2014 in Review

A year of productivity. A year of blessings. A year of asking, seeking and knocking. A year of humble gratefulness. A year filled with the unexpected. A year of discovery. A year of Spiritual awakening. A year of music. A year of stepping out into the unknown.

The list goes on and on. So many beautiful things came to pass this year. I have no idea where to begin. I've blogged more this year than any since I made my tentative beginning in 2008. Trial, I have found, is the best at forcing me to "grow up", so to speak. If I were to title this year, I would call it...

Moving Forward

I've learned so much about myself this year. I've grown as a woman of God and I've made a huge leap forward. The implication here, is that to move forward, there must be something to leave behind. A lot of my personal moving forward this year has consisted of physical moving. In May, my family and I moved over 1,000 miles across the country. From Northeast Ohio to Southwest Kansas! Not that I'm unused to moving. This marks our 22nd move since I was born and I'm only 19. But God has been faithful to us. You'd think my dad was in the military, not the ministry! 

I love Kansas, though! Our community is so warm and welcoming. Our city is big into the arts (especially performing arts). But before I get ahead of myself, I'll recap quickly what has happened this year.

-January: After flipping cars for nine months to put food on the table, my dad began applying for pasoral positions again.

-April: My parents flew to Kansas for an interview and the moment they returned, we began packing (even though we hadn't recieved an affirmative yet). I went to Cincinnati to be an extra in Polycarp:Destroyer of Gods . 

-May: We pack up and take several days to drive to Kansas and see friends along the way.

-June: After settling in our amazing city, I join the municipal band (fist flute part) and begin costume designing for Willy Wonka Jr.

-July: I pretty much spend the whole month sewing for the play.

-August: I take a month off of doing "projects".

-December: Dad, Marley (16), Moses (10) and I go to Honduras and El Salvador for a two-week mission trip.

Those are the big happenings. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll go back through my journal for sure :) 

I set goals for this year, but I'm not attaching myself to them permanently. God has a perfect plan for this year and I trust Him completely. Perhaps none of my well-intentioned plans may come to pass, but Glory to God either way! He is the author of my story and His plot is perfect. I hope you can say amen to that!

Commit your works to the Lord

And your plans will be established

Proverbs 16:3

And as a big celebration of the new year, I'm excited to share with you the Historical Sew Monthly !!! Much more realistic for busy seamstresses like myself; one challenge per month instead of every two weeks. EXCITED!!!

Also, in case you didn't know, I'm starting a fashion blog this month so look out for the first official post of Empress of Autumn

A Few of My Favorite Things {Vol. I}

Sorry for the silence. Life tends to happen and usually, that takes precedence over blogging. I'm going to share with you a few of my favorite things. Things I've always loved and things that I've discovered lately. Fun things, blogs, crafts, etc. I hope you enjoy Volume I of "A Few of my Favorite Things".

 

 

My new blunt bangs!

This isn't an incredible picture, but I like it. You'll be seeing lots of my new do in future posts and in the launch of my new fashion blog

 Empress of Autumn

 

 

It's Not About Staying at Home

I absolutely love this recent message by the beautiful Botkin sisters. It's a convicting and uplifting talk that I would encourage every young lady to listen to (I listened while I was cleaning my room). It's free on their website HERE

 

Not a Care in the Whirl Heels

These GORGEOUS shoes are from Modcloth.

Find them HERE . I'm telling you, I am absolutely in love with them (and I'm dropping a not-so-subtle hint that I'm an 8.5).

 

 

Ulyana Sergeenko

This lovely Russian fashion designer is my new role model and style icon. The way she carries herself and dresses and smiles is the epitome of elegance and grace. (Disclosure: If you look her up, be warned; 90% of her designs are gorgeous, and modest but that other 10% is a bit disturbing, actually. "High Fashion", you know.)

 

 

 

Starlooks' Ultra Olive metallic eye pencil

An amazing eyeliner that came in my November Ipsy Glam Bag. It seems foofy, but it's actually a sensible addition to your makeup collection. Paired with neutral eye shadow, it gently opens and brightens the eye and adds a touch of elegance and panache, especially if you're in a hurry. The pencil is to be purchased HERE. I highly recommend it!

 

 

Lawana Blackwell

I cannot stop reading her books! Mrs. Blackwell is a Christian author whose books I stumbled upon in our church library. Her novels have me captive and I've enjoyed all of them (I've read eight this month!). Her Gresham series is especially heart-warming and absolutely worth the read.

