A 1950s Skirt Pattern

My wonderful brother-in-law G, laboured for 4 hours yesterday trying to solve the mystery of hooking up our scanner to our multi-computer network. I never felt any urgency to have a working scanner but recently it has become important to have one. We are leaving for our trip in about 2 weeks and I suddenly find myself having to complete a very large, time sensitive project for my husband's business. For this I need a scanner.

I did my first test scan this morning. I needed a colourful image so I grabbed one of my vintage sewing patterns, pictured above. Then I thought, since I have "millions" of vintage patterns, why not start putting some of my favourites up on my blog. So now I have a second, very good reason to have a working scanner.

McCalls 3338 was copyrighted in 1955. The pattern is printed and uncut and in mint condition. The original price was 45 cents.

It's a very basic, simple pattern. Here's what I love about it:
-the cover art (they had great graphic illustrators in the 50s)
-the length of the skirt (suits me as I am no spring chicken and the less you see of my legs, the better)
-looks good with flats or heels (this boiler can only do flats these days)
-this can be a summer or winter skirt (cotton or wool)
-the waist and hip can be easily altered to fit (in case you don't have the 26-inch waist and the 35-inch hip that the pattern calls for)
-of all the skirt patterns, this is the one I would take with me to a desert island
-makes me think of Katharine Hepburn in "Desk Set" or "Summertime" (in this fantasy, you would need to have a 26-inch waist)

Stay tuned for more great pattern images in the future.

A Post For May

Today is the last day of May. I thought I had better post something to my blog lest I should lose my readers.

First, I have to show you a most beautiful Icicle Doll made by Dot of Dot's Life and Art, the creator of the Dotee Doll. I am happy to say I had a very small hand in this lovely creation. Dot set the silvery blue face I made for her in the most wonderful complimentary fabrics and embellished it with her exquisite beadwork. I just love it. I want to thank Dot for allowing me to use her photo.

In my previous post, a whole month ago, I had hoped to share my boot fabric tank top in a "few days". Well, I'm afraid to say that didn't happen - yet. I simply am not motivated to sew summer clothes when the weather is still too cold. Nor am I motivated to model them for you when my skin is still too pale. But today is looking promising. Finally, my kind of weather has arrived. It's warm and it's humid. Most everyone I know hates the humidity, but me and my skin embrace it. So let me try it again and say that I hope to be able to model the top for you in a few days. (Fingers crossed).

My efforts towards weight loss are paying off. Of course I wish the number on the scale was lower but I cannot deny that I am making progress and that last years' summer clothes are fitting me better than they were a month ago.

There are only 18 days left before I leave for my European trip and now I must pull out all the stops to make sure my clothes fit nicely. Provided I don't give in to rich foods on my vacation, I should be able to shape up further with all the walking and sight seeing. The good thing is that for the 10 days that we'll be in Scotland, we will be based in a bed and breakfast with a full kitchen. That way I will have better control over our meals. I don't want to have to rely on too many restaurant meals not only because of the expense, but because restaurants mostly serve you too much fat, sugar and salt. I haven't a clue what to expect in the way of food in Estonia, but hopefully I will be able to muddle through the 6 days without doing too much damage.

In case it sounds as if I obsess about food, I should mention that for personal health reasons, I eat a diet devoid of animal products and added fat. Mostly just whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables with the odd departure. Vacations can be hazardous to my health if I stray too far for too long (which is what happened to me last year. I became ill and it took me a month of extremely strict diet and rest to recover).

And now, before it starts to rain here, I must go outside and soak up some of that lovely humidity.

Birthday Greeting For My Sister

April 26th, tomorrow, is my sister's birthday. This is the image that I made for her birthday card and this is also another page to add to my Fabric Doll Book.

I am treating my "Schwester" to the opera (at the movie theatre)and then we are going out to dinner.

I am posting today as I won't have time tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Sis.

Finished

Creative Art Doll Swap

I love it when the fabric tells you what to do. The centre was cut out from a remnant someone gave me. I just followed along the brown swirly outline and voilà, I have a body for the doll. Then I added a layer of moss green polka dots and a third layer of brown polka dots.

I haven't stitched anything together yet. I took the photo to see how it looked. I liked it so much that I decided to post a preview picture.

This doll is for a swap that must be in the mail by Friday. I hope to have a picture of the completed doll tomorrow.

Lost Dotee and A Commission

After stating that I would take a break from making Dotee dolls, don't I get an Email from one of my swap partners telling me that she never received her doll. She was very gracious. She said she believed I mailed the doll and that it must have got lost in the mail and that she didn't expect me to make another doll for her.

Well, of course, I will make another doll. So look for a new Dotee post in the next day or so.

A long time family friend, M, who is the President of a local artists' society, has approached me many times about joining the group. I have declined because what I do is more along the lines of crafting than fine art. For the last few years, I have been religious about sending M greeting cards (Valentines, Easter, Christmas, birthday) and she has been impressed by my creations. She has asked me to produce some cards to sell at a local jazz festival at which the artists' society will have a presence.

This time I think I am going to do it. I am excited at the prospect for two reasons. One, making art cards is something I can do with confidence as opposed to producing a piece of fine art. Two, the jazz festival is held, literally, within a five minute walk from my house. The jazz festival is a fundraiser for a children's camp. And best of all, I am a major jazz fan (critic) and I know, based on what I witnessed last year at the festival, that the talent is top notch.

My nephew is a professional jazz drummer. He was invited last year to perform but had to turn down the gig because he already had other things booked. One of his peers took the job instead.

I really, really, want my nephew to appear this year, but since the powers that be have already established a relationship with "the other guy", my nephew might not get the invitation. I like the "other guy" too but family is family.

But I digress. The card making is a big deal. It's one thing to whip up some cards for friends. When you're talking about selling your cards, there are so many things to take into consideration such as the quality and colour of cardstock and the what kind of permanent adhesive to use. The jazz festival is in August and it's not too early to start planning right now. Yikes!!!

Trilliums

This is my last Dotee doll (for a while). I made this for a swap with a local theme. We had to embellish the doll with something representative of the city, state or country that we live in. I live in Ontario, Canada so right away I thought “Trillium”, the official flower of the province of Ontario.

Well, I had a devil of a time with the trilliums. I lost count of the number of flowers I made. Nothing was working with this doll. My house is littered with a trail of trilliums. :(

Finally, I just had some petals and leaves growing out of her head. Not what I envisioned in the beginning but the best that I could come up with this time.

My house has been a construction site for the last week or so. We ripped out the bathtub and replaced it with a fully tiled walk in shower. We also built a wall to wall closet in the bedroom. It's been difficult to do anything creative with all this going on. It's nice to have had the break. Now I'm itching to get on with some more fabric art.