When Mending a Dress is More Like Engineering than Sewing

Here's a photo my vintage clothing friend Julia took of me as I was puzzling out a repair.

The dress is (more precisely - was, and soon will be again) a perfect 1950s party dress, nearly all lace over satin.  The front panel of pleated netting has a bad rip in it.  Just at this moment I was happily realizing that my idea of where to cut and re-sew was actually going to work!

Some of the repairs I do for Julia are simple - closing seams, restitching hems, etc.  Some, like this one, are real challenges.  I'll post a step-by-step on this one when I get to the sewing.  Just thought I'd post a photo of me, because I hardly ever do.

In this photo, you also get to meet Julia's dress form, our good friend Ethel.  

A Quilt-y Excursion

I spent last Thursday through Sunday at a most enjoyable quilters' retreat.

Good times all 'round!  A recently retired friend has bought and furnished a house and is bringing folks up a few at a time to eat great food, visit the quilt and antique shops between here and there, make new friends, and sew and talk until the wee hours.  She is most talented at all these things.

Now on Pinterest

Two of my buddies, with whom I share and discuss business plans for our on-line businesses, have been urging me to join the Pinterest world.  I've been resisting having yet another "thing" to keep me at the computer.

At first, I also resisted having this very blog until both my kids told me, in no uncertain terms, "Mom, everyone who has a business has to have a blog." And here I am, so happy to be a blogger.  So I finally succumbed to Pinterest a few months ago.  After all, I already collect photos!

So, I'm introducing you to my boards.

The one I'm most fond of is called "Quilt Repairs: Before and After".  I'm proud of figuring out how to post two photos in one pin, like this:

"Art Quilts" simply has photos of my art pieces.

"My favorite posts from my blog" has basically the same things you'll find here on the blog under the heading "Featured Posts."

"Dated Quilts" is pretty fun, a compilation of quilts I have worked on that have inscribed or documented dates. I love these for the fabric history they illustrate so neatly.  You can read about these quilts by staying right here at the blog and using the label of the same name - Dated Quilts.

"Favorite fabrics and superior needlework" shows off the quilts and vintage clothing that have really added sparkle to the (yes, sometimes tedious) work I do.

"Textiles that tell stories" is collection of both antiques and new art by me, all pieces that are notable for the stories they carry.  That's the other category that makes this job so exciting.

"Looking through things" is a collection of photos I've been taking that may someday, somehow find themselves becoming an art quilt series.  The first one I took was a pair of chain link fences.  I found myself staring at them while I waited to pick my son up from something or other.  I loved the offset rhythm they created.

"Photos I dream on" is a collection of photos by me. I've been taking a photo nearly every day that speaks somehow to what's going on in my life or is just plain lovely, and sometimes both at the same time.  This board contains some of my favorites.  I began this "photo diary" as a mindfulness exercise last summer when I became an empty-nester.

"Artists and inspiration" are photos of works by other people that I have come across online, with links to more of their work.  Making this board turned out to be a really educational process - now I can see a pattern to what draws me in which I have never seen so clearly.

by Jude Hill, at spirit cloth

I can see already that the Pinterest outreach has already begun sending my blog some new visitors.  A shout out and thanks to Julia at Basya Berkman Vintage Fashions and Cheryl at Sk8 Gr8 Designs Custom Figure Skating Dresses for spurring me onward!

When I Grow Up

The blog that posted this photo is called Advanced Style.  These ladies are just the best inspiration ever. Yep, out of the box in definitely the place to be!

Tapestry Repair

There's a wonderful post over at Treasures From A French Attic.

It's about a tapestry fragment - just the top border - which was repaired in 1902 and still bears the lovely cross-stitch label documenting that work!

This is a perfect moment for me to step up on my soapbox and proclaim that we should all be documenting and labeling our work, both newly created and newly repaired.  You could be the person who creates such joy for a collector and historian 100+ years from now!

So head right on over and read the whole post, which includes more photos and a discussion of the repair work and changes in dyes between when the tapestry was woven and when it was repaired.  Really, really interesting!

Zipper and Pearls

My friend Julia found this really cute 1950's party dress - in perfect condition except for missing the zipper pull.  Rather than replace the vintage metal zip with a new-fangled nylon one, I crafted a replacement pull from my stash of jewelry-making supplies.

This Baby Quilt is Already Nearly 35 Years Old

One of the great perks of the quilt repair biz is taking in quilts that come with great stories.  Here's one.

This quilt was begun nearly 35 years ago, in 1980.  A woman started making it for her godson, but never quite got it finished.  All quilters know what that is like, right?  Over the years, it traveled with her on many, many cross-country moves.

Now, her 35-year-old godson is about to become a father.  She brought the quilt to me for completion.