Too Sweet

Dear Readers,

I feel like I haven't been focusing on my blog very much lately. I'm so sorry. I had plans for a tutorial but just haven't gotten to it. I came down with a cold last week and the most I could do was get myself from my bed to the couch in order to have enough energy for work. Which by the way, I have two more nights and I'm done with having to work every night until next summer. Woohoo!

The other distraction that occurred last week was probably the best distraction ever. My husband got a job! He was laid off from his job of 25 years last August and has been on a roller coaster of interviews over the past year. Finally at the beginning of August the right company came along and after a month of interviews he was offered the position. We are so happy!! Thankfully we made some really good decisions when he lost his job and have been basking in our first year of marriage, despite the circumstances, so it hasn't been too painful. Needless to say, we've had alot of errands to run in order to get him prepared for going back to work. He will start work after Labor Day, so hopefully things will settle down then so I can get back to blogging.

And besides that cheering me up this past week, so did a wonderful fellow blogger. Mr. Tiny at Wacky Tacky awarded me with The Irresistibly Sweet Award!

So to follow in the footsteps of other blog awards I will state 7 facts about myself:

1. I am obsessed with the Hawaiian culture and the Country Western culture of the past...kind of an odd combo don't you think?
2. I love really large purses so I can stuff them full of crap and then hate myself every time I pick it up for just that reason.
3. When something grosses me out my belly button gets a funny feeling.
4. I am very afraid of my obsession with chickens for my kitchen, I think it might take over the whole house someday.
5. Outfits with fringe or fur make me happy because it always makes me wiggle and giggle.
6. My dog is so cute I can't stand it.
7. I'm a really good baker but wish that I was a better cooker.

Wow. That was not as easy as I thought it would be.

Well onto awarding this blog to fellow bloggers:
The Little Red Squirrel - I love her posts! She is fantastically creative and beyond cute. I look forward to her posts, whether it be about her sewing projects, embroidery projects, or adventures around Europe for her job. She's one sweet gal.
The Rockabilly Socialite - Dollie is just the bees knees! I love looking to her for inspiration in fashion, music and living the vintage lifestyle. Her home is amazing and she is great at shopping for wonderful vintage items!
By gum, By golly! - Tasha is just one of those gals I feel like I could have so much fun talking about sewing and knitting projects with. Plus she goes to great vacation spots that really appeal to my country heart and I love seeing her in cowboy boots!!

So thank you Mr. Tiny for brightening my week. I love the idea of my blog being irresistibly sweet!!!

Crocheted Cuties!

I've been working on a crochet project for the past few weeks and I finished it just in time! Every Friday night at work we have a "dress-up" theme as a way to have a little fun. I knew from the beginning of the summer the theme at the end was going to be Crazy Hat Night. And I knew just the hat to make. I had come across this Marvelously Mod Wig pattern in the Crochet Today Magazine a few months ago and it just tickled me. So I whipped three of them up, one for me and two for my girlfriends at work (I did two in the original color and one in black because one of the girls works on stage and has to wear black). The hats went together pretty quickly; I worked on them for about three hours every day for about a week to complete one.

All the curls are crocheted separately and then stitched onto the crocheted base.

The original pattern had a crocheted bow, but I wanted to change the texture and made a fabric bow.

Of course I dolled it up with my favorite color combo, red and turquoise!

Kisses and curls. Me and the girls, each with our bow choice of color.

Hammin' it up for the camera!

Gingham and Eyelet

My husband's daughter bought a sweet little pink gingham dress awhile back at a vintage store in Ventura, CA. She has been unable to wear it because she felt that it was too sheer. So she asked if I could help out. I said I could sew a layer into the skirt of the dress and that she could just wear a cami with it for the bodice, mostly because I wasn't too thrilled with pulling the dress apart to line it. So while in LA the other day I picked up some white eyelet. As I began pondering attaching it to the waistline I began to think maybe I should make it as a separate piece so that she could use it for other dresses...she loves to layer. So I gathered up the 3 yds, cut to sit an 1 1/2" longer then the dress, into a waistband (much like I did for the yellow eyelet skirt I made not too long ago). Super easy and now she has a petticoat to wear however she desires.

Dress with new layer.

Aren't the pin tucks such a sweet detail?

The petticoat on its own

The detail is great for that extra layer.

 What is most amazing sometimes is the label you find inside a thrifted dress.

Living close to the studios, this is not the first time I've seen their barcode in items that are in thrift stores. I've been in many of the large movie studios' warehouses, renting for theatres, and I always wonder "What could this item have been used for in the past?" I have to think this piece is quite old due to the fact it has a metal zipper and shows quite a bit of wear in the seams...I'm going to do some repairing to it before I give it back to his daughter. If only it could tell stories of where its been and who has worn it.

