A 70's Summer Dress in Brooklyn

As I've mentioned before, I've been sewing as if my sewing machine has only a few weeks to live (if my Singer's bucket list included exposed zippers, chiffon and buttonholes, she'd be ready to peacefully leave this world). I'm pumping out at a garment every week or so. And by garment, I mean dress, because that is apparently the only thing I am interested in making. I've always been a dress girl. Long before I started sewing I had about 50 bright, thrifted dresses I more or less lived in. I'm so insanely finicky about the fit of skirts, and really find separate dressing much harder than throwing on one thing that needs nothing but a necklace and/or belt to be on your way.

I snagged the pattern and vintage floral cotton from that big Craigslist haul from a few months back. I fell in love with this pattern and thought it would make the perfect summer dress:

 Right?! How great is that little peplum top? I'll definitely using this pattern again. Maybe even get around to doing it in a maxi....

I recently found a beautiful Egyptian cotton sheet which I used for the trim, and picked up that neon pink zipper for $1 (which unfortunately is not reading as bright as it is). All this to say, I doubt this little baby cost more than $5 to make and I LOVE it. Super comfortable, breathable, bright, and I love all the little details like the band at the top and the ruched bust. I wore this for the first time in Brooklyn and got a few super enthusiastic compliments from girls on the street which always feels amazing when you've made it. You may also have noticed my gold orthopedic sandals. Ladies, do yourself a favour and get yourself a pair of Worishofers (thanks Sallie for the heads up). They have changed my life. I had no idea my feet could feel so good. They're kind of ugly but in a cute way. Did I mention being carried on the gilded wings of angels?

Also, big thanks to Brooklyn for this conveniently matchy graffiti.

No Sleep till Brooklyn

After a truly whirlwind and frenetic weekend in (MOST AMAZING CITY EVER) New York I am ready to soak my feet in some eucalyptus scented hot water and sleep for the next month. NYC is not a joke guys. Especially when you're in town for Design Week and a business card is enough to get you into dozens of open bar interior design parties (FYI, checking out designer outfits is more fun than waterslides). Some highlights:

1. Running into Peter from Male Pattern Boldness coming out of Chic fabrics in the garment district. I recognized him immediately and had a lovely conversation with him outside. He couldn't be sweeter or more charming in person. I would have loved to run into Cathy but I think she was out of town for the weekend.
2. Brunch at Prune. The chef, Gabrielle Hamilton, wrote the best food memoir of all time and being in her restaurant was borderline spiritual for me. Food with heart and soul and love and care. SO good.
3. Ramen at Momofuko and corn cookies at Milk Bar. I've cooked so much from this cookbook - getting to eat that deliciously smoky ramen definitely knocked one off the bucket list.
4. Walking from one end of the High Line to another. New Yorkers strolling around with giant-ass grins on their faces in a little green paradise 30 feet above the city. Proof that we need to spend a lot more attention to urban planners.
5. New York men. I will never tire of being told I am beautiful by handsome men many times a day. Not creepy or aggressive, just appreciative and open about it. Montreal boys are way too bashful.
6. The Prada/Schiaparelli exhibit was awe inspiring. I'll be sharing some photos later this week.
7. Being invited to a crazy private loft party in the meatpacking district. Ended up on the roof talking to a handsome Swede about the state of the world while overlooking the New York skyline. Perfect moment.
8. Discovering the Halal chicken plate my last day. $5 gets you the most heart-stoppingly delicious street feed. I cannot suggest enough trying it at home. Try this recipe here. Your stomach/family/partner/friends will thank you.
9. In the moment I was most convinced NY was going to eat my feet, the most comfortable sandals ever invented materialized before me. Yes, they are German orthopedic shoes. But, they are GOLD. GOLD. It's like angels carried me on gilded wings for the rest of the weekend. Thank you Worishofer!

Need visuals?

