(Some Literal) Navel Gazing

I've got to admit it: I've been struggling for some time now with blogging. Not really with the why of it, but the how.

Sometime in the past two months -- I'm not sure when exactly it happened -- I stopped reading other blogs regularly so I no longer feel much inspiration to share. Sometimes, it's like I don't even know how to put together a post. But this is probably what happened: I quit sewing temporarily at the start of summer because I needed to make sure the house was always ready for guests during our swim lessons here. Then my regular reading of sewing blogs petered out since I wasn't quite as interested anymore. But because I'm a voracious reader, that reading vacuum was filled by news and political editorials as well as a return to my large TBR piles of genre novels. (And thanks to that, I haven't slept well since June.) I'm not really interested in doing book reviews here, however, nor do I see this as a space to rant and rave on politics.

The end result is that I don't have anything to post about on a regular basis. Sure, you've gotten vacation photos and you know about my Fluevog visits/binges. But nothing regular like when I'd have a sewing project done every couple of weeks. I don't even take outfit photos that much anymore because I don't dress up that much. It's just too hot! (Also, no weddings or new babies this year.) And when I do take photos, it's like I've forgotten how to pose -- not that I ever really knew how, but I used to feel more comfortable in front of the camera.

Now that my kid has started kindergarten, I'd like to get back into sewing a bit. There's so much else to do, though, like going back to my dissertation, volunteering at my kid's classroom, and continuing with yoga. Did I tell you I've been doing yoga for the past month? Just once a week, but so far so good. I do it with friends, which is nice. I stopped singing lessons at the beginning of this month because of the stress of dealing with the fallout of my husband's car accident and of preparing for the beginning of the school year. For me, yoga is way better than singing lessons for de-stressing.

I'm hoping the coming fall season will bring back some inspiration. As a weekly classroom volunteer, I might start wearing some of my dresses to school. My son goes to a uniform-policy school, so all of the teachers wear pretty nice outfits everyday. It would be a good opportunity to dress up. :-)

As for sewing, I have a project that I'd like to start and finish this week. If I manage to complete it, I'll take some pics and blog about it.

Finally, here are a couple of outfits I wore recently.

Romper: Prim I Am via ModCloth | Shoes: TOMS via Zulily

The romper was worn to a ladies' night out; we watched the 1980s film Dirty Dancing -- a little cheesy but truly one of the most romantic movies EVER -- for the local movie theater's Classics Series. I still have that famous last song and dance on the brain, "(I've Had the) Time of My Life." The film depicts the early Sixties with the characters wearing some gorgeous resort wear with a Fifties feel. The high-waisted bottom of my romper was appropriate, but not the loose top, and overall the outfit looks Seventies instead. Oh well. At least I finally wore the romper in public; it's been over a year since I bought it. It's actually quite comfortable, good for lounging around at home, but I'm laughing a little in the photo because I know it looks dorky (and I felt dorky wearing it, plus I didn't like the shoes. Not that comfy. I'm not a TOMS fan, I must say).

Top: Freebird via ModCloth | Skirt: Old Navy | Shoes: Fluevog Amie via Amazon

This brown, beige, and cream outfit is something you may remember from my trip to Hawai'i last October. I wore it again for a kid birthday party in the park, this time with Fluevog flats. It was appropriately loose and comfortable for a warm, humid day in Long Beach. No doubt I was remembering the heat and humidity of Hawai'i when I was putting the outfit together. 100% cotton is always a good choice for that kind of weather.

xo, Gladys

What to Wear this Summer: Shoes Edition

It's not just clothes that languish unworn in my closet; it's shoes as well. I've been known to buy beautiful Fluevogs and never wear them, or wear them only once.

(Don't worry -- I've since sold most of my unworn Vogs on the FlueMarket. The shoes simply didn't fit me as well as I wanted, and I knew they needed to go to someone who could love them and wear them as they deserved. I'm glad they found good homes.)

I have a couple of non-Fluevogs that need some love as well. This summer, I plan to wear all of these out at least once, and hopefully more often to break them in properly. I'd love to match them up with some of the unworn clothes from the last post.

Cat heels via ModCloth. Of course I couldn't pass these up when they went on sale, especially when the color scheme matches my real-life cat's. I wish they were comfy enough to dance in, but they'll need to be broken in properly first. Aren't they adorable?

I bought these also on sale from ModCloth when I thought I needed huge platform espadrilles last summer. It turns out no, I didn't need them, and they're a little tall for me. But at least the straps are soft and I won't have to worry about ruining them if I take them to the beach or something.

