Sewin' It Up

It's true that once you own a house there's always something to be doing. When we first moved in, we looked at the vertical blinds in the bedroom and knew that eventually they would have to go. Apart from anything; there was one slat missing and, even though it was toward the side, there was always that chance that the neighbor would get just the right angle and be able to see my nakey butt running between the closet and the bathroom. Husband finally agreed with me on a fabric choice (he picked it because it's dark and manly, I picked it because it looks like chocolate) and the choice to do a double curtain so that we can let the light in by opening the darker set. Of course, that also meant wrangling 2 extra 7ft curtain panels...always fun for somebody who is 5'3.5" on a "tall" day. I've been meaning to post this picture all week, seeing as they were actually completed and hung last weekend, but I've been slacking. All I have to do now is take care of the drapery weights at the bottom - but my nakey butt sure is happy to no longer be running the risk of unwarranted exposure.So, my other sewing project that I wanted to accomplish this week is a shirt for my Miami/South Beach vacation (we leave in 3 days!) Since we went on the new house/bathroom remodel/vacation budget, I've been really good about not buying much for myself in terms of clothing and all that. However, I figure that going on vacation to a beachy place requires some new clothing. The problem I've been having though is some serious disappointment in the fashion that's in stores right now.

Firstly, what's up with the denim right now? It seems like everywhere has either skinny leg or flare. I have short legs so skinny leg jeans make my legs look like carrots, while flared jeans make me look like I'm wearing an oversized lampshade below the knees. This did mean I was able to find some boot cut (which is what I wanted in the first place) on clearance, so I guess I'll consider myself lucky on that one. On the top side of things, I seem to be finding a lot of neon colors. Perhaps if I pair a bright orange shirt with some skinny leg jeans, I could be mistaken for a radioactive carrot.

Don't get me wrong, I did find a couple of cute outfits, but resigned myself to sewing a new shirt with some of the fabric that I always seem to be stashing and not using quickly enough. Well, here it is...and you may have noticed it's not so much a shirt as a dress. I swear I used the pattern correctly but how it ended up 6" longer than I anticipated is beyond me. Yes, I could shorten it, but I actually like it as a dress so I'm saying to hell with it and keeping it as is!

A little Project Runway talk

As the most recent season of Project Runway nears the end, I do have a little to say about last night's episode. Firstly, as much as I was sad that Jerrell got a little too whacky with his wedding dress creation last night, it's really nice to see three strong females doing their thing for fashion week.

As much as Kenley drives me nuts, you can't say the girl doesn't have a style...even if parts of it appear to have been "inspired" by another designer (see the design by Alexander McQueen below left, by Kenley below right). One thing that bugs me, apart from her whining, is that she can't seem to get out of her niche. That being said, I think she'll do really well within her niche.
Korto has a great personality; very down to earth and I think that reflects in her designs. While I do think she missed the mark a little with her wedding dress last night, I have enjoyed her previous creations. The dress shown to the left is one that I like, despite being someone who's not much for crazy prints. I thought her bridesmaid dress was nowhere near as bad as the judges made it out to be, although given where they are in the competition I think they wanted her to find a happy medium between the over and under whelming that they kept talking about.

Finally, Leanne is my favorite to win right now. Apart from anything, she has an Etsy store!! She has such a classy style that is well structured, yet flows beautifully (see the dress inset right) and I really enjoy her humble nature - the absolute every day kinda girl. I'm really excited to see her final collection because the hints we got in the show last night looked really interesting and so well designed. The wedding and bridesmaid dresses were beautiful and I would be happy to wear either.

Of course, waiting another week will be torture to find out who made it, but it'll be an exciting finale this year for sure!