Thrift Store Haul equals Two Dresses

Sometimes you just make a great buy when visiting the local thrift store. My last visit yielded over 12 yards of stripe plisse’  cotton. I made two different looking dresses in my signature lagenlook style, simply by changing the direction of the stripe. FUN!

"It Is What It Is!"

Just finished this dress on this pass week, and it offers great possibilities for personality presentation. I don't care what fashion experts say, but wearing a more relaxed style of dressing requires very deft styling and image coordination. This is a casual styling, that I have worn to church on my teaching day. The pattern is my own adaption of the basic T shape body covering. Check out my youtube video of basic components of the one-piece pattern, "New Twist on Old Style Dress". My measurements put me in a ready to wear size 10, and I classify this dress as a small.

ELEMENTS: Faux Ivory Carved necklace (a gift from sister-in-law), black wingtip brogues by ABOUND (Nordstrom Rack), flower print anklets (Nordstrom Rack), Anna Beck silver ring.

"Be the type of person you want to meet"

Making mistakes

I love taking my thrift store purchases and creating new yardage for my signature dress. Sometimes the," best laid plans of mice and men" goes array, like with my three patterns of blue dress. The original idea was like in picture #1, but it just presented me with to much visual light blue---eekk!
So the stripe shirt I had planned not to use became the saving feature of my dress.  

Original Idea

Revised Styling

Back Detailing



Don't be the same. Be Better.

"Thanks for the Memories"

About 4 years ago my best friend Christine Dougherty, watercolor artist, sent me a large box of old clothing. This box is a treasure trove of great usuable items, silk shirts; silk suits; a tapersty jacket; a few over-sized linen shirts and much more. The thing about this box is it travelled with me for 4 years before I could get an opportunity to be creative with the contents. In the last three months, the box of goodies has been, my main source for new wardrobe items----I've been cutting and building virgin yardage from suits, tops and skirts. Below is two dresses I've made using brushed silk suits in lovely jewel tones. The first is a deep purple silk pieced from jacket and pant, with some salvage yardage as the center panel. Dress number two is a lovely teal color, also made from a pantsuit, with the additional yardage created by reconstructing a short sleeve top to be the dress yoke.

Everything has been cut apart and ready for reassembly into usable yardage.

Its not finish for me, until I add my label.

"Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little."

                        -Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington 

Creating Fabric from Ready-Made Clothing

This is what I really like to do, make fabric from ready to wear items. I am always buying clothing pieces more for the amount of fabric I can get out a item, then just to remake the item. This is one of my reclaimed fabric remakes from my Youtube channel.

"May your choices reflect your Hopes, not your Fears."

                                                     -Nelson Mandela

"The Things I Find When I Look for Something Else"

Trying to get the house in a holiday mood, so I've been looking for the over the door hook for hanging our wreath. Have not found the door hanger, but I did locate some of my creative work from the past. The first photo is my creation quilt, probably the second or third quilt I made.  Quilt number two is my "African Queens" wall hanging. The two following pictures are close up photos. It is hand applique and machine quilted. Sure was nice finding these treasures, and they are now on display instead of hide away.

...behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.  Proverbs 1:23

OOTD My Favorite Dress

Wore this to church today, its one of my favorite lagenlook styles. I'm not a true lagenlook wearer, because I really don't layer my outfit peices, but I do admire components of the style. Enjoy!!!

My dresses, always make me look bigger, they also make me feel wonderful and creative. So I wear them with joy, and look big.

 How do you feel about the way you wear your clothing, current fashion trend or indie style?

I am a artist.

OOTD Silk Upcycled Dress

I made this dress from a combination of recycled fabrics and purchased goods. The top yoke portion started out as a pair of deep greenish blue silk pants, whereas the lower dress section is a black and white print silk from my fabric stash. I love wearing this style of loose-fitting easy comfort dres, but usually make them in monochromatic tones, with very little distinct color-blocking. I set my camera up and took a dozen or more pictures of myself in this dress, because I want to know what I am visually presenting with this design combination. I feel lovely and decently alluring in the dress, totally self confident, unique and happy with just the way it wears on my body. My apprehension came from looking in the mirror at myself and seeing the color blocking balance---its not to flattering! I wore the dress adding a soft wrap in a tie dye ethnic print, that somewhat hid the bodice area, and felt quite comfortable. This dres is a keeper, but I have to definately tweek the visual presentation each time I wear it.

"I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday."

OOTD Mixed Fabric Dress

I wore my mixed fabric dress this pass Sunday. Paired with a vintage white skirt that has hand crochet inset and border, the dress took on a totally different look.

"Being creative is not a hobby, its a way of life."

My New Tablet Cover

This is the quick project I worked on today. I have a Trio 10.1 tablet, that has a really good camera, and my original case is only a sleeve style cover. The sleeve cover meant I always had to remove the tablet completely to use it. So after watching the TV show Sewing with Nancy,  on public tevevision this pass Saturday, where Nancy demostrated how to stitch circles to embelish your sewing projects, I decided I wanted to try circles. The circles would be useful to create an opening in a custom tablet cover for the fan, and camera lense located on the backside of the tablet. I repurposed an old cotton skirt, with a mock African print, and a random dark blue t-shirt from my stash. The following are the photos of the final project. Enjoy!

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.      Hebrews 11:1

"I Going to Make Something Today"

It's been a great busy week, and today I awoke with the desire to do something FUN. I have this great white linen shirt, that had been altered by removing the collar and cutting off the curved shirttails. The shirt is an Xlarge, with beautiful pintucking and machine embroidery down the front. I decided it needed a bit of shaping, which I removed from the side seams including the underarm area. I then added a bias strip at the hem edge, to give the shirt a neater finish. All in all this was really just a fine-tuning of an oversized shirt, made of very good linen. The first remake just didn't work, but the shirt was to good to toss aside. This will be my only white shirt to wear this fall and early spring of next year.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

                                                                                                 Hebrew 13:6

OOTD Ready to Praise

Mister is going to service without me today, because I had a little knock down by our pups. Woke up this morning with a very sore hip, and thought it best to relax at home for the day. Without me on his arm, he still looks pretty good.

A Place for Everything

I’ve been meeting needs again, and this time its for my new phone. Just a little case to keep it clean and easy to grasp when in my handbag. Love it!