2017 Sewing Year in Review

Each year I seem to start out with a grand list of projects, more than I know I'll actually complete. Though I guess there's nothing wrong with feeling ambitious. It's fun to plan new projects but feels even better to get them completed. However, 2017 was not my year for getting things done. I need to learn to be more realistic in my goals and except that it's perfectly OK to take time for myself.

The winter months can be hard for many of us, and I admit I was struggling at this same time last year to find the motivation to work on things. I was just starting to find my sewing groove when in March, I learned that my best friend from childhood last his battle with cancer. Then in August my brother passed away unexpectedly. It's still a struggle but I'm finding ways to move forward. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one will undoubtedly know how important that is to do. For me it means making more time for visits with family and friends, spending time working with the horses and yes, evening working on some sewing. (Thank you again to everyone who reached out with your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement!)

So, given the crap year I had in 2017, I'm rather surprised by what I was able to accomplish. And to be fair, not all of 2017 was bad. There were many good things that happened.

Completed Sewing Projects for 2017

1940s blue linen pants and matching bolero for my friend Beth

Red linen 1930s pants
1940s white cotton blouse

1930s denim pj pants for day wear

1940s Gold corduroy jerkin

Early 1940s wool plaid skirt

1920s ivory velvet dress

Projects Started in 2017 But Not Completed (Yet!)

1940s green linen pants and matching bolero

1940s wool plaid dress

1940s pinafore with rickrack trim

Mock up for 1770s "fashionable gown" 

1920s green silk dress

So, what else did I do in 2017 you ask? I went to a bunch of events....

Events

GBVS's White Lightning Ball

Reading Air Show

Forth of July American Timeline at Strawberry Banke Museum

WAVES Display at the Living History Association Timeline

GBVS's 1920s Lawn Party at the Crane Estate

260th Anniversary of Siege of Ft William Henry

Collings Foundation Battle annual Battle for the Airfield  

GBVS's Winter Formal

Other Projects and Cool Stuff from 2017
I actually posted a few videos for my YouTube channel! Go me!! And at the end of 2017 I had almost 1000 followers on Instagram which is pretty cool. I'm just over that number now. :)

At the Reading Air Show I got to meet Emileigh Rogers of the blog Flashback Summer in person. She camped with my group for the whole weekend and we had a blast!

I set up my very first WAVES display this summer at a small timeline event. Visitors seemed to really enjoy it so now I'm supper motivated to continue my research and document my growing collection of WAVES-related items.

With all the stress and heartache that 2017 brought, one of the things that has really helped is working with my sister and her horses. Pony therapy is the best!!! Animals really do understand. A few days after my brother passed, my sister, sister in law and I all went riding. It was exactly what we needed. Just to prove to ourselves that it was possible, even in the worst of times, to get back in the saddle. Physically as well as metaphorically speaking.

I made some really good progress this summer and I'm hoping to continue riding when the weather gets better. I rode a couple days each week and when the time a weather allowed sometimes I rode all three horses.

Looking Ahead to 2018
Other than the normal, eat better, be more organized and work from the fabric stash kind of plans for 2018, I hope to do a few more videos for my YouTube channel as well as some more live videos on Facebook and/or Instagram. I think this is a really fun feature and I know several bloggers and small businesses have had great success with it. If you have an idea for a video, let me know! I have plans for revamping my Etsy shop so right now listings are kind of slim. As I finish the reproduction items that have been languishing in the UFO pile, and get good photos of them, I will be listing a bunch of new stuff! If you are in the New England area look for me at the Northeast Reenactors Fair next month!!

Other exciting things in the works for 2018 include working with my friend Sara on a series of blog posts about the WAVES during WWII. We are both collectors of all things WAVES and we want to be able to share our research with others. I'm hoping to have the first post up sometime early next month.

I look forward to working more with A Timeless Collection this year too. If you are not already following them on Facebook or Instagram, you need to! We have a special group photo shoot planned for this weekend and I can't wait to share more about it.

So yeah, I guess that pretty much wraps up my last year. What are you plans and goals this year?

