Absence of Sewing

So, it's been quite a few months since I've posted anything on the blog--or sewn much of anything, for that matter. That's been for both good and bad reasons. Let's start with the bad.

Stupid Freaking Back Pain

So, I have scoliosis, always have since middle school. Not really a big deal. But when you add two slightly herniated discs into the mix of a very curved spine, you get some annoying pain, and that's an understatement. In 2010 I went on a skiing trip and was on a really fast part of a hill. I got scared and the only way to stop was to fall. Unfortunately, I fell really hard on my left shoulder, and was stupid enough to do it three runs of the same hill in a row. I sobbed on the mountain, it hurt so bad--and that has only now, almost three years later, come back to haunt me. Around May, I started getting this awful, knife-stabby pain in between my left shoulder blade and my spine that only increased right after I moved to NJ. The skirt in the previous post was made during an off-week for pain, but this back pain basically ruined my entire summer. I was at the doctor and/or acupuncture and/or physical therapy LITERALLY ALMOST EVERY DAY, I kid you not. I got a steroid injection in August, and currently I'm day 2 in recovery from a procedure called a rhizotomy, which hopefully will be a more permanent solution. My back pain is so unpredictable, but luckily I have two pending project posts that I will put up as soon as I am completely healed (and the hems are done on the bottoms ;) ).

And, now for the good...

Waldo the Bun!

Meet Waldo, our sweet baby! We adopted him in September from the Warwick Valley Humane Society in New York after convincing our landlord to change his mind about his "No Pets" policy. Let me tell you, there could not have been a better bun for us! He is quirky, funny, and ridiculously cute. He is litterbox trained (yes, you can do that with rabbits) and has free run of the house when we are home. When we're not at home, he has his lovely condo to retreat to:

It's changed a lot since this first picture was taken, but I have my love and his carpenter brother to thank for all of the awesomeness. The rest is just storage cubes tied together with zipties. I definitely feel a lot less guilty leaving him because he gets to retreat here instead of a much-too-small, store-bought cage.

He is perfectly behaved most of the time, but bunnyproofing is an ongoing process, hence the halt in sewing as well. The sewing room has now become the bunny room. Now I must sew in the dining room, which is fine, but Mr. Cord Chewer has to be detained. I would feel WAY too bad closing his cage all day, so the other day--my first time sewing since we adopted him-- I just gated off my area of the dining room. He didn't like it, but he got over it after a little bit and went on his merry way.

The Set-Up

 

 "Hey, this isn't supposed to be here!"

 

So, alas, there be the reasons for my lack of sewing. Stay tuned, though-- I'll have a full report from my high- school-level sewers, a 1970 drop-waist dress, and (finally) the final result of this pattern.

For now, enjoy some cuteness, and again, stay tuned!

Hi

;

He's very tall when he stretches out!

 

And, lucky me, he's super snuggly!

Wishlist...Of Agony

So, if you've never visited http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com, you need to. It is a comprehensive and huge database of vintage patterns. Occasionally, I browse through to try and find inspiration for new projects. When I find a pattern that speaks to me, I try to find it online and buy it right away.

Today, though, the pattern gods don't want me to have these ones that aren't just speaking--they're practically screaming at me! Ebay, Etsy, and secret black holes of the internet have failed me and left me empty-handed:

McCall's 8332, 1966:

Isn't that HOT? I read that it was a copy of something Jackie Kennedy wore. What I wouldn't give to have this one on its way to me in the mail.

Next, Advance 3429: Mid-60s

To me, this looks like the perfect dress (view 2, the more flowy version). I searched and searched, only to find sold ones on Etsy. Sigh. Come on, internet, show me something good...


 

Vintage Simplicity 7352, Circa 1976: Wrap Skirt..and Curtains.

So, back in 2006, I bought this beautiful and awesome green and  blue paisley fabric with full intentions of making curtains for my off-campus house at school that I was about to move into. Due to a combination of laziness and, well, I don't know what else, that fabric sat there, I graduated, got a job, and HEY!--moved out of state and now, six years later, that fabric finally, finally came out of the Hancock Fabrics bag it sat in for all that time and dang it, I made some dang curtains for my [dang] dining room:

 Ah. Lovely, right?

