I still haven't been able to get to NYC to check out the new fabrics, but I'm hoping to make a day trip while I'm in seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center. Within the last couple of weeks, I was looking for a black Chantilly lace locally to duplicate a dress I saw on the Internet. I've managed to find a couple of patterns, but they really weren't right for this dress. There is no place for fabric like 40Th street in Manhattan! I did however make this dress and it turned out beautifully, but I'm still on the hunt for the right lace. I've been altering holiday clothes and I made a python skirt for a friend. Since it's cold outside, I love to stay home and sew all day.

Lace is everywhere in fashion and I love sewing with it, so my next few projects will consist of lace somewhere. I will keep you posted. :)

Well, I was fabric shopping yesterday and I bought some nice things. First I bought a beautiful forest green lace and charmeuse to make a dress for the holidays. I also found a winter print and camel suede cloth to make some separates. I'll be designing most of the day today since it's raining out and is a great day to stay inside. Honestly, I could stay inside a fabric store all day. My mind wanders and I wish I could just snap my fingers and have all these wonderful creations done. I'm hoping to have a chance to go to Manhattan and check out the new innovative fabrics next week.

I could actually live on 40Th street.

Happy sewing!

Happy November everyone!

I finished my Daughter's costume and it came out great. She said she wore it several times over the weekend. Feathers are still in tact. Lol. But anyway, it's time for me to start on another project. I spent most of the day yesterday looking at my fabrics and trying to get inspiration. Did you ever have so many ideas that you just get overwhelmed and then don't know where to begin? Well, that was me yesterday. I started out wanting to make my daughter some clothes, because I love sewing for others, but then I thought I should really be making some things for myself. By the end of the day I was just altering some of my own clothes that were too big on me to get them out of the way. Today is another day and hopefully I will make a decision.

Halloween

Hello!

This week I'm working on my Daughter's Halloween costume. She wants to be Bjork wearing that dead swan dress. I love doing this! I first made a skirt with an elastic waist out of basic white jersey fabric. Then I cut strips of tulle and made tons of ruffles, placing them at 2" intervals along the entire length of the dress. I used about 25 yards of tulle. Then I made the top of the dress by making a separate piece that goes over one side and added a peplum that would hook in the back. I had so much fun sewing white feathers to it to give the illusion that the entire bird was being draped over the body. All I have to do now is make the long swan neck and head. I hope to have it done by tomorrow. I'll take pictures!

Let me know if you are making anything special for Halloween. :)

I was so close in setting up shop. I finally found the perfect location but it needed some work to get it to look like a boutique. I had contractors come in and give me estimates and the prices were outrageous! So, I'm still looking for the right place that maybe has a ceiling and a floor. That would be nice. lol

But, I started making more of my boutique items to sell such as painted scarves, and evening bags. I thought about putting them on my website, but even that has to be changed.

So much to do!

I really hope someone is listening.

9/14/10

Settled into my new home and my sewing room is complete. I'm working on several projects right now and I have also started looking into renting space to set up my new business. Hopefully, I can open shop within the next couple of months. Several prospects have crossed my path, so I have a lot of leg work to do.

9/8/10

I'm still organizing my stuff. Getting in the creative mood to start designing my own line of clothing. I've been sketching for a long time and there was never enough time to concentrate on making those creations come to life. I think I should take advantage of this time and get going! For every item I make for myself, I will make a second one to sell. I'm going to start by making a jacket. Living up north, a lightweight jacket is always welcomed and I can never seem to find the right one. Since fall is here and I will need one soon, this is a good place to start. I'll let you know my progress. :)

8/24/10

OK, I know it's been awhile, but I was busy packing and moving from Florida to New Jersey. I'm now just getting settled and fixing up my new sewing room. I can't believe that I still don't have enough room for my supplies. I guess I'm going to have to get rid of some. Anyone out there interested in purchasing some gorgeous fabrics or fantastic trims? I will make you a fantastic deal. Why is it that after you move you realize that you should have thrown things out before you moved? I should have remembered that after the last move. Oh well! As soon as I'm unpacked a little more, I shall continue to write about my sewing adventures. Please be patient.
Thanks!

7/20/10

I know it's been some time since I've written, but there have been so many other distractions. In between sewing for clients, I've been trying to sell some of my fabrics and trims to make room for new ones. This is much harder than I thought it would be. It's amazing how much I have accumulated over the years, and as I sort through them, I dream about all the things that could be made. A never ending battle.

