Hearts Full of Joy

high school musical....thoroughly modern millie!

the musical was a delight! so fun to have lexi and tashi in the same role. on each of their "on-nights" as dorothy the other was having an "off-night" in the ensemble. they were actually on stage, singing and dancing more on their "off-nights", and it was so fun to watch them in each of their many roles.

i made these two dorothy dresses:

mrs meers gives dorothy (tashi on right) a poisoned california apple

dorothy (lexi on left) and millie meet.

from these patterns, originally published in the 1920s:

it was a fascinating learning experience to sew with these 20s patterns - they assumed so much general sewing knowledge. for example: "you can finish the neckline with a facing, or with a bias binding, or any other method you choose." but no patterns or further instructions were given for the facings or bias bindings.

i also unexpectedly organized the relief society women from church to sew the 19 purple dresses for the "stenogs" in the office scenes.

 

2 days of sewing for 10 hours each, plus a little more, with friends was surprisingly fun! 

a few more of my favorite photos:

 

lexi as a stenog

 

puttin' on the ritz - tashi second from leftabove, lexi in center below 

trevor grayden trying to get to dorothy, who has realized that she is truly in love with ching-ho


dancing at the speakeasy.

1772

my artist friend, michael bedard, who commissioned this suit, a reproduction of the suit that george washington is wearing in this photo, circa 1772, has been very patient with the slow progress i've been making. that was part of our arrangement - i didn't need to feel rushed or pressured. but things suddenly changed in the middle of march, the same week as the girls' musical, which i was sewing for, and the same week that i needed to alter a wedding dress, and a hundred other things, and he suddenly and unexpectedly was leaving town and needed to take the suit with him.

this suit has been a tremendous amount of work, as all of the stitching of any type that shows has been done by hand. but it has also been a joy to work on. i sewed furiously to get it (almost) done, and it left town, and will return soon for the finishing touches.

it is all wool and linen with pewter buttons - very heavy!

The photos aren't the best - i needed more light, but wanted to take the photos before the suit left.

 

izannah walker dolls and other inspirations

i love my customers! and love them even more when they share their incredibly lovely and inspiring creations with me.

i am completely smitten by this izannah walker doll by dylnne on etsy - everything about it is something i love: history, accurate reproduction, beauty, fabric, sewing for children, and i could go on. she inspired me to do some research on izannah walker and her dolls, which i found fascinating. here is the story, and here are photos of some of the original dolls. this dolly's dress is made from a sweet reproduction fabric designed by mary koval for her "mary's chocolates" collection by blank textiles.

one of my amazing mary friends (i have several amazing and well loved mary friends) makes beautiful reproductions of dolls that were the forerunners to the izannah walker dolls. 

and krista made this inspiring bag - if only i can find the time to make one too!

this math fabric from the "american vintage" collection by windham fabrics is selling fast. 
i love it too. see krista's post about making this bag on her delightful blog, which will lead you to another blog for a tutorial on how to make your own.

.

projects in progress

one thing i am never lacking is a very great number of projects in progress.

here are some current favorites:

 

stacks of ragged edge burp cloths made from woolies flannels (in my shop) for 2 friends from church who have recently had baby boys.

i LOVE these woolies flannels! and i finally used them to start a long-planned quilt for brock (it was originally going to be for christmas). he got the first 4 blocks as a valentine's present. 

it's a simple log cabin block with big 2 inch stripes of the incredibly cozy woolies flannel that look like wool and feel like heaven. i was inspired by an antique quilt made in the late 1800s and photographed on a bed in "house beautiful" magazine. i need to photograph that photo.

and more woolies projects:

 

i made a nightgown for gracie and pajamas for mia for christmas using woolies flannels and this vintage pattern i found on etsy. mia loves hers, and gracie has tried to live in hers for the last two months. if we do manage to get her dressed to go out, she'll change back into her nightgown as soon as we get home. it was becoming like linus's blanket, and so i made another for her to wear while the first is in the laundry, from the creamy plaid. and mia cut out her own nightgown from the blue plaid (still in progress).

