Krysta Sew's: A Glinda Dress

So I've been running around like crazy this year, but I finally have a moment to tell you about my current project!!
I'm in a Theatre fraternity at my school (yes I'm a girl and it is a fraternity) and each fall we have a costume party dance where we reveal bigs and littles. These costume parties are themed, last years was Apocalypse and you could dress as how the world could end (2012, cause what other theme could there possibly be, right?) my friend Greg and I went as fire and Ice

this year the theme is Fantasyland which is a very broad theme and we can all be any fictional character we want. SO me and my friend Tyler are going as Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked. I'm SUPER excited about this, my dress is about an 1/8 of the way done but hey better than nothing right?!? I'm working with my friend Erin, who I have mentioned before, to create a cost effective and simple way of creating Glinda's beautiful blue bubble dress.

so far I have the base of the skirt and the first layer of the petals done, not sewn on yet cause I need to get some tulle on monday next week before I can really go and sew the petals on. But I couldn't be happier (nudge, nudge *lyric reference*) with how the costume is coming along, it doesn't look like much now but in person it is really taking shape. but here is what I have so far. 

can't wait to get working on it some more, soon. I also need to find a good pattern for a bodice. CAN'T WAIT.

Knit-tastic

So after my crocheting project for my mom's friend I decided to dive into a project for myself. Then after days of vintage pattern hunting I finally settled on a beautiful 1947 sweater and Jumper pattern that I discovered from zilredoh.com , such a fun blog, I envy the amount of sweaters she's knitted, all of which are absolutely beautiful.

I've been working on the jumper part of the sweater for about 6 days now. I am in love with the pattern and it's the first time I've ever cabled. (knitting for over 10 years and I've never cabled! what is wrong with me!?) but it's coming along so nicely! Here's my last three days photos! (My roommate laughs cause she doesn't understand why it takes so long) this is the back (I apologize for color distortion. the yarn is a "light sage") :

This was day 4 at 3.5 inches

Day 5 at 6.5 inches (definitely did nothing but knit)

Day 6 at 8 inches

While it's hard to see the differences in inches I promise it's growing! So exciting to watch it become a sweater!

my only complaint about knitting sweaters though is how long it takes, to be expected yes, but I tend to find it hard to just sit still for a project that will likely last me a month or more, especially with work starting back up this week and school starting up next week. This busy bee is gonna be a tired one!

AHHH it's been too long!

So I wish I could start this post off with saying I've been soooo busy...

but I haven't been.

I got bit with the lazy bug for a few weeks.

I did, however, cut out the reprint pattern 60s skirt, but then gave up because it got really hot so now it's sitting in a pile in the room I was using as a makeshift sewing room while I've been home for Summer break. Which I have now begun to pack up because I am FINALLY moving back to school.

though I haven't been completely -BLAH- for the past couple weeks. I made a baby cocoon for a woman at my moms work. It took a lot longer and was a lot bigger than I had expected.

BUT while I was working on this adorable cocoon, I got distracted by blog after blog of knitting and sewing masters who have inspired me to make a sweater. So me and my friend Brigid, who will be pictured later I'm sure, have decided to start a knitting/crocheting circle at my house at school during the year to keep each other on track in making sweaters with the occasional glass of wine. We're very excited for this!

Welp, I better go keep packing. (Amazing how many clothes I can gather over a couple months) and then figure out what sweater pattern I want to make!

Ta-ta for now!
Krysta

sewing like mad and helpful tips

This weekend has been a chance for me to take a step back from my own sewing and dive in to a fabric that I have always had a dislike for... Lycra. my machine was never a fan in the past so I DREADED getting started and my machine decided to yell at me halfway through a pair a pants so I went to a wonderful woman's house, her name is Erin, and she fixed it in a matter of seconds, replaced the needle and told me to clean my machine and oil it. So today I gathered my compressed air and machine oil and VOILA! my machine sounds a heck of a lot healthier. 

BUT, last night I spent from 830pm - 130am sewing and surging my little butt off. Erin taught me all sort of little tricks that I'd never seen before. one of my favorites that I will now worship her for is when you're working with those really thin pattern pieces that when you touch them they wrinkle and fall apart and tear and then there goes a pattern down the drain. SO instead save the remnants from the cut outs and when you have a rip in the pattern piece take a little piece of scrap and run a regular craft glue stick over it and apply it to the tear and then iron it to patch it up! 

Another fun little tip is instead of spending $14 at your local fabric store for pattern weights, run to a local hardware store and grab the heaviest washers you can find and get a few of them and they work just the same (for less than HALF the price). And to jazz them up, take some scrap fabric and make them look all pretty!

she also taught me the importance of muslin trials. So when I get around to making pants she's gonna help me fit them so I can have perfectly tailored pants 

so basically doing a little manual labor to help make costumes for a dance company has given me some useful bits of advice that will save me so much time and money! 

