Draping

I created this shirt by draping the fabric on my mannequin. The pants are my cropped Vogue 1051 that I never properly blogged. The shirt was an experiment and I think it turned out ok!

Prairie Girl Refashion

Does anyone remember when I made this dress? It's ok if you don't. 

I made this dress in 2010. I think I wore it once - for this photo shoot. I decided the length was awkward for me and the slip hung funny and clung to my body in a weird way. So it languished in my closet... lonely and forgotten. Until last night when I had pity on it.

WOW! Did I get OLD? I look like TWELVE in that first picture!

First I cut out the skirt lining. Then I just wacked off the bottom and hemmed. Took about 15 minutes and now I have a shirt that I LOVE! The pattern is called Prairie Girl by Favorite Things.

Vintage-esque Suit

When I found this fabric I knew it was destined for a suit of some kind. I was thinking something in the realm of classic Chanel, Mad Men, Pan Am or something Jackie O. would have worn. 

The skirt is my standard straight skirt pattern using my measurements, but this time I added a tailored back vent, which I am quite pleased with! The jacket is Butterick 5332, which I've made once before. I really love the way it turned out! I'm not exactly sure what kind of fabric it is. First I thought it was boucle, but that's not right. I looked up tweed, but it doesn't look like that either. It's a very loosely woven yarn over a less loosely woven base fabric. Hard to explain... It's a pale mint green and white. Whatever the fabric is I love it! It has a super drape to it so the bell sleeves aren't too stiff, but it has enough stability that the waistband stays put. 

I wore it to work for the first time yesterday and got lots of comments that it looked like the 60's and that it was really nice. I wish I had had little white gloves and a handbag for the photo shoot but oh well!

BTW, did you know that this is Me Made May? Thanks to Zoe and her "Me-Made" challenges I have almost a completely handmade wardrobe! I never would have dreamed I could do that. I decided not to be a participant in the challenge anymore since it's my way of life, but I encourage anyone out there to try it! It's easy to start out with simple things, like handmade jewelry, and then keep building your wardrobe. It's so rewarding! 

Rome Highlights

As soon as I returned from the States we hit the road for Rome, Italy. We had Easter in Germany and then left the next day. We were there three full days (traveling on the other days) but still couldn't see half of all there is to see. Here are some of the highlights of what we did get to see.

Castel S'Angelo

This was neat to me because my University was in San Angelo, and that's also where Haven was born. So it was kind of cool that it had the same name. I'm sure there is no connection.

Circus Maximus

This is where they had the chariot races back in the day.

The Colosseum

Forum Ruins

 Vatican City

 St. Peter's Basilica

 Sistine Chapel

 And I saw a yarn bombing in the ruins! How they got it there I don't know....

We saw several other sites from the bus tour and from walking around, but these were the main touristy things, so that's what we made sure to get to. We'll have to go back again sometime to see the rest. I think the coolest part was walking around the ruins. It's neat to think that you're walking through buildings that are like 3000 years old! It's remarkable how much is still standing!

The District of Columbia

Now that OWOP is over I will share some sightseeing photos from my trip here. I've been here two weeks already, with one more to go. My parents joined me this weekend and between Friday night and Saturday I think we walked 100 miles. That's just a rough estimate...

Just to give you an idea of everything I have seen these two weeks (both with my parents and with classmates), here's a map with stars on the major things we saw. We've of course seen A LOT of buildings from the outside, like the FBI, EPA, State Department, and all kinds of neat stuff. The stars mark the more touristy sights we've been to. For scale, the Lincoln Memorial to the US Capitol is three miles.

The US Capitol is at one end of the National Mall.

We went in for a small tour of the center section, which included the gorgeous dome.

Saw the South Lawn of the White House.

Here they are BOTH on their cell phones talking to family back home. "We're in DC!"

I'm pretty sure this is the Occupy DC camp ground.

That sign says "Human Need Corporate Greed."

This is part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.

It says, "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

And the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is very neat.

This one says, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." Here's what it looks like with the "mountain" pieces. His part is the center and is in front of the two other pieces.

The city at night is beautiful. Here's the Washington Monument at night.

And Mr. Lincoln, three miles down on the opposite end of the National Mall.

It's clear that this city is build with the express purpose of making visitors feel the POWER of the United States. that's what you get from these buildings. From the Department of the Interior, which looks like a fortress, to the ornate beauty of the Capitol, you get this feeling like yes, I'm small in this big country, but I have a voice. Very interesting city. I'm very glad to have gotten the opportunity to be here, and that it was long enough to see so many amazing things!

OWOP Day 7

I made it through one week of wearing one pattern and only had to repeat once! Today's pants are technically a combination of two patterns but I am claiming them as Vogue 1051. The process with my jeans went like this: The Burda pants pattern I started with was not a good fit. Legs were too wide, waist was too high. The first thing I did was use the Vogue pants to taper down the legs of the jeans. Then I used the Vogue pants to adjust the waist height to be more reasonable for my super short torso. I almost had it right and then realized the waistband on the Burda jeans would have to be completely redrafted. A straight waist band is just worthless. I had to draft a curved waistband, so out came Vogue. At this point I have a pair of denim Vogue 1051 pants with the yoke, back pockets, and the little little coin pocket coming from the Burda pattern. So, clearly Vogue 1051 is a winner!!! I love the fit of these pants!

My parents have joined me in Washington DC for the weekend. More pictures to come, but here's my favorite shot of the day.

Washington Monument through the branches of the last of the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. The Cherry Blossom festival starts this weekend. It's the 100th anniversary of when the Japanese gifted the trees to Washington DC. Unfortunately they all bloomed two weeks early this year and most of the trees have already dropped their blossoms! I did get to see them last week before they all fell off and they were very pretty.

OWOP Day 6

This picture isn't really fair to today's outfit, but I didn't get a shot of me alone. This is my class photo for the training I am attending. There are five other classes of 15-16 students attending the same training, but they break us out into small classes.

The capris are Vogue 1051 in a beautiful wool pinstripe. Yes, I said wool. If you know me at all you know I can't stand wool. These are ok as long as it doesn't get too warm. They start feeling itchy if I get hot. The shirt is Simplicity 2191, the short sleeved version, made out of a super soft silk/cotton blend. I will have to get a better picture of this outfit another time because I really like it.

This afternoon a few of us went up to Old Town Alexandria... which is not as old town looking as one might think from the name. They do have a cute little boardwalk out by the Potomic River and a nice restaurant/shopping street.

 I was MOST excited to see my first real life yarn bombing!

The graffiti on the sign says "Art is not a crime." This was a pretty art laden part of town. We also went into the Torpedo Factory Art Center which was really neat. Each little room inside the center is a separate gallery and studio space for an artist or group of artists. Some were still open when we got there but most had closed already. It looks like they also offer classes. If you are up in this area I recommend walking through. It was a really neat concept for a gallery space.