EvaDress Contest Entry!

Well, of course it came down to the wire, but I finally finished my outfit for the EvaDress Sewing Contest. At least, I hope that I submitted it in time; after having problems with my email and having to find out how to compress pictures by reading about it on the internet, I'm pretty sure that I got the email in with 30 minutes to spare (and that's if I converted the time zones correctly)! I've been working on it since I found out about the contest. Here are the pictures (note to self: take Christmas wreath down!):


Of course, I made a lot of extra work for myself by making some changes to the pattern.On the shirt, I didn't want the opening to be visible in the front below the scarf, so I put the closure in the back instead of in the side, put a row of stitching down the front to match, and eliminated the opening in the front. In the pattern, there are buttonholes in the scarf, which is attached to the shirt in the back, and in the cape. I wanted to make the cape reversible and I also wanted to be able to wear it with other outfits, so I made the scarf detachable, put buttons on both sides of the cape (instead of the buttonholes called for in the pattern) as well as on the shirt. That way, I can wear the scarf and cape with anything and on either side. On the skirt, I reversed the direction of the pleats, only because they looked backwards to me on my muslin. I found the perfect buckle and button set on Etsy, but the buttons turned out to be too small, so I'm thinking about turning them into earrings.
I see that some of my favorite bloggers, like Debi from My Happy Sewing Place and Lauren from Wearing History, have also entered the contest; check out their beautiful creations! Also, welcome to my newest followers: Kir, Nicole Needles, Brittany_Va-VoomVintage, Lauren Hairston, Miss Rosie Beau, Raymondedn, and Curvy Kitty; so happy to have you here! And Jennie, I'm so sorry that I spelled your name wrong when I welcomed you in my last post; some kind of welcome, eh?!

Little Inconveniences

I love old houses. I love everything about them; the woodwork, the wavy glass, the craftsmanship, the history. We live in a Craftsman-style house that was built in 1918, and in my opinion, there is really nothing that can match the beauty and history of an old house. Of course, there are also other characteristics of old houses that some people may consider to be drawbacks; the creaky floorboards, the drafty windows, the knocking radiators, the uneven floors, the cracking plaster, etc...with what some would call my "rose-colored glasses", I find these things charming! I grew up in a 1920s house and I suppose that I am simply used to these things. I have fond memories of my mother sitting on top of a radiator drinking her hot tea on winter mornings, and of sleeping on the floor of my parents' room in the summers because it had a window unit. My husband, on the other hand, grew up in a '70s ranch house and considered himself to be an old-house lover until we actually moved into ours. Here is an example of a recent exchange:



Him: "Is that ice on the inside of the window?!"
Me: "Ice? I don't see any ice...just look at that beautiful woodwork!"