Caught in a Whirlwind

I realize it has been more than 2 months since I have last posted and. Basically this semester has not been a cup of tea - I'm not totally thrilled with my classes, plus I'm taking more credits than my brain can handle so I will be very glad to be done with this fall (exactly 2 weeks to be precise!).

So much has happened over the last couple months, that it would be hard to go into detail about everything that has happened. Instead I will post some photos highlighting what I've done.

I made sushi at an event hosted by one of the student groups and was taught how to wear and tie a traditional kimono (see the rest below the cut)

Seasons of Cities and Mountains

It is an absolutely gorgeous day outside today and there is no Mountain Day. Very disappointing (for all you non Smithie readers, Mountain Day is an unannounced holiday in which classes are cancelled on a nice fall day. I think originally Smithies did climb mountains, but now we go apple picking, sunbathe or just catch up on homework). Hopefully it will not be next week, as fall break starts on the 8th.

Here we go again!

Yep, school has started back up again, which means lots of work and little time to blog. I currently have no recent costuming or sewing news as I don't have any projects with me (or I can't find them). I swear I packed my embroidery kit (complete with strands and strands of colorful floss and my pink scissors), but have yet to find it. I am currently working on a couple bibs for my little cousins, but I can't do that because I don't think I packed my kit. Hopefully I can get it soon and then my hankering to sew something will stop.

In other news, Reefer Madness auditions are next Thursday and next weekend. I'm definitely excited about the show, but need to get through auditions first (and figure out something to sing!). I'm not really going for any specific part. I'd love to be Mary Lane, but 1) I'm an alto and 2) I don't know if I would be comfortable with her crazy bondage scene at the end. I think if I actually acted and put all my insecurities out of the way, I could handle it.

I'm also taking a bunch of cool but difficult classes - Advertising and Visual Culture, Intermediate Spanish, Methods in American Studies, West African Dance and Intro to Theater History. Sadly non are costuming related, but we will get to watch Mad Men in my Visual Culture class!! I am thrilled beyond belief.

Out with the Old, In with…the Old?

After a nice vacation and a decidedly undecided hurricane (which luckily only left lots of branches and minor power outages in my hometown, but no internet and landlines for my house), I figured it was time to go through my bedroom and purge all of the unnecessary contents. Now at first glance, I don't look like someone who is messy - I try to be quite organized with important things. But, my room and sewing areas are typically disaster zones when I try to keep them clean. Which is why a yearly purge is usually good for me to keep things under control.

I Keep Movin'

So as my summer internship winds to a close, I am both relieved and saddened to be leaving the theater I worked at. Yes, it was a lot of work, but I actually really enjoyed it (despite a couple blips along the journey). I am definitely a lot more confident in both my costuming and people relation skills, as well as quick thinking and fast dressing (for both myself and others). Of course, with the close of this comes some great memories and experience I can use to move forward hopefully professionally and recreationally too.

Now that I am finished, it's time to finish up those remaining projects before I start school in three weeks. During my time off between the shows last week, I managed to make a lot of progress on my 30's blouse - I managed to line the front and back bodice pieces and stitch them to the sleeves and together at the side seams. I also hemmed the bottom edge. All I really have left is to attach the collar (which has proven very difficult for some bizarre reason - it must be the disintegrating instruction sheet that confuses me), hem the front edges, finish the sleeve cuffs, and work on the buttons and button holes. I don't estimate it to be more than a few hours. I am truly pumped to finish this so I can wear this fall!! I have also sketched out a couple of the designs for Reefer Madness which may or may not go up on here after reviewing them with the director.

My neighbor also asked me to make some curtains for her, which I am about halfway through (but am reluctant to finish because of the massive ironing and straight seams. hehe). I'll have to finish those in the next few days before I leave for vacation.

Watch for photos of the finished projects soon!

Stylin' at the Five 'n Dime - part 2

After much anticipation, I present final photos of my first set of 1930's blouses and skirts. Both are about 95% finished, but completely wearable. I need to readjust the back placket on the skirt, once I purchase a zipper and wash the white blouse to get out any remaining marks, but beyond that, they are beautiful.

