Catching up on lots of stuff - What I've been up to and upcoming Creative project plans

Hi Retro & Vintage lovin' friends!

Many apologies for the radio silence these past several months.  Time does have a way of sliding by pretty darn quick when you aren't expecting it.    By way of explanation, life has been a series of not-so-great events that have zapped much of my creative energy and put me on auto pilot.   My mom had an illness and hospital stay.  My son had a cancer scare that culminated with a surgery and removal of a large (thankfully benign) tumor.

Then there was the  Never-ending Winter, where we routinely had 8 ft. snowdrifts and were digging out until April.      

I am incredibly thankful that all my family members are on the mend, and winter is now behind us.

Creative Endeavors 2015

This year in sewing -  My daughter went to Anime Boston in March.   She wore her Elizabeth cosplay that we made for PAX last year for one of the days.  Then she and her friends had decided to do Steampunk versions of the DC Comic characters.  She was Harley Quinn.   I didn't unfortunately document carefully the fabrication process of the cosplay, as I usually like to do,  but here are some pictures of the finished ensemble.   (I made the skirt and frock coat,  she made the hat & hammer prop.  the bodice, gloves and wig were purchased).    

This is the Elizabeth Cosplay from last year, she is posing with "Booker," Her character's brother in the game. 

Steampunk Harley Quinn

The Girls of DC Comics:  Poison Ivy, Black Canary & Harley Quinn.

DC Comics' gang

I have plans to work on another dress for my 'adopted' daughter.   Our inspiration dress is one by Romanian design team Chotronette, comprised of Silvia Chiteala & Laura Cazacu.  Their dresses are beautiful and whimsical.  They have a 50's- (early) 60's vintage feel to them.   My plan is to use one of my vintage patterns and make modifications as I go. 

"Ivy Garden Sorbet" by Chotronette

Other crafts:

Earlier this year, I stumbled upon a video about lacemaking on youtube.  I have wanted to learn how to make lace for a long time.  (my ancestry is Dutch,  I love the beautiful lace that it made there. In addition to things like hankerchiefs, table covers, pillow edging, etc., there are the bonnets. In the 1700-1800's, traditional Dutch costumes included a bonnet or cap that incorporated lace. Each area of the Netherlands has a different costume.  My people come from Alkmaar, (one of the great cheesemaking towns) where the woman's dress is a blue & white striped one, red kerchief, and a simple flared bonnet.  Anyway, I bought myself a set of lace-making bobbins, and am slowly amassing the other items needed to give it a whirl.    

Reading

 So maybe not a creative endeavor, but definitely an individual passion.  For the past several months, I have been indulging myself in reading.  When I was younger, I almost always had my nose in a book. The library was my second home, so much so that when I turned of age, the librarian offered me a job there!    When my kids were little, I always felt guilty about stopping to read. There was always something to do - housework, shopping, kid wrangling,  all the mommy and wife and caregiving stuff. Maybe the mommy martyr syndrome had set in....we are really good at denying ourselves things.      Although I would catch a book here and there, it wasn't as much as I used to.

 I started reading more again awhile ago and it feels like part of my soul has been awakened again after a long slumber.    I am partial to historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy & paranormal stuff. I  have discovered several new authors and am literally devouring books. At some poing I might create a 'have read' page on my blog with a summary and what I thought of the book.

Gardening

My son & I came upon the idea of creating a Carl Sagan tribute garden.   Not sure how the idea came about exactly, but Peter is a big fan of Carl Sagan, and astronomy in general.   The plan is to create a plant bed that includes several species aptly named flowers - 'comet gladiolas', 'stargazer lilies'  cosmos, sunflowers, moon flowers etc.   Along with several gazing balls that will be placed strategically as the solar system,  some ground cover flowers meandering down through the center to resemble the milky way (probably white alysium), and maybe some twinkle lights as the kuiper belt. We are still in the creation phase, and I expect that most of the things we do this year will probably not come to fruition until next spring/summer,  but it is a great project and we are having fun planning & doing it.

stuff we got for the Carl 'da man' Sagan Tribute Garden.

