I. Made. This.

Somewhere along the line, my Dad (that's right: Dad!) showed me the basics of a sewing machine and everything I've made is a result of just messing around and learning from mistakes. I have my great-aunt's Singer from 1917 (with the original store receipt!) and love the sound it makes when I'm sewing away. What I DON'T love is that it doesn't sew in reverse. About a year ago I made my first bona-fide outfit...this dress from Betsy Ross. Once I got to the zipper, my trusty Singer failed me...zippers had only just recently been invented and, alas, the zipper foot was not an attachment that came with my machine (and my great aunt purchased EVERY attachment that was available). Enter: my Singer from this century (weird that I can say that, huh?) WITH zipper foot:) Anyway, this is the first piece I've built from a no-frills, if-you-don't-understand-the-directions-why-are-you-even-sewing pattern. And what I thought was going to be impossible to decode was actually not too hard. I got a little stuck with some of the directions around the sleeves but after many re-reads, I managed to figure it out. I learned that pin tucks are way easier for me to manage when created by hand and pinned in place and that the world does not end when you actually cut the pattern pieces out of the tissue paper (that was a stupid hump that took me a while to get over with this multi-size pattern invention.) And I also made the mature decision to actually pay attention to the grain when cutting, because that must be what grown-up sewers do.

So here you have it, a cute top that will be re-made in multiple fabrics, I can assure you. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the sleeves and hem are tipped with this wonderful vintage lavender bias tape (bias tape = God's gift to those who sew, I believe) which I got when I bought an old stuffed-to-the-brim sewing basket at a yard sale last year. The fabric is from Reprodepot, I'm sure...but I bought it a long time ago and it's no longer there. It reminds me of those light sensitive photo papers that we used to play with in Lower School. This is the pattern I used and it's got lots of options for sleeves and necklines and all so I'll be kept busy. The only change I made was that I sewed the body pieces together to make a slight a-line (and the bias tape was my addition.)

I have been away from my blog for a while because I dropped my camera. Um, don't ever drop your camera. It took me a long time to switch from 35mm to digital and I only did because Andrew finally bought me a very nice digital camera that looks (and even sounds) like a "real" camera. When we went to the store to have it looked at, they tried to convince me to buy one of those little box digital cameras for the same amount that it would cost to fix mine. I never realized how I love to cradle my camera, or how perfectly it fits in my hand when I'm shooting until being faced with the decision to not fix it. I guess I felt that about my 35mm but all the bells and whistles on the digital camera made it easy to forget quickly when I made the transition. Well, anyway, I have a loaner right now that is big and clunky and sucks down battery juice and I'm just not inspired to photograph as much. That, and my usual indoor photo spot is no longer good - the big maple in our backyard has filled in with leaves so very little light comes into that room anymore. Sob, sob. I'll try to be better about taking some shots with the clunker so that I can keep this blog rolling:)