Interview!

Hello lovelies!
I interviewed Genevieve of Pretty Wit over on Pemberley Couture. Check it out HERE.

Also...there's a few more patterns in the SHOP. Still more to come! :)

Hope your having a lovely weekend!

~Anna Kristine

Pattern De-Stash

I went through my patterns today and found a pile that I either have duplicates of or don't think I'll ever get around to making. I've listed a few in the SHOP. More to come over the next few days!
~Anna Kristine

Kreativ Blogger Award :)

Costume Queen of 'Aria of an Amateur' awarded me this blog award. :) Thanks so much!
Here's what she said about my blog:
Anna Kristine for her blog, The Art of Clothes
She always has a lot of projects going - and I love watching her progress through each costume! This continuous stream of dress diaries and project pictures, as well as her movie reviews and fashion notes, earns her the Kreativ Blogger award.


The Rules
1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger picture and post it on your page
2. Thank the person who gave it to you and link back to their blog
3. Write seven things about you that we don't know
4. Choose seven other bloggers that you would like to give the award to
5. Link to the bloggers that you choose
6. Let the winners know that they have the lovely award.

Seven things you don't know about me? This is going to be hard...some of you may already know these things!

1. I'm really obsessed with post-it notes.

2. I love eating grapefruit and avocado together.

3. I like to crochet maybe even more than sewing.

4. I don't like the movie Anne of Green Gables...I know, this is a sin right? I try sooo hard to like it. But I just don't. I love the book though.

5. The first song I learned on the piano was Michael Jackson's 'Like a River'. I picked it out by ear. That's what made my parents get me piano lessons.

6. I don't like dark chocolate.

7. I once lived 2 months with out a washer or dryer and did all my laundry by hand. It wasn't that bad. :)

And I pass this blog award onto:

Genevieve, Margaurite, and Aimee for their blog Pretty Wit
These are three dear friends of mine, their blog is companion to their fantastic Etsy Shop. I love seeing what creative things pop out of their heads and I enjoy reading their witty entries as well as their fun giveaways and more.

AnnaMae for her blog Confessions of a Costume Addict
A good friend of mine, a kindred spirit and lover of historic costumes! She's currently working on an Alice in Wonderland costume. I love reading her blog and seeing the process of her projects.

Heidi for her blog The Garret Corner
Another good friend. :) Heidi is an amazing seamstress and is always inspiring me! I love seeing what she's up to and what will come out of her sewing box next.

Chrissy for her blog The Sun Kissed Me
I found Chrissy's blog about a year ago and I think if we ever met we might be kindred spirits. I love seeing her amazing artwork and reading her clever posts. She always makes me laugh...or sigh. Because I seem to always understand just what she's talking about.

Lissawi for her blog A Fair Prospect
I'm always so inspired by the beautiful sewing Lissawi does for her family and their fun times reenacting.

Samantha for her blog My Heart Is With The Sea
My dear friend over the pond, I love being able to follow along with what she's been up to and be encouraged and inspired by her posts on life, faith, and her adventurous life. Love you Sam!

Janice for her blog May Farm Cottage
My mum. :) My mom is always busy canning, sewing, tea parties, crafting, I owe all my creativity to her. She started it. :)

Sewing "To Do" List

Alright...here is my list of already started projects and what needs done to them. I'm hoping making this list will motivate me to finish these things. Then I'm going to try not to get so many projects going at one time!

Sewing Projects: (started)
-What needs done

~Elizabeth Swann Corset

-Binding and Eyelets

~Embroidered Muslin Skirt

-Hem, Wastband, Zipper

~Wool Plaid Coat

-Hem

~White Medieval Dress

-Everything! One sleeve done.

~Orange Plaid Skirt

-Construction (only cut out)

~Striped Summer Dress

-Skirt, straps, Zipper

~Embroidered Satin Doll Corset

-Lining, Binding, Eyelets

~Elizabeth Swann Camisole

-Finish Embroidery, Eyelets, Peplum

~Lucy Pevensie Doll

-Finish Dress

~Pink Regency Stays

-Eyelets

~Green Civil War Dress

-Skirt, Sleeves, Trim

~Maid Marian Gown

-Finish cutting out, Construction, Beading

~Titanic 'Jump Dress' Trim

-Finish :)

So there's my list. Some of these things are nearly done, if I could just finish them up my list would be shortened in no time. :)

There are a couple things on this list I might change into something other than what it was originally supposed to be. But it sure helps to have it all written down. :)

The organization of my life has begun. :)

Updates :)

I'm afraid I haven't been the most consistent blogger lately. I started a costume study on Taylor Swift's 'Love Story' awhile back and promised the second half the next week. Where has it gone? Well, to be honest...I lost the photos I had saved because they were inside a file inside another file...silly me. But...I'm found them now so you can look forward to that coming soon!