Fluevog Wearever: Hvala. I bought these when they went on sale at Fluevog around spring 2011. I know, TWO years ago! I got them stretched at the Melrose store and wore them that day, but not since. I don't count that day since I didn't actually wear them anywhere but to go home.

Fluevog F-Shoe: Cece. I bought these on a whim for International Fluevog Day in 2011. I was following the No Pants blog at the time, and Amber wore her Ceces and other kickass Fluevog boots with such flair, pairing them with amazing skirts and dresses, that I thought I wanted to do the same thing. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a boots person when it gets as hot as it does in the summer here. I didn't wear them later in the fall or winter, either, since I kind of forgot about my inspiration for buying them in the first place. But if I make a visit to the Bay Area later this summer as I hope to, I'll bring these boots with me. Bay Area summers are so much milder than Southern California summers. [ETA: I never made it to the Bay Area this summer, and I've decided to put these up on the FlueMarket. Sigh.]

Fluevog Wonder: Everest. (Ivory/black colorway in size 6.5 and size 11 still available.) I bought these when they went on sale at Amazon a couple of years ago. I wore them for a nonprofessional "fashion shoot" I did with my dear friend M, but never actually wore them out since then. These would make great dancing shoes, don't you think? I'll try to wear them to the next contra dance I go to.

Fluevog Frontier: Danielson. This was another pair of whim shoes, bought when I visited the Fluevog store at the Haight last spring 2012. For some reason I haven't put together an outfit for these beauties. After recently watching the biopic on famous autistic scientist and professor, Temple Grandin, I'm inspired to wear cowboy-themed stuff. These are saddle shoes, right? I'd like to wear these 1950s style, with capris or pencil (cigarette) pants.

Fluevog Attention: Paris. I bought these relatively recently, just earlier this year, to fill a gap in my shoe collection. I don't have any classic pumps (most of my heels are maryjanes), and I thought these black suede would be perfect. I think they'd be superb with a couple of the fancier dresses in my clothes-to-wear list. Now I just have to wait for someone to invite me to a wedding or a show!

xo, Gladys

What to Wear this Summer: Clothes Edition

Happy June, everyone! Summer is almost here, can you believe it?! It's going to be another busy summer. We're going on vacation once my baby "graduates" from preschool, then it's time once again for regular swimming lessons and casual swim parties. Add in the usual summer birthday parties and barbecues, and the season will rush by like it did last year.

This summer, I also want to make sure that I put more of my clothing in rotation. I am ashamed to admit that I have more than a few pieces in my closet that I have not yet worn, most of them bought last year or even two years ago. How did that happen? Well, for one thing I've been wearing a boring uniform of jeans and knit tops during this past fall and spring, since all I did was drop off and pick up my son from school. It's also because I bought stuff on sale, which usually meant that they came to me at the tail-end of the season they were meant to be worn in. Or I bought clothes that needed to be altered in some way -- new buttons for that one, this other one needs shorter sleeves -- and by the time I got around to the alteration, the season for their wear was past. Yet another reason was that I bought more special-occasion dresses than I needed, especially last year. (Jeez, I got tired just writing all that out!) Thankfully, I've been A LOT better at controlling my shopping habits this year so far, and when I have bought clothes I wore them almost right away.

That still leaves the stuff I haven't worn yet, some of them so gorgeous that it's truly a shame they've never seen the light of day. Well, here, I'm going to promise to wear these particular pieces by the end of summer. A few nights of dancing with friends, a trip to a beach town, and maybe a visit to a nice teahouse should fit the bill for some of the dresses, although a couple are begging for extra-special events to wear them to. (I also hope I can still fit into these clothes again. Swimming and regular exercise, here I come!)

Finally, I plan to donate or sell the pieces (worn and never worn) that no longer fit either my body or my style. It's time to clear out my closet. It's getting scary in there.

Via Modcloth

1 Emily and Fin (exact) | 2 Sugarhill Boutique (brand)

3 Aryeh (floral pattern) | 4 unknown

5 Moon Collection

Via Amazon, Anthropologie, Patagonia, and miscellaneous

xo, Gladys

Pattern Haul

A few weeks ago, I received an exciting package in the mail, full of the sewing patterns I bought from Butterick and McCall during their recent sale. I'm pretty sure I won't get to all of them anytime soon, but a girl can dream ... and be inspired. My new patterns include lovely retro styles, something to make for my little guy, and even yoga pants!

Speaking of activewear, I have something really exciting cooking up for the blog. If you wear a U.S. size Small* in tops and/or bottoms (not petite sizing), then I've got a GIVEAWAY you might like. :-) Come back early next week and I'll have the details.

