Tuesday, 31 May 2011

More Exclusive Photos from Exhibit Honoring Marilyn Monroe's 85th Birthday with Special Guest MM Photographer & Friend George Barris.... HH (:

Harrison Held and friend Laura Tsu
MM Fans: Princess Barbie talks with Shirley as Anjelica Houston her cute dog enjoys the photos (:

Harrison Held and Denise Weiss
Joe Camarillo, Caroline Barris and Laura Tsu

Harrison Held and Peggy Russell

Caroline and George Barris & Harrison Held
Mdvani Monroe of India's Trenz TV interviews George Barris and Caroline Barris. "We were both Geminis so we got along well" says George.

George Barris and Caroline Barris share a moment under one of his never seen before  photos of a young radiant Marilyn Monroe taken on location  for  "The Seven Year Itch" in New York  in 1954.

Lily Yu greets the press

Harrison Held and NBC's Gordon Takamatsu
Cheers....  Happy Birthday Marilyn!

"Aw hell, Chewbacca": 10 genuinely funny stand-up routines or monologues about movies (UPDATED)

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Ten things I learned making a 1940's midriff



Friends, no matter what I'm sewing -- or for whom -- I try to learn something.  Cathy's 1940's midriff outfit was no different.  While the pattern, which dates from 1947, wasn't complicated, my version did present a few challenges. 



First, the print fabric I purchased was very cheap-looking (and rough) compared to the cotton sateen sheet, so to tie the two together I decided to make the midriff top reversable, basically lining the cotton print with the blue sateen.





Basically, I stitched the two layers together (right sides together) along their outer edges (making sure they were aligned) and then turned the top right-side-out through the kimono sleeve opening.   It's essentially the same turning method one would use for a shirt collar. 



Since the two layers were separate except for their outer edges, I topstitched along the turned outer edge (again, as one would a shirt collar) to keep the layers in place.  I also stitched the shoulder seams together by stitching "in the ditch" atop the seam.



In both cases, I wanted blue thread on the blue side and white thread on the print side, and I did this -- as you can guess -- by using two different color threads: blue in my needle and white in my bobbin.



I was going to finish the sleeve with bias tape cut from the blue sateen, but decided I could get the same result by simply folding the edge over twice and stitching.  The blue side would thereby remain completely blue, and the printed side would have a neat blue edge.



This looks nice on the finished garment, and the two layers of fabric give the top more weight and drape.  (The wrong side of the cotton print itself is ugly, btw.)



Cathy wore shoulder pads -- the biggest shoulder pads I could find -- and since I knew I'd be reversing the top during the shoot, these were taped to her shoulders!

The shorts were the easiest part to make.  They close with a side zipper and I actually created a lapped zipper fly almost identical to the type you'd find on mens jeans, with a fly shield and everything. 



Otherwise they're just high-riding boxers with two back darts and two front pleats.



The skirt caused the most headaches.  The fabric didn't have quite as much drape as I would have liked, for one thing.  And I misjudged the fit.  Fearing it would be too small, I halved the depth of the tucks, only to have to add an additional tuck (the pattern calls for two, I ended up with three) on either side to compensate.
 

Then, after adding the waistband, it still felt too big.  Cathy doesn't have much of a hip curve below her true waist to hold the skirt up, the way most women do, so the waistband had to fit perfectly but not be too tight.  And since the skirt buttons up the center, with mirror-image tucks in front, you can't simply move a front button to make it tighter.

I ended up adding a strip of elastic to the back to give it slightly better grip.  A little "make-shift" but it worked.  Two small squares of fashion tape helped keep the skirt waistband from sliding below the shorts waistband in both front and back.  I love that stuff.





In an ideal world, the buttonholes would be bound, and the buttons would be more closely spaced together.  The space between the top button and the second button happened to sit right on Cathy's belly and I used a little fashion tape to minimize gaping.  Live and learn!



 

I finally mastered stitching in the ditch on a waistband.  I sewed the waistband right sides together on the outside, folded the waistband over to the inside, and folded under the inside seam allowance ever so slightly below the first stitch line.

I then stitched just under the fold on the outside seam -- it's basically invisible -- catching the (folded-under) inside edge.  This way you know whatever happens on the inside of the waistband (puckering, etc.), the outside waistband will look smooth.  Does that make sense?

Here's a photo of the inside waistband -- it bunches here and there but thick cotton sometimes does that; a waistband has a slight curve:



And the outside:



Friends, we're out of time.  Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you left regarding Cathy's navy-themed photo shoot yesterday.  She was terribly flattered!

Have a great day, everybody!

Monday, 30 May 2011

Memorial Day, Monday May 30.... Hope U All Had A Nice Long Weekend(: A Sneak Preview Below from the Beautiful Collection of Birthday Cards Fans Around The World Created In Honor of Marilyn Monroe's Upcoming 85th Birthday... On Display At The Andrew Weiss Gallery in Beverly Hills.... HH (:

Rick Carl previews the cards as he is filmed for "Close To Her"
Don Goodman, Denise Weiss and Scott Fortner
Lois Banner and Denise Weiss

Amy Condit and filmmaker Thomas

Happy Birthday Marilyn!
Lois Banner and the Gallery's Denise Weiss 
Marilyn's appeal is evident, spanning all age groups.
Filmmaker Laurent, Lois Banner, Scott Fortner, Valerie Weich and club president Greg Schreiner
Valerie Weich, Lois Banner, Lily and Thomas
Jackie, Scott Fortner, Valerie Weich and Greg Schreiner

Fom Italy With Love: Kudos to Lady Doryan of Italy for creating the amazing foldout card above!