1. Matching at the Met 2. "Bright pants mean you spies" said the homeless man 3. Habana grilled corn (OMG!!!)
4. Cuteness on the High Line 5. High Line magic 6. Loft party beauty 7. Fancy perfume shop 8.  Brooklyn snapshot

1. Mexican in Brooklyn 2. Prune brunch aka Mouth heaven 3. Narrow streets 4. Don't forget
5. Momofuko smoky ramen yumz 6. Subway drums 7. East Village building 8. Blonde baberoni

And obviously I went fabric shopping. I didn't go in with much of a plan besides "Silk" & "pretty". I didn't have a big budget and wanted to get a lay of the land more than anything else. Meg & Oona and everyone were right on about Chic. It was my favourite place in the Garment District. He had some gorgeous silk for $12/yard; I scored 3 yds of this beautiful corally red which I'm thinking will make a nice floaty summer dress. I also picked up a rather psychedelic peacock silk print with no game plan. I just like psychedelic peacocks, okay?

I hit up Mood but it was too rich for my blood, although a few things made me practically weep. One day silk jersey, ONE DAY. Otherwise just inned and outed all the little discount places and impulse purchased a few things. After a few hours my brain kind of spazzed out and I made a few weird decisions just from the visual information overload. But New York is definitely the best fabric shopping I've seen yet in terms of scale and scope.... Thank god I had a set amount of money on me (although there was a big event for Pattern Review and the streets were filled with really focused and intense out of towners with wheelie bags they were dead set on filling).

1. Gorgeous chiffon print I'm hoping to make into caftan this weekend 2. Royal blue/white cotton stripe and neon zig zag cotton that reminded me of Missoni (it was the end of the day and I wasn't thinking clearly) 3. Coral and peacock print silk 4. Insanely, epicly beautiful metallic brocade for a skirt in the fall

So yes, well needed trip to a magical city = success. I will be sharing some photos I took of a new project in Williamsburg, along with some thoughts on the Prada exhibit in the next week.

Have a marvelous day!

Spring Shirt Dress

It's been waaay too long since posting a finished product. Not for lack of material - I have 4 undocumented projects that have been patiently waiting for a day when it wasn't rainy and dismal.Today blessed me with some sun so I took a few shots of my latest working muslin.

My lazy day uniform is an oversize men's chambray shirt with skinny jeans in the cold, and bare legs in the warm. I've been wanting to make an actual dress that mimicked this look and when I saw this McCall's pattern I had to have. I LOVE a shirt dress and I picked up a super cheap white and yellow striped cotton to use as a muslin until I can find the perfect light as air cotton chambray.

This marked the first time I made buttonholes or sewed buttons on using my machine. I was always terrified of these tasks for some reason but it's insanely easy on my machine. I have some big issues with the finished product but will make appropriate changes when I remake it in a month or so.

The cotton is quite stiff and it doesn't sit on my shoulders the way it should. I am tempted to wash and dry it a  bunch of times and see if that softens the material a little bit. Otherwise I may have to adjust the pattern but I am worried this will be difficult considering how the shoulder and sleeve are constructed. It is a smidge to high for me at the neckline - I'll take it down at least an inch next time. It's a little longer than I am used to as well so I may take the hemline up an inch or so. The biggest problem is that the sleeve opening is very big. You can totally see my boring nude bra from the side. Not good. This dress really needs to be worn with a cami or an undergarment you don't mind flashing.

Either way, it's a cute light dress perfect for warm days. I wore it to go pick up some bathing suit material on my bike today. I'm thinking it may be a good candidate to bring to CUBA! Leaving in a few weeks with 3 of my best guy friends. Can. Not. Wait. Hoping to bring a new swimsuit if I can squeeze it in before I go....

Otherwise, I am heading to NYC next weekend for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Going to network with designers, walk the highline, hopefully score some vip passes to design events, eat at Momofuko and Prune, do some fabric shopping and check out the Cindy Sherman and Prada/Schiaparelli exhibits. I will be taking lots of photos of that last item on the agenda to share with you all, of course.

Any recommendations for places to buy fabric? I'm going to stop by Mood obviously (I watch way too much Project Runway to not pay tribute) but any other suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Spring shirt dress muslin:
Pattern: McCall's 6520
Total Cost: $6 for fabric, $3 on interfacing, buttons from stash
Time to Make: 7 hours on machine sewing, 1 hour hand sewing

Ear Jams

So, I have a stack of garments to photograph because I have been in a kind of sewing mania (see Oona's post here to understand what I mean - she describes the madness far better than I). It's all I want to do, basically. To the point where I may have let my community garden membership lapse because I just don't know how I can afford the time/money for it this year (unfortunately it is hugely inconvenient to get to the garden - WHAT I WOULD DO FOR A BACKYARD!) Who wants to be out enjoying the sunshine with my hands in the dirt when I can be shacked up in my sewing hole chained to my machine, amiright ladies?