TaDa! A nicely hemmed (and horsehaired) skirt and finished blouse. You can really see how the horsehair braid holds out the skirt hem.

The blouse alone. The top of the button holes and buttons are tacked down to create a mock collar. It looks nicer than just a flat front (which is my intent for a second blouse, but that will have a real collar).

The skirt alone. As you can see, it falls to about low calf, which is lower than I'm used to ever wearing, but I think it will prove nice. I plan to wear it out to dinner tonight.

My next set of plans (which I have been hinting at) is to create a short sleeved blouse out of the remaining dotted fabric, as well as a lime green skirt for extra options when costuming this fall. Now, to leave you all with an artsy photo - just me playing around in Iphoto with one of the better shots in my mock photo shoot.

Stylin' at the Five 'n Dime - part 1

I finally hunkered down and got a lot done on my blouse and skirt set - and have something to show for it! The last two nights I sewed together the seams on the spotted skirt and ripped a few seams to make the lining (or my skirt muslin) fit inside the spotted skirt. I sewed them together at the back placket (where the skirt closes in the back, for those of you non-sewers) and then basted them together at the top (so they would stay together until I could get the waistband on. It looks really nice. All I have left to do is sew some closures in the back (snaps, hooks and eyes, skirt hooks, whathaveyou), sew on the waistband, and hem both skirts. One of the hems will have a length of crinoline or (plastic) horsehair braid to help keep its shape. I'm thinking it will be the lining so the spotted skirt will stand out nicely.

I also decided to use my muslin as an actual blouse (I put so much time into it anyway that I might as well use it) and mostly finished it last night. The sleeves and blouse edge are both hemmed, with the buttons sewn on, the only (REALLY MAJOR) thing I am missing is the button holes which will hold the blouse together. Kinda important. I've been trying to get the sewing machine to make the correct sized buttonholes for my 5/8" buttons, but it doesn't want to cooperate. I'm waiting for my mom to help me figure out the machine so I can have a beautifully finished blouse (that is, after I wash it to get rid of any wax paper marks or such). I'm really excited to have made a nice dent in both pieces, but I still have an entire skirt and blouse to go (yay for mix-and-match separates), which I hope to start before Reagle eats my summer away.

So drumroll please….

Charity Begins at Home

In light of the recent tornadoes in other parts of the country, my mom's company was asked to help one of their software clients by donating any extra items they could. The clients are a company that currently has 300 employees without homes or a place to work. Very distressing. So in the spirit of giving, my mom and I went up to the attic and purged any old clothing we no longer wore. After pulling down boxes, I managed to empty 2 whole boxes of old t-shirts. My mom also added to the pile a number of cotton "Fresh Produce" dresses and some other shapeless late nineties outfits. I personally am really glad I got rid of all the shirts, because I am constantly telling myself that I don't need anymore clothing (yet I insist on making more costumes to wear - you can NEVER have enough, in my opinion). Letting go of all the memories attached to the clothes is a bit hard, but good to do.

The massive pile of clothes getting ready to go to new homes!

As well as pulling clothes down to donate, my mom also showed me a couple dresses she wore in the late eighties/early nineties. One was a mock Laura Ashley dress made of blue corduroy and trimmed with lace at the collar and cuffs. The skirt was full with tucks adorning the lower half. It almost reminded me of a prairie dress, but was way too strange to wear. The other was a black floral dress with a hint of fifties (crinolined skirt) and a shawl collar on the back. If the dress had had a shawl collar on the front or been smaller at the bust, I might have liked it better.

My mom also pulled down from the attic a number of short, narrow scarves that she used to wear to work with her blazers and button down shirts. Most of them were darker mauves and muted blues, but I managed to save a couple colorful and neutral colored ones for use in future costumes (the bright blue one might make a great sash to match my 1930's dress or the red one might work well as a headband in Godspell). Hopefully you'll see them in future photos!

