Well...

I changed my mind...

New website here

New blog here

Hi everyone!  I have a new website and a new blog.  This blog will be shut down in the next few months so make sure you bookmark the new one!

http://sleevesfashion.blogspot.com/

Introducing Cheyenne Nichols, a seamstress, tailor, dressmaker and aspiring fashion designer with over 10 years experience. Cheyenne can make and alter wedding dresses, bridesmaids and prom dresses, make matching mommy-and-me Christmas and Easter dresses, do basic repairs, alterations and tailoring and re-make that favorite thing that you've been wearing for years and can't get anymore. 

 

Cheyenne is also offering a few one of a kind items you can't find anywhere else! Her work with designer DeWayne Lumpkin of “British Route Sign Designs” and “SheSpoke” have been featured at NewYork's Pier Antique Show and FashionAlley 2011 and Collage Gallery and Clothing in San Francisco, as well as in magazines such as the SanFancisco Gate and Elle décor Italia.

Click here, all the clothing is mine!

Call or text for an appointment! 541-613-0402

 

It's a......

So I found a silverware tray...



It was pretty and real wood.  But the bottom was all warped, probably water damage.  Plus none of my kitchen drawers are wide enough for a regular sized silverware tray, but that's a rant for another day.

I couldn't just let it go to waste!  Now it's a little shelf.  I totally want to get some little figurines for it!  Maybe I'll start collecting miniature porcelain cats or bunnies or something!

Now I'm actually laughing out loud, I am generally pretty anti-chotchkie.  I hate clutter and dust catchers and things that don't do anything useful.  LOL

Super Violet

We don't get TV.  I do let my kids watch educational cartoons on the internet though.  My personal favorite is Word Girl.  Word Girl and her trusty sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, go around saving the city with her amazing grammar and vocabulary.  Some of the villains are The Butcher, who likes meat and butchers the English language, The Birthday Girl, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy, and my favorite, Lady Redundant Woman.

We also have Netflix which we download with the wii so we can watch on our regular TV.  One of the girls' favorite is Myth Busters, who have done at least a couple of super hero episodes.

Between these 2 shows Violet has become obsessed with super heroes.  She keeps drawing pictures of her super outfit for me to make for her that always include ruffly skirts, masks, crowns and capes covered in stars.

 

Personally, I'm not going to spend hours sewing things that I won't let my kids wear in public, but Violet needed a shirt and I wanted to make her feel special, so I came up with this toned down version.

She of course was thrilled and wears it to school every time it's clean.  Now I just need to convince her that I AM NOT going to make everything on her list!

Feelin' Bloggy

So, about a year or a year and a half ago, I made some short for a guy.
But not just any shorts.  I took apart vintage Ocean Pacific corduroy surfer shorts from the 70's, complete with 3" inseam, to re-create.
And not just any guy.  This was a 70's surfer dude complete with ultra blonde, shoulder length hair and a perma-tan.  Only, in his mid-50's.

It was quite an interesting project.

The shorts turned out great though!  Even my good friend and the best tailor I've ever met, Della, was impressed!

Christmas

The same Christmas pictures I have on facebook and flickr, in case you missed them.  Merry Christmas!!!

More Autumn

Yesterday was absolutely glorious!

More on my flickr page.

Hmmm....maybe I should go into photography?

Teaparty II

occupywallst.org

Autumn

I always used to hate fall when I lived way up north.  I felt like everything was dying before the snow came.  It was muddy and ugly and I hated it.

Now here in southern Oregon I love it!  It's like all the trees are blooming and showing off their finery just like the flowers do in the spring.  The air is crisp and cool.  The flowers and weeds are continuing their life cycle instead of just dying.

Willow and I found this nifty weed on our walk the other day.  I put it in an old milk bottle with some lavender buds from right outside our door and a little bird that I made last fall, from this tutorial.

Who knew fall could be so lovely?

New favorite blogger

So I discovered my new favorite blogger.  I have lots of favorite bloggers, but this is the newest one to the list.

Meet Max California.  Who is in Australia by the way.

Our lifestyles could not be more totally different.  If I saw her on the street I might be afraid.  But she is really sweet and she adores her son (you really should see some of the stuff that she has made for him) and her projects are brilliant!  I found her bra tutorial (careful, she says the D word), and I swear, just like because of tanis-isis I will never buy jeans again, because of Max California I will never buy a bra again.

Plus her hair rocks.  I wish I were that brave...

Poor Sweet Willow

Last week, Willow stepped on a pencil.  One of only two items on the floor and it was laying flat.  However, the pencil went an inch into her foot and left behind half an inch of graphite!