The Blog Post I've Been Avoiding

As the title of this post says, this is something I have put off writing for a while now. I haven't posted on my blog in a little over two months. I've been posting a little more lately on Facebook and on Instagram but certainly not up to my normal online interaction in regards to sewing and all things vintage. But I'm getting there, slowly.
 

As some of you may already know, my brother Christoper passed away very unexpectedly in August. He was 30 years old. We are all still trying to process this and our hearts are shattered. I'm so thankful there is a loving network of friends and family who have all been amazing and I know you will all continue to be. Thank you to everyone who has offered your love and support during this difficult time. I never thought I would say, thank God for Facebook, but it's true. The outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and even complete strangers online has been truly amazing and humbling. The reenacting community especially has been wonderful and supportive. Our family has received messages from reenactors who personally knew, or knew of, my brother from all across the U.S., Canada, the UK and even Belgium. It just proves what a small world we live in.

This is a post I've had to write by starting and stopping several times over the last three months. Often I'd just sit here starting at the blank page. I really didn't know where to start but felt it was important to say something. How do you sum up the life of a loved one in a single blog post? The truth is, you can't. It's cannot be done in a blog post or multiple posts to social media. It cannot be done in a collection of photographs, though these things can come close. (We created a slide show of photos and music for Chris's memorial service and it was over 30 minutes long! With plenty more to add.)

Grief is a difficult thing to go through for everyone, and it's been a real struggle for those of us that were closest with my brother. I posted briefly about the passing of a close friend this spring and was still struggling with his loss when I heard about my brother. We must all find our own way to deal with and process grief. And it's going to be a different journey for each of us.

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal. 

- William Penn, Fruits of Solitude

Chris was many things to many people; son, brother, husband and friend. Everything was falling into place for him and life was going so well for him and his wife. They celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary in June. Chris was an incredibly talented person, always looking to learn new skills and apply them to the things he enjoyed most in life. He had settled on creating a career involving horses and had set out on the path to makes those dreams come true. He and one of our sister's planned to take over the family farm and share those dreams together. There are now, and will always be, horses on the farm but it won't seem the same without my brother. Sometimes I just pretend he's off on some great adventure, which in a way I guess he is. This whole post seems inadequate but as I said, I felt I needed to write something.

I cannot say, and I will not say 

That he is dead. He is just away.
With a cherry smile, and a wave of the hand,
He has wandered into an unknown land 

And left us dreaming how very fair

It needs must be, since he lingers there.

And you – oh, you, who the wildest yearn 

For an old-time step, and the glad return,

Think of him faring on, as dear

In the love of There as the love of Here.

Think of him still as the same. I say,

He is not dead – he is just away.

James Whitcomb Riley

My brother loved history and living history was a passion we both shared. To honor his memory, friends and family members have made donations to The Fort at No. 4 in Charlestown, NH, an open air living history museum where we both spent a great deal time. Through volunteering and reenacting at The Fort at No. 4, Chris worked to help ensure the museum's long history as a site for educational and living history programs. As a way to honor him, donations to this site in Chris' name will be used to repair and maintain the museum to ensure the continuation of Chris' passion at a place very dear to him.

The holidays this year are going to suck. There's no other way to say it, but somehow I know we will all manage and find the strength to laugh and smile. We will create new traditions in Chris's honor, tell rude jokes and funny stories to keep his memory and energy alive. Even though it may be hard at times, these are things we need to do. And I've learned through all of this just how important friends and family really are. I have also learned that grief is a process. There are many stages and there are going to be many crummy days before things begin to seem brighter on a more regular basis. There will be good days again but for now it's perfectly fine to just have OK days.

I am planning to post with more regularity on this blog over the winter and to continue doing and sharing the things I love. I know Chris would want all of us to continue doing what we enjoy. It's all part of moving through the tunnel of grief. I have several posts waiting in my draft folder and many exciting things to share. But if I disappear for days or weeks on end, don't worry, I will come back. Sometimes it's important to take time for yourself.

