i wore track pants and a sweatshirt to a dinner event!!!

Well, I started out thinking this would be a great weekend look.

Which it is.
But then I had a dinner function to attend, which, while not at a church, requested a "Sunday attire" dress code. So, I thought, why not?  (At my church, pretty much anything goes as long you are respectably covered in the important places)

I am about crazy for these luxe sweatshirts... how they can be dressed up or down.

And this time, I paired the sweatshirt with some track pants made from Vogue 8909.  With modifications, of course.

I cut the size small, using gray ponte knit. I eliminated the pockets and the front fly. So what we end up with is a pretty simple pair of pull on pants with no fuss no muss.  

With some jewels and crazy fun heels, it makes a pretty decent fundraising dinner outfit!  I wore the pants at a more appropriate ankle length instead of jushing them up.

No one rolled their eyes at me, so I think it was okay.

Must. Make. More.

the luxe life

I was watching a program the other night, sort of like the old "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" but a more modern, and even more decadent version.

It was slightly uncomfortable watching the abandon at which millions of dollars are spent on the luxuries of life. And while I do dream of the big lottery win  ( and I never play the lottery) I do have to wonder what it would be like to have a closet that's as big as my house.

And then I wonder if these women, who can have anything they want any time they want somehow miss out on the anticipation of saving for a special item, or the thrill of finding an amazing skirt at a thrift store. Or the joy in creating a thousand dollar look for under fifty bucks.

I recognize that it's all relative...depending on your budget, your desires and your abilities, but geesh...when I see the price of some of the designer luxe sweatshirts out there, it's almost perplexing!

They are a hot trend and a very cool look. They are everywhere from designer to budget store prices.

from harper's bazaar

from lucky magazine


I was All Over this one...how much fun to make a sweatshirt that you can wear to work?

I used a combination of about three different patterns, and ultimately ended up with something self-drafted! I couldn't even tell you which patterns were used.

The sleeves are a cotton interlock, and the front and back are cut from a polyester silky print from Joann's. The necklace is a vintage piece from my mother-in-laws jewelry chest. 

I can think of about a hundred different ideas for making this trend... for work, for weekend. And I love it. I'm digging through my fabric stash to see just what I can use to make a few more!

                           

thrifting for current trends

If you think that you can't find current trends at the local thrift store, I say...nonsense! I know thrifting can sometimes land you a big fat zero, but then there are other weeks where it's a jackpot.
What do I do?
I frequent my favorite spots several times a week...usually during my lunch break. When you walk into a thrift store, all of those racks and racks of stuff can be a little overwhelming...Where do you start? What do you look for?

I always keep in mind color or textile that I want. Usually based on what's trending in fashion. I don't mind dropping a twenty dollar bill for the latest runway mania, which I know will last only a season or two at most. It enables me to have some fun with the trend without a major impact on my clothing budget. Or sewing time.

For example, the last few weeks, I walked into the thrift store thinking  COLOR and TEXTURE and PATTERN:

Gray, oxblood, leather, lace, menswear (plaid, jacquard)

This helps me to tune out all the other stuff. And it really does keep me focused. When I'm scanning through racks of crap, lace and oxblood really stand out if that's what I'm looking for.

So, some of my favorite recent finds…

These menswear slim plaid pants with a slouchy gray/beige sweater

This gray cardigan which I embellished with a wide sequin trim that I purchased at the fabric store (a la marc Jacobs).

A menswear print midi skirt

 a fabulous burgundy lace skirt and moto jacket.

I also found a great vintage big coat . But I was loosing my light, so I'll have to share that later.
Thrifting is such a blast...and you may be very, very surprised at what you will find.

a hint of things to come

Well, here it is...another week later!

Something about the change of seasons gets me totally motivated to start sewing again. I have to confess, I've been in a sewing hole for nearly the entire summer, prompted by knee surgery, weight loss and the shop opening. But mostly the weight loss.

Now that I have that under control, I feel like I can start to look at new sizes and get with the program! A pile of projects awaits. But I have to confess, part of the delay in me getting on with them is a little bit of anxiety over the new size...and delving into fitting, new muslins, etc. I sort of feel like I'm starting over.

After a slew of hobo bags I designed and made to sell at a show,

And some major thrifting for interpreting the current trends:

I finally worked up a luxe sweatshirt for myself.

Lots of details to come!

Until then, we're off for a weekend in the mountains to sleep in a tent and have some chipmunk and raccoon encounters!

bad blogger, baaaaaadddd bad blogger

But let me entice you back to reading with some adorable cuteness .

I have had a list a mile long of sewing for other people...and it's mostly for little girls.

