Daily Outfit

I'm figuring that because this is my blog, I can make my own rules for it (haha)... and stray away a little from the construction of clothing, and a little towards the wearing of it, at least for a post here and there. I'm trying to take photos of what I'm wearing--when it's somewhat interesting--to find out what does & does not work, and as a sort of guide if I'm in a rush and don't know what to throw together.

So I got my brother (home from college! ^_^) to come take photos on our porch. It was freezing yesterday, so I went for layers & warmth.

I am wearing:

Big wooden circle earrings: Modcloth
Adorable owl necklace: www.adriannemae.etsy.com
Long gray toggle cardigan: My brother gave it to me. :)
"Liberty" Tee: Threadless, resized by me
Bubble dress: Me!
Tights
Vintage French heels: www.wonderwardrobe.etsy.com


I love these shoes. Pure, pure love. They're leather, made in France, found in a vintage market in Paris, and sent to me from Dublin. We were meant to be, these shoes and I. They're a little tight, but as my mom would say, "It hurts to be beautiful!" (It was always in jest when she said it, but it tends to be true at times!)

Sometimes I feel far too dressed up for the life I live, but it is so much fun to wear nice things, and if I don't wear them here, where else will I?

Threadless "Liberty" Reconstruction

Oh, Threadless. How I love thee. I've been absolutely drooling over this shirt for ages, and a couple months ago (time flies!) they had a 5$ tee sale... and I had to get it! By the time I was ready to order, they had only 3XL. I ordered two--one for me!--and waited impatiently for their arrival.

These are so amazing. First, the name "Liberty" is fantastic--we all know I go for that stuff. :) The color is unusual for a Threadless shirt, and I really like it! And, of course, the print. I lovelovelove it. The bird glows in the dark, too! How awesome is that?

Anyway, I resized one for me, because I wanted just a regular tee, and then made the second one into this. It has a ruched bust, a super long cut, and capped sleeve-style straps.




So. It's spring here! I'm suddenly going to become overwhelmingly busy for the next few months (I have three jobs this summer!), so if I'm not around much... that will be why! I'm going to try my very hardest to at least not neglect my shop, and when I update that I'll try to post here as well. Bear with me, and know I'll be back to posting regularly this fall!

ShilynJoy on Etsy!

Okay, so even though Shilyn is a very awesome, clever, lovely, sweet doll of a friend of mine, I am not being at all biased when I say she's a ridiculously talented seamstress.

She has a style that's entirely unique and her own. She taught herself to not only sew, but to draft patterns and drape, all within a couple years. She opened her Etsy shop this winter, putting fabulous clothing and bags into it. (I'm a particular fan of the Asymmetric Halter Mini Dress, myself, as is pictured below.) She's the one who had the idea for an Etsy Team for ThreadBanger, and continues to come up with fantastic ideas and challenges for it.

Please check out her shop by clicking the photo above! & as always, you can find out more on the TBGuild here, and find all our shops at our Etsy profile.

So, taking photos is really difficult now...

I mean, really, really difficult. I can only estimate what I'm taking a photo of, and I have to always guess the setting and hope I hit the right button for it. I think I'll switch to film from now on, haha. (Except that my film camera doesn't have a light meter or flash and I have no idea how to properly take photos with it! Shame on me.)

Anyway, remember when I was on a vacation and I mentioned the amazing fabric store I stopped into in Taos, New Mexico? I got some beautiful China silk there, and I gushed about the blue. I finally got around to taking a picture of the fabric! I got blue and black to make a skirt, but now I'm not certain that's what I'll be making. Whatever I do make, however, will have french seams and will be perfect.

See??? It's beautiful! I think it looks better in person, but I just love this color. It drapes beautifully, too, and of course it is silky to the touch... it's a bit sheer, though, so I got the black for a second layer. Perhaps a loose-fitting dress? Hm... Any ideas?

In other news, I've been at such a loss for inspiration the last couple of days! I hate it when that happens, especially now when I know I don't have much longer to just sit and sew. Everything I touched seemed to become hideous or a bundle of scraps. It's terribly disheartening. I've been longing to just make something and have it click--to have that wonderful moment where the design goes from being just an image in your head to a beautiful garment that's even better than you imagined.

It's actually been since I made this hideous skirt (made infamous on twitter) out of all my black scraps. It was supposed to be like my blue scrappy skirt, but I just failed. On so many levels. Pretty much ever since then, with only a couple happy exceptions, I've been messing up, or not following through, or losing motivation. Hm. It's like a curse... perhaps I should get it out of my sewing room! Haha! I kid.

But tonight, thank goodness, I think I got some of my inspiration back! You see, there's this Fiber show thing that I'm hoping to contribute to this summer--June & July--and I currently have nothing to offer! But if these ideas I have pan out, I might just have some awesome, incredibly artsy things to display. (More on that later. Maybe I'll do a whole progression of "progress" pictures for you.)

When all else fails, there's the internet & photos on Flickr to help inspire me. What inspires you?

Happy May!

It's still not spring here most of the time, though! Darn Minnesota. The ice on our lake has yet to go out, but if it gets windy today it might. But it's cooold!

We had a bit of sun the other day, though, and I took advantage of that to have a bit of a photoshoot. Have I mentioned that my camera is broken? Well, it is. Just after these photos were taken, that evening, I turned it on at the screen was cracked. The most annoying part is that I have no idea how it even happened! I assume I must have dropped it, but I can't recall it. Hm. So now I'll be begging & borrowing cameras off of my family members, haha.

So, I made a skirt! High waisted and vintage inspired, this lovely is out of the most fabulous pink fabric I could find from Hancocks. It has a super wide waistband, a zipper up the side, and the skirt is a circle so it's very flattering.
These pictures aren't as cool as the Grand Canyon or anything, but I'm still figuring out the best places to photograph things here at home. I'm so glad it's not winter so I can take some outside!

Yesterday I recieved my order from Fabric.com--five yards of a bamboo/lyrca blend (94/6! It's amazing!), for 3.74 a yard. I am so ecstatic and I can't decide what to make! I want it to be very drapey, because this fabric hangs so well and it so luxurious--it also has a sheen, so it catches the light subtley. Maybe a cowl neck, maybe a wrap... haha, here I am thinking as I type. Anyway, that's what is new in my sewing room!!