Pumpkin Patch Adventures

My good friend Megan and I had a nice weekend of seeing Crimson Peak, then visiting a pumpkin patch.

Honestly, this is my first time to a proper pumpkin patch as an adult, so it was very fun! It's on a nut farm here in San Diego County. I didn't buy any pumpkins, or any local goodies, I mostly took in the sights and smells of the area, and of course took blog photos. (And contest photos for Emily's contest)

Sewing Details

Fabric: Grey Suiting

Pattern: Self drafted!!

Year: 1940's

Notions: Self covered buttons

How historically accurate is it? I wanna say fairly accurate. It's an synthetic suiting, and it has pockets....

Any tricky parts to the pattern?  I messed up a bit on the buttoning but when I cut the fabric, but it works well. I'm planning on making a nicer version once I get all my ducks in a row.

Did you change anything?  Nope. I made it to fit my measurements!

Time to complete: A week.

First worn: Aside from a test wear in class... October 17, 2015

Total cost: $35 I believe. I had coupons.

Notes: Made in the fall of 2014 for a class assignment. It has a matching cape!

Outfit details
Dress- Self-made
Hat- StutterinMama
Gloves- Frock You!
Bangle- Thrift Trader
Purse- SDVFM
Brooch- Antique Mall

Megan's Outfit Details
Dress- Pink Rose
Collar- Salem Couture
Tights- Spirit Halloween
Boots- Target

Megan proving she's not the shortest Dutch person in the world. She towers over these mini GIGANTIC sunflowers.

This baby goat had the cutest eyes, and was so precious!! I wanted to take him home!

Have any of you been to a pumpkin patch lately?
For those of you who aren't in the US, what neat fall-weather festivities do you do?

Fall/Winter Wardrobe Inspiration

(center image -source )

Hello everyone!
Remember when I said I was going to attempt to get through a ridiculous amount of patterns in a year? Yeah. Yeah. So I decided to be a bit more practical, and split it.

I sat back, and looked through my closet as I did a clear out at the start of summer, and noticed I don't have a lot of fall/winter clothing! Now, it doesn't get as cool here in Southern California as it does in other parts of the US. We spend a good bit of our September and October hearing about Santa Ana winds, and fire warnings. Eventually our weather cools, and I'm spending the next few months bundled in scarves.

But on to what I want to make.

I made a little pinterest board for my ideal fall/winter wardrobe. (if San Diego ever decided to start snowing, and I had allll the money)


I need more blouses. There are no ifs, ans, or buts about it. I plan to make a couple of blouses from [vintage]Simplicity 2382, [vintage]McCalls 6413 and something I self-draft.
As for fabric choices, they're going to be cotton

In the bottoms department, I'm going to make some trousers from an altered pattern drafted for me by a friend. I might even figure how to make myself some jodhpurs if I'm feeling up to it! I'll also make myself some skirts from Simplicity 3688.

I traced McCall 4184, I'm trying to not run off and buy some nice wool for the set before I've even done the muslin. I'm excited to work on that suit. I've never done a proper suit, so this will be a fun learning experience.
And if I want to do a simpler top and bottom suit, I have DuBarry 5411 traced out.

And I'm working on a hat. I got some (pretty flimsy feeling, imho) buckram from Joann, and some wire, so I'm jury-rigging a hat, lets see how it goes!

In terms of colors, I have the ones illustrated as guidelines, and ideas. I'm sure I'll pop to the fabric stores and turn into a magpie to something else, I'm sure

Now, I'm going to start small. Blouses first. If I employ assembly line ideals for the cutting of the fabrics and sewing, I should have a couple cozy blouses quickly. Thankfully I've worked with the two vintage patterns before, so I know the ins and outs of them.

Next I'll do skirts and trousers. So even when the eventual winter hits us, I'll have some nice basics I can mix and match.

Mind you, I'm taking a pretty intense fashion course this semester, which I'll have to drape a garment for, so it's best I start small!

How about you all, are any of you figuring a Fall/Winter wardrobe (or in the case of those of you in the Southern Hemisphere Spring/Summer)? 

Do you have any colors you're gravitating toward? 

Have any of you made a hat?

Spirit of '45

On August 9, 2015 I attended a very special event.
It was called the Spirit of '45, and in attendance were a lot of WWII veterans and their families. It was held at Balboa Parks Veterans Museum. 

The entire experience was very humbling, and I feel very grateful to have attended. I got to speak to a few veterans and their families, explore a museum I haven't been in since I was 16, and literally feel the history buzzing around me.

I stopped and chatted with this gentleman and his family for a bit. This is John, and he was in the Navy for a number of years. He had his well loved scrapbook which he said is about 60 years old, full of images from before he went to the service, during his tour, and even photos of the signing at the end of the war! For which he had an amazing story as to how he acquired them!
His family were very kind, and I hope to run into them in the near future!

At this point, they brought up some WWII vets and asked them were they were August 14, 1945. Among the men they asked, many were on their ships, some in Europe, even some in POW camps. All vividly recalled what was going through their heads when they were told of the surrender of Japan. 

I popped back a bit to talk with John and Dianne, and saw they had disappeared. I was told they went dancing, and I snuck some shots that Dianne gleefully told me to post on the blog.

I tried to not 'Awww' loudly.

I was very fortunate to be able to speak to this kind gentleman. His name is Stu, and he's a Pearl Harbor survivor. He recanted what he experienced December 7th, 1941 in excruciating detail, I shed a tear or two. Stu's job was gun pointer for turrets, which had him shooting shells which were 5ft2in tall, when he told me that, I mouthed 'That's how tall I am!' and he got a big laugh out of that.




When I got home and talked with my grandparents and asked where they were during the end of WWII, and they had said with the both of them being kids, and on two different sides of the states (grandpa in San Diego, grandma in Pennsylvania), it was interesting to hear how they reacted.
Grandpa watched as people hugged and partied in the streets downtown.  My grandma had a somber feel, knowing her older brother wouldn't return home, but was happy that other men and boys were able to.
I also asked them what their parents did during wartime. Grandpa said his mom was a welder, and his dad worked for the Highway Patrol. Grandma said her parents just did their usual jobs. Guess there was a huge difference in what people did depending on where they lived.


On the 15th, I'll be attending another WWII event, and will share photos of that with you.

Have any of you been to any of the WWII related events in your areas?