Monday Morning Inspiration/Too Cool To Sweat

It's a rainy, gray, quite cool day in Chicago this morning. I so love days like this. Feels like the universe has given me a blanket to snuggle into. 

I recently shared that I was having a problem with getting pictures from my phone onto the blog. Well, low and behold, one day, everything just came through, like magic. It all seems to be working just fine at this point. I think there are mean little trolls that live in "the internet cloud" who just enjoy having a little fun with us. I think that once they had their fun with me, they released my pictures ;) Whatever, I'm just happy to have it all working once again!

Last week, I shared the romper I made using the Ellie and Mac pattern. I loved it so much that I made another in brown. For those of you who are following my shoe collection...I even bought a new pair of booties to wear with the outfit. You'll see them soon :) I'm typically not a person to wear sweatpants and sweatshirts, but this pattern made me a new convert.

With the thought of wanting some sweatshirt inspiration, something a little less ordinary, I began to look, and found some fun ideas.

Adding a placket down center front, and doing lace up ties really takes this sweatshirt beyond typical.  

I love the idea of a wrapped/overlapped front. Adding the ties with a ring closure makes it all the more special.

Here's another example where they played with the an asymmetrical design.

With this sweatshirt dress, a simple ribbon belt was stitched on and a ring used to keep it all together. Gives the piece a waist definition without any pattern work.  

A more complicated design, but I so love the tie at the neckline. This would work best with a sweater knit rather than an actual piece of sweatshirt knit.

With this top, the band was cut off the bottom, and an asymmetrical casing sewn in. So easy to do, and eye catching.  

Basically the same design as the top above, just done in a sweater knit.

I LOVE this piece! The curved hemline, and the ties, so cute!!! 

Another top with an overlay, and a side tie. 

I think this is my favorite. I love that the pants have a fly front. As for the top, the wrap around aspect is fabulous!

Here the waistline is accented, but not at all fitted. I also like the small bell-shaped cuff.

Another favorite. This is a take on a piece I did for a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post that you can see HERE. With this, the back section is cut away and then slashed and spread apart. A tutorial for this will be up soon.

I hope this has spurred your imagination, and maybe inspired you to make your casual wear a little more fashion forward :)

Have a wonderful week!

And keep sewing!!!

Rhonda 

The Wednesday Showcase

We've all heard, "you don't get anything if you don't ask for it." I think there are so many opportunities, experiences, and even things we would like to have in our lives and yet we are afraid to ask. I know I have found myself more often than not in the afraid to ask category. Are we afraid of being turned down, afraid of voicing what we really want thinking that we might be judged? Of course the questions and possibilities could go on and on. What I think we need to grab hold of is the fact that life is short. We need to grab hold and live it to the fullest, and ask for what we want. Who cares if someone judges us? And even if the answer is no, maybe we need to ask again as we might possibly have simply asked the wrong person. 

Today, I am so happy to be the person who was asked and even happier to grant the wish :) Kinda feels like being a fairy godmother! A while back, I left a message on a Wednesday Showcase post and said that if you have a blog, by all means email me and let me know. I have discovered so many vehicles for discovering who is following my blog, and yet, it can still be so very difficult to find who actually has a blog. I know I am guilty of not attaching my blog address everywhere that I should. 

A few weeks ago, I came across an email in my spam folder which I was so happy that I didn't delete. A young woman named Johanna had left a message and told me about her blog. I love it, a woman who has taken the chance to ask for what she wants.  

So...meet Johanna, an aspiring fashion design student who loves to sew, knit and do just about any creative activity. Her blog is Making It Well which is not only the title of her blog, but the mantra of her life. She was sick for a period of time, has recovered and has made up her mind to be well and sew well. 

I love how she took this vintage pattern and made it look so fresh and new. Check out the back yoke. This is a very pretty feature on the blouse.

Johanna has such a cute sense of style. I love this flirty little dress with the bow tie. So cute! 

She loves to sew for herself, but she also makes some lovely pieces for her mom. Such a pretty wrap dress. It's McCall's 5974.

If you've followed the blog for some time, you know I love a cabled knit. Johanna is a wiz with a pair of knitting needles.

I look forward to seeing where Johanna's life journey takes her. I think it's going to be a great journey :)

A few weeks ago, I did a Monday Morning Inspiration post on stripes for spring. I found this picture of a pair of striped pants where the stripes are off set on purpose. Such a great look! 

Sue at A Colorful Canvas left a link to a fabulous blogger who has made a real life pair of the pants. Her name is Stephanie and you can find her blog at Sea Of Teal. Aren't the pants amazing?!!

Stephanie has been on a real stripe kick. A good thing as she does stripes oh so well.

