I'm Back. So Let's Party.

     I am always on the prowl for comfy summer clothes. There is nothing like driving around doing errands in my Civic with its wussy a/c that blows pitiful, asthmatic blasts of air. So refreshring in a Phoenix summer. It's like fanning myself with a single blade of grass while sitting on a barbeque grill. But I digress...

     I was at my home-away-from-home, Savers, and I found a blue chino cargo skirt, quite similar to one I had dreamed up in my imagination. One that I'm too lazy/unskilled to sew. The one I found was too short. I knew this when I plucked off the rack, but maybe I was hoping it would magically extend itself in the dressing room? In my zeal to take it off, I ripped off one of the buttons. So I now I had to buy the sucker. Oh well, another sewing experiment. I wanted to keep the clean, simple look and feel of the skirt. Adding a ruffle really wouldn't work here.
     I found this great tutorial on how to extend a skirt: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/18768/go-to-great-lengths
     I did something similar with mine. First I undid the hem with a seam ripper. Then, I took some bias tape, and instead of wrapping around the hem right on top of the fabric, I wiggled it to the very edge to get more length on it. I would add pictures, but apparently I only took one. Anyway, I ended up adding about 3.5 inches on my skirt. Pretty nifty, eh?

Just in Time For December-a Swimsuit Link!

I skyped this off of Diane Baber's Website Some may think that the price is a little on the high side, but those of you that have flopped around in the ocean like a palseyed jellyfish while wearing baggy culottes may find this a refreshing alternative. I myself have never tried them, but Diane had positive review.

another easy alteration

I was at Savers today and got this really cute skirt:

I tried it on, and it looked like it would be ok. But then I got home and saw that if I sat wrong, my kneecaps would be poking out like saucy little peeping toms. And since I'm very private about my saucy kneecaps, and since I apparently have the most energy at 10 at night, I got the idea to add some fabric to the bottom. I was lucky enough to have cute black fabric with little white polka dots in my stash. I was gonna gather into a ruffle to match the hem, but that didn't work out. And the chocolate rush was starting to wear off. So I just added a strip of the seamed fabric to the bottom.

I'm quite happy with the results and now can tiptoe joyfully through the tulips without being a flasher.

You Too Can Alter a Sweater-Even if You Have the Sewing Skills of a One Armed Lumberjack

Because the styles of the world tend to run towards snug, part of dressing modestly involves altering, altering, and more altering. I was at Saver's the other day, and found this adorable sweater vest that even has argyle on both sides. And I have been very much hankering for an adorable sweater something that even has argyle on both sides. Or something like that.

Anyway, I was very excited, because it looked like it would be loose. And it was. Unfortunately, because it is meant to be snug, it was loose because it was in size gargantuan. There is enough of a hem to swaddle several baby koalas, and maybe store a bushel of oranges. Or something like that.

I decided that instead of dejectedly shoving it back on the rack like I normally do, I would take it home and see if I couldn't alter this bad boy. It was only four bucks, and to me well worth it, as I could learn what to do, or not to do. Worst case scenario would be that it wouldn't work. Or something like that. tee hee...

Here's what ya need:

fabric glue
needle and thread (optional)

It's pretty simple, really. I trimmed the hem, then I folded up what I wanted to hem. Following the instructions, applied glue to the sweater.  I was going to double fold it, but it made the hem look wonky on the outside. As Frankenstein once said "Normal hem goooood. Wonky hem baaaaaaaad."

I used some handy dandy candles from my fall centerpiece to weight it down while it dried.

Don't they look like little potpourri marines bravely guarding the hem from emminent destruction?

I let it dry and then hand stiched some parts. Obviously, something like this wouldn't work on a sweater that needed a more complex alteration. This was pretty simple. My point in posting is to show that with a little creativity, one can play with options and not have to take everything at face value.

Most of you guys may already know about these links. But if not, they are way cool.

http://www.denimskirts.com/
http://www.newcreationapparel.com/
http://www.theskirtsite.com/
http://cozycollectionsinc.com/

I've only dealt with the top and bottom company. Style J is excellent; you get your skirt shipped usually within 4 days. Yeah, the skirts are pricier. But they have a great selection of no slit items. And if you factor in the fact that you'll probably be wearing them for years, it ends up being not so bad.
I've only purchased one skirt from the bottom place, and I like it. The only thing is that it seems to be a mom andpop-type business run out of an abandoned phone booth. So if you order something, don't get too excited. Instead of listing on the website that it's not available, you get an email later on saying it's not in stock. And then you go cry and eat Hagendaaz.

