A Bag To Pop Over!

Last Friday and Saturday, I had the opportunity to take a class, and make the Poppins Bag by Auntie's Two Patterns. It was a lot of work, but so much fun! 

As with any project, the big question is, what fabric should I use? You may remember the watercolor I did last summer and had made into fabric on the Spoonflower site. 

I had a piece printed in a 2 yard piece of cotton, just to see how I would like it. The quality was fine for basic cotton, and I had thought that I would do a skirt, then I changed my mind and thought of a kimono jacket...and then...I did nothing with it. I am so happy that I didn't as it became the focus fabric for my bag. Below you see the front of the bag once the quilting had been completed. Look closely as there is a pocket in the center panel.  

The bag has made some progress below. Rather than put another pocket on the back of the bag, I elected to do a strap so that I can carry it on the handle of my rolling suitcase. 

My finished bag. There is a frame inside the top of the bag that folds in when the bag is zipped.

 And then pops out when the bag is unzipped.

Here you can see the inside of the bag. There are 2 pockets, and loads of room! I think I could pack my entire wardrobe into this bag. Not really, but it is quite roomy.

I used this super fun rainbow zipper. 

And I love the stars that were provided for the zipper pulls. 

I made the bag at the sweetest store in Granby, Colorado. Tina, the owner is just the best! If you would like to make a bag of your own, you can order the pattern from her. The frame for the top of the bag comes with the pattern. If you do decide to make the bag, I would also order all of the foam pieces that are needed for the structure of the bag. You can find her website HERE. Just tell her that Rhonda sent you :) Don't worry, I get no compensation for this, I just love to pass along great projects, and great people :) Tina also carries the rainbow zipper and the fun star zipper pulls. 

If you do decide to make the bag, just a little word of warning, it is labor intensive. It took 2 full days to complete the bag. But, in the end, it was so worth it!

A Few Fashion Show Pics

I'm so excited!!! We're supposed to have our first truly warm day here in Chicago, 77 degrees. Rain is in the forecast...again :/ Oh well, the blooming trees, tulips, and daffodils have all been spectacular.

I met a friend for lunch yesterday. She took a few pictures of some of my pieces that I had in the annual Haute Couture Club of Chicago fashion show. Our professional pictures have not yet come back, so until then, I thought I would share my friend's pictures just to give you an idea of the day. More will come :)

This is the Style Arc Grace Trans-Seasonal Jacket that I shared with you HERE. I wore the jacket with my Closet Case Patterns Ginger Jeans. The bag is my Poppins Bag. I also made a coordinating umbrella. 

I made an umbrella last year, and loved how it turned out. You can see that post HERE. Now that I have a new bag, I thought a matching umbrella would be nice too. 

I lined the umbrella with a remnant that picked up all the colors in the bag.

I made this jacket some time ago. It is the Sewaholic Robson Coat. The coat was made for the Sews News sew along. You can see all of those posts HERE. I had not finished putting in the buttonholes, and the jacket had languished in the closet for all this time. So, I decided to get it out, finish it, and put it in the show. I have since worn it 3 times!!!  

This dress was made last December. It's the Pattern Union Sumekko Dress. I blogged about it HERE. Absolutely love this pattern. It only has 1 seam!!! The pattern comes with 3 different stencils that you can then use to paint on your fabric. I have that on my list for this summer.

Once the professional pictures have been made available, I'll share my complete collection of garments that I had in the show. If by chance you would like to attend the show, it's always the 1st Sunday of  May, so mark your calendars for next year!

Having a closet of wonderful me made outfits is just the best! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Dior, Part 2

I always find the link between what's happening at the moment, and a suddenly remembered event to be so fascinating. When I started to feed the dogs Saturday morning, I realized that I had forgotten to buy dog food, all I had was about a tablespoon of dry food in the canister. Since I wasn't about to rush out at 7 in the morning, I decided that it was a "make it work" situation. I had some leftover rice, and hot dogs. So I heated the rice, sliced the hot dogs, added in a little pumpkin(they always get a little pumpkin), and served it up. When Berkley took a look at the food, the look on his face was priceless, it was like, "Really???" 

