2016 Summer Frock Parade – Pistachio & Ivory

Next up in my Summer Frock Parade is this little number in a cute pistachio and ivory print cotton (probably a quilting cotton). It also continues with the mint/aqua and coral theme I’ve got going on this year – yes, I know, I haven’t posted anything coral yet, I’ll get there!

Regency Shako

Ok, so I have a lot of catching up to do on here! Between finishing up my PhD and then an international move, there hasn’t been much time for blogging over the past few months. But I have been sewing during a lot of this “away” time. I made a natural form era summer suit, a vintage mash-up summer suit for my thesis defense, and three new dresses over the past 2-3 weeks. I’m also in the middle of a white cotton regency gown to wear with the blue silk spencer.

Today, I present a project I made for a Historical Sew Monthly challenge back in the spring: War & Peace. I did get it done and posted to the fb challenge album in by the challenge deadline, but never got around to blogging it. In the interest of catching up, this is going to be short and sweet, but I hope will still be worth your taking a look.

I hummed and hawed about what to do for War & Peace for some time trying to figure out what to do. Then I remembered those smart military-inspired hats women wore during the Napoleonic wars – feminized versions of the Shako hat/cap:

MMM’14 Weeks 3 & 4

Super late post, but I did fulfill my pledge for MeMadeMay’14, both in terms of wearing at least one make from an Indie pattern per week and sewing only with Indie patterns for the month. Now, to be fair/honest I sewed several duplicates of a few patterns. I need new summer dresses and making a couple from the same pattern in a weekend was the most efficient/effective way to achieve this with my available time and applicable Indie patterns.

I’ve combined weeks 3 & 4 because a) I’d be even later if I did a post for each and b) there was a lot of repeat items over these 2 weeks.  But, they were all new makes, so it’s still fun!  The weather’s been funny over the past couple of weeks – very up & down, one day sunny and hot, the next cold and rainy, or sunny but with a strong cool wind. So what ended up happening is that I’d wear a new make on a nice day, plan to wear an older Indie pattern make the next, but the weather wouldn’t co-operate, oh well.  New stuff is more fun to show anyway!

So here we go:

On Tuesday and Wednesday of week 3 I wore 2 modified Macarons I’d made the previous weekend, I then wore them again on Tuesday and Friday of week 4.

Here’s #1:

 

MMM’14 (my) Week 2 Round-up

Well, late again.  But at least by not as much this time.  I was hoping to be able to wear 2 Indie Pattern pieces for my 2nd week, but had to make do with one.

Both are Elisalex dresses from By Hand London that I made last weekend, but the other ended up with some funny pulling at the back neckline and it took time to figure out why.  I’m only just actually fixing it this week.  I’ll explain more when I post it – hopefully as part of this week’s round-up.

So here is Elisalex #1, I wore it on Monday (and over this past weekend as it’s so comfortable and great for cool-ish spring weather).  It’s actually made from drapery-weight fabric I found at Value Village within the last couple of years.  I think it’s a great weight of fabric for this style, especially for helping the skirt hold its shape.

I decided to get snazzy and accessorize with a vintage purse for this photo! lol

Fall for Cotton Vintage Sewalong

I have now completed my first sewalong!  Here is my entry for the Fall for Cotton vintage sewalong hosted by Lucky Lucille and Tasha:

Victorian Picnic by the Shore

Today I got to do something I almost never get to do: play dress-up with other people just for fun!

*Warning: this is an image-heavy post*  It would actually be really great to get some feedback about this: what do you think of the photo size?  How are they for loading? (I didn’t compress them before posting) Are there too many?  Any and all (constructive) feedback would be most appreciated!

My new-ish historical sewing friend, Sarah, invited me to come along with her and a friend, Edith, to dress in our 1880s outfits and go for a picnic.  Over May & June I had made an 1880s summer outfit for an event in July, but hadn’t gotten good photos of it yet.  I knew this would be a perfect opportunity, and who can resist a picnic on a beautiful day?  Especially since Sarah actually brought real china tea cups to drink out iced tea in (she made an earl grey iced tea with a bit of cinnamon, which was SO lovely, I made one with Lady Grey tea).

I’ll try to do a post or two more about this outfit showing the insides of the bodice, maybe featuring the bonnet, and talking more about fabrics, construction, process.  Today, it’s all about the pretty shots!

Ladies Who Lunch – Old School!