. The 3"-wide belt has some interfacing in it so that it retains its structure while the ends are free flowing so that you can tie it any way you like.

Rehab Projects

I finally got a sewing machine (in December).  It's so nice to not have to sew everything by hand anymore and take the trip down memory lane to when my mother taught me how to use one waaaay waaay back when....


Since then I've pulled stacks of clothing out of my closet to alter...stuff that would normally end up collecting dust or being given away because it was ill-fitting.  Now I've been hit with the upcycling bug, so as I've been thrifting and shopping I haven't been able to pass up some great finds that just needed to go into Rehab. 


Here are a couple of projects that I've worked on over the last couple of months.  Some of them I couldn't part with and ended up in my closet, others will end up on Bombshell Rehab.  If you're interested in something, shoot me an email and I can let you know when I list the item.

This pair of funky leg-warmers was fashioned out of a thrift wool sweater and a pair of (new) socks.  Cut the sleeves off the sweater and the tops off the socks and voilà!  (Credit goes to Born-Again Vintage for the brilliant idea.)

I bought this pencil skirt at Guvnor's, a very neat store in Brooklyn, NY.  It fit me like a glove, but was a few inches too long to look right for my legs.  

When I hemmed it up, I realized that there was a silky burgundy slip sewn into it that now extended past the hem of the skirt.  Originally I was planning to hem it up out of sight, but actually dug the look of it and sewed on the lace trim to snaz it up even more.

This was an old shirt that I always passed up on wearing because it was too short for my torso and looked boxy, but loved the screen-print so couldn't put it to pasture.  

I had some turquoise fabric that was left over from a shirt that I had deconstructed.  The pieces were from the ends of ties, so I had half the work already cut out for me to covert the boxy tee into a tank.  The end result was a sexier, better-fitted top that is now in my regular rotation!

New favorite outfit:

I loved the pattern on this vintage calf-length skirt, but didn't dig the frumpy look of it.  I figured it would look really good as a strapless dress.

I've been really into elastic waist dresses lately.  As a girl that has a hard time getting a dress that fits both my bust and hips properly but also needs the well-defined waist to prevent potato-sack-syndrome, they are a god-send!

So in goes the waist that the elastic will get sewn onto.  Now to find that perfect belt to go along with it.....