New Dress

 

This pretty aqua linen is a piece I've had in my stash for a very long time. It was lovely to work with and although there wasn't enough to make it longer, I think it turned out quite nice. The sash is a piece of batik from four years ago that I saw in a store and fell in love with. 

I made a muslin to check the fit and got most of it right; I forgot to bring in the neckline on the final piece (note to self: write it all down!).  I'd like to make this again in a winter flannel (cotton) with a fun plaid sash and long sleeves. 

School Clothes

Noble has begun her second year of graduate studies and teaching freshman English composition. She asked me to help her get some clothes that looked more professional and that would be warmer for the harsh winters here. She saves money by parking in the free lot and walking to her classes.

So here's the first skirt, made of a soft tan fine wale corduroy.

And the pattern:

Another skirt I made her last year, cotton sateen with a bit of stretch:

Modesty

This is the best explanation for dressing modestly that I've ever heard:

I'm Busy

December is just going to have to a no blog month if I want to get Christmas under the tree.

But here are some quickies:

• Last night I roasted a bone-in chicken breast for dinner; this morning I chopped up the leftovers, added minced onion and celery, salt and pepper and mixed it all together with mayonnaise for some yummy chicken salad to go in a couple of leftover pita pockets for the boys lunches.
• Yesterday I mailed Noble's Christmas to her in three large priority flat-rate boxes because the rate on those boxes is discounted for shipping to military addresses.
• I used the drippings from the roast chicken to add to our cat's food this morning; they love treats like that and it makes their food go further when I can add leftovers to it. Plus all the fat is good for them being outdoors in the cold weather. (When we moved I insisted that the cats reside on the screened porch with a pet door to come and go as they please.)
• I spent some time over at Second Chances by Susan's blog getting great ideas for modest re-fashioning of clothes. She is so talented!
• I gathered all the Christmas wrapping papers and tags and such together in one place! I won't have to buy anymore this year. (or the next or next either!)

Today is bread baking day and boy's laundry day so I'd better get to it.

16, 17, 18

Day Eighteen of Count Your Blessings - 2013

Three more things I'm grateful for:

16 - Restaurants! TopDad is so kind when I'm exhausted, he takes me out to eat. I'm so grateful for the convenience of someone else fixing food and cleaning up. Especially after I've spent the day fixing food for a church function and then cleaning up afterward.

17 - Hand me down/up/over clothes; someone elses cast-offs have been some of my favorite clothes. And my favorite price is Free!

18 - Korean Pop music, which is the BEST to walk/run to; my treadmill time is so much more pleasant with KPop blaring to help me keep up the pace. Thanks, Noble! Saranghae (Korean for I love you!)

Thrift Store Score!

Today's shopping trip was great. At the thrift store I found a punch bowl set, complete with ladle, eight cups and hooks (still in their plastic bag) for $5.00! I was casually looking for one because our little church is hosting a wedding Saturday of a couple who were divorced, have reconciled and are getting married again. I'm providing the drink and I wanted a punch bowl to make it look special.

Also got two Christopher & Banks skirts, one cream linen, fully lined, the other a tan khaki, $2.50 each. My frequent shopper punch card was full giving me $5.00 off the total purchase so it was like getting the two skirts for free.

The other fabulous find was a Spring 1949 Vogue Pattern Magazine. Such gorgeous clothes! When I figure out my picture situation I'll post some pages from the catalog.

Happy thrift shopping to you.

 

At times like this I really miss homeschooling

Today was another big shopping day. First off to WallyWorld (Walmart) for some underwear, gym clothes and jeans. Dr. Hair is now in adult sizes which means more expensive. Dandylion had grown more than I thought he had by his birthday so he needed new boxers.  Both found two pair of jeans they liked and that fit; add to that all the right underwear and socks, plus a new zippered hoodie for Dandylion, plus gym clothes for Dr. Hair and it added up to about $141.00.

Now on to the shoe store. Dandy was the first to be measured. He'd grown TWO sizes. When he grows into his paws he is gonna be a big dog!! So instead of getting just one pair and using his old ones for gym, I bought him two new pair AND Sunday shoes as I just couldn't expect him to squeeze into his two sizes too small ones. The dress shoes are $120 Florsheim leather soled black loafers blessedly on sale for $35. I talked Dr. Hair into getting two pair also, one for school and one for gym. He is the most cost conscious of our children and is self-sacrificing to a fault. Anyway, five pair of shoes totaled $259. Guess who won't be getting new shoes this month.

