I am thankful for y'all & I'm showing it with a sparkling giveaway! November 26, 2010 07:44 181 Comments

So. You doubtless recall that I promised a fantabulous giveaway when I reached 30 followers. Well. Guess what, cupcakes? That moment has arrived. Yes indeed. It has. Yippee skippee. (Well. Actually, it arrived a few days ago. But. I am a procrastinator. You know that. You do.)

So. Rolling of drums. Blowing of horns. Crashing of cymbals. Here's what one lucky winner will get:

1950s pattern Butterick 5679 from The Blue Gardenia (of course!) in either Bust 32 or 34. Winner's choice. Yes. I agree. I am so nice.

Four yards of choose-your-favorite-over-the-top superlative 55" wide Italian wool from Michael's Fabrics in Blue Teal.

Revlon's Fire and Ice lipstick and nail polish. Introduced in 1952, this is truly vintage. And truly film-noir-vixen sexy. (That's Jessica Biel rocking the look today. The inset pic shows Dorian Leigh making it her own — and how — in 1952.)

Am I one fabulous babe or what? I am. I know you agree.

So. The rules: Leave a comment about why you like vintage patterns and whether you have ever sewn one before by Friday, December 3, 11:59 p.m. PST. And. If you are already a follower on Typepad and enter, or if you become a follower and enter, you get one extra entry. (Yes. I know it's a headache to become a follower on Typepad. I do. But perhaps an extra chance at winning this incredible prize will ease the pain.) See, girls and boys, I show my appreciation for those who show me the looooove. I do.

So. There ya go. And I thank all of you who follow. And I thank Sherri and Michael at Michael's for providing the luscious fabric. Absolutely. And if you haven't checked out Michael's, do. You won't regret it. You won't. I've shopped there several times over the years, and I've not been disappointed. Fast shipping, luxe fabric.

(A little hint: When I reach 75 followers, I'm going to do another sensational giveaway.)

Sometimes, your dress is more successful than the dinner party. August 17, 2010 17:09 1 Comment

There are dinner parties. And then there are other dinner parties. The dinner parties you'd, well, rather forget. Quickly. Take tonight's. A flop by any method of measure. 

You had the food prepared on time. The table set. A first for you. You're usually late with the appetizer. Late with the salad. Late with the entree. You're usually still putting flatware on the table when the doorbell rings. Not this time. You were ready.

You knew something was up when the first guest arrived without his significant other. He was on time. Early even. He said his woman was at the hotel, doing laundry. With another guest. Fine, you thought. They'll be here soon. You thought. Ha. The significant other arrived, with male friend in tow, in damp clothes. Two hours later! Yes. Two.

And all this time, the gumbo simmered on the stove, the shrimp getting tough as a pair of work boots. Sigh. Double sigh. Deep sigh.

The two late guests were picky, too. They pushed all the artichokes to the side of their plates. Since the salad only consisted of fava beans, artichokes, lemon, olive oil, this was not a good sign. They picked all the andouille out of the gumbo. You watched, amazed. Absolutely. And they weren't hungry for dessert. Which, if you do say so yourself,  was incredibly delicious. Pecan pie. Rich, gooey filling. Flaky crust. Mam would have been proud. Ever so. 

And conversation wasn't much better. Oh no. The high point was when hubby and one male guest spoke with immense passion about gout attacks. You get the picture. I know you do. 

Yes. You are glad it's over. Truly. This is not a dinner party you want to repeat. Absolutely not.

But you looked good, wearing Your Pattern 3133, circa 1960s. You are quite pleased that you stitched it up last weekend, just for this dinner. It's fabulous. It is. Truly. The sea green linen was an excellent choice. You can wear it for day. For night. You'll get so very much use out of it. It's going to be a staple that you pull out of your closet again. And again.

And, yes, it is available at The Blue Gardenia. It's a Bust 34. And it costs a mere $33. And it will be worth every penny. Yes indeedy. It will.

Learning to sew: In which more than my skirt goes mad! July 19, 2010 09:05 1 Comment

Marticia lost patience with me, because I was taking pictures rather than pulling the thread to get the fabric on grain. Well, duh. I'm a blogger. I have to take pictures. I have to, beloved readers, for you. So that you can view my progress. So that you can be with me as I take baby steps along this path. I'm so unselfish. Really.

Now. Because you read the headline or title or whatever it is we call the words that go across the blog story to draw you, dear readers, in, you are probably wondering why something — namely, me — was driven mad by this skirt. Well. Here ya go. The reason: The fabric stretch did not go horizontally around my hips. No. It went lengthwise. I do not need a lengthwise stretch. I don't. I don't. I need it around my butt. Otherwise, how will the fabric puff out into an unflattering ball in my buns area? Obviously, I needed a new fabric. Absolutely.  I did not want to waste the Lycra in my yummilicious linen-cotton blend.

So. Marticia to the rescue. Again. She put on her cape. She put on her boots. And she went to her fabric stash. And . . . and . . . drumroll, please . . . she worked her superpower magic and pulled out a piece of jade wool blend. Which just happened to be the right size for my skirt. Yippee skippee. So. It is now cut out. I have only to pull out the tracing paper and the tracing wheel and mark, mark, mark the many darts. Then I'll be ready to sew my Mad Men pencil skirt. I will. Double cartwheels to celebrate. Please.