i found these two 1920's era dress patterns to make dresses for my two teenagers who are double-cast as dorothy in their high school's production of 'thoroughly modern millie".

i have fun fabric (found on etsy) for the dress on the right (slightly sheer yellow with dots), that is ready to cut into. the taffeta i ordered for the dress on the left was a disappointment - completely wrong color (deep emerald green instead of a dusty pastel blue/green), and i'm working on finding a good replacement.

and this is not a project yet, but i want it to be:

 

I found this precious pattern, published in 1957 on ebay, and can't wait to use it to make a dress for gracie.

george's suit II

whew! is just about the only word that comes to mind as i try to express how i feel about this project, reproducing a suit of george washington's. but it is truly exhilarating to see it coming together. i am doing all sewing that will show by hand (no sewing machines in the 1770s). the linen shirt, scarlet wool and oatmeal linen waistcoat, and scarlet wool breeches are mostly done, including 31 hand stitched buttonholes that were quite intimidating. now it's time to charge head long into the indigo wool frock coat....deep breath.....

breeches leg

 

breeches back

breeches front (i still need to do a fitting to place the 7 pewter buttons that will close the front.)

linen shirt (still needs ruffles at wrist and neck), wool waistcoat with gold braid and pewter buttons.

george's suit

i am reproducing the suit (breeches, waistcoat, frock coat, shirt, and cravat) from this 1772 painting of george washington for our painter friend, michael bedard, who plans to use it in several paintings. i am up to my eyeballs in scarlet and  navy wool, white and otameal linen, gold braid and pewter buttons, and loving every minute of it! i was quite apprehensive to start, and still wonder what i was thinking to accept the commission, but i am learning and learning, and the feel of handkerchief linen or wool in my hands as you sew with linen thread is quite a delight.

Bah! Humbug!

i finished lexi's dress (which was her handmade christmas present) just

in time for the high school's production of Bah! Humbug!

i love the cartridge pleated skirts from this era! I have always idealized civil war era dresses as the epitome of beauty, but the more i study 1800s dressmaking, the more i realize that the 1840s (Dickens, Nauvoo) was really the loveliest. civil war era was extreme fashion. 1840s was feminine and flattering.

i learned a lot making from making this dress (sleeves need to be tighter, etc, and i would love to make another.

lex ready to go on-stage:

 

she sang a beautiful solo as scrooge's dying sister - her best performance ever.

tashi was wonderful too. they each had multiple roles - a necessity in our little school. this performance was a fund-raiser for the spring musical - thoroughly modern millie!

 

(lex and tash in center)

i helped with hair and enjoyed being backstage before the performance.

 

the mistake

the two oldest are going to be in their high school's production of "Bah, Humbug" this saturday, a fund raiser for their spring musical of "Thoroughly Modern Millie'. tashi will be wearing the 1840s dress i made for her in august.

i have been wanting to make one for lexi too, and this is the perfect opportunity for it to be used. it will be her hand made christmas gift from me. a crazy time of year to be working on it, but i am enjoying it!

i love working with the intricately printed fabric, and discovering the ingenious and beautiful way that dresses were made in this era. with this dress i learned an amazing way of installing hooks and eyes:

it was difficult to photograph it so they could be seen... the hooks were sewn to the lining, and then pushed through the  "fashion" fabric. the bases of the eyes are hidden between fabric and lining. so the sewing and the bases of the hooks and eyes are hidden away.

now for my mistake....not really "the" mistake, just one of many, but the most serious.

something about the bodice was bothering me, and for a while i didn't know what it was. can you see it?
look at the sleeves. they are cut on the bias, and this fabric, that i love, has a diagonal, or bias print. i cut one sleeve with the stripes running in one direction, and the other sleeve running in the other. i just finished removing and replacing the offending sleeve (barely had enough fabric left on the bolt - phew!), and now both sleeves run lengthwise like the one on the right. with the bodice complete, i am cartridge pleating the skirt so it can be attached. i love the cartridge pleating. it can be seen on the skirt of tashi's dress. it is a lot like hanging curtains.