My First Link

Ah, the bain of a modest dresser! You buy a cute tee shirt, love it, hug it, name it George, and then after you get all attached to it, it shrinks and becomes too snug to wear in public. I found this link while prowling crafty links. It shows how to unshrink something. After seeing countless videos on how to look sexy, make a sexy wedding dress out of a cocktail napkin, make sexy clothes to enhance you curves, make your toddler look sexy, buy sexy thread, etc, seeing this was quite refreshing. Here it is:

http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-unshrink-your-clothes

Bunheads Unite!

For the people who read my other blog (all 6 of you), you may be wondering why I'm starting this other blog. Or maybe you couldn't care less because you ended up here by mistake. Whatever the case, I'd like to share a little bit of my testimony and what I hope to accomplish. You ready? No? Fantastic! Here goes...

Long ago, in a tiny log cabin in the wo-Oh wait. Wrong story. Sorry.

About ten years ago, God started dealing with my heart about turning my life over to him. As I grew up, I can remember for a long time wanting to be a Christian. But I didn't feel like I was good enough. We all know who that comes from... Dick Cheney. Just kidding! But seriously, it just goes to show how Satan can really warp our thoughts. Anyway, I decided I wanted to start going to church, partly for selfish reasons, and partly because I was hungry for something of God. I went to a liberal church, and for a while was somewhat happy. But God started showing me stuff. I remember one of the first times he put his finger on something. I was trying on some tight pants, and let me tell ya they looked fiiiiiine on me. But I just felt checked about getting them. I remember standing in the dressing room for what seemed the length of a John Hughes movie trying to rationalize getting them. In the end, I realized they were not what a Christian would wear. Now mind you, at the time I was wearing snug jeans, mini skirts, and bathing suits to go swimming in. This check was just the beginning of a very long drawing away from the world.

Soon the Lord started showing me other things. By the time I encountered a Holiness church, I agreed with almost everything they did. Except the dress. This is how I viewed Holiness dress at the time:

I was not happy about ditching my Levis and squeezing into a pair of itchy hose. I felt like Gonzo (muppet reference for the unitiatied) without my makeup. I've never been good at doing hair. While others can french braid there with their pinky while reciting Psalms, I usually end up a frizzy, lopsided ball on the top of my head. I didn't want to give up chunky, cute shoes, or my mascarra. I wanted to go be a freelance writer globe trotting in cute, flouncy skirts while perkily tossing my hair.

Nonetheless, I knew cognitively that this was the right way to go. Not because my church family decided to surrounded me one day and started chanting "one of us" over and over. The only person that talked about dress was my friend Sonya, and this was only because just like me, she was also searching for the right way to go. Dressing modestly and non trendily just makes sense. The Bible speaks of beauty coming from within and not from how we look.  Wearing skirts makes sense, too. God made us male and female. He wants those differences to be highlighted. And what's inetesting is that within a couple of months of dressing conservatively, I had two different people tell me I seemed much more approachable and not stuck up. (Editors note: Roseanna  for the most part was not stuck up. She was shy! But perhaps a quiet demeanor and being gussied up scares people. Roseanna is still shy, but now nobody has ever accused her of being stuck up. At least not to her face)

Fast forward to now: I am very happy dressing Holiness. I look back at my old life versus now, and I wouldn't trade it at all. My joy doesn't come solely from dressing this way, but from surrendering to God and trying to live as he would like me to live. I believe they are a package. Now, along the way I've had some finger wiggling naysayers who say that people can be proud of being conservative. Yes, that's totally true. I'm not speaking for anybody else; I'm just giving my own testimony. I also want to point out that though I go to a Holiness church, and obviously agree with the tenants professed there, I don't believe we are the only ones going to Heaven. I do believe the path is straight and narrow, and how we look and act are to be pondered with sober deliberation. I'm just sayin'

If you haven't fallen asleep at this point, let me share why I'm doing this site. When I first came on the scene, it was hard to find cute stuff that was also modest and feminine. It would've been nice to know more what was out there.  I remember only being able to wear solid colored shirts for the longest time because the only denim or khaki skirts I could find were nasty pleated things, or had slits. I have now found cute places to go online, and don't take denim for granted anymore! I would like to share links, tips, and anything else that encourage someone else who is trying to dress modestly. I want this to be a place where dressing for Jesus can be celebrated.