Hocus Pocus

 "I've put a spell on you, and now you're mine."

Why should Halloween be only one day a year? Let's celebrate it all week long, shall we?
We Shall! And I'm going to start with one of my favorite costumes I've ever made. It's Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus! 

Here's the background on this beauty. First of all, the lovely lady in the photos is really a man. His name is Jordan. And here's the background on the background; when I first moved to NYC three years ago as a lowly costume intern I lived in the apartment in these photos with two other girls (okay, this is only the stairwell, but still). I didn't really like the girls, but they had three friends (who just happened to be gay) living in the apartment above them that I really hit it off with. Jordan was the ring leader and a drag queen. True Love.

You know what else is true love? At least for Jordan here? The fact that he only paid me $50 plus the cost of fabric to make him this wonderful outfit. I was so broke living as in intern that I didn't want to charge him too much for fear he would balk at the cost and not let me build it for him at all. That $50 went toward apple picking upstate with Mike before we where dating, instead of on anything essential like food, rent, or my metro card... Responsible, I know.

But back to my story.

Fun Fact: I love drag costumes! There is something magical about transforming a man into a woman and I love to figure out how to make that happen! Also, it's pretty much the only time where the rule more glitter, more better applies without fear of going overboard. 

So now let me tell you about the costume itself. It's three pieces; the underskirt, the long jacket with attached bodice, and the busk (the piece down CF that is inserted before lacing since it doesn't kiss when laced. you can see it as a purple point in the top picture sticking out of the bodice).

I draped the top half of the jacket and flat patterned the sleeves, jacket skirt, and underskirt. I may have just done it on the fabric and then cut it out, I don't have a paper pattern anywhere that I can find.

I think I bought 5 yards of the chenille for the jacket and 5 yards for the skirt? Then just one yard of the purple on his bodice and bust. I remember talking the man who sold me the chenille down to $5 a yard...

One of my prouder bargaining moments.


The jacket is most intense piece. I wanted this to go together as quick as possible, so I combined what should have been a separate bodice with the long jacket. It's four skirt panels, the two at side front being half panels so you see the underskirt. Then the jacket has large bell sleeves and a half stand collar (piped, of course). The bodice part I built separately and then attached as one piece after it was finished since the jacket was so heavy to work with. I also attached all the piping on the jacket right before I connected the two pieces. The bodice has steal bones running down CF for some support for his fakes as well as gold eyelets and two frog closures that function but are mainly just for decoration. The busk is just a rectangle with more steal bones and two triangles at the top and bottom to make it look interesting. I need something there since we didn't want the jacket to kiss when laced.





The underskirt is super simple, just a five piece skirt with an open placket in back since the jacket will always cover it. Why five pieces when four would have worked, you ask? Because only the CF panel is purple velvet! Remember when I said this was done on the cheap? Even crappy velvet is pricey, and we wanted something nice. So the rest of the skirt you don't see is made of crappy purple satin to save some money. Brilliant, I know.

Oh, and as for the amount of love that went into this project, all the gold symbols on his sleeves and down the CF of his jacket were painted by hand.

Like I said, true love. And boy do I love how this costume turned out! Almost makes me believe in magic.

And on a side note, I'm super excited because today I start a new job!! Which I know is going to be crazy so don't look for any new projects from me for a while, at least until this new show goes into previews!

Jane's Carousal

This September, a fully restored vintage carousal opened down in DUMBO and I have been dying to go check it out! It was originally built in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. It's named after Jane Walentas, who rescued it at auction in 1983. She and her husband have been scraping off layers of amusement park paint and repainting the entire carousal since 1984.  It sits in the Brooklyn Bridge Park in a beautiful Plexiglas pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel so you can even ride in the rain.


Tickets are $2 per ride, and the staff is very friendly. In the row of 3 horses only the two on the inside "jump" and the larger horse on the outside is stationary. If all the jumping horse are full, they'll run the carousal with the empty outer horses so everyone can get a chance to ride.

