The wedding was wonderful... the dress was beautiful!  My waist stay worked... the dress stayed up... my bustle was wonderful, the dress was fantastic.  My cousin, the bride's mother, did a wonderful job creating a beautiful wedding dress for her daugher and keeping up the tradition that her mother started with her... making their daughters' wedding dresses! 

check out the beautiful lace and pleats on that train.  A traditional bustle would have hidden all that nice work her mother did.  The french bustle compliments and shows it off.  

I attached 10 ribbons underneath.  1 at each seam at the top of the train, and 1 on each seam lower down each seam to draw it up to a length that is off the floor.  

This wedding was completely homemade and classy!  The mother made the dress, a family friend made the cake, another did the flowers, the food was catered from a local restaurant, it was held in the bride's parents' beautiful yard which the bride's farther and friends worked really hard on and it showed.  It was so much nicer than any hotel reception!  Wonderful!

Posted by sue at 10:17 AM PDT

Updated: Sunday, July 12, 2009 10:46 AM PDT

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Last week I was in Yosemite.... you know I go every year! 

This time we brought the bikes which was perfect.  Lots of empty bike trails to ride.  We also did a great hike up in McGurk Meadow which is off of the Glacier Point Road.  The elevation is somewhere around 7000 feet, so the flowers were still blooming, the meadow was lush and the streams were flowing.  Ah, summer has begun.... 

Posted by sue at 9:46 AM PDT

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This past weekend my cousin called with some questions re constructing the wedding dress she is making for her daughter.... a real life sewing emergency.... and I was only too eager to help... seriously!  

She and I worked on that dress both saturday and sunday and got it done... the wedding is THIS friday.   She did a beautiful job putting that dress together.  Her question was on hemming.   A raw silk, strapless, fitted, mermaid style with long train and hand sewn lace nicely placed on the dress.   BEAUTIFUL! She had a question re how to use the horsehair braid on the hem.  I grabbed my Susan Kahlje book and slipped on my pin cushion and drove to her house (a mere 2 miles away).  Ah, we got that hem looking real good.  I had never used horsehair braid and it worked wonderful (chalk up another sewing skill).   Then we had to figure out the bustle and since it is strapless I suspected it needed some more support to stay up - a waist stay.   So, saturday night, I goggled bustles and waist stays, called a couple of sewing friends, and got the information I needed.  Sunday morning, on my way back to my cousin's I made a stop at Joann's for some grosgrain ribbon, hooks, and double sided tape (just in case), and we worked on the dress the entire day.  I was not leaving until it was done so she could take it to the cleaners on monday for steaming.   I got a great waist stay installed (the bride now feels a lot more secure in her dress, and we did a french bustle.... beautiful!  After researching bustle, we decided on the French Bustle because it would show off the beautiful lace work and pleats in the back train.  The bustle is drawn up on the inside at 5 points with ribbon, sort of like a roman shade.  It's perfect for the dress. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the work/inside of the dress, I did manage to  take one photo of the dress with my cellphone.  

The wedding is friday, and I plan on being there with needle and thread (and double sided tape), just in case.    And I will take and post more photos.  

Posted by sue at 9:29 AM PDT

Updated: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 9:43 AM PDT

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I've been busy sewing and trying not to hang out on the computer so much.... ha!  I got sorta tired of blogging, but now I'm ready to blog again.....

here's some recent projects.  I'll try to keep this blog updated more often!

Posted by sue at 2:12 PM PDT

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I live in La Crescenta/Crescenta Valley.  It was named because it is shaped like a crescent.  I've been here for 43 years.  When I first moved here as a kid, there were no freeways and everything was far far away.  Not so anymore, but that's the same with most places.  Still, however, the Verdugos have been mostly untouched and preserved as wilderness.  These hills are directly across the street (well, across the street, and across the wash - which used to be Verdugo river, but that's another story) and if you hike up the Verdugos a mere 1/2 mile, it is so quiet and peaceful and beautiful.  Yesterday, after the rain, my sister, her kids, and I went for a hike up the Verdugos. 

Posted by sue at 11:42 AM PST

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