Limbs and head flopped out to sleep. Looking d-e-d.Filed under: Love it, Sewed it | Tags: company, movie, Rosalind Russell, sewing, UHF
I finished the top of my niece’s fuschia(!) Christmas dress, according to pattern. I took forever and a lot of care, binding the seam allowances and carefully topstitching. Since I always want to finish(!) projects(!) already(!), I promised myself I would only do the top last weekend.
Even better, I didn’t print out the tiered skirt tutorial so there’d be no temptations.
EVEN better, a kooky movie starring Rosalind Russell as Mother Superior was on the old UHF — Where Angels Go, Troubles Follow.
Hip shindigs, mod dresses, nuns looking fabulous and learning about modernity…
How is Rosalind *so* glam in a black habit?
No se. Has to be the sunglasses?
I love mindless movies to sew by — Svengoolie’s selections being my favorite. A good radio story works, too. A little Sewing By Nancy on PBS? Music’s ok sometimes, but I prefer a story.
Does anybody else sew to anything in particular? Songs, movies, TV? Silence?
My sewing machine’s broken. A rubber cog lost some teeth. The thing is older than Jesus so I can’t say I’m surprised. Pulled the bottom off last night after the needle kept jamming and found, among half a pound and 30 years of lint, the worn-out spot on the cog. All I could think was
Damn! This timing stinks since I have Monday off and a couple of projects to finish.
But then:
W’shew! It didn’t break in April when I was under the gun on my wedding dress.
Anybody know where a girl in Chicago can get an old Singer repaired?
Filed under: Fixed it | Tags: dress, get out of jail, sewing, shoes, wardrobe refashion
Time to play this card. I bought a few new things from a retail store. The Filene’s Basement near my job is closing, and the sales are amazing. I confess I got sent there to talk to shoppers about how they were resisting or succumbing to going-out-of-business sales, and while in the shoe department, fell in love.
So I walked out with black leather shoes with heels I’ve coveted that at $35 are a whole digit less than the Nordstrom originals. A WHOLE DIGIT. Like a zero on the end. The teal was cute but impractical. You can imagine my excitement at spotting these.
A swingy square neck black knit dress with inbetween sleeves in year-round weight that was $6 when all the discounts kicked in
Also various brand-name underwear. Truth is, I might go back for more.
Though I have to put my card down, there’s no guilt for this girl. Because I still thought like a Refashioner while choosing these few things. They’re well-made and only cost so little because the store is liquidating. All three are needs – the shoes will go to work, the dress is super versatile, underwear speaks for itself – and all three are beyond my skill set as a crafter.
Sure, I could focus on sewing knits, but I’ve decided to sew my own wedding dress (more to come on that process), and am making that happen as we speak, so time for any other sewing just doesn’t exist.
In fact, my big refashion this week is a pair of brown leather boots that needed a tiny adjustment to be comfortable again. A lousy $1.35 is all it took. How lazy have I been, really?
You ready for this one?
Right.
Filed under: Fixed it, Made it, Scavenged it | Tags: Life on Hoyne, purple, refashion, sewing, table
I used to have a dining room.
It’s now my work space, home to files and a printer and a few spots to post ideas and deadline reminders and all.
Computer sits on this small table pulled from an alley when it still was green and had a narrow shelf underneath. The shelf since has been dropped, redrilled and bolted on and the whole thing a stunning shade of purple found on the Home Depot Oops paint table. Scanner machine fits underneath now, and the alterations are less apparent.
I can’t sew right now. I’ve knitted a tiny bit while watching TV news, but I don’t feel like I have the luxury of crafting quite yet. Soon, I hope, once the chips have fallen and I have a productive daily routine.
At least I’m finishing something.
Filed under: Do it, Refashioned it, Sewed it | Tags: bike, dress, meltdown, Minna, sewing, writing
I had a minor wardrobe meltdown this morning. Couldn’t find anything that worked. Granted, it wasn’t my usual office situation. I had to go to a writing conference full of people I’d never met, and I was riding my bike into the Loop instead of taking my car to the usual suburbs.
Nothing fit quite right. Most skirts were out because I couldn’t find any plain black tights without any holes. Wide pants are too tricky to bike in. Finally I came up with something, but it irked me that despite a closet of clothes, nothing was right. I think there’s too much clutter in there, too many distractions that seem like feasible options but for some reason, aren’t.
I’m going to an awards dinner tomorrow (Friday) night. A story I did at my last job – a piece I’m so proud of about notoriously and heartbreakingly corrupt suburban cops – is nominated among Chicago media. Sweet. But that same anxiety is kicking in – how do I look as proud as I feel, in bike-able gear?
I thought all week about making a dress from black jersey I bought in Philadelphia and am crazy about. But I haven’t been able to make anything right lately, and I’m so scared of ruining this chunk of fabric. My Minna top zipper broke so I’m going to have to redo it (no, it won’t repair. already tried that). And I made up a cute cap mockup in scrap denim but it was too small. Tried to do it again, paying closer attention to the pattern, but the second one turned out too small too. I’m scared of spending precious free time on projects that will leave me more frustrated than when they were still optimistic possibilities.
Maybe it’s just one of those nights.