Retro style and vintage

Classic pieces

For my son and all of his younger boy cousins

Some activewear -- an attempt to motivate myself for the coming warm seasons

xo, Gladys

* U.S. Small in tops: 34" bust; Small in bottoms: 26.5" waist and 37" hips.

Party Ideas

My son's 5th birthday is coming up in less than a month and we're still trying to figure out the theme. Superheroes? Dinosaurs? Crafts? Spring and the outdoors? One of his classmates just had a Lego birthday recently or it would have been our first choice. Of course we might just rehash it. Our kid lives and breathes Legos on a daily basis. Last year we had two parties, two piñatas, and two themes (Lego Star Wars and Mickey Mouse). This year, I feel burned out. My husband says we should just do a "generic" party theme -- bright colors, balloons, and a cake. I'm thinking maybe we should also add lots of prizes so that every kid goes home with a prize that they won (maybe instead of the usual party favor bags).

Anyway, all I know for sure is that we're having cupcakes AND ice cream cake.

A very cool homemade cake from his classmate's Lego-themed birthday a couple of weeks ago

One of the coolest things I've seen in a while (except it's really expensive for a polyester shirt)

We saw this at Costco and were sorely tempted. Sometimes I think Costco will be the death of our family wallet. (Fluevog will be the death of my personal one.)

And here's a bonus photo of the kiddo with some friends:

Hanging out and contra dancing with a few of his closest friends

xo, Gladys

Sewing Inspiration: Enchantment under the Sea Dress

One of my goals this year is to finally make a dress for myself (my Halloween Regency dress doesn't count because I can't wear it more than once a year).

After buying Stitch Savvy: 25 Skill-Building Projects to Take Your Sewing Technique to the Next Level by Deborah Moebes of Whipstitch, I think I've found the perfect candidate. It will be great for spring and summer. I mean, look at it!

Granted, I'll probably make the option with the straps. After having a kid, my body just ain't built the way it used to be. ;-) This is made with regular quilting cotton, too, so it'll be something that won't stretch my limits too much but will still be lovely and fitted to my measurements. Looking forward to it!

xo, Gladys

Sewing To-Do

Uh-oh. Guess who splurged during a recent pattern sale? I'm pretty excited about these, actually. I'll be glad once my gift sewing is over for the month so that I can sew for me again. I haven't done that in quite a while. In fact, I want to learn how to sew more adult patterns and get more techniques under my belt so that I can start drafting patterns based on my own designs. (!) I finally want to say "Yes" whenever my family and friends ask if I made what I'm wearing. (How nice of them to assume that my handiwork would look in any way professional!)

Also, I seriously need to cut down my fabric stash. When I first started sewing last summer, I went a little crazy then as well and bought yards and yards of gorgeous fabric, thinking that I'd be making tons of skirts and possibly dresses for myself. Well, that didn't happen. I made skirts and I even made a halter dress as a gift, but all that lovely patterned cloth is still folded up in a box waiting for me to become a better sewer. Now I feel (almost) ready to take on making a dress for myself and ensuring the perfect fit. I even bought Sarah Veblen's Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting.

As for the rest, I got a bunch of really pretty flannel fabric on sale earlier this month and I think the flannel would work well as pajamas, or maybe even as a fun cloche.... I bought the Regency dress pattern because I've always wanted to wear something like that. Unfortunately it requires quite a bit of fabric and probably more skill than I currently have. If I try to make it for Halloween, I can use some cheap broadcloth to make a kind of wearable muslin as I practice the necessary techniques.... Getting excited about this!

xo, Gladys

Sewing Tutorials Roundup

If you're on Pinterest, you might have exponentially increased your to-do list like I have. Over the past couple of months, I've accumulated links to some awesome sewing tutorials that I want to try by the end of summer. Thought I'd share some of them here, in case you're in need of inspiration and encouragement during these "dog days." Just click on the photos to go to the tutorials.

I want to make these adorable newborn pants for my brother's twin boys who are due to be born in late September.

Here's another project I want to do for my twin nephews. I think I'll have to make two!

I love the idea of these fruit stripe skirts, and I'm thinking the watermelon skirt will be the first one I try.

Although I don't like the idea of cutting into perfectly good pillowcases, this tote bag made from a pillowcase would be great if I could find a pillowcase pattern that I really loved.

I'd like to try out this hemming/finishing method, called a lettuce hem, on a quick skirt using my sewing machine (no serger here).

This is a cute and free pattern + tutorial for a shirt or dress for a 12-18 month toddler (girl). I don't know any kids that age currently, but I'm going to make this anyway! I think I'll use two different fabrics for the circle neck and the body.