When I was maybe 6, we had been to visit my grandmother. Her favorite thing to bake was banana bread, and she loved to share it with anyone who happened to stop by, with a family who had just lost a loved one, and send a loaf home with us when we visited. My mother considered the bread to be cake, so she would only give it to us as a dessert, or an afternoon treat with tea. Since we had been away, and she had not had time to shop, there was little in the way of food in the house. I couldn't believe my eyes when I came to the table, and there in front of me was a slice of banana bread, and some canned peaches. SCORE!!! I couldn't believe my luck, I was actually getting to eat banana bread for breakfast?!! And, I think that's exactly how Berkley felt when he saw that bowl of rice with cut up hot dogs :) 

Before I fell and broke my wrist/arm, I had gone to the Dior exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. What a wonderful treat it was! So happy that I had the opportunity to go. The first post I did on the exhibit, you can see HERE. In that post I shared the incredible muslins as well as the black garments that I thought were so interesting. I took gobs of pictures. It's wonderful to have an opportunity to experience something like this, but why keep it to myself? While my pictures here on the blog do not begin to compare to actually being there, at least it gives those of you who have not seen the exhibit, a bit of a taste.

Today I would like to concentrate on construction.

This jacket took my breath away. While it is very much a period-like piece, the construction, especially that of the sleeve is perfection. 

The sleeve is actually a two-piece sleeve, but take note of the dart that radiates at an angle toward the hem.

Here you can see the dart and how it radiates from the seam. Just an incredible bit of construction.

I did my best to get an up close picture of the bead work. From a distance, it's lovely, but up close, WOW!

The construction of this little sheath dress is another work of art. From a distance, it looks as though someone has walked through a forest, or field and picked up every bit of greenery they passed. 

In reality, the dress was created with layers of ribbons, sequins, and feathers.

Each piece molded perfectly to the curves of the dress.

When I saw the exhibit, I had recently completed the Poppins Bag that I shared HERE. When I saw this jacket, I immediately thought of that bag and all the lines of stitching I did in order to create body. 

Without all the stitching lines, and the interior interfacing, this jacket would just hang rather than seemingly stand at attention. 

I'm sure that most of you remember this incredible gown that was worn by Nicole Kidman. What a treat it was to see it in person!!!

From the hand-knotted back mesh panel... 

To all of the intricate embroidery...

This is truly a work of art. Look closely at the embroidery and you'll see that it is the tambour embroidery technique that I shared with you HERE last week.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look :) I have lots more to share, and I am feeling more and more like myself with each passing day.

Have a wonderful week, and I hope that something will happen to spur some sweet memories for you! 

Rhonda

        

A 2019 Look Back

A belated

Happy New Year!

This past year has was a little quiet, blog wise anyway. Last February, I broke my arm in 2 places just above my wrist, and that kinda set the tone for a quiet year. But, all in all, it really was a great year. I found a cousin that I had no idea that I had through Ancestry. She is such a lovely person, and someone that I am very proud to call a cousin. I also reconnected with a family member after 30 years. This brought home to me that no matter how bleak something may appear, never lose hope. 

I've posted more on Instagram than I have on the blog. Not that I am moving exclusively to Instagram, it's just a platform that's been quick and easy. So, to close out 2019, I thought I would share my most liked Instagram posts.

My cargo pants, they have been a favorite. This was a challenge that Cennetta of The Mahogany Stylist and I did. Berkley and I do a lot of hiking, and cargo pants have become my favorite go to pant as I can carry my phone, money, credit cards, and I am still completely hands free.      

I took my first ever weaving class at Chicago Weaving School. Loved it! I don't know that it will become something that I will invest a lot of time doing, but I would like to learn and explore more about the craft.

This is an old make,but I posted it as an outfit of the day. The jacket is one that I made from a Kantha quilt that I ordered from India. When I initially made it, I went back and forth about cutting down the collar. I finally elected to just leave it alone. The jacket is a free pattern from Sew News. You can read more about it HERE. My jeans are the Ginger Jeans from Closet Case Patterns. I don't think I will ever purchase another pair of jeans as this pattern is absolutely fabulous.   

This dress was a favorite go to dress this past fall. I began with a t-shirt pattern and then added the rectangle drape. So easy to make. It's from my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday collection. You can find the original post HERE.  

