Sewing Recap · 2016

Here we are at the end of the year already! I don't know about you, but I really love making lists, organizing, and evaluating my progress, so this time of year is a favorite! I'm busy doing my yearly fabric stash inventory and I've taken the time to reflect back on a year of sewing.

So it's time for another year-end recap!  Wow- this year really sped by and was a rather remarkable year in that it held SO much but also SO little.  Through it all, I felt like I had a distinct lack of sewing, but it is a bit heartening to see how many things *did* get accomplished this year!

In many of the aspects of life that I don't touch here on the blog, this was a difficult year of uncertainty and waiting.  It followed on the heels of 2-3 other not-so-great years. (but don't get me wrong- those years also held their own wonderful experiences!)  I feel like I'm finally getting my feet back under me and I'm so grateful for all the ways I've grown during this in-between season.

2016 held lots of changes, lots of decisions, lots of travel, and.... not as much blogging as I would have liked.  I had a dramatic up-tick in flash sales on the blog this year and they proved to be quite popular! Hooray!  I still love estate sale-ing, so look for more of those this coming year, and (maybe! hopefully!) more sewing projects. ;-)

My big change for 2017 will be a new job and I'm so happy about it and greatly looking forward to the reliable schedule!  I know it'll change a lot of things and potentially have a major impact on my blogging, but I'm super excited to see what 2017 holds and I can't wait to get started!  Hope the rest of you are enjoying the last few days of 2016 and I wish you all well in the new year!

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A lower level of inspiration this year meant that I ended up with several skirts.  If in doubt, whip up a skirt- apparently!  The floral skirt was a cheater project; merely revamped from a dress.  The green and plaid skirts ended up being vastly popular in my wardrobe (hurrah!), and each warranted 2 posts.


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As the year went by, I had more love for sewing so after my first rousing success with this vintage pattern, I knew I needed to make another!  The added bonus- the second one went so much faster!


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I had 3 projects with Penny Rose this year, and I think it's so funny that they were all in the pink/red range!  These were all such a great boost out of my rut and I'm so happy with how they all turned out. :-)

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The rest of the summer I focused on stash projects (the striped dress and the bathing costume) and finally getting around to some much-needed garments (the gingham dress for our "Gingham Day" picnic and the bathing costume for summer activewear!).

And finally.... I was a bit more busy than the blog will lead you to believe!  Here are some sneak peeks of posts I haven't put up yet....

1930s blouse and skirt, 1950s skirt, gold tulle skirt for Kathryn, 1940s rayon dress

I also made 2 more skirts (I told you I made a lot of those this year!), a blouse, and some pretty cute London-themed vintage PJs.

All in all- I guess it's not too shabby for a year of sewing!  Thanks for following along this year!

· Top Ten Posts of All Time! ·

Life has been quite full lately with a full schedule of traveling during this last part of the summer.  My count of train, plane, and car trips should be quite impressive by the beginning of October, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! ;-)  The downside to gallivanting off to various parts of the country is that it puts quite a damper on any sort of regular schedule, so while I have quite a few partially-completed post in the works, I haven't been able to put the finishing touches on them yet!  But in the meantime, it's that time for some celebration...

Mode de Lis is officially a grand 3 Years Old!

To do something a bit different, I thought it would be fun to share (according to my handy blogger stats) the Official Top Ten Most Popular Posts!

These are all solely listed by number of views; it has nothing to do with my personal favorites and everything to do with what is the most visited!  If you haven't read these posts yet, be sure to see what all the fuss is about! ;-)

#1- Working Class Attire · 1770s Style
While I agree that this is a major personal favorite, I do find it amusing that this very, very simple outfit is the one to be the top of the top! (a solid 25% higher than the next few on the list)

#2- Vintage Travel Party!

I'm so pleased this is a frequent favorite- it didn't take off very well at first as far as stats go, but it's fared pretty well due to Pinterest!

#3- Kathryn's 1940s Print Dress

Since Kathryn is responsible for the great photography on here, it's only fitting that one of her dresses graces the Top 3!

#4- Deepest Coral 1930s Dress

Still a favorite of mine, especially when paired with fur!

#5- 18th century Robe a l'Anglaise

My very first 18th century gown!

#6- Deck the Halls Skirt Tutorial

A tutorial for making your very own Christmas novelty circle skirt!

#6- Embracing Stereotypes

This is a new one, but boy did it shoot up to the top fast and it continues to creep up the top 10!

#8- 1780s Chemise Dress

When my hair (wig) is this big, it makes my waist look teeny!  Maybe that's why it's so popular... ;-)

#9- My Very Own White Regency Dress

Understated detailing and a perfect base for accessorizing!

#10- Pink 1770s Round Gown

Pink and 18th century just go together like strawberries and cream, right??

And for a little something different, here are my very own Top Five Favorite Newbie Posts, back from my first year of blogging.  In fact, if you dig back into my first month or two, there are lots of other favorites- just barely any photos in each post!  We've come a long way in our photoshoot game. ;-)

#1- Titanic-Inspired Coat

#2- Sofonisba Anguissola Dresses



#3- Mid-1500s Flemish Working-Class



#4- Block-Printed Jacket



#5- 1950s Sari Dress

As always, thanks SO much for visiting, commenting, sharing, etc!  You all make this process so fun and rewarding- thanks for stopping by! :-)  I'm so excited to see what the next year holds! :-)

· All photography by Kathryn! ·

Sewing Recap · 2015

The end of the year is always a great time to reflect, so I'm thinking back to all of my sewing projects from the year today. :-)

2015 was a very full year, even though it wasn't super full of personal sewing projects... I always have something in the works, but sometimes they take a little longer to finish than others. ;-)

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My non-1950s attire for the year. ;-)  I felt like I did a lot more 1930s sewing this year, and I guess I did... they just haven't been blogged about yet. :-P  The 1940s dress might not count totally, but it was an extensive remake!

