Monday, March 31, 2014

Too many social media accounts + a maxi dress & headwrap

Good evening everybody!....of course its late; well depending on what you consider late....its 11 pm around these parts....I was feeling sleepy earlier because I had a lot of dinner....I mean a lot and I was hungry for all I ate....Me and my sweetest went to the stores today to grab house stuff and I dragged asked my huny to accompany me to Sprouts....for those who do have a Sprouts store I explain it in a nutshell....its a awesome farmer's market kind of store....produce that is just so fresh and chemical-free, along with other "clean" foods such as cheese made from grass-fed cow's milk and free range chicken....I grabbed a buncha produce (my main reason for going over there) and also got a good deal on some chicken; whole and parts....I hate drumsticks though; I never buy 'em....
Now what prompted this post was my realization that I may just have too many damn social media accounts....I have my blog (which I LOVE), a twitter account, a Facebook page, a Pinterest account, and a Google+ account that I'm almost sure I didn't want but was forced into....If I had to choose which one to get rid of I would say Facebook, mainly because of the nonsense that reigns on that network day in and day out....I tried once to deactivate my personal page and it deactivated my sewing page too....its almost like you have to deal with bullsh*t to have some happiness...such as life though right?....(shaking my damn head)
So I guess my faves would be my blog, my twitter account, and my Pinterest; in that order....Facebook and Google+ are just residual I guess...Google+ seemed to be forced on me by way of Picasa; a photo editing and sharing account....No matter, I don't overshare on either of them....I'll just keep it that way.....
Been sewing, well serging a little lately too...the other day the sewing bug was biting do I decided to make something simple....I grabbed my trusty old school maxi dress pattern, some knit fabric and on I went to both my machines....I made my super comfortable dress out of red and gray striped knit fabric I grabbed on one of my many trips to my Hancock's Fabrics....I used the rest of the fabric as a head wrap which was right on time with my natural hair journey....I'm getting muscles trying to tame the thickness of my hair nowadays...the wrap allowed for simple styling without all the hassle....I love the easy stuff....I just felt like writing this evening because I probably won't sew until I mop those damn bathrooms tomorrow morning....you make less mistakes when you sew guilt-free (with a clean house)....Well I just have a couple photos to show you and I bid you good people farewell until we "meet" again....
~~MsKRS~~










Thursday, March 20, 2014

Vintage notions + 1st day of Spring + MsKRS = Happiness (Pic heavy)

Well howdy everybody!....I just finished a top I've been working on for the last few days a little while ago and I'm super juiced about it....Its a vintage pattern from Simplicity; in fact its pattern # 1692....I originally wanted to make View A because the sleeves are to die for but when my fabric cut wasn't enough to accommodate I changed it up....I just switched out the long sleeves for the short ones that View B called for....
The fabric is one of the cuts I "won" from a sewing group I'm in on FB....I really love all the fabric I was sent and appreciate it even more....I don't know what kind of fabric it is; somewhat delicate but strong at the same time...I pressed and ironed it like nobody's business with the iron on 4 w/ steam and it did just fine....I was kinda scared I would burn it but it obviously could stand the heat.....Being a slinky fabric I figured it would be the usual hard to work with but it was the complete opposite with that too...the fabric was just awesome and super easy to work with....it held all pressings the 1st time around and didn't slip around at all....I thought about serging the edges but I figured I'd better leave well enough alone so the machine and hand sewing I opted for....(my serger is very, very temperamental)
Now on to the description of my first Spring piece.....Again this top is Simplicity's 85th Anniversary Vintage 1940's pattern # 1692....Its Franken-patterned from pieces of the same pattern; nowadays I just use the patterns pieces as guides because I really just do what I want with them....and the directions are just there for reference in my sewing world....for instance, the pattern called for an invisible zipper but I used a vintage fashion zipper that I wanted to show off; a  J. & P. Coats 12 inch vintage fashion zipper, "Cruise Blue"-colored to be exact....it was 60 cents "back then" and I got it at one of my local thrift stores for 45 cents....Ahhh I love nostalgia and this shirt boasts it all...I even used a vintage button and hand sewed it on with a vintage hand needle.....Yeah, this is a COOL shirt....Sewing and fashion is really all up to you and I take full advantage of that fact concerning the art....I have a ton of photos for this shirt because I treated it like a project and took photos every time I decided to work on it....
I started a new sewing journal too (have I already shared this?)....more like a sewing notebook because my sewing thoughts, measurements, and other sewing related ramblings are already crammed in there....Well pictures now because y'all know I can get my ramble on LOL...oh and enjoy the vintage-y goodness....
Talk to you good people soon!
**MsKRS**


1st day of project....


 see the COOL ZIPPER AND PATTERN....yesssssss

 marked down to 45 cents....thrifting and vintage go hand in hand....

got these super sharp (after all this time) hand needles from a vintage sewing box that was gifted to me....Awesome overload with this project....seriously....

the finished project....pretty as ever huh or nah?...
 

sh*tty, too close-up shot of the beyond cool button I sewed on....but nonetheless cool though...can you see the swirls on the button?...

crazy installation of my zipper...I could have perfected it but its just fine like it is....I've always liked a little craziness anyway....

Side view just because I can.....

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

New serger + Large handbook = Real live issues

Good evening y'all!...How's everybody been doing?...Me, I've been just fine...I could complain (as anyone could at any given time) but I won't...Instead today I'm choosing to NOT sweat the small stuff and be grateful for the good stuff in my little corner of the world....Now on to this here post....
My Aunt Peggy (my Daddy's sister) called me a few weeks ago saying she bought a serger and didn't know why (she's been registered nurse for years so she has quite a nest egg and some purchases just get lost in the shuffle)....and she said she must have wanted to make something but she never did get around to doing what she bought it for...she sews a little, but not much.....she has a sewing machine and another serger too....however, she knows I sew my arse off (well I try to at least) so she called and said she had something for me....It was a brand new serger!!!!!...she hadn't even taken it out of the box.....now I had never really needed or coveted a serger but I've always thought they were cool....but after she told me I was going to get one anyway, I got excited about owning one.....Sergers are quite good for knit fabrics and creating things that look store-bought and professional.....okay new machine with 4 spools of thread and two needles automatically begets issues....I've seen sergers before but I've never used one or even tried to.....sooooo, I guess tonight and the better part of tomorrow will be spent trying to figure out how this thing works....I had to bring my Mama's sewing table back out because it has to have its own little station....I'm totally grateful to my family for so many things but my gift of sewing and their support in that is something invaluable....
My sewing room is one my favorite places because its so "ME"...I have a large picture of my Mama, a momento from a cool store from my side of town, green plants (4 to be exact), my Mama's sewing machine and notions, my huny's Mama's dress form, and now my Auntie's serger.....so many personal things in here; there are just too many to list...I'm at my best when I'm in here, in my shell so to speak...okay a few photos now....
Talk to you good people later....
~~MsKRS~~

my new addition to my sewing space.....


I have no idea where to start.....literally no idea whatsoever....(looking very confused)

my little helpers that come to inspect like they do everything that comes in this house....right before this they were playing leap frog in the foam popcorn in the box.....they ran away fast when I cleaned it up and turned on the vacuum! hahahahaha