Me Made May Days 8 through 11 including the Swing Swish Dance Outfit

Ah, life, how it goes. And yet we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. I did not write that. It’s from The Great Gatsby, which is a fun book, and, in my personal opinion, a fairly meh movie. And I’m not the only one…read this, if you don’t believe me. I just feel like this is not a book that lends itself well to drama, which is interesting, because there have been SIX movie adaptations of this! Also, real talk, I’m not a romantic, and Baz Lurhmann is not my best friend forever (ahem, Moulin-Rouge-is-a-trainwreck, ahem…)  The costumes are pretty wonderful, though, if almost unbearably anachronistic…

But that’s not what this is about! I’m not here to tell you that I saw The Great Gatsby, I’m here to tell you about the clothing I made that I wore! And so I shall…

Day 8, in which I emerge from the sickroom and back into the world

These are new pants and a new t-shirt, but though my wonderful friend Allie (hey, Allie!) snapped some good shots of me, I realized afterwards that I really needed more detail shots to do a true outfit post, so I’m just giving you this, more explanation on the pants to follow, and expect a post about the shirt soon. Oh, and I made that jacket.

And Cadfael:

Yep. Seems about right.

Day 9, or, The Swing Swish Dance Outfit:

Okay, so, the pants! These are Clovers, of course, as always, I need to send Sarai a fruit basket or some wine, seriously. I shortened them about 2 inches, but altered them not at all otherwise. I’ve worn them probably 5 times since I made them. I LOVE THEM. Perfect spring pants…

See? See how happy they make me?

A bit more of a close up. I took these photos with a tripod and kept cutting off my feet, sigh. Just accept that I have feet, okay? They exist. I promise.

A little rear view for you. I did flat felled seams for most of the seams on these. and the inner waistband is a quilters cotton. it’s the little details that make things fun to wear…I gotta say, the curved waistband on this thing is excellent for girls with, um, curves…

And the shirt, I love the shirt! Oh, I love this outfit, is that weird to declare? But hey, I flipping DO, what’s wrong with loving what you’ve made? It’s better than hating it….

The shirt is Dixie DIY’s swing shirt, which I’ve made seriously 7 times now…I lengthened it by 4 inches, always having wanted it to be longer, and I gotta say, I don’t hate it…

The fabric is from Paron’s, and I’ve made a dress about it that I still need to blog, sigh, But I still have some left, even from these two projects! I think another dress, something sleeveless, thoughts? I love this fabric, the drape is great and the graphic pattern is really fun.

Did I mention the drape? Because it’s swishy and swingy and I love it…

I love this photo. Look at my hair! It’s almost perpendicular to my head! What the what!

And there we have Cadfael.

Day 10, in which I wear another unblogged dress WHAT IS MY PROBLEM:

Yeah. I went to see this amazing show and the look on my face pretty much communicates how I felt about it. I really need to take more photos of this dress, I adore it…

And Cadfael:

Day 11, in which I don’t leave Brooklyn:

The days I don’t have to leave Brooklyn are the best days…

The my new denim Clovers, LOVE, and a blouse I had made for my Halloween costume this past year. It’s a bit big but I still like it.

And Cadfael:

There we go! All caught up. How is YOUR Me Made May going? And if you saw Gatsby, what did YOU think?

The Thrice as Nice Shirt

Sometimes titles completely elude me. For example, every play I’ve ever written has had its title tacked on at the end as a complete after thought. As a result, the titles are not very good. For the screenplay I wrote this semester, it got to the point where my teacher just looked at me and said, really, Leah? Untitled Screenplay? I tried to pass it off like a Duchamp “Fountain” thing but I don’t think he was buying it…

So sometimes I have a hard time finding names for the pieces I make, and nevertheless I like having names for the pieces I make because I like thinking of my wardrobe as something filled with chatty vibrant personalities to rival my own, so when I get dressed in the morning I can say, hello, such-and-such-blouse, hello, such-and-such-pants, who wants to hang out with who today? Am I anthropomorphizing my closet? Mayhap. You should see the chats I have with my cat. Seriously, you should, my roommates could use more people with whom to watch and judge.

So this blouse is New Look 6808, my third version of this all-too-cute pattern. This time I did the collar, but without the little bow in the middle because I’ve really been working on this “dressing like a grown up” thing. And I did long sleeves, because it’s cold out here for a pimp. And I did stretch poplin because it’s seriously comfortable and I had some in my stash from over a year ago when I got a bunch of stretchy fabric for clover muslins. Ancient history.

I adore this color. One has to admit, though, this poplin is a tad wrinkly…

Eh, what are you gonna do….I also made the pants! My first clovers, in fact, which makes this outfit weirdly perfect and fated, come to think of it…

Side view! I had to add two pleats to force the sleeve to fit into the shoulder. I’ve had to do that every time with this pattern, but instead of altering it I just go with it because I kind of love the pleat!

