Christmas, 1978.

Maybe it's Christmas nostalgia. Or sheer exhaustion.

At any rate, I found myself recently looking once, twice, three times...and finally pulling this pattern out of my vintage pattern bin and sticking it in the queue:


I know. It's not remotely my vintage style. Or era. Or whathaveyou. And it's...bell bottoms. And it's from that vast fashion wastoid known as the 70s. (1973, to be exact).

Still. There's something very Modcloth about that far right blue mini number. I can't stop thinking about it. It's even the wrong SIZE for Pete's sake! Weird, right? I'm probably going be making it soon and you'll just have to forgive my lapse of fashion sense. (No bell bottoms though, I promise).

And as long as I'm reminiscing about the 1970s, and it's Christmas-time, let's go ahead and revisit a favorite Christmas present from my mom and dad:

Tomy Fashion Plates!!!

I was 8 years old. Christmas, 1978. My Gosh, I yearned for these Pepto-Bismol pink pressed plastic plates with their black rubbing crayon and half-size colored pencils. Oh, the plaids and florals and stripes that covered the flip sides! The tennis dress! The roller skates! The Farrah-haired models!

This little tray of goodness kept me occupied for many an afternoon on that long Christmas break (and for months after).

Dear old Tomy Fashion Plates...where are you now?? (No matter, I'm watching no fewer than 5 different sets on ebay. The complete sets are rather out of my price range, but I'm crossing my fingers that one day a set will fall into my budgetary level eventually?)

Carry on.

musings...mechanical vs. computerized

So, do you buy your own birthday gifts? It's sort of my favorite part of the year, buying my own birthday and Christmas gifts. I plot and plan and shop all year long. Today the mailman (woman, thankfully) honked as I was getting out of the shower, so I could run out in my bathrobe (and wet hair) and sign for this beautiful, SPECTACULAR birthday gift (from me, to me):



Yellow rose-cut diamond in sterling silver and gold:


The ring was handcrafted by 2TrickPony on Etsy, and Rachel was FABULOUS to deal with. Love her shop mucho!

Mailwoman might have also dropped off these, but that would make my birthday gift slightly over budget. (Who am I gonna tell though? Me? Shhh. I'm not paying attention.)



Then there's the issue of Christmas gift, which hasn't arrived but WAS paid for with birthday money from my parents (and a bit thrown in from me. Again.) It's this beauty:


Yes, a mechanical 1978 Bernina 830. Be still my heart.

I seem to be on a mechanical sewing machine kick, since earlier this year I bought a Singer 221 Featherweight. I find I'm craving more simplicity and am moving toward a "back to basics" mindset.

Is that old age? ;) Maybe it's wisdom. In any case, I don't find computerized everything is really doing it for me, and I fear the throwaway mentality that is taking over our universe (sewing universe included). Good grief, I've had to have a new iron every year or two it seems! Ditto toasters, computers, phones (land line and cell), printer, etc etc etc. What happened to craftsmanship that lasts and lasts?

Do you know I have a late 1950s hand mixer (turquoise, love!) that is still going strong? I love that thing and I search to this day for a replacement/backup in case she ever does die on me. My car is almost 6 years old and I just paid it off about a year ago, yet...its clanking and clinking and making an awful noise right now. Do I really want to fork over money on a new one that will likely need replacing in 5 years? Uh, no.

I am curious...how many of you currently sew on a mechanical sewing machine versus a computerized one? Or maybe you have both, but prefer/love your mechanical (or computerized) for ______ reason(s)?

I have been saving into my penny fund for this Bernina 830 and watching ebay and Craigslist for a gem, knowing my parents would give me moolah for my birthday this year to make up the difference. I'm pretty darn excited for it to get here so I can start playing!

I'll have to compile our mechanical versus computerized responses/thoughts and do another post later, when she gets here and I have more photos!

Off to work on my HP skirt! (Yes, I've decided to perservere. Especially since I now have new Colette patterns to ogle too.)

skirt tutorial envy.

Oh, you know how it is. Cut out a shiny new skirt. Can't find time to sew. Discover shiny new skirt tutorial online.

I haven't been on the paperbag waist skirt train yet. For one thing, I rarely used to tuck anything in, and this skirt really needs a tucked in, slim-fitting top for the full effect. Now that I'm wearing more cardigans and things, I'm pretty sure I can rock the whole paperbag waist.

Here are some cute RTW versions for inspiration and ogling (albeit several are so short your pootenanny might need covering to prevent said ogling of another sort):


I'm lovin the paperbag pencil skirt from Asos above (actually I think all of these but one are from Asos. The khaki is by Tulle.)

Anywho. I randomly landed at this adorable paperbag waist skirt tutorial in two versions, a zipper with pleated version and an elastic/gathered version. Here's a pic from Suzannah's blog:


Adventures in Dressmaking is a new blog to me. I think sewing (and especially fashion sewing) blogs exploded among the 30 and under set in the past 15 months or so. I've kind of been oblivious since I had my favorites and not a lot of time to venture out and find new blogs to read.

The author of this blog is an easy read and she's talented and full of great ideas. I read through most of her archives last weekend while in a turkey coma. If you haven't found her before (some of you are followers I know) you might jump over there via the link above.

Just so you know, it is an ad-supported blog, which I usually prefer to avoid (because the ads tend to be very distracting and clutter-y) but I love her style and her carefree sewing mojo.

The real question is...do I shove aside the HP and go for the shiny new or persevere?

Wait. Isn't that always the question??

winner winner, turkey dinner.

Yes, that's right. I won the $75 - 2nd place prize in the 2010 Hotpatterns Giveaway! Woot!

Leave it to my lovely sewing buddies to clue me in via email (Thank you Kristine, Carolyn, and Sondra!) or I might have missed this (or, at the very least, not noticed for a good long while.) See, I saw the HP Black Friday email, but honestly? I was going to skip it because I was trying to be good and NOT shop for moi this weekend. Oops. That'll teach me to put others first!

Here are my Hotpattern choices:

I put entirely too much thought into why/how to choose these patterns. Suffice it to say it came down to which types of HP's I already own/do not own and then a game of "let's fill in the holes".

(Thus, the pants. I don't sew many pants because they're more work for bootylicious me to alter and fit. So I chose 3 pants patterns. Only another sewist would understand that kind of twisted logic.)

I'm still trying to decide if I should go ahead and order the "rejects" from my pattern prize list. Like the Criterion Blouse:


Or the Sheer Decadence Blouse:

Or the Cocoon Coat:

Or the Summer in the City Shirt, Tunic and Dress:


Yes, I could do some real damage to the Christmas funds now that the pattern fast has been broken.

A huge, gigantic, THANK YOU to Trudy and Jeremy for this amazing giveaway. They'll be cherished and put to good use!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for my beautiful children, my family, my health, a job I enjoy, and for all of you, my sewing community friends. There have been many times you have brightened a dreary day or boosted flagging spirits.

The single and alone are often forgotten or overlooked, so if you are alone this holiday season, know that I feel your frustration and share your loneliness. Remembering to be grateful for all of your blessings helps put everything into perspective.

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving in the US, and for those in other parts of the world, I send a heartfelt thank you for the visits, the comments and for extending the hand of friendship.


ps...If you are in the Chicago area and or just watching the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, our high school band is in the windy city to march this morning. Sending warm, toasty fingers and toes their way!