2016 Year in Review

Looking back at 2016, I can see my sewing plans were rather ambitious, perhaps a little too ambitious to be perfectly honest. I love planning projects, looking through my patterns and selecting the perfect fabrics and notions, but as many of you know, sometimes life just gets in the way and many dream projects never come to be. However, looking through my list of completed projects this year I am pleasantly surprised at how much I DID sew even if many of those thing were not included on my original 2016 Sewing Wish List.

OK, so what had I planned to work on this year? 

2016 Sewing Wish List

ALL THE 1940s PANTS! - Smooth Sailing Wearing History trousers and Simplicity 1306

Late 1930s Ike style jacket

Another 1940s hoodie

1930s/40s White linen dress or play suit

1920s Bathing suit

1940s Matching hat and bag

18th century silk gown

Revamp 1860s plaid cotton dress

Finish green stripe Regency dress, started oh so looooong ago

Bathing boots

An ambitious dream list to be sure! I've been itching to get back into historical sewing, and still am, hence the last couple of items. But with so few historical events in those eras to attend these days, those projects quickly took a back seat to other sewing, different projects and life in general. I took a look at the historical/vintage events I knew I would be attending and decided to focus on making/finishing things I would need for those.

So what did I complete this year?

Finished 2016 Projects

1940s White blouse to wear with my WAVES uniform

1930s Dress Simplicity 1945

1940s Red reproduction print dress Du Barry 2413B

Wearing History beach separates (here and here)

1940s Blue pants Simplicity 1306

Late 1930s brown linen skirt and matching bolero (seen in this post)

Long sleeve 1940s blouse

1920s-ish Bathing suit

I also made some good progress on my UFO pile. Mostly adding buttons and button holes to a couple blouses (Du Barry 5172), adding straps to my Du Barry 5296 skirt, finishing my 1940s red striped pinafore (McCall 5014), and putting the finishing touches on a few reproduction items for my Etsy shop.

Favorite makes and outfits from 2016 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, 8, 9

I didn't get to blog about all my sewing projects and I haven't been able to get photos of them all. But that's OK, you will be seeing a some of them later on I'm sure.

Blogging and sewing-related highlights of 2016 include...

Starting a newsletter (You can sign up here!)

Creating my very own YouTube channel and posting my first couple of videos

First guest post with Ester of Dolly Creates

I took part in the vintage Tea Cup Exchange

I got a vintage style hair cut for the very first time

I was a guest judge for 2 EvaDress Pattern sewing challenges (there is a new one starting in February)

I won $75 to Chronically Vintage's etsy shop

And to close out the year, my little blog was number 60 on the list of Top 100 Vintage Blogs!

Some of the vintage goodies I purchased from Chronically Vintage with my winnings.

 

This is completely unrelated to sewing but I started riding again and really look forward to riding more this spring when the weather warms up! Though riding in the snow is fun! This is Nicco, he's a 19 year Dutch warm blood. And at 18 hands, he's a big boy!

Well hello there!!

So what kind of things can you look forward to here in 2017? My main goal, other than more sewing of course, is to collaborate more with fellow bloggers. I already have a few things tentatively lined up but if you have ideas for guest posts, link swapping, etc. I would love to hear from you!

Year in Review, 2015

Holy cow! Where has this last year gone? Is it me or does it seem like time goes by waaaaay to fast? Before the year is completely gone, I thought it would be good to take a few moments and reflect on the year.

Last January, I posted about my New Years' resolutions for blogging, sewing, and life. (You can read the post here.) So how did I do? Well, to be honest I think I'd give myself a B+ (but I get an A for effort! ;) ) Did I resist the "need" to buy more fabric? Psst!! No, of course not. That would have been crazy! However, I found that when I did buy fabric I was more selective and thoughtful about my purchases. Most of what I bought will go towards Made by Me items for my Etsy shop (I found some really nice vintage and reproduction cotton prints) or very specific projects that I know I will get a lot of use out of. And to be fair, I did use a lot of stuff from my stash this year and sewed some practical vintage mix and match items. My favorite projects from 2015 - my Dorr Mill Hoodie, 40s Yellow Crepe Suit, and this outfit - were made entirely from stash supplies. My 1920s plaid cotton dress and three turban/dusting caps were also all made from stash fabric. Go me!