Spotty Dots

Finally some progress on my 1930's blouse set. I finished the muslin mockup (after making about a dozen silly mistakes including sewing darts and tucks on the wrong sides, sewing the neck fabric to the wrong sides, forgetting the collar after cutting it wrong, puckering on the shoulder, etc, etc.) and it looks good. The sleeves are currently three quarter length and I intend to make them in the short sleeve length. The shoulders are very puffy (which is the style, despite the blouse being a button down shirt), which are helped out by a cut of silky taffeta sewn into the armband (I think). Like most mockups I've done, I've yet to figure every detail out before starting the final project, so that will be one thing I'll do when I make the final blouse.

Retro Styling

I finally broke down and bought the Vintage Hairstyling book from the publisher. I was growing impatient with Amazon for not having it back in stock and was having cravings for vintage hair and makeup (for some reason I have had this huge craving to go to the MAC store at the mall and play with all the different lipsticks and eye shadows to create a fancy vintage look). It should come in the next week or so.

I have made little progress on my 1930's dress ensemble. I whipped out the muslin of the skirt in about 2 hours and would just need to put a waistband on it. The shirt is proving more difficult; it is 5 pieces with the front and back pieces connecting and gathered to empaulets on the shoulders. It doesn't sound that difficult, but the pattern also calls for some really funky darts at the shoulders(?!?) and elbows (which will probably disappear when I turn them into short sleeve) which makes for some tricky maneuvering while sewing on the machine. Once I finish this muslin, I'll take apart the skirt muslin and try to line my fashion fabric with it, so I'm not flashing the audience, while dancing.

I also just learned my brother took the car for the weekend, so I'm back to my mom driving me places until they come back tomorrow afternoon. So much for my leisurely excursion to the mall tomorrow.

I also officially start my internship bright and early Monday morning at 9:00. I'll be there all day helping with measurement appointments (which I am very good at ;)) for Oklahoma, so that could get tedious. Good news is that I saw the cast list and I recognize a couple of the names, so it will be good to see those people again.

Something I'm considering

I've been eyeing two different retro books for a while, both of which would help with costumes and such for Reefer Madness (and also fulfill my need for Retro styles for dances and such). The two books are actually both modern and written by Lauren Rennells of The Bobby Pin Blog and Vintagehairstyling.com, two fantastic resources for anything related to Retro Styling. Anyway, I came across the first book Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques a couple of years ago and found that it is practically the bible for vintage hairstyling. It goes into detail about how to create the exact look you want and what tools to use, plus also contains dozens of easy step-by-step tutorials about how to create vintage hairstyles. Lauren also recently published a companion book on how to create vintage makeup styles. Like the previous book, I've done my research and it also is very thorough with the history of vintage makeup. Both books look really interesting and useful, but I'm not sure if I really want to spend that much on books. Currently, they are both available on the publisher's website (that includes a shipping fee) and on Amazon (where only one is currently in stock, but includes free shipping). Any Leading Ladies want to weigh in on which whether the makeup book would be any use for Reefer Madness?

Huzzah!

My patterns came in the mail yesterday and I am suddenly really inspired to get started on (at least one of) them. I checked the mail as I left for babysitting and found a small package with my name in the mail!! Yay! They were here! Both were packaged very nicely in clear plastic envelopes (and I would highly recommend the seller as she shipped very quickly - purchased monday, sent wednesday, received friday).

I'm starting with the pattern on the left, the dress/skirt and blouse set with the short sleeves

After babysitting, I went over to Joann's to pick up some fabric for the blouse/dress/skirt (and notions for my apron making fiasco). Let's just note this now that when I go shopping alone, I tend to take my time, weighing every option and possibility (which is great for a savvy shopper, not the time-saver). Two hours later, I walked out with tracing paper, a tracing wheel, a measuring gauge (good for making a pattern and creating your own seam allowances), and a huge pile of fabric. I think it totals close to 8 yards. I bought 3 yards of plain white muslin (for lining and such - boring), 1/8th of a yard of silky white taffeta for "sleeve stiffener," 4 yards of a blue and green dot cotton which I am planning to use as the blouse (with enough leftover yardage to create a matching skirt), and a yard and a half of bright lime green cotton sateen for a second skirt to match the blouse. I'm really happy with the dotted fabric because it is very similar to one I found on reproductionfabrics.com, just half the price and minus shipping costs.

