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The First Lady's Heels

8/31/2017

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As you've probably figured out, I think clothes are interesting as a cultural artifact and a medium of expression.  So I've been watching with wide eyes the flurry of criticism, editorals, and reactions to the same that dusted up after First Lady Melania Trump wore high heels to board her plane to go visit flooded cities in Texas.  

Now, obviously, stilettos aren't practical wear in any situation, but are particularly impractical for touring flood zones. (The problem, of course, being that stilettos only elevate the heel of the foot: truly savvy flood-tourers wear chopines!)  But she didn't wear them in the disaster zone, only on the plane.  And they're just shoes... right?  
Picture
Appropriate for flood-wear?
Picture by Rama & the Shoe Museum in Lausanne.

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NWQ Quilt Show, 2017

8/28/2017

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On May 13th this year, my friend Rosanne and I went to the Northwest Quilters' Quilt show.  For me, it was an art show!  So much artistry, so much beauty.  I want to share it with you! 

Re: the pictures... I did not talk to the quilters or get their permission to post these pictures here, but as they'd already made their work public by exhibiting it, and as I was within the rules of the exhibition to take pictures, I think it's all right to show their workmanship here as long as I credit them.  If the work is yours and you object to its placement here, Contact Me and let me know, and I'll remove your stuff.  Ditto if I've mis-attributed something and you want me to fix it.  Thanks! 

As always, click on a picture to see it enlarged. 

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Wedding Alterations!

8/24/2017

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A friend who was getting married earlier this month asked me to do her wedding dress alterations.  It was a three part job: hem the front skirts shorter, create a 5-point bustle for the back, and shorten the shoulder straps.  The hemming was basic, and the bustling routine, but the shoulders were interesting, and would make a good tutorial. 

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Solar Eclipse!

8/21/2017

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Picture

As you may recall from my About page, I live in Portland, Oregon.  Today in Portland, we had a really clear and perfect day for viewing the solar eclipse that crossed North America.  While we were not in the path of totality, we did get 99.2% obscuration of the sun by the moon.  I was outside for the peak of it (10-10:30 am).  Here are the highlights (or lowlights, to be more apt). 

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Stash-Building -- or My Autumn Sewing List

8/21/2017

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From top to bottom, left to right: brown cotton, quilting expo brochure, maroon rayon, crazy artichoke print with zipper, jodhpurs pattern, bustier pattern, sew-through elastic, my receipt, and a shirt pattern for my sister.
See this table full of goodies?  This is the result of a visit to the fabric store.  The remnants sections is always my downfall... I see a bit of fabric, and I think "That will be such a cool shirt/skirt/tea-cozy/whatever", and the next thing you know I buy it, and my to-sew list grows. 

Now, I don't regret a single purchase in this pile, but as one of my goals in starting this blog was to use it to organize and keep me accountable, here I shall make a list of my autumn goals. 

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Wedding Gown to Cocktail Dress

8/17/2017

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Just a quick post, today!  Sometimes it's fun to make a little change that makes a big difference: this wedding dress was quite a statement five years ago, but had spent too long in the closet, and the lovely lady who owned it wanted to take it out for some more events. 

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My Failures

8/14/2017

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Talking with a family member the other day about how people curate their online content to create an alternate world where they always look nice, their house clean, their work polished, I realized that as much as I value integrity and honesty, I also "put my best foot forward" when taking pictures for this blog.  If there's stuff on the table, I move it so you only see my pattern pieces, not my dirty plates.  If I take several unflattering pictures and one flattering one, guess which one I post?  This is natural, and not entirely a bad thing.  (After all, do you really want to see my dirty plates?)  But there's a downside to the illusion of perfection.  When all our friends and family look so perfect online, we might get discouraged or feel shame for the world of dirty dishes we have.  

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Highlighter Dress (made in 2015)

8/10/2017

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Since the Kluge Job was a dud, today I'll highlight one of my favorite early successes!  I made it from an embroidered yellow cotton I bought at the Mill End Store and a salvaged white cotton skirt with lace insertions and ruffles which I bought at the Goodwill Bins.  (The skirt had two layers: the outer layer was stained, but I used the inner layer for this project.)  I call this dress my highlighter dress because of its color scheme, like a yellow highlighter used on white paper.

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Do You Darn?

8/7/2017

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I never officially learned to darn... I simply figured out my own method after I learned some needlelace.  My method is simple: first I used a doubled thread to outline the hole, giving it wide margins.  Then I fill this outline with a Corded Brussels stitch.  Where there is cloth, I sew the Brussels stitch through it, thus thickening the fabric.  Where there is a hole, I just sew Corded Brussels stitch right over it, putting a layer of new cloth where there was none.  When I'm teaching someone to darn, I use contrasting thread, but generally I match the sock color.  ​

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Quite a Kluge-Job!

8/3/2017

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Several months ago, I had in my stash two slivers of cream-colored poly-satin.  If I had to guess, someone made a wedding dress with a gored skirt, and these skinny triangles were the leftovers.  I also had a few scraps of another satin, but this one less shiny, in the same color.  From these, I intended to create a shirt that would match my tulip skirt, and thus be a valuable addition to my wardrobe.  As to the actual result, well... it was educational! 

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    Karen Roy

    Quilting, dressmaking, and history plied with the needle...

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