6/28/10

OK, I know that I haven't been talking, but I've been busy sewing! I finished all the alterations for my Daughter, and I made her two more skirts and cut out another dress. But, withing the last week I realized that I myself have two weddings to go to within the next few months and I have to think about what I'm going to wear. I actually hate sewing for myself because I have to find a style that works for my body type, and I hate trying it on and off several times to alter. What a pain! It's so much easier to do it for someone else. Anyway, I tried this weekend to go out and try dresses on in the stores to see what style looks best. I might also add that the last time I wore a dress was somewhere in the 1980"s. Here in St. Augustine they just don't have the stores that I'm used to up north. No one dresses up fancy. Everyone lives in shorts and tank tops. The only large stores here are Dillard's, Belk, JC Penney and Bealle's (which is like sears, tropical style). Dillard's is in Jacksonville, so I started here locally and hit the small stores like Dress Barn. I actually found two dresses that the styles looked decent, but the fabric was nothing to write home about. Wouldn't you know that they both had ruffles and pleats that would be time consuming if I made it myself. But these styles are possibilities. Then I ventured out to Dillard's and I found a gown that looks really great on me. Again, it has ruffles and lace but not the quality that I would like to wear. I bought it and I'm planning on copying the design and producing it in better fabrics. I still plan to venture out again to Jacksonville and look in boutiques this week, before I attempt to do all this work. I would hate to wear this gown and find myself coming and going. That is what I hate about ready-to-wear. I guess I'm spoiled. But then again, the question remains, do any guests wear gowns to weddings today? Will it be appropriate to wear one? Let me know what you think?

6/7/10

Just to let you all know that the woman I made the dress for called to thank me and loved it! She said it only needed to be taken in slightly at the waist and everything else was perfect. I'm so pleased.
Well, on to my the next project of making my daughter another dress. I should be making something for myself, with all the fabric I bought a couple of weeks ago. But it's so much more fun making things for others. :)

6/5/10

This past week I decided to make a dress for someone as a surprise. I only met this person twice, and really did not know her measurements, but I have a pretty good eye when it comes to sizes. I designed a knee length strapless dress made from a beautiful white jacquard cotton. I had a vision that this design would look beautiful on her and I hope she likes it. It has white piping horizontally on the bodice top and vertically on the midriff section. And I added a tiny white passementrie rosette trim at the bodice top and along the waistline. The inside had all my couture details of a separate foundation, lining, straps for hanging, etc. I wrapped it up so neatly in pink tissue paper with a gold seal and placed it in the perfect size box for shipping. It was all ready to go, when all of a sudden I remembered the most important thing! I forgot to take a picture of it! Oh well, that wouldn't be the first time. Maybe if it fits her, she would be so kind as to take a picture of her in it for me. :)

5/26/10

I managed to take some time today to go to a fabric store in Jacksonville to get some notions that I needed to complete my projects and it was so nice to be surrounded by all the sewing things that I love. When I got home, the fabric that I ordered online arrived and it was exactly what I had hoped for. If you are looking for a reputable online fabric source with great prices and very good quality fabrics, try www.fashionfabricsclub.com. I highly recommend them!

5/21/10

I finished most of my daughter's alterations, but had a slight setback. My back went out and I basically couldn't move for a week. But, I'm better now and ready to continue my labor of love. Having so much time to think of all the wonderful creations, I don't know what to tackle first. LOL!

I definitely have a problem resisting beautiful fabrics. I just returned from a trip up north and yes, I bought more fabric. So, in addition to the tops and pants that I told you about last week, I am now going to make myself a couple of dresses too. That is, after I finish my Daughter's alterations and in between gowns and wedding party items that I promised others. It is a good thing that I love to sew! What are you working on?

4/30/10

Summer is almost here and I've been so busy sewing things for other people that I put myself on hold again this year. I went to the mall yesterday to get inspired and see what they are using for day wear. It seams to me that T-shirts are it. They are all over the place and I might add, not very many colors. They have the graphic tees which are OK if that is your style, but I like feminine tops with some interesting details. I didn't see anything that I liked! And the quality is so poor. If you wash them once, they usually shrink and become out of shape. Instead of "wash and wear", it's more like "wear once and throw out"! As you can tell, I was disappointed in what I saw. Every store had the same things, boring and ordinary.
So, I ended up at Joanne's fabrics, which is the only fabric store in the entire Northeast Florida region, and bought some pretty linens to make myself some tops. I figured that there was enough knits around, so I would like to make something else. That is the great thing about sewing. I will keep you posted as to my progress.

