A pink mood

Today's color scheme was rose tinted! First I was so happy to get my mother's old iPhone which is much newer than my old phone and actually works! I am tying this post on my phone, so if the post has a weird layout that's why. Technology blows my mind! My case makes me happy, it is pink and looks like an English rose garden.

Also I am almost finished with my red and ivory 1910s dress, all it needs is a hem. I took some bad phone pictures, but eventually will have a real photo shoot. I'm very pleased with the dress. 

Yay! On a back to school  note I have assembled a few pieces, all slightly pink. I  was given a lovely elephant pattern homework/sports planner by my mother, also I now have a snazzy binder for the papers I assemble as the head of my school's costumes crew! Lastly I picked up an adorable pair of school flats by Tommy Hilfiger on sale at DSW.

I have been on a slight sewing hiatus but that is over now. So expect many exciting updates that are actually history or sewing relevant! (-:

"I can't wait for autumn" cleaning

I love spring and winter but I always come back to the decision that I'm a fall person. Maybe it's because I love chilly weather, sweaters, tights, and tweed. Or maybe it's because I secretly like going back to school and my birthday is in November. So in my "it's almost fall yayayayayayay!" excitement I cleaned up and organized a bit. Things have been pretty crazy/upsetting/all over the place in my life recently and I always find that a deep cleaning helps me take stock and calms me down.

I put up the Kings and Queens of England poster that I got at Blenheim Palace.

That chair is usually full of clean laundry, books, and unsorted objects. But look! Now it's just the scripts of Downton Abbey season one!

In other news I made something I can actually wear. What? Gasp? I know, it's crazy, it's so practical! I made a little gathered skirt in slate blue/heather colored subtly striped silk jersey that I picked up at Jomar two years ago for something like $6 a yard. It was a scrap left over from my 1913 blouse. Anyway It's just two panels gathered by elastic and finished with french seams. It's just short and fun and barely took me any time to make. I put together two little outfits to show the skirt in warm and cold weather wardrobes.

Spring/Summer; the top is from Zara and the pearl bow necklace is vintage.

Fall/Winter; the striped Oxford is from Jack Wills, the charcoal cashmere sweater is from a consignment store, and the cable knit grey leggings are from Jack Wills.

On it's own!

I've lost my sewing drive!

Two weeks ago I was rowing at a crew camp hosted by Penn's excellent coaches (my coach was an Olympic medalist, seriously), it was great and super inspirational! Then last week I played field hockey all-day at an over night team camp at Alvernia College in Reading PA. That ended yesterday and now I'm a bit too tired to feel energized about any projects.

Penn's boathouse, boathouse row Philadelphia

So basically I need inspiration to get me going again.

I think she's having a light bulb moment.

I started a late 18th century jacket in spring green and ivory silk taffeta with a zone front and ruffles but that got old when I didn't have a good way to pink the ruffles. So then I started the process of getting the materials for my 1913 corset but I haven't succeeded in that endeavour yet. The jacket had similar lines to this jacket from the Kyoto Costume Institute, but I didn't do the skirt part right so that was annoying.

I love this, and my mistakes are easily fixed, but I'm in one of those moods where I don't feel like it.

Hopefully this doesn't last too long, because I like to be busy!

1920s London debutante dress - Historic Sew Fortnightly

All done. All photographed. Wow I'm not used to both! I finished my 1920s "deb" dress without a problem and through it on with a make shift slip yesterday afternoon. I pinned my hair up and didn't even put make up on except for the lipstick at the end. So excuse any blemishes, this was a spontaneous photo shoot.

First things first, I used this past patterns pattern from 1926 for the skirt. The first time I made the pattern I sized down the bodice because it is MUCH too big, but since then I managed to loose the front of my new pattern. So I drafted a new bodice pattern based off of a dress I'd made with the old pattern.

It's a great pattern, I love it.

