coral pink & fox red

Top of the morning to you, dear readers! Today I have my finished nightgown to show you - and a few victorious hair photos :]

At a clothing swap in the fall, I obtained this wonderful little nightgown - but since it was a very thin "summery" thing, I wasn't in a huge hurry to do the alterations. It seemed to fit nicely for the most part, except for the width. It definatly needed some taking in on the sides!

I decided to take in 3in on each side but keep the length because it would be more comfortable longer. I also was excited to use my zig-zag stitch - a stitch that would work well with the stretchy pink material.  I played around with the width and frequency of the stitch on some scrap material until I got the settings just right. Its always important to adjust your stitch the the material that your working with.

So after a few snack breaks and multiple record flips, the nighty was sewn! And having the evening to myself, I practiced making victory curls in my hair. It was alot of work, but I did it! I always wanted to do them but my hair wasn't long enough, until now!!

I felt so regal in my new do and couldn't help taking some dramatic pictures in it :] I even brought out my red fox fur to pose with! I think I had alittle too much fun haha..

Well I hope to start working on my next project in a couple weeks when my weekend class is over and I have a bit more free time. Meanwhile I want to show you some goodies I found, and take some outdoor photos because the weather has been so nice! And as a matter of fact, I am going to be in Detroit this week, so I'd love to show you my adventures there. 

So ta ta for now :]

Grace Marie

f i n a l y : s e w n

Hello there gang! Its finally spring break and I have a chance to do some posts. Here is the finished green skirt - and the green earrings that I featured last time!

So, I have a story to tell you. When I originally finished the skirt I wore it out to Dakota Inn, a german bar in Detroit, and before the polka band started playing.. my skirt ripped. The notorious back seam started a slow accent from my knees to my toosh! Once again I found myself in an awkward predicament. With a lucky save from my friend Julie, I quickly scattered off to the bathroom with two safety pins when "POP"... the hook from my clasp snapped off! So there I was, in the bathroom with a feisty skirt falling apart in public. Oh no!

I don't know how I would have made it through the night without Julie - once again she came to my rescue, this time bearing a needle and thread. I think I learned my lesson: always carry a repair kit because you never know what's going to happen!

So here is the re-mended skirt - this time I gave it a larger slit in the back and went over the seam twice.

What I really love about this skirt is that it can be easily dressed up or down. Here is how I wore it out today doing errands!

Another fun find I made since the last post was three beautifully designed records. I found them at my favorite antique store in Royal Oak. On that fateful friday, my mother and I went out to check out a fabric store in that area, searching for materials to make my 1957 dress out of. We stopped by to take a look and I picked up these beauties for a handful of change. (I'm so glad I did!) I adore the simplistic designs and smart use of color :] 

The "Russian Fantasy" one reminds me of my favorite designer, Javier Garcia's "Hail to the King"illustration.

And on a new and exciting note: I just printed my first official business cards - I really had fun designing them. I bought my domain name, but still need to finish designing my website. I hope you'll look forward to it's completion!

So thats it for now gang - I just started altering the pink nightgown and will finish it up by the end of the week :]
Ta ta for now,
Grace Marie

s e w : g r e e n

Hello there! Im back again with another post - and this time I squeezed in a quick project that I haven't mentioned before. I found this gorgeous green skirt at a second hand store, and I couldn't resist spending a few nickels and dimes on it. It was made by a seamstress with moderate experience who never ended up cutting the zipper to its needed length and who - apparently was a wild dancer like me - because the back seam was ripped from bottom to top!

So seeing how all I had to do was repair the back, hem the bottom to a suitable length, and cut the zipper, I figured it would be a quick fix! I was so excited to wear my new skirt and I originally didn't plan blog about it - but after trimming off 6in in length, my better judgement won and I started documenting my mini project.

** sorry gang! this "before" photo is after I cut off some material. It was ghastly long and was just too much green for one outfit to handle! But in this photo, the skirt is still not hemmed to it's correct length yet.**

I also am excited to introduce my sewing machine to you! I have been working on my mother's many machines up until now - because my machine was hidden in the dark and cold basement (which is not a nice working environment). So I gave it a spit shine and re-located it upstairs where it's warmer and I can get better aquatinted with it. It is a little japanese made machine by DeLuxe - with a "Dress Maker" logo on it. 

My mom made a little pin cushion when I first started sewing over 2 years ago, and it sits on top of my machine. She has a big lumpy red one that sits on her machine too - in the same spot :]

So after I cut the extra material away, I had to decide how long I actually wanted to keep the skirt.. decision - decisions! I decided to take the length up 2in and leave a 3in slit in the back for movement. 

Part of my purpose for this "green" post was to show you my newly thrifted green skirt - but the other reason was to make a point which I feel is my duty to make.

