Howdy, pard'ner!

Sylvie's dress is finished!

I caught her here in-between smiles...;)

I found these adorable bone buttons in one of the huge jars I bought recently.

The skirt is REALLY full---look how it twirls!

~Bess

Perhaps I was hasty....

in my quick dismissal of Born Yesterday, 1993 version.  I finished watching it last night, and it wasn't that bad.  Don't get me wrong, Melanie Griffith is still no Judy Holiday, but Don Johnson grows on you (goofy 90's hair and all), John Goodman is excellent and they actually stick to the original plot line for most of the movie.  There was a little part of me that was sure they had modernized things too much, but they really hadn't.  I was pleasantly surprised.  :)  

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In sewing news, Sylvie's dress is almost completed!  It's all stitched together and hemmed and pressed and only awaiting 4 buttons and 4 buttonholes to be finished!   Sylvie tried it on a few minutes ago and looked darling in it.  She is so excited.  ;)  Every time I have made a dress for myself or one of the older girls she has asked me to please make her an "olden-day" dress too.  A girl after my own heart.  

Sorry about the blurry pic! I finished the hem with a zig-zag stitch and I really like the way it looks!  I'll take some pictures of Sylvie wearing the dress once it's finished.  

Sylvie's Dress Pattern (It worked!) (view 2):

Ebay

Finally sat down and listed a bunch of fantastic patterns on eBay!  This week I only listed patterns by McCall(s).  Check them out here!  

A Dress For Sylvie

So, I've been in and out of town and busy preparing for piano recitals and haven't had much time to sew!  However I sat down with my sister Sylvie (8)  Sunday to begin making up her very own vintage dress.  Sylvie picked out the fabric and the pattern herself, and is even helping with the construction!   Here is the fabric she chose from reproductionfabrics.com (find it here): 

And the pattern:  *ARGH!  The pattern pic won't upload!  Well, it's Simplicity 1217, a cute little sundress from the 50's. *

I am going out of town again next week, and I'm hoping to complete the dress before I leave!  

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Changing the subject, I had a movie disappointment today.  One of my all-time favorite movies is Born Yesterday, starring Judy Holiday and William Holden.  Oh, what a great movie!!!  I could watch it a million times and never get tired of it.   

Judy Holiday plays the dumb-blond, ex-showgirl fiance of a rough and wealthy criminal ("junk salesman") who is visiting Washington D.C. on shady business.  Her fiance decides that she needs to smarten up a bit, so that she doesn't embarrass him in front of the high-class people he's trying to take advantage of.   He hires an intelligent young journalist named Paul (William Holden) to show her the ropes and polish up her rough edges.  Under Paul's patient guidance and instruction Billie blossoms into quite an independent thinker and begins to question the "work" that her fiance is involved in, in which she has played a significant part over the years.  In the midst of all the book learning, new ideas and heart changes, romance starts to bud between student and teacher.  Billie begins to figure out what she really wants, and it is definitely not (as she previously thought)  three mink coats.   Judy Holiday won an Oscar for her brilliant acting in this movie.  

Anyway, the other day I was looking around on Amazon and saw that there was a modern remake of the movie, starring Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.  It was only about $3.99, the reviews were mostly satisfactory and I was very curious to see if Melanie Griffith could pull off Billie Dawn so I bought the DVD.  

Melanie Griffith definitely can not pull off Billie Dawn.  It was almost painful to watch!  On top of that, Don Johnson's haircut was so dweebie that I simply could not finish the movie.  I know, I know, it is petty of me.  But I kept comparing him to Bill Holden (be still, my beating heart)  in my mind and it just wasn't working for me.  

Perhaps in a week or so I'll try watching it again.  I really should watch it all the way through at least once.  It's only fair. 

Flour Sack Towels

My Nona (grandmother) told me once that the best dishtowels she has ever owned are the ones that my Bis Nona (great grandmother) gave her as a wedding gift.  They are hand-made out of old flour sacks, cut up and embroidered around the edges.  Flour-sack towels are perfect for drying dishes as they are super-absorbent.  

Ever since Nona told me about her towels, I have searched everywhere for old flour sacks.  You can find them online, but as they are very trendy right now the prices are through-the-roof.  Well, I stumbled upon this HUGE flour sack at an antique store yesterday for only $20!  It's actually 4 flour sacks sewn together. 

So this afternoon I washed it:

Then I ripped the seams:

And then I cut each sack into 4 squares to make 16 towels:

Next step:  Press, baste & embroider! 

I'm so excited! :D

Swwwooop!

You can find this one here

And this one here

So the lovely satin I bought yesterday and this pattern I posted from the 80's up on my ebay the other day have gotten me in the side-swoop-with-a-bow mood.   Delightful!  (isn't that French pattern stunning?)  By the way, have you ever noticed some of the fashion parrelells between the 40's and the 80's?  Things that make you go hm....