Also this year, we set up several birdfeeders next to our large window and have had a ball watching tons of birds and squirrels come daily to have breakfast  (and probably lunch & dinner!)    Gives the kitties something to watch too.  (I call it Cat TV)

Birdies!

That's most of what I've been up to.   Probably a few things I have forgot,  but I will try to get back in the habit of posting a little more regularly.     

Have any great summer plans?   I would love to hear about them!  Comment below :)

xo Yvonne

Cosplay for PAX East - Elizabeth from Bioshock

Hey Everybody,    I hope this finds everyone in good spirits!   We are wrapping up the weekend, one of the few left of summer.  The past couple of nights have been a little chilly - an early harbinger of fall?   It makes me kind of sad that summer is nearing an end.

This post is a bit of a throw back.  My daughter had wanted to cosplay Elizabeth from Bioshock for PAX East this year (this past March) We worked really hard on perfecting her look, but I was dismayed as she didn't get any pictures of herself at the event, and it was so busy getting everyone ready that I forgot to take any when it was completed.     She did say that many people stopped her and took pictures of her in cosplay while she was there which is always a sign that it came out well.

Since then,  we took some photos at home. She took some by herself on time delay with her Ipad, and some my son took with his Blackberry phone. (See below for several of them.)

The way we usually go about creating a cosplay look - first we find some inspirational photos on the web.   The character of Elizabeth has a couple of different costumes - this one that Autumn chose with the long skirt, corset and short jacket, and a simpler one that appears in a different part of the game that looks more like a school uniform. (not pictured here, but it is a simpler skirt, white blouse and ascot type tie/scarf)   

more "inspiration"

Example of an "inspiration photo"

For the next step, I try to find patterns that have similar shapes to the clothing pieces needed.  In this case, I used McCall's M6845 (bolero jacket)  and McCall's M5681  (50's style full skirt) Both the patterns were rated as easy. 

Autumn was pretty specific about the fabric she wanted - a dark blue velveteen/velour type, not heavy weight (it had to 'swirl' easily).   We bought about 5 or 6 yards at Joann's fabric.   ( A couple of side notes here:     I purchased the fabric for this project as well as another couple cosplays I was helping to make for  friends, and used a bunch of coupons.  If you are not signed up for Joann's coupons,  do it before you go shopping!  Also, sign up for email coupons and texts if you can.  I got about $300 worth of fabric and notions for $80 that night.

Another thing to keep in mind, and I think this is true for most sewing projects.   Whatever your regular size is when you buy ready-made clothes - Disregard them!   Take your measurements (usually bust, hip and waist) and go by the chart on the back of the pattern. In my years of making different clothes & costumes,  the size the pattern says you are has never corresponded to the size you normally buy your jeans or tops in. )

 This look was not as hard to achieve as I initially thought it would be.  Autumn bought the wig,  corset & hooped petticoat online.     The corset we added thin strips of dark blue bias tape to the create the stripes and outline.

I modded the jacket from the initial pattern shape which had a really loose sleeve that morphed into the sides/back of the jacket.                     

You can see here,  I measured where the arm would fit, then sewed a seam in and clipped the excess fabric off.        I also added a collar onto the back of the neck area, and edged the whole thing with double fold bias tape. (these steps not shown in pictures)

 The skirt pattern was actually one that was supposed to be a poodle skirt,- a 50's style full skirt with the decorations  (I left the poodle off!)   I made this skirt the shorter length of the two shown on the pattern, as we wanted the petticoat to be able to peek out from underneath it.  Also, I added some extra width to each of the cut pieces (this pattern was basically 4 large triangles with the tops scalloped off. These were sewn together on the sides with a zipper in the back and waistband on top)  By adding a few inches on either side of each of the pieces,  I got a little more flare, and a better fit over the petticoat.