When I was telling TopDad about the purchases I waxed nostalgic about the days of homeschooling when clothes didn't matter so much and we got ready for school with far less money. Actually this was the first year I bought brand new jeans for the boys, usually I look for nice ones at thrift stores throughout the summer. But this summer I didn't do that. I did lay down the law that as soon as they get home they must change out of their nice school clothes and shoes to keep them nice. That's a reasonable request, yes? Anyway, TopDad gave me a hug and complimented me for always managing to find things on sale and take good care of our needs. (I must give credit where it's due; I prayed before going shopping.)

Countdown Begins

Two weeks from today school begins in our town! Gadzooks, where did the summer go?

We're still working on our new house, but progress is slow as we are not under any deadline to finish, and I refuse to begin a second room until the first one is completely finished. I don't want to be living in a house of unfinished rooms. So I do a little here and there and we'll see what happens.

Yesterday I had the boys sort through their clothes to see what they had and what they needed for the new school year. I got out our storage box of "grow into" clothes and found I had enough shirts to meet their needs, plus shoes, Sunday slacks and belt for Dr. Hair. SCORE! That leaves jeans for both boys, and all new underwear for Dr. Hair (Dandylion got his for his June birthday).

JET has a birthday this month and I promised him new jeans and Sunday Shoes too.

PW is registered for classes at Utah Valley University and has found an apartment and roommate so he is excited, and we are pleased that things are going well for him.

Noble is enduring through her third and final semester at Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. She celebrated her 23rd birthday last Saturday by going to California Pizza kitchen where she had a Pear and Gorgonzola pizza, which she said was divinely yummy.

TopDad is stressing over all that needs to be done to be ready to teach classes at TWO schools this year. Enrollment is down and he is (sort of) half time at the two schools. Always a new challenge.

I'm getting ready to teach early morning seminary again this year--my two students are our two sons. We'll study the New Testament, which we read as a family last year.

I'm So Vintage!

Last Friday night we had a Talent Night at church. For last year's event, not realizing that it is an annual show, I took a little of everything. This year I concentrated on my sewing and took a whole rack of items I've sewn through the years.

I wish I'd saved more!

One dress I'm particularly proud of and have kept for forty years was made from this pattern and I wore it in High School. 1973-1975

Bodice Detail

Fabric loop button holes

My mother taught me was that a deep hem, (see above) was a sign of a well made dress or skirt. The deep hem gives weight to the bottom and helps it to hang beautifully and not easily fly up in a wind. (She also taught me to iron, which I didn't do before showing this dress.) Anyway, I loved, still do, this dress. At the time I wore it I weighed about 110-115 lbs. at 5'7".

Here are three more examples of my sewing, these are some of Noble's that I saved.

Smocked Christmas Dress worn at age 16 months (1990)

Smocking detail

Dress worn at age 3 

Back view

My personal favorite, worn at age 5

When I visit my parents this summer I'll look for a photo of me in the polka dot dress. They have all my childhood and teen photos. Maybe it's time I got them for myself!

I'm 54 years old and it feels really strange to visit vintage patterns sites and see patterns from my life! Anyway, I wanted to share my favorite dress.

The Skirt

Here's the finished skirt for the Sew Grateful Week. I think? my sister gave me this wool when she was cleaning out her supplies. I used Butterick #B5466, view B, which is an extremely simple pattern. I am please with how it went together so quickly. I plan to make more of these comfortable skirts. The only adjustment I made was to lengthen it by two inches (to cover my ugly knees).

I'm "sew grateful" for all the younger seamstresses, whose blogs I read, for their enthusiasm and inspiration. It's wonderful to see a new generation embrace the skills and creativity of making your own clothes. Seeing so many making and wearing vintage styles gives me hope for the future. We can dress in beautiful and feminine clothes of our own choice, rather than being slaves to the fashion industry a la Vogue.

I've never followed fashion and didn't recognize designers clothes (why should I?) so when I watched the film The Devil Wears Prada I wondered what all the fuss was about. I then subscribed to Vogue to get a better understanding of the fashion world. It's a good thing the subscription was cheap. In the two years I got the magazine I think I tore out pictures of only two outfits that were attractive to me. Most of the clothing, as well as the models, was UGLY! I wondered what happened to the Vogue of the Fifties where the models looked healthy and happy, glamorous and successful. The girls I saw now looked sick, on the verge of death, depressed, drowning in sorrows. SICK! (Sorry for the mini-rant)

So, thank you again, to all you who sew your own clothes for looking healthy, happy, and successful in life. You inspire me to keep honing my skills, trying new challenges and having lots of fun doing it!

Noble's Blog

Noble has posted some delightful pictures of her "Immersion" day where she and fellow students spoke Korean for 8 hours, enjoyed Korean food and got to try on traditional Korean costumes. Although she doesn't think she looks good, I do! It looks absolutely natural on her.

