A simple blouse and quick fix refashion

Now that summer semester is over, I finally got a chance to dig through my fabric and refashion pile to create a couple new looks.  The first project was a simple loose fitting white blouse with roll up belted sleeves.  And yes, the blouse is made out of that wonderful difficult and hard to sew, jersey knit.  I confess that I wanted to try sewing with knit fabric ever since I had successfully sewn the Y-seams for my quilt.  (I arrogantly thought that I could do it all!)  I was completely mistaken in thinking how easy jersey knit would be...nevah, evah again will I use the fabric.  My problem was finding a lot of bunching and puckering where I happened to sew.  Dealing with the stretchiness was a challenge as well.  Give me a cotton blend any day!

The second project was a simple refashion from a Ladies Medium shirt bought at Thrift Town.  I'm on a button-down shirt kick lately.  When I saw this black and white checkered shirt for $1.50, I knew that I would be taking in the sides a bit, moving the cuff and sleeves up and fixing the bottom hem.  Instant button-down shirt gratification.


Of course, none of this would be possible without my annoying trusty sidekick, Connor, keeping me company...or sleeping in my fabric!

Be there.

It started with this place...

With a feeling like this...

Too many of these...

A bunch of time here...

To be able to say this...

Seven and a half 

A photography exhibit

August 4th, 2011

5:30-7:30pm

688 Sutter Street

San Francisco, California

Be there

   

Saturday Sewing Success

Don't you hate it when you buy a piece of clothing and it just doesn't fit right and then you stuff it in the back of your closet and just forgettaboutit?  Or is that just me?  Might just be me...


The first piece is a shirt dress that I had purchased way back last fall.  I really liked the piece and wore it so much that the material is now very soft and fine instead of that starched feeling that a lot of button-up shirts have.  And occasionally I would tuck the whole bottom half of the dress in a pair of jeans and pretend it was just a shirt.  But ever since moving to San Francisco and riding around on a scooter, I just don't seem to have the desire or need to be wearing any restricted feeling t-shirt dresses.

So I ended up loping off the bottom half of the dress.

As for the second piece, I ended up buying a size larger to be safe.  Needless to say, that was just stupid and it just didn't fit.  (In my mind, I thought it would shrink after washing.  Apparently not.)  So I took some rough measurements of my waist and re-sewed the sides for a better fit.

Both fit great and I'm happy to have re-purposed each piece, so now I'll be sure to wear them!

As for sewing instructions, I recommend ironing the piece first.  Take measurements of your body.  Mark half the amount on each side of the piece.  Sew.  Try-on!  If it fits, then cut off any excess fabric.  Otherwise, remeasure and sew. 

 Goodluck!  I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend.  :-D

Where I've been lately...

Here. 

At the Marin Headlands. 

Each week, for the past five weeks I've been coming to this foggy place and photographing the land for an upcoming exhibit.  No, these aren't the final images for my project but I felt that they gave a good look at where I go while there and what I see.  I will be further discussing my project photographs, the exhibit and my purposes later on into next week.

So for now, I'd just like to just say hey!  I'm alive and working hard.  I can't wait to share more news on the matter as it progresses.

So until then...enjoy the view.

(All images are shot in Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film.  Self-processed and scanned.)

The Spanglish

The Spanglish.

More than just an Adam Sandler movie, a wonderful sandwich.  Crafted together by famous chef, Thomas Keller, this food is a masterpiece.  Combining fresh ingredients that play well together, you get a hearty, feel-good meal that has you taking any left over crusts to sop up the wonderful fried egg-y mess on your plate.  I rarely find myself growing emotional over my food but man alive!  That was one damn good sandwich.

I created my slightly customized Spanglish today for dinner and chose a crunchy sourdough over the famed pane de campagne.  I also chose a sharp cheddar over the mild Monterey Jack.  And oh!  Did I mention that I properly learned how to fry an egg?  Yeah, I know...overly excited about fried eggs but seriously, learning the proper way created the whole success of the sandwich.

You can find out more on the sandwich and recipe via The Kitchn.

Life In A Day: Stuffed French Toast

All of those delicious things make...

...this.

Today I was able to take a minute, breathe in, breathe out and relax.  And relaxing for me was taking my time and cooking a good meal.  I made a berry compote stuffed sourdough french toast.  

Want to know a nifty little cooking technique? 

 

Maceration.  

 I macerated the strawberries with a little sugar and water.  By mixing the sugar and water with the strawberries I was able to create a natural syrup from the berries, releasing an even more flavorful filling.

Needless to say, after all the food prepping and primping these babies were gone fast.  

Good food to start off this much needed weekend.  I hope that you all are rejuvenating for the next week to come as well.  Cheers!

As of late...

Chairs upholstered in Cyanotype fabric via Apartment Therapy

The Honey Trees -Moon River Cover (The LoFi Sessions)

WOMAN BY COMMON PROJECTS Zipper Sandal

Nap Chair by Fritz Hansen

Mason Jar Cocktail

Simplicity.

Simplicity is what I am gravitating towards lately.  

Whether it's in a song, a look or a place, I feel that with all that is happening right now, I just want to be in a clean space, with a good book and a hard drink in hand.

This can all be brought on by this summer's school semester.  It is probably the reason to blame for why I haven't posted in some time.  With half of my mind working towards an exhibit coming up this early August and the other half cramming for a history class, I can't seem to find enough time for blogging.  And trust me when I say that I now have a back log of things to post!

So while I am surrounded by current pressures, I still find things that interest me.  Things that also happen to follow a theme.  What a curious observation, no?  

Next time, I should observe what I gravitate towards when I'm not stressed out...probably time-lengthy projects.  :-P