I especially loved this little dress. Check out how the stripes match perfectly from the top of the dress into the skirt. 

Stephanie loves fashion, photography and sewing. That's like the perfect combination! The jacket and pants featured below are from Burda patterns. 

I typically reserve the Wednesday Showcase for those who are following my blog. As I've said before, my way of saying thank you and to help get the word out about your blogs and to let others know what you are doing.  I may be mistaken, but I don't think that Stephanie follows the blog, but I decided to make an exception as I knew you would enjoy seeing what she does. She really is amazing!

So as you head out today, be sure to think about what you really want out of life...and then start asking. We might all be surprised with what comes our way :)

Happy Wednesday!

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration

Happy new start to the week!!! I'm a little late this morning, but hopefully better late than never :) While I was out walking the dogs this morning, the cardinals were singing so beautifully. For me there's nothing better than seeing a cardinal fly right in front of me and then land and sit for a bit. I am always so taken by their beauty. My week is officially off to a great start!

I came across this picture of a Victoria Beckum sweater in the April issue of Vogue magazine. I love anything with a lacing detail and I thought this sweater was especially pretty. Has a rather pretty price too, just a mere $1390.00!!! But with just a little tweaking, it's something we could do in a remake, so it's not totally out of the question. I really like the skirt too.  

So with that little bit of lacing inspiration, I decided to take a look and see what I could find. There wasn't a lot, but I thought I would go ahead and share what I found. I think I may have to recreate the top below as I thought this was so beautiful.  

A vintage riding skirt. A great way to cinch in a waistline. I rather like the seaming detail on the skirt as well.

We've seen this before, but it is a fun way to add a little volume to the back of a garment and then tame the fullness.

If you aren't particularly interested in using the pockets, this makes for an interesting detail and would work well with the center back lacing of the above sweatshirt.

 The lacing detail gives a white shirt a little more shape and interest.

The pants are a little over the top, but I must confess that I really do like them. There would be no kneeling in these pants!!! I think that what I might do is run the lacing to the hem, but tie them so that the tie ends are tied at the thigh rather than the ankle.

 A little lacing detail on the cuff of a jacket.

 And finally, add a little rugged detail to a top with the laced leather yoke.

As I said, not a lot of inspiration today, but think about it this way, if you have a seam, you can lace it together. Might be fun!!!

Hope your week is off to a great start. May a cardinal fly across your path :)

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration

It's All In The Details

We can make a million basic t-shirts, and in the end, that's all they will be. Utilitarian, but with no spark, unless a detail is added. Every garment would be just a basic garment if it weren't for that special little detail that catches the eye.

Spider web stitching and artfully placed cut outs add interest to a basic black dress.

This is an antique garment that I just had to include as I thought it was just so beautiful.

I love the frayed seams and the patchwork detail on this jacket.

This technique can be found in the book Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi along with many other fabulous detail ideas.

A lovely idea, but be careful. Notice the gap in the cut of the neckline. If the tab is not positioned correctly, the neckline will not not lay flat.

Another fun cut out idea for the back of a shirt.

Bias strips with peek a boo openings.

Neither of these pockets are especially practical, but interesting nonetheless.

At first glance you might think this is Alabama Chanin, but no. The embroidery is satin stitched and there's a separate under layer. Just a hint of this on a shoulder of would lovely.

A very basic top made interesting with the addition of a chiffon inset, button loops and buttons.

A basic raglan sleeved top accented with zippers. It looks as though the zipper goes from the front to the back. Since this is from St, Laurent, I would imagine that the top is cashmere, so not so basic ;)  

The back of a basic jacket given a special touch with the smocking detail. It wouldn't need to be this detailed, just a touch would be nice.

I would not put this on a pair of shorts, but I love the idea of a leather overlay on a skirt. There would be no room for weight gain!!!

I have no idea how this was done, but I love it. It must be a photo transfer of some sort. If anyone knows, please tell me!!! I would love to do this.

Another accented edge from a vintage Chanel coat. Lovely.

Isn't this fun! Car wash strips over an ultra feminine full skirt. Might be fun to have a solid front and this detail only in the back.

I would be remiss to not include a piece from Alabama Chanin. This piece caught my eye as I love the mix. The skirt is relatively simple to do. Gathered strips that are beaded down the center.

The detail on the skirt is the same as what I did on my French jacket.

Another detail from my closet. The jacket is in desperate need of a good steaming, please forgive me. The jacket pattern was cut into sections and each section piped. The sections were then stitched back together and accented with beads.

I plan to wear this soon, so it will be in an upcoming Me Made Monday post with more pictures.

Hope this gives you a little detail inspiration.
Have a lovely week!
Rhonda