Take a look for yourself at The World According to Noble.  I just ordered a pattern from Folkwear to make her a Hanbok of her own. When I first saw the Hanbok (a long time ago) I wasn't impressed, but this past year I watched a Korean Historical Drama and saw them worn and decided they are beautiful. What do you think?

I love to Iron

Day Thirteen of Count Your Blessings

I'm really grateful for people who don't like to iron, because they give all their expensive linen clothes to thrift stores where I can buy them at prices I can afford, then I can look great in expensive clothes without paying a fortune.  Whew, that's a mouthful.

I love linen!  It is cool in the summer, warm in the winter (layered) and feels heavenly to me.  Most people don't like it because it has to be ironed.  I love ironing!  It is a brainless job that I can do at the same time as something pleasurable such as watching a movie or listening to a child tell me about his day.  (Dishes are similar, but I haven't figured out how to move the sink into the living room so I can watch a movie, so I just listen to music or children while working in the kitchen.)

Anyway, I look for linen pieces whenever I shop at thrift stores.  My latest find was a lovely shirt. I fell for the colors and classic style.  I wasn't sure what I would wear with it, but figured for a couple of dollars I couldn't go wrong.  And it just spoke to me!  Once home I took it to my closet and realized that I had both a skirt and a pair of slacks that would coordinate. This morning I pulled together this outfit for church:

So,  a big thank you to whoever didn't like to iron for donating this gorgeous shirt for me to have.

Clothing and Covenant Women

A post on another blog (Scriptorium Blogorium; see list at the right) inspired me to write this.  She is concerned about being prideful and wearing costly apparel.  It's an excellent blog and I enjoyed her post.  Some years ago I studied all the scriptures have to say on the subject of modesty and women's clothing and such.  After all the study I chose Doctrine and Covenants 42:40-41 as the principles to guide my choices.


     And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; and let all things be done in cleanliness before me.


Michaela, over at Scriptorium, asks some wonderful questions to discover our own pride.  I'd like to focus on the part about clothing being plain.  Of the five definitions for that word, the second is the one I believe to be the one meant here.

2 easy to perceive or understand; clear : the advantages were plain to see | it was plain that something was very wrong.• [ attrib. ] (of written or spoken usage) clearly expressed, without the use of technical or abstruse terms : written in plain English.• not using concealment or deception; frank : he recalled her plain speaking.
From our mode of dress it should be easy to perceive or understand that we are women of covenant.  We dress modestly, not calling attention to our bodies, in ways that express our virtue (cleanliness).I watched students pour out of high schools in Provo and Midvale, Utah and wondered who were LDS church members and who weren't.  I certainly couldn't tell by their dress or demeanor. They all looked and acted worldly to me.  I wanted the members to stand out, I wanted it to be plain to me by the way they dressed and acted.  It wasn't and I wondered what more we could do to encourage them to be different.
The part about clothing being the work of our own hands seems to indicate to me that when the fashion of the world is incompatible with our covenants that we need to make our own so we can be perceived by others to be followers of the Savior. If that makes us look different, so be it. That is where the pride part comes in.  I remember being persecuted and made fun of in Junior High because I wore dresses to my knees with white cotton bobby socks.  This was 1969-1972, the first time around for the mini-skirts and hot-pants.  I hated going to school; I hated looking different; as soon as the rules changed to allow wearing slacks I got some and wore them every day so I wouldn't look so different; although I still never achieved my aim to look like everyone else. I never did fit in fashion wise.  Now in my adult years I'm glad for that experience because I no longer care what others are wearing.  I don't follow fads.  I like to wear modest, classic styles that seem to always be "in", or at least not dated looking by the next season.
My mother told of working in the temple one day and seeing a bride change into her "wedding dress" for pictures and the dress was strapless!  My mother was absolutely flabbergasted. The workers are not allowed to say anything or criticize the patrons so she had to stand by and just watch.  But she wondered where this girl's mother was, or RS President, or Bishop's wife, or friend; someone who could have advised her on proper dress.  Or maybe they did and this bride was determined to wear what she wanted, when she wanted and to heck with covenants.  I don't know what she was thinking. But I do know that by what she was wearing it was plain she wasn't keeping the covenants she had just made.
I taught our daughter, Noble, modesty by having her wear an undershirt or camisole her whole life.  I taught our sons the same, wearing an undershirt under their clothing.  This helps them not only be modest, but to get used to the feel of wearing undergarments in preparation of temple covenants.  When Noble was in Military Basic Training she felt naked without her undershirts and asked me to send them to her as soon as she was at her next duty station. 
I sure don't believe in a "uniform" such as the Amish wear, although it is tempting sometimes to dispense with all the choices and just have a few things to wear; I do however believe in clothing that is modest and makes it plain that I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, a covenant woman.