Growing Out the Pixie: Month Eight

I can't believe I started growing out my hair eight months ago!!!  This is taking forever.  BUT the good news is that it is finally starting to look like "on purpose" hair, rather than "growing it out so what did you expect?" hair.  Yay!

Here are several examples of styles I totally did on purpose, not just to hide the weird spots in my hair:

First thing in the morning, no make-up and hair still not brushed.  I don't have to wash it to get rid of the pixie cut morning cow licks!  Yay!

Work appropriate.  

Date night!

Zoo day!

three year wedding anniversary.  

I can also do very small pigtails now, which to me means my hair is getting very long.  In a month or two, I may even be able to do a little ponytail.  It's so funny to me that the rest of the world would look at my hair and think it was short, but for me it is getting so long!  Ha!  I don't regret growing it out one bit.  I really feel like I am leaving behind my last pixie haircut.  Although, as always, if you haven't tried short hair before, I totally recommend it.  It is very freeing!  But I think this blog has proved that it does take a lot of work and patience to grow it out.  Hopefully I will remember to look back at this if I ever get the itch to chop it all of again.  I'm ready for it to be long!  

Rompers and crop tops: Oh my!

FACT: Skinny girls look awesome in rompers.  Especially if they have skinny legs and small boobs. 

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

FACT #2: I want to wear a romper.  I do not have skinny legs or small boobs, yet I hold out hope.  In my mind, a romper offers ease mixed with luxury, and therefore is the perfect statement piece for summer.  Also, in my ever present quest to be as lazy as possible while still looking awesome, the idea of a pants/top combo seems ideal.  Granted, I have never yet found one that was flattering at all for me, and here is my theory as to why (beyond the legs and boobs thing).  They are all made way too short for the curvy to comfortably wear!!!  So many ropers are made with such short shorts that they just don’t work on my body type or for my comfort level with shorts (just above 0.5).  Also, big booties fill out shorts differently than small ones, and rompers tend to ride.  No one looks glamorous while picking a wedgie or having half of their butt exposed, no matter what size they are.  

Thankfully, just this year I discovered the joy of wearing leggings under shorts, which I think will allow me some freedom in the romper arena.  Secondly, I realized that there are a few rompers out there that are long, so that gives me some hope as well.  In the interest of science (also know as my own stubborn and conceited belief that I can rock any style I want to thank you very much) I have purchased these two rompers from Modcloth as an experiment.  I will report my findings back to you on this blog as soon as the items come in.

Exhibit A:  

Exhibit B:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/shorts-rompers/jumpsuit-for-joy

The image would not let me grab it, but here is the link, and it looks just like this:

Also, here is further proof that some curvy girls out there have found ways to rock the romper, which means (again, in theory) that I should be able to do it also.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! 

 

And look what I just found!  Lena Durham rocking a very similar romper to the one I just bought!  Yes, she has made some questionable romper choices in the past (too short I tell you!) this looks stunning.  Hurray! 

In other news…I also want to wear a crop top.  I know. Ewww.  But really, I have a good (read: self-indulgent) reason for it!  I want to be able to show off my high rise pants.  Which brings us to…

FACT #3: Even skinny girls don’t look great in crop tops when they sit down.  Just think about it.  It is the tummy equivalent of sitting down in shorts and watching your thighs spread, except this time all of your fat or skin gets pushed upward creating a little roll just above your pant line.  Sexy, right?  Wrong.  Oh so wrong.  However, crop tops are back with a vengeance this summer, and I am having crop top envy.  Not because I really really want to have my tummy roll on display (surprisingly), but because I want my pants on display.  I’ve been loving high waist pants for some time now, but the effect is sometimes not seen because you have to either tuck your shirt in and ruin the line of the pants, or cover up the top of the pants, rendering the high rise pointless. 

Suddenly, an idea struck.  Crop tops are the answer!  However, a slim crop top with a slim pant is not for me.  My formula: wide crop top with high rise pants= amazing, even (or should I say especially?) on curvy little me.  Of course, this is only a theory and might actually be horrible.  Only time will tell when I have time to make this look and try it out. 

I also like the idea of these slim crop tops with full skirts.  It's all about playing with proportions:

But I still have none of these things yet.  So, in the meantime, I can only dream of rocking my adult onesies and too short shirts with mom jeans with hungry anticipation of fatuousness.  Aww fashion.  One day you are in, and the next day you look like a crazy lady-baby out for a stroll. 

