Getting summer-wardrobe-ready

Photo courtesy of treefalldesign.typepad.com

Yesterday the sun was shining, it was a beautiful 67 degrees outside and I was NYC bound to do a little fabric shopping!  I got a few really beautiful silks, some beaded embellishments and some summer weight cottons and jersey and now I am all set to start a fantastic summer wardrobe!  I love wearing dresses in the summertime wether it be to the grocery store or to the park or a bbq with friends so I plan on making a lot of fun summer dresses in every style from maxi to mini.  I cannot wait to get started and I will be sure to keep you all updated!  Anyone interested in including a fun summer item into their wardrobe as well let me know, I am taking orders!

TTYL,

-Devon

Happy March!!!

March is here and spring is in the air!  Okay so not really, there is still a ton of snow on the ground and when I stepped outside this morning I thought my ears were going to fall off from the cold but we are one step closer to warmer weather and that thought alone puts a smile on my face! 

I want to update you all on all of the great stuff that I have been making throughout the month of February but unfortunately... I can't.  Wah, wah, waaah.  I do have one picture that I can share with you all:

I made this top very last minute to wear to a baby shower for a friend of mine.  I realized at 10pm the night before the shower that I had nothing to wear so I dug through my pattern file and through my fabric stash and came up with this very cute (if I do say so myself) top.   I used a Butterick pattern B5100 view D and some fabric I found in the Red Tag section of Joann's if you can believe it.  There was just a little over one yard (not really enough to make the top the way it is supposed to be made) but I made it work and by 12pm the next day I was walking out the door in this outfit!

So now you all want to know why I don't have pictures of anything else if I have been so "busy"?  Well I will tell you, it is because since the advent of Facebook it is hard to wear the same outfit twice!! This is ridiculous but true.  Once an outfit is out there in FB land for everyone to see it is hard to rock it again unless you know you wont be running into anyone from Facebook! UGH!  Therefore I can't actually post pictures until I have worn the outfits out.  Luckily I have a ton of events coming up in the next couple of months so I will have lots of pictures of things that I have made coming soon.  :-)

TTYL,

-Devon

I AM GOING TO FASHION WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I am sorry, did I fail to mention that little detail? Well...I am (huge cheshire cat grin)!  Yes this friday I will be amoungst the fabulous people at New York's Mercedees Benz Fashion Week at the Venexiana show.  I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!  My wonderful cousin managed to score us seats and immediately, well after dancing an irish jig around the room, I thought "what the hell am I going to wear?"  For days I pondered what look I wanted to go for.  I knew I wanted it to be fairly simple and understated, I wanted to look effortlessly stylish.  And then one night while laying in bed just before I fell asleep (which is when all of my best ideas come to me) the perfect look floated into my thoughts. 

I am a color freak.  I love all things bright and colorful and that will make you stand out in the crowd but for this occasion I didn't want to do anything too bright so I decided to do a silk charmeuse blouse in a golden/ mustard color paired with some funky black pants and chunky jewelery. Now that the look was in place I just had to hope upon hope that I could find the perfect fabric for this look that was dancing around in my head.  So with just 8 days until the big event I braved the 31 degree cold and took a trip into the city to go fabric shopping (and believe me, it was very cold!!!).  Fortunately, I knew exactly where I wanted to look and this is what I found:
Silk Charmeuse in mustard & black raw silk for the pants

                                                          

Now it is time for me to get to work.  I will update you all on my progress and I will be sure to post lots of pics of the final outfit as well as (fingers crosses) us in front of the tents in Bryant Park!

TTYL

-Devon

BTW do you love my fabric choices?  The charmeuse is so beautiful I am tempted to make a dress out of it...but that would be for another occasion.

Happy February!

Hi All and happy February! Sooo happy January is over! I love the winter, holiday season and snow and all but, honestly by January I am over it. So now that it is February I feel like we've gotten over the hump and spring is just around the corner.

Since I am new to this whole blogging thing, I am posting a little more frequently than I may normally tend to because I want to catch you all up to where I am currently. Well, that is one reason. The other is because my boys (the twins) are getting their first taste of freedom with toddler beds and they think that bedtime is playtime and therefore I have to stay in this darkened room with them until they fall asleep just to ensure that they don't tear the place apart.

You have seen the pictures of the first really wearable dresses that I made but since then I have made a TON of things that I want to share with you. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of everything but I will share what I do have:


This I made for a friend of mine to wear on her honeymoon. She wanted a sundress but it evolved into this maxi-dress made of a light weight viscose. This, unfortunately is the only picture I have and it is not very good and it was only about 85% done at the time but you get the idea.



This one was made for a friend to wear to a wedding. The bodice on this is shirred and was absolutely gorgeous!



This dress was made for a friend to wear to a Christmas party.



I LOVE this little dress! It originally started as a tunic but I needed a dress to wear to an event I was attending last October so I just added a little length and voila, a dress! I really wish you could see the detail in the dress better, but it is made of a simple black poplin, with black satin accents on the trim, pockets and yoke. The yoke is also trimmed with a black separating zipper (non-functional as I cut the zipper pull off). The sleeves and the shoulders are done in a metallic fabric that I found amongst some brocades and sari fabrics. When I saw it I was in love but I knew it was a lot so I had to make whatever I paired it with simple. My husband HATED the metallic and was constantly making fun of me for buying it until he saw the finished product.



Just a simple cowl neck top I made but I loved this fabric...someone spilled red wine all over it. R.I.P cowl neck top in the lovely cotton jersey that was so soft I could wear it to sleep in.



This top is actually pretty popular, I have sold a couple of them. Nothing fashion forward but it is great to throw on to go to the grocery store in place of sweats. This is the best kind of look for me as a mother of three who doesn't want to look like those moms you see walking around in their PJ's and leftover lunch in their hair!

And last but not least, this is the very FIRST item I ever completed. It is made from some fabric that my grandmother bought probably in the 70's or 80's. This was made from Kwik Sew pattern 3692.



Yes I do use patterns occasionally but only for certain things. I have used them in the past to help perfect my sewing skills or to make myself something quick and easy. I don't really like to break out too many of my own designs for everyday wear I save those for when I am going to an event where I need to look fabulous. I am saving most of my own designs for my website. Those photos I am not sharing just yet...I may give you all a sneak peek when it gets closer to launch time though *smile*

Well, the boys are finally asleep so I am logging off for tonight.

TTYL,

-Devon