New website

I have a new website and me like-y a lot!  The new site features all sorts of goodies such as a freebies page, a lookbook page,  a press page, and a shop page that allows me to add a whole bunch of pics for each pattern.  So please come on over and have a look around.  

Speaking of press, this months Sewing World issue did an article on Jamie Christina Designs.  

Alice Synge of Backstitch wrote the lovely piece and gave me an opportunity to convey my motivation behind the sewing patterns.  I also got a chance to talk a little about my mom and granny, which means a lot to me. 

Other news to share... I've been busy working on a new sewing pattern.  As I get closer to the release I'll share more info about it, but for now I can tell you that it's the PERFECT pattern for cold weather.  Ooooh I can't wait!

Cheers,

Jamie

Awww wook!

This is Rosie.  She is oozing with sweetness...

And guess what?  We have another bunny...

This is Anakin.  He's the brains of the bunch.  Yes, I did write bunch...

This is Heavy (named after a clone trooper) and he's all personality.

Oh, but wait!  There's more...

Lastly, this is Thumper.  Everyone has to have a Thumper eventually.

I know what you're thinking.  Is she auditioning for some animal hoarder reality show?  No, I am not.  Let me start from the beginning.

About 2 months ago, we noticed a domestic gray dwarf rabbit in the neighborhood.  The rabbit seemed quite content with living the free life, so we decided to leave food and water out at night for the rabbit.  Our next door neighbors did the same.  We decided to name him Gunther.  They decided to call it Roger. We all enjoyed taking care of Gunther/Roger and would talk with the neighbors about where we last saw him and how much fun it was for the kids to experience this.  

Last Friday, my daughter decided to practice her cartwheels out in the front yard when suddenly mid-cartwheel she noticed a white fur ball run across the yard.  She went to see what it was and realized it was a baby bunny and alerted us to her discovery.  Quickly, we ran outside and saw the little bunny balled up in the corner of our door step.  My husband scooped the bunny up and placed him in our dog kennel (minus the dog).  It was then that we realized Gunther/Roger was not a boy after all...it was a Jessica!  At this point we were all oohing and ahhing over Heavy our new baby bunny, not realizing that there would be more to come over the next two hours.

Approximately, one hour after we found the first bunny I noticed a cat trying to get something in the bushes.  Well, as I'm sure you've figured out by now the cat was trying to capture 2 more bunnies dashing through the yard.  I quickly shooed the cat away and added 2 more bunnies to the kennel.  My kids were elated to say the least that we had 3 bunnies.  And, at the moment, so was I.  I love animals.  I love babies.  I love baby animals.  It was my birthday too!  I was thinking to myself, "Wow!  We have 3 bunnies!"  Then, 24 hours later I was thinking to myself, "Yikes! We have 3 bunnies!"

We began to stress about if we had done the right thing by taking the bunnies in.  Maybe we should put them in the bushes where we think the nest is.  What if the cat comes back?  Does the Mama rabbit miss her babies?  Will the raccoon eat them if we put them back (oh yes, even a raccoon was trying to get a piece of baby bunny)?  Will they die if we keep them?  Will they multiply again?  My poor husband!  So after all of the what ifs, we decided to call our veterinarian.  He said that the bunnies best chance for survival was with us and not the wild, because they are domestic rabbits.  That was all we needed to hear.  My maternal instincts kicked in and off to the pet store we went. 

Ah...but there are 4 bunnies you say.  Yes, that night after we returned from the vet's office we were outside with my neighbors talking about the new additions when my son noticed a little black ball of fur by the trash cans.  "How many do they have," I thought to myself?  We were already committed at that point with the 3 bunnies, so we added Aniken to the family.  I don't think there are anymore bunnies in the front yard.  If more appear, I may have to take Jessica (a.k.a Gunther) in to get fixed.  That is if I can catch her. She's a free spirit. 

The good news is that my neighbors have agreed to take 2 of the bunnies after they get a little stronger and older.  So in the end we will only have 2 bunnies... I think =)

Have I showed you Rosie...

Do you see the wittle arms?  Too cute!

I think she's my favorite.

Cheers to baby bunnies,

Jamie

My dope new shoes!

I'm told this is what all the cool kids are wearing now a days.  No?