So pretty!!

I'm also working on some baby bibs for my mom's coworker who just had a baby girl and I decided it might be good to deplete my stash of pink baby fabric. More about that in my next post.

I also finally heard from the theater I applied to intern at and they want me to come in on Sunday and help them out by being a dresser backstage! I've never been a dresser before, so I hope it's not too hard to pick up on. Hopefully I'll have good news to report!

Maybe this will explain my Material Culture focus...

I know the patterns haven't even shipped yet, but I can't stop thinking about what materials I want to use for my patterns. For the blouse and skirt set, I know I want one half to be patterned with the other half solid, so I have a nice mix and matchy costume idea going on (and then I can make a separate blouse or skirt to match other half - genius!). The dress, on the other hand, I have no idea. The pattern illustration is making me think a lot about how it appears to be a knit fabric, which would be nice for everyday wear. I think it will probably depend on my choices for the blouse and skirt set.

Decisions (or at least one) made!

I ordered the patterns for my vintage dresses! They should be shipped out in the next day or two. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to order two patterns: one for a 1940's scoopneck shirtwaist dress and another for a 1930's blouse and skirt set. Now to decide on the fabric. I'm thinking about choosing brighter colors for the both of them, but don't know if I want to shell out the cash for fancy vintage reproduction cotton. We'll see. I am currently leaning towards maybe ordering reproduction fabric for one, then getting something from JoAnn's for the other. I've only worked with cotton or linen before (and had good results), so I am leaning towards that because it's easy to work with. But I may try to branch out and pick a different fabric for the dress. Anyway, without further ado, I present my two pattern choices.

Blue Roses

Fabric choices for any sewing project are always the hardest part because I have to pick just one. For my 30's dress, I am planning to pick a cotton print (which will make it easy to wash), I just don't know if I want to splurge on a retro print (some of which are adorably expensive). Here are my favorites from the mouth-watering reproductionfabrics.com:

Mary Lane and Pretty Dresses (Post #100!!)

So in my last post I mentioned I had plans for a 1930's dress for use in Reefer Madness (and also daily use).  I guess a bit of background about the show and my plans for my dress would be quite appropriate.

Reefer Madness is a musical based off the 1936 film of the same name. It was originally a propaganda film that was supposed to warn parents of the dangers of smoking marijuana and to keep it away from their kids. I have watched part of the movie, but got a bit bored with it (probably because I had trouble hearing it and I didn't really have the energy to focus on it). Anyway, in 2005, the cult hit was remade into a movie musical (using the songs from the 2001 musical performance) starring Kristen Bell and Alan Cumming (who played the Emcee from the Cabaret Revival, small world). So yeah.

Finally Finished!

I can't believe I just finished my first year of college! It's hitting me pretty slowly, but I'm sure I'll notice it at some point. I'm officially moved out and back home with a little puppy sleeping at my feet. I had so much stuff that we had to take two cars back. My stuff is now unloaded out of the cars (except for the fridge) and is taking up the entire living room. Typical. It looks like I'll be cleaning up for the next week.

Right now (probably because the laziness of summer hasn't kicked into yet), I have a number of projects and such lined up to do. Tonight I have a ticket to see my high school's production of Les Miserables (our final production in our beloved Little Theater). It has gotten really good reviews, so it should be fun. It's also the last night, so I won't get a chance to to see everyone before they disappear to strike the set.

I am also babysitting next week for my neighbors, which should be a good way to earn a little extra cash before the summer starts.

I still haven't heard back from the major theater company I applied to intern at, but my mother keeps suggesting I call them, which I should probably do on Monday.

One of my biggest projects this summer is related to my theater group's fall musical Reefer Madness. I'm planning to sew a 1930's era dress to wear in the musical this fall. I don't know what part I will have, but probably something in the ensemble. It also helps that there are a few other regulars who are a similar size, so I could always lend it to one of them if I end up as a guy or a slutty character (the latter of which is MOST unlikely).

And so I leave you with a neat article about clothing sizes - which would make all of our lives about 100 times easier.