10th Anniversary and Me-Made May Week 1 Round Up

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary.  10 years ago today, it was a Sunday (Mother's Day) and sunny and just a little bit hot.  We were married at the beautiful ROCOR cathedral in Chicago by our spiritual father, Archimandrite Gerasim (formerly abbot of St. Herman of Alaska monastery in Platina, CA).  By a strange twist of coincidence, Ponchik's godparents share our anniversary date.

My mom made my dress and did all the flowers and centerpieces.

There were several bishops involved in blessing our union, as monastics do not not ordinarily attend weddings, much less administer the rite.

We were married on Thomas Sunday, and two weeks before the wedding, I received a call from the rector of the cathedral.  He spoke no English, and my Russian (especially on the phone) is not that great.  At first I thought he was trying to tell us that we couldn't get married at the church!  

(This had been my fear all along, as the church was reserved basically on a handshake and a promise).  I envisioned us having to get married in the parking lot of the church and had a small meltdown in my mind before I realized that the rector was merely inquiring as to who would be performing the ceremony, as he would be out of town that day.  Whew!  

The day was, for the most part, lovely, and we left the next day for a honeymoon in Scotland.  My little historian heart was in high heaven.  I've wanted to go back ever since.  

I love this photo of me and my mom.  She is possibly the world's worst dancer, but always game to learn some new moves if someone will do them with her and show her how.  I think we were laughing ourselves silly by this point.


(It's funny what time and perspective will give you; I was thinking as I was looking at these photos how thin I was!  I certainly didn't feel it then.)

Can't get married to a Greek guy in a Russian cathedral without some hasapiko.

So.  Me-Made May.  Nothing like a challenge to point out glaring weaknesses in the closet department.  My take away from the first week is that I *really* am not digging most of my separates and at least three of the Frankendresses I made recently (one of which I haven't even worn/blogged about yet).  On the other hand, I think my spring/summer wardrobe could benefit from some thinning out, so it might not be a bad thing.

(Green Geometry dress, Coral Reef blouse, Lime Flowers dress, Not a Swirl Watermelon dress, Vintage floral blouse)

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice that the vintage floral blouse now has white buttons instead of green.  There are a whole host of reasons why I changed them out (and then changed them out again for a different white set), but suffice to say, I'm much happier with the blouse now and can't wait to wear it again after it gets out of the wash.

(Florence dress, Strawberry Fields Forever blouse/green linen Hollyburn skirt, Shelburne Falls dress)

On the other hand, I realized that I really *do* like the fit of the Florence dress, and that I really like it for this in-between weather we are having.  I also realized that part of the problem I was having with that dress was with the self-belt (that I never showed on the blog).  It just wasn't enough contrast, and the black belt just looks better.  Easy fix.  I also really like the 1930s vibe that the Florence dress has.  I think I may go back to cutting the skirt section slimmer like the pattern indicates, as this silhouette is kind of my favorite thing right now.  I do like the Strawberry Fields blouse with my green Hollyburn, however.  And maybe that chambray skirt isn't so bad.  We'll see how the rest of the month shakes out.  I've still got to make my Historical Sew Monthly entry, plus one or two other little things.

Coral Reef blouse

Just like that, it is spring.  The weather turned almost overnight, and the trees seem to have come into full leaf in the last two days.  It is always startling, this change from winter to spring.  It happens in such fits and starts and then suddenly it is all done.  No more winter.

Saturday turned out to be a rather warm day (83 degrees, I think) and quite sunny, although I was chilly all morning and wore a heavy cardigan until we left the house around 2:00 to hang out with another family for the afternoon.

I made this blouse at the end of Lent as well.  I bought the fabric last August, but never got around to making it up.  I had a little extra left over, because I've started making these blouses without facings and just self-facing the button placket, so it is very fabric efficient now.  So I decided to make a big ol' sash so I can style this one from the 1920s-1940s, depending on whether it is tucked in, untucked, and how the sash is tied if I wear it (and the skirt style). 

I did end up changing the tie about half-way through the day after I nearly dropped one end in the toilet trying to wipe up a child in the bathroom.   Preschool mothering sartorial issues.

