To Los Angeles and Back!

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We had an absolutely wonderful time in Southern Cali last weekend. The weather held up beautifully, and it was great seeing the family. We managed some thrift-store shopping and managed to get to a fabric store. Michael Levines, to be specific. It was thrilling. And horribly (wonderfully??) overwhelming. I've never seen so much fabric in one place. Yes, Britex IS amazing, and so very much fun to visit. One just needs to have a lot of $$$$ to get anything worth while there. Their fabric is WAY on the expensive side. At least if you want anything nice for clothing. And their quilting cotton fabrics aren't as wonderful as say, Eddie's Quilting Bee.

Not that I'm suggesting one works for Eddie's. Just go be a customer. It's better for one's health. ;)

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At any rate, Michael Levines was amazingly awesome. Check them out if you're ever in the Fashion District of Los Angeles. You'll be happy you did. I certainly was. And thank you, dear sister-in-law for putting up with the time it took to find my lovely fabric. It was very nice of you! :D

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Speaking of fabric--and I actually was--I did manage some finds. The three I'll show you are all for my "top-secret" Isabella Dress. Which I will be showing/talking about very soon. Guess it's really not too much of a secret though, right? Ah well. C'est la vie!

All three fabrics are cotton voiles. I absolutely love working with them. I, of course, need to line them, though. The first dress I made with a voile I lined with a cotton lawn. And that worked beautifully. So I'll probably go ahead and do that with these three, as well. And now, without further ado...drum-roll, please!!

I love the lacy leaves on this one. And the little butterflies. And even though you can't see them in this photo, there are teensy-weensy little-tiny ladybugs throughout the print. It's going to make a great dress. I will most likely line it in white cotton voile.

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This one sort of speaks for itself. It's pretty basic, but the red is fantastic. It's just a good over-all floral print. And will definitely make a good dress; also lined in white cotton lawn. I will more than likely purchase the cotton lawn from Dharma Trading Co. It's where the lining fabric for the original dress was purchased. I think because it's PFD (prepared for dying) it's probably the best quality I can find--that I can afford.

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Now here's my last purchase, but most certainly not my least. I'm a Asian fabric addict. I absolutely love anything asian. The history--especially Japanese textile history. The fashion and the people. And I'm about as "white" as they come. Born in the U.S.--Scottsdale, AZ, to be precise to a couple from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So, to make up for this "heritage" I soak up anything and everything Asian. Hence the fabric above. It's lovely. And the only way I'm going to be able to sell it to someone--as opposed to keeping it to myself--is if I know they'll love it as much as I do. It'll be hard. Yeah.

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So...The rest of the fabric purchases were much less exciting, but not at all less wonderful. They just won't photograph well, so I won't be posting pictures. I purchased two different single knits, each one for my husband. He's commisioning a couple of t-shirts. See, he's 6'6" tall...very tall, actually. And it's nearly impossible--without an exhaustive search--to find t-shirts that fit him well. So, I make them. The first ones I made, though, are starting to not fit him anymore (they're shrinking a bit), so it's time for some new ones. We found a red-y, chocolatey brown, and a drab olive green. They'll both look good on him, so there ya go!

Oh! And I also purchased a 1/4 yard of black cotton voile to repair a dress I've had for about four years. It was eaten by a rose bush at my mother-in-law's a while ago, and I'm just getting around to fixing it. I hate mending. In fact, I hate it so much, I will actually pay someone to do something I'm perfectly capable of doing. Go figure. I'd rather make myself a new outfit/ensemble than repair/mend one I already have. Even if it's something I love. I'm pretty pathetic some times. ;)

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Alright, then. I think that's it for this post. I'm still working on the dresses from the last post. Well, I'm working on one of them, really. So, maybe tomorrow you'll get to see photos. Hope so! I'm super excited to show them off.

Have a great Thursday night, everyone!

au revoir,
~j.b.

The Dread Pirate Roberts...or Beverly's, whatever!

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I'm making dresses! Two, to be specific. They're for this weekend, for a trip to L.A. to visit my sister-in-law and her husband. Apparently, it's just as hot there as it is up here in Northern Cali, so I need cool (temp-wise, not style-wise) clothing to wear, and currently, I have a dress. Well, two if you count the almost dress/shirt I've been wearing for three days. I think I should wash that before I go!!

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One dress is from McCall's--it's the infamous wrap dress from the '50's. I've made it twice before. Neither of which fit me currently. One's way too small, the other, not too big, but just big enough where it doesn't look that great.