It was marvelous! I felt like I was back in time, enjoying some fresh air from the back of my steed (except no one was making me ride sidesaddle in a floor length skirt).

 

Once they had scraped all the layers of paint down to the original coat, they recorded the original color and where it was on the horse. Then each horse was painstakingly sanded and repainted so the entire carousal isn't just restored, but it looks almost like it did in 1922.

 

Here's a view from the carousal looking out the pavilion. The bridge you see is the Manhattan Bridge. The steel and Plexiglas structure seems like it would be at odds with the carousal, but DUMBO is so industrial that it works with the surrounding architecture and acts as a frame to the carousal.  If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit!

Sewing Love

I didn't get around to the Sew Weekly challenge this last week (Musicals) since I've had company last weekend and my mom is visiting this week. So I thought I would take a moment and share my pattern swap partner with you!

I got to send a pattern to Seeks Corey (her blog here). 

 I sent her a wonderful 1960s vintage Vogue pattern for a classy wiggle dress with a bolero jacket.

 

 And as an added bonus, I found this beaded collar decoration while I was in the garment district and decided to send it to her along with a challenge. I told her she needed to make an amazing New Years Eve dress for herself, by dropping the neckline of her pattern and using the collar I sent!

Hooray pattern swaps!

Spanish Harlem, or My Perfect Pencil

For this week's sew weekly challenge, we were told Spanish Harlem. After last week's nightgown, I knew I wanted to make something I could wear in public. I've also come to the decision recently that I don't own enough skirts. But what about sticking with the theme?

Step in the fabric I found earlier this week! It's a wonderful Spanish orange corduroy with a rather busy pattern of diamonds that makes me think of those ikat patterns I've seen ladies wearing around Harlem since this summer. It also happens to fit with my fall palette I'm trying to work in. Pretty perfect, right?!

I took a ton of pictures yesterday while I was sewing. We had beautiful afternoon sunshine filling the apartment and I was inspired to capture my progress as I was chugging along. I've also thrown in a picture of my sewing machine. It was my Christmas gift from everyone in my family last year and I love it so! I also have a domestic Kenmore, but he hasn't seen the light of day since this beauty arrived.

Another awkward photo for everyone out there keeping count!

Please note the fantastic pattern matching and how great my legs look in skirts this length!

I used one of the retro Simplicity patterns I had laying around, number 2154 to be exact. It's a really simple pencil skirt that I shortened by about 5" before I cut out. I could have just patterned it myself, but I've been feeling lazy lately. Also, why make a whole new pattern when you can just adjust a preexisting one to fit your needs?

Like I said, lazy!

Finished hems!

Hemming.

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with how everything turned out. The pattern didn't call for a lining, but I added one. Really, skirts should be lined, and if I'm going to take the time to make myself something you better believe I'm going to make it beautiful. I HATE when homemade outfits look homemade. The kick pleat is wonderful, I made it super short and thick, something different from what I've seen on the back of most skirts.

Kick pleat outside.

Kick pleat inside

Look at that beautiful texture!

Fabric: Spanish Orange Corduroy with diamond design, a one way pattern.

Cost: $18 for a yard of the corduroy and $9 for a yard of the navy Bemberg I used to for the lining. I had the zipper, interfacing and hook in my stock. $27 total!

Time: 2 hours to cut (I ran a basting line by hand down CF and CB since there was pattern matching involved.) and another 4 to assemble.

Details: Fully lined pencil skirt with CB kick pleat, invisible zipper, and hand stitched hem. This garment is made of love, every little detail I could have thought of is in this skirt.

Wear again: Hell yeah! This is going to be a staple in my fall wardrobe, I can't get over how great my legs look!


And on a closing note, I'm taking part in the Sew Weekly pattern swap! I'm so excited, the pattern I bought for my partner just arrived in the mail and tomorrow after work I'm going to stop in the garment district and pick her out some goodies to send with it! I'm thinking something with some sparkle for the upcoming holidays!

