Back in the Saddle

It's been a while since I've posted about sewing projects.  That doesn't mean I haven't been sewing, I have.  Starting in 2016, I started attending Costume College, its an amazing event put on every year by the Costumers Guild West. During the day there are classes in pretty much all aspects of costuming and in the evening costumed events. It definitely feeds my costuming soul since I stopped going to  the SoCal Renaissance Faire. After 40+ years of attending, I just couldn't do it any more. It has become "Ye Olde Renaissance Swap Meet and Food Truck Con" I just found myself depressed attending so that was it for me. Another event that feeds my little costuming soul is Dapper Day, an event at Disneyland and other various sites in the LA area.  Dapper Day is what I thought I would post about today to get back into blogging.

Three years ago I wrote about loss, we had a heart wrenching year with the loss of several family members. To find balance and cheer, John and I started going on outings together, basically dating each other now that we were empty nesters. Since John works in education he usually has Friday off, this was the start of "Fridates".  One of these Fridates we went to my happy place, the Downtown LA garment district. It was there that I found an amazing silk/cotton fabric. It was white printed with pink flowers, it was vibrant, happy, and just spoke to me. I wasn't sure what the fabric would become but I knew it had to be vintage inspired and that I would have to honor the fabric by using couture techniques to make it.

Fast forward 3 years to now and I pull the fabric out of my stash. Two years ago, John and I attended our very first Dapper Day at Disneyland.  I made my dress and altered a seersucker jacket that belonged to John's Dad along with some white linen pants for John and a brand new obsession was born.

For this year's spring outing, John requested we dapper Disneybound as characters, but which ones?  John chose Pooh and Piglet, for him, we found a Pooh Bear colored suit in LA, paired it with a red shirt, a hunny colored tie, pocket square, a hat, and he was good to go.  I, however take a little more planning. so I pull the 6 yards of silk/cotton out of my stash and get to thinking.  I decide I need a full skirt and it just needs to say springtime! I also started thinking about accessories, because sometimes they make or break an entire look.  I wanted to be thoughtful about it.

I found this pattern in my stash, then began the process of grading up the pattern to fit my more, shall we say, voluptuous shape?

              

I used only the bodice pattern for the dress, I had previously graded up the skirt from another pattern and decided to use that.  Once I had traced this bodice, adjusted the size, I was ready to cut my first muslin of the bodice. 

pattern check number 1 As you can see, the midriff seam is too high, a full bust adjustment was needed. Messy but done. Success!!! This is the 4th muslin I made and I added the gathered bodice piece to check the look.  Time to cut my silk. I underlined the fashion fabric with silk organza to give it a floaty quality. This was hand sewn to all the pieces. It gives the silk fabric a rounder shape which is noticeable in the skirt.                Once I got the bodice put together and the skirt put together I gathered it and basted it to the bodice while waiting for the hubby at Kaiser. I noticed an outlet and thought to myself that I should have brought my sewing machine.                    I ended up removing the skirt because of a small fit issue with the bodice.  It needed a stabilizer piece that I made from the organza.  Also it was a little too poufy, my daughter said it looked like I was trying to sneak snacks in my bodice.   Finally got the skirt and the zipper in, then onto the lining! Once I got the lining put in and the hem done, I did a final try on and discovered another issue.  The back neck was gaping. Ugh. So I explained to John how to pin the excess so I could look at it and decide the best course of action after I had a good cry.  While helping me John snuck a selfie in. 😂                                                                             Mostly done, but the back neck issue still needs to be solved, hence my unhappy face. The solution turned out to be 3 inch darts in the back neck. which meant unpicking about 5 inches of the back neck, adding the darts and sewing it back together, joy.  Lining neck dart Outside back neck dart And finally my label! Last but not least, my accessories. I purchased a plain paper parasol from Hobby Lobby in pink for $7.99, originally I was going to buy a yellow one and paint it to look like the hunny pot but decided it wouldn't look right, so I went with the pink.  And drew on it freehand, first in pencil then with permanent marker. I used a stencil for the lettering. I purchased a vintage pink hat from an Etsy seller and also made a hair flower to wear under the hat brim, my pinks didn't quite match up so at the Dapper Day Expo I bought a white double lily hair flower from La Casa De Flores that was perfect! And finally, the piece that I considered for a while, had my doubts about and ended up being the most popular part of my outfit, my purse.  I found a vintage 1970's wicker purse in the perfect shape and decorated it to look like Pooh's Hunny Pot, my friend Heather cut the vinyl lettering for me.  I found a little happy bee to hang on the zipper pull and I was ready to go! Overall, our trip to Dapper Day was perfect! We met up with some friends, it was their first time attending and had lunch with them. The parks weren't as crowded as you would expect, and the weather was perfect! What more could I ask for?  This picture cracks me up because of the reflections on my glasses and the Mickey sign looks like it's attached to John's hat. I also get asked about shoes, I'm known for my shoes by most friends, for Dapper Day I go practical, I'm wearing a pair of Rockport MaryJanes that are comfy and have great support. If it's one thing I've learned, it's always take care of your feet! Selfies while waiting for lunch, After I took this photo I discovered that my bodice lining is riding up, this can probably be solved with a small weight attached to the lining. Oh, and did I mention I met Gertie Hersch? She is beautiful, inside and out!

