'Courage is being scared to death...and saddling up anyway'

I'm a little obsessed lately with John Wayne quotes! I just watched a great classic John Wayne/Maureen O'Hara movie, McLintock!, I'm not usually a fan of Westerns; but I love to see a movie with a man in it, and I guess that's why I love John Wayne! That particular quote from the title is my mantra; I usually know I'm doing the right thing because it doesn't feel easy!

On the swimwear topic, now I'm depressed because my swimsuit doesn't have rhinestones! Boo! I'm happy to announce that after weeks and weeks of empty talk....dadada DA! My swimsuit is finished! (actually, I have to sew the buttons on, minor detail!). I have to apologize for the photos, I took them late, and I was in no frame of mind to model the garments...so....these will have to suffice!

So, I increased the size from a very petite 32 bust, to.....my size! And I'm not going to look like the picture, either; and the waistband is a tad big, but I think more flattering to my babies-tummy to have it looser. I will update with the number of people hospitalized by the sight of my white flesh and un-toned abs!

I also whipped up in a single night this 60's wrap skirt, I love skirts with pockets, and I'm usually skeptical about wrap skirts, because I don't want to have a wardrobe malfunction, but this design is pretty ingenious, with two buttons for safety, and a flared skirt that prevents the back from opening no matter what acrobatics you get up to; I know because I used our big screen TV as a mirror and replicated all the moves I would be likely (and unlikely) to do, and nothing was exposed! This lovely paisley vintage fabric is the perfect weight for a skirt, and I love the colors! The camera with poor lighting couldn't do it justice, these are really bad pictures!

I went to the store to search for a lightweight sweater or jacket to wear for California springtime; since the ones I have are ancient, but apparently no one looks for sweaters in March? I also couldn't see myself wearing a hoodie with a sporty logo atop my vintage wear, so I splurged on a (clearance) fine-knit cardigan. It was possibly one of the most expensive items in my wardrobe; at $20; but I think it's so pretty and versatile!

I had imagined having the 2 or 3 shirtwaist dresses I have patterns and fabric for done before our trip; but I got the essentials and I don't think I want to push my luck. I'll save those for when I have the time to do them justice; and I think since we're packing light and doing laundry, the wrap skirt, a few more skirts I already have, and a few pairs of capri's will be enough for our trip. I'm closing my shop for the duration of our trip, feels sad, like it's gone, but I know it will be there when I get back! I'm also meeting tomorrow to discuss plans for a Farmer's Market this summer, so I have a few last-minute business things to do and some loose ends to tie up. I will also be making 2 more batches of soap tonight, and sending off a few freebies. Tomorrow I will start packing in earnest, I have most of the things for the boys set aside, it's just a matter of making lots of lists and keeping track. Oh, and cleaning the house and keeping it clean!

So excited about going, doesn't seem real yet, I will be updating my blog while I'm gone; and my facebook page will probably be where I post pictures; exciting week!


Have a great Tuesday!

An Apple Pie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

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We've slowly been recovering, and my poor boys are almost all better! Some of them have lingering coughs, and two of them never got sick at all; and I'm hoping our luck will hold. I'm trying to think of all the last-minute things I need to do before our vacation, and one of them is to use up the half-bushel of apples I bought optimistically a few weeks ago. Although I'm storing them in the garage, I don't want them to go bad while we're gone, so I've decided to go on an apple pie baking blitz. I figure that if I make an apple pie every day, or two every other day, I should use up all the apples before we leave. Yesterday, I baked pie #1; it seems like forever since I've made a home-baked dessert and it made the house smell awesome! My boys were all thrilled, they love apple pie, and I felt like I had accomplished a lot that day, even though I didn't.

I think I've been pushing myself too much lately, I've been unusually tired, and the joy I used to have creating and selling my soaps has seemed to be replaced by feeling that I've fallen short, not just at that, but that I've let it take over my life a little too much. I have a tendency to be a perfectionist, and although I told myself when I started that I would be happy if I only made one sale, soon I found myself glued to the activity feed! I think I'm going to concentrate on the joy of it again, and if it's true that a "watch pot never boils"; well, maybe it's true that a "watch etsy-shop never sells"! And I am looking forward to my first Farmer's Market, I love Farmer's Market's and it will be so scary and exciting to have my own (shared) booth! I'm already planning my display and decor, with my snazzy new apron that Rita, a fellow etsian at Lazy Mondays made me. I've made "Idaho Dirt" soap, "Clean Air" soap, and have a lot more planned that I hope people in an open-air market will like!