Taco Truck Tacos

One of the more beautiful things in life has to be the food truck scene here in NYC. And few food trucks hold a special place in my heart like the taco truck. Two guys working side by side to bring you joy on a double layer of corn tortillas with fresh cilantro, onion, and the meat of your choice. All usually for under $4. What's not to love? There is a great taco truck called Endless Summer that lives in Brooklyn on North 6th and Bedford Ave in Williamsburg.

If you want the more ethnic experience, you need to head further into Brooklyn to Bushwick, where taco trucks are more plentiful then sit down restaurants. Before moving to Harlem, we lived in Bushwick.  Mike took full advantage of living in the hood, but sadly I didn't discover how much I truly loved tacos until we moved. So on my fall list of things to do, I now have a taco truck tour of Bushwick.

Which brings me to our recipe for tonight. Mike makes the meanest tacos around. This is his take on the "Al Pastor" taco variety. We use chicken since I'm special needs and don't eat pork. Feel free to take this marinade recipe and run with it, there really isn't a bad use for it that we can think of. This marinade has some spice (okay, a lot, it's those peppers) so make sure you try it as you go and adjust to taste.

Al Pastor Marinade (this makes enough marinade for tacos for 8, but it also keeps well to use again)
1 7 oz. can La Morena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
4 slices of pineapple (fresh is best, but canned is good too)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil

Mix these together in a blender and blend until smooth. If it's too spicy for you, add more pineapple to taste.




The rest of the recipe is for two people. Just add more chicken to increase the recipe.

4 Chicken Thighs
To prep your chicken:
Remove the skin and save for later in the week (a blog post about chicken skin to follow).

Once you have your marinade and chicken ready, mix together and let it sit in the fridge for about 4 hours.
Throw it in the oven (uncovered) for about an hour at 400. After 30 minutes keep checking on it until the chicken is so tender its falling apart. While the meat is in the oven, you should prep the taco fixings. The sky's the limit, but here's what we think you should use:

1 package of good corn tortillas (the denser the better, ours come from this dive-y grocery store in Harlem, they will make or break your tacos) 
1 bunch of finely chopped cilantro
1 bunch of sliced radish
1 diced sweet onion (red or vedalia)
1 lime cut up in slices
some of the extra marinade for spreading on the tortillas

Once your chicken is cooked remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the bone and dice.

Turn on your stove and use it as a grill to slightly char the tortillas. Assemble the fixings on the table and let everyone make their own, but first encourage everyone at the table to double wrap their tacos! Simply layer two tortilas together before heaping them with taco goodness. Squeeze the lime slices over the tacos as the last step and enjoy!

As a drink suggestion, may I recommend the Hemingway Daiquiri? It's a wonderful classic cocktail with a tart bite that pairs nicely with the spice of the Al Pastor marinade.

According to the cocktail book "Speakeasy" by Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric of Employees Only here in NYC, the Hemingway Daiquiri is rumored to have been invented for Ernest Hemingway at the La Floradita bar in Cuba. They call him an Olympian cocktail connoisseur. Clearly Hemingway's the man and knows what's best. Take a page out of his book and make yourself two!

Hemingway Daiquiri (makes one drink)

2 oz. White Rum
1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz. Lime juice
dash of Simple syrup
Lime for garnish

Pour the rum, liqueur, juice and syrup into a mixing glass, fill with ice cubes and shake vigorously. Strain into the glass of your choice and garnish with the lime.

And there you have it, our take on taco truck tacos with a tangy cocktail to stand up to the spice!

Fabric Find!

I found a really fantastic narrow wail courdory with a slightly vintage feel yesterday while I was out and about. $18 a yard at New York Elegant in the garment district. They are a little pricey, but always have beautiful stuff. I also picked up a really dark navy Bemberg lining that matches the navy in the pattern.
Just you wait, I've got glorious plans for this fabric!

