New Fabric - Again

New Fabric - Again - Sorry Mindless!

On the left is fabric from Michael Levine. It was ALWAYS by favourite fabric store when I lived in LA. Sometimes I have nightmares that I'm on Maple St, and they're closing in 5 minutes and I just can't get to the front door in time. From them I bought skeleton toile, osteology in black and some dia di los muertos fabric.

On the right is some Ghastlies fabric, Michael Miller Nevermore in black and some super silly pink elephant fabric. It reminds me of the Pink Elephant Car Wash in Seattle.

On the left is flocked wool from fabric.com. The picture was awful on their site, I could not tell what those ladies looked like. But thankfully they are all vintage-y and sweet! On the right is assorted fabric from Jo-Anns, some Halloween, some for 1940's blouses. The beige & black lace is from MOOD, by boss brought it back from NY for me!

 On the left are some just some black & grays I bought for trimming & accents. The one with the spider on it is beautiful & I wish I would have bought more! Max is helping me with fabrics in the middle photo. On the right are some Tula Pink fabrics, and although they are not really in my color scheme, I still like them. The one on the bottom is called "Sea Of Tears".

Simplicity 1699 - Nevermore Dress

 I finally finished Simplicity 1699 this past week, right before my sewing machine went out of time. It's in the shop for another week, so frustrating! Overall I am happy with this dress, but it definitely had some strange quirks. I had to take at least 2 inches off the back neck. I added 1.5 inches to the length of the bodice, but I could have added another 2 inches at least. This is a dress patterned for short ladies! Also, I could never get the collar to lay properly, so I ended up taking it off. I had to mix three sizes together because my measurements are totally out of whack with Simplicity's. It has raglan sleeves which is nice for a girl with wide shoulders!

On another note my hair is finally long enough to braid up like a Swiss milkmaid. I saw Laura of Roses and Vellum do her hair this way recently, and her hair seemed as long as mine... I also hid the ends with flowers just like she did.

Grandma's House

I've been at my Grandma's quite a bit lately, unfortunately there is no internet there. I amused myself by cooking, baking and taking photos! 

Like my aunt, my mother and I, my grandma collects head vases. These are on the fireplace mantle. What Canadian home is complete without a giant elk head? The snowshoes add to the ambiance, but sadly the whip and shotguns that hung there forever are gone.

My grandma used to to sew quite a bit, and I've previously take quite a few of her patterns. But looking through her stash, I found a few more oldies. The little fellow on the right is a thermometer from Buirntisland, Scotland, which is where my grandfather was born. This was is his bedroom and I've always wanted it, so she gave it to me!

Tons of creepy dolls abound in my grandma's house.Quite a few are not politically correct, but they're vintage and innocently collected. On the right is a "bad" oil painting of my grandma holding me as an infant. This hangs in pride of place in the living room, much to my aunt's dislike!

New Fabric!

 

 I've bought almost a literal ton of new fabric. I feel a bit ashamed and guilty buying so much for myself, but I showed it all to my mum this evening and she approved.  Its soooo easy for me to buy fabric, much easier than buying clothes.

 

The fabric on the left is Michael Miller's Nevermore. There is enough for 2 dresses. It was on sale and fabric.com has free shipping! How can I say no? The Frida fabric on the right is from fabricfreak.com. I've been wanting some of this for over a year and it is finally MINE!

The Victorian fabric on the left  is from Joann's, I think it will be a blouse. The flapper fabric is from Fabricana and has already been turned into a skirt. The fabric on the right is Tula Pink Nightshade - Apothecary Evening& Spider Blossom. I am so excited about this fabric. It looks girly and pleasant from afar, then up close its super creepy! I bought enough to make a full skirted dress & a blouse.

 

This is Michael Miller Rocket Launch Club. It will be boxers for my boyfriend's birthday.

 An another note, this guy wouldn't let me out of my car in the driveway the other day. Jerk.

Outfit Post - Spider Shirt

I made this shirt this week from WalMart fabric. I mixed 3 patterns to find the pieces I thought would work best. Overall I like it, but front placket still wants to separate at the bust line, even though its big enough. I guess I'll put some snaps on when I get home. The back has cotton twill ties to make it a big more flattering.

I'm off to California tomorrow to visit my dad for my birthday. My step mum is planning a whole day of thrift store shopping!

Goth/Punk Diaper Covers

Two diaper covers made with McCalls Pattern 6108. Super easy patten, I'm making bibs from the same pattern as well. The greens match much more in person. Since I still don't know the sex of the baby, I've decided to stick with black, white and lime green. For the most part. Perhaps a bit of red. Or gray. Maybe I should separate them into "collections", then I wouldn't feel bad about things not matching.

Decent Goth Baby Clothes Are Hard To Find

My friend is pregnant and she, like me, abhors pastels and cutesy crap. We both love baby animals, just not Osh Kosh versions with big heads and glitter everywhere. Searching in stores and online for goth or punk baby clothes has proved fruitless, for the most part, the only things available are printed onesies. So, I have decided to make a complete goth/punk trousseau for her.

First off are booties, since I don't know whether it will be a boy or girl. The love/hate booties I made first and are form Simplicity Pattern 2900, which is a re-issue of a 1950's pattern I also own. These booties are so easy, you barely need to know how to sew!  I smoothed out the scalloped edges and embroidered a line instead.

This pair of booties are made form some Halloween cotton I've been hoarding for years. The pattern is from Handmade Beginnings and was awful to work with. Overcomplicated, mislabeled and just plain stupid. My librarian is making the same pair for her granddaughter and is quite lost.  I am bringing her this pair to give her a visual reference. You can make these booties in half the time if you ignore all instructions!