"Out with the Old, In with the New" + CONTEST!

Readers, I'm not a fan of dogmatic people, and I would hate to come across as one.  My Daily Ditch© method of personal transformation does create miracles, but it's important to allow a few things into your life, too -- otherwise, you'll have nothing left to ditch.  Think about it.

I'd been very curious about Claire Schaeffer's book, Couture Sewing Techniques, and finally decided to treat myself -- not only to a copy, but also to the latest edition, something I normally wouldn't spring for.  It's so nice to read a sewing book that isn't full of Eighties fashion, do you know what I mean?  I'm not going to discuss the book today, but it's a beaut.

On Monday, I received a mystery box in the mail.  Fortunately, it wasn't ticking.



Readers, as you know, I sometimes link to other blogs or wax enthusiastic about something, but it's never to benefit myself -- at least not consciously.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the box to discover this fabulous tomato pincushion -- a gift from Sunni at A Fabulous Stitch for....I'm not sure what; I must have mentioned her here at MPB, hopefully not in a disparaging way.



Folks, if MGM's Gilbert Adrian designed a pincushion this would be it -- am I right?

I must say that while I'm more accustomed to your standard hothouse tomato pincushion, Sunni's is a full-fledged beefsteak.  Seriously though, this vegetable -- or is it a fruit -- is so charming, I'm loath to stick pins in it! 





But that's not all!  Thoughtful Sunni also sent me this beautiful adjustable dog collar!







Actually, don't tell Sunni, but I think I'm going to use this as a wrist pincushion.





Now it wouldn't really look right if now I said, Go buy one of Sunni's pincushions, which you can purchase here or here, so I'm just going to thank Sunni and leave it at that.

And now onto The Daily Ditch©.

Today's theme is Name That Jetsam!

Friends, I can't remember why I ever bought an RF Modulator, but it had something to do with hooking up an old DVD player (which I no longer own), to an even older TV (which I no longer own).  Today I will no longer own this RF Modulator.



Why, oh why, did I have this sitting around?  Hopefully it was a gift. 



Or this.  Don't their songs all sound the same?



I found this black plastic wand sitting in a cabinet and had no idea what it was. 



But I figured it out -- behold!  Why do I own two cheap tripods?  Later today I will own just one.



And now for our contest:  Readers, please identify one of the following items:





The winner will receive...nothing!  You wouldn't want to go against the spirit of The Daily Ditch© would you?  Actually, you will enjoy the pleasure of being right, which is all most of us really long for anyway.

In closing, friends, wherever you may be sticking your pins, I hope this day will be an enjoyable one for you.

Seriously, what is that pale jade plastic thing -- do you know?  I do!

POST-WINNER UPDATE:  (SPOILER ALERT!)

Click photo to play movie in Picasa.

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Pet Peeves: sewing for dogs

Friends, I'm not one of those people who are into dressing up dogs "cute" and I hope you're not either.

Where I live you see the full spectrum of dog clothes, from Burburry to Walmart.  I honestly don't care what our dogs wear as long as they have an extra layer of warmth during the winter.  When it's really cold (below freezing) we generally don't take the dogs out at all.  They have their treadmill now, and we've rigged a system so that they can do whatever they need to do in the bathtub on a cloth diaper. 

When Willy was a puppy we found someone on eBay who custom knit him a sweater -- very lovely, but he quickly outgrew it.



In early 2010 P.B. (pre blog) I made Willy the one and only dog coat I've ever sewn, using an old coat of Freddy's as a pattern, some old corduroy pants I found in the street and a worn flannel shirt of mine.  It came out cute but it wasn't very warm and Willy rarely wears it.  Plus I think it's now too short.



Freddy and Willy don't have extensive wardrobes, just a few cheap fleece coats, and they don't like wearing them.  They kind of go into zombie-land when they're wearing them.  We've bought RTW coats (like these red and blue ones) but they rarely fit right.  The cheap ones are tacky and the expensive ones...expensive.



So, in these waning days of 2010, I have decided that after finishing my wool toggle coat I'm going to make some coats for the dogs, probably using leftover wool from the coat project and fleece from my stash.  Overcoming my initial resistance, I picked this up on Etsy yesterday for a few bucks.



It's fine; nothing special.  I did considerable research online of course.  I don't promote individual Etsy sellers but all of these patterns can currently be found on Etsy by searching under dog coat patterns.  It's interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a vintage dog coat pattern (knit coats maybe).  I wonder why.

On a related note, I don't like dog costumes and I hope I'm not offending anyone who does.  It seems demeaning to the animal.

OK, they're kind of funny.  We do dress up Willy from time to time -- Freddy won't put up with it -- but it usually lasts about a minute, then he wriggles out of it.



I don't like cutesy tootsie coats...



Or colonial mob caps.



There are a lot of matchy-matchy owner/dog outfits (for women) out there.  I'm on the fence about these.





For a child, maybe...



I won't lie, I find the doggie Santa outfit kind of fun.



Holidays bring out the worst in pet-craft kitsch. 



This Victorian thing I like, but our dogs would never tolerate it.



Friends, if you have dogs, do you dress them up in funny outfits?   Do your dogs go outside a lot in the cold weather and if they do, what do they wear to stay warm?

