Italia Part 1: Venice

This whole adventure started sometime back in January. 

My parents were over for dinner. Bless their souls, they are always willing to be guinea pigs for my culinary creations. This night it happened to be mozzarella-stuffed meatballs and spaghetti. Little did I know the meal was a foreshadowing of things to come.  

We had been discussing the upcoming spring break, Justin and I's desire for travel, and possible future plans. My wonderfully generous dad revealed that he would like to treat us to a trip. 

"Where would you all like to go?" He asked. 

In my mind I believed we would all end up in Florida, splayed out on white sands, the picture of a typical spring break. But shooting for stars I exclaimed, "Hawaii!"

My dad said, "I am thinking Italy." And so the dream began. 

Justin and I decided to make this trip bigger than anticipated and left a few days earlier than my parents, planning to spend a few days in Venice before driving down to meet them in Rome. They say Paris is for lovers, but let me tell you, so is Venice.

We missed Carnival by a few weeks, but the stores sell masks for the festivities all year long.

Justin along the canal outside our hotel, the Hilton Molino Stucky.

Exploring the back streets of Venice.

 Justin at the Arsenal where wartime ships were build, one a day.

Exploring gorgeous Italian churches.

The grand canal.

Fruit and vegetable vendors selling their goods from boats along little canals.

Venetian graffiti.

Aerial view of the Doge's Palace and wharf.

Aerial view of Venice.

Breakfast at Cafe Florian, favourite haunt of Lord Byron and Goethe.

A gondola ride along the grand canal with view of the Rialto.

Our adorable gondolier who spoke four languages.

The Italian version of Justin's middle name is Alessandro. 

Taking pictures in St. Mark's Square.

In front of the St. Mark's Basilica

Sunrise view from our hotel window the last morning in Venice.

P.S. I took a million pictures but these were just some of my favourites. Next stop, Roma!

Velvet Darling

I adore the holidays.

You cannot out-glam, over-sparkle, or over do much of anything during the holiday season. Texture is everywhere, particularly in clothing. The rough scratch of wool, the pebbly prick of sequins, the sheen of satin, and, of course, the watery smoothness of velvet.

This was the New Years of velvet, I decided. I was intent on making a dress that said just that. Something luxurious, glamourous, and perhaps a tad bit risqué.

Well here it is.

This dress is many elements mixed up in a hodge-podge of gypsy glamour. Made with stretch velvet, it has a mandarin collar, wide bell sleeves cuffed at the ends, a thick waist band, pleated skirt, and a large front-cut bodice. I made up the pattern myself, free cutting on the fabric, which I am usually too timid to do. I must say though, there is nothing timid about this dress.

The dress is crafted from hunter-green stretch velvet that I bought at Hancocks. I bought waayyy too much of it, not sure how much it would take to make the full bell sleeves I envisioned. The sleeves are probably my favourite part. They make me feel like a child, swinging down by my wrists when I walk. The back bodice is ruched above the waist band, lending a lovely silhouette from the back and sides. 

And then there is the front. I bandied about with this front bodice for a while, trying to get it lay modestly, albiet with flare. Finally I decided I best buy fabric tape and call it a day. The tape prevents the bodice from gaping when I turn sideways and keeps the front cut-out shape in place. Score.

I love this dress. I want to romp about it in all day, like some over-grown forest fairy. I had originally intended to wear it for New Year's Eve, but didn't finish it in time. Instead it is going to debut this Valentine's Day, complete with a glittering ear cuff and a classic red lip. 

 Velvet and Valentine's Day. Some would say they are the original romance.

***

dress: self made, tights: Target, shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction

btw, my good friend Sarah snapped these pics with my iPhone. Is she not genius or what?

Wool Duffle Coat

I am so excited to share what I now consider my most successful sewing project to date: a men's duffle coat.

It is

the

best 

ever. 

It was also one of the gifts gracing the undercarriage of the tree this past Christmas. Needless to say, I sewed my fingers off leading up to that magical date so this baby would be ready for my husband Justin to open on Christmas day. Let me say: worth it. 

Made of a deliciously thick camel-colored wool, it is lined with plaid and has delightful little bone-and-leather toggles to button up against the chill. I used the Albion by Colette pattern to create it. It is a downloadable pdf pattern. I have used one pdf pattern before and distinctly remembered it being a challenge. Much like fitting together a jig-saw puzzle, all the printed pages have to be fitted together to create one piece of the pattern. Just assembling the pattern itself took me about 2 hours. 

I bought the wool from Hancock's fabric. Btw, wool can get pricey. I had wanted to sew this coat for J since August but he wasn't a fan of some choices and others, like the sinfully plush wools from Mood fabrics, ran for about $40 a yard. Finally, thanks to kismet and my mad coupon skills, this wool hit the jackpot.

I just love it when a new project comes together like this. It is exciting to test myself and see what I am capable of making. Thanks to this coat I now have super impressive arm muscles from pulling the thick layers of fabric, wool, and leather bits through my machine. Thanks again Mama Jean for lending me your awesome Brother sewing machine. It powers through everything.

Yes, it did take me an inordinately long time to complete, probably knocking on 17 hours total. A large part of this time was taking it apart and putting it back together every time I made a mistake.
Despite this, I would love to make another coat like this for myself. The pattern could be easily edited to make it a bit more form fitting and less boxy. Red wool, I am thinking. Siren red. With a herringbone interior. Sigh.

I am so thankful to have such an awesome husband; one who puts up with my hair-brained schemes and listens to me raphsodize lover-like over new patterns and fabrics. You look good in your new coat, babe. But then again, don't you always?

***

Coat: self made, shoes: Clarks, jeans and button-front: J Crew

Key Hole Circle Dress

Nothing ignites my creative fire like scrolling through a Free People catalogue.