Two Etsy Skirts, and a Custom Dress

Hopefully I’ll be back to my old blog writing self soon, but in the meantime, I did want to share a sneak peak of two more of the skirts I will be offering on my Etsy site.  Whoo hoo!  I will be charging $45 for the unlined versions, or you have the option of getting a lined version for $65.  Both options come with side pockets, and will be custom made. 

Side note: If I have posted anything on this blog that I have labeled as being made for my Etsy shop and you want it, please contact me!  I have a limited quantity of each fabric.  As of now, the Etsy shop will be opening in late August so that I have time to finish up a few friend custom orders, such as this one for my friend Kimmi. 

Isn’t it lovely?  It needs about another day’s work before it is finished, but I can’t wait to see how it comes out!  I’d love to be able to offer custom made dresses like this on my site in the future.  For now, and the start of my Etsy shop, I am charging $10 per hour of work, plus the cost of materials, which is really a pretty awesome deal.  The “Sale” items will be listed for much lower prices, starting at around $15. 

Also, I have my first plus sized volunteer, so I might be able to carry plus sizes in the future as well.  Yay!  I can’t wait to get started. 

A Tale of Two Dresses: Brocade Edition

I got this beautiful brocade fabric while I was in NY, and I knew it was destined for greatness.  The color is just to die for, not to mention the fact that brocade is just the dreamiest fabric in the world to begin with. 

first , I ended up making this dress for me:

Dress front

Close up of front of dress

Isn’t it fabulous?  I actually made this dress quite a while ago, but brocade is not a summer friendly fabric (too hot-it doesn't breath!), so it has been sadly waiting in my closet for Fall to return.  I made it out of a mismatch of basic patterns, and created my own sleeve.  I also created my own interfacing, and finished it with bias tape since I wanted to make this dress unlined.  I really love how it came out and I can’t wait to wear it! 

 Secondly, I made this dress for my sis.  It is a very basic fitted dress, and it fits her like a dream!  I lined this dress since it was so skin tight.  I used a very light weight sea foam colored material for the lining. 

Front of dress

Back of dress

Close up of back detail

These dresses are a lovely example of how simple tweaks can really alter a dress completely.  While my dress is fun and cute, my sister's is a bit more glamorous and classy.  I really love how much of an art sewing can be and how much of yourself you can put into it. 

And now for my dilemma.  I have so many ideas right now, I can’t stick to just one project and instead keep starting and stopping!  I have a whole new Fall wardrobe created in my head, and I haven’t even gotten to wear my newest summer creations yet, or posted photos of all of my new dresses here!  It is a problem.  Not to mention all of my projects for my Etsy site!  I am also toying with the idea of making some ready to wear dresses to add to my site along with my custom skirts.  So much sewing so little time!  Sewing really has become a major passion (some might say addiction) in my life.  I am going to try to force myself this weekend to do some organizing and some prioritizing so that I can get my head around how to accomplish everything I want to accomplish sewing wise this year.  Those who know me know that organizing and prioritizing aren't two of my favorite words, but practicing self-discipline is good for you I have been told. 

Crohns sucks…In other news, sewing is still fun.

Hi friends!  Anyone miss me around the blogosphere?  My Crohns disease has been kicking my butt lately and I have been too sick to be very interested in writing or taking photos, but that doesn't mean I haven’t been busy sewing!  In fact, being home bound means that I have had nothing better to do than a lot of sewing while watching insane amounts of Project Runway. 

So, since I haven’t been in photo shoot mode, I ended up just taking a few photos of some of the projects that I have been working on for Etsy, as well as a few personal projects.  Let’s start with Etsy.  All of these items will soon be available in my shop (opening later this month), among other things.

Nightgown front

 

Nightgown back

Nightgown front

Nightgown back

Wool Bermuda shorts

Cotton top

Skirt sample

Top

Hopefully I’ll get back my grove soon, but in the meantime, I am not letting this disease kill my spirit or my creativity.  In the words of Tim Gunn- I’m gonna “make it work!”  Yes, maybe it’s time to turn off the Project Runway for a while…Psych! Never!!!!

 

My newest dress- my own design!

 Please forgive these photos- glamour shots they are not.  My Crohns has been acting up lately, so I have been spending a lot of days at home with nothing to do but rest and sew.  Sunday was one such day, where I did not shower or leave the house.  Depressing, unless you realize that I spent most of that day watching Project Runway and making this amazing dress.  Win! So, un-showered and sick as I was, I still made my husband take these photos of me to show off this awesome dress and decided to share them with you in case I never end up taking better ones. 

