Someone special

This made me smile, and I wanted to share it with y'all.  It's so true!

Fellow costumers, please help!

Ok.  I've got a problem.  I've got a $40 gift card and a 20% coupon (including sale items! you gotta love it!) to Joann Fabrics, and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BUY!!!  The coupon expires tomorrow.  I need ideas, please, please, please.  So, here's some possibilities.  On my to-sew list in slight order of importance....1) white 18th C. petticoat(s); 2) a quilted petticoat (is it wrong to buy pre-quilted fabric?  or is it just tacky?  or practical? LOL);  3) light grey-blue petticoat (to match both a white jacket and a blue one); 4) 18th c. ballgown (I don't even have any ideas on a color or fabric for that.).  5) Civil War ballgown;  6) one (ONE) Regency embroidered sheer ballgown (those are like the most amazing dresses ever, but when am I ever going to have a time to sew and embroider it? and where on earth would I wear it!  that does present a problem....).  My biggest problem is that I still don't have much experience when it comes to the feel of fabrics, their names, and what is historically accurate!  I need suggestions please!!!

Sorry y'all....

I've been so busy lately.  I don't know when on earth I'll get around to doing more sewing or blogging anything of interest.  I'm beginning to think that it might be better to rename this blog "Life of a College Student", as I'd have much more to write about, and complain about.  But I don't think it would be very interesting, so forget about that.  I'm pretty sure you'd rather hear about one of my silly dress-up parties than my Philosophy class.  I know I would!  But anyways, I am slowly working on writing a more interesting blog post, so bear with me!

Giveaways!

Thanks to my friend Savories of Life, I heard about some great giveaways!  And now I'm following some great blogs!  The first giveaway is by Royal Daughters of the King.  They have stationary (isn't it lovely?):

                           

Rings (I just love the first one!):

                            
                            

plus earrings, purses, a magazine subscription, a book, and a cute tea cup candle!

                             

To enter the giveaway, head over to their site at Royal Daughters of the King Giveaway, blog about their giveaway, and leave a comment on their post with a link to your post!  Giveaway ends September 29.



The next giveaways are by Blessings Every Minute of My Life.  She's having a giveaway week, and just a couple of the giveaways so far are these earrings (which look like they could pass for historically accurate coral earrings of the Civil War and Victorian period!  I'm going to have to buy a pair if I don't win them!):

                             

This ring (which looks Victorian as well.)

                                 
To enter her giveaways, follow her blog at http://blessingseveryminuteofmylife.blogspot.com  and let her know you're following!  She also has other options to get more entries into each giveaway!


I hope y'all head over, enter the giveaways, and then visit the wonderful Etsy stores that are sponsoring them!

Broken sewing machine

Just when a rainy day came along, with no homework to be done, my sewing machine decided to break.  It's an ancient machine, at least 20 years old, and about every other time I sew on it something goes wrong.  The tension is always getting messed up, or it's timing is off so it's breaking needles left and right, or it chews up the fabric.  Now the feed dog broke, so in order to sew, I have to pull, actually pull not guide, the fabric through.  Not good, especially since I have to work with some stretchy knit fabric.  So now, I either need to fix the machine, or go buy a new one.  And even if I do fix it, a new one is going to be needed soon.  So here's three cheers for sewing machine shopping!

80's Sleeve Makeover

Sorry everybody.  I know I don't post very often, I've been so busy lately.  But I am finally getting around to posting today.  I have a confession to make: I made an impulse buy last month.  I'm not normally that way; when confronted with college expenses, and no job (until last month. Thank you, Lord for providing!), it really makes me think twice before buying anything.  But I saw this dress.  It was white and black.  Normally I don't like white and black, but I liked this dress for some reason.  It had a slight empire waist, princess seaming on the skirt and gathers on the bodice, was floor length and fit perfectly.  Like no-alterations-needed-on-the-fit perfectly.

(Ignore the flower pot above my head!)

The only problem was that this dress had horrid 80's elbow length puffed sleeves (sorry, I don't have any "before" photos).  I fixed the problem by cutting off about 3 inches of fabric and pleating the pouffy-ness into a binding of satin ribbon.  It was so easy, and took maybe a half-hour, even with hand sewing the binding.  Here's the finished product:

Aren't those sleeve cute?

Front view:  I really like the lace at the waistline.

I think I know what I'm wearing to the Vintage Ball this December!  

Pride and Prejudice

You are allowed to be shocked, but I just turned 18 and I had not seen Pride and Prejudice until a couple weeks ago!  And to make matters worse, I just watched Emma and Sense and Sensibility within the past couple of months for the first time and I haven't read any of the Jane Austen books!  *gasp! Homeschooled and not read Jane Austen!*  But anyways.....I have see them now, and they definitely rank among my favorite movies, as well as North and South (even though it's not a Jane Austen, the story line is almost identical to Pride and Prejudice)  So far, I've only seen the newer version of Pride and Prejudice although I would like to see the older one done by the BBC.  I seriously love that movie.  I laugh till my sides ache at Mrs. Bennett, and grin my ears off when when Jane accepts Mr. Bingley's proposal.  But I've got a problem.  I'm so much like Elizabeth Bennett and Margaret Hale (N&S).  And I'm scared that I'm going to have some proud guy fall in love with me and I'm going to hate him at first and that is so terribly unromantic....but at the same time, even though they do have their faults, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Thornton are terribly handsome and have some really good qualities.  Ok, so now I'm wondering where my Mr. Darcy is.