Vintage Re-Done Wedding Gown

Here is the before photo of this late 1960's silk organza and lace wedding gown.
Here the sleeves have been removed and I'm starting to develop the neckline.
The sleeves in this photo are still attached and I'm beginning to remove the lace from around the neck to see what it looks like underneath.
The sleeves have been removed and neckline lace is off, revealing a nicely shaped neckline and much wider without the lace. A little more attractive I think.
The lace on the dress is actually quite nice. The cheap lace around the neck is being removed. to reveal quite a pretty dress.
I'm beginning to remove the lace.
In developing the neckline, I'm deciding it would look good with straps instead.
Now I need to cut the neckline and re-shape the lace on the bodice.
Lace is cut and pinned in place.
I need to peel back the lace at one point to decide where the neckline should be.
Here is the side view of the gown as I'm shaping the neckline and changing the style.

Above you will find the beginning of a gown remodel. The dress above has about 6-8 hours of work in it already including the tub soak it took after I received it from the Ebay Seller. I still have some more work to do before it's finished, but luckily it's just bodice work and a lot of hand sewing. This dress has a terrific detachable train.

More photos to come as it evolves.

Big Table Farm / Love & Squalor

Emma & Clemantine at Big Table Farm
Collecting Eggs on Big Table Farm
Houston the Human Whisperer!
Emma Riding Hummer Bareback!
Moo!!!!!


Mom - Photo by Emma Serr
Matt Berson - Photo by Emma Serr
Clare Carver and her artwork along with Family wine- Photo by Emma Serr
Big Table Wine - Photo by Emma Serr


Wine Sample - photo by Emma Serr
Emma and Clare sorting egss for the CSA.
Angie washing dishes from Lunch.
Emma filling egg crates for the egg CSA.

Art by Emma
Angie and Matt's livingroom
Baby Roxy in a great outfit picked out by Emma - leg warmer's and all
Playdate Pdx- crazy spring break day.

I recently ventured to Portland Oregon to visit some very good friends. Not only are they wonderful people filled with live and good humor they are amazing cooks and they make wine! What a great combination. My daughter Emma and I spent a week with Angie, Matt and baby Roxanne for Emma's Spring Break from school.

We visited our favorite Portland Restaurants (Broder & Pho Van) and Vintage Store (Xtabay). The supreme Mr. Gabe the Pomeranian was summoned from home to visit Xtabay just for Emma which was quite a treat and offered me a few extra minutes of diversion so I could entertain my vintage fantasies and purchase a wedding gown for re-purposing. Later in the week we even ventured downtown to Play Date Pdx just for Emma and Roxy. It was a little crazy but totally fun.

The highlights, however were wonderful wines - Lots of Love and Squalor Riesling and a new Wine from Matt - Behemoth (coming soon), which is a rich full bodied red, ripe for indulgence.
We were also fortunate to taste a lovely Pinot Noir at Big Table Farm - Spicy and delicious!

Ok, so I have to admit, I'm a bit of a farm junkie and Big Table Farm was one of the most enjoyable I've ever been to. Emma got to collect eggs, ride a horse bareback and help me save a chicken from unfortunate demise (which unfortunately, no one photographed). I hope you enjoy these photos of our wonderful Portland experience.

Franie and the Midgets

My grandmother Frances (grandma Fran) lived quite an interesting life. Not only has she been my style icon from day one, but her life was rich with such interesting stories. This one is about her time with the Singer Midgets in the 1930's.

For some reason related to the fact that her father was a wild animal dealer, my grandmother and her brother Bob (Frances and Robert Heger) were assigned with the task of entertaining the entertainers, when they came to town. Apparently over the course of the years, they became quite good friends. My grandmother would hang out with them off stage and in their dressing rooms. She told me tales of squeezing her waif like frame into their tiny costumes which made everyone laugh. She was particularly fond of a fellow named Gabor, who is pictured in one of the photographs with Fran.


