Sage and Decay...

toward the end of February.

~ Welcome to my garden ~

~ I'm wearing a Tina Givens Olivia tunic pattern that strayed...  ~

when I made it way too small, like baby-doll small.  I had to cut it in half, straight up the center front and center back, to make room for some other possibilities.   I like how it turned out though.

Using what fabric scraps I had left, I did things I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

~ like adding a 12" wide strip of fabric down the back ~

with a large center box pleat at the neckline.

Since I had cut out all the original pattern pieces at the start, I had the minimum of leftovers to play with.

~ this is what I come up with for the front ~

I only had one piece 10" wide that was 3/4 of the length of the front part of the tunic.  And 2 smaller pieces of that width that tapered off into odd shaped triangles.  I used those for the upper part and then let them wrap around the neckline and shoulders however they may.  voila.  You can see the back of the "collar" in the back view.  Pretty cool, huh?

~ the side view gathers and cuts are from the original pattern ~

~ as is that big ole pocket ~

I did add the draw string to tighten it up a bit, and the sleeve cuffs. What looks like faded flannel, is actually a very light-weight knit.

That bit of black ruffle you can see peaking out is from an organza camisole I made ages ago.

The silk dupioni harem pants are a deviation from Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1355 that you can see me wearing here.


And finally, the grand finale

~  my Trippens from ebay ~

I'm running on over to Patti's and the Visibles at Not Dead Yet Style before it's too late.  Then Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like and Cherie's Shoe and Tell.  Hope to see you all there!

From TG Pattern to Rundholz Dress

~ Yes! ~

While I had started on yet another Tina Givens Serena Dress pattern that I know doesn't quite work out, I have allowed for her errors to make my previous dresses into something unique.  The first is here, the second here.

What I like the most about them is the suggestion to use two different fabrics that don't normally go together:  linen and jersey knit.  And for each dress I just so happened to have the corresponding colors for each fabric pair.

This time, however, as I started out with the browns I was thinking it might end up boring.  Then I stumbled across a picture of a Rundholz dress that looked like a rougher version of TG's pattern.  hmmm.  I don't know which came first.  But I do luv Rundholz style - which is way beyond anything I could ever afford.

~ Rundholz Dress ~

and for comparison, here's what TG's dress is supposed to look like according to the pattern picture.

~ TG Serena pattern ~

This seemed to give me the freedom to treat the "making" of the dress like an art project.  By that I mean paying attention to what was happening and not doing things by rote.  Taking my time so I could notice things, possibilities.  Nothing had to be a certain way.  If something came out differently than what I might have expected, I would consider it as is, or other what ifs.

~ stretching out and standing tall ~

It was so much fun to make.  And I did things differently than the other two.  There's little surprises and neat details that make so much sense to me.

~ I can move all over ~

Watch me now...

~ wasn't that a triple sow cow? ~

~ les boots from ebay ~

I'll be gallivanting around with Patti and the Visibles at Not Dead Yet Style, then there's Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like, and Cherie's Shoe and Tell.  Come on by when they go live.

But for extra credit, I've got something else to show ya...

What I Wore to Work Out

~ No kidding ~

Well, I did change my shoes for the event.  But honestly, my workout shoes are some old flat-soled silver Trippens.

~ Yes, it's all very comfy ~

The kimono top and pants were made way before Project Minima started.   Simplicity 4291 for the top.  The pants are just slip on, elastic waist, nothing special.

~ voila ~

I made the undershirt recently out of stretch mesh.  A modification from a simple Vogue pattern, V8450.

~ and some good ole Docs from ebay ~

Meanwhile,  I'll be at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style to party with the Visibles, Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like and Cherie's Shoe &Tell.  Hope to see you all there!.

In other news...
I've been working like crazy on those bugs.  Beetles to be exact.  I am