Red Barns in the Snow

Red Barns in the Snow

uyguguygu   06.00   Comment  

About five or so years ago I asked my friend A how she figured out how things went together. She was the most put together person I knew. Well, actually, she still is. I was struggling, in my early 20's to figure out how to dress, act, put my house together.  I didn't have a heritage of style like some people do. I hadn't been taught to put things together. My parents endowed many other fantastic things to me - how to manage my finances and how to be kind and smart and relentless - but not style. Growing up was one big battle between my mom's aesthetic and my dads and there was never a compromise so it was just a tangle of objects that various people liked. We also were told almost every single day that we were going to be moving because my parents were going to sell the house. This meant that we could never settle in and invest in the way things looked. 

 To top it off, at the time A and I had this conversation, I was newly married and couldn't get my style to mesh with my husbands and I felt like my tiny house, my clothes, even my haircut was a disaster. I was trying to figure out how to meet his style expectations without compromising my own as well. 

"Well," she told me. "I just look at everything. I look and I look and I look and I look."

That was it. That was the missing piece to the puzzle. So, the very next day I began to do exactly what she told me. As I went through life I tried to notice what caught my eye, what made me excited about things, what was I drawn to. Over the course of the last half decade I feel like I've really been able to narrow down the things that make me happy, and to also reserve a little hidden place for the things that make me happy but don't usually mesh well with the other things. The advice A gave me was super simple but it's completely changed the way I look at things. I wait for things to resonate in a very specific way before I go for them. I acquire things more slowly now. My decision making takes longer. But life is quieter because the cohesion helps to calm things down, both visually and mentally. 

These red barns, dotted around the countryside near my parents house, resonated with me in that specific way. The blankets of sparkling snow surrounded these weathered red structures made me catch my breath and as we drove northward I watched them pass, delighted in the tradition and character that defines that part of the midwest.  

***

I'm wearing a blazer by Ann Taylor (Similar here in black). The shirt is an old Ariat western riding shirt. (Similar cut and features here with a different plaid.) The Jeans are Madewell's Skinny Skinny.  The boots are from Frye and the sunglasses are from Betsy Johnson. 

Late Summer Weather

Late Summer Weather

uyguguygu   21.09   Comment  

Even though it's been raining more than usual here in Colorado the fields are all dried out and the hay has been bailed up or is just sitting there waiting to be bailed. Summer has come to a close for me - I'm back at work now doing training for the new school year, which means I get to dig out all my teaching clothes. 

I'm excited for this new upcoming year - new school, new dress code, new friends to make at my new school, and new students to work with. I'm going to miss many things about my old school but I am looking forward to this new chapter in my career. 

What are you excited for?

***

I'm working that prep look today. The lavender polo shirt is by Lacoste, pants by Banana Republic, the shoes you can't see that I'm wearing are Sperry Top-Siders. I have a Calvin Klein belt on, Pilgrim sunglasses, and a monogrammed L.L. Bean Boat and Tote. 

In That Dream Moving Slow Through the Morning Light...

blessings Christmas Clothes coat daily wardrobe Denim happiness Pants

In That Dream Moving Slow Through the Morning Light...

uyguguygu   18.25   Comment  

Winter's here. It's been very cold this past week. Well, except for today, where it was in the 50's! But it's still cold in the mornings. I drink cups and cups of tea in my classroom in an effort to stay warm before school starts and the heat kicks on. 

Lucky for me I have a brand new coat to keep me warm. Down, on sale, from Land's End. Warmer than any of my husband's coats so finally I'm the one turning the heat down in the car when we are on our way to places!

Coat: Land's End Cire Down Parka

Jeans: j. crew Matchstick Jeans

(Yes, it is true. These are the only jeans I own. I own four pairs of them.)

Shoes: Anthro

Purse: Longchamp Le Pliage

Listening:

We Are the Reckless...

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We Are the Reckless...

uyguguygu   17.30   Comment  

Paper writing today for grad school. I always like to wear impractical shoes when I write papers and these shoes are pretty impractical. It makes sense to me - I basically walk from the car to the coffee shop, from the counter to my table a few times, and most of the four or five hours I just sit there, clacking away at whatever I'm supposed to be writing.

I caught these pictures just before I went out to write my paper. Today's paper is a research paper on whether or not literacy coaching is effective. The results were unexpected (which I like) and interesting (which is an added bonus). It'll make a good narrative. I actually like writing papers, strange enough. It's meditative work for me. It's a very different job than my day job - teaching. 

Sometimes I sort of regret not going 100% academic when it came to grad school because I missed out on both collegiate cycling and being a full time grad student and all the tweed and bookbags and morning coffees and crisp fall air and the fun new school supplies that come with being an academic but I'm hoping I can do that when it comes to my Ph.D. 

I've been listening to Daughter lately. Youth is my favorite of her four song EP. 

I think I'm responsible for about a quarter of the 5 million plays on this song. 

PS: Happy Thanksgiving, for those of you stateside. I'm thankful for so many things. 

Shirt: Urban Outfitters

Jacket: Unknown

Tank Top: Gap

Necklace: Forever 21 (robot) and Gatlinburg Artist Collective (Hemlock)

Jeans: j. crew

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Itty Bitty Baby Clothes - Simplicity 2300

Itty Bitty Baby Clothes - Simplicity 2300

uyguguygu   20.22   Comment  

This is the summer of Showers. Not just the (unusual) amount of rain showers here in Colorado, but baby showers, wedding showers, bridal showers.

