Made by Me File/OOTD: Inspired by Nature.

Day: Saturday, December 20, 2014.

Where:  To say goodbye to my friend, W., who passed away in mid-December.  I blogged more about the death here.  We went to his church in northern Virginia where they held a memorial service in his honor.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  In true W. style, we were asked to wear casual clothing to the service since W. was a casual guy who lived in fleece and jeans and boots.  W. also knew that I was (his words, not mine, lol) a "true fashionista," so though I could have worn fleece and jeans and boots, he wouldn't have expected my version of casual to match his.  I had to stay true to what his image of me was, as well as honoring the wishes of his family, so I went with my version of casual, which is exceedingly easy to wear, but since it isn't fleece or boots, doesn't get the full 5 out of 5 stars for ease since the beret, while "stylin'," does start to itch after a while. 

Cool Factor: (... of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Not really a necessary score because this outfit is about W. and not about being cool.  I am sure he would have liked the effort, and would be proud to know that I own a cardigan that has a full on forest on it, however abstract it may be.  (He was a lumberjack/nature man/(his words, not mine) manimal, so the more rustic and down to earth, the better.)

I literally spent days and days crying over W.'s death, as many of you who read here know already.  I didn't know how to process losing him in such a sudden way.  I had kids to watch out for, so that helped me get through the physical hours of the days, but the emotional weight of the emptiness inside was really upsetting.  I had this void of a good friend upon whom I depended for companionship.  He was a tie to so many things in my life, my youth, my love of things "nature," my stupid silly side that I rarely let see the day's light. 

I went through our many messages to each other and it struck me that no matter what, he championed my sewing and creative side.  He was very supportive of everything I made, which was odd considering his way of dressing up was to wear a fancy baseball cap and shoes that weren't boots.   Regardless of his own personal style, he loved mine.  So I figured one way to deal with his death was to make a dress in honor of him for the mass that was going to be said for the repose of his soul (my friend, M., set it up for this last Sunday, 1/25/2015). 

I found two beautiful quilting cottons at fabric.com, the Forest Walk print, and the Cotton and Steel Metallic Netorious Goldilocks that would work well for the vintage pattern I had found to use for the dress, Simplicity 7252 (from 1967).  I wanted the body of the dress to be a forest or tree print, but it had to be abstract, and the Forest Walk was perfect, since from far away it looks more graphic and splotchy than the birch trees they actually are.  The Cotton and Steel fabric is a very subtle silver geometric print on a turmeric colored base, and happens to be an exact match for the yellows in the Forest Walk fabric.  To add some interest, I also included a bias corded piping in ivory at the yoke base and the cuffs.

I made sure to line the entire thing in a slick poly lining so I could wear tights (quilting cottons stick to tights).

The dress sewed up well, but I did have to take in the sides a whole lot since the ease from the bust down to the hem was excessive.  It was very tent-like.  I wanted the silhouette to match the girl on the cover of the pattern, so I knew I had to take it in to achieve that.  I didn't make a size too big, btw, I went with a size 14, bust 34, and through the shoulders, neck, and arms, it fits fine (after I did a square shoulder adjustment, which is very typical for me), so I think there was just a lot of ease built into this pattern. 

If you would like to see more on this project, I wrote more about the sewing side at this Pattern Review.

I also made two small bags in the same prints for my friends who also were at the mass.  The three of us have been spending a lot of time watching out for each other in the past month and a half, so I felt like they needed a tangible reminder that I was there for them, too.  It is really easy to whip up zip bags, btw, I basically followed the instructions at this Purl Bee tutorial (with my own pattern--I wanted one that allowed for the two fabrics to be on the outside, sort of like this bag).  I highly recommend using the Purl Bee tutorial if you are ever looking to make a quick gift for someone else and you have scrap fabric you'd like to use.