So here is my beautiful Autumn modeling the completed Elizabeth Cosplay:

I think some of these are her recreating poses from the game

good view of the back of the jacket, and the bias tape striping on the corset

Pretty Petticoat

I also made an Victorian inspired bird necklace ('choker style' shown below) as part of the original costume.  You can see it in the inspiration picture on the right above.   The choker it was a bit scratchy on her neck and she ended up finding a little gold cage necklace to go with it instead. (there is a part in the game where you as Elizabeth's character have to choose between a bird or a cage, so her choice of necklace stayed true to the character which is very important to Autumn when doing cosplays)
To make this, I started with about 1/2 yard of 2" wide dark blue ribbon. Then the same amount (1/2 yard), but slightly less wide lace ribbon (go maybe 1 1/2" wide, this is so you can see the blue as a background when the lace ribbon is laid on top of the dark blue).  Both could be found in the ribbon section at Joann's).  The lace ribbon was sewn to the dark blue ribbon.  The bird charm was in the jewelry/craft section also at Joann's fabrics.   I made a cardboard circle, glued some of the excess skirt fabric as backing, and then glued a string of faux seed pearls around it, and affixed the whole thing to the center of the ribbon.  I put a small piece of velcro as the closure (measuring her neck exactly first so that the excess ribbon could be trimmed)

The whole cosplay turned out really nicely.  There are a couple of other Cons coming up she can wear it to as well.

I will post some other pictures of the other cosplays we did for PAX and Anime Boston this year.

Do you enjoy cosplaying?    Do you sew or create your own?  I would love to hear about it in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!
xo Yvonne

Curing the Winter Doldrums...

Hi there Cats and Kittens,

It's a cold and wet February day... we are experiencing yet more 'blizzard' conditions.  I don't know about you but I feel like staying curled up under the blankets with a cup of tea and furbabies to snuggle with.   My energy level lately has been that of a carrot.    A few things have made these winter doldrums a little more bearable....

Doing some winter crafts....

I have a bunch of sewing projects piling up,  but haven't been able to focus on anything large at present [see carrot reference above]  One of the things I did tackle was a present for my Mom.  I made an apron using Butterick Retro pattern B5435 (from their 1954 collection)

This is the first time I have tried one of the Retro patterns,  a few of the pattern companies have been doing reproductions of their vintage ones.   I plan to do a posting on the project, so check back to see the details of it.





Planting a little bit of Spring....

I think I have made mention previously about my love of nature and attraction to fabrics/home decor/accessories that incorporate natural elements. Of course,  you can't get more natural than plants.  My Dad is from Holland, and has an inborn talent for all things flora. He has always kept a beautiful garden both indoors and out.  His talent lets him grow and get to bloom many variety of plants and flowers that are difficult for the average gardener, such as: Clevias, Amaryllis, Orchids, Lilies, Streptocarpii and others.    

I would love to have even a small amount of the flowering loveliness that my parent's home has in my house.  Unfortunately, I have animals. Indoor plants and indoor animals do not mix very well.   There are several plants that I wouldn't even consider having because they are toxic to the furbabies.  But even the non-toxic types my babies have found a way to destroy.   Most recently I had a small cactus,  I thought I would be safe with a cactus,  I mean it has prickers and all, so who would want to go near it?   Then I came home one day from work and found it's poor cactus body masticated to a pulp under the kitchen table. I went in search of the guilty party -  you would think that there would be some evidence left behind on someone's mouth, but strangely, no such incriminating evidence was ever found...
So, my battle wages on - I have decided that I would need to be more clever if I wanted to keep plants indoors.   One idea I came up with is a terrarium. So one of my next winter projects will be creating one.

Here are the plants I chose for the terrarium. (As you can see, little Ms. Thing 1 and 2 are already investigating their potential prey.)  Once the project is complete, I will post the details!






Coloring...

I have to admit, I'm a kid at heart.  Although I'm not what anyone would call an artist,  I do like to draw.  But what is even more fun is coloring!    One of the things I got for Christmas was a Dover 'adult' type coloring book ~ "Godey's Fashions,"  that depicts ladies' fashions from the 1830's to 1890's as were found in Godey's Ladies book.  (This publication from the 1800's could be considered something akin to today's Vogue Magazine.  It originally featured serials, short stories, poems, book reviews, needlework patterns, but later began including fashion plates for the most trendy styles as found in Paris and Victorian England.  The Editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, seized the opportunity of the magazine's popularity and began to address issues like social injustices and the importance of education for women.