I also noticed that the sleeve cuff detail is flipped up in all of these photos, sigh…

A little back view for you. You can’t see it in these photos, nor can you really see it much in real life, but there is a seam down the back which I have because I pieced together the back. If I was a super-villan, that would be my trademark, back seams. I just some fabric efficiency!

A little wink, terrifyingly caught on camera. You can see the cuff here, sort of, it’s cute.

Annnnnnnnnd there I am talking to my cat again. Of course. Duh.

We are actually having a tearful goodbye moment. Sniff. I love vacations but I loathe leaving him. It’s a constant dilemma for me, travel or Cadfael? Wow, my twenties are just WILD.

I know this is some rapid fire posting over here, but I wanted to throw this up online before I leave tomorrow morning for San Juan. My internet access is sort of limited there, and I can only use my computer in one of the two Starbucks in town. So my blogging shall be curtailed for a while whilst I swan about the island with my friends and then alone, and then with my family. Of course, that alone time is reserved for writing, writing, and then more writing. Because that’s why people go to tropical paradises, to sit inside and write…

I hope everyone’s New Year is treating them gorgeously! And before you call me out on it, I’m aware this blouse doesn’t fulfill my plans to make new patterns. I’ll get there, okay? At least I tried a variation. Counts, right?

The No Place Like Home Outfit

And now we come to my costume. My costume which is of course the iconic and rather boring Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

At the age of ten I was IN The Wizard of Oz, but I was the Cowardly Lion. I was AMAZING. This is a fact. Ask my mom. It’s for real. But this year I decided to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Why? I couldn’t tell you. I have no really reason why I decided on this costume. I just knew I could make that costume and I felt like it would be easy and…no other reason. I’m a weird fixator. So that was all decided.

And then I made it! This is not that great of a story…

Again, Emily snapped these of me quickly at that same Halloween party I had previously mentioned, so the color quality is…terrible. Sigh.

I took a Burda-Style pattern, the ever popular ever hated Dress with Gathered Skirt, and modified the bodice. I basically chopped off the arms, made up the bodice as a strapless one, and then added strips in for sleeves. I then took two large rectangles and gathered them for the skirt. Side zipper, machine hem, boom.

I also made the blouse, a JJ Blouse without ruffles. Boy, Burda Style really did me well for Halloween!

A little back view for you.

I got the red shoes from Payless, I know, I know, that’s terrible for the world, but they WERE cheap…

Because I wore what is essentially a cute and non-threatening or creepy or extremely revealing costume, and I wore it on the subway, people felt quite comfortable coming up and talking to me all night, both in Manhattan and in Brooklyn. It was rather disconcerting, but fine.

Oh, yes, here is my toto:

Given the insane hurricane that hit the East Coast this week, I’m stuck in my apartment (and in Brooklyn in general, the subways have been shut down since Sunday). So I hope you are all safe and secure if you were in the path of the storm, or even if you weren’t! Happy Halloween!

Can’t Hardly Wait

…is not that great of a movie. AND I WILL STAND BY THAT STATEMENT FOREVER!

But I CAN hardly wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow I’m flying to Chicago!  (And boy will my arms be tired, yuk yuk yuk.) Seriously, tomorrow marks the first day of a multi-tier multi-event wedding weekend which I could not be more excited about if it included some sort of reunion of some of my favorite people ever. HAHAHAH IT TOTALLY DOES! WHAT? Yes. My friend Jenny, i.e. one of the best people I know, is getting married on Sunday. And many of the people who are the other best people I know are going to be in Chicago together, celebrating this wonderful event together. Its going to be epic. Get excited.

And it’s not just going to be amazing for ME, with all the dancing and drinking and wild celebrations, it’s going to be great for YOU! How, you say, could such a thing be possible? Well, I have a whole BUNCH of stuff that I’m going to force my friends to photograph, ruining all those relationships in the process, but ensuring a slew of new items to display to the world. In brand new locations! Capturing the wind of the windy city! And I’ve got new shoes, too! So there is no way this isn’t going to be amazing!

Well, except Cadfael isn’t coming. It’s weird if you bring a cat as a plus one, right? That was my instinct.

Um, you aren’t taking me? (says Cadfael). LAME.(But check out some sneak peeks of new stuff on the bed…)

Sorry, buddy.

At any rate, I will see you all when I get back on Monday!

However, if you really miss me, check out the guest post I’m doing at Dixie DIY this Friday! Remember that scrap tutorial I promised you during Me Made May? Well, I made it, alright, but I gave it to Dixie! Aren’t I just the best? Seriously, though, check out her blog, it’s lovely and amazing, just like the author, and the guest posts she’s got going on for her vacation are also fantastic!

The Best Award Ever (And it’s all mine!)