After the mass, four of us friends from high school went to Great Falls, which is a national park here in northern Virginia on the Potomac river, where Virginia meets Maryland.  Above is one of the photos I took that day.  I know W. would really have liked this, in addition to being an all-around outdoorsman, he was a very talented photographer.  I felt inspired by him that day and I was glad that I was able to photograph this moment.

Here are the four of us before we set out to hike that day. 

BTW, those boots I am wearing?  Timberland Euro Hikers from 1995.  Yeah, I own some manimal boots myself.  Just don't show them off around here much.  ;-)

You all have a great day.  Enjoy the world outside as much as you can!

Made by Me File: Splatter Abstraction Simplicity 1590. Thank You, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.

UPDATE (10/18/14): I just found out the news, and I won the final week, which means I won the challenge!  Wow!  I was not expecting that result, to say that I am stunned is a bit of an understatement.  I am so excited, though, of course.  :-)  It was a great time, I learned so much during these six weeks, and my competition were truly amazing sewers and I am glad to say I have gained so many friends through this process.  Thank you to Fabric Mart for hosting the challenge, and thank you to all the judges for taking their time to look at our pieces.  Their feedback was so helpful for my sewing!

This is the last entry for the Fabric Mart Fashion Challenge!  I made it to the finals.  I really hoped to go far, but honestly, because I started as the "lowest" level sewer (advanced beginner--there were a lot more seasoned sewers in the competition--churning out amazing things every week), I expected to be auf'd sooner than not.  So to be here, right now, is very exciting!  :-)  I want to thank all of you who have so supportive of my creative endeavors of late, having your sweet words and nice comments definitely helped in all those moments when I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open after a long day of sewing.

I haven't won one of the weeks, yet somehow still here, so I guess I was *just good enough* all those weeks to keep on keeping on, lol.  The final three do receive a prize, so yay!  I'll take bronze if that is what I end up being.  I'm cool!  :-)  (But wouldn't say no to a silver or gold, of course...)

Anyhow, here is my final entry, and because I want to go out with a bang (and take a big risk), I chose to create a blouse inspired by the art of Jackson Pollock, his wife Lee Krasner, and the era in which they both created their visions, the 40s and 50s. 

Before I start, the first five photos are done like I am in a magazine, but we were asked specifically to do so by the challenge (stage your outfit in a setting that will go with your vision...think of yourself as a model in a fashion spread), so understand that is why my mid-century Eames rolling chair (mine is the real deal that I was able to save from being trashed!) is perched at the edge of my driveway with the vista of the forest in the background.

Chicken Wings were so a *thing* in the 1940s.

I was asked four questions by Julie, and since my answers pretty much cover everything I would have said here anyhow, I will copy and paste those here.  :-)

Tell us what artwork, movement, etc. you chose and why you chose it. 

After reading what the last challenge was going to be, my brain *immediately* went to Jackson Pollock. I own some Liberty tana lawn called Melly that is very reminiscent of his famous "splatter" paint technique and thought I would use that at first to create a design from one of my Japanese dress books. But after doing some research on Jackson Pollock and reminding myself that the National Gallery of Art here in DC has one of his most famous works (that I also happen to LOVE) Number 1 Lavender Mist, I knew that I wanted to try painting my fabric myself, in colors I love, just like he did with his work. To see how he did his splatter paint technique, check out this link. I explain how I created my vision of his work in my fabric in the next questions below.

But he alone did not inspire me in my creation. I also read up on his wife, Lee Krasner, who also was a very successful, if less well known artist, in her own right. She was overshadowed by her husband, but her works also inspired me, as she, too, created works using a similar technique to Jackson Pollock.

The garment I decided to make is from the era of both of these artists and based on the portraits I saw of Lee Krasner, I could easily have seen her in a similar piece.

Bringing the blouse to 2014...

Then also tell us about your garment, why you created what you did and how you can use it in your life. 