And finally, here are a couple of links to sewing roundups:

1) 10 easy skirt tutorials [for adults]

2) free patterns from Oliver + S!

Happy sewing!

xo, Gladys

PSA: Fluevog Summer Sale

Châtelet (Rules family) in green

My favorite Fluevog Shoes is having their semiannual (summer) sale starting TODAY. They have a very nice selection of the recent Spring 2012 and Fall 2011 styles at up to 60% off.

Just a friendly tip: prices usually drop further after a few weeks, so you can wait it out if you're willing to risk it. However, because certain styles (and sizes) are very popular and will go fast at the first hint of a discount, you might end up waiting too long.

Also, don't forget to check out their Clearance pages for your size. Note that Fluevog sizing can vary from style to style, so it's definitely worth contacting the friendly folks at any Fluevog store via email or phone for sizing concerns. Happy hunting!

xo, Gladys

A Little Blue

I wish I had an outfit post for today, but I won't lie, it's been a rough week. It's been a rough month, actually. I haven't had a free weekend in what feels like forever (maybe early April?), and I had an annoying project, not sewing- or craft-related, that I had to work on this week that took up way too much time and brain usage and stressed me out to boot.

Ever since I got back from my Bay Area trip, I also haven't been able to get a handle on cleaning the house. It's really difficult for me to clean when I have a pre-preschooler at home who doesn't have any other playmate but me. I already regularly ask him to "help" with preparing meals and with putting his toys away when the house looks like Toys R Us exploded inside it, but it took a long time for him to willingly to help out (yes, I have resorted to threatening to throw away any toys that aren't put in a box). It's only recently that I've also figured out that having him help with more-involved household chores is a form of teaching, especially now that he's four years old and a little more articulate and methodical in his reasoning. It keeps both of us engaged with each other while the chores actually get done -- maybe not well, but well enough. For instance, just last evening I had him help me clean all the toilets in the house. I put the cleaning liquid in the water and let it sit, then we both scrubbed the bowls with the toilet brush (kid hand over mama hand) and used disinfectant wipes on the rest of the toilet. It didn't take too long, moving from one bathroom to the next, and I felt really good about having cleaner bathrooms.

Then we played Harry Potter LEGO on the Wii for the next hour until it was bedtime.

There's plenty left in the house to do. Not only do we have to reduce the clutter and wipe everything down, we also have to contend with the fact that we're still not yet completely moved in. We're having family and friends over for BBQ and swimming on Memorial Day, and we have to hustle to get the whole house in decent shape again before then. The hubby is spending a lot of time making sure the pool and spa are safe to go in, and he's been working (successfully) on clearing out the garage. He'll have to deal with the BBQ on Monday as well. I'm sure Monday will be fun, as hanging out with family and friends almost always is. They're not the kind of folks who turn a critical, judgmental eye on our hosting skills. All the same, I want to clean the floors before they get here.

But I have to admit, I plan to savor this weekend even though we'll be up to our necks trying to finish our spring cleaning. In June, I have to go to baby showers three weekends in a row, and I'm helping put together two of them. Yikes! After the holiday, things will really be non-stop around here.

(/end navel-gazing and complaints) Anyway, I know these are "first world" problems and I'm a lucky person. I just wish I was more productive and able to do MORE with my time and resources. In fact, I wish I had been able to sew something and/or take a huge chunk out of my mountain of chores this past week instead of working on that annoying project. Thanks for reading to the end. More importantly, have a happy holiday weekend (if you're in the U.S.).

xo, Gladys

My Crafty Better Half: Fir Cone Square Shawl

A few months ago, I mentioned the large shawl that my husband knitted for his mother about eight or nine years ago (btw, I said it was Irish but it's actually a Scottish pattern). It is still lying in pride of place on a couch in her living room, never used and rarely touched. However, I asked to take photos of it so that we'd have a record of what it looks like. I want to share them with you here.

This is my 6-foot-tall father-in-law holding up the unfolded shawl. This gives you an idea of how large it really is.

As you can see, the pattern is very complicated. It's hard to imagine how someone, just a few months after learning how to knit, could put together such a huge and complex piece like this. But he prepared for it so methodically. He found the pattern he wanted -- the Fir Cone Square Shawl -- in a library book, Folk Shawls: Twenty-five Knitting Patterns and Tales from around the World by Cheryl Oberle. With some cheap yarn, he made test squares of the border and part of the body to make sure that he was doing the pattern properly. He had trouble at the corners but he figured out how to make the corrections himself. After that, he bought the expensive yarn that he wanted and he set to knitting, several hours a day while in the middle of looking for a job at the time.

