Vintage or just plain OLD?

I've made up my mind: my next project will be Simplicity 3873, a two-piece dress pattern from 1941.  (Sorry, Maria -- it's back to the convent for now.)

The plight of the vicarious shopper

As I mentioned yesterday, I spent Sunday afternoon with my Queens-dwelling doppelganger, the notorious Johanna.  Johanna will spend hours digging in the most claustrophobic, packed-to-the-gills fabric stores, and come out buying...bias tape.  I'm not kidding.  I think she is, like me, primarily a vicarious shopper (and much less blurry in real life, btw).

Oh, what a beautiful (Monday) mornin'

"There's a bright golden haze on the skyline, there's a bright golden haze on the skyline..." 

Happy Monday, everybody!  Hope you've had your morning coffee and are feeling chipper and cubicle-ready.

Chic Shirt Former Sheet of Shame!

 

Who would believe that just three days ago this garment was a discarded bed linen bearing the traces of unmentionable body fluids?

Meet the Bloggettes!

Yesterday I was thrilled to have lunch with those scribbling-and-sewing sweethearts, the Bloggettes!

Not for the squeamish -- with POLL

I saw this photo on Sartorialist yesterday and thought (as I often do): Why not me?

The hills are alive...

Readers, I have officially jumped the shark.

This pattern will soon be in my stash, thanks to an impulsive "Buy it Now" cursor click.  You can probably guess where I'm going with this...

Are you Polyvore-ous?

Well, are you?

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry: two days ago, I wouldn't have either.

Too. Many. Patterns.

You know how seeing five birds sitting on a telephone pole is charming but five hundred suddenly feels like an Alfred Hitchock movie?

Monday Week in Review and Goals

Good morning, everyone!

Spring has arrived at last, and with it all the new life and energy the season brings.  Let's harness some of that life force as we proceed with our sewing projects.

Cathy models the Joan Collins dress!

 

We couldn't have wished for a more glorious first day of Spring.

It was the perfect occasion for my cousin Cathy, still a little jet-lagged from her Paris-New York flight, to model my latest creation, McCall's 9037, the Joan Collins wrap dress.

Seams: The Inside Story

Little did I know when I started sewing that finishing seams was going to become something of a fetish for me -- as it is for so many of us, I suspect.

29 New Patterns -- Peter hits the eBay Motherlode!

OK, I know this borders on the excessive -- like I really need 29 more mens patterns, right?

Dynasty dress update w/ POLL

My Nolan Miller creation is almost done!  Still need to hem, understitch, add closures and shoulder pads, and accessorize (found those shoes at the Salvation Army on Tuesday -- perfect!).   

Do not tell your husband how to dress

I know many of you are wondering whatever happened to Michael's makeover (the one he'd asked for).

The Joan Collins dress

So I made a decision about what to sew next for Cathy!  (drum roll please)

 

Monday is Fun-day

Happy Monday, everybody!

First, I must share the magenta fedora I picked up at Goodwill yesterday and that has inspired my inner Sammy Davis, Jr..  I love a punchy accessory.

Rainy Sunday shorts

The shorts are done; I no longer have to wrap my legs in a tablecloth.

Just send them in already!

Ok, so I bought this yesterday on eBay.  I know, I know: it's a clown costume.

Peter's "Remembrance of Outfits Past"

THE FOLLOWING ENTRY MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE 

FOR SOME READERS

 
THOSE HIGHLY SENSITIVE TO THE PHYSICAL CHANGES WROUGHT BY PUBERTY THROUGH ADULTHOOD -- UP TO AND INCLUDING MIDDLE AGE* -- SHOULD CONSULT THEIR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN BEFORE READING FURTHER.

*INCLUDING RECEDING HAIRLINE, LOSS OF SKIN ELASTICITY,  AND GUM RECESSION

The Pajama Game

To go by current men's sewing patterns, you'd think most guys never left the house.  Based simply on the number of patterns out there, men wear bathrobes, pajamas, vests and, on holidays, a cumberbund. 

Where could you go in an outfit like that, besides 7-Eleven?

Sewcology 101

 

As someone interested in learning more about myself and what makes me tick, I'm always looking for new sources of insight that don't cost $175 per hour.

My bookshelves are crammed with titles like Who Are You, Really?, The New Personality Self-Portrait, and the rather academic Your Beautyscope.

The girl I want to be

OK, let's just get it all out in the open shall we?

When you're a man with a sewing blog and a glamorous identical cousin named Cathy -- people are going to make assumptions.

Monday week in review and goals!

Can it really be Monday again already?

This was a strange week for me: the purchase and arrival of my vintage Singer 15-91 sewing machine seemed to overshadow my sewing.  But I did sew some.

"Knit Wit" Giveaway Contest results WITH POLL!

 

Remember last Wednesday's "Knit Wit" Giveaway Contest?  Well results are in and we have a winner!

Sewing as protest

Since we live in a part of the world where clothes can be had relatively cheaply and few people are forced by economic necessity to make their own, why are we still doing it?

Peter speaks! The 15-91 sewing machine VIDEO!

I wanted to share this special moment with you, dear readers.  So I now present my first-ever Male Pattern Boldness video! 

Sit back, relax, and join me for an exciting adventure you won't forget, as I unpack and examine for the first time ever my new Singer 15-91 sewing machine!




Pretty cool, huh?

OMG, you guys -- it's here!

 

I wasn't expecting this till next week since I'd only won it on Monday.   My very first preemie!

Top 10 reasons to buy a vintage sewing machine

Not being a parent,  I can only imagine what it must be like to await the arrival of a child, an event long anticipated, something you've hoped and dreamed about.  It's unforgettable.

But readers, could it possibly be as exciting as hearing the doorbell ring, opening the door and having the UPS man drop off a vintage sewing machine?

My terrycloth shirt + "Knit Wit" GIVEAWAY Contest!

My shirt is done!

Let me say that terrycloth is a bitch to work with, pardon my French.  It combines all the worst qualities a fabric can have: it's thick, it stretches, and it's pillowy.  You can't iron it much either.  Need to rip a seam out?  Fuggitaboutit!  Actually, I exaggerate: I was able to open a few wonky seams, but invariably ripped out some loops as well which then required terrycloth re-landscaping to fix the damage.

"Reader, I married him."

And he should arrive next week via UPS -- the Singer 15-91 I won on eBay Monday afternoon.

I know, I know, I already have eight sewing machines (I don't include the sergers).  But my friend Johanna has ten and she seems like a normal person with a life.  Plus, if I want to become a sewing celebrity, don't I have to invest in my craft?  With shipping, it was just shy of $80 which isn't bad for a 15-91.  Am I tacky to tell you what it cost?  We're practically family, right?

Yup, it's MONDAY again!

Greetings from me and Bob!

Monday morning and there's so much planning to be done.  I don't know about you, but I haven't quite recovered yet from last week's excitement: the makeovers, the contests, the snow!  Frankly, it's hard for me to keep up with my cousin Cathy; she has seemingly limitless energy and can stay up all night and still style a fashion shoot in the morning.  Very different from me.