spring in shelby park

Photos by Neil!

Vintage Denim Shirt, High Waisted Trousers, Belt - Thrifted

Cream Floral Mesh Bandeau - American Apparel

Wood Wedge Sandals - Madewell

Warm weather has officially hit Nashville, and yesterday Neil and I went to Shelby Park to enjoy it. We brought our little dog (and the loveliest vintage blanket borrowed from Colleen) and took a walk around East Nashville's Shelby Park, following it up with nutella ice cream from Pied Piper.

This outfit is my first attempt at the minimalist trend I told you I wanted to try out.. but I added a bit of blue to it with the denim shirt. And short tops with super high waisted bottoms are going to be a staple for me this summertime, I think.

And now for the winner of the peter pan collar giveaway! The winner is.. Rachael! Rachael, shoot me an email with your address and I'll get the denim collar out to you asap! For those that didn't win - don't worry, I've got another giveaway coming up soon.

Happy weekend, all!

velvet valentine

Photos by Neil!

Red Velvet Dress - Handmade

Peter Pan Collar Blouse, Cream Tights - American Apparel

Tan Platform Sandals - Lulu's

Brocade Carpet Bag - Thrifted

This past weekend, Neil and I dressed up and went out for the day, visiting all of our favorite spots in Nashville. We ate bison burgers and marinated olives in East Nashville and took walks and shopped for new records and ate a bunch of chocolate.. and I finally got to wear the dress I sewed for Valentine's.

After watching Pretty Baby, I knew I wanted to pair the dress with a pair of cream tights and a collared blouse underneath (thanks to you guys for the suggestion!). I have a feeling that I'll be wearing cream colored tights a lot this spring and into the fall, especially after seeing one of my favorite designers come out with a fall/winter 2011 collection featuring an unbelievable pair.. I'm sure to post about it soon. And the platform shoes were a recent buy.

Hope you're all having a wonderful beginning to your week! Neil and I are in the middle of a lazy movie marathon.. just finished When Harry Met Sally and we're moving onto Casablanca. As fun as our day out was this weekend, I think I'm loving this more. Shop update tomorrow (for real)!

sewing saturday no. 8.. a 1950's style swiss dot dress from start to finish

Hey, I sewed my second dress!

As I told you guys last week, I used an old 1950's Simplicity pattern with a full skirt and no sleeves. I felt like moving from the 60's jumper I finished last week to this dress was a good way to go.. most of the steps were the same, but some things were a bit more complicated this time around. I also learned how to do armhole facing, skirt gathering, and different kinds of darts.

First, I cut the pattern pieces and marked them.

Once the pieces were marked with seam allowances and other markings, I started sewing (for those of you who wanted to know what kind of sewing machine I use, it's a Brother CE 4000 and I highly recommend it!). The bodice had eight darts in all, including two neck darts in the back. Once I finished sewing the darts, I attached the two bodice back pieces to the front bodice piece at the shoulders, then attached the neck facing and armhole facings. I sewed the side seams to finish.

Once the bodice was done, I sewed the skirt pieces together and got to work on gathering the top of the skirt. By the way.. thanks for all of your suggestions and links to skirt gathering tutorials! With your help, I figured it out. I did two rows of stitching like you guys said and pulled the bottom threads, pushing the fabric along the threads. Once the skirt was gathered evenly, I pinned the bodice and skirt together, right sides facing one another, and sewed them. Then, I attached the zipper.

Here's the finished product!

I actually have a couple of things to do to the dress before I can wear it to the wedding tomorrow afternoon. I have to cut the skirt shorter and finish the hem at the bottom. Also, I want to add some sort of detail at the collar. Eventually, I want to line the dress, but not before tomorrow.

And I'm already planning my next Sewing Saturday. It will be a much smaller project than the last two! I'm excited to be able to start and finish something within just a couple hours, maybe less.

Last note.. I'm updating my blog roll on the right hand side of my page. If you have a blog and would like to share the URL on my site, leave a comment with your blog URL on this post and let me know that you'd like to share it!

It's nearly 3 in the morning and I am beat. Apparently watching South Park and sewing dresses takes it out of you? Bedtime.