4/21/10

I'm going to dedicate this blog to my Mother, who would have turned 89 today.
She loved clothes and shopping and took pride in being different then everyone else. When I was very young, I remember she used to sew too. But, she loved to use this one pattern of a cut away tent dress and would make it in many different fabrics. She didn't have the best of skills, but this pattern was only 3 pieces, so she really couldn't mess it up. Besides, my Grandparents were professionals and could fix anything. Anyway, Mom would sew it up and then embellish it with pearls or beads around the neck band. Actually, she could have made a burlap sack look good. She just knew how to wear clothes. One time she made this dress in a white 4ply silk crepe and decided it had to be a little more dressy, so she took a quarter and outlined it all over the dress in pencil leaving about 2" between each circle. Then she gave it to my Grandmother to sew gold bugle beads around each circle covering the pencil marks. It was gorgeous! This is the garment that opened up my eyes to a whole new world. It is amazing how your life can change on a dime, well in this case it was a quarter.
There are two other stories that come to mind that make me smile. The first was on my Brother's wedding day. Mom's dress was a pink silk crepe with beading along 12" of the hem and about 6" at the end of each bell sleeve, that she bought at an expensive boutique. It was so hot on the day of his August wedding, that she actually cut off the long sleeves that had all the beading, and hemmed them into short sleeves that morning. Can you imagine that! Who does that!
For my Niece's wedding, she wanted to wear this beautiful aqua brocade dress with a matching jacket that I made for another function because it was her favorite piece. When she took it out of the dry cleaning bag, there were all these yellowish spots here and there. She was so upset because the wedding was only a week away. Nothing like waiting for the last minute! Anyway, I sewed clear iridescent sequins on top of each and every spot and it camouflaged it so beautifully that no one knew that they were put there for a reason. Friends and relatives still comment how beautiful that outfit was, when in fact, I think it was my Mom that made the outfit so memorable.

4/20/10

I have to tell you about the funniest sewing experience of my entire life so far. If you haven't already, please read my other blog of today on "sewing solutions".
I made my own body double dress form and the concept was wonderful. However, the only friend I had at the time that I could torture with wrapping my body in duct tape, was my daughter who was only about 8 or 9 at the time. Being the sweet wonderful person that she is, she tried to follow my instructions to the best of her ability. But the roll of tape was very difficult for her little hands to pull and wrap all around my body over and over again. She seemed to be doing a great job, but it was taking a lot longer than I expected. Here it was probably the hottest day in August and I'm standing still wrapped in duct tape while my daughter is making sure that she covers every inch of my torso. The sweat was dripping down my face and trickling down my back as her attention span was dwindling. She was pulling and pulling the tape to get it off the roll while actually using such great force that I kept losing my balance. When she was finally done, I pleaded with her to get me out of this thing that was so incredibly hot! She cut me out of it and it actually didn't look so bad, that was until I put it on the form. I stuffed the cavities with fiberfill, and then to my horror I had one boob by my chest and the other closer to my waist. I had bumps where I never imagined there could have been one. Apparently when she was pulling and pulling, she was re-distributing all the fat I had into different places. Still I figured that I had to go through with this since my daughter put so much effort into helping me. How could I not finish this project?
I placed the form in the middle of my sewing room for everyone to see. Little did I know that my daughter thought I was actually crazy for doing it in the first place. We laughed and laughed at this horrific sight. But the best reaction was when my Husband came home, took one look at it and said, "What the hell is that!" I proudly said,"that's me!", and he said ,"If that was really you, we wouldn't be having this conversation".
So, if you are going to attempt this project, you must get someone strong enough to wrap the tape evenly so it's not distorted, and by all means, get enough tape! This is not a project that you want to run out of tape. And finally, make sure it is done in the winter months.

Welcome! 4/19/10

Let's talk about fashion, sewing, fabrics and new products. Sewing is the constant in my life, a big part of who I am today. I'm going to share with you the current projects that I'm working on as well as past projects and funny stories. Hopefully, this will inspire you to share your thoughts and pictures, while we discuss fabrics and trims. Who knows where this will lead and the possibilities are endless. I hope you share with me!