So until the rains let up and I can actually document some of my recent labours I thought I would share what I've been listening to while slaving a way in the sewing hole. Which is mainly

PODCASTS.

Podcasts are THE BEST THING EVER. I have on occasion propped my laptop next to my sewing machine while working, but this really only works for episodes of Buffy you've seen a million times or mindless entertainment (*cough* Hoarders *cough*) you don't really need to be paying attention to.

However, having someone intelligent and/or hilarious deliver an hour of brilliance to your ears every week is a gift. It's a gift worth sharing.

How Was Your Week with Julie Klausner

I think Julie may be the funniest woman alive? She's SO smart and insightful and having her just be amazing for an hour every week is a total blessing. She does a 15 minute free-form monologue at the start of every show that has made tea come out of my nose on more than 12 occasions. She interviews a great mix of writers, comedians, pop culture movers & shakers and stupendous women that just don't get any action anywhere else because people are idiots (her interview with Jackée Harry is some of the best girl talk of all time). Subscribe on itunes. It's just the best. (And Julie, I know you google alert your name. If you find this post I am so making you any dress you want because laughter is priceless and I can't even begin to repay you for all the good times.) Also, her book is pretty hilarious as well.


LISTEN
- Aforementioned interview with the SCANDALOUS Jackee Harry
- An interview with Ira Glass and his obviously awesome wife Anaheed Alani (who is also the editorial director of Rookie, the "new" Sassy magazine). There was something so insanely charming about hearing the iconic Ira with his totally-wears-the-pants wife that just charmed my face off.

 Professor Blastoff

3 comedians who've been friends forever and have incredible chemistry riff on scientific, philosophical and metaphysical topics each week. It's the perfect blend of laughs and smarts. I want to hang out and drink beer with these guys every day. And I don't even drink beer. I DRINK WINE OKAY? Tig Notaro is especially hilarious (for proof see this bit here). The beauty of this podcast is that it gets completely silly, deranged and off the rails while they're discussing like, evolution. May take a few listens to get the vibe but it's such a fun sewing room companion.

LISTEN
 On Sexual Attraction with Sarah Silverman
On Creativity withPaul F. Tompkins

RadioLab

If you haven't listened to this yet you really need to get on itunes immediately and download the catalog (It's free, you have no excuse). A sonically beautiful podcast that is like This American Life if hosted by your favorite high school science teacher. Profound and moving and enlightening.

LISTEN
Lost & Found (this episode made me cry so hard in a good way)
Detective Stories
Famous Tumours (Sounds gross but sooo interesting)


More Amazing Podcasts

This American Life
Perennial favourite, all-time classic. It's been on NPR for 17 years!!! I highly suggest you start from the beginning if you haven't already. TAL has a great website and iphone app for precisely this reason. Check out Plan B, House on Loon Lake, Petty Tyrant


Savage Love
Dan Savage has been doling out awesome and hilarious sex advice for years now. Really makes you feel good about your own problems.

WTF with Marc Maron
 He's neurotic and self-loathing but appealingly lovable. And he interviews the best comedians, writers and filmmakers and somehow gets them to talk about all their crazy, personal baggage. I loved his recent interviews with Diablo Cody, Michael Cera, Russell Brand and Anthony Bourdain.


Risk
Great storytelling podcast. Especially loved this one and this one.


Also:

Uhh Yeah Dude (LA bros riffing on weird news items in hilarious fashion), Fresh Air (Terry Gross gives great 'view), The Nerdist, The Moth Podcast, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History and Bullseye with Jesse Thorn.


Whew. So much linking! Anyway, hope you check out some of these the next time you're working on a project and want some brain diversion. It's not an understatement to say that podcasts have saved me from my own rabid brain snarls many, many times. Enjoy!