Tule, Dressforms, Butterick Patterns, oh my...

The last two weeks have been a blur of lunch dates, planning, creating, and sales... I realized if I am going to sew my own wedding dress I had better get started. I only have a month now to get it finished. All our friends have been so sweet and helpful. I think everyone is excited to be apart of this special day...




The first step was determining what kind of dress I was looking for. So my girlfriends were all too happy to take me dress shopping. My dear friend Anna stomped through David's bridal gathering a selection of dresses for me to try on... Most of the dresses were longer than her...  I must have tried on 12 or more dresses that afternoon. Everything from the total princess ball gown to a tea dress. When the sales ladies weren't looking we would sneak a peak at the construction... Of course there is know way I could choose a dress without Matt's stamp of approval. After all, it's him I want to light up when he sees me in it. We took pictures of the best dresses and I had Matt take a look at them.   His face lite up so bright on one of the dresses I could have cared less which one it was. All I know is I want him to look that happy when I put on my final dress. Thankfully, the one he loved happened to be my favorite too!

Well that sorts out the basic lines and style of dress now I need my fabric and pattern...  Off to Joanne's to find the perfect fabric.

My Butterick Wedding pattern

Sometimes in life everything just clicks together so perfectly that you know it was meant to be. Well that's the kind of day I had with my girlfriend Nickel. We found a beautiful pattern that had the same lines as the dress I liked from Davids. We just need to make a few small adjustments and it will be perfect. After we had a pattern in hand we were able to pick out the perfect fabrics and correct yardage for each... I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was when we pulled out the perfect lace. I might have chirped a few times. The combination of tule, silk, and lace, was beyond perfect and the dusty pink/cream color gives it the perfect vintage flair. I would never have been able to by a dress this perfect in a store. I like the fabrics so much I want to make a second dress with them; one that I can wear out on date night...

My wedding fabrics

Watching a pattern come to life

While I was standing in line at Joanne's having my fabric cut I noticed the Dritz dressforms were $100 off. And on top of that I had a 30% off coupon so I decided it was time to purchase my first dressform. I was super excited till the sales lady said they don't carry them in the store and I would need to order the darn thing. 6-8weeks delivery time...  I had decided to forget it but on my way to the checkout counter I spy a dressform in the isle... Someone had returned theirs and there it was waiting for me. Now I am ready to tackle my dress!

A guide to collecting your body measurements correctly

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LOVE this lace!

I discovered while sewing my first dress that a dressform would come in handy.... When you don't have one, you find yourself trying on your dress a hundred times in the bathroom mirror, trying to pin it just so in order to achieve the perfect fit. Which, of course works, but it sure makes sewing easier to have a dressform at your service. I love this one by Dritz because it's completely adjustable to my body and it's tall enough for gowns.

Time to get to sewing....

Empty Nest

Baby hummer just before she flew away

Time, it keeps slipping away; a little faster each day....

Growing everyday

 Our little hummingbird baby has already left her nest.  You could see her growth each day. It happened so fast. One morning she had her eyes open and little bits of fluff covering her naked body and the next she was perched on the edge of her nest; observing the world around her.... 

Every morning I would check on her progress and talk to her... Literally one day she was laying in her nest and the next perched on top ready to fly off. 

She has almost all her feathers now and her eyes are open

She spent her last day perched on her nest.... I got to see her first flight

I only got a few pictures before she took her first flight out of the nest. I didn't think she could fly just yet but I took one step to close and in one swift, fluid movement she was gone. Thankfully, not completely gone. She flew over to a nearby tree and kept zipping around checking it out before flying back to her nest. She did that 3 more times before I finally left her alone to explore her new world. Since that first day though, the nest sits empty...

She hasn't flown far yet. We see her getting a drink from the feeders and you can tell which one is the baby because she fusses at everything and she is very skittish still.

The adult hummingbirds are curious creatures and will fly within inches of your face if you stand still for them... They even check out the dogs on occasion. The baby is still learning her surroundings. 

Instagram App Discovery

My new dress form

It's taken me a while but I finally checked out what this Instagram is all about.... I keep seeing these squared off pictures all over Facebook and on Pinterest... I've heard people talk about it but wasn't sure exactly what it was...