Easy Dinner

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are very much into service. We believe that by serving our fellow man or woman we are in the service of our God.  A form of service I love is feeding our church Missionaries, young men and women in our church volunteer their lives to this, for the young men it’s a period of 2 years, and for the young women it’s 18 months. They serve all over the world, they learn the culture and language where they serve, make life long friends, and lives are changed. They return changed as well, how do I know? Because 2 young men changed my life in 1991 and also we have had 3 sons serve missions and currently our youngest is serving his mission in Argentina. It truly is a special experience to be a part of. I love feeding the Missionaries in our church, whether they are young men or women, they bring a special spirit into our house.

Our youngest son, holding the sign, serving his mission in Argentina

P-Day (or preparation day) in Argentina. This is the day they can grocery shop, explore the area they are serving in, do laundry, write letters home. 

A few years ago 2 of the Elders we were feeding told our bishop that I was the best cook in our ward (congregation), I thought that was hysterical because I’m not a great cook. I have a sign in my kitchen that says, I know how to cook, I just don’t. I like to think of myself as brilliantly lazy. Here’s my secret for anytime I have people over, develop a few easy but really good recipes and stick to them. I have a few, and since the Missionaries tend to rotate in and out I can get away with never serving them the same meal twice. I can do an excellent pot roast, enchiladas, we do a Swiss dish called raclette, lasagna, and finally tonight’s meal, sweet pork. 

For this meal, I purchased a pork shoulder and cooked it in the crock pot overnight on low, fat side up. The only spice on it was garlic powder. Then this morning all I did was remove the fat, drain the liquid and shred the meat. To this I mixed 1 cup each brown sugar, ketchup, and Mexican Coke. Regular coke works fine too. Poured this over the meat and continued to cook on low for at least 4 hours. With this I will be serving black beans, corn, and cilantro lime rice.

For the beans, I  add a can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies. Drain the beans, add the tomatoes and heat. The corn is just frozen corn. If you can make white rice you can make cilantro lime rice. 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, the juice of 2 limes. 1 bunch chopped cilantro, 1 eyeball the amount of cilantro so whatever looks good to you, 1 tbs olive oil. I will usually add the lime pieces in while the rice is cooking too and remove them before serving. Bring all the ingredients to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with extra cilantro.

 The best part of this meal is what my family calls Crack Dressing. Again it’s easy because I am nothing but lazy. Also it’s fattening so I don’t make it often. I mix 1 cup buttermilk with 1 cup mayonnaise, the juice of 2 limes, ranch dressing mix, 1 bunch cilantro, and 1 1/4 cup Herdez salsa verde. This all goes in the blender and is given a good whirl. I make this a day ahead and refrigerate it over night. It’s really really good.

                                            

With this I serve my secret family recipe salsa, sorry I have to have given birth to you to give you the recipe, guacamole, our local grocery store sells a ready made that’s pretty good, sour cream, and tortillas, flour or corn whichever you prefer. 

For dessert again I went easy with a crockpot dump cake, canned peaches , yellow cake mix, and butter. Recipes can be found all over the Internet especially on Pinterest.
                                             

The best part? It’s so easy and I have satisfied dinner guests afterwards, and what can be better than that? 

Cheers,

Terri