On a Wednesday Look for Tuesday

Posted on a Thursday!

I've been wanting to make a spiderweb collar for a few years, but never seemed to be able to get around to it. This year knowing I wouldn't have time to finish either the spiderweb dress or spiderweb skirt that have also been on my "to sew" list for awhile before the month was over (not that I ever feel spiders should be limited to October), I went for the collar. 

I thought about a few ways of going about making this and ultimately, which is a little hard to see in the photo, decided on a white gauze base to give it a wrinkly look with a sheer layer for the top to give it a little sparkle. Then I machine stitched the web on top of both layers with metallic thread! To finish it off I opted for a snap and a round pearly button sewn on top.

Paired with a black shirt, a spider necklace, and a mirror in need of cleaning, this is my official Wednesday on a Tuesday posted on a Thursday look.

                 ♥ ♥ ♥

On a 60's Secretary Skirt

Or at least that's what I'm referring to it as. 

Finding that over the past eight months that most of my clothes have become too big for me, one of the go to items in my closet has become one of the very first items I made from a vintage pattern in 2009 or 2010, a drawstring  polk-a-dot skirt from the 1968's McCall's pattern 9398 (which while I've certainly thought about it, I'm now realizing has never made an appearance on this blog). Last month it occurred to me that given how often I was wearing this skirt, I might want to make a few more.  

Given that I've hardly sewn anything with knit since I first started sewing clothes, I was excited to see what I'd find in the flat folds section of the outlet fabric store I frequent and ended up with what I deemed two very 1960's appropriate fabrics. This one is a synthetic, which I try to avoid, but the texture was so perfect I couldn't resist it!

There's nothing fancy about this pattern, it's just two basic rectangles sewn at the side seams with a folded over top to create a casing for a drawstring, two holes for the drawstring, and a hem. I decided to forgo the fabric drawstring and substituted a ribbon. 

Because I have extra fabric, I'm thinking of eventually making the coat from this 1967 pattern and spent some time trying to figure out if I had enough fabric left to do so.  

 

Since I'll need to grade down the pattern to a smaller size and will also need some fabric for lining and the collar (leaning towards white with large red polk-a-dots!), it probably won't be for awhile. 

 

Meanwhile, I think it pairs perfectly with my black bolero, white t-shirt, and the sunglasses that were my grandma's to give a perfect 60's look! 

 

And for an October extra, since I'm trying to be better about remembering to take pictures of them, my spiderweb brooch! 

♥️ ♥️ ♥️

On Oh So Many Pumpkins!: A Photo Post

The past two weeks have involved oh so many pumpkins...

Plastic pumpkins!

Oversized pumpkins!

And a wonky little fabric pumpkin patch that goes with one of my wonky little mice!

♥ ♥️ ♥

On "Monster, She Wrote" : A Book Review

 

Title: Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction
Authors: Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference, Reader's Guide

About the Book...
The genres of horror and speculative fiction includes a wide span of authors, many of the most influential being female. This book explores the lives of some these women, their work, and the lasting impact they've had on these genres over time. 

What I Think...
This, while small and fairly short, is a very informative book. While my reading veers towards the classics in these genres, I enjoyed this entire book and added a few new names I hadn't been familiar with to my reading list! 

I really liked the way they broke down the information in this. For each author they include a mini biography, a look at some of their most notable works, and then provide a reading list that consists of the sections "not to be missed," highlighting the works they are best know for; "also try," which lists some of the lesser known works; and "related works," which focuses on other things that were inspired by or that relate to the author and her writings. I felt that this provided a quick, yet well-rounded look at each author and really showed the relationship each has with their genre as a whole.

Throughout the text, what I think of as "fact boxes," add to an understanding of what defines each genre (such as "Spotting the Gothic") and provide further insight to the topic. I also loved the illustrations and how peppered throughout are quotes from the works discussed.

To Sum it All Up...
A great book when it come to learning about some of the great female writers in the genre and a fun way of being introduced to some new ones! (As an added note, a companion book called Women of Weird Tales is coming out soon!) ♥️