The diminutive size of these wonderful "little people" made them a delight to all, however, I think they must have struggled quite a bit and were bound for a life of entertainment. Because of this all of their clothes were hand tailored and fit like a glove.




It always pleased me to hear the stories my grandmother would tell, especially after seeing the Wizard of Oz. She was particularly keen on me watching the film and I did, on TV, in her living room on her golden striped velvet divan. It was a wonderful discovery to come across all these pictures, once again, after she had passed. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Bag Edeavor Update

We've had quite a few students make progress on their Amy Butler Bags from the Style Stitches book, so I thought I would share a few more photos.

The top image and following photos are pictures of the Miss Maven ruffled handbag. My daughter Emma and I worked on it while we were visiting friends in Portland Oregon.

It took several days and lots of fusing. Fusing, fusing and more fusing, but lots of sewing fun. Well worth all the fuss.


Here is Nancy's version of the Flight bag. She is really coming along and I can't wait to see it finished. All that piping around the petals is hard work.














Stitching down the piping.




The strap alongside the top piece with the zipper.












The strap to the Tear Drop Bag.













Madhu working on the bag's "hip" that reinforces the side near the strap.


Madhu's bag is almost complete.

The Bag Endeavor

This is the beginning of a long story. My affair with Amy Bulter and the ultimate Bag Endeavor.
I started off by purchasing Amy Butler's Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags by Amy Butler - Yet another irresistible craft book with wonderful photography and a set of patterns in the back.

It seemed so economical, as patterns usually cost between $10-$30 each. The only problem with these gorgeous books is that I usually buy them, look at them and file them on my shelf. I am determined not to do that again!

On the insistence of Madhu, one of my ever loyal and encouraging sewing students, it's my plan to make every bag in this book. It will take several months, even with my students pitching in to do their part. It really hasn't been that hard to convince them to take up a bag project of their own. These bags are gorgeous and totally challenging.

The tote pictured above is called: . I made it for my friend Kristen. This was the first bag I started and it took me a couple of months, working on it a couple of hours each week.

Each bag is a complex project of it's own. They make wonderful gifts, but it will be hard to part with once you finish.

To the left, pictured is the flight bag. Nancy is making this out of an old Ikea Curtain with an awesome print.

The first step is cutting out all the pattern pieces out of the main fabric, inside fabric, applique fabric. This will take a couple of hours. I try to keep them with the pattern pieces. There are a lot of rectangles in Amy Butler's work, so don't forget to label your pieces, as it gets confusing really fast.



Nancy keeps on cutting....and we haven't even gotten to the complex system of interfacing.


The next project pictured is the _____clutch. It comes in two sizes. I decided to do the small version. This small bag looks simple, but don't be fooled. it has a very complicated pocket system on the inside. While it's difficult to complete, the pockets are a great asset to this bag once it's finished.

After cutting out all the pattern pieces and interfacing, I started putting it all together. You will start with the main body of the bag. There is a whole technique Amy Butler uses with interfacing and Peltex, where the Peltex (stiffer interfacing) is cut smaller than the fusible interfacing, and placed on the wrong side of the fabric, positioned very carefully. The fusible is then placed over the Peltex and fused to the fabric/Peltex. It allows the seam allowances to be less bulky while keeping the body of the bag reinforced.

The main bag and flap are then sewn separately.

The magnetic snaps positioned and secured.




The handle finished and stitched to the flap.











The inside card pocket completed.








The lining (with zipper pocket!) completed.

Then you get to stitch it all together! Eventually the inside card pocket gets sewn to the lining and the lining gets placed and sewn delicately into the main bag. It's done! This one took me about a month to finish and I topped it off with a great Broach that came from the Alameda Antique Fair.

Lots of Fun and lots of Work. This one took me about a month, working on it a few hours each week.

Good luck with your projects and I'll be posting more progress soon!