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My favorite and most common thing to make are 1950s dresses, so I was shocked that I only had 3(blogged about)!  Like I said, it was a slow year on the sewing front...

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My biggest change this year was delving into more blouses and skirts!  This was partially to fill a void in my wardrobe, but mainly to creatively use up fabric remnants. :-)  All of the blouses pictured were remnants from other projects.

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Kathryn also was feeling the separates memo, too. ;-)  Although this does put into perspective how very many more outfits she really should possess, considering how amazing all the photos were this year!  (sorry dear! 2016 will be better, I promise. :-))

Not included in this post, but coming eventually:

-1950s novelty print dress

-1930s blouse

-two 1950s blouses

-1950s plaid skirt

-1950s twill skirt

-1930s rayon dress

-1930s evening gown

I felt like I finally got my wardrobe up to "more than necessary" on the quantity front, so I guess that's why I decided to sell several of my dresses on Etsy. ;-)  More will be coming shortly to the shop, so stay tuned!  I guess I just love keeping my wardrobe at the bare minimum level. :-P

Oh, and 2015 marked the end of one of my most faithful dresses- my fruit dress.  She was my favorite for years, was my trusted "travel dress" (that outfit never set off any alarms and always garnered raving compliments in airports- always a good thing ;-)) and eventually she just gave out. :-(  Anyone else experience wardrobe casualties this year?  I'm torn between trying to replicate it and just moving onto something else....

Well, that's it for my recap!  I rather enjoyed putting it together; it was fun to see the common themes that ran throughout the year!  I feel like I'm also more aware of the gaps in my wardrobe and I'm looking forward to seeing where I go in 2016. :-)  Thanks for following my ventures for another year!

· Photos by Kathryn ·

Vintage Twin Style · Mary Ann & Betty Lou

This post is in honor of my dear Aunt Daisy who passed away unexpectedly last week.  She lived to be 86 ½ years old, and was full of life and personality right up until her death.  Her given name was Mary Ann, but all the family always fondly called her "Daisy".

She and my grandma, Betty Lou, were twins, and as you can imagine- there are some very fun old photographs of them!

I'm rather partial to all of my family's photos, but I thought these would be appropriate to share this week, and that they would be especially entertaining since Grandma and Aunt Daisy dressed identically growing up. :-) 

Enjoy these “twin” fashions from the late 1920s through the early 1950s!

(Most of these photographs weren't labeled, so I don't have any definite dates and they're just in a vaguely chronological order.)

1927 · The whole family- Charles, Anna, the twins, and their older brother Bob.

Mary Ann (L) and Betty Lou (R)

They were the best of friends all their lives, and always lived within 10 miles of each other.  Twins were very uncommon when they were growing up, and they were always proud of being twin sisters. :-)

Mary Ann was always the larger of the two.  When we talked with her, she mentioned how scarce meat was while growing up in the Depression.  Betty Lou would always save the "best" for last at meal-time, and then not have enough room to eat her meat, but Aunt Daisy said, "I never let that stop me!  I ate it all!". ;-)

 I never noticed a striking similarity in them, and it’s amusing to see how little they looked alike, even as girls!

Aunt Daisy never married, but she was actively involved in the lives of her niece and nephews and lived with and cared for her parents until their death.

A newspaper clipping from 1948

Up until her death, Grandma and Aunt Daisy would get together most days of the week, and talk on the phone multiple times a day.

1967 · Although this picture doesn't fit in with the theme of this post, it was too fabulous not to share. :-D  Here are my jet-setter grandparents with Aunt Daisy in the background- on one of their many world travels. :-)

While we were compiling and scanning photographs for her funeral, I realized what a wonderful post this would make to share with all of you. :-) I love looking at old, candid photographs- the glimpses into the lives of yesteryear, seeing how real people wore the clothing styles I so admire.  There is a lot to be learned about older fashions from advertisements, movies, and the garments themselves, but there is a different, deeper wealth in seeing photos of real, ordinary people wearing these garments in real, ordinary situations.  

Aunt Daisy and me

The only thing I love more than looking at old photos is looking at old photos of MY ancestors.  To see MY personal history is meaningful.  I had never seen photos of Grandma or Aunt Daisy earlier than the 1960s before this week.  Looking at the photos we found opened up their world and life like I had never grasped before.  I had heard countless stories, seen many of the places they talked about, but seeing these photos made it all “real”.  To see them as babies, watch them grow into girls, then women, and finally the elderly women I’ve known puts my own life into perspective.  

Reading together the day before my second birthday

Aunt Daisy always had a sparkle in her eye.  She was feisty, opinionated, and sometimes outspoken, but always genuinely friendly and interested in others.  She had a wonderful sense of humor and was always a delight to spend time with.  The reality of her loss is only just sinking in, but we will all continue to miss her dearly for years.  The sorrow of her parting is sweetened by the assurance that she is now enjoying eternal joy and rest!

After reflecting back over her life, I've come to the conclusion that I really wouldn't mind becoming like her when I grow up.  She'll always have a fond place in my heart. :-)