Confession, I did splurge on silk fabric for my 1920s White Lightening Dress, (which completed resolution #3 of sewing something amazing) and because etsy sales were good this fall I bought some AH-MAZ-ING silk for two 18th century gowns. Fear not, there will be blog posts a-plenty on those projects!

Here is a quick run down on things I sewed for myself this year. Not all of my projects have been blogged about but I do hope to share them in the New Year!

2015 sewing projects

Historical Sewing

• New 18th century "Spring" cap, I also have a "Phyllis Wheatley" about 75% complete
• Crewel embroidered stomacher that I had been working on for ages

Vintage Sewing

• 1920s Dress for Lawn Party - McCall 5632
• 1920s White Lighting Dress - Vogue 9010

• Be My Valentine Blouse - mail order # 2588
• Dorr Mill Hoddie - Simplicity 2823
• Spring for Cotton blouse - Simplicity 1782
• 4 cotton blouses using Du Barry 5172 - here you can see my red/white striped version
• Blue linen skirt using Du Barry 5296. Seen here.
• Du Barry 5371 -  the Yellow Crepe Suit
• Bombay Monkey dress - Hollywood 1413
• Red corduroy jerkin  - Du Barry 5172 (still needs a post)
• 1940s Red/white stripe pinafore - McCall 5014
• 3 vintage style Dusting Caps/Turbans (You can see my orange cotton one in this post)
• 2 circle skirts for Christmas 

Vogue 9010

Be My Valentine Blouse

Dorr Mill Hoddie

Pheww! And those are just the projects I finished for myself!! I'm still working on a 30s blouse using McCall 7371, and a wool cape with Du Barry 6002. I participated in Spring for Cotton as well as Sew Retro Rose's Decades of Style 1930s Cape sew a-long but didn't finish my cape because I didn't like how it was turning out. And all most all of my projects count for the Vintage Pattern Sewing Pledge!

I had the opportunity to participate in some awesome Greater Boston Vintage Society events this year, including the White Lighting Ball, 1920s Beach and Lawn Parties, and the 1950s Winter Formal.

Three great WWII event this year were of course the air show at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum, the D-Day event at Cunneaut, Ohio, and the Battle for the Air Field, at the Collins Foundation. I do have pictures from the last two events but have not posted about them. We also managed to squeeze in a couple 18th century events included this one at Crown Point.

 Highlights

There are many fun and excited highlights of 2015 as well! In June I was selected as a Runner Up for the Vintage Life Miss June contest. That same month I had, hands down the most fun EVER with this photo shoot with my friend Neal. I am working on contacting some other pilots for a similar shoot at Reading this coming year. During the summer I received this darling hostess dress from a dear reader. I organized TWO vintage photo contests this year and was interviewed by Jessica of Chronically Vintage! You can read the whole interview here.

Some highlights from 2015

So! What can you look forward to seeing on my blog in the New Year? Lots of things!! I am always looking for new blogging ideas so if you have any please let me know! Here are just a few things I will be working on.

• New Behind the Seams posts, including some more 1920s dresses and a gown from the 1890s.
• Tutorials, book and pattern reviews.
• Vintage around my house
• New items on Etsy, including a small selection of Made by Me items. 
• Interviews! 
• A new vintage photo contest (Most likely summer attire and/or formal wear!)
• A special Christmas Sew A-long with Gina of Beauty from the Ashes. We still need to work out all the details but it's going to be awesome! :)

That's all for now. As always, please feel free to leave a comment or drop me a message through email or Facebook! I love hearing from my readers. :) What projects will you be working on next year?

Two more gorgeous 1920s dresses I will be documenting in up coming Behind the Seams posts next year.

A look at some of the items I have been working on for my Etsy shop. These WILL be ready to list in the New Year! I promise!! :)

New Years' Resolutions and Blogging Goals

Before the month of January completely disappears, I thought I would share some of my New Year's goals and resolutions. These are going to sound very similar to last year's goals so please forgive the redundancy! So here we go!

