The Hair to Complete a Retro Look

I just saw this NYT article about how to achieve the perfect up-do for a retro-styled look. The back-combing, bobby pins and hair spray to shellac the whole thing -- all of it reminded me of how my mom and grandmother used to get ready to leave the house! The only difference is this version doesn't look as perfect -- doesn't have that "no-hair-out-of-place" finish -- which, I guess, is what makes it modern.

Images from here.

Class on Making Made-to-Measure Pants

For those of you in the San Francisco area, or those who will be in the area from June 22 - 24, there will be a custom pants class that may be of interest. It's a pattern drafting class focused on achieving a great fit, and looks to be quite interesting. Take a look!

My First (And Only) Lemon!

This is kind of random, but I have to share this. I'm so proud -- my first lemon! I planted a dwarf lemon tree in my yard last year and voila! A single little lemon! Perhaps I'm on the road to developing a green thumb?

A New Crocodile Outfit

Thank you all for your suggestions on trimming my knit Chanel-style jacket. It does feel like extra trim isn't necessary, so I'll leave it unadorned and let the stitch pattern take center stage!

Remember that crocodile print? Well, I managed to take two yards of it and turn it into a little outfit -- jacket and skirt. Here's the high-waisted skirt style from the August 2009 issue of Burda:

It has a center back zip and vent and is lined with some leftover silk/cotton batiste I had in my stash. It is a simple style, with the one interesting design feature being the two stitched-down pleats in front and the belt loops (I shortened them so they are sized for my belt -- the pattern calls for loops that extend all the way up to the top of the skirt). I shortened it as well, as skirts that hit at the knee or slightly above are the most flattering length for me.

After I cut out the skirt, I saw that I still had a decent amount of yardage left, so I decided to make a simple jacket from the February 2012 issue of Burda.

This is probably the easiest jacket I've made in a while. I lined it with some scrap china silk to give it some weight and used fusible interfacing for the facings and hems -- no complicated inner construction, as it is a simple and casual jacket.

Here's the outfit. It may be a bit too much crocodile print when worn together, but I'm happy with how each piece turned out -- simple styles that really showcase the coolness of the print.

One observation, now that I look at the photos -- the sleeves are supposed to be three-quarters in length -- I may need to shorten them a bit. Oh well -- a simple fix!

Thank You for the Awards!

Thank you to Beth of SunnyGal Studio for the Sunshine Award! Not only does she create fabulous garments (you have to see the kimono wedding dress she made!) and is an expert tailor, she is a wonderful person (in person!) as well.

Thank you also to Gail of MyFabrication for the Versatile Blogger Award! I am always envious of the beautiful fabrics she chooses and how she is able to expertly transform them into gorgeous garments (I especially loved her ball outfit -- so amazing!)

Here we go with some tidbits:

Favorite Color: Varies, but generally blue, red and pink.

Favorite Animal: I've been a life-long dog person, but my husband introduced me to the most awesome cat -- Elvis (my profile pic) -- and we adopted the second most awesome cat (Simon) -- and now I love cats too!

Favorite Number: Nothing in particular, although I do tend to buy yards of fabric in threes, so I'll say 3.

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Definitely coffee, especially Peet's coffee here in the San Francisco area. I would probably wither away -- or at least be extremely cranky -- without my daily mug!

Facebook or Twitter: I'm not a big social media person, but I am on both. I was surprised at how addictive Twitter is -- and how easy it is to get a lot of information in a short period of time. I admit that I check Twitter multiple times a day (easy with an iPhone) but I only go on Facebook once a week or so. So I have to say Twitter.

My Passion: Sewing, knitting, cooking. Trying to make gardening into a passion, but it seems unlikely at this point -- tough to get past the thought of those bugs!

Getting or Giving Presents: I like both. I love to get presents but I also love to give gifts that are unexpected and are a surprise to the receiver.

Favorite Pattern: My favorite is one that I made a couple of times -- Burda's coat/dress from February 2008.

Favorite Day of the Week: Friday!

Favorite Flower: Tulips and tropicals. I wanted tulips for my wedding, but in November, it was a stretch. So I chose anthuriums instead, which were perfect.

Favorite Celebrity Role Model: I'm not very clued into the celebrity world, but I loved Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.

Here are 7 random things:

1. I prefer savory over sweet. When given the option of caramel popcorn vs. processed cheese popcorn, I'll choose the processed cheese flavor, hands down.

2. Despite having taken swimming lessons on multiple occasions, I'm a terrible swimmer and avoid pools at all times.

3. I love shifting gears in a manual transmission car. Not sure if it is a control thing or a race car thing.

4. Now that I have satellite radio in my car, all I listen to is music from the 80s. If I start making clothes that look eerily like they are from that decade, you'll know why!

5. This is the first time I've admitted this: my brother is smarter than me.

6. I love food and have very few things that I dislike eating. One that I'm not fond of is okra. Yuck.

7. Although I've lived in the San Francisco area for the majority of my adult life, I'm still partial to my roots in southern California.

Tools for a Gardening Novice Like Me

One of my recent diversions from sewing has been thoughts of gardening. I've never had a green thumb -- always avoided having to go near soil and all of the creepy crawly bugs that hang out in gardens. But I have some space for a nice little garden of vegetables, herbs, etc., so I've committed to doing something with that space (well, it helps that my dad has volunteered to assist!) We'll see how it goes ...

I found some tools to help with the effort. I found a neat story about apps for gardening -- an interesting way to apply technology to a very non-tech process. I also bought a book -- it is overwhelming, as it has a ton of information in an encyclopedia format, but it's a start. Now I need to choose some things to plant!

Image from here.

Need Ideas for Trimming a Chanel-Style Jacket

While I still want to sew a Chanel-style jacket, I recently felt inspired to knit one. I had a bag of Rowan Summer Tweed, which is a great silk/cotton blend yarn that has a tweedy texture. When combined with a textured twist stitch, the resulting fabric turned out pretty cool.

I added a crochet edging all around, including the sleeves, but I feel it still needs some sort of trim around the edges to add some jazziness. Because it is a summerweight jacket, I don't want a traditional chenille-type of trim. At first I thought perhaps a beaded trim like the one below:

Image from here.

But does it seem kind of fancy for this particular jacket? Perhaps a knit braid?

Image from here.

I have some leftover yarn, so I guess I could braid my own trim. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!