Members of the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club were invited to preview the superb birthday cards created by MM fans worldwide in honor of her 85th Birthday. The event took place at the Andrew Weiss Gallery in Beverly Hills as the camera rolled for the new MM documentary "Close to Her".
 

Cathy models the 40's midriff or "Sweetheart of the Navy!"



Friends, on this Memorial Day, I am thrilled to be featuring Cathy's latest photo shoot, which combines a 1940's midriff ensemble and our men in uniform.

Please join me as Cathy supports the troops the best way she knows how -- and forgive her.



As always, to see these photos full-size, please click on any image and then, in Picasa, choose "View All" in the upper left hand corner, and "Slideshow." 



Can Cathy still pull off a midriff (figuratively speaking)?  I hope so!

Have a great day, everybody!

Sunday, 29 May 2011

More midriff madness!



I don't think these shorts look particularly girly but Michael assures me otherwise.  I think I've lost perspective.

Friends, I am just now putting the finishing touches on Cathy's Forties midriff outfit.  Those last little things always take longer than you expect, right?  The skirt waistband was too big; I improvised and stitched some elastic into the back center waistband.  Buttons needed to be moved, threads clipped, seams pressed.  It's always something!

Cathy should be here shortly and who knows what shape we'll find her in.  She's been hanging out with a very fast crowd lately.

I've also experienced my share of sewing machine drama today.  I sat down to sew this morning on my Pfaff and it didn't start.  I looked down on the floor and...



The plug had broken entirely off!  (This machine is 60 if it's a day.)  I quickly -- and carefully -- removed the severed plug from the socket, closed up the Pfaff and moved to my Singer treadle.  I got the whole thing threaded in the correct thread, sat down to use it, and the belt was too loose;  the heat seems to have expanded it.  I can't use it either!

So I moved the 15-91 over to the treadle table -- it now sits in a wooden base -- and placed the base on top of the open table; I needed space for the work I was doing.  It reminded me why it's good to have more than one sewing machine -- or eight.

 
Before I forget -- I picked up the Kenmore sewing machine table yesterday after all.  I love that machine.  I'd have used it today but it's extremely greasy at the moment and that blue sateen shows stains like nobody's business.

I hope to have a Cathy photo shoot to show you guys tomorrow.  We're having a real heat spell this weekend, so we'll probably wait till it cools off this evening.    It's Fleet Week here in NYC so we're going to try to lure a few sailors into the fun.  Keep your fingers crossed and hum Anchors Aweigh.

Hope you're staying calm, cool, and collected.  Especially cool!

Have a great day everybody!

Saturday, 28 May 2011

"Oops, I did it again!" or Peter's Latest Vintage Sewing Machine



Friends, as I've said in the past, when it comes to $20 sewing machines, I have no resistence.   Anything over that and I get very picky -- and rational.   But quote me $20 and I'm hauling that baby home.

I found this vintage (Sixties, I believe) Kenmore 158.141 at the flea market this morning in a table.  In fact, the $20 included the table and I told the guy I'd be back to haul the table home but now I'm not so sure I will.  I have two sewing machine tables already and if you think things are tight with the sewing machines, you can imagine how tight they are with the tables.  

I hate to think that table is going to go to waste -- I'm sure it'll end up in the garbage -- but I don't have room for it.  It had a neat spring action attachment that made the machine pop up easily, unlike my Pfaff table or my Singer treadle table.  Unfortunately, it wasn't all that attractive -- made more for a basement than a living room.

I was actually going to the flea market in search of a straw bag for Cathy (which I didn't get), not a sewing machine.  I really should be chaperoned.

But more about the machine...

Sewing machines in tables are almost always pristine, as this one was.  But it probably hadn't been sewed with in forty years.  When I say this machine was frozen, I mean it was frozen.  Solid.  But I've been through this before to varying degrees.  You oil every place where metal touches metal.  And sure enough, slowly but surely, it started to move.

This machine is a lot like my very first sewing machine, the Kenmore 158.1212, only with more stitches.  It has two settings, one for regular forward stitches, and then one for stitches that go backward.

It takes regular Class 15 bobbins and uses standard low shank feet.  I'll probably add a low-shank snap-on foot adapter and use my generic snap-on feet.



Even without changing the needle or fussing with the tension, the stitches look fine.



The one problem it seems to be having is stitching a plain zigzag; I think it just needs a little more oil and a little more use.  It seems very unlikely that a machine that can do embroidery stitches like the ones above couldn't handle a simple zigzag.

UPDATE: problem solved!  It just needed a longer oil soak:



Did I mention that this Kenmore has a 1.2 amp motor?  That's strong, folks!  The 158 Kenmores were made in Japan by Jaguar/Marzen and they are wonderful machines.  Here's an interesting article I found about vintage Kenmores on eBay.

I'm especially happy not to have to deal with cams.

And speaking of cams, remember the Singer 401A from last week?  Well guess what -- it's still at the flea market!  I didn't ask what it was going for this week (less one would hope).  I'm sure it's a wonderful machine, but I think I draw the line at machines that need their own special feet.  I have too many attachments as it is.

Friends, that's it.  If you're wondering about the 40's midriff outfit, we're on schedule.  I hope to have Cathy here for a photo shoot tomorrow.

Yesterday I worked on the skirt, adding the contrasting fabric to the button placket to tie it in with the midriff top.





Here's how it's looking so far:



Shortly we're having lunch with Michael's folks, who are in NYC for the day with friends.  Then it's back home to finish my outfit.  New sewing machine, lunch out, sewing Cathy clothes -- life is good.

Have a great day, everybody!