More of the Journey: Spring 2005 Was A Very Productive Semester

Mmm. This post is already giving me the warm fuzzies. My senior year of high school was a REALLY good time-- I had a lot of fun with friends driving around in my first and most beloved car, "The Zombie Mobile." (Is it pathetic that, as I just went to google pictures [I have none of it], that I started to tear up? I seriously LOVED THAT CAR!) The ZombieMobile, named because of my new and constant obsession with 60s British Invasion rock group THE ZOMBIES. (Side note: to read about seeing the Zombies LIVE and, oh, you know, 2 feet away from my FACE, check out my beloved Uncle's blog here. He co-owns Normal's Books and Records in Baltimore, which you should also check out!) So, The ZombieMobile looked just like this, but just picture Beatles and Zombies bumper stickers on the back:

(I take no credit for this picture. Not mine. A result of Google.)

Side note: hey people, buy Toyotas. Or Hondas. They last FOREVER. This one lasted 147,000 miles!! Sniff. I would give anything for it to not have died...Ahem. Anyway. Spring 2005, a great time, for the most part. One of the saddest parts, though, was a new major change in life: we had to move my Grandma--the one who taught me how to sew--into an assisted living home for Alzheimer's/dementia patients. If you have never known anyone who has had these diseases, count your blessings. It is beyond devastating to have to watch someone become a shell of their former self. I know someone whose grandmother had it for... at least 10 years, I can't even imagine; it was bad enough watching my Grandma deteriorate for a little over four. So, this was very stressful on our family; they had to sell the house (which one of my current students now LIVES IN-- a whole other story!) and empty it, and I was so grateful to receive her sewing machine- a 1970 Singer, the one she always had within my lifetime, the one I learned to sew on in her little sewing room with my cousin Tara.


(Again, not my picture. Taken from the Singer website.)

This is a GREAT sewing machine. Those old ones and their sturdy metal parts--as long as they're taken care of-- are like the Toyotas of sewing machines, if you will. Now, I could never figure out the attachments--particularly for buttonholes, WHEW!--so I did purchase my own Singer that summer or the summer after--but this thing with all of its spirit and strength helped me make a few cool things before I got my own. The first of those being my PLAID PANTS.


(Thought I had my own pic of this one, but alas... not mine. Taking no credit.)

Enter Vintage Simplicity 5291, Circa 1972.

This is another fantastic pattern. The lines are just so clean and simple, but so flattering that you just can't go wrong. This project is definitely another that's gotten a LOT of use. I saw these pants and immediately thought, "PLAID!" Plaid can be tricky, though-- you have to make sure that the direction of the plaid matches on both legs, for one; and if you pick the wrong plaid, it will just look like you are one of the following:

-A lumberjack
-Wearing Pajamas
-An avid golfer

instead of just being awesome. Well, I have yet to find a good plaid since this one, but behold:



Awesome brown plaid. These pants are amazing in every way and I have worn them on a regular basis since I made them in high school. They fit excellently because of two things: the top, instead of just having a waistband or a facing, has what's called a "yoke," which, because of the way the fabric gets put together, just makes it fit better. Secondly, they have a "hip-hugger" waistline--which is what I always look for when I use vintage pants patterns. As you may know, I'm not a fan of high-waisted pants (though am a reformed fan of high-waisted skirts; that's for a later post, though.) So, basically, these are massively comfortable and not too obnoxious. I do get quite the interesting array of comments from students when I wear them to school, though. Though many say, "Wow! I love those, I want a pair!", I have heard the following gems:

"Are you wearing pajamas?"

"Eeew. What's with those? And those shoes? Those shoes have GOT to GO!"

"Wow, Ms. Stewart. What's with those pants?"
(Same student, later in the class-- something irked me and I said "Oy" in response):
"'Oy?' That's almost as stupid as your pants."

Ah, middle schoolers.


Garment Features:

Hip-Hugger Waistline
Hand-stitched hem
PURE AWESOMENESS

P.S.- Towards the end of my senior year, when The Graduation Dress was finished, I started the jacket part of this pattern. It never got finished, sadly; it's in my closet somewhere... it would be really awesome to finish... better put in on the wishlist.