Pumpkin Satin

I have finally come across some pumpkin-hued satin in my second-hand perusing! The texture and colour are dreamy. My plan is to turn this scrap into a spaghetti strap shirt with a ruffle neckline. 

Silky

I am so in love with this silver-backed iridescent rust and violet patterned silk shawl. It looks like it could belong to her. Vibes of layered oriental rugs, leather ottomans, precious treasures, and starry nights...

Pumpkin Spice Blazer

Latest find! Rust velvet blazer for mere cents at the local thrift! To make this even sweeter, it's Marjorie Hamilton, vintage Canadian made. I'm drooling over the fact that I get to wear this!

Textile-tastic

I'll be wandering through Almonte's Fibrefest this weekend, enjoying all the inspiring textile goodies. Feel free to swing by the MVTM gift shop to peruse or purchase some of my fat quarters and tea towels, and/or join me on Monday September 9th from 7:30pm to 9:30pm as I speak at the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild. It will be a look into my creative process and a sneak peak of what I'm working on next!

September Bulletin 2019

Textiles and teachers

Grey Goddess

Here's a detail shot of my latest sewing success! I'm wearing it to a wedding this weekend. This is one of those projects where I really wish I had remembered to take a before photo. This dress started as a voluminously large skirt from the local thrift (less than $1) that I chopped up and concocted, using every last scrap. As per my impulsively creative norm, I busted straight in to trial-and-error sewing, though that error was seemingly non-existent as this project was the most delightfully smooth, seam ripper-less sewing endeavour I have ever experienced. I just kept stitching along, chunk by chunk, and everything worked. The fabric was a dream to sew--it is the softest, flowiest, rayon-like cotton. I love the subtle sheen of the pattern over it. Creating that quilted bust panel, the puff sleeves, and the satin-meets-silk convertible sash were the highlights. In my mind I was imagining '30s/'40s glam meets Classical statue, and voilà, that's how it's sewn up.

Vogue 1922

Sneak peak! I found this dress and plan to alter it into flapper frock inspired by this June 1922 Vogue cover.  

August Bulletin 2019

 Frocks, finishes, and fruit

Liberty Scarf

Loving the pattern and flowy hand of this Liberty scarf! Also the blue and orange contrast is so cheery. I dug it out of a scarf pile at the local thrift store and was not surprised to see the name. That iconic illustrative style!

July Bulletin 2019

Chill vibes, sunny shores, and picnics 

All that Jazz

I have been on the hunt to find or make a neon sign that says "jazz" but have not yet found what I have in mind. So in the meantime I have decorated a shirt to suffice. I found this cropped navy sweatshirt at the local thrift store. It originally had large white bell sleeves sewn under the sleeve ruffle. It was a cute design, but it looked absolutely dorky on me, and wouldn't be practical for working or dancing anyway, so I cut them out. I knew this navy was going to be the perfect background to have text stand out on, so I just needed to find some embellishment materials in the form of ribbon. In my stash I dug out some vintage poppy red lace bias and gold rickrack, both in their original packages. First I trimmed the sleeves with the lace, mainly to keep the raw edges of the knit from rolling, and to give the ruffle a highlight of the poppy red. Then I wrote with ribbon and sewed it on and voilà! As improvised and vibrant as the music itself. Off to spend the weekend dancing to vintage jazz!

Minxy Vintage

I found this book (or it found me), rather appropriately, at the local thrift store along with some clothes to repurpose. I highly recommend! It was exciting for me because there were so many moments of "Wow, this lady crawled inside my brain!" in terms of fashion philosophy and winging it to produce some sartorial statements. Here's a particularly well-expressed tidbit of fashion philosophy I have to share: "I can attest to the importance of finding clothes you can integrate into your existing style. I'm not about stridently holding up the ideals of other eras--the modern world is grand. It's precisely the mix of old and new that I love...And who wants to be, or slavishly replicate, a woman in the pre-feminist 1940s? Certainly not me...Long live our love for cherry-picking the best bits from the past, and making them new again: reinvention, rather than nostalgia. Whatever you do, just make sure you own it. Individuality is a quality to be admired."--Kelly Doust, intriguing point.

Apricot Lace

I found this pretty cotton dress at a thrift store, originally from Forever 21. Though it is contemporary, it has the perfect structure to be transformed into a gloriously Edwardian gown that would fit right into a Downton scene. I love the pale apricot fabric, mesh neckline, low square back, and lace details. It is a costume project in the works for whenever I next discover an outdoor tea or the like to attend! It shall be lengthened and embellished. 

6th Blogiversary!

 Happy 6th Blogiversary! The suggested anniversary gifts for this year are iron and candy, so I had some fun designing a couple surface patterns accordingly. Now available for sale in my shop as fabric, wallpaper, giftwrap, and homewares, here's Nouveau Deco

Sugar

Thank you for following my creative endeavours thus far!

Velvet and Pelt

My favourite part of IKEA has always been the AS-IS section. Oh those bins heaped with discounted textiles and that furniture with a bit of quirk! I recently found this deep green curtain panel for $15 and the iconic sheepskin for $20. The sheepskin I have draped over my desk chair and the velvet (hello, John Singer Sargent) I may end up using for a upholstery project down the road.

'40s Military Dress

This past weekend I attended Swingfest and swing danced surrounded by tanks and planes! This is the WWII inspired dress I tweaked and wore for the event. I found the original dress in the summer for mere cents at the local thrift haunt. I love its military green cotton searsucker fabric with the bit of stretch. The original dress was basically sleeveless so I spent months keeping an eye out for similar coloured fabric whenever I was thrifting, so as to have some material to make sleeves out of. Nothing turned up. Then one day I was trying it on again, and while taking it off it flipped inside out and I realized it had a slip! Glorious discovery! So I promptly ripped that slip out and started chopping it up to make the sleeves and lapels you see here. I also swapped out the buttons for these brassy ones. Lesson: always look under the dress' skirt for extra fabric!

Sewing Patterns

Guess what? I don't know how to sew using a pattern. At least, I've yet to sew a project using one from start to finish without assistance...and quite frankly, I have no desire to! For whatever reason, instructions on how to be creative just don't fly in my brain. It's much easier for me to look at the final garment, and then start chopping up existing garments or fabric chunks and sewing them together, and seeing what happens. The results are usually pretty cool. So I have a nice collection of vintage sewing patterns, but admittedly it's more for inspiration and ephemera appreciation than for actual use! Though I do like to keep a variety around as a last resort sewing weapon in my back pocket, should my usual drape-and-stitch method flop, or demand precision.

Deco Table

I ordered my Deco Diamond design on linen cotton canvas and satin fabric to update this black powder-coated metal c-table magazine rack. The sling used to be a black faux leather, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting. The canvas is on the inside so it holds up to the books sitting in it and the satin on the outside to give it that black and gold gleam. I love the clean lines and airiness of the glass writing surface. 

Luna

The past week I have been attacking my pile of sewing projects, and the completed pile is rapidly growing at a satisfying rate. It's a bunch of wardrobe maintenance--stray buttons, loose seams, and the like, mixed with refitting and reinventing of thrifted items. Luna, my mannequin, stands nearby as a sentinel of all things frilly and couture. Also yesterday I watched Coco Avant Chanel, so, you know, I'm living the couturière life! It's amazing what chic results can come about from hacking off a sleeve.

Festive Fleece

This is my Christmas gift (project) to myself: I ordered my Nordic, Chunky Knit, and Bubblegum Calico designs on Fleece to sew up into some cute neckwarmers. Time to use the snowy weather to get to my pile of sewing!