For now, I need to concentrate on my sewing, which is my one true love; and getting ready for our vacation, that is so close now I can taste it. I almost can't believe we're actually getting to go to Disneyland, I think I've avoided thinking too much about it, because it seems almost too good to be true!

Since it's a Friday night, I can stay up as late as I want, watching old movies and sewing old patterns, my favorite! I may work it some new soap "flavors" I have planned. I have more consignment goodies, can you believe it? I also have to buy Andrew new dress shoes for his school performance; which will be the day we leave for San Diego! He's been preparing all year for this, and is really nervous, I'm hoping to have everything packed in the car and meet him at school with the whole family, including Daddy; so that right after the performance, we can leave for San Diego! So much going on this coming week, it's scary and exciting! I will post pictures of my now-mythical vintage attire once it's done, I swear!

Have a great weekend, everybody! 

Mr. Sandman.....

So remember my pledge not to stay up past midnight? We'll that's all gone out the window now that I realized I only have barely over a month until our vacation, and several pieces that are a must sew. The bathing suit pattern I cut out the other night is on the top of my list; I would hate to wait seven years for a vacation only to end up at the beach in a threadbare, stretched-out, five year old,  I've-worn-it-through-two-pregnancies-and-never-liked-it-anyway bathing suit!

So last night I buckled down (at 11pm) and got to work; movie on the laptop; boys and husband in bed. After all my enlarging/reducing/reducing I found that I had made the shorts gigantic! I mean, really big! I stitched them together as cut because I didn't want to lose the lines of the pattern; tonight (if I survive that long), I'll try them on and reduce by taking in the side seams. I have to adjust to the fact that they are meant to be rather flowy, drapey shorts, as was the style, and I don't want to lose that. However, I also don't want to be drowning in fabric. I think it will all work out; I did have to change the pattern size significantly, and it's natural for there to be differences in fit with a vintage pattern compared to modern expectations.

I hope, hope, hope to be back on track; sleep-wise soon, as soon as I catch up a little (promises, promises). For tonight, I feel rather exhausted, and may or may not pass out completely as soon as a finish this post!
I do have a great weekend coming up, and I'm excited about tomorrow being Friday!

Have a great night, everyone!

I Write with a Goose Quill Dipped in Venom

Isn't that a great line? It's from one of my favorite Film Noir movies; Laura. I watched it last night while working on my sewing since I just figured out how to watch movies from Netflix on my laptop. I know, people have been watching movies on their computer for centuries; but since I had no computer until last December, this is all new to me! I'm no movie expert, but I've been a fan of classic films since I was a little girl watching old movies with my mother. I'm like a kid in a candy store! So many movies I've never seen, or some of my favorites that are hard to track down. Since I have a laptop, it's easy to have it set up on my worktable, start one of the classics and get to work!

This was the view from my kitchen last night; I got to work resizing my vintage swimsuit pattern, a process I started the night before. Although when giving the resized pieces a second look last night, I realized that I had made them far, far, too big! It must have been because of the late hour, after taking a few measurements, I realized I made the swimsuit front several inches too big, the top picture shows the front piece, in a Junior size, and the white material is the pattern material, which is printed in one inch grids. You can see I had to add quite a bit, including adding length from top to bottom, for coverage and modesty. After I took this picture of the piece which I had just reduced in size, I still needed to remove a few more inches in width. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, trying desperately to achieve the correct size! The lower picture shows my workspace; the kitchen table, covered in sewing stuff; which is the worst part about sewing, at least for me; because I don't have a dedicated space, and have to carefully put away everything despite the late hour; otherwise my boys will have a field day in the morning! For some reason, my littler boys are fascinated by my sewing machine and equipment, and when I leave my sewing machine out, I always have to check it carefully; since they usually have changed all the settings!

A few weeks ago, a fellow etsian on my team did an interview with me about my shop; she published it today; check out her blog; By the Book Paper

It's a great Monday; since my boys are out of school for President's Day; I'm hoping to have a very laid-back day today; Happy Monday!

My Name is Brandi; and I'm addicted to patterns.....I'm also REALLY bad at math!

Ok, full disclosure; the post I made yesterday; about homemaking: I just realized now that 1951 was in fact; 60 years ago; not fifty....