Think Pink, or The Night Cap Chemise

Let me start this post by saying what everyone has been thinking, "about time!" I know, I know. But better late then never! And, oh how glorious this chemise is.


I started with Simplicity 2890, then added the straps and sash to give me a little shape. The pattern is cut to just be this giant rectangle of a chemise that gets smushed into a corset. Not so attractive by its self. I also added the black lace and the pearls. They lend it some 1960s drama that made me decide the perfect setting for these pictures was pouring myself a night cap at the bar.

 

 Look at how beautiful the fabric drapes! It just seems to flow across my shoulders and down my back.

Fabric: I have a wonderful story about this fabric! It's some kind of a silk blend that I got while I was in Abu Dhabi last winter. I was there for work for two weeks and where I was staying also just happened to be their version of the garment district! I haggled, but the dollars to dirhams conversion was still in my favor so I'm not too upset knowing they probably still over charged me. But back to the fabric, it just spoke to me when I walked in the door of the store. It's so soft it feels and looks like the petals of a flower. I ended up buying 2 yards. I bought it with the plan of making a robe, but I thought a chemise would fit the fabric better.

Cost: 20 dirhams (about $5.70) for the fabric, and then I bought the black lace too $8 for two yards. The pearls were in my stock and the pattern cost me $1 at a Joanne's sale in Portland, ME. So total? About $15.

Time: 6 hours to cut and assemble, then about 4 more for hand sewing lace and pearls. I ignored the pattern direction for armhole facings (what?! let's add bulk where we want it the least, okay Simplicity) and just made all my seams french seams. So to make that easier on myself I made sure to set in the sleeves before I closed my side seams. My sleeve hems and skirt hem are all 1/8" rolled hems (I'll have to show you my trick later, it looks amazing! and goes super quick)

Wear again: For sure! Just never out of the house. This is an apartment only look, consider yourselves lucky you got photos of me wearing it. I almost just put it on the dress form, but that wouldn't have done it justice. 

Just look at how lovely my shoulders look peaking through the fabric!

 This last picture here is the neckline. I love the trick of a massive amount of gathering over the chest to make it look like my waist is itty-bitty when I add the sash. Perfect! In closing, I love the drape, the neckline, the shape, and how wonderful I feel in this nightgown!

Banana Bread

So my chemise still isn't done. Trust me, I know those pearls aren't going to sew themselves on. But all the lace is attached! So you will just have to wait until tonight, I'm sorry.

In the mean time, here's that banana bread recipe to appease you.

 Preheat oven to 350*
2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
Mix these three ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  

1/2 c. butter (should be very soft, I let mine sit in a metal bowl on the stove while it preheats)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla (you should make your own vanilla. no excuses. it's super easy and 100% better)
Mix these in the largest of the three bowls you will use. Should be a dark sloppy paste when it is mixed.

2 beaten eggs
4 mashed over ripe bananas
(1/2 c. nuts or more, should you feel the need, I don't)

Once you've beaten your eggs, add them to the butter, brown sugar mixture. Stir well, then add the mashed bananas. Mix again. On the final add in, in goes the flour mixture. Don't over mix, you should be stirring just to moisten all the ingredients together. Once that's done, in it goes to your bread pan, a 9" works great, we just use our terrine pan. Throw it in the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. Turn it after that, then keep an eye on it (check every ten) until you can stick a butter knife down the middle and have it come out clean.

Side note on making your own vanilla:
You need; vodka and three vanilla beans, oh, and a ball jar. That's it.
Fill ball jar with vodka until almost at the top, then add vanilla beans. Do not cut up beans or scrape out seeds. Put away in a cool dark spot for 3 months then try to remain calm. Your world will change in three months. Count down the days. Seriously, you should be looking for an epic recipe (like the one above for instance) to celebrate with while you count down the days on your Google calender.When those three longs months have passed, it's done! You can strain it, but we just leave all that vanilla-gritty goodness all in the jar and measure out what we need.


No need to thank me, but I've just changed your life.
 