I was recently awarded what is, in my humble opinion, the best award ever. EVER. EEEEEVVVVEEEER. (Insert Sandlot flashback here). You all read Cation Designs, right? Yes, of  course you do, because Cindy Chan is an inspiration to us all. She got me reading the Hunger Games (um, sometime, in the future, after I finish every other book littering my tiny apartment. I swear it’s like 10% me, 35% sewing stuff, 5% Cadfael, 50% books.) She makes corsets. She makes dress after perfect fantastic dress. She embroiders Miyazaki characters and maps of Middle Earth. She’s posting a poem a day for National Poetry month AS WE SPEAK. She is a sewing rockstar, and everyone should be aware of that, and act accordingly.

Oh, and she has a cat named Walnut. Walnut is a majestic beast, long-haired, noble-eyed, bursting with grandeur and fur. And because Walnut, with his curiosity and claws, is all up in her sewing business, she has created an award, The Sewing With Cats Award:

It’s a tribute to all of us whose lives are made both better and worse by our feline companions, specifically when it comes to sewing. And I must say, Brother Cadfael has his good days and his bad days. Sometimes that pile of fluffy tissue (i.e. a pattern) holds his fascination and sometimes he couldn’t care less. Sometimes that neatly laid out fabric is OBVIOUSLY a cat bed and sometimes he disdains it, preferring my actual bed. He’s a wild card, that guy. For example, he recently became interested in my sewing machine:

And sometimes he wants to lie down on patterns:

Of course, he’s always happy to help with pattern drafting:

He’s an expert on the full bust adjustment. But mostly he just likes fabric:

Just try to be mad at me when I look this adorable. Just try.

Of course, special mention must be made of some other guys, specifically Falco and Morse, who absolutely had to join in the Passover Seder:

Hey! Is that Elijah?

Where is my wine?

Life with cats. It’s like living with tiny fluffy dictators.

Oh, PS: Just so you know, sewing is happening. I’ve made 5 garments in the last few weeks but of course the devil is in the photos! And the weather. I really gotta stop making sundresses in 50 degree weather. But I’ve completed my Truffle and Pastille Dresses, another renfrew, a t-shirt and a skirt. It’s all coming, people, I promise!

Cha-cha-cha-changes and a giveaway!

I have big news, people, big news! Brother Cadfael had been accepted to the NYU-Tisch MFA for Dramatic Writing program! Of course, as his human servant, I will be required to attend all the classes and write all the plays and screenplays and generally just be enrolled in the program while he dozes and licks himself. But it’s really his wonderful accomplishment, and he is to be congratulated!

Waiting for Godot is so mainstream, says Cadfael. Endgame is Beckett's real masterwork.

I’m just messing with you. Cadfael didn’t get into Tisch, he didn’t even apply, he thinks graduate students are the worst. I, however, did apply to and was accepted by this amazing school, and I will be attending NYU-Tisch in the fall. Yeah. That’s right. So I’m moving to New York. And yes, I’m taking Cadfael with me, he can lick himself just as easily in Brooklyn or Queens as he can in Philadelphia. We are very excited about this. Well, I’m very excited about this. Cadfael doesn’t understand the concept of plays, or writing, or moving, or New York. Or excitement, really….

At any rate, for now, I’m still here at home in my beloved Philadelphia, starting to make my plans and let the people around me know what’s happening, but I thought that I would share this piece of good news with the world of sewing bloggers, like you do. And to tie this all together, because purely personal posts are not my bag, I’m offering a giveaway! Of 13 vintage patterns! From me to you! Yeah. That’s right. Now you’re listening…..

Let’s take a look at the goods, shall we?

You know, your classic cape/skirt combo. Don’t worry, the embroidery transfer comes with it. Thank goodness.

This I could actually see as looking super modern in the right fabric.

A wrap skirt!

You could, of course, make this in black and white herringbone wool. As suggested.

I guess you could make NON-matching separates, but that just seems like crazy talk.

Pleated skirts are big for spring, apparently.

That cover art model has clearly been infiltrated by aliens. Not to worry, it’s still a cute pattern, right?

I would not recommend the jacket, but the dress is cute!

Vest, check. Miserable looking dog? Check. Cute skirt pattern? Check!

I really want their shoes…

Diversity in cover art models. Thank you, 1970’s!

Julia’s Mad Men Copy Cat Challenge is over, of course, but you can still dress like Megan. Don Draper on your arm optional, but recommended.

And for the final pattern, I must say, I know it’s not a winner, but I’m Jewish, you see, and I just don’t see a need for this in my life:

Yeah. Drink that in.

And you can have all of these pattern (ALL OF THESE PATTERNS!) for the low low cost of free! Just comment before the 15th of April, and tell me which you like best, or what you would do with them, or really if anything exciting has happened in your life recently! All sharing is welcome.

Oh, and I realize that there are 13 patterns I’m giving away to one lucky person, so I’m willing to throw in a 14th to avoid bad luck. Because I’m just that nice.

Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Happy Springtime! Whatever you’re into, have a happy one.