Another favorite. I wore this jacket throughout the holiday season. You can see my post on the making of this jacket HERE. 

Another Closet Case Patterns favorite, the Ebony T-Shirt and Dress pattern. I have worn the dress with heels, flats, and even tennis shoes! Fun and easy to wear.    

This is one of my favorite outfits for summer. In the top picture on the right, you can see that I am actually wearing 2 layers. The top layer is sheer. I can take off the sheer layer and just wear the underneath layer. The sheer layer can then become a wrap. Perfect combo for traveling. 

A favorite go to pattern for pants is the Barb Pant from Style Arc. I think I may have 4 or 5 pairs of these pants. The t-shirt is another that I have made more times than I can count. It's the Molly Tee from Pattern Union.  

The top that I am wearing was made from vintage tea towels. The pants are linen, and I added a drawstring casing to the side seam for a little added interest. Wore these all summer long. 

The dress below was one that I did for Sew News. It's the Magic Bias Dress from Fashion In Harmony. This is another dress that's easy to throw on. Love it!  

Another Magic Bias Dress. It's also a summer favorite. I didn't shorten this version. It's amazing how different the dress looks in another fabric.

Yet another Closet Case pattern, the Amy Jumpsuit. I had a few fitting issues with the pattern, but all in all, I like it and plan to make it again.

And finally, my favorite make of 2019. Thankfully, I took the class prior to breaking my arm. I used my own watercolor painting that I had printed at Spoonflower for the center panels. The bag pattern is the Poppins Bag from Annie's Two Patterns. You can find all the info HERE.  

I love to laugh. After all, it's good for the soul. I saw this on Facebook and just had to share it! I think that most of us can relate :)

Here's to a fabulous new decade. May it be our best yet!

Rhonda

A New Spring Jacket/Style Arc Grace Trans-Seasonal Coat

Have you ever made something and loved it so much that you are apprehensive about using it? Well, that's how I feel about the Poppins Bag that I made back in January. But, I am determined to sweeten the pot enough that I will use it, and that's why I decided to make the Style Arc Grace Trans-Seasonal periwinkle jacket :)

The pattern is a bit deceiving. From the drawing, it looks as though the collar will hit just below the chin. In reality, the collar actually hits above the chin, and just below the mouth. I do not have a short neck, so something to keep in mind if you do make the jacket.

The fabric that I used for the jacket is a wool gabardine that I have had for quite some time. It was actually a remnant that I purchased from Vogue Fabrics here in Chicago(actually, Evanston, IL) I only had 1 7/8 of a yard. The pattern calls for 3 yards :/, but I was determined. No matter what I did, I could not get the facing, or the pockets out of my fabric. What to do??? I had the raw silk, and as I was going through my "collection," I thought, "well, maybe." 

In the end,the jacket would have been too light had I not lined it. So rather than just using the silk as the facing, I used it to line the entire jacket. I love how well it worked out!

The instructions that come with the jacket are a bit sketchy, so I would not recommend this pattern to someone who is fairly new to sewing. The instructions for the pockets are not included in the pattern, you must go to the website to find the tutorial. 

The pocket is a welt pocket with a flap. Pretty when finished, but can be a bit tricky. I used a lining fabric for my pockets. 

As I mentioned, the collar is quite high. Rather than take it out and cut it down, I played around with it a bit and decided that I rather like the asymmetrical look if I wish to use the top button.   

Rather than top-stitch the jacket in a matching thread, I used 2 thread colors. Using the 2 colors together gave interest and an extra pop that using a matching thread would not have done.

Buttons!!! Buttons can be such a challenge. I am so very fortunate to live so close to Soutache. Such a lovely shop, like a trip to Paris without the jetlag, and she has the most amazing collection of buttons. I thought that this set of vintage buttons worked perfectly :)

I have enough of the raw silk to make either a skirt or a pair of pants. Not sure which I'll choose. If I go with the skirt, I'll also have enough for the cute Susan Khalje Boat Neck Top. If I do the latter, I will have the beginnings of a wonderful travel ensemble.

Once I get the buttonholes done, and sew on the buttons, I think I am going to really enjoy this new jacket. It also looks great with jeans, so very versatile. 
Happy Sewing!

Rhonda