I have already showed you my inspiration photos, but I'll throw them in for posterity's sake. (-;

1920s silk and lace gown

1920s silk and lace gown

1920s English Debutante

Some music: You're a Real Sweetheart 1928

The Challenge: White

Fabric: White silk chiffon, antique cotton lace

Pattern: Past Patterns #1965

Year: the pattern is from 1926 but I was not faithful to it, so maybe a bit earlier 1923-1926

Notions: Mettler cotton thread with silk finish in ivory, four white metal hooks and eyes

How historically accurate is it? All the materials are period,  I used an original pattern, and I think original techniques, so pretty darn historical!

Hours to complete: I didn't really count, but I made it in about a day

First worn:  July 20th for the photo shoot

Total cost: It was $18 for the pattern three years ago, $20 for the antique lace one year ago, and the silk was a gift. So in total $38

Shiny Pretty Things

While I was on vacation I picked up some shiny pretty things that I will work into my projects soon. I apologize for the bad phone picture quality, but I'm really much too lazy to charge my camera let alone find it.

Aren't these stunning? Art deco shoe buckles.

Shiny rhinestone broaches; I think the first one is art deco, the little one seems really old because of the clasp, and the flower one is just fun

Tilt your head to the left... I didn't rotate the image. This is such a huge chunk of sparkly, I can totally see it on a late Victorian ball gown!

Two hair combs that are perfect for my 1910s dresses. The black one is modern made of jet in the Czech Republic. The honey colored one is made of bakelite and dates from the 1910s.

Cute Vintage pearl bow pendant

Elbow length kid gloves that actually fit!

My busy unscheduled week

I have only two full weeks of unscheduled bliss this summer, that is one of them. I have filled my days with sewing, listening to Opera music, watching BBC and ITV programs, and working out. I'm not a huge fan of the summer, (the heat? Ewe!) but I love having free time! During the school year I have practically no free time so I have to make the most of it now! I've been sewing a lot. I made most of a Poiret inspired dress (as usual I stopped before closures and sewing on the sash).

Ignore me in this picture. It will have a grey/green silk velvet sash.

 Then I started another 1910s dress inspired by these fashion drawings.

My dress is completely synthetic because that's what I had in my stash, but I quite like it anywaay. Here's the progress:

The top of the under dress is covered by three tiers of lace. The red bodice and the straps of the red bodice will be embroidered with little red beads. I see the finished product styled with a psyche's knot or something romantic like that.

Then I stopped working on that to start (and almost finish) a little white 1920s dress. I was inspired by a couple of dresses I had seen recently on ebay and etsy. 

I had some beautiful white silk chiffon and some antique lace that I was jut itching to put together. I was inspired by the idea of the English debutante of the 1920s so that is the theme of my dress. After I do all the finishing I plan to do a themed photo shoot for it with a grand staircase and some feathers and pearls! I will also post better pictures of it for the Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge "white" because it is white.

This is a really bad picture, it's much more elegant in real life!

A detail of the lace which is really beautiful.

Lastly I was watching Sense and Sensibility from 2008 and I started making an 1790s-1800s open robe in powder blue linen. I re-cut the pattern based off of the Sense and Sensibility one... haha ironic. It went together really smoothly except for the sleeves which fit terribly. Don't laugh, but it's possible that they are on backwards.... that's the way they fit. )-: Hmmm well the sleeves still needs some work and the robe needs closures but that will wait for the robes and robbing challenge for the Historic Sew Fortnightly.

Adventures in the Cottswolds

Some people don't go for cold, wet, old fashioned, and relative isolation, but if that's how you're going to describe a cottage in Oxfordshire during a chilly English summer I will call it heaven! The whole time I kept talking about being a senior citizen and living there, but that is still a ways off (-:. Here are some pictures of a slice of heaven.

There was a field of sheep in our backyard.

I love sheep.

My hair looked pretty crazy but it was wet and I was cold!

My oxfords were the most comfortable walking shoes I've had before and very snazzy!

The neighbor's dog and I got along quite well!

I didn't want to go to too touristy of a place, but Bibury was just down the road.

I really just can't resist Antiques stores.

I loved our house so much I was ready to stay!