 

 

Star Trek: The Original Series

and

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Specifically, I'm kind of crazy about Lieutenant Commander Data. Brent Spiner is a seriously brilliant actor, not only portraying an android, but often completely different characters when Data's circuits are taken over or he's emulating Sherlock Holmes.

At this point, (Season 3) I'm getting pretty annoyed with Commander Riker's behavior, but I still watch the show, mainly because PATRICK STEWART!

 

 

Sweater Weather!!!

This is seriously the best part of Fall/Winter. Here in Kansas, it's frigid, so I'm busting out my sweater collection...except for the awesome/unfortunate fact that I've lost some weight and now all my yummy sweaters are being passed up to my mom (at least it benefits her). So, I'm going sweater hunting at Goodwill today.

 

That's all I've got. What have been some of your favorite things lately? What do you think of my favorites? Agree? Disagree? On the fence? Drop a comment below (because comments are also one of my favorite things!)

 

HSF '14 Challenge #9-Black and White

Happy Mothers' Day!!! In honor of my own dear Mama's favorite item in my Historical Wardrobe-the Caraco Jacket below-I am posting my HSF Challenge #9 entry today :)

Ta-Da! My first ever full Georgian ensemble!!! I've been dreaming of this day since I was 10 years old. If you've been reading my blog for a while (or even a very short time) you've probably guessed that I am a history nerd. You would be correct! I've always loved books and films about history or set in historical times. I read all of the historical American Girl books when I was 8, 9 and 10 but never had much interest in the modern dolls or their stories. What intrigued little McKenna most, poring over the brightly colored catalogues, was the costumes! Felicity's (1774) were my favorite. The gloriously embroidered gowns and aprons, wee hats and fans called to my little heart and, though I didn't know it yet, would set the stage for my historical costuming journey that began several years later. When my Mom and my Grandmom took me by the hand and taught me how to sew.

What I present to you for my favorite HSF challenge so far is a black brocade Caraco Jacket, white Petticoat and Bergére hat decorated in white. As soon as I finished my stays, I wanted to go for something big and significant for my Georgian wardrobe. I already had a chemise, the stays, a fichu and an under-petticoat (for volume) and was ready to grace my unmentionables with a proper ensemble. So, without delay, I turned to Janet Arnolds' "Patterns of Fashion 1: 1660-1860" and selected the Caraco Jacket (it's on page 22, I believe). Out came my gridded cutting mat, swedish tracing paper, a few rulers and a fat pencil. After scaling up the initial pattern from the book, whipping up a toile, doing a fitting (no easy task when it's just you with no mirror) and adjusting the pattern pieces, I was ready to cut out the actual jacket from my fashion fabric. Honestly, it's so worth it! Don't cut into your fashion material until you're absolutely sure that the garmet fits! Toiles are indespensible to any seamstress!!!

In my opinion, the best part of historical sewing is hand-stitching. After doing all the inside seams with my machine, it's nice to find a comfy place with a cup of tea to hand-sew and re-watch favorite shows like "North and South" and "Wives and Daughters". I tacked the box pleats in place, slip-stitched the hem and the neckline and finally tediously whip-stitched 32 individual hooks and eyes over 2 episodes of "The Paradise". I'm definitely going to use this pattern again! And I'm thinking of doing a tutorial with instructions on how to assemble the pattern. What do you think?

Generally, a Caraco is a working woman's coat but making this version out of black brocade turned it into more of a Sunday morning Church service ensemble. It's like my Mother as a garment. Designed to be functional and productive but perfectly beautiful and elegant. My Mama has always placed an emphasis on looking your best, even when it's just your family around to see it. 

 The Bergére is made of an old straw hat I had on hand. I used The Dreamstress' method for turning an old straw hat into a Bergére (see the tutorial HERE). I decorated it with white lace, white paper flowers (found at Michael's on sale) and a white satin ribbon. I have dreamed of having a Bergére of my own since I was very small. I, being the hat connoisseur that I am, think it's the most elegant and tasteful hat design I have come across! It trumps the cloche, in my opinion, and I think very highly of that hat! 

I'm more than pleased with how this jacket turned out and love wearing it! It's such an amazing feeling to have a remnant of history to wear and have on hand. You never know when you'll need a Georgian Caraco Jacket! 

The Facts...

The Challenge: #9-Black and White

Fabric: 3 yds. Black Brocade, 2 yds. White Cotton

Pattern: Janet Arnolds' 1775-85 Caraco Jacket from "Patterns of Fashion 1". No Pattern for Petticoat

Year: 1775-85

Notions: Thread, Hooks and Eyes, Bias Tape

How historically accurate is it?: 90%

Hours to complete: 10-12?