As I said, I'm not loving this skirt because it is very full, but it is just so stinkin' handy, I'm not quite ready to give it up yet.  I found some inexpensive linen skirts on ebay last week, so perhaps I can retire this one for something less...voluminous.

I generally put five buttons on my blouses, but I only had four of these, and they just looked so nice with the fabric, plus the sash placement made a fifth one surplus to the requirements.  The fabric is from Art Gallery, and it is nice--a crisp cotton that has a poplin-type feel to it.

Coral Reef Portrait blouse: made with Gertie's pattern (but with significant alterations by this point), Art Gallery Coral Luxe fabric (from Grey's Fabric) and vintage buttons from etsy.  Bias binding from the stash.

Chambray circle skirt: eshakti

Shoes: Clarks via ebay

Sunglasses: retronettie (ebay)

Earrings: gift (old)

Watermelon, watermelon

Now this is a dress than I'm genuinely happy about.  It has a little bit of a back story, so grab a cuppa and settle in. 

Last summer, Frances at Polka Polish made a playsuit from this fabulous watermelon fabric.  I was completely taken with the fabric and what she made.  I thought to make a Portrait blouse and a less full skirt with what I had, and as I had made several two-piece dresses last year, and the versatility appealed to me.  I found enough fabric from two different etsy sellers, and then never got around to making anything while the weather suited the fabric pattern.

Then Beccie at Sew Retro Rose hosted a Swirl sew-a-long this fall, and I bought the graded Swirl pattern from her, intending to make up my watermelon fabric as a Swirl!  Swirls are back-wrapped dresses that were made commercially in Philadelphia by the Swirl company starting in 1944.  They eventually relocated to the South, but Swirl dresses were made until the late 1970s or early 1980s.  They are very comfortable and versatile, and a great house dress!  The basic design didn't change much from the mid-40s until the company stopped producing them, and there are tons of great prints and interesting appliques that were used throughout the years.  

I found an additional yard of fabric to make the yardage required for the wrapped Swirl, but then...well.  The fall kicked our family's health down the block, so I didn't get around to it.  I did have a great time hanging out in the Swirl-A-Long Facebook group, though.

This spring, I was determined to get this fabric made up!  I still had big plans to make that Swirl, but I was a little nervous about the pattern--my first go at putting the pdf together had produced a pattern that was at least two sizes too small.  We talked it through in the Facebook group and realized that those of us in the United States needed to print on legal paper as Beccie had sized the pattern to be printed on A4 paper, which is a little bit longer/wider than standard letter size.  I had the pattern printed at Kinko's on legal paper and it came out properly the second time through.

By the time I actually got around to cutting, I had two 2 yard lengths and one 1 yard length, for a total of 5 yards, which is what you need for a Swirl in my size (wrapped dresses are very fabric hungry!)  I cut out the front bodice from the 1 yard piece, and thought it seemed rather large and wide.  I compared it to my Frankenpattern bodice, which is shaped very similarly and it was at least two sizes bigger!  I checked the skirt piece against my body and realized it was going to come out two sizes too small!  I just didn't have it in me to grade both pattern sections and fiddle with the fitting.  I also realized that I'm not really a fan of wrapped dresses or skirts--I spend enough time in windy conditions and running around after children that I want to be sure my clothing isn't going walkabout.

So I pulled out my Frankenpattern and recut the bodice and decided to do a pleated straight skirt instead of my normal McCall's skirt bottom.  I cut two rectangles to length, and then pleated the front piece to the width of the bodice, with the pleats in the dart positions rather than all the way across to reduce bulk around my middle.  I used the Hollyburn pocket to create a self-faced pocket just to the side of the pleating.  I made a big inverted box pleat in the back, but split the skirt piece in two in order to accommodate the back zip.  I could have just split it in the middle to the length of the zip, but I wasn't quite sure how to insert the zipper that way, and I was already a bit frustrated with this project.