I chose Simplicity 1590 which is a reprint of a blouse pattern from the 1940s.  It features a scoop neck, fitted waist, and a peplum hem. There is also a five button closure. I chose this pattern, as I mentioned above, because it looks to me like something a woman like Lee Krasner would have worn, and since I wanted to keep her as part of my inspiration, I was specifically looking for something from that era.

I also felt like the painting method used by Pollock would look good on a garment like this. I saw that other designers (recently, in fact) have used Pollock for inspiration in their collections (Dolce and Gabbana 2008, amongst others--AND Sportmax 2014--Rosario Dawson is wearing one of the dresses here).  Armed with the knowledge that I wasn't alone in my love of his unique art, I forged ahead, willing to take the risk.

I loved the idea of something so prim and ladylike being paired with something so messy and not prim. The disconnect makes this garment exciting to me.

I find it very wearable, but do look forward to washing it. You have to wait at least 72 hours before doing so, but based on how long it took to dry, I think I will wait a week and carefully handwash mine and line dry it.

I will be wearing it with jeans since it looks so cute that way, but maybe for a night out I will wear it as I did in my "editorial/magazine" photos.

Explain what fabrics you chose and why.

I chose handkerchief linen because I know linen is perfection for accepting paints and colors, so it was a no-brainer choice. I had *just* enough to make my garment with a little left over for experimenting on before I began the big painting job. After deciding on how I wanted to apply the paints--yellow, green, and turquoise were all applied in drips and gentle waves, while navy blue was applied more aggressively, I proceeded and when pleased with the results, I left the pieces to dry. It says four hours on the Tulip soft paint, but it took nearly twenty-four hours to get mine to dry fully.

(I need to point out that I needed to add water to the Tulip soft paint to get it to the correct viscosity for applying the paint the way Pollock did, in its regular form it is far too thick.)

I found that once dry, the pieces were easy to sew together, but the pressing process was very interesting and took me a long time since I didn't want to ruin all my hard work. :)

Include a photo of the inspiration too. 

I was inspired by this quote by Pollock, which allowed me to fully release and let go during the process of painting my fabric: “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”

Jackson Pollock Art: Number 1 Lavender Mist (more amazing in real life, btw); Untitled 1951; Convergence

Lee Krasner Art: Shellflower--(an article, btw, which has a lot of info on Lee Krasner); Shattered Color

Okay, that's it for now.  Again, I am so grateful for all the support.  I am definitely worn out, but feeling great that I stayed the course and kept on keeping on.  :-)

Voting will be open tomorrow and I will update this post with a link if you feel *inspired* to vote for me.  ;-)  For now, here is a direct link to the Fabric Mart blog.

OOTDs: Fair Isle Dressy. Fair Isle Casual.

Day: Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Where: Winesday at Whole Foods with my brother.  AKA the only time I ever feel I can reasonably dress up without people thinking I am a freak.  Also, far easier to dress up at Whole Foods than Harris Teeter (sorry, HT!).

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Almost gave this outfit a 4.5.  The Madewell sweater, Loft lace dress, Lands' End tights, Anthro shoes, and J. Crew coat were warm and cozy and comfortable.  What ended up dinging the outfit from the additional 1/2 point comfort score?  The fact that the heels are still a bit too high to be 100% comfortable.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I felt cool. And chic. And pretty.  Nothing extraordinarily cool, but this is not my usual SAHM outfit, plus I tried wearing darker colored tights with a cream colored lace dress and tan high heels.  I must get some "trying" points for that, right?  ;)

The Madewell sweater is a lovely bit of fair isle in deliciously warm colors and in a 100% merino wool.  I love that we can still get 100% merino wool sweaters from a J. Crew sister, but am sad that we can't from J. Crew.  Outside of the men's fair isle I showed you all in this post, the other fair isle sweaters I saw from the Crew were a wool/acrylic/rabbit hair blend.

Anyhow the fair isle sweater is showing sold out, but maybe there will be popbacks?