For the most part I purchase gifts off of registries for said showers, but I have a wonderful friend who is expecting a little baby boy and I knew she would appreciate something handmade. She also loves vintage clothes so I looked through my vintage pattern stash and interpreted (seriously, this was a tough pattern for me to figure out!) a late 1940's child's playsuit. 

I've recently become enamored with the idea of "Slow Sewing," which is where you slow it down and really, really make it look as good as you possibly can both inside and out. No more whipping out a garment in a single day - every seam is finished and hopefully it looks as great turned inside out as it does right side out. This was my first "Slow Sewed" garment and it really only took me about a third longer than sewing normally does once I figured out how to finish the seams. 

Finally, the coat has the first Welt Pockets I've ever attempted. I found a great tutorial here, and that helped me out a lot! Also, you can find a picture of the original pattern cover on the Vintage Pattern Wiki here.

 

Taking in a Pair of Jeans - The Lazy Way

Taking in a Pair of Jeans - The Lazy Way

uyguguygu   17.19   Comment  

Because I'm an athlete, and more specifically a cyclist, my body goes through three distinct sizes every year. There's winter, when my size goes up because it's the "off season" and I'm not exercising as intensively. There's the early spring/summer and early winter clothes when my body is losing weight and I'm the most proportional, just generally skinny all around, before my cycling thighs really kick in, and there's where I am right now, high summer. 

This is the part where everything, and I mean everything is really skinny, except my calves and thighs and rear end. I have to buy pants a size or two too big for my waist so that my thighs will fit into them. 

(Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of the back of a pair of pants?!)

This means that I have a lot of pants that are  falling down around my hips, gapping terribly in the back, or just plain old not working out. I definitely put some away, like my work pants, for other times but there are a few I don't mind keeping just for in season pants and are tailored accordingly.

I found this pair of pants on super sale at Urban Outfitters and figured this busy print would be the best test subject. If I ruined them I could just write it off as a learning experience. If they worked out, great!

I started by taking my stitch ripper and pulling off the interior tags, the center back belt loop, and I began unpicking the bottom portion of the waistband. 

After I unpicked this a little bit I put the pants back on, zipped them up, grabbed the center back where it was too loose and pinched until it fit. Then, reaching precariously behind me I drew pink lines with chalk where I wanted the edges to meet. If I would have had an assistant I would have had them pin it up for me but since it was just me I drew and then matched it.  I realized I would have to take about 3.5 inches off the back, which is a pretty significant amount! It was here that I lost my seamripper and had to put the project aside for a week or so until I found it! 

Once I found the seamripper again I unpicked that entire section I needed to take out plus about an inch  on either side. I also picked out the center back seam about four inches since that was how long I needed to take the extra fabric without a pucker.  

After everything was picked out I put the pants back on, zipped and buttoned them up, and pulled to take in the extra fabric from the center back seam. I drew lines with my chalk and then took them off and pinned it up to take in the extra fabric. I never worry about pinning things perfectly - I tend to manipulate the piece I'm sewing as I sew so I have clean lines. 

Starting at the existing seam, I sewed a basting line with a big stitch up where I thought I wanted the pants to meet. I left the waistband alone and went to check the fit - turned out there was a pretty severe pucker and the seam was leaning hard to the left! I unpicked the basting line, re-adjusted where I was going to take the seam in, and basted it again. The second try was a lot better!

Once it was basted in place I sewed two seam lines to replicate the twin needle that had been used initially.

I ironed it to smooth out any kinks and tried them on - perfect fit, except for the waistband, which I still needed to figure out. When you have pants professionally tailored they often remove the entire waistband but I didn't feel like this pair of pants was worth doing it to, so I decided to just snip at the center of what needed to be taken off. 

On the left side of the waistband I folded it over and ironed. I snipped the extra off the right side of the waistband and tucked them inside each other. 

I pinned each side back onto the pair of pants and overlapped them so the seam was clean. I sewed, following the orignal stitch lines. 

I re-enforced this seam by doing a little square of stitching and doing some back and forth stitches over points where there would be tension. I wasn't too worried about it looking perfect because I knew that once I put the belt loop back on this would be covered. 

I put the belt loop and brand tag back on (quite frankly the hardest part! This was so thick to sew through!)

Here's how the pants look now that I've taken several inches off the back to accommodate my tiny waist and sway back. 

(Even if altering pants got easier taking pictures of my back didn't! Sorry about the awkward angle!)

Not bad, if I do say so! The back edge of the waistband sits right along my lower back and I can lean over without them falling all the way down and flashing my skivvies to the world! I guess I believe in modesty, propriety, and really loud pants! 

I hope this helps you figure out how to take in your own pants! I had no idea altering pants would be so easy - there are so many seams on pants that it seems like a daunting task a lot of the time. If I hadn't lost the seamripper this project would have taken me less than an hour. I'll be posting outfit pictures featuring these pants tomorrow and then I have one more sewing project to put up. It was a gift for someone so I wanted to make sure that she had received it before I put pictures up on the internet.