I finished the whole dress, tried it on, and realized that the bodice was too long, and that the back skirt was pulling down on the bodice to be almost a dropped skirt.  I also realized that the inverted box pleat in the back was going the wrong direction on one side.  So I pulled off that skirt panel, re-pleated it in the correct direction, and reattached it.  I re-sewed the bodice to the skirt a little bit higher up (I probably could have made it even shorter, but I didn't want to risk making it too short) 

 I'm pretty happy with the result!  The basic problem is the fabric--it has quite a bit more mechanical stretch than I am used to in my fabrics (if I didn't know better, I'd almost think it had some spandex in it), so the weight of the skirt wants to pull the bodice down.  The dress is also just a smidge too big, but I'm okay with it--it is meant to be a breezy dress for digustingly hot weather, and a little breathing room never hurts in that case.  The dress does look better with my dark green leather belt, but it is supposed to be 87 degrees today, and I didn't want to be constricted around the middle, so I used the sash I made instead.

 

I found some watermelon-inspired earrings and a brooch on etsy to wear with this dress, and I'm really happy with them too.  They are subtle enough to wear with other things too, I think.  I'm also really happy with the sweep of this skirt--I really don't like super full skirts, and this is just enough for a slightly full skirt, I think.  I used bright green lace hem tape on the bottom hem, and it just makes me happy.

I had three little watermelon-colored buttons that coordinated perfectly, so I sewed them to the top of the bodice--subtle, but a nice little detail.

Watermelon Not-A-Swirl dress: Joann branded fabric, bought via etsy; buttons and trim via etsy

Brooch and earrings: etsy

Dansko sandals: via ebay

~wiws~ When Sewing Gives You Limes, Make Limeade

Linking up with Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday.

This is the dress I mentioned yesterday--I made it during my flurry of sewing productivity toward the end of Lent.  I really love the fabric, but I'm not so sure I love the finished dress.  It may be too soon for such a light colored dress.  Although it was close to 80 degrees today, so maybe I'm overthinking it.

I'm sort of weird about such things--I just can't wear light colors until it gets hot, and this is definitely a dress for warm weather.  I did find this cobalt blue lambswool sweater on etsy recently (only $5!); it matches very well and is so soft.  It does have some nibbles near the cuff on one of the sleeves that I need to repair, but they aren't super noticeable.  I'm not as much a fan of the longer boxy silhouette, but the sweater goes with this dress and my Spring for Cotton dress, so I guess that is something.

This was my first attempt at trim, and I do like it on this dress.  I had a single package of narrow lime green bias tape that I had no idea what to do with until I realized it perfectly matched the green leaves in the fabric print.  (Incidentally, it was fiendishly difficult to photograph the dress without the sweater--the left side of all the photos is blown out, but that was the best I could do with my equipment and the time available; i.e. not much)

The back of this one fits quite well, I think.  (I wish my front silhouette was less boxy, but digestion/allergy issues do not a svelte torso make)  I did iron that crease out of the front skirt, but it seems like all these dresses need a wash before that crease really comes out well.  The fabric is very pretty up close, but a lot of the detail gets lost at a distance. 

This was another one that I agonized over the buttons/buckle.  My original intention was to use white, but it just looked weird with the buttons and buckle I had picked out.  I tried this blue orphan buckle I had in my stash and it matched perfectly, but I didn't have any matching blue buttons.  I did have some matching green ones, but they looked funny with the buckle and also washed out the fabric.

I did some etsy searching and finally found these buttons, which are a good match for both the fabric and the buckle, as well as brightening up the dress quite a bit.  I like them quite a lot, actually.

The detail of the fabric--subtle but pretty.  It is a vintage repro fabric I got from RockPaperScissors on etsy.  

The button detail is quite lovely.

The buckle has some interesting detail as well--it is an unusual color of blue and was difficult to match to buttons.  I'm very curious to know what the original coordinating buttons looked like, as these things were frequently sold together as a set.

In any case, I think it will be a decent warm-weather dress, and I was able to do a bit of stash-busting at the same time.  

Lime Flowers Dress: Color Me Happy fabric from RockPaperScissors, vintage buttons and buckle from etsy, vintage bias trim and vintage bias binding from etsy

Sweater: etsy

Pin: etsy

Shoes: dankso via ebay

Sartorial Cross Roads

My Pascha dress--a decent cotton sateen-type dress with nice drape and fit from eshakti.  These photos were taken Pascha morning.

I find myself at a sartorial crossroads of late (oh, how shallow that sounds when I write it out like that).  But it is true.  I've sewn a lot of garments in the last two months, and I still find myself staring at my closet in the morning, wondering what in the world to wear.  Part of it is the weather--some days feel like summer and some like late winter, and it is hard to dress for both.  I've also switched out almost all my winter clothing for my spring/summer clothes, and not everything is transition friendly.