Anecdote from the day: Peter and I spoke about how the store was definitely less busy than it typically is on Winesday nights.  I think it was because all of the transient population of the DC area was still on vacation and that the only people left were the "locals."  If you know anything about the DC area, "locals" are almost like Brigadoon, supposedly there, but mysteriously hidden from sight.

Day: Friday, January 4, 2013.

Where: Pre-bowling for my league since January 10, 2013 I would be out. 

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Oh, I could have worn this whole ensemble to bed.  Only the bowling shoes were sort of uncomfortable.

Cool Factor: (2.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  The Pure Collection snood is kind of cool, but only because it has *vaguely* European roots.

Oh, who am I kidding?  The bowling shoes are super cool and definitely deserve a 5 out of 5.  {Sarcasm.}

Anecdote from the day: Why do they have claw machines that have pretty princess toys in them at bowling alleys?  WHY?

On a lighter note, CW really enjoyed bowling.  She did okay, too.  At one point, I felt like cheating and grabbing the bumpers for the gutters in my lane.  But I STAYED HONEST.  Dottie would expect nothing less from me.  ;)

For those of you that like the cashmere snood and the trousers, both are on sale and both are available with free shipping until the end of the day with code AW12TY.

Okay, that's it!  Any other ways I can style this lovely sweater? 

OOTDs: Amelia Island. Plus Shots from the Camera.

Happy Monday, everyone.  :)

I hope all of you are still above water after the craziness of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.  They were nuts this year.  I thought last year was crazy, but because of multiple companies offering many discounts that brought prices down by 40-60% off, I think 2012 will take the prize for most savings made by the most people over a five day period. 

With the exception of my dad and my brother, I have bought everyone's presents.  (Well, there is that American Girl I want to get CW, but I am waiting until I get paid on the 20th of December to buy that one.)

Okay, enough about that, and onto the mini-jaunt I made with Mr. Dina and Angus a couple of weeks ago to Amelia Island, Florida.

Mr. Dina had a conference to attend down there, and since he was booking the trip while I was up to my eyeballs in scheduling, errands, and kid-related catastrophes, I decided to ask him to book me on the trip, too.  Had I realized that the trip would be right next door to another trip (the one I currently am on in Mississippi/Louisiana), I might have re-thought my spontaneity, but since I couldn't look back, I went ahead and tried to enjoy myself.  (Chortle.  You all with kids know that I am being sarcastic when I say I tried...the two days I was away were insanely blissful, with just a wee baby's needs on my docket, I was in heaven.)

The weather was slightly dreadful, what with the overcast skies, cool temperatures (low 60s), and high winds, but it could have been snowing hot coals from leaden clouds and I would have still be relaxed, that is how much this time alone was needed. 

First night's outfit.  Our resort had a restaurant at it that was at our doorstep, so rather than drive to one of the other places to eat, we decided to go to the fanciest one and walk instead.  (The resort is rather large, with multiple hotels and condos.  Like the state of Florida, it is spread out.)

This was also to be the only meal I was set to enjoy with Mr. Dina (the other was Krystal, oh, yeah, that's romantic), so I wore the nicest outfit I had packed that night.

Right before we were heading out, I was trying to get a close-up shot of the details of the outfit and my makeup and hair, and Angus decided he would ham it up for us.  LOL.  What a cutie.  ;)

The next morning, Angus and I were on our own, and since I knew the whole day would be spent walking all over the resort and the beach, I wanted comfortable yet bright (yay for yellow), so I threw together a casual look.  The top is Old Navy, the shorts and sunglasses are J. Crew, the clutch is Tulu, and the sandals are from Target.

I added a merino cardigan from J. Crew to help keep the chill at bay.  I wasn't the only person wearing shorts that day, but more folks were decked out in jackets and pants than in tees and shorts. 

I set the self-timer on the walk and then grabbed this photo of Angus and me.  The mossy oaks are so pretty, and the fact they have bent by years and years of wind from the ocean is pretty incredible.

