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.

What to Wear in the Tropics of Chicago

~ but, I'm cool ~

Yeah, it's humid, with scattered thunder storms, another hot and sunny, 90+ day.

~ like limp-humid, where nothing ever dries ~

~ I am not even thinking 'Fall Sewing' yet ~

~ Yep, I do believe that's a long way off ~

Meanwhile, these are the latest 2 items off the press, so to speak.  I wasn't intending to wear them together...but here we are.    Both items are made from fabric scraps.  And both are from Tina Givens patterns.  The pants are from the Oprah tunic and pants pattern and the top is the Myra pattern from the Sychil 03 magazine.


I'm going to go into some detail with pix and stuff of how I did what, so now's the time to leave, or keep on after the break...

A Cool Blue Tablecloth Dress

for the last day of MeMadeMay'18

~ Am I Right? ~

It's funny how time changes things.  When I first made this, I wore it differently.   You can see how here, way back in 2014.  And now because of MMM, I'm liking it more in this relaxed, funky, layered-look way.

~ and here you can see it really was a tablecloth ~

And very simply made at that.  I just added thin navy bias tape to bind the neckline and sleeve edges.  The dress hem is the hemmed edges of the tablecloth.  There were some stains that I covered with appliques.  Like the two gray leaf forms at the center bottom.  They're actually cut out from other fabric and zig-zagged on.

~ this is the buttoned-up look ~

I added a matching button in the middle of the design and two buttonholes on either end of the fabric "wings" so I could fold them over, as you can see.  Those three little flowers on the white border were sewn on to cover more stains.

The blue lace pantaloons were self-drafted.  Piece of cake.

~ and cool blue platform sandals from ebay ~

I will be wrapping up my MMM'18 experience in the next post and comparing this year with last year.  Both had surprises for me.  

And thank you all for your comments of support.  It really makes a difference.  Especially since I don't do any of the other social media.  mmwwaaa!

  

Another Never Before Outfit

for MeMadeMay'18, Day 30

~ never before worn together, that is ~

And look at the mood they create. 

I don't know why, but it feels Asianesque to me.

~ or maybe it's just theatrical ~

 

 The pantaloons are similar to the black ones I've shown here.  

For the white ones I have on...

~ I stated with white gauze cotton shorts I had ~

~ then added organza using French seams and adding tucks ~

~ a very simple outfit! ~

And easy to sew too!  The dress is a Rachel Comey design from Vogue 1482 pattern made in a lovely fabric - a light weight, crinkled jacquard floral print.   

 

~ with Tsubo platform sandals from ebay ~

One disappointing thing:  when I received these shoes I couldn't keep them on when I walked.  They only worked standing still or sitting down.  phfft.

I don't know how I thought of this, but it worked perfectly.  I had some spare nude elastic, adjustable, detachable bra straps for a bra that could go strapless or not.  (I no longer had the bra, but I kept the straps, of course).

All I did was slip each end of the bra strap around each side of the sandal strap, wrapping it once around so it could fasten onto itself.  Voila!  It's nude-ish, it stretches, it doesn't accidentally come off, but it is removable and it works.

~ the end ~

Feeling Alright in All White Today

on MeMadeMay'18, Day 29

~ more or less ~

Thank you all for your response to my last post about the blogosphere and my place in it.  I noticed just this evening that my email notifications started back up on bloggers I follow.  Let's see if anything else gets rectified.

~ hmm, what am I wearing? ~

The top is a wildly altered Tina Givens Lucca pattern made from cotton sheeting.  The dress under it is Tina Givens free Priscilla Slip pattern made with linen gauze.  And the pantaloons are self-drafted and made from the same linen gauze.

~ still thinking about all that tech stuff ~

 But here's a Silver lining:

~ my Trippen shoes from ebay ~

What Have They Done to My Blog?!

in the middle of MeMadeMay'18, Day 28

~ please help if you can ~

Seems blogspot changed a few things 10 days ago without telling any of us bloggers.  I was wondering why I no longer received any emails when bloggers I follow posted on their blogs.  Nor any emails when I received comments on my posts.

Well, it seems even worst than that.  They discontinued whatever OpenID is, and from what I can tell, people can't comment unless that join Google+.  I'm not even a member of Google+.  I'm not a member of most things.  I just like to keep it really simple but I won't go into that now...

I went into my blogspot settings and tried to change a few things, but I don't know if it made any difference.  I'm refusing to join Google+.  Maybe I'll have to change platforms, or whatever they're called, and go to Wordpress???

