SEW excited about sewing...

Now, I know I use the term "SO excited" quite often (probably too often which could make it a bit obnoxious at times) but I never have used the term "SEW excited" and I'm REALLY delighted that I'm able to use this term in this blog post!

I bet yall didn't believe me?!?!?!?!? That I really and truly would start sewing! Well, I have and I'm SEW excited! Beyond excited actually. Anyway, sew, I started my little sewing adventure this past weekend. Ari taught me the ropes and then I was off on my own to start sewing away....what to make...where to start!?!?!? I have to say...it's all a little harder than I thought it would be....specifically the precision required (which I typically don't have patients for), the patterns (which I've nixed for now) and sewing a straight line (not sew easy).

I decided to start with a simple skirt figuring this would be the easiest thing...right!?!?!?. As noted above, I did away with the pattern and just took one of my skirts to cut the fabric to size and decided just to fit it on myself as I go. Sew far, that's working out just fine but I certainly don't have the final product yet. Here's where I stand sew far:

All the essential sewing gear has been purchased and my temporary sewing station is set up. I will have to eventually transport my sewing station to another part of the house outside the kitchen but for now, this will work. We'll work on the other later....one step at a time!

I took an old fabric as a tester to make a "tester" skirt. I actually think it will turn out pretty cute in the end and I'll like the fabric as a skirt (vision it with a groovy t-shirt...LOVE!).

Here's the first problem (of I'm sure many to come) I ran into.... I've never used this machine but it seems to be missing a KEY part. The tray that lays right there where that big gap is....hmmm....

With that piece missing, it seems I'm having a hard time making a straight line...can you see the line on the fabric below???? Actually, I shouldn't even call this a line...Pretty pitiful huh?!?!?! No fear, I have a solution. For this skirt, I'm going to work this into the piece. I decided to sew about 10 -15 squiggly lines on the seam and act like it's intentional. In the meantime, I need to order the part to the machine that's missing. Ya think?!?!?!?

In addition to this, I'm also taking a Crash Course sewing class at Stitch Lab on Friday. Pretty pumped about this and other classes I'll be taking which include but not limited to making patterns, screen printing, etc. SEW excited! But, again, one step at a time. Lets get through this skirt and the Crash Course class first.

Sew, I mentioned I have several inspirations. Last week, I did a MASSIVE clean out of my closet. I mean, almost everything went except the few pieces I wear over and over. I'm very excited about this for a number of reasons. One, I can now see what I have and although about 75% of my clothes are gone, I feel like I have more. Two, I've sold some of the clothes I cleaned out and made a whopping $385 and still have more to sell! P-U-M-P-E-D!

In addition to this, like I always do, I'm constantly looking at what others are wearing. In Austin, this adds more value than you think as most people are dressed totally funky cool, especially on South Congress. Instead of just looking, I've been taking notes and documenting what I like and how I would change it for myself. Then, I've been shopping the vintage stores pretty frequently. I've always loved vintage but never hit the stores up enough to really make the good finds happen. Lately, I've been hitting them up enough to make it happen. I'm super excited about some of the groovy vintage tees out there which I'll be snatching up to pair with some of my handmade funky skirts and shorts. For now, here are a couple of my good finds that have helped give me some inspiration for my "line"....

I'll admit it...I tried to copy Josilyn from Simple Lovely and attempted to take pictures of myself using only a camera and mirror.... and well it doesn't work for me. Here's how it turned out...

SEW, I had to try something new. And here it goes...

Love the item below...EEEK!!! Are they curtains, are they a couch, are they a rug????? NOPE...they're shorts! I'm SEW in love with these....not even kidding. I spotted them during SXSW at a little vintage pop-up and immediately knew I had to have them. I didn't want to walk away until I knew they were safely tucked away in my purse. If I walked away without them, I sew feared someone else would snatch them right up. Clay, of course, said "Amy, NO ONE is going to snatch THOSE up". Well, once I put them on, he flipped...b/c he understood why I was so in love with them. I mean...look at them...they're fabulous!

This is a vintage sleeveless sweater which I got at Cream (a fav vintage store) a few months back. For the winter, I was wearing it with groovy jackets (like my vintage burnt orange suede jacket which I'm very sad put away) and boots (which I'm not putting away through the Spring OR Summer). I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with it for the Spring and Summer. This is one option I guess. I also have a FABULOUS vintage fabric that I'm hoping to make a skirt or shorts out of that will look SEW good with it.

Fabric for eventual skirt/shorts! I don't object to any type of pattern when it comes to fashion...not even paisley.

I'm also VERY inspired by these fabulous shoes I found at Buffalo Exchange for $12.99. I mean...who would want to get rid of these!?!?!?! That's just craziness!!! This just proves one persons trash is anothers treasure I guess! They actually ended up being free considering Buffalo Exchange is where I made my $383 selling clothes and I used part of my proceeds on trade-in items and got an additional 20% off. Woohoo!!!

This "get up" below has kind of been one of my uniforms. I change both of them up quite a bit and pair the two with different bottoms (shorts, skirts, etc) and also pair both with different tops. I truly love both of these pieces and will be wearing them throughout the Spring and Summer and they, of course, will be an inspiration behind some of my "makings". The t-shirt is also vintage from, once again, Buffalo Exchange. I have a great green floral fabric that I'm dying to make shorts out of and pair with this tee. Green is a big "must have" color for me right now BTW.

And, again, more shoes for inspiration. I LOVE shoes (and accessories) so you'll likely see a trend here. These are another pair of shoes from Buffalo Exchange which I got for less than $15.00. They look strikingly similar to a pair of brown shoes I got at Anthropology last Spring. I'm sure you can imagine but needless to say I paid much more than $15.00 for those. Sometimes I wonder why I would ever shop somewhere else. I've become VERY good at bargain shopping (Oh what living on one salary will help you do).

Anyway, this is just a start. I can't wait to continue showing you my progress and inspirations. As I work through this process, you'll see a clear trend...I love big bold prints and pairing them together (floral with dots or floral with stripes, etc.), I love bright colors (mixing colors or same color paired together with different shades), I love shoes (to add a touch of funkiness or color to an outfit or even a touch of casualness), I love accessories ALWAYS (my motto is more is more when it comes to accessories....they can ALWAYS make an outfit and NEVER break an outfit). There is really so much more where this came from and I'm super excited about this new adventure (another of Clay's most hated words!).