December 2010
2 posts
7 tags
Featured in this fellow Etsy seller's blogpost →
November 2010
1 post
8 tags
October 2010
2 posts
7 tags
September 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Distracted
I’ve been lazy lately. Rather, distracted. By a few things… :)
I played a gig at Mohegan Sun last night, which required a lot of prep. Now that the gig’s out of the way I can go back to some of my other interests. A bunch of new items were added to my shop tonight. I’ve gotten the ball rolling on scheduling my next voice lesson. (I’m really missing jazz...
3 tags
Zipper's in
No small feat either. Couldn’t find a zipper foot for the machine. Zipper foot I finally found didn’t exactly cooperate w/the machine’s treads. Inadvertently got a pleat caught in the zipper seam. Sigh… I wish the zipper was perfect. It’s not. But, I’ve learned the hard way, ripping out the seams and redoing it will only make it worse - leave little...
August 2010
8 posts
3 tags
Deadline fail
I’m fully aware that my deadline passed last Wednesday and my dress is not complete. And I’m ok with this. I know that there are just a few more evenings’ worth of work before completion. Tonight I did some zipper prep. Considering the bulkiness of this particular cotton (made the wrong damn choice…) I added seam binding to the zipper seam so the zipper will be less...
Project Replica Update - 8/12/2010
Midriff secured to bodice.
Skirt constructed. (6 panels!)
Pleats pinned then unpinned. Think I did a shoddy job of pinning them the first time. Will reattempt on an ironing board.
After the pleats I’ll have to secure to skirt to the midriff, insert the zipper, attach the sleeves, and hem the skirt and sleeves - probably by hand. Perhaps a task for my trip to the DMV on Monday?
...
8 tags
Frustration!
If I don’t finish this frickin’ midriff soon, I’m gonna scrap the whole thing. No, not really. But seriously, this is super frustrating. Here’s why:
My attempt is to make the midriff more functional, for it to flap open rather than for it to just be decorative. This way the dress will be easier to pull on and off. Somehow, some(how?) the first midriff was too small...
4 tags
Procrastin...I'll finish that word later
So, I’m totally being a complete fucking lazy ass. There is no way I’m meeting this August 18th rockabilly dress deadline, especially if I go visit my sister this weekend. I’ve made the conscious decision to sit in bed and drink beer tonight and NOT set my alarm for 7am yoga. I’ll console myself w/the fact that I went running on Sunday, a totally out of character,...
Fingers in too many pies
I have ten fingers and nearly as many pies. There are so many interests and budding talents that I want to cultivate but there just isn’t enough time. I am starting to wonder if I need to cut back on some of my hobbies to give my best effort to one or two creative endeavors.
The good news is I think I’m finally discovering what I want to do with my life. I just need to do a little...
Bad news
This evening I had a little Project Replica pow-wow with my mom, the master seamstress. While she was away and I was minding the Linden Place fort I ran into a little problem with the midriff of the dress. Tonight I asked for her advice. Not only is the midriff inexplicably not long enough (by long I mean wide I guess - it’s barely closing around my belly), but the bodice is nearly...
July 2010
11 posts
10 tags
11 tags
Project Replica Update # 4
I finally got back to work on what I’m calling “Project Replica” - the construction of a rockabilly dress from a 1950s pattern. (Totally cool, right? The only thing that would make it better is if the fabric itself was vintage too. Alas, I purchased this material at JoAnn’s Fabric just a few weeks ago.) I first had to fix a mistake I made during my last sewing session...
10 tags
9 tags
Time keeps on slipping into the future
It’s been a week and a half since I’ve done any work on Project Replica. And I am ashamed. In my defense, I’ve been very busy otherwise. Plus, it had been even longer since I had added anything new to my LonesomeBrown shop, even though I have a stack of clothes that have been laundered and photographed and are ready to list. So, after finishing my Anita Shreve novel (omg, The...
Complaint
Ever since I cut out my dress my right pointer finger has felt odd. It’s a bit sore and is experiencing a weird tingling sensation when it is touched. I think it got hurt by digging into the handle of the scissors as I tried to cut the fabric! (The fabric is kind of think because of the embroidery.) Ouchy! I wonder if gel handle scissors are on the market…?
9 tags
Night 2 of Project Replica
So, I think I’ll call this new creative endeavor “Project Replica.” I’m counting last night as night # 1, because I did some of the prep work - basically clearing off my sewing machine/makeup vanity. Don’t mock me; that was a big achievement!
Tonight I opened up the pattern, gathered all of the pieces, laid them out on the fabric and did all the cutting! See?
...