Wow; no more late-night blogging for me!
*embarrassing*

Today I woke up, ready for action; and while checking my etsy shop; noticed that one of my favorite shops Vintage Treasure Huntn had added some new patterns; and there were a few I just could not pass up; even though I have lots of patterns, lots of fabric; and almost no time or energy left! The one above is the one I finally decided to purchase; after justifying the expense six ways to Sunday and vowing to make it worth it by not buying new clothes for the next decade, at least!

Fortunately, Vintage Treasure Huntn has very reasonably-priced patterns; very much in the grasp of a budget-minded mama like me! The fact that it is my size made it seem like Serendipity; I just couldn't say no! It is a "half-size" pattern, which means a petite, but it's very easy to alter that, and the fact that I'm only 5'5" makes it even better. I have some fabric that would be perfect for this, probably the pink linen that I posted a picture of earlier, although I have to say I'm completely in love with the blue/grey with contrasting cuffs and belt, as shown for view A. I also have some navy blue and white polka dot, that may work, and the red accents for that would be darling. I'll have to wait until I get it, once the pattern is in my hands, inspiration just seems to flow better!

And I must, must, must make more time to sew this week; I don't want all my beautiful patterns to go to waste!

Vintage Success....one down, LOTS to go!

I posted a few weeks ago about a vintage sun suit I was making for Baby E, along with lots, and lots, and lots, of projects I intend to finish before our much-anticipated vacation at the end of March. I've been trying, and trying to find time for my sewing, but lately it has been difficult to fit it in to my ever-busy schedule. Tonight James had a late soccer game, so I was able to do some of my other chores, like making more Crunchy Mama soap for my etsy shop while he napped. I was so close to being finished with the sun suit, I only needed to do the dreaded buttonholes, and of course the normal hand-sewing and trimming thread duty that I despise. So here, at long last, is the finished 1955 sun suit; with shaky atrocious buttonholes! Fortunately, I found adorable buttons with anchors on them to lend a nautical air, and to hopefully disguise my usual wretched buttonholeing when the suit is worn this summer! I loved this pattern, straightforward, simple instructions, and a new twist, a technique I've never encountered before; flat-fell seams, where instead of sewing the side seams with right sides together, which makes a seam allowance on the inside; you sew the side seams wrong sides together, then on the right side, trim one of the seam allowances, then lap the other allowance over it, making a clean line, then top-stiching over all. I love to learn new (old) techniques, that's what makes vintage sewing so interesting, you never know what kind of instructions you may find, and it challenges your skills as a seamstress.

Also, I am at this moment, defying my self-imposed curfew, but since James is out playing a soccer game, and it is a weekend, I decided that it was allowable! No pumpkin-ing for me! I hope to be productive while I have this little opportunity, and perhaps even sleep in just a bit in the morning!

Buttonholes and Buttermilk....

I've had such little time to work on my sewing lately, but finally on Sunday afternoon, I was able to at last sit down at my machine. I did have one little boy sitting beside me tracing the revolutions of the needle carriage wheel with his finger, and another little boy underneath the table pushing my foot down on the pedal, but it was still great to get going on my little trusty Singer! I'm still laboriously working on a dress that would be a simple project, if I were able to work on it for more than 20 minutes at a time, but; alas! The life of a mama! This pattern (the one I have pictured in an earlier post atop the vintage black and white check fabric) has a hidden button placket, which is perfect for me; since I have a rather embarrassing secret....I am the worst buttonhole maker in the world! It is silly, I know, for a person who has done as much sewing as I have, to produce such terrible, shaky, crooked buttonholes, and the fact that my machine has a semi-auto buttonhole setting makes it even more embarrassing. I don't know what it is about the thought of making presentable buttonholes that makes me go all to pieces; but there it is! I have also given up on marking dark fabrics with the typical white or silver dressmaking pencil, and so my other embarrassing secret is that I use Crayola colored pencils....not professional, I know, although the markings are either covered or they are fairly easily removed. After my usual trial buttonholes, my first was still fairly shaky, although I was able to cover up the deficiencies by reinforcing it; then just when I was about to succumb to buttonhole despair; I produced a quite presentable, straight buttonhole! I'm so proud of it, I may post a picture! I hope I am able to finish this particular dress in the next few days, since I'm so excited to begin my swimsuit pattern, and I've promised myself I will do all my projects in order, start to finish, for once! You may be wondering where my buttermilk reference comes from; I had a rather strange soap making experience involving adding buttermilk to lye; it changed to the strangest reddish-brown; I had heard of a similar reaction, but never had I seen it before, normally when I use buttermilk for soap it turns a orange-y color, but never this! And when the search box in your google search has the words "buttermilk in lye; reddish brown color", you know it's going to be an interesting day!