Sewing/Blogging Related

1. Buy less fabric and use more from the stash. It can be soooo hard not to dash out and by more fabric when you want to start sewing something new. Really, who can resist a good fabric sale?? I give in to temptations which is why I have so much fabric. Not that I'm complaining! I do know for a fact though that for three of my up coming sewing projects I already have the perfect fabric in the stash so that's a good feeling. If I dig around I'll most likely find the perfect buttons, etc. too.

2. Sew more practical items that will be worn more often - i.e. blouses, pants, skirts. I really enjoy sewing dresses but I find I just don't wear them that much on a daily basis. I need items I can mix and match.

3. Get my sewing room organized! OK, I know I said this last year but since our move to the new house I've had to start over creating a good workspace.

4. Sew one thing that's truly amazing, even if it goes against resolutions 1 and/or 2. I think we all have a few dream projects. :)

5. Get a handle on that pile of UFOs! So far this month I finished an 18th century crewel embroidered stomacher that I started, errrr, a few years ago. I'm making good progress on a 1930s/40s blouse using left over material from my 2014 Sew For Victory dress. I also replaced the zipper in my Fan Print dress so now I can it  again!

6. Start a tangible sewing journal where I can keep notes about each pattern and project. There are lots of great suggestions/tutorials on the web for these. I looked at many of them then created my own using Word. It will be very useful to have a notebook of some sort that I can keep with my sewing books and refer back to.

Blogging Goals

1. Continue to improve my blogging skills. i.e. better pictures, more details, etc. It's hard to believe that Emily's Vintage Visions is four years old now!! (My blogging birthday was January 3rd. I think this calls for a belated celebration, yes? Special birthday post with a giveaway perhaps? I need to do something!!) There are so many amazing blogs out there and there is always something more to learn!

2. Write up posts on some of my past sewing projects. I already have a couple drafts started. There will be lots more 18th century sewing projects. Including the crewel embroidered stomacher I mentioned.

3. New series of posts - "Behind the Seams" posts that show the details of some of the vintage and antique goodies in my collection. This was something I intended to do last year but life just got so busy. Fear not! It will happen in 2015. I have already started photographing some of my favorite pieces and have even started drafting patterns for a few of them. The first two blogs I have planned will detail a 1920s black silk dress and an 1860s bright blue silk waist/corselet.

A few Life Related Goals

1. Do more things that make me happy even if they seem silly. Correction, especially if they are silly! Things like playing croquet with with friends using pink plastic flamingos and a stuffed hedgehog... Yes, this is a thing. :)

2. Dress in a way that makes me feel good about myself. It's time to start working more vintage into my everyday wardrobe.

3. Clear away the clutter. It's time to really go through and get rid of things. Cori and I are both collectors and things just seem to find a way into the house.

4. Eat better and be more active. Because I have a desk job, and even though I say these thing every year with the best intentions, I really need to be better about it

5. Spend more time outdoors and more time with friends.

So there you have it! What are your goals for the New Year?

2014 - Year in Review

2014. What a busy, busy year it was. It went by so fast as each year seems to do. There were some big changes, lots of new friends, and many great memories. Overall I'd say it was a good year despite the major stress of wedding plans and buying a house. Here is a quick recap of my sewing projects, events and other fun things.

 2014 Sewing Projects

Events and fun things in 2014

I started the year with a simple and fun sewing project making aprons using fabric and buttons from the stash. Next I made a 1940s dress using Advance 4199. I listed the dress on Etsy and it sold in a flash which was very exciting!

Spring was a busy sewing time for me. I made a blouse using McCall 5623 to go with my aviatrix outfit for the GBVS's 1920s White Lightning Ball. In April I made this dress for the Sew for Victory challenge. Once that project was completed I began working on the Breakfast at Tiffany's Dress for my friend Abby to wear for her senior prom. Then it was time for another birthday dress for myself. I'll be continuing the tradition this year too. I already have a pattern and fabric in mind. It's a color a don't normally wear so I'm pretty excited about it.