Many people have asked me,"why vintage? what's the big deal?" when it comes to my personal style and things I like. I'm actually glad when people ask me such questions because it gives me a chance to show them the reasons why these things are important to me. Now I'm sure for some people, "vintage" is just a trendy thing or a word to throw around be "hip". That is not why I like vintage clothing and antiques. That is not why I go thrifting. And to keep things clear, I'm not saying that I am right and others are wrong, I am just saying that vintage clothing and accessories can be many things to many people - but here is what it is to me.

Going to second hand stores is like treasure hunting to me - you never know what goodies are hidden, or what items you will find! I believe the sayings "One man's trash is another man's treasure", and "The more time you spend looking for something, the better it is when you find it" apply quite well :] Second hand stores, vintage & antique shops, and flea markets provide an array of items to choose from - and most of the things I find are completely unique! I rarely find another girl wearing the same dress, or another friend owning the same chair. Its a boundless resource of inspiration!

Another reason why I value vintage clothing is because they were made better! Most of todays clothing is made with cheap fabrics that pill up, tear, or are made for a couple months use and then thrown away. These garments were not made to last, nor were they created to be altered to fit you personally. And what's most shocking of all, is that most of today's clothing is designed to look good on a hanger - not on your body. They rely on the consumer's mentality to grab it off the hanger and purchase it without even trying it on. Thats really nuts :O 

Consumers in the past demanded better quality and got it! I think people used to be alot "greener" with their clothing because their clothes were meant to last. They bought garments that would be taken to a seamstress to be altered to fit them - to their own bodies! (Thats why alot of vintage clothing has wide seams and looks awkward on hangers. Its because you're meant to wear it, and keep wearing it!) I personally can attest to this - I have a gorgeous 1950's evening dress that doesn't look like much when its sitting in my closet, but when I put it on and straighten my posture - it lays on me like a dream :] Vintage clothing tends to make me look and feel my best while lasting for many years to come!

But my favorite reason for wearing vintage and collecting antiques is that it sends me back in time. I am a modern day time traveller!! 

My work as a graphic designer is also inspired from the past. I have been asked why I repeat some of the same elements that were characteristic of its own time, and why it applies today. My answer is that I believe that some things from the past are needed again today. I think many of the points that designers tried to drive home in "yesteryear" still apply - any many of them are lessons we need to re-learn. So in order to create a better future, designers need to think about what the world needs, and answer it for the good of all mankind! 

P H E W ! ! ! I hope I didn't rattle on too much :} Here are a few other green goodies that I found.

The earrings are a recent purchase, and the sweater is something I've been trying to find things to wear with. Perhaps I could wear them both together with that greeeeen skirt?.. too much green?.. I think so too. I promise to snap a photo of the finished skirt for my next post.

Project time: 2ish hrs 

Snack times: 2 (including dinner)

Cost: $3

Time wasted ranting: too long.

I hope you'll look forward to my next project: the pink nightgown!

well ta ta for now :]

m a r v i n 's : m o n k i e s & f o r t u n e : f i s h

Hello kitties! I figured since the last post was a tutorial, I might do something more personal this time. Last time I left you off at the finishing of a bow tie and pocket square. Today I'll start with the beginning of a secret date that Andrew took me on - the one in which I gifted him the freshly sewn items!

After the gifts had been given (and Andrew placed his new pocket square in his blazer pocket), he drove + blind folded me to our secret date spot -- which was ....

MARVIN 

MARVELOUS 

MECHANICAL 

MUSEUM!!

I wore my vegan mink scarf, a 1960's beaded clutch, and a pair of tuliped gloves that were a recent find at a second hand store. And what better place to wear a striped skirt than Marvin's? The entire place felt like a circus!

For those of you that are not familiar with Marvin's, it is a museum of vintage coin-operated machines from the early 1900's and on! We had both been hankering to go there, and it was such a wonderful surprise date. The walls were covered with old neon signs, the machines wove around the place like a maze, and the ceiling had an army of toy planes that would fly around the entire place if you placed a quarter in the right slot!

We spent the afternoon playing pinball, winning tickets, and exploring the hundreds of machines with our little cup filled with coins. I played tick-tack-toe against a chicken, Andrew faced the 3 terrifying trials from the 1930's, and we ate hotdogs and soda pop!

After winning tickets from the tick-tack-toe chicken and watching a "scene from the Spanish Inquisition", we came across a 1950's machine that had a monkey band inside. As I took a coin from our cup and placed it into the slot, the lights started flashing and the little musicians started playing! I don't know why but I instantly fell in love with it. 

After we had used up all of our coins, we decided to count our tickets and see what goodies we could "buy." Andrew won the most tickets from a fruit slicing game so we had a good amount to work with. We decided on lollipops, chocolate kisses, and a fortune telling fish - which we later asked to pick a place for dinner, but it wasn't much help..