First worn: For Photoshoot 

Total cost: About $15; that was all in the petticoat

HSF '14: Challenge #5-Bodice

I'm sure rumors have been spreading, but I did, in fact, finish HSF Challenge #4, though it was late and completely different than the original plan :P Yeah, it was kind of a disaster. I had planned on making, at the very least, a chemise and a pair of Georgian stays but I made my stays all wrong and didn't even get to the chemise at all. Soooo, I just ended up replacing the straps on a vintage 1930s cotton slip I had in the ole' mending mountain, a day late and didn't end up posting about it at all. Thus, my plans to create a 1760s bodice and begin building my Georgian wardrobe completely fell apart...

I went onto the fabulous HSF Facebook page and asked my fellow HSF-ers if they knew of a good place to get 1930s patterns. I got overwhelming responses and found some incredible pattern suppliers that I had never heard of! But I ended up buying from Etsy (which I didn't expect, at all). Enter "Mrs. Depew" and her fabulous Etsy shop. Her beautiful French 1930s draft-at-home blouse pattern was exactly what I was looking for! And it was nicely priced, too.

Mrs. Depew's patterns seem extremely confusing at first. The French method of drafting in the 1930s that the pattern uses seemed, at first glance, to be cruel and unusual, but once I got the hang of it, everything made sense. It's quite ingenious, actually.

I constructed a toile first and foremost. That would be the biggest tip I would give to anyone using Mrs. Depew's patterns. Human error accounts for most of the mistakes I made (it was only my first experience with the system) and I'm so glad that I made a mock-up first. That was made of red calico with tiny white polka-dots. I trimmed it with red gingham ribbon. I did finish it completely but it's not my favorite. Marley took some pictures for me but I modeled it with a khaki skirt that is now too big for me (which is both exciting and annoying because now I have to alter it). Also, the shoulders ended up being way too wide and since the back was shorter than the front, I decided to chop the front even and add a waistband. The waistband was too long and small so it really doesn't fit very well right now and it's certainly not flattering so I'll only include one small picture below for the curious ones.

I didn't include the crossing straps

This blouse is one of the first items I've made that I am absolutely in love with! The fit is perfect and I feel so elegant and ladylike in it. I made it out of a $2 vintage, pleated skirt I thrifted. I couldn't even believe that I got almost 2 yards out of it! But I barely had a single scrap left. Use the whole buffalo, says I! 

I did make a few modifications to the pattern. After I had the sleeves basted on, I decided that I wanted the shoulder to be narrower to accomodate my narrowish shoulders. The predominating look of the 1930s was wide shoulders (usually padded), a narrow waist and an overall elongated, graceful figure. I didn't want to lose that essence with the shoulders but I didn't want to look goofy and clownish either. So, I let the drop-shoulder remain but dialed it back a few notches :)

The only other problem I ran into was that again, the back ended up being shorter than the front. I agonized over this problem longer than I should have, but eventually decided to create this little peplum to make up for the 3" difference. And I love the result! Way better than just a plain old straight seam!!! And, instead of drafting a sleeve band, I did a single box pleat and just turned the hem under, so it's still puffy.

In the end, I was so excited, I almost squealed! I love the fitted almost-princess seams that I have dubbed "diamond-seams", because the shape they create is a diamond, in essence. And the crossed bands in the front add such a nice touch of elegance to an otherwise simple and plain design.

I also made the gray skirt, but that was a month or two ago and not challenge-specific.

 The Challenge: #5-Bodice

Fabric: 2 Yards (give or take) Knit Rayon?

Pattern: Mrs. Depew 1049

Year: 1933

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it?: 100%!

Hours to complete: 3 or 4ish

First worn: Today's Photoshoot

Total cost: $2 for the skirt and $7.50 for the pattern=$9.50

Crossies!!! ;)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Have a lovely evening!!!

Period Film Game {1}

I have had so much fun participating in Old-Fashioned Charm's Period Drama games, I decided to bring the fun here!

Here's how the game works. Below are a selection of screen-caps from period drama/action films. The goal is to correctly name as many of the films as possible. Comment with your answers. You can earn 10 points for every answer you give correctly!

Get it? Excellent! For this first round, I'm going to make it easy. Remember, you can earn 10 points for each correct answer for a possible 100 points! I will post the answers alongside the scores next week. Ready. Set. Go!

#1

#2

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#5

#6

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#10

Have fun and leave feedback!