Weekend Recap

Alright, it shames me to admit, but several things just did not happen over the weekend. The two main things being the Blessing of the Animals and finishing my Think Pink project. But I am so close! I'll finish tonight and get pictures up by tomorrow morning, I promise. And it looks so good you'll forgive me; I'm sure of it. I'm all assembled, and just have to finish the hand sewing bits.

And the reason I didn't accomplish either of the items mentioned above? Mike and I went out of town for the day on Sunday and didn't get home till late last night. Hooray Day Trip!! Our friends invited us on a hike, a picnic, and then to go apple picking since they had a rental car for the weekend. Who are we to resist such an invitation?

We hiked up Mount Tammany in New Jersey, it's about a two and a half mile loop. Of death. The view was great once we got to the top, but I'm clearly not cut out to be a hiker, everyone else seemed fine. I felt so guilty being at the end of the line the whole time that I was hurrying to catch up and just didn't enjoy myself on the way up or down. But for those 10 minutes at the top it was wonderful. Here's a shot of the Delaware Water Gap from the top.

Beautiful! We were standing there watching hawks soar below us. It was wonderful to get out of the big apple for the day.

Speaking of the big apple, wait till you see how many apples we brought home with us! Later this week we have plans for a pie and the rest will become apple butter. We bought about 35 pounds, enough to fill a boat and tote bag from L.L. Bean (don't worry, our bag isn't monogrammed, we're not those kind of people).

And here's a photo of the always dashing Mike, pulling double duty as picker and bag carrier while I waste time taking photos. We stopped at Longmeadow Orchard in Hope, NJ. The apples at this orchard were really sad. In the past three years we've been picking in the area, we've never seen them with this much blight and worms. I've been reading about how bad a year it's been with all the rain and the hurricane damaging crops, but I hadn't seen it first hand yet. It's so unfortunate. Our CSA announced this past week that they wouldn't be offering winter shares this year due to the weather. I guess when root vegetables get too much rain too fast they rot really quickly once they hit storage. So no winter CSA for us.

Oh well, so now to close this post with some good news! We also made banana bread last night! The change your morning kind, which I might be enjoying at this very moment and it's helping me keep a positive outlook on this rather early Monday morning. Maybe a picture and recipe to follow this evening? We'll see how far I get on my project first!

Think Pink Teaser

Okay, as promised here's my inspirational photo, which I can proudly say Mike saw and told me it was rather sexy (lucky him, right?!). After taking this picture, I decided my project needed something extra. So I stopped in the garment district on my way to meet up with the Sew Weekly crowd for dinner and picked up some really nice black lace to help kill the massive amount of pink.

I'm all cut out and ready to assemble this weekend, I'm hoping I can get everything finished by Sunday night. Look who's helping me out already!

Gotcha Morelle. Look at her "who me?" face. It's like she hears my patterns rustling in the wind and comes running, only to sit on whatever project I want to be working on. It's impressive, really.

And most importantly, I had a WONDERFUL time at dinner tonight with the Sew Weekly group! It was great to meet everyone and hear everyone's real voice! Thanks to all for great conversation and for splitting that bottle of sparkling wine! Oh! And least I forget, I also walked away with a pattern left over from the swap they had that afternoon. I'll have to move it to the front of my to-do list in honor of our evening out.

Now I'm back home with Mike, who informs me that even though he had hamburgers for dinner, he had whiskey afterward so he's safe to kiss! I don't eat red meat or pork, so he usually cooks those items when I'm not around to complain. But seriously, why cook it if I can't eat it?!

Au Revior for now! (That was for you Oona and Vicki, and I want you both to know I spelled it "avoir" before I realized that was the verb "to have" and had to look up the correct spelling.)

Friday Excitement

Good morning!!

I have 423 things to be excited about today, but I'm only going to tell you about three of them, and quickly since I still have to get ready for work!

1. Tonight I'm getting together with the Sew Weekly hits NYC crowd for dinner! I can't wait to meet everyone and see what they are all wearing.