The pattern was a geometric V pattern in blues, whites and reds.  I felt really comfortable in this dress all night--an important consideration for the long middle of the night Pascha service.

Some of it is that this time last year I was still nursing full time and making a lot of separates to accommodate that reality.  I don't regret the clothes I made last year, as they got a lot of wear and I felt really great in them.  But I'm struggling to like the blouses that I made this spring.

My only complaint is that the shoulders are just a smidge wider than I really like, so I was definitely more comfortable with my sweater on.

Another part of it is that I've gained about 10 pounds and 6 inches between my waist and hips since last summer and I only have a few skirts that fit well.  Neither of my me-made twill skirts fits well right now, and I don't feel good in either one.  (Unfortunately, a lot of my me-made blouses were made to go with those two skirts, so I find myself in an awkward closet position at the moment)  

I like how this V for Victory vintage pin echoed the design in the dress and also worked well for the Resurrection!

I just really don't feel that great in separates right now.  Some of my Frankendresses are snug (notably the Mustang Daisy dress, which was a close fit when I made it and has shrunk a smidge in the wash) or just ill-fitting.  I've given up on the Stonehill Mountain dress and the Florence dress that started it all (although, looking at the photos of the Florence, I might just put that one back in circulation).  I have three that I made this spring that I really love and wear quite a bit (the Green Geometry dress, the Shelburne Falls dress, and the Tokyo Train Ride dress) but I've got two that I'm kind of meh about (Spring for Cotton and one I just photographed today and will post soon--sneak peek below)

I realized recently my tastes are changing as I'm getting older, and there are some silhouettes and prints that just feel too young to me.  Conversely, a lot of silhouettes also seem too old for me, and I'm struggling to find a happy medium.  A while back I read an article about simplifying a house, and one thing that writer said that stayed with me (and I think applies to fabric/clothing choices) is that "you are not what you look at."  In other words, even though there are lots of prints and colors or basic aesthetic that really appeal to me visually, they may not be things that I care to wear on my body (or have in my house).  That red sock monkey fabric that I keep poring over is probably not going to be a dress I'm going to wear much.  I'm realizing this year that most novelty prints feel too young for me.  Ditto for full/circle skirts--I'm struggling to love my chambray skirt, even though it goes with almost everything in my closet and fits quite nicely.

Now that I'm no longer nursing, I'm trying to remember that I most often pick dresses in the morning, and I'm also trying to make better fabric choices--I do wear prints and like them, but I guess I'm drawn to more subtle prints.  (That said, I did cut out a dress with big lemon slices on it, so maybe I'm not beyond the pale after all.  I'm sort of on the fence about the fabric, so we'll see how it turns out)  I ordered some nice cotton seersucker and dark blue chambray, destined to be breezy summer dresses and I've got a pink Cotton and Steel fabric with a subtle floral pattern that is waiting to be made up.  

I want to try out some less-fitted silhouettes, but I'm also put off by the fitting process involved (and by basic fear of failure).  Every new pattern I've tried this spring has basically been a disaster.  I tried to make a watermelon-themed Swirl for this month's Historical Sew Monthly submission, but I never got beyond the bodice, as it was just so ridiculously big that I didn't even know where to start with modifying the pattern (and the wrapped skirt, oddly, was going to come out too small).  I ended up scrapping it and cutting a modified Frankendress instead (pics to come soon).  I tried a cobbler apron as another possibility for my Historical Sew Monthly (the theme is Practicality this month); another too-big disaster with a too-young-and-sweet-for-me fabric.  Modifications to my basic Frankpattern have mostly turned out okay, and I still really love the silhouette and am drawn to it, but I'd like a little more variety.  

I'm trying to sort through what sorts of silhouettes, fabrics, and styles do appeal to me right now, so I expect this summer will include a bit of experimentation along with some tried-and-true stuff.  I also refuse to make clothing for a wished-for smaller version of myself, so I need to find what will look good and fit well.  Watch this space.