Somewhere in between finishing Abby's prom dress and my birthday dress I managed to complete two outfits for our June trip to Reading, PA for the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's big air show and WWII reenactment. I made a blouse, slacks, and a dress. For that same event I also had the chance to wear a new to me vintage dress. I call it the "fan print" dress. I really enjoyed wearing it but will need to replace the zipper before I can wear it again. We have big plans for the air show this year. I can't wait!

The "fan print" dress. Cori and our friend Cameron debut their 1940s LADP impression at the Reading Air Show

In July my friends and family planned an amazing vintage inspired bridal shower. I also attended a polo match with friends, went to the GBVS's second annual 1920s Roaring 20s lawn party and a 1920s themed beach party. So much fun! In August my friends kidnapped me for my bachelorette party which turned out to be a trip to Star Island for the Gatsby on the Isles event.

At the end of September Cori and I closed on our new house and moved in. Two weeks later we got married. Craziness I say!

I participated in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress, hosted by Joanna of Dividing Vintage Moments, and got a chance to wear this very pretty vintage dress. I purchased the pattern for the November Swirl Dress Sew Along but never ended up making the dress as I was feeling very uninspired by the fabrics on hand. I took part in two Secret Santa gift exchanges. The first was hosted by Jessica of Chronically Vintage and the other by Beccie of Sew Retro Rose. They gifts I received are wonderful and very thoughtful! Thank you ladies!! I ended 2014 with a masquerade themed cocktail party at the new house.

My favorite sewing project of 2014 has to be the Red Birds Dress. Everything but the thread was vintage and came from my stash. McCall 5724 was one of those pattern crying out to be made but it was waiting for the perfect fabric and notions to come along. As surprising as it may sound my least favorite sewing projects were my wedding and reception dresses. It's difficult to enjoy a project when you are working under pressure. (I do have blog posts in the works for these two dresses, I promise)

Projects I wish I could redo or want to go back and alter? If given the chance I'd remake my wedding reception dress. The dress was made literally days before my wedding and I really didn't take the time I should have to properly fit the bodice.  I'm not likely to wear it again any time soon so it's very low on my list of things to do. I would like to alter the bodice of my Violets and Blue and Purple birthday dress. I love how it turned out even if it's a little big. 

Favorite blog post? Vintage Holiday Decor - Vintage Tree Bling. I haven't really done many tutorials on my blog but hope to do more in the future. I had so much fun taking pictures and decorating my little Christmas tree. Shiny things!!

2015 promises many good things and exciting projects. I have several sewing and life related goals for this year but I'll share those in another post. Thank you all for following along with me! Best wishes to everyone for a very happy 2015!

Sewing Review 2013

Yearly sewing reviews seem to be very popular in the blogging world and this year I felt I had enough finished projects to put together my own. I didn't realize I'd made so many things! Makes me wonder where the heck I found the time? But to be fair, a few of these projects were started in 2012. As I look back at my sewing projects of 2013 and reflect ... I see some things I'm very happy with and others that could use a little help to look or fit better. But over all I'm pleased with the results. This year I was really good about using fabric and notions that I already had on hand. My goal is to continue the trend in the new year.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments, suggestions, and encouragement throughout the year. I really enjoy hearing what you have to say. :)

1 - 1920s evening dress for Downton Abbey Event

I used a gorgeous green silk from Delectable Mountain Cloth and some Edwardian era buckles for trim. The fabric was fussy to work with but so worth it in the end. The pattern was based on a couple different 1920s gowns. You can read all about the construction, inspiration, and actual event here.

 2 - 1940s pants and blouse for Sew for Victory

This is one of those projects that could use a little help. It turned out that I didn't have quite enough fabric for the blouse. I used a large "scrap" of cotton from my mom's quilting stash, which, after washing I discovered had a hole in it. The blouse is a touch too short and doesn't like to stay tucked in so I haven't worn it anywhere. I could piece together what's left to make it longer, but ... meh. I really like the pattern and will most likely use it again. The pants/trousers went together easily enough but I think the pattern needs a bit of tweaking to fit me.