This is the same cotton fabric that I used for my Etsy skirt.  I love this fabric so much I can hardly stand it.  I added chiffon flowers and a bright green zipper down the back.  It is intentionally unlined so that it will be a little lighter and breezier for summer.  I decided that since this dress is totally my own design, it is the first part of my “Summer Collection”!  Yes, I have been watching too much project runway, but pretending that I have my own Collection is fun times.  I also have a full Fall Collection planned.  Watch out!  Too much awesomeness to be contained. 

This dress has been living in my imagination for some time, and it came out perfectly as imagined.  I used nothing but a basic sloper pattern to make this.   Slopers are the basis for most patterns and clothes.  They are very basic pattern pieces that designers and pattern makers use as a base for their designs, to help them get the sizing right.   I bought a set of slopers so that I could continue to work on my own designs for myself, as well as possible designs for Etsy. 

I have a few more designs in the works that I am really excited about.  I can’t wait to show my whole collection here!  I wish I could make more hours in the day, because I will never be able to make everything I want to make, and the list only gets longer, not shorter! 

So, I was wondering something.  I bought slopers into the plus sizes so I could possibly make dresses like this one for my Etsy site for plus sized ladies. Plus sized friends (I really wish there was a better term to use!  Is there?), would you be interested in fitted dresses like this one?  Why or why not?  Any fit issues I should be aware of?  Your help would be greatly appreciated!     

Stay tuned for the rest of my Summer Collection coming soon!  I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait!!!!

June Hair: Growing out the pixie month Seven

A little late posting this, as June is now over (can you believe it???) but here is my seven month update on growing out my pixie haircut.  Shesh, time is going by too fast.  On the plus side, my hair is finally just a little past where it was eight months ago before I cut my last pixie haircut ever (I mean it this time!) to get rid of all of the blond bleach.  By late this month, I will be able to do small pigtails, and by August, I think I will be able to do a dinky little pony tail.  Whoo hoo! 

Here I am in early June:

And me in mid June:

And most recently, in late June at my favorite local bakery:

 To be honest, I think my hair looks pretty nice at this length, but I miss the ease of my cropped hair a bit.  Sadly, in order to not look like a horrible slob, blow drying after washing has become a necessity that I feel quite bitter about.  With very short hair, you just have to shower, run some product through your hair and go, and you look totally styled.  If I wanted to get really crazy, I would just slap on a headband. Pixie cuts look chic without even trying.

BUT, the good thing is that I can now go a day between washes, and although it doesn't always look great, it looks better than wash and go hair at this point.  When your hair is supper short, you have to wash it every day because it looks absolutely crazy when you wake up.  So, I lost a the battle of the blow dryer, but won the battle of being able to leave the house with dirty hair.  Yes, my life is one endless journey to figure out how to be as lazy as possible with my maintenance.  Seriously, I should re-name this blog “Adventures in Laziness”.  Don’t steal that, I’m pretty sure there is a book deal somewhere in there for me.  I am still holding out hope that when my hair is past my shoulders I will be able to wash it, put it up in chopsticks and go, or leave the house with a ponytail if my hair is greasy.  Yes, someday I may be able to be even lazier than I am now, and that thought makes me so, so happy. 

But wait!  A new revolution in hair care laziness has come, and it is glorious.  Today I tried using baby powder as dry shampoo for the first time with great results.  My hair actually looks and smells clean!  Hahaha world!  I tricked you again!  In case you want to learn from the Yoda of laziness (that’s me!), here is how you do it:  sprinkle baby powder as close to the roots of your hair as possible.  Leave it on while you bathe (bathing is the easiest way to keep your hair from getting wet, but I’m sure you could also use a shower cap if you are a bath hater), and then brush it all out when you get out.  I used A LOT of powder, which was too much, but did show me what I would look like with white hair (rocked it!).  Even though I looked like an olden timesy judge when I was done powdering, it still all brushed out, it just took a while.  Today, my hair looks pretty darn fresh, and not at all greasy which is a win.  I finally beat the system.  Whahahah!  I recommend this cheap and easy method of laziness whole heartedly.  :)

And lastly, here is one of the last shots of my blonde hair before it started to feel like rubber bird feathers and I had to hack it off.  Sometimes I still miss the blonde, but it was a totally one-time thing, and I won't be going there again.  I'm still glad I did it once though!  :)