 

during my studies of 1800s clothing over the last year, i have realized that although i have always idealized civil war era dresses as the loveliest, they really are surpassed by the grace and elegance of the 1840s fashions, which are also more flattering to the figure (especially a teenage figure).

1830s/40s gown

armed with much inspiration and courage from my friend mary (one of several dear mary friends) and her 1840s sewing expertise, i have completed my first really big 1840s sewing endeavor: a gown for tashi. i cut it out and started on it in may or june, but set it aside as the summer became busier. and i questioned my fabric choice that i had originally belabored - although i loved it, it didn't really seem to match tashi and here serene personality. then a few weeks ago our artist friend michael bedard asked tashi to pose as sarah granger kimball for a painting, or series of paintings he is planning based on the beginnings of the relief society in nauvoo. sarah was well educated and cultured and married one of the wealthiest men in nauvoo - and i had the inspiration for finishing the gown that fit her (sarah's) personality. it's as authentic as i could make it without time to sew entirely by hand. it came together smoothly and was a joy to work on. serpentine stripes were the height of fashion in the 1840s. the fabrics were sophisticated and colorful, and intricately detailed then, not plain and drab as we are prone to imagine.

this was my first experience with cartridge pleating a skirt and stitching each little pleat to the waistband, stiffened with horsehair braid, by hand. the bodice is fully lined and full of boning.

these photos were taken during the practice photo shoot, there have been two more since. her ringlets weren't holding (we were copying the hairstyle from a portrait of sarah granger kimball.) we got better at managing the ringlets in subsequent shoots.

 

the photos were taken at the sarah granger kimball home. this first painting is planned to be sarah enjoying the flowers in her beautiful gardens.

the easter bunnies

this is what the easter bunnies wore this year. mia & noah recycled and wore what i made them last year. i tend to do that with both halloween and easter - my built-in anscestral thrift...or laziness?. grace had outgrown last year's dress, it is now a shirt, and so i made her a new outfit with the 1838 pattern book i have been enjoying so much.

she is wearing the cap and pantaloons i stitched by hand. the dress was machine sewn, but also a complete joy to make.

oh, and mia & noah really are the true easter bunnies. mia was born on easter, and noah was due on easter, although he kept us holding our breaths and chose to come 6 days late. i found that to be a much harder wait with adoption than it had been with my own pregnancy. gracie, well she's just a bunny.

the rodenbergs joined us for easter dinner and an egg hunt!

gracie wearing last year's easter dress (by pure coincidence) as she helps brock plant a tree. we have planted seven more trees, 4 fruit which brings our orchard to a total of 12 trees (two each of apple, peach, pear, plum apricot, and cherry), a red bud, a dogwood, and a maple. i have planted 22 flowering plants: hollyhocks, peonies, columbine, lillies, and dahlias, 25 strawberries, two grapes, and grass seed in some bald spots. our lettuce has finally come up, and maybe our first pea, and onion bulbs have now been planted. it's so interesting learning the quirks of a new climate. we are in love with not having to water our lawn, garden, and landscaping, and so enjoy the wildlife that regularly visit: deer, cottontails, squirrels, cardinals, etc. but with every up comes a down, and we are fast learning to battle the moles that are tearing up our ENTIRE yard and flower beds, and the raccoons who dig up our grass looking for grubs, while trying to keep our trees, flowers, and garden safe from the deer and rabbits. we can tell you which repellents work the best. we planted a new baby grape yesterday that had leaved out. this morning it was nibbled to a 1/2 inch nub.

 

 

spring is coming slowly, but surely.