New home New project New Year Wowzers!!!

NEW HOME
At the start of December I moved into a new place. After a year at my old place it was time for me to move on. I moved to a house across the park. I am still in a non-exciting SF neighborhood, but that's the way I like it. My three other roommates are super nice and chill. My room has a nice view of the GG Bridge and the Bay with a patio. The house has a couple decks that look out to a forested park and we have a large yard with many trees, a greenhouse and a little secret cove. I plan on turning part of the yard into a vegetable garden and prune the existing trees and remove and plant new one's. There will be garden work parties to come. :) I am super excited! I am glad I made the change to move. It really has changed my life in a positive way.


My girlfriends came over to help me organize all my stuff. It was more like an intervention. "Now Sally do you really need this?" They would say in a nice way and I would reply "Yes I frigin do, you don't understand!!!!!" :) It was a pretty intense afternoon, but it helped me get rid of stuff and get organized in my new smaller space. Luckily we are all still friends.
This
That
My new sewing area went from this to that. It's not as nice as my old one, but I will make it work!

NEW PROJECT
Now that I have my new space I have started a new project. I am going to make a button down
tunic, "the liverpool." A tunic is a shirt that is inbetween a top and a dress. I am using Amy Butler fabric and pattern. I will get to learn how to do a french seem and collar. Oh boy, fun stuff!


YEAR IN REVIEW
So last year my 2010 ten sewing resolutions were: make a dress form, be inspired by vintage, use recycled materials, be inspired by nature, use solid colors, use new techniques, buy a serger, make lingerie, explore men's wear, have fun, relax and sew sally sew.

Here is a collage of all my projects in 2010. I think I met about 50% of my resolutions. That's pretty good.

2011

I was asked by my brother what my resolutions are for 2011. I said I didn't really have any, but as I have had time to think about it I came up with a few:

SEWING: I keep buying things from thrift store to alter, so my goal this year is to alter them all and make them into new things before I start too many new projects.
LIFE & WORK: Next month I start taking a semester long Horticulture class and I hope to learn about gardening and urban farming and to clean up the back yard and start my own garden. I also want to have an even more positive outlook and just be happy as much as possible.

2010 has been the best year of my life so far. I still love San Francisco, I love my job and very thankful for it, I love my friends and family and I am healthy. I am looking forward to 2011 and turning 30. I am off to Tahoe tomorrow to celebrate New Years with close friends.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!! I have a feeling that 2011 will be great!

Happy Holidays from San Diego!

Pregnant Raggedy Anne

Let's see Halloween, Philly/Jersey/New York City business trip, Thanksgiving, a few large tree plantings, moving to a new place, and I'm sure there was more drama mixed in there somewhere....but now I am all settled in and ready to sew again. But before that let's go way back to the night of October 31st when my Laughing Sal costume was thought to be a Pregnant Raggedy Anne costume. Some of the parents at the "Scarecade" got my costume and then one other girl, native to San Francisco, at the costume party we went to got it as well. I think you need to be the judge...

Instead of having a Haunted House this year Bert made a "Scarecade." It was a blast and a good turnout for a Sunday and the Giants were playing! He made all these games from scratch and the kids lined up around the corner to take 5 tickets and play 5 games. I gave out tickets and worked the Whack A Ghoul. It was 5 straight hours of ciaos.




I also worked on Bert's costume. He was a circus barker. I made the vest, the armbands and I made the old vintage pants larger by adding side panels. Bert made his hat out of place mats. I think we looked great and went with the old school arcade theme pretty pretty well.

Some of my favorite costumes were my friend Megan and her man's homemade hawk costumes and Kelly's SF tourist costume.

I think my costume turned out good for not having to sew much this year. But whoever I was that night, Pregnant Raggedy Anne or Laughing Sal I think she had a good time, even though I didn't win any costume contests!

What are you Thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Nothing to wear

When I went to my closet today after work I thought it looked like this.

I have nothing to wear! Oh no what am I going to wear tonight?

Well I can make a shirt, I thought and I did. I made a cowl style shirt using old directions I had on how to take a muumuu and turn it into a cute top. I didn't use a muumuu, but I used fabric I already had. By the way, cowl means a neckline where excess fabric is draped in soft folds.

I couldn't find the directions on-line to post, but here is another tutorial: http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/cowl-dresscowl-top.

Basically you take a top that fits you well, trace it onto the fabric and cut it out. Then to make the front cowl part, you lay out the part you cut out and rotate it a bit so that there is more fabric to drape. The more you rotate the more drape you have. It looks like I rotated mine way too much! Trace and cut. It only take a few hours and you have a new top. I used a very stretchy fabric and kept the shirt long, so that I could wear it long or short. The front is super low. I'm wearing my new top to a show in Chinatown tonight.