It is a stunning work of art and craft. If he hadn't gotten a job that required us to move, we wouldn't have packed up all of our knitting needles and yarn, and he may have continued with his knitting and made more such pieces. At some point, I'd like to take up knitting with him again, and this time I'd ask him to help me choose more interesting patterns than a dinky little triangle shawl that I made over and over again with different cheap yarns. Geez, the difference between our knitting sensibilities was embarrassing. O.o

xo, Gladys

PSAs and Housekeeping

No outfit post today. Just some announcements and blog-housekeeping items.

1. SALE: My favorite shoemaker Fluevog is having their semi-yearly sale right now. Check their Clearance pages for your size as well. And if you like to make sure you get the best bargain possible, you can cross-check on Amazon to see if they have your size for a better price. (I did that and got my belated Xmas present from the hubby that way...blog post on that to come later! [EDIT: that post is here])
   
2. SALE: I mentioned this in the last post, but there is also a ModCloth clearance sale going on right now. The dresses that went on sale for $15 or less are mostly gone, but nicer-quality items that are now $20-50 can still be found. There is an Eva Franco dress on sale for $53, down from $175. It's beautiful, but I'm not getting it because it is just out of my price range, and I'm afraid that it's not my color.
3. BLOG: I just incorporated the LinkWithin widget, and it makes the blog ever-so-much more fun to navigate. Seriously.
4. BLOG: It's been on my mind for a while, but I'll be working on putting up a Links page that lists some of my favorite blogs and websites. I've just been too lazy to do it before now.
   
   Also, this is a little random, but my past couple of 30 for 30 outfit photos have been taken indoors, and I noticed that the photos are quite dark compared to my other photos. It's because I took them in the afternoon, when the sun has moved to the other side of the house. I guess I'll take photos in the morning, or move the other side of the house when I have to wait till the afternoon.

xo, Gladys

Holiday Challenge Update

I can't believe it's only one more day until the holiday weekend. I need more time! The house needs another top-to-bottom cleaning before Sunday when we will hold luncheon for both sides of the family. Granted, it's only nine guests, but it's still a big deal.

Also, I'm not done with my Holiday Challenge to make handmade presents for loved ones, challenge being the operative word. I've only finished two people's presents -- TWO! -- and I can't believe how long that took. The circle scarf (using this tutorial) is done, but some hair-pulling was involved due to the fact that the knit cloth I bought for it shrank in the wash. I honestly thought I was measuring wrong, and I turned the unwieldy cloth every which way over my ruled cutting mat. Eventually I just bit the bullet and sewed it, and thankfully it doesn't choke you when you double it around your neck; otherwise my brother would kill me if his new wife suffocated from wearing my present! And: it's quite cozy and warm!

The second thing I managed to finish was a lounge-shirt-and-pants set for my nephew, and really, that should count as two because each piece took forever to make. Or maybe they should count as a hundred because I was working with stretchy knit fabric that was pretty dang difficult to manage. There was crying involved, my friends. No joke: I actually broke down and cried. My lack of experience led to a lot of frustration particularly when making the pants. I couldn't figure out how to sew the inseam because the edges simply didn't match up. I thought there was something wrong with the pattern in the book I used, Sewing for Boys. Since my experience has mostly been with sewing skirts, I wasn't used to sewing the asymmetrical pieces together. Same thing with the shirt pattern that I made; how in the world was I supposed to sew together those curvy edges that didn't match??? Especially when it was supposed to be sewed with the same continuous seam allowance??? Let's just say that the seams on the inside are not pretty. So folks, when it says "Beginner" on various patterns in the book, don't believe it. The instructions aren't very thorough because most of the book is really not aimed at "beginners." So the things that stumped me -- all of the asymmetrical edges being sewed together -- weren't explained and no tips or tricks were offered. Honestly, you'd be better off with the various DIY tutorials online, usually on people's blogs...as I found out too late.

(If you're interested, here are three tutorials on making children's pants that I found. Lots of explanations and lots of photos to help you figure things out if the words aren't clear. One. Two. Three -- this last comes with a free pattern if you need it.)

Instead of sewing on a tag or doing nothing, I sewed these rosettes (rather, my machine sewed them) to indicate the backside of each piece. I think they're subtle but pretty.

I've got three more items to sew in the next couple of days, and at the rate I'm going, I'll probably still be sewing on Xmas day, when my family comes to visit. Obviously, there is no way I can finish all of the gifts I planned to make by then, so my friends' kids will simply have to wait until after Xmas to get their presents. That's actually the way it usually happens; I believe I'll stick to that particular tradition this year.

xo, Gladys

P.S. 30 for 30 outfit post coming up. Yes, I'm still doing that.