Summer Sewing: Vintage Plaid High Waisted Shorts

 All photos are self portraits taken by myself.

I've been sewing so much more this past summer than I have been all school year and it's felt so renewing.  I made the shorts that I'm wearing using a vintage pattern that I bought at a thrift store a few years ago.  That day was such a good thrifting score.  I found a whole box of 1940/50s sewing patterns for sale and each pattern was only 50 cents.  Needless to say I bought a lot and this project was one of the patterns that I bought.  

Outfit:  

Crochet Mesh Top:  Sheinside

High Waisted Red Plaid Shorts:  Made myself 

I've made three different pairs of these shorts and and each time I make a new one I fall in love again.  They're so comfortable, and the fitting in the crotch was perfectly drafted, which I've had a hard time finding that in modern sewing patterns.  Although I've only sewn a few pants patterns so I'm sure there are a lot of great ones I've been missing out on.      

What are your favorite pants sewing patterns?

Jazz like Dat

 

All photos from this shoot are self portraits taken by myself.

I've really been in love with the 60s/70s style kimonos that have been going around lately.  It's so easy to just throw one over a tank top and jeans and feel put together.  I got this kimono from Choies.com and paired it with this dress that I made a couple of years ago.

 

 
Outfit:  

Dress:  DIY Esther from the Sticks (for sale here)  

Kimono:  Choies.com

Necklace:  My mom's

I thought that you might enjoy the photo below.  On the left is the first self portrait I ever took in front of my garage in 2009.  On the right is my most recent self portrait taken in front of the same garage.  My kung foo ability has drastically declined since the 8th grade.

Also I wanted to give a shout out to all of the awesome kaftans that y'all have been making!  It makes me excited that so many different people have already tried out the kaftan tutorial!  

 Jen of iCandy-Handmade  made two beautiful versions!

Also, check out Morgan of Thread Theory who used such a lovely fabric!

  I'm currently sewing a series of swimsuits.  I can't wait to share them soon!

The Painter's Studio

 

All photos from this shoot are self portraits taken by myself.

Lately most of my inspiration that I've been looking at have been paintings.  My mom is a painter and she still has all of her painting reference books from college in our house.  I've slowly been reading through them and have found so many amazing artists.

One painter who I've been looking a lot at, and also inspired this photo shoot is Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec.  He painted several different portraits of a red headed muse named Carmen Gaudin. Her portraits feel so relaxed.  It's almost like you're getting a glimpse into a time of day when she's taking a break from work to reflect.  

Also, I need to mention that Lautrec painted a whole series of posters and paintings for the Moulin Rouge in Paris.  I'm a huge fan of the director, Baz Lurhman (he directed the movie Moulin Rouge), so looking through those paintings completely brought me back to how visually magical that movie was!

 

 

Outfit: 

White shirt - H&M

Black suede maxi skirt:  DIY Esther from the Sticks

Necklace - My mom's hand me down

I made my maxi skirt specifically after looking at the above paintings.  It's just a simple gathered skirt with a 1.5 inch waistband, but I added hidden pockets in the side to make it a little special.  I hardly ever make a dress without pockets.  I made a tutorial for the Drifter and the Gypsy a while back showing how to sew hidden pockets.  You can check out the tutorial here.
 

 

These photos were shot in my mom's art studio in our house.  When I was younger I always loved spending time in her studio and watching her paint.  I thought it was magical watching how color came out of her paintbrush.  Even now I get good feelings whenever I walk out into her studio, even when she's not painting.  Here's a link to her website if you'd like to see more of her work.

The Secret Garden

All photos from this shoot are self portraits taken by myself.
What I was listening to while editing

 It feels wonderful to be doing more with photography again.  While I was in school this past year all of my time went into drawing assignments, and I didn't have a lot of free time for other personal projects like photography.  I forgot how much photography is still a big part of what I love to do.

My inspiration for this shoot came from this Robert Lewis Reid painting.  He has other beautiful paintings that I recommend looking up as well! 

 

Dress:  Sheinside,  boots: thrift store,  jewelry: vintage hand-me downs.

Next week I'll finally be posting the kaftan tutorial that I promised a while back.  It's great to have a summer break where I can catch up on all of the blogging that I've missed!

Green Thumb

Wow, it has seriously been too long since I've last shared my work with you!  To play quick catch up - I'm now in the third quarter of my freshman year at SCAD.  I only have 8 more weeks to go till I'm back home to the lovely fields of Indiana.  Savannah is gorgeous, but I'm starting to miss open space, and the smell of dirt, and the sound of birds as they start to migrate back north.

During my week of spring break I started planting a small garden and fixing up my backyard.  I wanted to start a project that gave me a break from creating constantly.  I forgot how much I missed the smell of dirt as one works with it.  There's nothing better than a slightly rainy day in spring and working in the garden and feeling satisfied.  I still have a lot to fix up, but I'm hoping by the time I go back home the backyard will look brand new and there will be a few vegetables for my roommates!

 

Outfit:

Kaftan:  Handmade Esther from the Sticks

Maxi dress and necklace:  Red Clover Boutique

 

 

Photography:  Esther Boller

I made my Kaftan throw over just the other day.  It''s made from chiffon and I'm thinking of making another one in a jersey knit.  I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make one in my next post!  A Kaftan is such an easy garment to make and you don't even need a lot of sewing experience to make one.  If you can sew a few inches, then you can definitely make this garment!

As far as other projects, school tends to take up most of my work time, but I have made a couple dresses that I'm looking forward to sharing with you!  I also have some school projects from last quarter that I plan on sharing soon once I find the time to document it all.
I hope you're all having a fantastic spring so far!