The drawings in this coloring book were done by Ming-Ju Sun,  and are incredibly rendered with beautiful detail.  Coloring has been not only fun, but soothing to take the edge off these arduous winter days.

Hopefully, you, my dear friends, will have found some interesting things to help you pass the long, dark hours of winter.  Please do share, I'd love to hear about them!  
Fear not though, Spring is just around the corner (or so they tell me).  Excuse me as I have another foot of snow to be shoveling.


Stay Warm!
xo
Yvonne

Sew for Victory update

Hi Everyone!  I'm very excited to be back in sewing mode...

Here's a little confession:  Whenever I stop sewing or crafting for awhile,  I begin to lose confidence in myself and wonder if I ever had much skill to begin with.   Sometimes I need to just play with the fabric and patterns for awhile and tell myself that what I create doesn't need to be Coco Chanel or Vera Wang good,   I just have to like it.

So when last I wrote about the "Sew for Victory" project,  I had found 2 lovely patterns circa 1947 in my collection.

I planned to do the long sleeve blouse from the first and the skirt from the latter.      I have some lovely dark red cotton fabric with little roses on it  to use for the blouse, but haven't found or decided on any fabric for the skirt yet.

close up of the fabric

Prepping the Pattern:

I mentioned that this is my first foray into the world of using a vintage pattern to sew with.  I have collected them for years, and love to look at them and use the pictures for inspiration, but never actually got around to using one.

First off,   I was taken by surprise - where were the lines? the seam allowance, grain lines, dart lines,   all that handy-dandy info that they print on modern patterns was nowhere to be found... or was it?    At first glance, the pieces looked like plain tissue paper with little holes punched in them.  Upon further examination I found the little holes were actually strategically places and all the aforementioned information was right there in black and whi....er little punches.

   Note on the this piece is punched in little letters "blouse front"    There are also square holes that demark the fold line for the fabric/facing area (where the row of buttons will eventually go.)

Kind of hard to see, but there are also small holes around the edge to show where the seam allowance is, and also two sets of 3 holes - sewing lines for the darts.

Here is a larger look at the whole of the pattern pieces.
These appear to be unused with the original factory folds... so I gather that unlike modern patterns, most of which are large rectangles of tissue that you have to cut the pattern pieces out of,  these vintage pattern pieces come precut to the size mentioned on the envelope.


Now given that these lovely patterns are now near septuagenarians,  I worry about handling them and sticking pins in and cutting them etc.  
Here's a little trick I learned from my Mom :  Wax Paper!

Some brands of modern pattern will sell a size range - example "A" would be sizes 4-8, "B" would be 8-12. and "C" would be 12-16 etc.   The pattern pieces then have multiple lines around them with each line being a different size in the range (ends up looking a little like tree ring dating- concentric circles)
If you cut the size you need, you are then not able to use the pattern again for a larger size (which would be helpful if your kids like mine grew a size every other week!)     This is where wax paper comes in handy  - you trace the size you need on the wax paper, and thus preserve the original pattern piece for future use.
Wax paper is also more durable than the tissue paper, which tends to rip very easily,  and comes in a nice long roll for about $2, where some patterns cost upwards of $10-$20.     I've also found it helpful in close encounters of the feline kind  (my kitty likes to help me sew, but sometimes her claws get in the way :(

 

So....  I traced the pattern pieces onto the wax paper, cut it out, and then used a sharpie marker to note the markings on the piece.

 Here are the instruction sheets that came with the pattern.  These unfortunately are not in as great of shape as the pattern pieces themselves.   I will have to try to photocopy them at some point so as to minimize their use.












Here comes Lightning, my steadfast kitty helper....she of course has noticed that I have spread out pattern pieces and lovely fabric and must come to take a look. (Thankfully by this point the original pattern has been copied and put away)

examining the fabric

 giving her approval

    the fabric has passed the inspection

Here I have laid out the wax paper pattern pieces before cutting them out.

 and proceeding to cut them out

That's all I have for today kiddies,  next stop sewing machine!

Do you have any pet helpers for your projects? I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks for reading.