My closet really looks like this and I do have many things I could have worn. :) But what's the fun in that?

You know you love it.

I loved my mini vacation to Venice, CA with Alexandra. It was fantastic. Even though I am not a fan of Southern California, "You know you love it", was in the back of my head. As soon as we walked off the plane in LA, Gina Davis walked by us. Hello Hollywood! Well that's what I hear. I also missed Dave Matthews walking right by me on The High Line in Manhattan last week. Oh well.

The first night we were in Venice, Alex gave me bangs and a makeover.
(You can take the ugly out of Sally, but you can't take the goofiness from Sally)

Usually this wouldn't be blog worthy, but this is the first time I have had bangs. See for yourself the before and after shots. It was a change I needed and it has upped my confidence. I am going to dye my hair a pomegranate/chestnut color and grow it out a bit. I haven't dyed my hair or grown it out since high school. Wish me luck.

While in Venice we hit up quite a few vintage shops. We both love vintage and shopping. Here are some awesome outfits I found.
I loved these capri's, but Alex wouldn't let me buy them.


This dress was literally falling apart, but I sure do look good in it. It gave me inspiration to make my own.

Nothing says sexy like a two piece mickey mouse outfit. I don't think I gained inspiration from this one.

To my surprise there was a fabric store at the end of our street and a few others in the neighborhood. I bought this funky yellow fabric, but I don't know what I will make with it yet.





Below are my "Livin the Lifestyle" LA model shots, palms shot (i love nature, even if it's palms) and a very stylish attractive MC at the club we went to. Enjoy!





I will be back to sewing soon!

Philly Style

I leave tomorrow for a business trip with all my fellow co-workers to Philadelphia, New Jersey & Manhattan. Were going to the Alliance for Community Trees Meeting and Partners in Community Forestry National Conference, both which are in Philly. Then we are staying at the Executive Director's family's 2,000 acre tree farm in New Jersey, where there will be a hot tub and nice trails for running and lastly we will be in Manhattan for a private tour of the Highline. http://www.thehighline.org/ Way cool!!!!


I should be asleep, since I had a tree planting this morning, but two things have hindered me from getting some shut eye. First, I looked up Philly style to see if anything would come up on what people are wearing and I got this:

So now I am wondering how I will be able to resist one of these late at night. Secondly I am wondering how I am going to fit all my clothing I want to take into my suitcase.

I know this trip will be interesting, educational, and fun, but what will make it awesome is if I bump into a fabric store, vintage store, or a veggie cheesesteak place and then it will be magical.

The Box, Staghorn's, Updates & Balance

The Box:
About a month ago I was given this green box. It is a box full of craft supplies, stickers, cards, etc. The purpose is to go through it and take what you want and put in it things that you don't want or need anymore. It's a pretty good system. I finally went through it on Saturday. It was fun to go through. I took a few things and put a few things in. I will now pass the box on...

Staghorn Party:

On October 9th I had my Staghorn making party. Well not quite a party, but a few people did show up. That day was crazy. I had a planting the day before and had nothing ready for the party. I had to get up early Sunday. I woke up regretting having the party because I wasn't feeling well, had nothing ready and the apartment was dirty. I went across town and bought the ferns at an amazing nursery called Flora Grub. I also went to Michaels and Bev Mo for supplies and then to the beach to find drift wood to mount the ferns to. Lastly I picked up power tools and screws, etc. from a friend to use.

I hope every one's fern is surviving, but if it dies please don't tell me. The ferns party turned into us going out dancing in the Castro. Random!

Why am I having this party???
A guy asked, Are you building a house? No man I'm collecting wood for a craft party. Do you want to come?

Party in the back of my car!!!!

I think they all turned out great!

Updates:

My Halloween costume is almost finished. I just have a few things to stitch and it's done.

I cut out the pattern last night for a dress I am making for my brother's engagement party in November.

I am moving Dec. 1st. No not out of San Francisco, but to a neighborhood in San Francisco. The first place I looked at, I took. I will still have roommates, but the place is very chill. My room has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and a balcony. There is a huge backyard, which I am allowed to plant up and have a garden. I have already recruited co-worker's to help me start a garden and landscape. I am super excited!!!!!

Balance:

I have been in a funk this week. Work has been stressful, I haven't been sleeping and I have noticed I am gaining weight. I haven't really been inspired and haven't been my funny peppy self. On Wednesday I am going to Venice Beach for a few days with a friend. We rented a little studio and I am super excited. Our plan is to relax, beach it, go to vintage shops, ride bikes, go out and dance, and I hopefully I can run on the beach every day. I hope to find inspiration in the funky people in Venice. I know this mini trip will bring my spirits back and I hope to find balance again in my life and to appreciate my my job again.