Not for the weak of stomach

It had to be surgically removed and she's still on crutches.  Poor kid!  I didn't have my first surgery until I was seventeen and had to have my wisdom teeth out!

She's holding up well though.  She's bored out of her silly mind and she's missing tae kwon do and she's going to miss her orange belt test, but she's having a good attitude.  I'm proud of her.

Finally! What a relief.

I suffer from depression.  I have for most of my life.  I'm always afraid to tell anyone.  I'm afraid they will judge me.  I'm afraid they'll think I'm just on anti-depressants so that I have the energy to be super-woman.  I'm afraid they won't trust me with their kids.  I'm afraid people will think I'm incapable.  I'm afraid they'll think is just an excuse to be lazy.  Instead I hide it, and make excuses and people think I'm a flake.  Like when I say I can't do something that normal people would do with no problem.  Or when I say I can do something but I just can't.

There are some days where I really like who I am.  I am an artist.  I am intelligent.   I am trustworthy and capable.

And some days I just can't.  I can't make phone calls.  I can't go to sleep at night without the light on.  I can stay awake in the afternoon. 

I've walked around in a stupor all stinking day, and then suddenly at 7:30, my brain cleared and I feel normal.  And I made a decision.  I'm not going to take it anymore!  I'm not going to hide anymore!  I'm going to find a medication that really works, and I'm going to allow myself to do only what I'm capable of.  If I can't do something, I'm not going to torture myself because a normal human being should be able to do it.  The fact is, I'm not always a normal human being.  The fact is, I'm limited sometimes. 

So my friends, ask me to do things.  Ask me to watch your kids or teach your Sunday school class or host a tupperware party.  I'll say yes if I can.  And if I can't I will tell you.  I'm not going to flake out on you or make excuses anymore.  I respect you too much for that.

So when I finally have time to post on my poor neglected blog is when I've had my eye sliced open and I can hardly see what I'm typing.  Go figure.

Yes I, at the tender age of 30 had cataract surgery yesterday.  It's a very interesting procedure.  I don't remember any of it.  But hopefully within a few days my will see 10000% better than it ever did!  Yay!

So Pretty!!!

I finally got something finished!  Hooray!

I actually made a dress form.  Is that cool or what?  I found the pattern from this seller on ebay.

The fabric is a lovely home dec from the thrift store.  It has "1984" printed on the selvages!  I can so picture it in my Grammy's house way back then, she would have loved it.

Anyway, having an actual, real, dress form helps so much in the designing process!   Yay!!

So so busy, and nothing to show for it

I have been working my fanny off, but I truely couldn't tell you what I've been doing. 
Easter dresses are half done.  My coat is almost cut out.  I did some stuff for DeWayne.  I did some mending and lots and lots of housework and Homeschool, but nothing really exciting or... finished.

So I'll just post some pictures of our day at table rock this last Saturday.  It was lovely!

I wish my battery hadn't died half way through.



And now the last picture.  AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  I am feeling very motivated to lose weight!  No wonder my friend (whom I don't see very often) asked me if I was expecting!  I had lost 5 pounds and was toning up and stuff, but then I gained 7 and it all went to my belly.  Arhg.  You'd think a nice, long, uphill hike would do something for me, but noooo.

I'm going to talk like a Mormon for a minute

So my coat, right?  Oh my freaking heck! (that's mormon swearing)

I've used a lot of printable patterns.  Most of them are perfectly fine to lay out and tape.  Some are tricky.  This one was nearly impossible!!  First of all, there were 57 (!) pages.  With that many you know there's going to be a mistake somewhere.  Then, the edges and overlap were not clearly marked.  At all.

Plus, there are no notches or markings at all except for 1 notch on the top of the sleeve.

When I finally got all 57 pages just right and taped together, I had to go over each pattern piece to make sure it was actually correct, and then alter each pattern piece.  Sherry gives some great tips for altering and checking patterns.  I already knew most of it, but the stuff I did pick up was priceless.

Anyway, I shortened the tail, lengthened the waist

and the sleeves, added pockets, added vents to the sleeves, and changed the collar just a little.

It's going to be so stinkin' cute, I can hardly wait

Because I don't have enough to do...

I am participating in a tailoring sew-along over at pattern-scissors-cloth.  I'm so excited!  She's going to go into all the details of altering patterns, fitting, industry tips and tricks, and since I am a completely self-taught seamstress, I am excited to either: learn something new, or: confirm that I was doing it right after all!

I found this pattern that I just LOVE.  Of course I plan to alter it almost beyond recognition, but here's what I'm starting with.

Now I need to decide which fabric to use.  Both are nice washable wool blends.  The grey was a thrift store find and has a light weight black interfacing on the back, so it's quite stiffer than the black.  What do you think?