My camera (Sony RX100) allows me to switch modes when taking photos, this one is the high contrast monochrome setting.  I like that it really emphasizes the shape and shadows of the scene. 

This was taken at the boardwalk leading down to the beach.  I took it in the high contrast monochrome setting so the grain of the wood would pop, and I post-processed the image in Picasa using duo-tone (which is how I turned the black to a mid-purple color).

Boardwalk again, another high contrast monochrome setting.  I only processed it slightly, to get the rounded corners in the image (1960's does that).

The camera also takes photos in "watercolor," which is what this is.  I post-processed this image to up the color and add the rounded corners, but otherwise this is how the image looked when I took it in this setting.  The watercolor setting is fun, but probably not for the "serious" photographer.  ;)

I love this shot.  Again, set up with the timer.  I took this in the camera's regular "intelligent" mode, but heavily post-processed it.  If I had to do it again, I would add the 1960's at the end so the photo corners are pure white and not the grey (the grey happens when you add the layer of Holga-ish to the image). 

The other shots from this part of the day are hilarious, btw.  This was the only one where my hair wasn't sticking straight up from the wind. 

The next day we were set to go home, so I wore my boring, yet very practical and cozy, outfit.  For those of you interested in the two-tone cashmere sweatshirt from J. Crew, it is lovely, soft, and unique (the blending of the two colored yarns create a fun, distinctive knit).  It does run a bit short, so if you are long-torsoed, you may want to size up.  (This is a size extra-small and if I were re-ordering, I may get the small so I wouldn't have to pair it with a cami for coverage.)

The beach was warmer the second day, so instead of just playing on the boardwalk, the three of us sauntered down and walked on the shore instead. 

This is really cute, but imagine the next scene...Mr. Dina screaming loudly, "OWWW, tiny, stop pulling my hair...STOP TINY STOP!"

This was on the plane.  Angus fell asleep and I loved the way the light sort of created a halo on his scalp.

Okay, that's it.  Have any of you all ever been to Amelia Island?  I keep insisting that we go back when it is a bit more seasonal (read: warm, sunny, and still), but Mr. Dina isn't so sure.  Convince him that I am right.  ;)

Ladies who love Boden, quick reminder...in five hours the Boden Preview shuts down the 20% off promo (PRV3), so if you were thinking of grabbing something with the extra off, you have until 11:59 pm. 

California: Photos, Part One.

My camera's SD card conveniently finished its run right around California Adventure, which happened to be halfway through our vacation, so I can actually separate these posts into two distinct albums, part one (San Diego, Legoland, RV camping, and Disney's California Adventure), and part two (Disneyland, the beach, and the San Diego Zoo).

If you would prefer just to see my outfits, check out this post instead.  :)

However, if you really dig my kids and the hilarity that can ensue when two parents willingly take three children under 6 on a cross-country trip, well then...

Enjoy!

CW is easy to please on a plane.  All she needs are crayons and coloring books.

Rex is even easier to tame.  All he needs is my kindle fire and Angry Birds Space.

Gus is flying while flying.  My mind is blown.  ;)

Our second day in California included a trip to the San Diego Botanical Gardens.  There was a insect fair going on.  For some reason, Yoda welcomed us.  I don't get it, and neither does Mr. Dina.

I had just eaten an Old Bay seasoned cooked mealworm.  It was really tasty.  :)  I was impressed that they used a Maryland spice to help make the mealworm even tastier.

Rex liked the mealworm, too.  CW did not partake.

This is Monica.  She is a blog friend.  She was the one that suggested we come to this fair because of the bug tasting.  Of course she would be enjoying the fare. 

You can't tell here, but we are both wearing modern red shorts.  She is also wearing a bug pin, which I appreciate, very appropriate for the occasion.  Angus doesn't care what he is wearing as long as he can gnaw on his bjorn (eck, he is teething, though, so I just have to wash the bjorn when I can).