Seriously, I love my new running shoes (Vibram fivefingers).  There's been quite a lot of press lately on barefoot running and I had to give it a try.  I suppose my barefoot running curiosity began many moons ago when I worked at a clinic called The Egoscue Method.  It's then that I learned that we are all designed to run barefoot and that it's the shoes that give us problems such as plantar fasciitis, strained ligaments, and back pain.  Their belief is that the body is designed to have a natural S curve and if you look at a toddler before he/she starts wearing shoes you will see that the child has a natural S curve.  Of course you have to take into consideration the way we live now compared to the "hunter and gatherer days" is a more sedentary lifestyle and certainly that plays a huge role in losing the S curve.  However, I am willing to try to re-train my running stride to help eliminate common ailments that may occur due to shoes.

I have had these for about 1 month and so far so good.  Actually, I feel better post run than when I had shoes.  My heels aren't sore and I'm not as fatigued.  I've shortened my stride so that I have mid foot strike rather than heel strike.  I also try to land gracefully rather than "thudding" as I run.  Consequently, my pace is slower now, so other than a bruised ego the shoes are great for me.  I've even stopped shaving my arm pits...

just joking =)

Cheers,

Jamie  

My Toms

You like?  I do!  

These are my new Toms shoes and they're awesomeness.  They are very comfortable, cute, and charitable.  For those of you who are not familiar with Toms shoes here is a quote from their website explaining their One for One movement:

"TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about. The TOMS One for One mission transforms our customers into benefactors, which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support."

 After checking out their site, I noticed a corduroy style which is now a must for me this fall.  I like these.   Here's a link to my pair. 

Cheers,

Jamie

Shoog the terrorizer

Moments before the above photo was taken...

She does this every morning if I don't give her a bone to chew on.  She never actually bites into the couch.  It's more of a threat.  She's basically saying, "This is what I'm capable of doing if you don't pony up the bone."  Since I have big plans to reupholster this couch, I hesitate in giving her the bone and calling her bluff.  She would save me time in tearing off the fabric.

The other day I had to take Shoog to the Vets for a spider bite.  While sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a poster on the wall that said the following...

Why dogs are better than kids

1) They eat less.

2) They get their hair cut exactly as you want them to.

3) If they get pregnant you can sell their babies.

They make a compelling argument.

Cheers,

Jamie

Shoog is still a boog

Yes, shoog is still a boog.  She gets herself in these predicaments that she can't get out of.  Take, for example, the above predicament.  The other day I happened to glance outside and saw 2 big eyes staring at me.  I just about jumped out of my skin!  Shooger managed to get herself stuck on our patio table.  She tried to get down by herself, but as you can see she's not exactly the agile kind.  The third frame is my favorite, because she gets her hind legs perched up next to her front legs and then chickens out. We have obviously lost the "getting up on furniture" battle.

 Ah I love her!

Have a fun weekend!

Jamie

The vintage dresses

Here's how my vintage dress fits from the secret shop.  It fits perfectly (just as long as I don't increase my waistline by 1 centimeter).  I love wearing the dress.  I can see why women of the fifties wore dresses like these around the house.  It just feels so light, flowy, and pretty.  

It makes me feel like I could happily sweep my floors.
Sigh
Someday.

My other vintage dress has a drop waist fit and needs a little work...

As you can see, the sewer of this dress stitched black rick rack around the waist and partly outlining the neckline.  I'm not sure if I will complete the neckline rick rack, or take out the rick rack and add some trim.  I'm leaning towards the trim.

The best part about the dress is the fabric.

Such a sweet whimsical design.  This dress makes me want to go barefoot all day long and never so much as lift a finger for my floors.

Cheers,

Jamie

My vintage treasure

Nestled in the San Diego hills of California, sits a sweet little shop full of vintage treasures.  My mom discovered this hidden gem a couple of weeks ago and purchased a dress and capelet for me (I'll share some pics soon).  My mom told me that the shop was full of vintage clothes, fabric, buttons, sewing patterns, jewelry... in fact, she said that there was so much stuff you have to walk on stuff to get to more stuff.  

The story is that the owner is an elderly lady in her 80's and she used to work as a seamstress and costume designer.   Currently, she spends time frequenting estate sales on a regular basis.  