~ comment here and let me know that you can ~

I don't know how you can if you can't...you know?  Maybe through bloglovin'?

Also, please advise about what you've done or are doing about all this techie stuff.  Like ability to comment, blog platforms, etc.   I don't want to join facebook, instagram, twitter, disquis, google+, or whatever.

Thanks in advance.  I'll really appreciate it.

Maybe it's just time to stop.

But first, shoes.

Trippen sandals from ebay

Oh, and I have on two Tina Givens garments made in lightweight linen.  On top is her Violet Dress Pattern.  Underneath is her Sugar Slip Pattern.  Both with some modifications.

~ standing up for myself ~

Me and Kimono Hanging Out at the Church

on MeMadeMay'18, Day 24

~ yep ~

Actually I'm next to the church, at the rectory.  The whole establishment is huge and a few doors down from my house.  (In fact, you can see some of the edifice in the background of my backyard pix.) 

~ all aglow ~

 It was such a lovely day in the neighborhood (again), a walk was warranted.

~ no, I'm not being arrested ~

I've worn this before, but with different stuff.    I luv this kimono and how it accidentally came about.  You can see and read about it here, if you'd like.  Meanwhile, it's from a failed Tina Givens Meri pattern.

The pantaloons were self-drafted out of organza and attached to old yoga shorts.

~ black jersey and organza pantaloon ~

~ made with french seams and tucks ~

~ and very sheer ~

They were definitely influenced by this style icon:

~ Debra Rapaport, as seen on Advanced Style blog ~

~ newly received sandals from ebay ~

They are so comfortable and I never, never where thongs.  But when I saw how they were made and the heel/sole, I just couldn't resist.  Plus they were going for $15 and no one else bid on them. (?!)  The brand is Akaishi which was unknown to me before.

All Linen, All Tina Givens Patterns...

for MeMadeMay '18, Day #13

~ it's periwinkle! ~

adapted from Tina Givens Melody dress pattern.  I mostly just changed the neckline.

~ and 2 slips ~

The striped linen is made from Tina Givens Sugar Slip pattern and the white linen gauze underneath is made from Tina Givens free Priscilla slip pattern.

~ complete with Jeffrey Campbell boots from ebay ~

I'm going to join the gang at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style, Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like, and Cherie's Shoe & Tell when they all go live.  Come on by.

I Love Calla Lillies Dress

for MeMadeMay'18, Day #5.

~ rhally I do ~

I made up this dress from scraps of dark navy chiffon, maybe 8 years ago.  There was just enough to do it, without sleeves.

~ here it is without me ~

~ close up of bodice front diagonal pieces ~

You can see how one of the front diagonal pieces extends down the entire front of the dress to the hemline. 

~ and close-up of bodice back ~

But the bodice back only went to the empire waist-line so more piecing was involved.  Putting it together was kind of like a jigsaw puzzle.

Then I found this deep green bit of chiffon scarf and had enough to split it in two to make sleeves.  Plus I was able to use its lovely hand-rolled hem for the edges.

~ my Grecian goddess slip ~

This is the black chiffon slip I'm wearing underneath made from a scrap of fabric I had on hand.

 And as always, my parting shot of shoes and sox...

~ ebay Doc Martens Oxfords ~

 'til later

 

Bug Fest Dress

And July's the season for it.

~ I made the stockings too! ~

~ they're still digging up the street for the gas leak ~

~ yeah ~

Meanwhile, the dress is from Tina Givens Lainey pattern which comes with pantaloons that I made but didn't end up wearing today.

~ bloomers ~

~ pleats ~

~ pocket ~

I did make a few modifications to the dress:  I use my own sleeve pattern for any set-in sleeves on TG makes; made two pockets rather than one; remade the pocket flap to follow the arc of the dress seam; and enlarged the neckline opening.

~ tie key-hole back ~

~ buttoned pocket flat ~

And saving the best for last...my mesh net stockings using McCalls costume pattern 7397

~ front view ~

~ and back ~

They were very easy to make.  Instructions are clear.  After I cut out the pattern, I pinned them up and tried them on inside out, fitting them tighter as needed.   Carefully slid them off and sewed them up.  Trimmed the seams.  I didn't put elastic at the top, but used garters instead.  I think it would be fun to make funky ankle socks too.

The sandals are ancient from T.J. Max, I believe.  Perfect for showing off one's sox.

If I'm not too late I'll be joining up with the usual suspects:  Patti and the Visibles at Not Dead Yet Style, Catherine at I Will Wear What I Like and Cherie's Shoe and Tell.   Hope to see you all there!