MMM'20: Tina Givens Velvets

on a Winter's Day

~ or at least it feels like it ~

~ I actually bought the velvet from Tina way back when ~

I was making her Bethany dress pattern at the time, last seen on me here in 2015.  As you can see, I later changed things up by removing the bodice from the skirt.  I just never wore it as it was.  And do as it is now.   (I have yet to decide what to do with the skirt part...)

Since I still had leftover velvet, I also made TG's Phoebe pants shown above, using other scraps of velvet for the cuff and side inserts.  I've made at least half a dozen of these pants.

The stretch mesh shirt I wear a lot too.  It's made from Vogue 8450 with slight modifications.

 And it all goes deliciously with my Doc Marten's from ebay

~ yesssss ~

~ and the Masked Mug Shot of Yours Truly ~

'til later,

MMM'20: Whatever...

Do I have On?

~ Yes, that is the question. ~

It's a hodgepodge of all sorts of things I just kept piling on.   An old chiffon dress that I attempted to retro-fit and never finished.  A chiffon shirt I retro-fitted that's now too big (so is the dress, by the way).    A refashioned pair of gauze shorts extended into chiffon bloomers.  Complete with a recycled necklace made by a friend.

~ I was shocked at how big everything had become.  ~

~ hmmm ~

~ I also found out there's still pins in this thing. ~

Tell me, do you think it's actually wearable?  Does it need to go back into time out for another several years?  Maybe some re-layering would help a bit? 

~ rain boots from the neighborhood thrift store ~

Attempting to show off my camouflaged necklace here:

~ with the masked mug shot of the day ~

And that's a wrap.

MMM'20: Made In Quarantine

or Now What?!

~ breath in, breath out ~

Just as I was putting this together, each of my blog posts for the past upteen years turned to zero views.  Great.  Of course, there's no way of getting in contact with anyone from blogpostland, believe me, I've tried.

You know how things go when under quarantine, it's one messed up thing after another.  Am I right? The car battery dies, gets jumped and then needs a new one after all; the cat catches a mouse in the house; we find the old box of dominos, but the dominos themselves are nowhere to be found; Pinterest stops letting me edit my pins.  I did contact Pinterest.  A robot emailed back and said a human would follow-up.  yeah, we'll see.  I could go on and on, but I'll just stop here. 

  Okay (with a deep breath)

~ Here I am again ~

Well, I made this, I don't particular like it, but it's wearable and I do wear it, so there's that.  I mean, it's okay.  The print is just not my style (maybe.)  Although it certainly does catch your eye.  Made from a jersey knit I had in stash for a long time.  I used the Sandra Betzina Vogue pattern I mentioned yesterday for the pants.  I think I made up the top.  It's no big deal.  Just folded the fabric in quarters and then cut it out so there would be no shoulder seams.

  

~ worn with sneakers from ebay ~

 And my Mask Mug Shot

Happy Mother's Day, whether you are or not, do it or don't.

MMM'20: Another Shelter-In-Place Ensemble

~ relaxed and oh so comfy ~

And may I say, pretty, too?

~ well okay, you can say unusual ~

The fabric is a soft, thin sweater knit.  

I made the top awhile ago using Tina Givens Olivia pattern, 

last seen on me, here during MMM'19.

~ do you think the matching mask tips it over the edge? ~

The pants were made during lockdown using the leftover fabric and

 a favorite pants pattern of mine by Sandra Betzina, Vogue 1355. 

~ worn with my lovely and ancient Doc Marten's ~

Now here's a look to behold:

~ Boo! ! ~

Catch you tomorrow...if you don't watch out!

MMM'20: The Lumberjack Look

on a bright and sunny, cold day in May.

~ Yep, that's me, by the tree ~

Wearing a woven double knit using Vogue 9330, which I modified by adding long cuffs to match the large cowl neck.  I used the back of the fabric (gray) for those pieces.

Oh, and I changed the length, having the side insert shorter than the front and back.  Why not?  One reason is I was short of fabric and had to cut the sides on the diagonal.  And then the plaids kinda matched up.  Hey, cool.



The pants were made of leftover jersey knit from the the dress I wore on the first day of MeMadeMay'18!   New Look 6533 is the pattern used for the pants.

~ worn with lumberjack-type boots from ebay ~

And back to the mask,

with shades to match!

See you later...

