I'm terrible...

at this thing called blogging!!!!! I've not blogged in weeks!
I just chalk it up to being busy, trying to get stuff made for my online store, www.shesewsbytheseashore.etsy.com
so far so good, I've got 4-5 aprons made up, another 4-5 still to sew, three purses, plus another dozen cut out and ready to sew....but slowly my project pile is actually getting smaller..as is my HUGE fabric stash...but that part is actually going slower...hehe...as I keep adding to it...like this past Saturday i went to Joann's, huge wonderful sale, clearance fabric 50% off, plus a 50% off of one regular priced item coupon, and Butterick patterns 99 cents....so anyways, back to the fabric, I got the last of a gorgeous light green brocade type fabric(1 yd), 1/2 yd of a cute pink striped with butterflies brocade type fabric, and 3 yds of a beautiful dark brown sheer with vines and roses embroidered on it....wow!..beautiful...I wish now I'd gotten some linen, but such is life, and of course, it will always go on sale again....
so the aprons I made are really cute, I cant wait to get pictures to both list on Etsy, and show off here. I got 7 Butterick patterns, I'll list the numbers, on the chance you feel like going to there site and seeing them, B5007, B4919, 4042, B4929, 4049, B4411, and 6693. Just gorgeous in my opinion and I LOVE B4019....now I was disappointed....as I was unable to find two of the patterns i wanted, two very fun retro apron pattern sets, I would have SO loved to get them, I'll have to check Hobby Lobby, or get them online, I cant remember the numbers right off the top of my head, but I've got them written down....somewhere...haha....my room is the worst mess right now....its terrible!...I've got to get it cleaned by Tuesday, as my sewing teacher will be coming by then, and of course I'll have to show off the aprons and purses I made.....
on a side note..i feel like a bloomin' idiot!...you know though twin needles you can get for the sewing machine...well...I managed to break the brand new needle, not even 20 minutes after i put it in.....stupid stitch was supposed to be straight!!!!!....not zig-zaggy in ANY way....*ahem*....so yeah....I have to go back to Joann's to get another..ooh..hey..another excuse to go back..oh what fun!...hehe....maybe I'll get some more fabric.....:D....I wonder if I am addicted....i wonder..is there some type of 12 step program for my type of addiction?...not that I want it....except on those days I go pretty close to going broke..because I over indulge on fabric....but even then...
anyways...I'll TRY to post pictures tomorrow...its late..I'm tired..plus the aprons all need ironed..and maybe I can get more items done by the time I blog again...ha ha...
cheers,
~The Bella Modiste~

A new Apron...and Ebay purchases...

So today I finished another apron...modeled after...this apron...http://dorothyshomegoods.com/articles.php?tPath=12

I just kinda worked up how I would make it, did a few calculations(that sounds so...smart:P) and sat down yesterday, cut out most of my pieces, and started a sewin'...now as you see...below, i did change a few things, seeing as how I didn't follow the above pattern, there is no pocket, and the ties are close to 4ft long..so as to fit most, and for those that can, can wrap the ties around and tie a bow in front...

I'm very happy with the results, and plan to list it in my Etsy store(www.shesewsbytheseashore.etsy.com) hopefully tomorrow.

So I had my camera out after photographing the apron, and I decided to snap a few pictures of something that came in a big box of mixed antique sewing supplies my father bought off of EBay for my birthday this past April....this isn't all of the spools that came in the box, there were probably another 30 more, but I didn't get pictures of them....

Aren't they ooh so pretty? lots of silk and cotton threads, on wooden spools....I fell in love as soon as I saw them...also in the box was three pair of pinking shears...solid metal, no plastic handles, and two large pairs of shears, and one small pair of scissors, a card of pearl buttons, and sooooo much more...

so anyways...another fun eBay purchase was today, dad told me he bought an old(as in 1871) handwritten....diary...so our plan is..I'll start another blog, and post on each corresponding day(maybe), for each of the 300 and some entries....I cannot wait until it comes in......I think it will be a lot of fun to get to read something a lady wrote shortly after the Civil War, to read about her life...to touch the pages she touched, the history contained in that book!to think...a book that is 136 years old......why did her family not save this book? why hasn't it been passed down through the years to her great-great-great-times-how every-many-grandchildren?.....so exciting.....so another item that was in above mentioned box was this lovely ivory handled thing...it has a hook like a crochet hook, but my word..it is TINY! and when i say tiny, I mean its probably about 1/16in or smaller....perhaps it was for crocheting lace? but how in the world could one work with such a tiny hook and the thread must have been like your all purpose cotton machine thread, super thin...