I have always loved this fabric. Right up until the last second I even pondered, staring at it like a crazy person: "Do I make curtains or a dress with this? Curtains...dress....curtains................" We-ELL, lucky me, I had over a yard left and we all know that it doesn't take that much to make a skirt! Enter, Vintage Simplicity 7352: 

(Niet van mij.)

I think this is one of the first vintage patterns I ever acquired. It's highly likely that it came from the Drama Closet, which I raided (with permission) knowing that no one else would ever use them or appreciate them as I could. So, yay, I thought this one would be a quickie, but, however lovely that fabric is, it's a pain the butt to work with  because it doesn't hold a crease very well, no matter how hot you put the iron on. In any case-- here it is, and I love it! Perfect for summer, but you know I break the rules and wear stuff all year long and white after labor day and...yeah:

While I probably won't be seen often, if at all, wearing the vintage silver shoes with these, I thought they'd look nice for the blog. Love this pattern, definitely going to make more of this simple and fun wrap skirt. And yeah, I'm not ashamed to make clothes out of the same fabric as my curtains...just call me Maria Von Trapp ;)

The Fashion Show and All It Entailed

Part One

So, I've been saying for the last 3 years at Marley that I wanted to have an end-of-the-year fashion show for my Project Runway students. I mean, seriously--what better way to showcase students' hand-made projects? They are always so proud of them; they deserve to show them off to the public. But, between grad school and life and just plain ol' being busy, it never happened. But now, since I'm moving to NJ and won't be at Marley next year (cue tears and tissues... I am going to MISS MY KIDS), I knew this was the year it HAD to be done. I built it up from August all the way through April until THE month finally came: May. [Most] sewing projects done, time to plan.

Planning a fashion show for 50+ kids--and that's just the ones brave enough to walk the runway-- isn't easy. It's time consuming, stressful, but overall it is FUN. I wanted the kids to be as much the main planners as possible so they could take the credit. All six Project Runway classes (truly now over 100 kids) formed committees, made seating plans, wrote blurbs about themselves, made the order of the show, made advertisements, planned outfits, you name it--they did it. With semi-minimal harassment from me.

Meanwhile, I had to--NUMBER ONE--find a runway. Where does one get a runway? Well, thank God for Jericho Stage, Inc. These down-home Baltimore guys were angels in blue jeans (or, at least, I assume that's what these rugged-sounding guys wore). I said, "We have $200 to spend." They said, "Okay, it'll cost you $200 then"-- a huge discount. They were so great to work with. Thank God also for the people who volunteered to pick it all up for us and set it up, take it down, and return it, saving yours truly an out-of-pocket (yet discounted) $125 delivery charge. Three weeks of planning, lots of stress, put it all together, and you get this:

Oh, what fun. The kids got RAVE reviews from everyone. While I'm beyond excited about moving, I will be so sad to leave this better-than-great bunch of kids. This is what being a teacher is all about.

Part 2

So, it seems that I can never plan any kind of major event without torturing myself. I may or may not have mentioned holding a "WIN HOMEMADE PAJAMAS!" contest/incentive back at Christmas? Yeah. This was that, times a kaflillion.

I got the bright idea that, since we weren't charging admission, we could make money for the department by raffling off homemade items...homemade by me. And some students who left projects because they moved...but yeah, mostly me. Sigh. The main project was a quilt--the idea of which I'd been brainstorming my entire time at Marley--made from project scraps from student projects. I literally collected scraps and had the students cut squares from every scrap I could find. Every fabric in every square has a face and a name to me. After two years of kids cutting squares and hours of slaving away, making it up as I go along, I was so sad to raffle this off last Thursday:

 So much fun, and totally worth the aching back it (literally) gave me!

