Pretty much everything I sew takes an strange amount of time; it's usually years, about a month, or a day (or two). I've found that there's a definite correlation in how long a project takes me to finish, and how much I like the final product. The longer I put it off, the more I despise it. Even if I loved the idea all that time ago. This dress was different for some reason. I cut the pieces to make a shirt (what is now the top portion of the dress), made a few seams and put it away, not too psyched about finishing it. Last week I decided that it was time to face the sad little quarter finished top. It was ill-fitting and just sort of gross. Then it hit me; A DRESS! Make it into a DRESS!

i love the cotton gauze/lawn used for the yoke. it's been in my stash for at least a year, and this was its time.

sporadic pintucking detail on the outer skirt.

There are still TONS of conscious-but too-lazy-to-fix mistakes, but I'm at least lukewarm toward it despite them and the time I let the project sit around. It'll be fun to wear with boots through the fall. Now I just need to make a giant snuggly sweater/cardigan number to accompany!

/five ingredients to golden-baked goodness!

Okay, so I love to browse food blogs. No big surprise there, it's widely known that I have extra warm fuzzies for food, especially of the baked variety. The problem is, that pretty much everything that looks jaw-droppingly tasty (not hard with those faaancy cameras every blogger on Earth seems to have) requires a trip to the store for some super special & delicious ingredient, which just sours my mood. My cooking and/or baking mood. Not cool.

Today I came upon a recipe unlike most; just the idea of it made my mouth water, let alone Joy the Baker's impeccable photo-accompanied instructions and amazing video. And I didn't have to make a trip to the store. FIVE ingredients! The recipe... soft pretzels from Gourmet magazine (RIP).

Soft pretzels and Gap tie for my most fond memory of the mall in middle school, so how could I resist? I couldn't, I just couldn't. The end result was soooooo GOOD. Go forth and make pretzels!

post-boiled, pre-baked. lots of steps for these guys, but well worth it! these were topped with sea salt, sesame seeds & parmesan. parmesan was my favorite mall pretzel ever.

golden deliciousness. make sure to use parchment paper though! I really didn't want to go to the store.

eaten pretzel #2. it went well.

/katie + jason: wedding snapshots!

prototype poufs, made by me. inspired by martha, of course.

me, cousin sarah at the rehearsal dinner

waterproof mascara time, after i put on her veil i made of russian netting and vintage lace. it turned out beautifully! i love, love, LOVE her dress & the back is my favorite part.

tea favors! goji berry or sunflower black, if you like.

poufs realized! there were four different clusters around the tent.

tables up-close. not the best photo ever.  table runners finished courtesy of my new serger & its rolled hemming capabilities! (oh, and my free time.) old milk bottles courtesy of my aunt peggy &and her late husband's penchant for collecting random stuff and stowing it away in a barn. sweet & sentimental.

bride & bridesmaids.

favor table. thrifted tea plates & jars of tea. sign by me.

the ceremony

sweetness from let them eat cake. coconut cake layered with chocolate & bailey's cream. YUM.

dirty milk bottles at aunt peggy's, stored ever so snugly in a barn for half a century at least.

we spent a lot of time cleaning these- she has hundreds, and is donating them to the local museum!

/songs about clothes: Dolly

Today I was listening to a little Dolly, when the song “Coat of Many Colors” came on. AH! This is a truly beautiful song, one of those that makes me shed a single tear pretty much every listen. Yeah, I’m a sap like that. That voice, with her solid storytelling lyricism and heel-tappin’ rhythm… it’ll get you!  It definitely brings to mind some of the reasons I went into fashion in the first place; it’s so beautiful, personal, sentimental and expressive, rooted in who you are and where you came from. Well, everyone knows Dolly gets fashion. I mean, pretty much everything in her wardrobe has to be custom made (that chest:waist is not industry standard, people) so it’s obvious she’s got the personal and expressive elements down, at least. ;)

 

Anyway, “Coat of Many Colors” got me thinking. I knew there had to be more songs with the same sentimentality in my library that I was forgetting, and went on a mission to find every one! In the end, there were plenty of  songs that had a connection to clothes, however vague those connections were. I'll get around to posting each of them eventually! I'm trying to get into sewing mode to finish a ton of half done & fully dreamt up projects, so now I have the perfect new soundtrack. Go!

/scan session

Hooray, my sister got married on Thursday! Everything was incredibly beautiful, especially the weather which decided to behave exclusively for the wedding day.

Among my numerous duties for this day (making table runners, washing vintage milk bottles, hemming dresses, making the bridal veil...etc.) was scanning a few photos for their slideshow. Naturally, I got a bit distracted and scanned a good amount of the sketchbook I kept senior year of college.

Photos of the wedding are certainly to come, but in the meantime here are some quick sketches of a few Viktor & Rolf looks from various seasons. Last year I checked out this book from the school library and don't know why it's still not a part of my permanent library! Viktor & Rolf are my absolute perennial favorites.

In no way do these sketches give justice to the real looks, but I think they're sort of fun.