Well I hope my husband's daughter enjoys her new petticoat. She isn't aware of it yet, but I might be borrowing this dress from her in the future seeing as we are the same size(Score!).

Window of quiet

In our apartment complex they've been upgrading the apartments as people move out so there has been incessant noise for the past few months. Recently they started on the one right next door to us and its been driving me up the wall. This morning, for a change it was quiet, so i decided to make some Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins and a latte to enjoy on my patio. Apparently I was fortunate enough to catch the window of quiet because just as I took the last sip of coffee the banging began again.

Fabric District, Downtown LA

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live so close to the Fabric District in Downtown Los Angeles. I always think it is just too much of a hassle to drive into LA to shop for fabric, but then once in awhile when I get there I remember what I love about the place. I also forget that I am so fortunate to live so close to a fabric district. I know many people only have a Joann's to shop at or a local fabric store, which tends to not carry as large a selection of apparel fabric as we wish they would. I have a hard time shopping for fabric online because I really love being able to touch the fabric before purchasing it. So I guess I thank my lucky stars that I live about 45 minutes from a fabric mecca.

Today a group of us headed into LA  to do some shopping. I was looking for some fabric for a few dresses that I have planned for the next few months. I was also looking for a few things to do an upcoming tutorial. Mostly I was going to get inspired, to come home and plan, and then return in a few weeks to get the specifics.

So I thought I'd share a little bit of our trip today.

9th St. store fronts

So much to take in.

Boxes and boxes of zippers everywhere.

Stores stuffed full

There was so much sequined fabric, I really want to use it for a dress!

Aisles and aisles of trim. AZI Payless

Fringe!! Perial Company

This place is packed with feathers. Perial Co.

 

And more feathers. Perial Co.

And in every store, walls of fabric. L.A. Alex Inc.

 Well that was our adventure. I have plans for a tutorial post, hopefully up by next week.

Here are the addresses for the stores listed above if you are in the area:

AZI Payless (beads & trim)
800 S. Maple Ave. Suite 104 & 105
Los Angeles, CA 90014

L.A. Alex Inc (fabric, mostly polyester but you can find some cotton in the mix)
416 East 9th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Perial Company (fringe, feathers, ribbon, trims, masks, beads, rhinestones, buckram hat bases)
908 S. Maple Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

The Old West

I'm a country girl at heart...I love my country music, southern cooking, a man in a cowboy hat and my cowboy boots. Oh and I love a shirt with fringe!
One of my favorite fashion icons for vintage country wear of the big screen is Dale Evans.

Roy and Dale Evans, how cute is she?!

Well the other day I did my best to channel Dale Evans

Shirt: H Bar C, thrifted
Skirt: thrifted
Boots: Corral's from Cavender's in Austin, TX

Off to work I go

 At work we decided to have a dress your favorite decade night. Now this, of course, is not a real stretch for me, but I did have a decision to make seeing as my wardrobe spans through a few decades. I decide on the 1940s, and mostly because of the fashion (although I don't wear too much from this decade). There was so much attention to detail, which I just love! Bound buttonholes, amazing darts, pockets, the fit of clothing, hats, gloves, shoes, hair, oh how my list can go on. What I also love about this decade, although it was due to a war, was women being put to work and wanting to do so much for their country. And although, after the war, women were put back in the home I believe this was a true turning point for women. Women went to work, learned what it felt like, and wanted more. So even though it took another full decade and then some to get back into the work force, the bug had bit them. So in honor of these honorable women who served for their country I choose to dress the part.

Coveralls: My Baby Jo
Shoes: Thrifted

Sky blue and lemons

I couldn't resist some lemon yellow eyelet that was on sale at Joann's the other day. I attempted to make a dress with it but wasn't really happy with the bodice. So I just did a gathered skirt and have plans to do a blouse using the yellow for trim. I think this is a much better plan since I will eventually have a skirt set with the option of using the two pieces separately...as I've done with the skirt for this post.

Deco Palm Fronds

I've been sitting on this fun cotton fabric for awhile that has a art deco feel to me...and kind of looks like Palm Fronds. Then last week I purchased a beautiful, pleated, olive green skirt from Raleigh Vintage on etsy. When I got the skirt I instantly thought of that fabric and how it would make a great blouse for the skirt. So I searched through my pattern box...and being so excited to get a new blouse I didn't want to deal with one that had buttons, so I decided to use the bodice from Vintage Vogue's reproduction pattern 2402. I'm really happy with the results. I'm also realizing this is a great way to do a "muslin" on a bodice for a dress before cutting it from fabric that I really care about. I got lucky and this fit me perfectly straight from the pattern. It was a really easy bodice to put together and quickly. I think now I need to make a fun hat that has the same movement as the design in the fabric.