Look all the stars aligned, or at least all the knockoff dresses aligned with my closet.

Before I give a few thousand excuses of why I haven't blogged in a month let's take a trip down memory lane to this post and this one too. We all know I love Built by Wendy and yellow and blue, and when you give it a Forever21 price tag and add more buttons, I am in major love. I ordered the denim dress online today, and the yellow one has magical disappeared from the site so I'm going to the mall to find it this weekend, cross your fingers it will be there.

Okay and on to why I have been a terrible blogger, I simple have been too busy with school, life, friends, everything and blogging has been my last priority. The musical is over so I am no longer spending 6 hours a day fixing armpit holes and doing stage make-up of lame-o actors and dancers. It was super fun and I am sad for all the seniors that are leaving. But it leaves me with otragouse amounts of free time and I'll be sure to use it well and blog more.

And some news about the last post! The recycled fashion show is this Thursday and I am going to take loads and loads of pictures and put them up here first thing. The other "designers" dresses are really, really cute and I hope mine measures up.

Also I am in the process of making a dress for myself out of olive green cotton knit, I'm not sure how it's going to turn out because I'm not using a pattern, but I kinda want to wear it this Friday so we'll see if I can get it done in time.

I'll be posting sometime this weekend!
EDIT: just kidding it'll be a while, I have a major project due, and am going away all of this weekend, soon I promise.
and sorry for the font size weirdness, I'm not sure what's going on with this...

should I trust this dialect to covey the right effect?

Okay here is what has been sucking up some of Eilonwy's and my time as of late (that and reading I am Charlotte Simmons, it fit in nicely as I went on collage visits during spring break)

My school is having a "green week" the last week of April. Part of this is a recycled fashion show. I some how got into this (okay I sort of excitedly volunteered because a friend of a friend was helping plan the thing and I was asked by said friend to help out) but basically the idea is to take recycled materials and make an outfit out of them. Some of the designers are doing more "recycled" things than others, and I chose to make a little dress out of vintage napkins!
I've changed my design a million and a half times, un-sewing and re-sewing too many times to count. I'm still working on it but hope to finish it soon. I will definitely get pictures of the finished product up as soon as possible because I would love some input and who do I trust more than the oh so fashionable bloggosphere.

Here are the vintage painted napkins that I am making the main part of the dress out of.

Speaking of recycled fashion look at Coral Stars' most recent post! While your at it check out Susie’s brown paper bag post that's linked on Leah's blog.

Only half past the point of no return.

I know this picture has been up here before,
I love it despite it reminding me of my lack of a lace slip dress and cowboy boots.

There hasn't been a post in a super duper long time (but really only 5 days) because school has been killing me, ripping my soul out and stomping on it with steal toed cleats, (actually its been more like crampons, the steal spikes that you strap to the bottom of your boots when winter mountain climbing, oh yes mountain climbing dork right here). but I have a three day weekend which besides the 1286934674 pounds of school work I have to do I might get some sewing done.

I am thinking about summer too much, and its been such a downer because I can't wear anything summer related due to the snow that's dumping right now. I have worn wool socks, Birkenstock clogs, cardigans and scarfs internally too much, like pretty much every day this week. It needs to get warmer soon, I am tired of this bipolar 'lets be warm one week and snow the next' weather.

Wow what a great weather rant, I really have nothing to say about fashion lately,
Oh but on Wednesday my mom came home with a box, like a jumbo can barely be carried by one person box, full of fabric. This lady that somehow knew my mom, was cleaning out her basement and found a massive box full of fabric, she didn't want it and she gave it to us without even looking at it. I was semi-hopeful for some epic stuff but when we opened it up the only good things were a few yards of super nice black silk jersey, and some of the same in olive green, and a million yards of purple linen. Also in there were some half made shirts, one is in a fabric I really like the wrong side of, so I'll see what can be managed with that. disappointing, but I guess for free fabric, some high-quality jersey is pretty great.

I'll try to have a great post up on Monday, okkkaayyy?

The Faint Memory of Soft Blue and White from Mornings Past.

There has been something on my mind about the style of dress I want to make with the blue and white striped fabric I showed you yesterday, but I couldn't quite put my finger what the inspiration behind it was.
Then when I finally found time to read Teen Vogue today the realization slapped me across the face.
Men's pajamas! the striped are just larger than classic pajama fabric. I have been thinking of soft gathers and pleats, flowing and comfy, but with men's wear inspired details to refine it just a bit. Just like the cozy pajamas that your father wears. Now that I have realized what my inspiration is I can focus on the design, instead of trying to think of exactly what I am reminded of by the fabric.

photos are from teen vogue march 2009

Just a Small Fabric Obsession.

My favorite thing to do when I need some cheering up is to go to the fabric shop and just feel different bolts.
Sadly I have not been on a fabric shopping trip in such a long time. Not to worry though, my mother used to do custom dress making and costuming for various ballet companies, so she has loads of cool fabric left over from that. She got rid of a lot of her stock a few years back to make room for a quilting obsession, but she still has closet and a few boxes devoted to the higher quality stuff.
Occasionally I go through every thing to find something great. Here is what I found on my last search.

^ ^ blue and white striped light cotton, there is a large bolt, probably six or seven yards, I'm thinking a dress, and maybe a skirt of top as well, we'll see.

^ ^ This is one of my favorites, its a large graphic floral knit, it's thick but very flexible, I only have two yards so I don't think there will be enough of a dress, but I might be able to get one out of it with some creative cutting. If that won't work it will become a high-waisted gathered skirt, or maybe a full drapey top, I need some input.

I have been a bit obsessed with stripes lately, I have made a skirt out of striped twill, and a large cardigan from brown and tan striped sweater knit. With that added to the stripes I have filling my closet and the striped cotton I just found, I think I will soon have too move on to a new pattern to avoid being known as the girl who only wears stripes.

I would very much like some feed back on my intentions for the fabric, what do you envision?

The play is over, so I now have a bit of free time before we start doing the musical and I'm costuming for that.
And what does more time mean? more blogging! and pictures of what I've been making lately because I'll be home before dark and can take them in natural light.
I've been making a lot of spring dresses and wearing them over thick tights with grandpa cardigans, I have also been working with loads of knits, which unfortunately means I'm sewing on my overlock not Eilonwy. But I'm getting a lot of use from the patterns that came with the Sew U Home Stretch book I got for Christmas. I also have Wendy Mullen's first book and every single one of her Built by You patterns, you might say I'm obsessed, only a bit.
I have been playing around with pattern making and construction as well, but I still don't have a dress form so it's a bit hard to do draping, my math skills are going to good use though because I'm figuring out measurements to make patterns instead of transferring drapes.
I've been so inspired lately and don't have enough time to get all the projects done, my sketch book is filling up, I'll have to get another one soon.
and I have a bit of good news, I'll tell you about it once some things are finalized, but it's pretty epic.

sometime this week I'll get pictures up here, okay? I promise.