Peppermint Mocha and Patterns Galore!

I have had a crazy busy week year; and have been really stressed about getting all these gorgeous patterns resized and made into garments. I hate to be stressful about things I really love, but when you have a house, five children, an etsy shop, and mountains of laundry; it's hard to fit anything in, especially if it's "just for me". I went to my favorite fabric store these weekend, and in the bargain bin found some great quality, spring-y fabric on clearance plus 50% off! So I ended up paying $2 a yard for the great linen blend, and $1.50 a yard for the adorable rayon blend pink and white check. I also had to figure out what material to use for the pattern resizing, and since I'm cheap, I gulped and bought three yards of a product with one-inch grids printed on it for $1.99 a yard. I'm not totally sold, I wish I could have just bought a roll of butcher paper or something, although I'm finding the grids are very handy. I'm also finding that although I'm a fairly advanced sewer, the whole pattern concept does not come easy to me. I read an article about pattern resizing, but I must say I'm not totally convinced that method works. It's the whole "the-leg-bone-connected-to-the-thigh-bone" thing that I keep messing up on, it's hard for me to comprehend how when I adjust one piece, it affects several other pieces. I hope I erred on the side of largeness with the black and white I have cut out, or make it work somehow if I haven't. I also had plenty of fabric left over to cut out a 1956 sun suit for Elvis. In the pattern envelope was some notes someone had written to themselves on a piece of scrap paper which was the back a political donation request letter; so funny to find these original musings of a housewife somewhere who presumably made this very sun suit for her baby boy, who is by now a grandfather! That's why I love sewing vintage so much, it's a connection to the past like nothing else. My next project is my hard-won swimsuit pattern, the coral-y red in the center is the famous authentic vintage rayon, which I received this week from http://etsy.com/shops/vintagetreasurehuntn it's so gorgeous and lightweight, perfect for a vintage swimsuit! I had to laugh when I compared the pattern piece for the bra top, which is a girls (juniors) size to my ample bust line; there is going to be a whole lot of resizing going on there! The piece that is supposed to represent half the bra top is basically the size of a dinner napkin; by the time I'm done with it, it'll be unrecognizable! The rest of the patterns I bought will be fairly easy, most are close to my size and are things like skirts and shorts, which just need to be widened, and a house dress which is just four pieces plus sleeves, belted. I'm so excited to get going on all this...if I only had a spare day or two!

Where does the time go?

I have been so, so, busy these last few days! Getting my boys back on a school schedule has been a little challenging (and for me too!). I have been dying to cut into my first vintage pattern, and over the last day or two I have been slowly cutting out the pattern. It's almost my size, but I need a couple extra inches in the bust line and my five-babies waistline. I found a great article on resizing patterns, and although I found that I had virtually none of the needed supplies, I figured I was an experienced enough seamstress to draw out the re sized bodice directly on the fabric. Even I would not have attempted this except that the pattern was very nearly the right size...it would not have worked at all on a pattern that was a few sizes too small. I think I did all right, I guess I'll see once it starts going together, I went on the premise that you can always make something smaller, so I added ample room, thinking I could take it in easily. The skirt then had to be re sized along the side seams, which is a no-brainer, but this skirt pattern has soft pleats along the waistband, and I had a mental block where I couldn't figure out whether I needed to move the pleats or enlarge the pleats to the measurement I added to the bodice. Eventually I moved the markings, but I may just have to redistribute them once I get started on the skirt; I've found that often pleats have to be moved, anyway, even if the pattern is the right size. Also, tonight, I remedied my sad lack of dessert making by making oatmeal chocolate-and-vanilla-chip cookies, my boys will be thrilled, since they've been bereft of "treats" lately! On the agenda tonight, lots of laundry, fabric cutting, soapmaking (Briny Depths Sea Kelp Soap), and a glass of Riesling wine (my fave!).

Back to School and MORE vintage finds....