Are you a believer in dignity when it comes to dog clothes or do you think dressing up dogs in cute outfits provides a necessary creative outlet -- for the dog?

I'm all ears!

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Decaffeinating

Good morning, goths, punks and other disaffected subcultures who may or may not hang out in shopping malls and scare the rest of us.  Yesterday's comments reminded me that I have a much more diverse readership than I'd ever imagined.  How you found me I'll never know but welcome just the same.  Especially you poor unloved Emos.

Readers, I have not been feeling quite up to snuff these last few days.  Perhaps I am experiencing caffeine and sugar withdrawal as I've quit both cold turkey since Monday.  (I am so over chamomile tea, I could cry.)

I thought I would sleep better without the caffeine but now I'm thinking the real cause of my poor sleep is sharing my bed with two chihuahuas, one of which (Willy) cannot decide whether he wants to sleep under the covers or over the covers and punctuates each move with a loud ear flap.  Something has to change.

But enough about me and my bedroom problems.

McCall's 2242 has arrived and I have officially started my One Pattern Wardrobe project, though due to compromised health, without my usual high energy.





There's nothing remarkable about this pattern at all, but it was issued at the time the major pattern companies changed their sizing (What used to be 16 was now a 14, etc.), and there are reminders everywhere to pay attention before cutting.

Does anybody know why they did this?  (They'd done it once before in the late Fifties.)



To my surprise, with the exception of the shorts, the pattern was uncut.  Imagine buying this pattern and only making the shorts!

I cut my red and black houndstooth, which will become the tunic top and short pants combo.



The houndstooth is actually printed on the cotton twill and it's an eensy bit off grain, but so be it.  No going back now.  I can't figure out whether to topstitch in red thread or black and I actually brought this question to my Facebook page (Yes, Male Pattern Boldness is on Facebook!  See right column of blog) yesterday with exciting results.

Of course there was no consensus but is there ever?  What do you think?  The weird thing about houndstooth is that the plaid creates an optical illusion: whichever color of the two you're focusing on looks like the background, with the checks in the other color.   And vice versa.  Do you know what I mean?

I also started testing interfacings on the black and white double knit.  The only one that worked -- that stayed on when I stretched the fabric -- was the loosely woven weft weight.  The tightly woven interfacing pulled off, which makes sense.



I may go to the store and pick up a knit interfacing, which is really what this fabric calls for.  (It's just for the collar and facings.)  Interfacing should have similar properties to (as?) your fashion fabric.



And that's it, friends.  It's pouring here and very dreary, which means the dogs probably won't go out.  But, aha!  We have the trusty dog treadmill!

This video is a mere 45 seconds long and as you'll see, the dogs have made quite a bit of progress over the last month, especially little white Willy, the inveterate ear flapper.  And the song will really take you back.



I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in its original release -- twice.  I recently tried watching it on DVD and it was as tedious as I'd remembered it.  It really should be used solely for punishment.  If your child has been bad I recommend a few hours of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the opening credits alone last ten minutes), followed by Doctor Dolittle, and perhaps a few hours of Julie Andrews in Darling Lili or Star!  (Any overproduced late Sixties muscial will do.) Your child will never give you problems again, promise. 

Stay dry everyone and if you're drinking coffee, well, I don't want to hear about it.

The most excruciating children's film ever made (which I also saw in its original release):


Happy Thursday, everybody!

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Plan C -- new shirt, new accessories + chihuahua video!

OK, so I thought long and hard about your comments yesterday.

Though I hate to admit it, I did start to see that the Western shirt -- while lovely and painstakingly stitched on a 1920 Singer treadle -- is not ideally suited to the rest of the outfit.  It is not crisp-looking.  The pants pop; the shirt is dull-toned.

I thought about white.

I do own a homemade white shirt -- a very nice one I whipped up last November.  I actually bought the fabric from Kashi at Metro Textiles and it's a silky white cotton.   And just look at that sleeve placket...





So I thought I'd try it with the pants and jacket and see how it looked.  Different belt, a few small tweaks.



Dear fashion critics and reunion ribbers, I like it.  It's brighter and looks crisper with the dark blue jacket.  The grosgrain ribbon belt is more cheerful than the black one while still looking sufficiently dressy, don't you think?



I've nixed the ascot -- too Peter Lawford.  But how about the psychedelic napkin neckerchief tucked in breast pocket (I know I said I don't wear pocket squares but it does pull things together, no?).



I've ditched the Navajo ring.  I can go Danish Modern silver...



...or domestic-partner gold.  (So I don't get hit on -- you know those 30th reunions.)



Now I should mention that there is one small problem with the shirt and I am fixing it.

When I originally made it last November, I had a problem with the interfacing on the neckband and collar: it didn't fuse well, leaving me with this:



Last night I removed collar and neckband and will make new ones today. 

And that's it.  I'll wear the loafers with black socks.  I'll shave and wear deodorant.  Clean underwear.

Have I forgotten anything?  Wallet?  Keys?

Thank you for dressing me up in your love (all over, all over).  How did I ever dress myself before this blog?

As Dinah Shore used to say, Mwah!


For your entertainment... How we'll be staying in shape this winter!

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