MMM'20: Lockdown Loungewear

~ yes, here I am in my jersey knit ensemble ~

Made decades ago from who knows what pattern.  But the top was recently scaled up to size by adding two triangular scraps of similar fabric into the side seams.  

~ ooo, it's still cold out ~

Now, of course, everything is a bit baggy due to the weight loss from this and last year's exercise/nutrition regime I've been on.  And that is okay by me.

~ ahh, that's better ~

The red canvas coat is made from the Tina Givens Elena pattern, last seen here.

Here's the obligatory shoe shot:

~ clogs from ebay ~

And the Lockdown Look must-have:

~ a me made mask ~

Hope to see you tomorrow...

Navy and Stripes

~ No doubt about it ~

That's my old pea coat from high school.  Ok, maybe it was college?  ahhh, I luved that thing...which is why I still had it in the ole archives.

~ And here's another thing ~

This jacket was made much later, say only 25 to 30 years ago.  Also lodged in the archives.  I can wear this stuff now!

~ Yikes Stripes ~

The top is highly modified from a free Tessuti turtleneck pattern which contains nothing from the original except for the body, kinda.  Thank goodness it was free because while the body is extra long and boxy, the sleeves and turtleneck are inhumanly tight.  

Details are:  

• On the body, I shortened the front more than the back and allowed for slits on each side just to make it more interesting. 
• I used the turtleneck piece to wrap around the upper arms in lieu of the pattern's sleeves; cut the "hump" off the top of the sleeves and added them on below giving myself extended looong sleeves with a thumb cut-out. 
• I used the strip of fabric cut off the bottom front and used it for a very modified T-neck band.

The pants from Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1355, however, fit amazingly perfect right out of the box at a size C.  The fabric for both is a slinky knit.   The pants only take a few hours to make at most with 2 pattern pieces, one for the pants, one for a waist band and take much less fabric than the pattern suggests. 

The top doesn't take much fabric either, but I did have to figure out how to rescue it.  I do like it in the end.  And I know I wouldn't have created what I have now if I hadn't been forced to come up with ways to resolve the pattern inaccuracies.

~ worn with Mary Jane Docs from ebay ~

By the way, I've been working on those 2020 goals.  All of them moving right along...ahem...except for the stop buying patterns one.  (did I say that?)  Well, I haven't.  Stopped buying them, that is.  But everything else is as smooth as silk.  I've even been making what I call everyday, normal things, like what's above.  You know, pants and tops that you can wear around the house, outside, exercising.  Even sleep in if you want to...



Meanwhile, I'll be joining up with Patti and the Visibles at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like when they go live.  Hope to see you there!

My Top 5 Sewing Hits for 2019

in reverse chrono order

Sewcialists Top 5

A Tina Givens Trip Dress made in challis, with modifications seen here.

One of 5 "Hot House" Dresses using Simplicity 8332 made in challis as seen here.

Jumpsuit from McCall's 7936 made in challis as seen here.

My first jumpsuit from Vogue 1617 made from deep stash as seen here.

My first African Wax Print from Mood Fabrics made from Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1356, modified as seen here.

My favorite pants pattern (Candace) from Tina Givens made in cotton as seen here.

Tina Givens Elena Jacket made in canvas from deep stash as seen here.



I was actually surprised I had this many wins this year.  It didn't seem to me I had sewn that much.

Oh yeah, I'm heading on over to Patti's Not Dead Yet Style while I still have a chance and Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like.  See ya.

What a Day Trip Dress!*

~ I woke up to this today ~

January in November.

~ See that tree behind me? ~

No, not the two evergreens on either side...

~ The one in the middle with all the green leaves that haven't turned yet or fallen off. ~

It's 22 degrees out, the other day it was 50.  Oh my.

~ Meanwhile, this is my Trip Dress* from Tina Givens patterns ~

I won the cape thingy at a raffle. 

I threw on some extra clothes with it so I could wear it outside.  Like a stretch mesh T-shirt, wrist warmers, obi belt and stretch jersey straight leg pants that I've made and worn previously. 

The scarf, gloves and beret are so old I don't remember when 
or where they came from.

~ a rear view ~

~ obi-less ~

Which was how I intended to wear it.  

Too bad you can't see the collar, but it was too darn cold.

~ and a side view ~

Let me tell you, this Trip Dress was just that - a Trip! (ha). 

   

The fabric is challis.  I decided on a size S (my last one was XS and worked out fine), but I was worried about the wrap bodice coverage so thought more is more.   

If you're not a sew-er, you can skip to the end pictures.