Late night vintage crafting post

Alright, so recently I've gotten back into my old love that I've taken a break from, knitting. I've been knitting since I was little so it got boring for a while. This was until my mom presented me with the task of making baby clothes and other misc baby items for a coworker of hers.

About a year ago my nana, who is both a knitter and a collector of sorts, gave me her collection of knitting needles, patterns, and random assorted crafts. I didn't go through it. All I knew is that there was more there than I wanted to deal with at the time. So now I finally went through everything, and beside finding a pattern to make these adorable baby booties

I found these vintage patterns for sweaters/winter gear and other misc. items.

These pattern books are all from the 1960s

These lovely books are from the 1950s. They make me really want to knit a sweater. I do wish the book on the right still had its cover, but I love these. So who knows. Maybe by winter I'll have finally knitted a sweater.

And on top of the beautiful patterns I also now have a nice collection of needles.

In the mean time, I have my skirts cut out and ready to be sewn, a baby blanket to be crocheted and some dance shorts soon to be sent my way to sew for a show that's in about 2 weeks. Busy, busy, busy!

oh and by the way, if you get a chance, donate to this awesome new dance companies kickstarter! Their name is Texture Contemporary Ballet, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and they need help to pay for this show. And plus, SUPPORT THE ARTS <3

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2010407864/texture-contemporary-ballet-presents-perpetual-mot

New sewing project?

While I'm fully aware of the awful heat that seems to be raising in temperature every hour, my next sewing project is...wool and plaids, very winter/fall color.

I'm thinking skirts. The same but in different colors of course. The skirt is simplicity 2154 which is a reprint from the 1960s.

So the fabrics I have are not my favorite but this is the only thing I can think to make with it. They are both kinda bland but I got them cheap and I figured...why not?!

One is grey and one is blue and yellowish plaid. We'll see what happens with these :)

Maybe if I like them enough I'll invest in making the cute cardigan or the adorable top!

Krysta Cooks: Gluten Free Corn Casserole

So this past year at I've gone to many events where I've had to bring a side dish , a pot luck if you will. I've gotten used to making a dish that takes about an hour and is always a group favorite. Corn Casserole. I've recently gone gluten free and have been craving it, and a friend of mine also requested that if I can make it gluten free I totally should. so I did!

The Ingredients:

1 Cup of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
1 can (drained) sweet whole kernal Corn
1 can cream style corn
2 eggs
1 stick of Melted butter (you can cut that down a little if you like)
1 cup of sour cream (be sure it's gluten free :))

Preheat the oven 350. alright so get a big mixing bowl and put in everything listed above, adding the sour cream last. I ended up adding a little sprinkling extra of the cornbread mix just to make it a little thinker but it probably wasn't needed.

so mix that up, and it'll kinda look like corn slop.

 I promise it'll taste better than it looks right now. pour this into a casserole dish. Once the oven is preheated toss it in for about 50 minutes. once it hits that 50 minutes take a fork and stick it right in the center of it and if it comes out a little gooey rather than "bread-like" stick it in for another 10 minutes. once it's done pull it out and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before eating, though it can be hard to resist :)

Sewing project: Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 1607 (part 3, it's finished!!)

So after a day of struggling with straps and being confused out of my mind, I have finally finished the dress. 

These straps were crazy difficult, not only are they hard to match properly but they are hard to get in and out of, sheesh!

Just a little look into my sewing :D

And it was finished!! (After I figured out the zipper foot :D)

Probably going to be my favorite dress for a while. No doubt.

Vogue pattern sale!!

So, before work today when I was grabbing the fabric I needed for the dress I'm working on I couldn't help but notice that the vogue pattern sale was still happening! So I finally caved and bought a couple of the patterns from the beautiful vogue vintage reprint section

And

I don't know when I'll find a reason to make them but for 3.99 I couldn't pass it up!! 

I'm thrilled to have these beautiful patterns in my collection! 

Sewin project halt

Alright so I got put on hold with my sewing project because I needed to run to the store and grab lining and interfacing before I continued...you would think I'd have bought it all at once. Oops! So now that I've purchased everything I need to proceed I will be spending tomorrow working on my dress. Hopefully I can get it almost done, if not completely finished :) stay tuned for another post! Sure to come your way tomorrow!!

A look back

I figured what a better after lunch post than a nostalgic look back at a couple of my favorite creations from this past year.

This first one initially started out with inspiration from a mod cloth dress that I loved, I thought the two piece dress was really cute so I spent a few days with my sewing supplies (and a beautiful green fabric that may or may not have been a table cloth).

The next dress I am pretty proud of was one I had initially designed to have a peplum waist but after beginning construction I gave up.