With no help from the fish, we picked a taiwanese restaurant for dinner and ate our candy on the way home. It really was a splendid date and I can't wait for the next time to go back there! 

If I have some spare time over the weekend, I hope to work on my pink nightgown. I don't think I'll do a full out tutorial again, but I will give a few tips and tricks ;] Well I hope you have a warm january week  until I post again,

ta ta for now!

b o w t i e s & p o c k e t s q u a r e s

Hello cats and kittens! For this post, I've decided to do a little bit of a tutorial for educational purposes. For my first real project of the year I've decided to make a bow tie & pocket square for Andrew. So gather around and put on a good record or two - its time to sew :]

So first off, you need some scissors, pins, a bow tie to make a pattern from, your fabric (duh), and a sharpened fabric chalk! If you dont know how to sharpen your chalk, well its quite easy! I usually take a straight knife and run it across the edge until it is at a fine point. This will help you mark your pattern precisely - so having sharpened chalk is always a must! 

So now you say you have all of your items? good. So lets start making a pattern! Adjust the bow tie to the size you need (if it is adjustable) and trace it on a stronger weight paper. When you have a good trace down, make a .25in outline around it. This will give us some room to work around the seams. 

** secret tip #1 - the kind of pattern you make will determine the type of bow tie you will make! so watch out! not all bow ties are the same shape. the different curves and thicknesses will give you very different results. **

Now as pictured above, make a 1-2in tab at the center of your tie. This will leave us an opening that we will use later to line things up and do some magic tricks with. I also marked about an 1in from the center a little spot as a reminder. Now what I had to do, because my piece of fabric was not as long as the entire span of the tie, I had to divide the pattern in half and make two halves to each side of the pattern. This is very simple to deal with, just remember to leave a good 1/2in extra at the center of each side so we can sew them back up together.

So get pinning, tracing with your newly sharpened chalk, and cutting with your scissors!

** important tip #2 - Don't forget to flip your pattern over so each side of your pattern has the appropriate side of fabric facing out. I have a feeling I made it sound confusing, but I'm sure you'll figure it out if you do it the wrong way. It will be obvious if your fabric is facing the wrong way. **

Phew! all of the pieces are cut out - now its snack time :] I believe its important to take breaks while you work, it helps you focus and stay positive. I made a cup of tea and broke off a corner of mint dark chocolate- yumm!

** secret tip #3 - take snack breaks. **

Alright gang, snack time is over - now lets get to the actual sewing part! Make sure to pick out an appropriate thread. Lets use our chalk and mark the center of the pattern on each piece of the fabric. Take each half and pair it with its other (the 2 halves per 2 sides of the tie) to join them - making the two sides of the tie. Pin them together, leaving that 1/5in extra hanging out in the middle, and sew each side together. Now you should have two full sides to your tie. The halves are joined (and pressed if you like), and we can move unto the next step.

** useful tip #4 - To make sure a thread is the right color for your project, unravel a strand out and lay it against your fabric. Thread looks different on and off the spool. So to get the right color, especially for patterns, always remember to lay it against your fabric. **

Now we can lay each side of the tie on top of each other. Make sure they are facing each other - otherwise you will have an inside out tie! So align them correctly and start pinning them. 

** secret tip #5 - Pin a few pins from end to end, and then add other pins in between. This will help the fabric to not shift while you pin - because depending on the fabric your working with, some may even try to wiggle while you pin. So pin a few in the vital areas across before you attempt to pin it evenly. **

So now sew the sides together - leaving that .25in extra that we made on the pattern on the outside. And remember to leave that opening we marked not to sew into. Okay? good. 

When its sewn all the way around (except for the opening we left), take a stick and push the ends of the tie in toward the center, and out of the opening we left. ~ m a g i c ! ~ And when the inside is pushed out, use your fingers to adjust the seam on the inside so it lays nicely.

** secret tip #6 - if the corners of the tie are not coming out with your fingers, use a needle to pick at it until it comes out. ** 

Now fold in the section we left open, hand sew it shut, and viola - we did it! Bow tie down, pocket square to go. Now the pocket square is easy. make a square (they usually are 12 x 12in), fold the edges in twice, and sew a seam on top! 

What I did was sew two parallel sides down, and then fold their corners in so it makes for a nice finish. (it looks nicer than just sewing across all sides).

So there we have it! :]

Project time: 2 hrs

Snack times: 1

Records listened: 3

Cost: $5

I hope this helped those out there who are curious - and amused those who weren't originally. To be honest I never knew how hard it is to make a tutorial - hopefully it wasn't too confusing. 

Tune in next time to see where Andrew and I went  after I gave him his gifts. All I can say is:

MONKEYS

FORTUNES 

& FIRE

o my! :}