Part 3

So, the rule is, you can't be in the show unless you are wearing/displaying something you made! So of course that applies to me, too. Remember this?  Well, it switched to this:

Awesome, right? So I start it well in advance and then go to find I'm about a yard short (the layout for the pieces is weird). Of COURSE I bought it months ago and it doesn't exist at Joann's anymore; luckily, I found it online at Sweet Bobbins Fabric on Etsy. Man, are these guys my heroes! Here's why: when I found their store, they shipped it quickly and had great communication and the best customer service you could ask for. Then, when it came and I CUT THE PATTERN PIECE OUT WRONG(!!!!!!!!) like a moron, I needed more right away because the fashion show was approaching fast. Mike at Sweet Bobbins searched high and low for me, to no avail. Luckily (or so I thought) I was able to find the fabric in another online store; by the time Mike messaged me saying he had found more, I had purchased it already. I paid stupidly a lot for "TWO-DAY" shipping, which turned into THREE (a.k.a THE DAY BEFORE THE FASHION SHOW).

Fast forward to the evening before the show; I stayed at school until 5:30 finishing the quilt and other raffle items, came home only to find that the fabric I was sent was the upholstery version of the fabric. FAIL. What to do? Start over, of course. Completely new fabric, completely different pattern. Frantic rifling through my patterns to find a simple, yet awesome one. Enter Vintage Simplicity 8783, circa 1970:

(Not my picture)

I had made it before (not yet blogged about), the dress with flowy sleeves. I figure I'd try using the regular sleeves with a sheer fabric this time. Bad-a-boom! Fashion show dress:

 Shockingly, it only took me until 10:30pm to finish it. But, that's not what matters. The Fashion Show was a hit, the kids were adorable and had fun, and dang it, I'm going to miss them.

 

Skirt Mania

Who doesn't want to be able to make inexpensive, simple skirts in mass quantities and many varied styles? I know I do. The simple elastic waist skirt pattern (discussed here and tutorial here) have given both me and my students that opportunity. My girls LOVED making these skirts. Some made multiple ones. Girls who weren't even in the class would pay me money for fabric to make them. One of my favorite students (who is now going into high school...sniff sniff) loved one so much, and I had extra, that she made one too and we both wore them today. Total nerds--gotta love it! Oh how I wish I could post that picture. In any case, I highly recommend this project to anyone who is just starting out and wants to be able to significantly add to their wardrobe.

You can make it simple:

Or you can mix it up a little with ruffles and layers and such:

I saw that fabric at Joann's and just couldn't pass it up. Look closely and you will see that the flowers are 3-D-- they are sewn on and stick out and are AWESOME.

So, in conclusion-- cheap, simple skirts. Thank you, cheap Wal-Mart fabric...and overly priced Joann's Fabric! :)

Isn't Sunday Supposed to be the "Day of Rest"?

So, I'm a bit of a masochist. I like to punish myself knowing that it will cause more stress later. But--I do it for the good of my students, knowing it will benefit them more in the end. So, as you recall, last semester the 7th grade Project Runway kids tackled the infamous boxers. This semester, I REALLY wanted the girls to be able to do skirts. But, there are boys in the class too, don't forget--so they should get to do a boys' project. And some girls might not want to all do the same skirt. Or any skirt at all. So, that's when I had the bright idea to allow back sacks, simple skirts, and high-waist elastic skirts to all be constructed under one roof in one class at the same time. Crazy? Beyond.

So, things kind of caught up with me pretty quickly as I was out sick ALL of the last week in February and then I came back and realized, oh CRAP, I have not made ANY of the samples or student-friendly directions and they are starting on the projects like, NOW. So, today I spent my Sunday doing exactly that. I did get a wearable skirt of my own out of it, though. Five hours and three Power Points later, we have:


The Nylon Back Sack


The Regular Ol' Skirt...do forgive the strings I forgot to trim...


The High-Waist Elastic Skirt

While I admit that I was dreading spending all day at school when I'm normally alternating between sleeping and, well, SLEEPING on Sundays, I was very excited when I finished. The kids will be so proud of themselves when they finish these projects. All practical, all things they can use. A far cry from the useless drawstring bag I made in 7th grade Home Ec.

The Nylon Back Sack is waterproof and available from Haan Crafts. They've been around forever serving schools--my 6th grade Home Ec pillow was a Haan creation.

The first skirt is a simple, elastic-waisted (also non-vomit-inducing) and very easy skirt for beginning sewers. It can be purchased from Lama Sewing Kits, which is a great local business here in Maryland that serves its schools well.