3 - 1860 dress for Gettysburg trip.

This was one of those projects .... I was planning a trip to a history site and suddenly found myself with "nothing" to wear! (Never mind the fact that I already had a perfectly good 1860s cotton dress sitting in the closet!) Does this happen to anyone else? The main reason for making this new dress was that I didn't want to wear the same dress again for pictures at Rob Gibson's Wet Plate Photography Studio. Seems logical right?  Back in high school and my early collage years I was pretty active in Civil War reenacting but when my reenacting group began to fall apart I became more involved in other things. This seven plus yards of cotton, that I actually bought for the purpose of making such a dress, had been sitting unused in the stash for years and was perfect with this project. Easy to work with and easy to pack and travel with. I never did a proper blog post on this dress so I will be adding that to my blog "to do" list for 2014.

4 - Blue and white 1940s dress for birthday.

Back in May I made myself a new dress for my birthday using Hollywood pattern 1413. This was another project using fabric from the stash. :) I really like this pattern but if I make it again the neckline will need a little work. It's hard to tell in the pictures but the neck/bust area has some gathering details which turned out a little funny. The bodice darts needed adjusting but overall it went together well.I wore it with a pair of navy blue gloves and a navy blue straw hat with little yellow and white daffodils.

5 - Green 1950s bridesmaid dress for my friend Erin's wedding.

I was so glad when this dress was finished! The bodice was fiddly and fabric was a nightmare to work with. It looks great in the pictures and was comfortable and fun to wear. However, I don't see myself wearing it again. It's for sale if anyone is interested! ;)

6 - Quick 1920s dress for Lawn Party.

This was a very fast sewing project! Thank goodness 1920s patterns can be simple. This one was basically one big rectangle with an added belt/sash. All the fabric and the shell buckle came from the stash so it cost $0 to make. That's the best kind of costuming project! I wore it to the Greater Boston Vintage Society's Roaring 20s Lawn Party at Castle Hill in Ipswich, Mass.

 7 - Finished purple and white 1760s gown. 

This gown was started in 2012. Technically this project is not 100% finished because I still want to make a matching petticoat to go with it. But the gown it's self is done. I wore it for the first time to Old Sturbridge Village. The gown is entirely hand sewn and is made from a Williamsburg reproduction cotton print. The fabric came from William Booth Draper but I don't think it's available anymore. I use the same gown pattern for all my 18th century gowns and make minor adjustments depending on the decade I want represent.

8 - Finished white linen mitts and a silk pin cushion. 

I started these in March of 2012 at a Hive workshop. It was a two part workshop where we learned about 18th century trim for gowns, making fly fringe, and mitts. The reason these took so long to complete was the embroidery. The pin cushion is based on one in a museum and is made from a scrap of ivory silk taffeta left from this gown. It's filled will 100% wool batting that came from sheep my family raised and is trimmed with a sample of silk fly fringe I made in the workshop.

9 - Red and white 1940s dress.

Made from a lovely  red and white striped cotton using vintage Advance Pattern 4199. Look for this soon in the "Made by Me" section of my Etsy shop. I'm hoping to add a couple items to this section in the spring.

10 - Curtains for Halloween costume

Not a whole lot to say about this project other then they're curtains! lol! I have already taken them apart and plan to use the fabric for other projects.The dress is the 1860s cotton plaid mentioned above.

11 - 1940s evening gown for the GBVS Winter Formal

My last big sewing project of 2013. Gold/mustard yellow crepe evening dress trimmed with lots of sequins and some Victorian/Edwardian era jet bead flowers. It took about a week start to finish, was easy to make, and loads of fun to wear.

So what's on the sewing agenda for 2014 you ask? I'd really like to complete some more projects that have been patiently waiting in the 'round to it pile. Namely my 18th century shoes, some gown alterations, a basic 1812 era wardrobe, and a few more items for my shop. As for really big projects ... oh I don't, maybe a wedding dress?! We'll see, still not convinced I want that headache.