Music

This has been a very inspiring week for me musically. I wrote a few songs and recorded one, and finally opened up a myspace music account. ;) Only two songs on there right now, but I'm working on putting more up. I'm definitely not an expert on recording/mixing songs, so they are very rough-sounding--especially "Daffodil." Alas. At least you can get an idea of what I'd like them to sound like. One of these days I'll learn how to do it right. ;)

Bessie B. Music

~Bess

Sheath

I love sheath dresses. They fit well, flatter the figure, and are one of the most comfortable styles of dresses you can wear. When I wear a sheath dress, I feel carefree. I like that feeling.

This one is made from vintage Simplicity 3152. I had been hankering to make this pattern for a couple years, and just never got to it. I couldn't decide if I wanted to use a print, solid, or perhaps two solids divided at the yoke seam. I finally settled on a really fun, mod-ish poppy print cotton, and I am very happy with my decision.

I want to make another of these dresses--perhaps of a light-weight wool? Two tone? Hm...

Oo-la-la! Fun pocket lining!

You can see the rick-rack trip a little better here. Don't you love the buttons? I think they date back to the 30's/40's. Anyway, they're old. ;)

So there you have it. Very loud, very fun, very comfortable dress. I will definitely make it again, and recommend this pattern very highly to my fellow vintage sewers! :D

Have a wonderful day-

Bess

Goat Pen

L-R: Eli, John, Sylvie

Sylvie, Esme, Eli, John and I have been working very hard over the past few days building a nice little home for my new goats. :) We are almost finished--just need to install the gate, feeding trough, and hay feeder, and spread some kind of ground cover (I am thinking sawdust). Although I did make a few *really* stupid mistakes (like mis-measuring the same post hole twice in a row), the pen has gone together pretty smoothly so far. And it has been cool to see that I can do something like this by myself. Quite a learning experience.

I'm not going to lie, folks. I am pretty darn excited about my little goats. I have decided to name them Dean and Jerry, after my all-time favorite comedy team. Pretty sure the little black one with white spots will be Jerry, and the white with blue eyes will be Dino. We'll see how their personalities play out.

Dean

Jerry

I was planning to pick them up this weekend, but it seems that little Jerry's mother rejected him after he was dis-budded, which put him on a bottle. Thus I must wait a couple more weeks. Alas! Ah well, that will give me more time to get their pen set up nice and cozy.

Here are some pictures of the goat pen so far, and my adorable little helpers!

I took this picture before cutting off the overlapping fence section today, and didn't think to take one afterward. Whoops! The gate hinge will be attached to this post.

Um...yeah. This is the post hole that I had such a difficult time measuring for. Notice how far off I was the first time? Geez, how did I DO that?

Chicken wire all along the bottom of the fence, so that little goats don't get their little heads stuck.

Whew! This is hard work!

John picked me a blue flower and told Eli to take a picture of it. :) Dear boy.

Eli must have taken this one without my knowing it. I was attaching chicken wire to and existing fence with heavy-duty zip ties.

Hm. Not sure how this one got in here...;)

Have a fantastic day!

~Bess

New Year's Resolution no. 1

Well, I made my resolutions a week or two after January 1st, but they still count, right? ;)

My first resolution is to learn German.

Back in January, as I was perusing the aisles of my favorite antique shop, I stumbled upon a vintage German curriculum, circa 1956. The curriculum was in mint condition--records still sealed in their waxy covers, workbooks clean and unmarked, receipt still inside the box. This "Living German" course promised me that in 6 weeks (and forty easy lessons), I could speak the language fluently and with a perfect native accent! Obviously I HAD to buy it. The extremely low price of $20 sealed the deal.

Here is the cover. Don't you love how the suave English gentleman is conversing fluently and with a perfect native accent with the shepherd-looking fellow in native garb? I mean, that could totally be me in six weeks!

Unfortunately, it has taken me about two months to actually begin my German lessons. The poor set has been sitting on my dresser collecting dust. Until today, that is. I had some extra time before leaving for work, so I pulled out my German course and gave 'er a try.

You know what I love about German? It is so dang similar to English. Really amazingly similar. I had so much fun *trying* to pronounce the familiar-ish words that I went through the lesson twice. Hoorah for new languages.

I won't be doing any sewing this weekend because I will be too busy setting up my GOAT PEN! Oh, and going to see Michael Buble.:) Perhaps next weekend, though...

Have a fantastic day!

~Bess

Stripes + Ruffles + 1940's + Warm Weather = Wonderful :)

Hoorah! It is warm and sunny and wonderful outside today--the perfect weather in which to photograph my latest spring frock. :)

This little ditty is made from Simplicity 1522 (mid-1940's). I found it on one of my favorite online pattern sources, Fuzzylizzie Vintage. The fabric is a poly/cotton blend oxford shirting (!) from fabric.com. The stripes are a bit hard to see in some of these pictures, as it was so bright and sunny outside. I am very happy with the weight and feel of the fabric--it was perfect for this dress.

This dress is absolutely adorable, and was very easy to put together. The waist insets are extremely flattering. The pattern called for store-bought lace trim for the pockets, sleeves and collar, but I opted instead for hand-made self-fabric trim.

The one thing I regret about this project is that the buttonholes are machine-worked. I ALWAYS do my buttonholes by hand, but was a bit lazy this time. Although machine buttonholes are nice-looking and uniform, I much, much, much prefer the look and feel of hand-made buttonholes. Alas and alack. No use crying over spilled milk...

The buttons I used are turn-of-the-century pearl buttons that I found at an antique shop a few years back. I thought they suited the dress well.

So spring dress no. 2 is completed! How many dresses am I going to make? Time will tell, my friend, time will tell. :)