More Hoodie Goodness! (And a Happy Thanksgiving to you!)

Alrighty, folks, it's been a little longer in coming this time. But I come bearing photos! I have been very busy lately, and definitely sewing up a little storm. Unfortunately, being a ripe 1:00 in the morning right now, I'm not sure how much I can post and how much I will have to save for later. But here goes, anyway! I'm posting right here the INCREDIBLE hoodie I recieved from my swap partner! She did such an awesome job, and, actually, I'm wearing it right now. It's soft and cozy inside, and the sparrows are so, so beautiful. She has stencilling skillz, man.

Oops, dorky expression alert. But trust me, nobody will notice the look on my face because this hoodie really takes all the attention away from me.

I LOVE HOODIES. Need I really say more?

I had my first Etsy buying experience (something I really should have done long ago: I'm a seller, after all, and should understand what the transaction is like from the buyer's side of things!) recently. I have been searching for anchor-printed knit for a really long time, and finally it occured to me to search usin the Supplies section on Etsy. Voila: Anchor/Heart printed French terry fabric! I purchased two yards of it promptly, recieved it three days later, and two days after that I had this hoodie.

When making this, I had a small dilemma. I wanted to make it a zip-up, but I had two choices in my zipper collection for seperating navy zippers: 18" flat metal, or 26" chunky plastic. I decided to work around the challenges of a shorter zipper and go for the 18 incher. I am super pleased with the result: a scoop-necked hoodie! The hood IS on there, trust me, I just didn't post pictures with it up. It has nautical tabs on the side with anchor buttons, contrasting hood lining and trimming, and a little pocket on the side. It's comfy, super long, and definitely one of a kind.

It's, um, also for sale here: www.mateycouture.etsy.com. Don't forget about the free shipping all weekend, starting midnight tomorrow and ending at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

I'll be definitely posting more pictures soon! I also recieved my order from Threadless T-shirts today (www.threadless.com) --they're having this huge holiday sale with 5, 10, and 15 dollar t-shirts. Act fast, because they sell quickly. Lucky for me, sizing didn't matter so much since I'll just be cutting them up anyway, but I got four awesome shirts with beautiful artwork on them and will be reconstructing, listing, and posting them all soon! In the meantime, go check out the website.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Black Friday Weekend: Four Days of FREE shipping!

As we all know, Black Friday comes with long lines at the mall and a huge rush to try to get your best sales--all supporting big-ticket companies who already have millions of dollars, and some that have their clothing made in sweatshop environments where the workers on underpaid and mistreated.

Now, why would you want to be a part of that? This whole holiday season, why don't you swing over to Etsy, and buy some handmade goodness? I'm not just talkin' my shop (although, really, you should. Free shipping ANYWHERE on ANY ITEMS November 28-December 1st. www.mateycouture.etsy.com)--support indie designers and artists, and buy unique, one-of-a-kind gifts.

So, yes, free shipping. Anywhere in the world. Buy some lovely clothes.

I'll be posting more updates as to sales here on my blog and at my Etsy shop--so check back during the holiday season!

I know I ought to be posting photos, but just wait. They're coming soon.

Hoodies!

I participated in my first swap ever-- it was a hoodie swap!! My partner was so awesome. The themes I used of hers were cherry blossoms and sock monkeys. So here's the hoodie I made her-- it has a three-part stencil on the back (I'd never done any stencil that extensive, but I'm super happy with how it came out), contrasting cuffs, pockets, and hem, and the hood is fully lined. I had so much fun with it, especially on the stencil. I love surface design. So anyway, pictures:

I also made a pretty pretty hoodie out of my favorite fabric EVER-- it has a scrolly design and pink chains all over. I want to keep this one so much, but lucky for whoever buys it, it's listed on my shop (www.mateycouture.etsy.com). It has pleats up the zipper and up the back, a really long cut, long sleeves, a lined pixie hood, and a zip up the front. On these two pictures I played around with colors/exposure/contrast/brightness at this site I found, www.picnik.com. What do you think? The first one, obviously, has a lot more done to it than the second.

Okay, off to do productive things. :)

Skirts!

I've been on a huge Etsy kick lately (it's about time!) and have been trying to list things regularly. For now, I'm succeeding! A tripod has now cured my photo-taking woes, so no longer will I be perching a camera precariously on a stack of books and boxes with pillows on the floor in case it falls. (Yes, most of the photos on this blog have been taken like that. And yes, my camera is still in tact, thankyouverymuch.)

I love skirts. Who doesn't? For a period of time (see: ages 8-14) I stopped wearing skirts for some insane reason, but now I adore them. I really only get to wear them on Sundays due to practicality issues, but I have a fantastic excuse to make as many as I like because of the shop.

I do NOT love tulle, however. Sure, when the it's already finished and made into something, it's fantastic, but actually working with it is painful.

The first skirt pictured below was ridiculously time consuming and extremely difficult to make, simply because the tulle would NOT cooperate. Honestly, I sewed it on and took it off three separate times (and pinned it in several other ways, trying to make it work) before I gave up and made an underskirt. I think I spent at least ten hours on this. It's when you do the math and realize you're paying yourself less than three dollars an hour for something that you know you're doing it because you love it. Except, unfortunately, I didn't love making this skirt. I loved the outcome, though, and that makes it all worth it!

I LOVED making this skirt, though. I've been hoarding the fabric since early September, not able to decide what to make with it. Finally, I had an epiphany and realized that a two-layer circle skirt would be amazing. Everything else, bows included, came in an afterthought of "hey, wouldn't this be cool?" just like most of my designs. I love spontaneity.

Lemme tell you, this skirt is wonderful. It twirls so awesomely (see first picture), hangs even better, and did I mention that it's silver? (Oh, yeah. They're both for sale. http://www.etsy.com/)

In other, non-sewing related news that I'm sure you all care SO much about... my room is green! I'll get a progress-picture up later, but you can see a wall in some of these pictures. The green is so much more green in artificial light, but I like it both ways. Although, it's much prettier in person.

Clearly, I'm procrastinating on my novel. But with a new CD (Taylor Swift's new album Fearless! It came out today and it is AMAZING and you should go out and buy it NOW, okay?) to listen to while writing, I should be alright...

More updates soon to come!

Edited to say: HOLD UP. Did I just update twice in the span of one week? Is the world going to stop revolving around the sun or something? Because posts that often have got to mean something life-altering!

Sailor shirt

I can't write much right now, but I am finally getting my shop in order and listing items. I would be modeling things, but my set up is a little difficult and it's just easier at the moment to have Doris do it.

Sailor shirt out of striped cotton jersey. Tabs, pretty buttons. Particularly proud of the even stitching on the neckline. (Check out the listing at http://www.mateycouture.etsy.com! Shameless plug? Me? No way. :P)

Sorry, I know this is a pretty impersonable post, but all of my words have been going towards my novel. 6444 words and counting! Oh, yes, I'm two thousand words behind where I should be. You can check out my profile: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/139532 The excerpt is... well... unconnected to the rest of my book, but I wrote it on the first day before I even thought up a plot and yes, I realize it's extremely angsty and emo. No, despite appearances and the title, the novel is not actually like that.

Yet.

Off to write--wish my luck!