Talking Tuesday: Consumer Culture and the Individual

A well-written book review is a thing of beauty, and, in the May/June issue of The American Conservative, Gracy Olmstead does not disappoint. She writes a fascinating book review of Matthew B. Crawford's latest offering: The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction.  Crawford is a philosopher turned motorcycle mechanic, and I have say, you had me at "ethics of vocation."  He favors manual work and blue collar jobs, quite at odds with the popular culture's ideas about such things (I'm paraphrasing Olmstead's characterization of his writing).

"The premise of Crawford's book," she writes, " is that our distractedness is merely symptomatic of a deeper cultural defect, a misrepresentation of the self that has permeated society." (p. 54)  Crawford places the blame at the feet of Kant and other Enlightenment thinkers who systematically blew apart the old communal ways of thinking and being in favor of the atomized self that is now the cultural norm for the West.  This freedom from community, the freedom to make individual choices has consequences.

"Kant, by trying to secure our freedom of the will from outside influence, severed our minds from any causal relationship with the world.  With this isolation comes fragility--the fragility of self that cannot tolerate conflict or frustration....Autonomy, instead of bringing freedom, makes us slaves to the comforts of an arbitrated reality.

Consumer culture tries to destroy the discomforts and imperfections that are necessarily part of life....Our experience becomes every more "mediated by representations, which remove us from whatever situation we inhabit directly, as embodied beings who do things." (ibid)

~Gracy Olmstead, Against Kant and Consumerism, The American Conservative, May/June 2015, pp 54-55.

As I continue to ponder what it means to be in the world but not of it, to find out where the line of cultural engagement begins and ends for a person of faith, I find Crawford's writing to be much food for thought.  I admit that I am passionate about visual media, because I find that they tell something of the human condition that is important--the art of it shows, and I find that immensely interesting and engaging, as well as entertaining.

At the same time, however, there is much in modern entertainment that is probably not best to imbibe, and figuring out where best to draw the line is very difficult.  It would be easiest to simply cut the cord, go off into the desert (so to speak) and live as the monks do, cut off from the world.  But that is not the task of those of us not called to monastic life. I am at a bit of a loss, frankly.

The Lenten season gave me some valuable time to step back from many things, to consider my level of cultural engagement, and I did find that useful.  I've been much more deliberate about my time on Facebook since Pascha, for example, and I think the discipline has been good for me, but I know there are other areas that could use a similar going-through.  These things take time, I suppose, not only to change in practice and in habit, but in heart and mind.  I admit, I'm not there yet.

Post-Scriptum: I ran across another excellent review of Crawford's book by Damon Linker (another writer I admire) and highly recommend it as well.  I think Crawford's books are going to be added to our library very soon.

Me Made May

I wrote last summer about Me-Made-May, but I didn't actually post about it during the month of May (mostly because I knew that getting daily outfit photos taken for a whole month last year was going to be challenging)  This year, I think I might be able to swing it.  I definitely have enough me-made clothes in my closet to go a month in, so I thought it might be a fun little challenge. (I don't have a lot of ready-to-wear clothing in my closet for spring/summer anyway--mostly just accessories or cardigans).

So this is me, throwing my hat in the ring for Me Made May!  I plan to wear at least one item of clothing that is handmade by me every day for the month of May and try to take a photograph every day.  I'll do a weekly round up of photos toward the end of the week.  

I do have two sewing projects planned for May--a dress for an event that I'm supposed to attend in a few weeks, and my Historical Sew Monthly entry.  I also have some garments I made at the end of the Lent that I've not worn/photographed yet, so hopefully it won't be too boring of a month, sartorially or visually.  

(An aside about this outfit: I found the cardigan at ThredUp earlier this winter, and it is the perfect 1940s shape and style, and yet I've really had a hard time finding things to wear it with!  It does go well with this blouse/skirt, though, and I decided that it is really better suited for spring or fall, as the knitting pattern has some lacework to it)

Outfit details:

feedsack portrait blouse: me-made August 2014, using vintage feedsack and buttons

red 6-gore twill skirt: me-made January 2014 using Montauk Twill and rayon-poly bemberg lining

DKNY blue cardigan sweater: via ThredUp

green belt: beltparadise on ebay

boots: Modcloth

V for Victory felt brooch: Wacky Tuna Vintage on Etsy