the lace museum, Calais

My friend Ksenia recently went to the north of France and visited the lace museum in Calais. She posted the following pictures on facebook with this message:

AMI, THESE PICS I MADE ESPECIALLY 4 U =)
HOPE U ENJOY THEM
this is the lace museum at Calais, the north of France, where lace manufacturing has been traditional 4 centuries, and in the end - vintage models of dresses and underwear of couturiers that now are legends

I thought I would share them with you since they are so beautiful.

Lace as you please (1852-1870)
Industrial progress and the expansion of colonial possessions made the Second Empire a period of prosperity. The bourgeoisie, growing fast, wanted to show off its social and economic success. Feminine dress became the visible symbol of masculine success. Lace found price of place on dresses, which gradually increased in size, as well as on the multitude of accessories that propriety recommended using.

I love the merriwidow hiding on the left.





Check out this link for an english article about the museum that includes some history of lace making in Calais (it was actually smuggled in by lacemakers from Nottingham, England) and some images of some very nice lingerie!

knowing your weaknesses...

I needed a case for my phone (since it was stupidly designed with the camera lens sticking out instead of laying flush). I really didn't want one of those ugly rubber band things. I found a few on etsy that I liked but couldn't see myself spending the $50 + shipping for the leather one that I liked the most.

I used a animal skin faux leather that I have had in my stash for a while (I made a tote and a portfolio case out of it in college and have plans for a handbag and an entire set of matching luggage.), some scraps from my fall floral shirt and a button from my button box. I ripped and re-did this like 3 times before I had to give up for the day. After sleeping on it I realized that I was going about it all wrong. On something this small you can't stitch leather right sides together and then turn. The seam allowance is too bulky. I forgot about that. I was able to salvage what I had and I simply topstitched it with the wrong sides together. No flipping right side out necessary.

I like the end result but I am never doing that again. Small accessories are not my bag, baby.

Sewing Karma: Week 2 April 12-18, 2010

April 12-18, 2010
Total points earned this week: 21
Total points spent this week: 5
Total accumulation: 22

Lint trap skirt – Sewing Projects | BurdaStyle.com
+5pts
(This should have been counted last week)

Darning my first sock

+3pts
Learning a new skill
+5
Blogging about it
+5

Darning the toes of 2 pairs of tights I wore this week
+3pts

I started a new job this week and my time management skills are a bit off while I get used to my new schedule. There was also some much needed socializing with some friends. Regardless, my free time was at a premium and mostly devoted to eating dinner and keeping up with my Google Reader and so very little got done in the way of sewing. I am designating Monday as my sewing day. Which is sort of failing as I have spent half of today blogging...

I had brunch with my mom yesterday at The Blind Faith Cafe. It is a fabulous vegetarian cafe and bakery that also has lots of vegan options as well (though I am a die hard meat eater). I had a Brie and Apple sandwich with cranberry chutney and Mom had peach crepes with corn, ricotta and a yummy maple rum sauce. We meant to go look in some of the cute shops in the area and wound up only going to Vogue Fabrics. Mom was laughing at me the whole time because I was a little kid in a candy store. "oh! Look at this!" " Oooo. Look at this one. This would be a great blouse!" Selfish Seamstress also paid a visit to Vogue on her recent trip to Chicago. I have always preferred the Evanston location because of the location and also because I felt like they had more stuff. It has been a while and I will have to re-check out the downtown location. She also does not share with you the amazing wool wall. It is my favorite. There is also an entire interior decorating room that I have found some awesomeness in. The remnant room is the crowing glory. I like it because the remnants are actually usable lengths and they have EVERYTHING there. Fancy silk to wool suiting to poly blends to interfacing and quilting cotton. Needless to say I lost some self control

Vogue Remnants

-5pts
I found four 1yd bundles of this nautical cotton print. It had my name written all over it. At first I thought a blouse but I also found a bundle of navy blue stretch silk that would be even better as a blouse with this as a skirt. Mom suggested a dress and I immediately thought of Sunni's naughty Secretary Dress. I think I like it as separates better because it will be more versatile. I am thinking a vintage pattern for the blouse and something simple and a-line for a skirt. But I am definitely open to ideas.

Mom also bought me a present of this fantastic cotton. I was obsessing and coveting it.

It is very light and drapes nicely but has a bit of body because of the weave. The triangle on the bottom corner is the wrong side of the fabric. It is actually a bit brighter in reality. The dots are yellow, orange, pink and olive green. I was thinking a cute sheath style dress with a wrap made with the wrong side out. The light neutral-ness is not usually something that looks good on me, it washes me out, but the dots are bright so Mom was thinking of using some of that on the neckline to bring more brightness near my face. They also have a dark medium blue version that was also great but I thought this was better. I am open to ideas for this as well.

Wow. I just got super excited just thinking about it. I am such a nerd.

And this perfectly describes what it felt like upon waking this AM.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures
I can't resist a good lolcat.

Swatches!

These are from NearSea Naturals, a company that specializes in organic and sustainable fabrics. I haven't ordered yardage from them but I have ordered 2 sets of swatches and they are sent out promptly and there is a handwritten thank you on the invoice.
I am planning some summer skirts and dresses and I think that it would be fun to do some dyeing (hence all the white and natural colored fabrics). I really would like to make all my own clothes. Even jeans. Am I crazy?
The curly looking rich brown chambray on the middle left is the swatch I ordered for handkerchiefs. It was mentioned on the website as being good for handkerchiefs but is has a sort rough texture and a slightly loose weave. I think that the poplin will be better but I need to test wash it first. The lace was for trim on handkerchiefs. So I can be all fancy.
The jerseys and knits are beautiful. I think that they will make nice t-shirts and maybe some skirts. The melton I swatched with this pattern in mind. I have been thinking about what I want to do with it for a while now. I also just found this one. i love all the vintage patterns especially the dresses.