McCalls 6557

The Writing
The writing is catching up with me. I have three chapters of my next book due on Friday and I'm still working  on revisions to the book I finished this spring. However, I do have a title for that book--Cowgirl in High Heels. I love it! I think the cover will be really fun. Anyway, sewing is slowing down because the writing is heating up. After the 27th of May, I can really cut loose on the old Kenmore.

The Sewing

Since the sewing is on hiatus and I'm still shortening my orange coat, I'm posting one of the dresses I made last spring--McCalls 6557. I liked the dress so much I made it twice. The first time I copied the cover look from the pattern, making it out of black and white polka dot cotton with a red crepe waistband--only my dots are much larger. I've never learned to look at that little scale ruler on the fabric photos when I order on line. Good thing I like large dots.

The second dress is shorter and I made it out of a lovely green and turquoise sheer fabric that is really tough. It doesn't snag or run. I lined it with turquoise cotton and whenever I wear it, people stop me to comment. The colors are happy colors.

The Art Shots
This blog post actually came about because I ordered a crinoline and my husband took some artsy shots of it with the polka dot dress. So here it is, in color and black and white.

40s Suit Hits the Road

The Traveling

The pictures tell a story. My husband and I weren't trying to tell a story during this particular photo session, which was all about the suit, but it happened and reminded me of how many of my stories form.

Pictures 1 and 2--Once upon a time people could wait for buses in the middle of nowhere instead of actually traveling to the bus stop. I can imagine a woman heading off to the city from her ranch. Why? Perhaps she needs to find work. Perhaps she has offical business to attend to or she's going to stay with a relative. My woman would probably be going to Reno. The highway I'm on is a very old highway, so there may well have been people waiting for a bus on it in the 1940s.

Picture 3--For some reason my woman has abandoned the highway. If I were writing this story, I'd probably start at this scene and try to figure out what happened on the highway. The highway incident (whatever that had been) would be fed in as the scene progressed.

Picture 4--The sun is going down and it's time to make a decision. This would be a turning point that would propel the rest of the story. The call to adventure, if you will.

That's how my writing process works. I see a scene. I wonder how my character got into the place he or she is in, then I throw in a disaster and the real story begins.

30s Dress Goes to the Pub

There are a lot of pluses to having a husband who's a photographer. Granted, sometimes he has to pry me away my sewing and/or writing to be photographed, but that's usually because I'm in the process of being beat up...I mean challenged...by a sewing project or story scene. This was one of my favorite photo sessions ever. What's more, he wants me to make more vintage clothes for vintage photo shoots. Yay!