After hearing about and seeing first hand some of the thrifty finds, I had to find the time to take a trip to the shop for myself.  It took a couple of weeks, but finally, last Tuesday, I made the drive down to San Diego to visit the vintage shop.

When we arrived, we were greeted by an employee of the shop named Beth.  I asked Beth if I could take pictures for my blog. Hesitantly, she said yes but asked me not to mention where the location was.  I'm not kidding.  She said she didn't want a ton of people to come there.  "OK?" I said and I put my camera away.  The strange thing is there was a huge SALE sign in front of the store.  A little twilight zone-ish.  I did get a little spooked, but then again it doesn't take much to spook me.

The shop was overwhelming, but in a good way.  It wasn't like the swap meet (I don't do good shopping there).  It was charming and every room of the house/shop seemed to have a story.  There where 3 separate shops and one of the shops was a house.  The kitchen had vintage dishes in the sink.  The living room had an old record player with records stacked around it.  There was tattered luggage on the floor. The place seemed frozen in time.  I felt like a detective snooping and exploring through a
 private life.

I found quite a lot of goodies to purchase. When it was time to leave Beth showed me one more room. It was there that I found my treasure.  In the corner of the room there was an end table with a weathered book lying on it.  It looked like a scrap book.  Casually I opened it and found pages and pages of vintage magazine cut outs.  "This is what I came here for," I thought to myself.  I asked how much the scrapbook was and Beth gave a fair price, so I bought it.  I bought it without looking at everything inside, so as soon as we left the shop I opened my book and was shocked to see what I had.  The book not only had cut outs of fashion designs, but it also had magazine articles and full magazine issues dating from 1902 to 1978.  And when I write 1902 to 1978 that includes practically all of the years in between- 1903, 1905, 1906, 1910, etc.  Crazy awesome!

Here are some pictures from the book...

   

I circled the date 1913!

This one has the words written My hat.  I wonder if she designed it???

This is a magazine about crochet and knitted handbags.

I'll stop here, but there really is so much more to share.  Every page has the year the images were collected written at the top. This book is not only inspiring for the design element, but it also inspires me to keep a book of all the design trends in my lifetime.

I'm so happy I finally picked a good vintage find, because in most all of my previous attempts at vintage hunting I've come up fruitless.

I also picked up some sewing patterns...

And a dress...

 I'll show you how it fits just as soon as I get some pics with the dress on.  

The dress has some stains on it.  Beth said they're water stains.  I'm not sure how to go about removing them.  I don't want to ruin the dress.  Anyone???

I can't leave you with a picture of the stains, so here's some shoes...

Cheers,

Jamie

Ella's upcycled sock dress

   The other day my daughter asked me if she could use my fabric scissors.  "Why?" I asked.  She told me it was a surprise and promised to ONLY use the scissors on fabric.  About 10 minutes later she emerged from her room with this...

A cute mini!  Maybe too mini, but a mini.  Ella here is wearing a B-Girl original upcycled sock.  Three snips and voila! I just love the cowl neckline.

Not only is she a designer, but a hairstylist too.  Yep!  That there rocker hairstyle was cut by my B-girl.  She also gave her American Girl doll bangs... very short bangs.  I can't show you the picture because it freaks my mom out (she bought her the doll).  As long as she doesn't cut her own hair, I'm fine with it.  Right?

Are you wondering what the heck happened to Ella's left hand?  I think we all know who's calling card that is...

Nothing can escape the wrath of Shoog the Boog.

Cheers,

Jamie

The happy pillow

The other day I was browsing through Target and came across this pillow by Dwell Studio.  It was love at first sight!  From the rosette flowers to the color combination, it possessed all that I needed for my bedroom.  I tried to walk away, but it kept calling me- beckoning me to take it home.  Eventually, I justified the notion of letting it ride along in my cart while I shopped.  Every time I looked at it in my cart, I smiled.  The next thing I knew I was walking out to my car with the pillow in hand.  

It's happy here.  We're happy here.

Nightie night!

Jamie

Turn Signal Biking Jacket

I'm not sure if this has made the blog rounds yet, but I had to share this (via www.instructables.com).  It's a biking jacket with led lights as a turning signal.  Here's the link to the tutorial.  I love it even though I don't bike.  I should start.  

Happy Friday!