The Elastic Waist Skirt came from another cool blog by a lady who does really great tutorials on a wide variety of sewing and crafty things; you can find it here.

Hopefully you won't see any "I'M GOING INSANE!" posts over the next few weeks... let's hope that my dear children actually use and READ the student-friendly instructions that I took my sweet Sunday to make for them and build their independence along the way!

Vintage Simplicity 5745- Wide-Leg Pants, Circa 1973

So, my hunt for the perfect pair of wide-leg pants continues. I've scoured the internet for quite a while in search of the perfect pair, and a few months ago, I found them--or so I thought. Behold:


Looking at this, I was too excited by the prospect of such an awesome fit and possibly making another pair of standard-crushing plaid pants to add to the collection. Click, add to cart, ship, receive...disappoint. Those dreaded words at the bottom, I did not notice before: "Sized for STRETCH KNITS only." NoooOOOooo. WHY? Oh, AND there's an ELASTIC WAIST? Ew. Okay, don't panic. This can work. Suggested fabrics include stretch wool/double-knit wool. Cool. Got it.

Hey, lady at Hancock, do you have knit wool? No? Oh. Off to JoAnn's. Hey, lady at JoAnn's, do you have any knit wool? No? It doesn't exist? What?! WHAT???!!!

So, apparently, many of the fabrics that these vintage patterns suggest don't really exist anymore unless you go to very highly specialized places that most certainly do not exist in any reasonable radius of my town. Sigh. No knit plaids. Nothing. I had to settle for the least sweatpants-like fabric I could find (which was a stretch...no pun intended) and I picked solid brown. It wasn't a difficult pattern. The elastic waistband isn't too vomit-inducing. But, like a dummy, I still lengthened them too much, had to do more hemming than I should, and threw off the proportion of the pants. I'm not too happy with them:


By the way, taking blog pics of garments is REALLY hard not to get a weird, unflatteringly gross angle.

I don't know. There's just something about them. They just don't lay right, I guess. And they still kind of feel like pajamas. Sigh. We'll see what I end up doing with them.

Garment Features:

Elastic Waistband
Hip-Hugger Waistline
Wide Leg Bell

Heinously Overdue

Oh, dear. It's March. I've been meaning to write since December. But, between school/work, grad school, and just plain ol' being BUSY AS CRAP, I haven't had a spare moment. Because I go to bed at 8 after doing all of these things...like the true decade displaced old lady that I am.

While I haven't had much time to sew for myself, I've received quite-a-many vintage-related gifts from Christmas until now that deserve just as much a spot on the blog as any handmade threads.

Gift #1: Christmas
The first (and the sweetest) came on Christmas. Mike and I were both admittedly strapped this year--both for ideas and for money--but he always manages to come up with the most thoughtful gifts, no matter what. Behold:



Can you say "Deadstock"?! Oh my goodness. I cried out loud for joy when I opened the ORIGINAL BOX...


...to find those. How cool are those? Too cool. How did he know what to get, you ask? Well, I had shown them to him on ebay, and he took it upon himself to get them for me. That was one sweet Christmas.

Gift(s) #2: From Ms. K, Queen Antiquer

Ms. K is my former English teacher and very good friend who so sweetly sends me random odds and ends with letters in our county basket mail every now and then. This year, she has bestowed upon me a variety of beyond-awesome vintage finds:




From the 40s and completely useful!




She knows me TOO well.



Amazing Valentine's Postcard, 1909



Vintage Buttons. I would love to know exactly how old they are!


Ms. K's vintage finds for me are always a hit. So personal and they REALLY make my day when I get them in the mail! The last batch came on one of the worst days of my teaching career. It was SO needed!

Gift #3- "Decades of Don'ts"...Hilarity Ensues


(Sorry for the rotated-ness. Blogger does that sometimes and I don't know how to fix it.)

Thanks to one of my friends at work, I had a day of gut-busting laughter simply from reading this book--which I HIGHLY recommend--which chronicles vintage mostly crocheted and knitted garments and the ridiculousness of them and the intentions behind them. You will pee yourself laughing as you read this, guaranteed.

So, I am thankful for those who were so kind to give these extremely personal and thoughtful gifts to me. They have my name written all over them, no doubt about that!