All you have to do is download an App and before you know it your pictures are transformed back to the days of Polaroids and that thing called film...

Coincidentally the camera in my droid smart phone works better than any point and shoot camera I've owned...





I find it amusing that we have come so far with technology that  now it's cool to take a high mega pixel picture with your smart phone and age it 30 years to look like you shot it with an old 35mm...
I guess vintage will always be "in."




I spent the better part of a morning trying to capture the light and my world that surrounds me... 

LOVE old but

Here are just a few random pictures of my world retro style....

My first dress

My second dress... My wedding dress

Tule in the morning

Hand crocheted

You can never have too many ball jars or paint brushes

My new, well old, New Home sewing machine by Janome

Just a glimpse at our last garage sale trip.... All kinds of treasures

Old Maps from the 50's

Hand Sewn Quilt... Found it at a garage sale. Amazing!

Enjoying a Slow Day in the Desert

Matt had today off and we took full advantage of  the beautiful weather.  We enjoyed a perfectly beautiful day together in our own little world. Here is a a series of pictures to sum up our day...

I'm pretty sure our second egg hatched today

Hummer Momma

Here is one of our little ground owl friends

Black Tailed Jackrabbit... Hitch loves to chase them everyday

Puppy lovin

We have 3 hummingbirds that fight over the feeders

Delicious Mojitos

So we have learned a few things about mojitos....
1. you need white rum
2. make your own mint infused simple sugar. 1 cup sugar to 1cup water ratio
3. Don't be afraid to experiment with fruits
4. The lime and mint leaves is a must
5. Finish it off with a splash of club soda and enjoy

Matt working on a box for a customer

Princess Hampton enjoying her garden and my chair...

Soaking up the rays

Saying goodnight to our ground owl

re-hydrating after a long jackrabbit run

Sun setting on another beautiful day in the Mojave desert

Sewing Session 2: My First Dress Pattern

My first dress pattern

Now that I have successfully created my first skirt I thought I would try a dress. 

A little research before I start cutting fabric

 A few weeks ago I was rummaging through a thrift store and came across some vintage sewing patterns. You can't beat a pattern for 50 cents when they cost $10.00 or more now at a store. So unsure exactly what I was buying  I picked out this McCalls dress pattern.

It's difficult to look through a book of patterns and try to envision them on you, how it might fit, and what sort of fabric is going to work well with it.

 I am sure those are all things that become second hand knowledge with time but for a beginner, the process can be a little daunting. Not to mention fabric is expensive so you don't want to make a mistake and waste any material. 

I now have a much greater appreciation of any garment I buy. I find myself examining the construction of my clothing  while I am getting dressed. I'm wondering how did they finish off the hem or how did they make these pleats... It's like a whole new world has opened up before me. I never thought twice before about how my shirt was sewn together I just threw it on and went about my business. Now I am thinking, I could totally make this myself.

All of my pattern pieces are cut and ready to sew

Transfer the pattern

 I didn't think to look before I purchased this pattern but it's a good idea to make sure the pattern has not already been cut to size when buying used patterns. 

Thankfully, when I got home and opened it, the pattern had not been cut. It was still nicely folded from the factory.  It took a good hour, a girlfriend, and a large table to lay out my fabric and cut out all the pieces required.  Some had to be upside down others had to be on a fold, and all the while you have to make sure you are cutting the fabric with the grain line....  This pattern starts on the bodice first. I was moving right along until I get to the part about the pleats. I must have starred at this darn pattern for 15min wondering what the heck they were talking about... Connect the small dots to the large dots... It took a little time but I finally figured it out and I love the look the pleats add to the bodice. In fact I added an extra one when I was finished.

Figuring out these gathers

My first pleats and I love the braided straps

One of my favorite details about this dress are the braided straps. They add a nice touch to an otherwise simple design. I like the straps so much I want to try this dress again but next time elongate the straps a little so I can cris-cross them in the back. I was even thinking about incorporating the braided fabric into the waistband area. Turn it into a more Grecian style dress.