11 tags
May 2010
1 post
Bookworm's Companion A Page Place Holder by... →
Damn good idea. Now why didn’t I think of that?
April 2010
3 posts
2 tags
12 tags
Yard Sale Experiences
You never know how it’s gonna go when you have a yard sale. Take it from me - I’ve got experience. Some days you’ll have mobs of people, and others just a slow trickle. Yesterday was not as busy as we’d have liked even though we did everything right. And yes, I mean right, because there are unspoken yard sale rules. Here are the guidelines:
First off, yard sale hosts...
7 tags
The Junk Collectors' Purge
My parents and I are junk collectors. We go to yard sales and flea markets, thrift stores and antique markets. Occasionally, we’ll pick something perfectly good up off the curb. I can’t decide if this is a character flaw or an asset. We get awesome stuff for cheap. We are helping to reduce, reuse, recycle. We fix stuff up and then make a profit. But, we also end up with more...
March 2010
1 post
8 tags
Whimsy
After a long winter of cumbersome snow boots, usually in bland earth-tone colors, I rejoice at the prospect of wearing whimsical shoes come spring! I love the wear them with wide leg jeans so that just the toes peak out. Or with leggings, showing off my bony, winter pale ankles between. Or with dresses - why not show my knobby knees too?! Regardless of the outfit, pretty feminine shoes add a...
February 2010
5 posts
63%
100 sales. (Hurray!)
Feedback: 63. 100% positive. (Boo!)
Everyone seems happy when they make purchases from my LonesomeBrown store. I rarely get any complaints, and if I do my customers are more than pleased with my resolutions. But even though I have 100% positive feedback, I’ve only received feedback on 63 of my 100 sales. :( What about the other 37 sales? Were those folks happy...
7 tags
5 tags
2nd hand is too popular for my taste
Recently a huge thrift store opened up in my town. The local National Wholesale Liquidators closed down (you know how big those are) and this took its place. The store is called Unique, and it’s definitely the best thrift store I’ve ever visited.
Everything in Unique is arranged by gender, type, and size. So all ladies pants in size small (which is a very loose range of sizes 0-6)...
8 tags
7 tags
Recycling is hard.
Ugh.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a recycler by nature. Not only am I a firm believer in treating the world well and thus being treated well in return, I’m resourceful. My mom is extremely resourceful. I used to think she was just plain cheap. (But maybe that’s a story for another time.)
Anyway, I use both sides of all pieces of paper then put them in the recycle bin, separate from the...
January 2010
12 posts
5 tags
Caring for Vintage Clothing
Keep your vintage clothing looking new! We want to wear stuff that looks like it’s from our grandma’s era, NOT like our grandma has worn it every day for the last 50 years. I’ve done some research on the proper way to care for, clean, and store vintage clothes. Here are some important tips:
Fold, don’t hang: Vintage fabrics are delicate and thus susceptible to hanger...
200 Etsy Users
Hurray! And thanks for your help! 200 Etsy users now “heart” LonesomeBrown. If you have an Etsy account and haven’t added me to your favorites list yet, please do so! Thanks a bunch…
Wishing on a star,
LonesomeBrown
11 tags
Vintage in Red →
Please shop my “Vintage in Red” section for vintage Valentine’s Day gifts. Get these now and give them to your sweetie early so she can wear them all day long on February 14th. It’ll definitely earn you some xoxo, and maybe more!
Wishing on a star,
LonesomeBrown
9 tags
10 tags
Own the LonesomeBrown banner brooch →
Love the brooch featured in the LonesomeBrown banner? Here’s your chance to own it. Purchase the Delectable Vintage Strawberry Brooch here. This is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift to show your lover just how scrumptious she is.
12 tags
6 tags
10 tags
Where are you going?
Upon my decision to open a vintage store, one of my brainstorm births was a fictional character who I dubbed LonesomeBrown. I figured I would name my store after her and all of the items for sale would be her possessions. At first Lonesome was left underdeveloped, a mere sketch of a character described in my shop announcement:
Lonesome Brown lives in the past with her memories and...
4 tags
Social Networking at its best!
Recently I established a LonesomeBrown Facebook Fan page. This weekend I started to reap the benefits! A friend of a friend fanned my page, visited my online shop, and made a purchase. Hurray for social networking! Here’s to more success through Facebook and Twitter!
6 tags
Where did you come from?
When I was a child, I hated all things old and second-hand. I had four older siblings, three of which were sisters, and so more than three-quarters of my wardrobe and toy collection were comprised of hand-me-downs. (The other quarter were brand new straight from my mother’s sewing machine, which I found almost equally as mortifying.) My parents were what I considered junk collectors....
5 tags