2. It's FRIDAY! That alone is exciting all by its self.

3. Inspiration struck last night like a hot iron on fabric. I have my first challenge cut out and a plan in my mind. Let's see if I can pull it together this weekend, shall we? My teaser for you: pink (duh, right?), pearls, gold chain and a ton of hand sewing. I would have a photo of my palette for you, but I need to recharge my phone first. Maybe later?

I'm sure it's the coffee talking at this point, but I just realized, I need to wear something fabulous and homemade today since I'm meeting up with everyone! Crap. Now it's off to hunt in the closet, wish me luck! 

Blessing of the Animals

So my plans to head upstate this weekend and go apple picking may have to hit the back burner.

As it turns out, this Sunday is the annual festival service of the Blessing of the Animals at St. John the Divine (the giant cathedral on 110th st). I think Morelle cat could really use some blessing, since I'm sure her nine lives are close to being up. Or I might just do her in myself if she gets her paw stuck under the fridge again...

Here's what the website says about it: Visitors can expect to see a great variety of animals process up the nave, including a yak, a tortoise, baby swans, and a macaw. Directly after the service, Cathedral Clergy will be available for blessings at the Fair on the Close. The Fair’s themes – celebration of Creation, compassion, and faithful stewardship of the Earth– align with the vision and work of this beloved Saint.

The service starts at 11:00 am and the Fair is at 1:00. I don't know if we can go to the service since there are no more advanced passes left, but the fair sounds like an adventure I don't think this household can miss!








I found the picture on http://harlembespoke.blogspot.com/2011/09/see-blessing-of-animals-at-st-john.html from a past blessing. I really want to see some crazy animals! Where do you keep a camel in this city?!

Shameless!

Consider this a shameless self plug, and a helpful kick in the pants for me.

I've also got a digital portfolio of sorts I'm working on. You can find it here on tumblr:  www.svojta.tumblr.com Feel free to poke around, there are some pretty cool projects I've worked on over the years. And if I know people are looking at it, I might actually finish updating it sometime soon.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas to help with the look of things.

 

Bias Cut Beauty

My most recent project has involved this little number. (Modeled by me, the last time I wore it; which may have been a good two years ago to a Kentucky Derby party in DUMBO.)

Which is the problem; the last time I wore this dress was two years ago! Don't get me wrong, I've tried it on since then, with the idea being to wear it out of the apartment. But I never make it that far. You see, the dress just doesn't fit that well and I don't really like the design of the bodice. I found it while thrifting (for only $4! and it's made by Jcrew, whom I adore and can't afford normally.) in the lower east side one sunny afternoon and couldn't resist, even though it's two sizes too big.

So my Sunday afternoon solution? Turn it into a skirt! I simply love the fabric and the fact that the skirt is cut on the bias. I'm rather bias obsessed at the moment, it just drapes so lovely and looks so nice, I don't know why more skirts aren't cut that way.























And here we are!

My updated, beautiful skirt!

A close up and the not quite as glamorous "model shot" as I would like. If you like those awkward photos people take of themselves, this is the blog for you! I could have asked Mike to take it for me, but that means having to overcome my embarrassment at wanting to pose in the following ways.

On a side note, aren't those shoes great?!!?


To turn this lack luster dress (with an invisible zipper in the side seam) into a skirt, I simply seam ripped out the zipper until I was an inch below the waist seam, where the skirt was sewn to the bodice; then removed the bodice from the skirt. I cut up the bodice fabric to make the waistband (matching stripes mind you, I hate when projects look homemade) and used the cotton lining of the dress as the lining for my waistband. Over all it took about 2 hours, since the waistband is three pieces and the lining is in four to keep my grain straight. I interfaced the waistband, understitched so you wouldn't see the lining (which is white, the same color as the stripes) and was good to go! The best thing about this project (aside from how cute it looks) is that I was able to leave the zipper in the side and just cut it down to fit inside my waistband!