I added a few vintage buttons

Another new trick I learner was gathers.... I had to get out my trusty holy grail of sewing to figure out what they were talking about. That's a great technique to get the fit just right before sewing it down for the final stitch. I was able to compensate for my lack of bosom quite nicely and the addition of pleats made it look like I have something going on up there... Getting the bodice to fit just right was really the hardest part. I had to keep pinning things and running into my bathroom to make sure I was doing it right. My next investment will be an adjustable dress form for sure...

The skirt section was a breeze and I was able to use the gathers again to adjust the volume and fit of the skirt. This had a maxi skirt bottom which looks cute but for my body I think the a-line or bias cut would be more flattering. 

I am in love with my first dress

I ended up working on this dress a little each day for 4 days or so. In between chores I would sneak 10min here and there to finish up a hem or iron the next section. Just ironing and pining the hem takes forever... 

Anyway, I like to set goals for myself so I am forced to finish a project. I decided I was going to wear my beautiful dress out on a date night to the new Snow White movie. So there I am adjusting the straps 30 min. before we had to leave... 

But I got it done and was able to wear my beautiful new dress out on the town. I felt like a princess and had my very own prince to take me out. 

All dressed up for date night

I'm not sure exactly how hard it will be but I would like to marry a bias skirt to this bodice pattern on my next attempt.  If all goes well I am going to use that pattern for my wedding dress. Matt is in charge of designing our wedding rings from the gold we dug up and I am going to sew my own wedding dress. 

If only I can find some beautiful vintage lace to incorporate into the wedding dress... 

The Hummingbird Babies Have Arrived

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our hummingbird babies and the day has finally come! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The purple Chaste Tree is where she built her nest

This Friday it will have been two weeks since we discovered the nest.  In the past two weeks we have had two major wind storms blow through. We had winds up to 60mph tear through our neighborhood. Some of the gusts were so strong the house actually shook.  We were so worried that little hummer was going to blow away in her little nest. The tree she built her nest in, at some points during the storm, was literally bent sideways. She rode it out on her eggs the entire two days like it was a roller coaster.  It's unbelievable her nest held together through it all. She did an amazing job constructing it.

I don't want to upset her by checking on her nest everyday so I only come to check on her every couple days. She knows us because she buzzes around us while she gets her nectar from our backyard. Even so, I don't want her to abandon her nest because we got too close. 

Little baby hummingbird has finally hatched

Well, this morning while I was putting out new nectar I went to see how hummer momma was doing.  She wasn't sitting in her nest for a change so I took the opportunity to see how her eggs were doing. My heart stopped when I saw this little naked baby poking it's beak out. I only  had a brief moment to say hello to the new baby before her momma came back. From what I can tell it looks like only one of the two eggs has hatched. I would imagine the other will hatch in the next day or so. This one is definitely a newborn. He is barely moving and completely naked. I wouldn't be surprised if this baby hatched today!

Hello baby hummers! Welcome to the world:)

The nest is probably only an 1 1/2 wide. I have no idea how little hummer momma fits in there with two babies but she does.

I am picky about what I feed our hummingbirds and how the feeder is cleaned.I always hand wash them and am careful not to use any scented soap or leave residue behind. I also only put in a few days worth of nectar at a time so it doesn't spoil. It's hot out here in the desert and the feeders need to be cleaned frequently. 

As for the nectar,  I never use the red store bought crap.I made that mistake once. Besides,  the red isn't what attracts the hummingbirds anyway.  Studies have also shown that the red dye causes cancer in animals so it's best to just leave it out.

First little baby has arrived. Waiting on her second egg to hatch

Amazing little cup nest. Held together with spiderwebs

I always make mine from scratch. I use 1/4 cup of sugar to every 1 cup of water. The sugar alone has no nutritional value for the hummingbird.

I also like to add honey or agave syrup to my mixture. The addition of honey or agave syrup adds nutrients to the simple sugar solution.

I heat the water up just enough to dissolve the sugar and then let it cool before putting it into the feeders. It's also a good idea to use filtered water or bottled water for the hummingbirds.

I have filled our garden with plants that the hummingbirds are attracted to. This way they can get the nectar from real plants and also have the feeder as a supplemental source of nutrition.