This was the original design....

this was the finished project (pre-ironing of course)

I was pretty proud of these. I got great reviews from my peers and above that I was happy with them :) There were others I had made but these two are two of my favorite ones :)

It's Finally Arrived!!

So about a week ago I had gotten to work insanely early so i spent about an hour and a half perusing the shelves of the craft book section at Barnes & Noble. Book after book of quick and easy sewing patterns, sewing ideas, books with pattern pieces enclosed, but then I stumbled upon the book that I feel like I've been needing my entire life. It was almost as if there was a golden light around it drawing me towards it. The Dressmaker's Technique Bible  written by Lorna Knight. I was overwhelmed with the amount of information, stitches that I've been fudging, tailoring that I've been skipping and i knew i had to have it! the unfortunate side was that in store it was $29.99 (eek!), which while the information is priceless, I didn't want to spend that much on a book, so I searched the internet and found it for about $11, can't beat that.

I have a feeling that this book is gonna be put to use quite a bit this summer and I'm VERY excited about it.

What is love?

The age old question. Everyone has this question at some point in their life and who knew there was an answer! I stumbled across this beauty while I was trying to cure my boredom. I sent it to a couple of my friends and we giggled over the dialogue. But the great thing is that it's almost a great way to explain it. cause you ask what love is and everyone kinda shrugs and says "you'll just know" great answer, right? (oh, the sarcasm!) So here it is, "How Do You Know It's Love" from 1950

pretty great answer, huh? 

Sewing Project: Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 1607 (Part 2)

Alright, it's really hot, but i finally convinced myself to stop being insanely lazy and get up and cut out the bodice of this beautiful dress. so my progress so far...

I was all set to go way earlier today but it got so hot! a little background, we live in an old church that we are slowly turning into our house so it's still not properly fully ventilated in the area I started in, and even then its hot everywhere you go. So I finally wheeled my air conditioner into another room and went for it and....

VOILA! alas the pieces of the bodice of the dress were cut! Which is super crazy exciting that I actually accomplished something on my day off from work. 

hopefully I can get some sewing done soon. baby steps!

Sewing Project: Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 1607

So starts my sewing projects, my first one is simplicity 1607. I've been staring at this pattern for a few days and when I bought it I was just so in love with the neck line and pattern of the straps. But after buying this pattern I kept getting distracted about the drop waistline. I have never been a fan of that so I'm considering pulling the waist line up and doing a plain circle skirt. That way I'm not constantly battling myself on it. But i'll see what I end up with, especially cause I have a feeling I would never wear the dropped waistline version.

so here is a picture of the pattern that I'm using.

And I found this LOVELY mint fabric at my local reuse store, which has been my saving grace in my sewing projects. 

well I think I'm gonna go get started, more pictures and updates will be up shortly!

Krysta Cooks: "PowerBalls" (tee hee....)

So the title of this post is a misnomer, there is no actual cooking involved. But! Like many others, my family goes through random spurts of insanely healthy eating. Today's Food of choice:

The name of this made me giggle, childish mind, oh well!

So this Recipe is from a Book Called Meatless Recipes. We bought this book because both of my sisters are vegetarian and were beginning to run out of meals that we could try. My mom has been dying to try this recipe since she bought the book so today I made it!

The Powerballs recipe calls for:

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of honey

3 cups of oats

1/2 cup of ground flaxseed

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup of dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (which i did not do)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

then mix the peanut butter and honey. nom nom nom

 Then the oats, slowly, which I didn't do and I regret it.

 Then add the Flax!!! ALL THE FLAX!!! which if you didn't know, is rich in Omega-3 Fats!!

 Next you get to add in all the tasty things, like chocolate, cranberries, peanuts, and raisins. and Mix those little babes in!

 and then you're gonna want to roll 1" balls, which if you're like me will be more like 2"...oops! and then space them out on a baking sheet with wax paper on it.

about 10 minutes and 10 sticky fingers later stick these bad boys in the fridge....

The recipe recommends overnight....but I couldn't resist and so I ate one a few minutes after popping them in the fridge. They are the tastiest healthy treat I've had in a long time! Though looking back I would totally recommend chopping the peanuts to make rolling easier. The best part about this recipe is its both Vegetarian safe AND Gluten Free! (Though this batch was not made with oats that are Gluten free safe) :-/

Hey Guys, Welcome!

I'm Krysta

I'm a college student and this is my blog.

I've been exploring ways to bring vintage looks into today's fashions as well as appreciations for fashions that were from 1940-1960. I do what I can to design and create clothing based off of a vintage feel and experiment with new looks in my designs. I also like to work off of vintage patterns and the recreations that companies have been coming out with.

On top of all that, I just like to sew! on here I'll show some projects, how to's, experiments and who knows what else!

SO welcome to my blog!! Feel free to send suggestions/questions on any projects that I tackle :)