Rex is slightly smaller than the snake.

I put the camera on its timer and got this shot.  There are the modern red shorts that I spoke of two shots back.

I am not making up a caption.  I am insisting that you blog friends make up one instead.  LOL.

This was on day three when we went to Legoland.  We are on a boat ride looking at Lego villages and cities.  It looks like Gus disappeared.  But he is there, at least his legs are.

I was beyond disturbed by this Lego.  Mr. Dina and Rex were very impressed, though.  You gotta love the joining of nerd fantasy one, Legos, and nerd fantasy two, Star Wars.

I only wish there were really palm trees at the Capitol.  It would have made working there so much better.  I also appreciate the lego ambulance.  I gather a Senator needed to be rushed for emergency care after spending too many hours in filibuster.

I got this shot of CW when we just hanging out waiting for Rex.  I love how the light captured just how hazel/yellow her eyes really are.

She also has a really pretty side view.

More than anything, this particular moment made CW's trip to Legoland worthwhile.  She *loves* pretty princesses.

Rex's first ride ever by himself!

I totally think that Mr. Dina looks like this knight.  He insists that it looks more like Russel Brand.  Who's right?  (Note--Mr. Dina is wearing white shoes.  LOL.)

Angus had no rides at Legoland outside of a handful.  This was even too big for him, but he still loved it.

Some nice little boy took this pic of Angus and me.

On day four and five, we joined my Aunt and her family at an RV campground in Menifee, CA.  I had no idea people willingly chose to live in that part of CA (very hot and dry).  Turns out that it was quite lovely, and the folks in the area were super nice.  This canal was fake, though.  It's rare to see that much water in one place in CA, especially desert southern CA.

Haha.  I adore this photo.

Last day there, I had coffee outside.  This bird came up to say hello...and then proceeded to stay next to me, then follow me, and then...

wait at the door of our cabin until he finally realized I wasn't going to be bringing him food.

Day five we went to California Adventure, which was built right next door to Disneyland a while back.  I had never gone because I always just want to go to Disneyland (I think I have been to Disneyland nearly 30 times), but then Mr. Dina suggested we go to both parks because he really wanted to see the Cars ride but also wanted to make sure we got to Small World.  We could have done that with a one day flex pass to both parks, but he decided not to kill us (wise move, btw).  Here CW and I are waiting for Mr. Dina and Rex to get the fast passes to the Cars ride.

After taking the above photo, we went and got a cappuccino for me.  CW posed like Hollie Hobbie while we were waiting.

And then, because we had even more time, we did another group self-portrait.  The cappuccino was really good.  ;)

Gaw.  Gus.

It's a family portrait that *almost* is perfect.  CW must love Hollie Hobbie.

Angus enjoyed this underwater version of a carousel.  I like the goldfish, especially.

You can't tell, but Mr. Dina is petrified.  This ferris wheel went really high, and Rex was all about making it move.

You can't tell here, either, but I am completely petrified, too.  I am clutching onto Gus like he is going to save me if something goes wrong.  The ladies to my left seemed so calm.  How in the world do people not get sick to their stomachs when presented with high heights and open air?  I mean, really!

CW has a boyfriend.

You could probably use this as an ad for Disneyland.  Even her tag is placed *just so*.

This is a train that takes you on a bugs-eye view of food.  The watermelon (very large) was my fave.

I know you all are SO envious of our super-chic eyewear right now.

Mr. Dina and I have a HUGE soft spot for the movie Monsters, Inc., partly because it came out when we were first married, but also because Boo reminds us so much of CW. 

Mealworms, Monster sushi?  I'll eat it all, yum.

Rex is actually really adept at balance and strength.  Maybe I will see what sports this means he would be good at...and don't say men's gymnastics.  He is likely going to be well over 6 feet tall and "sturdy."  Don't really see that as a great body type for the parallel bars.

We ended our night here, near Cars Land.  And with this photo, I bid you all good day, too!