Public Service Announcement

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FREE SHIPPING ON ALL UNITED STATES ORDERS BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND! NOV. 27-30!

& discounted International shipping! Plus, sale items marked even further down & new items listed over the weekend! Check it out, darlings!

Raindrops (In Front of the Sunset)

I have yards and yards of this wonderfully soft bamboo/lycra knit in an off-white color, and I've been making very good use of it lately! This cowl-hoodie was fun to make, for the most part--just feeling the bamboo under my fingertips is a delight! I spent almost five hours appliqueing the rain cloud and rain drops, though, because it was all by hand. But, you know what? It was worth it. (Although, maybe next time I'll just screen print it.)









The first line of the description on its listing is, "This is a sweatshirt for the stormy days when all you want to do is snuggle with a blanket and tea, but elegantly, of course!" It's so true--you'll want to curl up in this hoodie forever.

For sale HERE.

Pink Monstrosity

I have one more outfit to post before I get back to things I've actually made. We stopped at this great thrift store in Southern Minnesota* when I was on a college visit, and I got a couple really amazing items. This post features my favorite: a petticoat! It's huge, vibrant pink, and oh so fun to wear.



I'm wearing:

- pink necklace - antique store in Morris, MN
- striped shirt - Goodwill, altered
- pink petticoat - best thrift store ever, Mora, MN
- white knee-highs - Target
- boots - Forever21

(I'm also wearing tights & a skirt under the slightly-see-through petticoat.)



Haha, this picture makes me smile, because my nose is red; it was so cold! My hands were fair numb whenever I would run over to reset the self-timer on the camera. I also almost fell off the rock, which would not have been good! I'm so glad I didn't, as I'm not really a fan of swimming in late November.



Silhouette! So exciting.

I promise there'll be a sewing update within a couple days!

Outifts, darling!

Remember when I did this? Once? Back in May? Yes, well, I'm posting outfits again because [gasp] I don't have anything else to post. It's been too long since I've sewn anything! But I was looking at my calendar this morning and realized that the Christmas sale I'm going to participate in is just over two weeks away. Shocking, how fast time goes! I haven't gotten anyone covered for presents, even! Thanksgiving is a week from today. Advent starts... what day, December 6th? There's a chorus singing, "Not ready! Not yet! Slow down!" in my head. Bah.

On to the outfits! These are just a few from the last four months.


This was in September. All I remember is that it was freezing. I'm wearing:

- Handknit merino wool cap - from Mom
- T-shirt scarf - handmade
- Wool peacoat - Delia*s
- Shirt & stockings - Target
- Altered wool skirt - vintage
- Booties - Lulu's



I like this. But these shoes are killer to wear if I'm walking anywhere.

- Necklace - dazeoftheweek.etsy.com
- "Liberty" tee - threadless.com - resized
- Black jacket - I think it came from Ragstock? Anyway, my friend surprised me with it, & I've had it for about 4 years & it's one of my favorite pieces.
- Belt - reconstructed from pleather pants & a broken belt.
- Bubble skirt - handmade
- Stockings - Target
- Vintage French peeptoes - wonderwardrobe.etsy.com


Summer! So long, long ago...

- Owl necklace - adriannemae.etsy.com
- Most Amazing Shirt Ever (my absolute favorite thing) - handmade
- Belt - thrifted
- Lime pleated skirt - thrifted
- Porch Swing Peeptoes - Modcloth

And here's basically the same outfit, but transformed for the cold weather:


Things different in this outfit:
- Jacket - Ragstock
- Black belt - from a friend
- Chain necklace
- Red tights - We Love Colors
- Fishnets - Ragstock
- NEW BOOTS - Forever21

Aren't the bee-yoo-tee-ful? The outer is a really weird material, but it looks like suede and it's not like I have to feel it, so it's not a big deal. They've got a really low (1 1/2") wedge heel, so perfect for walking, and... you probably know how I feel about straps and buttons on boots. Super fantastic. These just became the Porch Swing Peeptoes of my fall/winter wardrobe, haha. (Did you notice how often I wore those?)

I'm a huge fan of daily outfit photos because you can look back on them, analyze what you wore, easily reuse outfits, know what not to do, and see how your style progressed. What I can tell you now is that I definitely need to switch it up and wear something besides high-waisted skirts!

So, guys, do you take outfit photos? Do you plan on starting? Let me know if you do, and we can keep track of each other! Also, how are you doing on Christmas organizing & planning? Overwhelmed as I am, or neatly ahead of the game?

Exposed Stitching: Drapey Cardigan

I've been meaning to make this for a couple months, because draped cardigans are too cool to pass up. I used this really neat slinky rib-knit fabric I found--it's perfect for this piece because of the sheen! There are all these crisscrossing lines of serger seams, and I finally dusted off the rolled hem plate for my serger and did a ruffly lettuce finish on all the edges. So exciting!







I'm also wearing this black bodysuit that I just made & fell in love with. I don't know why I didn't make one before; I wear high-waisted skirts all the time and it feels so messy when you have shirts tucked in. I've still got work to do on this one--I might add some kind of sleeves or finish the neckline differently... or just make a few more!

(The cardigan is for sale HERE!)

Cropped Jacket

I'm finally posting about that secret project I mentioned a while back! I hope the build-up wasn't too big for the actual project. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I received an email from Stephan Hoglund, a local photographer, wondering if I had anything to contribute to a winter photoshoot. I agreed to bring in the skirt, and said I'd try to get another piece together.

I had had a gigantic black wool coat lying around for about a year, and I'll admit, I was pretty terrified to cut into it. The insides of tailored coats are usually complicated, heavily stitched & interfaced, and unfortunately, if they're well worn, kind of messy. But when put under a deadline, I do my very best work, so when I had only three days to make the piece, I breathed in deeply & pulled out the seam ripper.

I sketched up five or six possible ideas, and then changed it again as I was in the process of making the new jacket, but all turned out well. I meticulously pressed ever single seam, and serged all the edges of the impossible polyester lining. The night before I was to bring it in, I stayed up until 2AM working on it, and then got up five hours later to finish. It was tedious, but very, very worth it.

Here's a shot I got that night, before it was finished. I fixed the un-evenness of the bottom band before I sewed the zipper in.



The details? Cropped length, swing sleeves, big cuffs, high collar, chunky metal off-center zipper, military-inspired tabs, and bright red lining.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:











There are also a few photos of me modeling it, which I'll post as soon as they're edited. This jacket will be for sale sometime this month in my shop, and the skirt will be re-listed at the same time.

So there you are, real, professional photos, and a jacket I'm extremely proud of. Thank you for looking!


Edit (11/11): I took a few "pick up" shots to get details for the listing on etsy, and wanted to post them here!







The jacket is now for sale, too, in my SHOP. xo!