I love all the color, the billowing shape, the romantic touches, and the exotic flavor that the designers and editors pour into each edition. 

However, like most twenty-four-somethings, I cannot drop upwards of $150 on one of their lovely dresses. As much as it pains me to abstain, that money has better places it can go. Like my savings account, or the fund for an imaginary French riviera vacation.

When times like this occur, I sigh and snap the cover of the catalogue shut. Then run right to the fabric store. 

Some of my more flamboyant creations have come from one too many hours of Free People induced fever, like my Shibori Goddess Gown. Today's feature is a little more simple. 

A few months ago I fell in love with one of their fall creations, the Dynasty Dress. It is a simple piece, just a scrap of jersey cotton and a lovely large keyhole front. I just had to make my own. 

I think the fabric for this dress cost me all of $15. Bought from Joanns, it was thin, drapey, bubblegum pink that screamed female. I used a McCalls pattern for the body of the dress, altering it a bit to create the key hole front and gathering at the tops of the sleeves.

I love it when a project comes together so seamlessly. This dress is the perfect amount of floaty, feminine, and casual. I absolutely love the pattern as well and plan to indulge in many more renditions of this dress. My next one will be floral. I think.

I love this dress to the moon and back. The single drawback is its body-hugging, curve-enhancing shape. You definitely can't pig out on salsa and queso and rock this baby, it is very unforgiving. 

Oh well, c'est la vie. 

***

Christmas is for the cats

A bit late on this post, I know.

Christmas is behind us, along with (gasp!) the year of 2014. It is only seems fitting that I glance back at the creations of that year and share the odd and silly things I have made.
At the top of this list is my cat patterned dress.

Cats. Dress. Some would say they belong together.

This dress began when I stumbled across this fabric at Hancock's. Cats?! I could't believe it. I knew I would have to make something with it. I was very inspired by Mod Cloth and their lovely vintage looks. This dress is a Frankenstein of modern and classic, accentuated with black bits of piping and peppered with tiny orange kitties.

The dress is actually the combination of three different patterns. I used the pleated skirt of one, the button front top of another, and finally finagled a key hole back from the drawing board. It came together very nicely and I just love the open back detailing. I may have to make another dress similar to this one. 

I have to say that the most challenging aspect of this dress was the piping. I can never seem to get it lay along the seam cleanly. Possibly more you-tube videos are in my future. Something will have to give. If you have any good resources I would appreciate hearing about them!

And finally: a quick shot of my and the kitty that inspired it all. Say hey, Algernon.

Dress: self-made, flats: super bedraggled Steve Madden

Peter Pan Shift Dress

 As difficult as it is to believe, today is the first of December.

At last I can cover all things in glitter and eat cookies by the dozen without judgement. My heart longs for the festivities to begin, for the scent of eggnog and cinnamon to permeate the air, for snow to glisten in piles by the front door.

But.
This is Kentucky.

Therefore, on the last day of November when the winter spirit should be burgeoning forth, the weather turns balmy. Seventy degrees balmy, in fact.
At first I was tempted to scoff at the temps and grind my teeth a bit. But that is like looking a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, I donned my latest creation and skipped out doors to enjoy it.

This latest creation has to be one of my favorite pieces. Classic and flirty, a simple black shift dress with a peter pan collar and key hole back. I used only a single yard of black ponte de roma knit with a quarter of a yard of the same in white. The fabric I bought at Joanns and cost me a whopping total of $15. I did not use a pattern but instead traced the lines of another dress from my closet. It was so easy and turned out perfect. 

My sewing machine has this lovely stitch available that looks like little scallops. I couldn't resist, I had to edge the sleeves and collar. It took a lot of trial and error to make it look uniform, but the effort was worth it. I also have to be choosey about what bra I wear with it, as the keyhole in the back is quite deep. 

Again, worth it. The dress makes me feel like a preppy pixie, chic but girlie. I love that I can toss on black tights and flats and wear it anywhere. All I need is some cold weather and I'll sweater this puppy up. With the weather as it is now, though, I am celebrating my last days of bare legs. 

Oh yeah. 

***

dress: self-made, shoes: ancient, beat-up Steve Maddens

What Not to do When Sewing a Coat

 Fall is officially in the air.
Actually, scratch that, winter is in the air. In typical Kentucky fashion, our weather gods elected to give us 2 weeks of gorgeous autumnal weather before unloading 40 degree days and snow flurries on trick-or-treaters. With these low temperatures I feel all the more motivated to crank out the winter coats on my sewing machine.

My latest creation is a dark green herringbone dress coat. It is lovely, a skirted dress coat with shiny brass buttons and a belted waist line. For this coat I used the McCalls M6800 pattern. I do not know if I will attempt to use this pattern again simply because I found it so tedious to assemble. The pattern said "easy," but apparently that wasn't the case for this chick. I was so excited when I bought this pattern, but have found the entire experience very challenging. 

I will admit that this is not the most shining example of my sewing prowess, but it was definitely a learning experience. For all those budding seamstresses out there, let me tell you that when you make a coat use WOOL. Use a nice heavy weighted fabric so that you do not have to be like me and add stiff interfacing to make up for the lack of body. I fell so in love the herringbone plaid fabric that I elected to work around it. Because of this my coat is very stiff, not very warm, has awkward bulky bits, and was immensely frustrating to sew.

Agh. The buttons pull funny and the bust makes me look like I am hiding a weapons harness underneath all that girth. Additionally, my lining material peaks out the bottom. So frustrating. 

In conclusion my final thought is this: wool for coats from here on out.

Holla. 

***

Coat: self-made, dress: ASOS