so anyways..maybe some kind farm girl knows what it was used for....

not much new in my world....did a bit of gardening the other day...planted the poor bolting lettuce in the garden after snapping it off to about 2in, then planted the poor stunted tomatoes, transplanted a few plants that were in peat pots, and one that was in a shattered plastic pot....hopefully now they are in good soil, they'll perk up and not dry out so much..as put the cucumber plants in a real pot instead of the 6 pack container they came in..they've already perked up...they bell peppers and tomatoes have cheered up some and one of the tomato plants has gotten to about 1 1/2 feet tall and has a lovely tomato on it, its some type of purple heirloom i think...and it will be a while before it is quite ready...also my gourd vines have finally started growing...i left them in their pots to long without enough water, but now that they get a fair amount of water fairly regularly, the bushel gourd vines have taken off, and the ornamental crown of thorn gourd vines have started to sprout out a few more leaves and have already put out a few flowers.......so anyways....I'm off now....its well...kinda late...12:22..........AM...so I guess that means it is early...he he....

cheers!

~The Bella Modiste~

Wow...my 5th post...and whole milk...

So tonight, instead of drinking tea while I blog like I was...last month? I'm drinking a glass of organic whole chocolate milk...i know...i know..the chocolate bit probably isn't that organic...haha...and the milk was good before I added the Hersey's syrup...but I wanted chocolate milk....
So..I finally finished a dress that I've spent a fair amount of time on...I call it my 50s dress...as well its made from an original 50s pattern....finally after months of not getting to wear this dress because it was about 4 sizes to small....and getting stuck in the top the night I made it...my sewing teacher kindly told me how I could fix it....

so I get to work on fixing it, and it turns out, I ripped the sleeve edges when I was ripping out seams....so I also had to fix that....

So how I fixed it..all thanks to my sewing teacher...

I split the sides of the dress, measured how much extra fabric it needed(about 4 inches total, plus seam allowance, so about 6 inches) Also to make it seem as if the panels were intentional, my teacher suggested that I buy or make bias tape to insert as a cordless piping. So after much measuring and a half hour or more on the floor cutting strips of fabric 1 1/2 wide on the bias...I finally got down to sewing, first I sewed each piece of the bias cut fabric together, I went ahead and cut well several yards extra, as I had an apron I wanted to use the same color bias tape on, then I sat down to the fun stuff....sewing each piece of piping to each panels, two pieces per panel, first was a 1/4 seam, then when I put the panels on I used a 5/8 seam...I know not the most interesting thing to have just read..but I thought it was fun...ha ha

after inserting each panel, and the zipper, fixing the hem(I had to hem the panels) I finally got down to the sleeves, I had messed it up about a 1 in up from where the edge was, so after much thought I just cut it off at that mark and made two cuffs, with "slanted" edges...I LOVE how it turned out, and even though the dress does in my opinion make me look shorter then my 5'2"....I would still wear it...even out and about town.....I LOVE how it turned out!

(*ahem*...don't ask...I'll tell.......dad was playing around pretending to be a fashion photographer "show more leg"...he just wanted to get a look of shock out of me..didn't expect me to follow through...lol)

Also completed this past week was my pincushion for the Mary Jane's Farm pincushion contest.....I designed and created this pin cushion

...spent alot of time working out bugs with her face and arms, but figured out the rest of it really on my first try at it...Yay for me!!!

So now I just need to send her picture off to the farm, and prepare for a "sorry, you didn't win" lol.....

today I pulled a few dead annual wild flowers out of the cottage garden, while mom photographed everything, even making me stop working to pose for about 20 photos...ha ha....

Now I'm going to ends this post, send the photo of my pincushion over to MJF and then log into Second Life to waste a bit of time at the ballroom....oh!...after I tell the farmgirls about my dress of course!...

Cheers,

The Bella Modiste