[ click for a larger view. ]
This is a bit surprising as I don’t consider myself a hat gal (not like a certain fantastic lady!), but lately they have been occupying quite a bit of my imagination and sketchbook. Not just the errant hat doodle I shoved in the corner of a page, but entire pages of ideas and jotted down notes. That, my friends, is when you know it’s moved from a “one day project” to a “very soon project”. It means I’m slowly girding up my courage to venture into a heretofore unexplored area!
Which, isn’t quite the truth of the matter. I took a millinery class years ago–I think it was after I finished high school. The class was held at a local fabric store, and focused on learning how to block felt forms. I found it fascinating and fell in love with it straightaway. My teacher’s enthusiasm was catching too, and I spent much of the day dreaming about how I’d like to make hats! Except for the one little catch: blocking tools (forms, steamers, etc.) are notoriously expensive. So obviously that didn’t happen. lol! But I’ve kept a keen interest in the art of millinery, even though I haven’t been actively involved in it (nor it seems an avid hat-wearer).
[ click for a larger view. ]
I spotted an adorable little hat on Ebay a few weeks ago. I think it was from the 50s, although there was no date on it. But it was a pretty basic style: a shallow pillbox with felt flowers are the front and sides of the hat. I decided to make it in black like the original (mostly because that was the only color of felt I had enough of!), but embellished the flowers with black sequins and gunmetal gray beads when I attached them. I think it makes it look a bit glamorous! For basic construction ideas of how to put this together, I referenced this Threadbanger video. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to post the little pattern pieces for the flowers…
[ click for outfit details. also a side view of my hairdo if you're interested! ]
I’m quite happy with how this looks, although I feel a bit funny wearing a felt hat when it’s still in the dead of summer here. So I think it’ll get more outfit-time once the temperatures drop a bit. In this collage I’m also wearing a skirt I made from a vintage pattern last week. I had to do a bit of wrangling with this one, as the lovely “waistband” that drew me to the pattern in the first place, wasn’t a proper waistband at all! Instead it was a separate belt, so I adjusted it so it was a waistband. (Less pieces to loose. lol!) I made it out of a cotton jacquard weave, which I at first thought was a floral design when I purchased it but was a rather geometric pattern instead. But no matter–it still looks suitable for the pattern!
Whew–enough rambling! lol. I hope you all are having a lovely Wednesday!
August 12, 2009 ·
43 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: creativity, outfits, sewing
[ click for a larger view. ]
Last week I bought a beautiful piece of lavender, windowpane check fabric from Chelsea. I knew right away when I spotted it for sale that it was just the thing for a 30s or 40s style day dress! Something that I could wear while doing chores around the house or if I had to run errands, and just throw in the washing machine when needed (I hand wash a lot of my vintage pieces). A nice, shirtwaist inspired dress. Or maybe I’ll make a 30s inspired afternoon dress; such as the pattern in the photo above (sent by my lovely friend Anna a while back!). I’m still stuck on the actual design: do I want to draft something, use what I have, or buy a “new” vintage pattern? Decisions! hehe!
This post is a bit small because I’m prepping a much bigger post tomorrow with particulars on something I made last Friday! It’s exciting, I promise. hehe! Until then, you might want to feast your eyes on this inspiring post (found via the Craft blog)!
August 11, 2009 ·
18 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: creativity
[ click for a larger view. ]
… it’s just nice to pull out my colored pencils and outlining markers. Go through all the images on my computer and just sketch.
Creativity is a funny creature. Sometimes it likes to play nice and give you oh-so-many lovely ideas and motivations. Other times it goes to hibernate and hangs a big ol’ “do not disturb” sign on it’s door. This year has been a huge growing period for me in understanding how my creativity works, that it sometimes goes into remission and that it’s okay to give it a rest to recharge. For long periods of time I’ve been uninspired by my ideas. I’m grateful to my sister especially (who is another creative soul) for encouraging me to keep doing things, even though I felt the ideas were sub-par. Not to let it go completely, but to gently cultivate it even though there wasn’t much to cultivate.
It actually wasn’t until quite recently that things started to feel less forced and more like the way I remember them. I finally finished the sketchbook I started in January (I usually go through 2-3 big sketchbooks a year). I had been picking out sewing projects that inspired me and also were useful to fill gaps in my wardrobe. I gave myself “permission” to just create something if it caught my eye (and I had the time to do so). Even seemingly mundane, daily tasks like doing my hair or makeup I tried to view through the lens of being creative in a small way. Infusing that sense of wonder and excitement back into the littlest things was important.
[ click for a larger view. ]
I know many others go through dry periods too (whether or not you are “creative” in the art sense, or your talents lie in another area!). We all hit bumps in life that throw us a bit harder than we expected and sometimes it isn’t as easy as getting back up right away and dusting ourselves off. Sometimes you just need to lie still and heal a bit. I’ve come to realize that that’s okay and not to censure myself for feeling any less than 100% creative. But to enjoy and be thankful for it when it’s there.
Have you ever been through a “creative dry spell”?
August 10, 2009 ·
37 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: art, musings
[ click for a larger view of these wonderful images & sources! ]
I can’t believe we’re already one week into August… wait, didn’t I just say something similar about the end of July last week?! Time is running far too fast in this latter part of 2009. Wait, wait! Come back Year! hehe! Aside from my reoccurring alarms at the pace of time, I do have an important question for you this week. I’ve been doing a lot of “blog brainstorming” this week, and one thing that I’d like to know is do you enjoy the inspiration week posts on Fridays? Would you like more links, pictures, or musings? (I have been toying with the idea of expanding this weekly post a bit… some weeks it looks a bit bare to me! lol) Or is it fine as-is? If you would be so kind as to weigh in with your thoughts, I’d love to read your feedback!
- How to make an utterly gorgeous silk lotus flower (these would be perfect pinned to a cardigan!).
- I get asked a lot about short bangs in the 40s, and finally found a helpful resource for just that!
- Wasp Waists and Wiggle Skirts has been posting a vintage knitting pattern every day this week–be sure to go take a peek!
- Loads of lovely fashion sketches and ispiration from 1938.
- Have you checked out Millie Mott’s Flickr sets? I’ve been browsing through them this week and it’s chock-full of fashion inspiration!
[ a trio of scrumptiously hued dresses from April 1950. be sure to click for a large view! ]
My weekend plans revolve around grocery shopping, replying to some very lovely emails, grilling some yummy meals with my Sailor Husband, and possibly going to the movies (Sailor Husband has been excited for months about the GI Joe movie, and so this weekend is a big deal for him!). Hemming a skirt is also in order… I’m so awful about procrastinating with hemming sometimes, I’ve been trying to be more disciplined and hem soon after I finish the major construction, rather than letting it go to the “finishing pile” (a.k.a. it’ll get done in six months pile). hehe!
I hope you have a lovely weekend, dear friends!
August 7, 2009 ·
31 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: vintage inspiration, weekly inspiration