Sofia had her fourth birthday and she requested purple for a fall jacket. And so purple it was.
The jacket is purple twill bottomweight and I fully lined it with a pretty purple plaid flannel. I used a few different parts of a few different patterns, and then added a few more custom touches like that button tab at the back. Sof went on a date with Papa and I to a football game so she wore it for the first time that night. It's adorable

And so is Sof. She is everyone's favorite girl in our family...we love her to pieces and find her to be the most charming, intelligent, sassy, stylish and interesting young lady. She's proud as can be to be four and has just started ballet lessons.

I remember when her mom was four and started her first dance classes. Being Kate, of course she chose tap classes. When we got home after buying her tap shoes, she promptly put them on, pulled a dining room chair into the kitchen and climbed up to tap, tap, tap those shoes. One of those moments I'll never forget. I think she was more excited about the noise they made than actually going to the classes!

Next in line was an oldest daughter birthday dress. Meghan requested a vintage sheet dress, and so she got it. We have a few more alterations to make, but I'm sure it's going to be beautiful on her.

And then came two commissioned dresses for some other girls I know. You are not going to believe this, but those little girls  requested purple, too!

This is Maddie and her brand new American Girl doll. I got to meet her when she was in our area visiting her grandmother. Maddie had Very Specific instructions for the type of dress that she wanted. So I took notes, and made sketches with her, and to my delight, when she got her dresses in the mail, she was speechless...so says her grandma. She immediately put those dresses on for a photo shoot, and then, requested to wear her dress for school pictures, and well, as I hear, Maddie wants to wear that dress All The Time!

My friend Jenna had a special request. Her daughter was asked to be in a wedding and they couldn't find a dress in the right color and style that Kyndal wanted. So again, we did some measuring and sketching and web searching to find the dress that Kyndal wanted to wear. 

I actually made a pattern, made a muslin, did some fittings and this is the result:

She's pretty cute, and excited about the wedding. And she tells me that her dress will also be  worn by her at the Dove Awards in a few weeks....

I just told her that if anyone approaches her on the red carpet and wants to know who she's wearing, she better tell them it's a one of a kind custom dress by Lynne. And pass out my business cards, please.

why I haven't been sewing

Because I've been watching a dream unfold!

I have always dreamed of a life that involved allowing my creativity to go wild.
To sew and decorate and knit and paint and create to my heart’s content.
To offer the fruit of my labor and creativity to others who "get it."
To inspire others to do the same.

This little dream of mine became a reality in July. With an equally excited business person, we drafted a collaboration of our aesthetic and passion for re-style and re-purpose. She believed in the same things, as is evident by her vintage clothing store and her salon.  Everything began to fall into place when I let go and took the risk. JR has been self-employed his whole life, so to him, believing in a business is not as much a dream as it is an expectation. For me, that risk involves putting my heart and soul and thoughts and dreams out there and hoping people with like it….and then not taking it personally when they don’t.

                                         
A phone-call came from our partner Yvonne that she was offered a store front space on main street in a small town where we raised our families…a small town that is on the cusp of revival…breaking out of the “mall” lifestyle and embracing local businesses. We had to prepare the store and make it work in six weeks.

We started with this:

      

With the encouragement and support of our kids, Yvonne, her husband Jason, JR and I set about to make the space fit for our dream. Somehow, in six weeks’ time, even though we all worked other jobs, we were ready for business. I don’t know how it happened, but that’s the way a dream goes sometimes. You just wake up and realize that an entire scenario unfolded while you were asleep. Sort of like Christmas morning…you know you've worked your butt off, but somehow, it still seems like it really was Santa Claus that prepared and placed all those gifts under the tree!

                

I’m excited. I can’t turn it off. Every moment brings new inspiration and ideas. It’s not a bad place to be!

I heart ellen j goods! 

Find us on Facebook, and watch for an Etsy store coming soon!

back from the wilderness!

Thanks for your response to the Special Sewing Swap! I'm going to get in touch with each of you very soon to get this thing rolling. Promise, it will be fun if everyone wants to play according to some guidelines!

Well, we just got back from another little get away...in a tent, in the woods, in the mountains.

 And, yes, it was great. We didn't kill each other setting up, and despite the rain one day, we had some beautiful nights and some good hiking.

And some good cooking.

                                

JR and I don't need much....just some time to hang out together. We've found that camping is one way to just  BE ..to be somewhat disconnected from our normal life, to be together, to be relaxed.

I know there are a hundred and one ways to achieve the same result, but for us, there is something about getting remote and having only each other that keeps us grounded in our relationship and thankful for all that we have together.