Today was the ever-anticipated (with dread) return to school after two idyllic weeks spent largely in jammies, with lots of free play time and movie afternoons. I was afraid it would be difficult for me to keep up with my etsy shop, blog, even leaving aside the whole five-boys-and-a-house issue. However, after a late night spent with James, filling lotion bottles, and packing boxes for a last-minute etsy order, I got up, determined to take on the world, applied a thick coat of under-eye concealer, drank some scalding hot black coffee, and actually pulled myself and the boys together for an on-time school arrival! I had a great day with what I call my "tiny boys", and was surprised at how calm it seemed without the biggest boys (sorry guys!), and how quickly we returned to our regularly scheduled program. I made a nice beef stew and some hot oatmeal bread, and actually had a surprisingly neat home and five surprisingly calm and cheerful boys for James to come home to! Then, for an added bonus, I was able to negotiate with a wonderul etsy shop owner for a discount on some fabulous authentic vintage fabric to make my famous swimsuit with! A great vintage pattern, it's a slinky fabric, more in keeping with the era than modern swimwear fabric would have been. I was so afraid that after all my hunting, I was going to be forced to settle for a spandex that would have screamed "NOT VINTAGE". In return for the really awesome deal Vintage Treasure Hunt gave me, I promised to send some of my new laundry fizzes, along with whatever goodies I can stuff into the box, I'm really pleased I was able to get a great stock of vintage fabric! Back at it again tommorrow!

Let the Planning Begin.....

I made the final, final, cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die reservations for our vacation today! Four days in Disneyland, three days in San Diego, 16 hours in the car with five boys, and lots and lots of Starbucks double shot + energy. Not in that order. I'm already plotting ways to outfit five boys for Spring in Southern California in Winter in Idaho. Fortunately, my favorite consignment store; Kidz Again, turns over their inventory at the end of January, which I always have marked on my calender anyway, since the cream-of-the-crop summer items are gone by February! I also have Donna from Vintage Treasure Huntn on the, well hunt, for vintage beachwear patterns suitable to my age, budget, and waistline, I'm excited to see what she turns up. I also received in the mail today my order from her, my wonderful vintage dress pattern, with the lovely 5 yards of black and white check material, and am itching to get started! It will be quite a challenge to outfit everybody in style on such a tight budget, but this is the kind of challenge I live for; I love regaling my family with tales of my $5 brand-new dress and .68 sweater! So I have three months in which to wallow in sewing,  plotting to overthrow retail stores, and strategising packing methods! Such fun!

My new splurge! Lovely mad-men era sewing pattern, and vintage fabric!

After spending two late nights looking at thousands of vintage sewing patterns until the wee hours (and wanting them all). I found one that fits my body, budget, and imagination. It is a lovely full-skirted dress from the 1960's, and the same wonderful shop also had 5 yards of vintage black-and-white check fabric for an extraordinarily reasonable price. This shop has some of the most reasonably priced vintage patterns I have seen, since many of the ones I find are too expensive to buy when you consider the cost of the materials added in, and this has prevented me from indulging my love of vintage up to now, leaving me to settle with reproductions that can sometimes be found for a dollar at certain times of the year. The shop owner Donna, is also a lovely woman who discounted the shipping costs and even reduced the cost of the fabric when learning of my interest! Thanks, Donna! If any of you are vintage sew-y types, be sure to check out her shop, she has the best selection of 50's and 60's items. I look forward to posting pictures of my marvelous new purchase when it arrives, as well as the finished product, which I hope will do it justice! http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageTreasureHuntn

Another day; another lesson learned

Well, I was quite proud of myself and feeling very smug today when I posted last; all about homemade ricotta, soap, lotion, etc. So, I made ricotta; not very sucessfully, I think I got overconfident and need to take a look at the recipe again. The lotion making went better, I was afraid to try, I mean, who makes their own lotion; and isn't this why they can charge so much for a bottle of lotion? It was absurdly easy. The only drawback is that the average person is not likely to have emulsifying wax and a block of shea butter on hand, nor an immersion blender they're willing to devote entirely to the task; whereas, since I am a soapmaker, such things are easily obtained. So that was the major success of my day. The low point? Realizing I had failed to use tags for my lovely, thoughtful, last post (at least I thought it was). Oh well, live and learn. And I spent entirely too long today immersed in looking at vintage patterns on etsy; dreaming of seeing myself in one of those creations. I might as well just go ahead and add sewing back into my list of "crazes"; why not? I did learn, to my relief; that indeed, women who wore my size not only existed in the 1960's, they appeared to be hale and hearty and wearing pretty dresses just the same as the women with 24-inch waistlines. What a relief!