I've been busy organizing my sewing room for the past few...well, months actually. But it's finally wrapping itself up...I'm *nearly* done. I look forward to sharing pictures soon.
Whenever I get tired of organizing I look at this picture for inspiration:
Sadly, my sewing room will look nothing like this and it's waaay smaller. But it still does inspire. :)

Another thing...Robin Hood Season 2 costume studies! I know I've said I'm working on them for the past several months...I really am going to keep at it but I'm not going to promise them too soon. Just because I know how I am. :) But you can look forward to more Merry Men costume discussion one day in *lets hope* the not to far future.

Aaaand...for any of you who are Twilight fans...I have a little series I'm working on for the month of November which is the month of the release of 'New Moon'. I hope you'll enjoy it, even if your not a Twilight fan. I haven't done much study on costumes in modern films as they always seemed pretty ordinary. But I think you'll be surprised at how much thought and detail goes into each piece and how they help to tell the story. And you may be surprised by a few historic costumes that are making their way into this one! Fun stuff! :)

Alright...I'm off to do some sorting and sewing. I'm thinking about posting a list of my sewing projects so I can be more motivated to sew them. Once people know how big a pile I have, I'll be so embarrassed I'll be motivated to finish them right?

Oh, and if any of you haven't already seen it, my friend Genevieve did a photo shoot of my Red Regency Dress a couple weeks ago. Check them out HERE.

RED QUEEN UPDATE: The Queen of Hearts costume for my sister has been postponed as she's decided to be something else for Halloween. I *might* still be making it for her to wear to the movie though.

Alright...I really am off this time. :) Hope you all are having a great week!

~Anna Kristine

Maid Marian Fashion Weekend

This totally snuck up on me so I don't have my dresses done though I do have plans to make them. So you shall just have to wait awhile for my Maid Marian photo shoots. But in the meantime, go check out what's going on at Amanda Beth Online. Fun photo shoots! A giveaway and more. :)

Such a fun event! I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing what everyone has been pulling together.

Elizabeth Swann Fabric

Once I finish my Elizabeth Swann stays and also make some panniers I wanted to one day make this dress. I always thought it would have to be way into the future when I had $100 or more to spend on fabric.

Well, this weekend I found some fabric! It's not a perfect match, not as gold as hers...it's more cream and buttery. But it's close enough for me and I got all of it for just $22.50!

So...now I just have to keep my eyes open for fabric for the underskirt.
Don't you just love it when you find things like that? :)

The Young Victoria New Trailer

Here is the new trailer for The Young Victoria...it has a lot more footage. Goodness, I can hardly wait! This looks amazing! It gives me chills. :)

Bright Star

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

Yesterday I went to the theater to see 'Bright Star' the new film about John Keats and Fanny Brawne. If you love beautiful clothes, hand stitching, and poetry...this is the film for you. I left the theater so inspired, and slightly gloomy. Do take a handkerchief with you as it will be needed!

Ben Wishaw did an incredible job as John Keats. One couldn't help falling in love with him.

And despite all the gorgeous costumes in this film, Keat's frock coat was my favorite:

Abbie Cornish was amazing as Fanny Brawne, and her costumes are stunning:

She designs and sews everything she wears so there is a lot of detail that we don't normally get to see in costume dramas. My friends and I were in awe over this sweater that is made of what looks like really tiny granny squares:

I am in love with her striped spencer:

Her little sister 'Toots' had some of the most adorable little dresses I've ever seen. Now I want to make children's Regency clothes. :)

Overall the film was brilliant. Beautiful cinematography, excellent acting, intricate clothing, wonderful soundtrack, and as if that wasn't enough...it's filled with the beautiful poetry and letters of John Keats.

Butterfly Seamstress

Do you ever get in a mood where you want to sew so badly but there are so many things you want to sew you just don't know where to start? I'm having one of those days. There's a pile of things waiting to be sewn on the machine but the trouble is...I really want to just sit and hand sew something. There's something therapeutic about running a needle and thread through some fabric and turning it into something beautiful that can be worn. But machine sewing is faster and therefore more practical for some projects. *sigh*

And then...where to start? There's so many projects I have lined up I get dizzy with trying to decide because I can't settle on one...I feel like a butterfly.

Well, I suppose I should get of the lap top now and go try to pick something.

I hope you all are having a splendid day and getting more accomplished than I am. ;)

~Anna Kristine