The other pattern, Simplicity # 2615--view B with some alterations-- I purchased from the dread Beverly's. But I loved the dresses and the tops. Not too keen on the elastic-waisted pants, but I may make them up to wear until I drop some weight. No sense in not having nice clothing to wear, even when I am heavier than I'd like to be! I just need to find the right fabric for the pants. Something linen-y, I'm thinking. :D


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Now, the fabric for these two lovelies I also purchased at Beverly's. Mostly because it's the only fabric store here at my mom's house, where I am currently taking care of my mom while she convalesces with a nasty malady of some sort or another.

*As an aside, that was a really long sentence. Sorry.

I didn't have too much to choose from--at Beverly's--as far as the fabric went. And I didn't really have anything in my stash that would work well for either dress. Not to mention, I didn't have the yardage needed for either dress. The McCall's pattern takes over 4 yards, I believe.

I did manage to find the perfect fabrics for each project, though. I believe I found the only pimatex Beverly's currently--or ever--had in stock. It's gorgeous! And I just love the way pimas feel. It's just a simple white fabric with a vine-y flower-y type print in a beautiful chocolate brown. I had to get the contrast in Kona, though. I typically don't enjoy mashing different textured cottons together in one ensemble. But the brown was a nearly perfect match, so I went with it. Plus, it is Beverly's. Enough said.

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Now, for the wrap dress. The first incarnation of this beauty was very traditional. I used a minty green cotton with little flowers all over it, and trimmed it with red bias binding. It was quite beautiful in it's simplicity, and even more so for being my first dress--this was 10 years ago, by the way. The second rendition was very modern, being made from a slightly metalic--shiny white, actually--leopard print quilting cotton, with the upper back and full skirt made from a stunning red Japanese print with large cranes on it.

Take 3--

For the third, but certainly not the last incarnation of one of my favorite dresses of all time, I decided to take it back to its roots. I'm going with red and white gingham, lined--because the fabric's super sheer--with a solid red. I'm even using a 60-40 poly-cotton blend. Not my first choice, but come on...Beverly's! And it was cheap! The gingham was $4.99/yard and the solid was $3.99/yard. Couldn't beat it...not with a stick! I'm using--again--red bias binding to finish the edges again, as well. I'm super excited.

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So, there's the projects for this week. Hopefully I won't be hand-sewing on the bias on my drive down L.A. But then again, why waste a lovely long drive? :D

I'll try to get some pics of my actually wearing the dresses--not at the same time, mind you--when I get home on Monday. Until then, have a happy Tuesday, and enjoy the heat--if it's hot where you are. And try to stay as cool--style wise, of course--as possible!

au revoir,
~j.b.

bags and such...

Okay, here I go again. For the last time, mind you. I am going to give this--the blog thing--one last try. If I can't muster up the time and energy to do it this time, then I'm done. Period. End of story. My story, at least. I'll leave the annals of history to others.

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With that said, where to start? Ah, I'm making bags. For my etsy shop. (www.modcouture.etsy.com) And for my artFire shop (www.modcouture.artfire.com). Are we seeing a theme here? I should say so.


At any rate, I've just finished the prototype for my first bag today. It's actually a messenger-type bag I designed about ten years ago. Didn't think too much of it then, but just the other week, I decided I needed something to make. So, I opted for making another bag--the original is completely falling apart. Then the idea struck me! Like a ton of...fabric? I should make these messenger bags and sell them. So, fast forward a couple of weeks--I had issues with the lining--and voila! We have a cute, skull-and-crossbone encrusted bag. Corduroy, too. And pink.

I know, completely girly and horrible. But it is so cute. And I just had to have the fabric when I found it at work**.

*an aside: yes i work at a fabric store. no i don't really bring home a decent paycheck-but it has nothing to do with how much i get paid. yes the job basically pays for my fabric/pattern-habit.
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Anyway (and you'll notice, I "say" that a lot)...back to the bags. I will start working on the real ones this afternoon--if the flu doesn't rule my day. And I will try to post pictures of my work in progress. Wish me the best of luck on this, as I'm not very good with the picture taking thing. Ah well, we all have to start somewhere.

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Well, I think this is it for now. Feel free to check out my store-fronts as there's nothing in them yet. And be the first to own one of my very special made skeleton bags! I'm sure they'll be the best skeleton in your closet...?? Yeah, I know...that was sad. :(

au revoir,
~j.b.