I absolutely love rockabilly clothing and “kulture” - all things ’50s. Right now I’m having a battle on how to blend the lifestyle with my work life BUT most of all my size. It’s not easy finding awesome rockabilly clothing in my size which is upsetting but I’m using it to drive my weight loss. There some things I want so to get to them I’m setting weight goals. Once I’ve reached it I’m going to treat myself. I’ve been on track for the most part so I know this will help me get to my goals.

5lbs - gauge ears (slow process but I want a small gauge, one where I can wear fashion earrings with them.)

15lbs - wrist tattoo (I plan getting a wrist tattoo of small black icons that will form a “charm bracelet” that will mean a lot to me.)

30lbs - $500 shopping spree (by then I’ll need it!)

50lbs- hair extensions (that’s right! I want the long hair with out having to wait and I’m going to get my betty bangs back.)

This is a WW goal setting tool that I know works for me. Until then, if you know of any plus size retro clothing sites let me know!

copyright of Bernie Dexter

Better late than never! Here is a photo collage of the Project Red Dress event including how my dress turned out; the dress shown was the winner. You’ll see we were having fun before we even made it to the event! Yes that is Mary pretending to be a pink mannequin.  So funny…

AND I got to meet Nick Verreos! Actually Teresa got to have dinner with him where she told him about my Project Runway dress pattern I was making. When I was introduced to him he actually remembered me - thank the heavens that he was so crowded with fans that he didn’t get a chance to look too close.

So cute and sweet!

More shirts and accessories have been added to the 2GP Etsy store. Scoop up your fashion now before it’s gone. If it’s not your style forward to some who you know can rock it!

2GP update: we are closing in on the launch of the official 2GP store/website. Lynn and I have been working like “China” as she says to get ready. Check out the progress on her recent blog post.  (and while you are there check out her swanky new banner!)

On Saturday late afternoon I headed to Mary’s to begin our red dresses for the Project Red dress event. I was very excited to get to it and sew up my Simplicity pattern. For my dress I purchased satin backed Shantung in hopes of adding a very fashionable and high end look to the dress pattern, since the pattern was pretty casual in style. I chose to construct it like the 1st bottom inset picture with the contrast sash only, no contrast trim at the neck or sleeves. The pattern is simple enough, you know “Simplicity” however for the whole 9+ hours (into the wee hours of the morn’) we constructed our dresses Mary got much farther than me. At the end of the session I only constructed the top and sash of the dress while Mary had sewn hers and already gone to the event! (not really but she’s much farther than I am) Mary was kind enough for me to mooch some of her fabric for the sash but the instruction on how to make it had it being single layer with a double folded hem… not classy. Because of that I’m going to remake the sash to match the quality construction of the rest of the garment. I worked too hard on those sleeves for them to be overshadowed by an ugly sash. I’m going to re-purpose a black dress I have kept from my high school orchestra days; I knew there was a reason I kept it. There is more than enough to construct the sash. I know I can make the sash on my own but to complete the rest of my dress I’m going to need Mary’s iron and Teresa! I miss you iron and Teresa!

Mary was kind enough to feature me on her blog so I’m returning the favor. There she is in her super hot and posh vintage pattern complete with boob darts and midriff. Very nice… Sorry again Mary for sticking you with that pin!

I never would have been able to get the quality I was able to achieve with out Teresa’s guidance. Here’s the pro tips / sneaky tricks I’ve learned from her so far:

- Serge as many ends of the cut out fabric pieces to prevent fraying and create that professional look. Keep necklines and arm holes raw edged until you finish by adding on the other pieces like the sleeves or facing.

- Stitch the lining back on the seam allowance inside the garment instead of using a top stitch. This holds the lining in place once ironed, doesn’t roll and doesn’t show. Very nice finishing… I used this on my neckline where a top stitch would have looked very cheese on the nice silk fabric.

- Sew two sets of gather stitches to ease sleeves in, one of the threads is bound to break which it did.

- Iron, iron, iron…

- Fusible interface goes “raised dots” down… sorry again Mary for ironing interfacing to your iron!

Mary and Teresa at Pacific Fabrics (Sponsor) getting all our notions

The first annual Project Red Dress!

Seattle, Macy’s, and Seattle Metropolitan are presenting this first annual competition benefiting the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement. Twelve designer hopefuls will create one red dress. The winner receives a $3,000 dollar scholarship and a Macy’s window display which is HUGE. Also TV’s Project Runway contestant Nick Verreos will be a guest judge at the event.

Click HERE for the full details.

Click HERE to meet the contestants.

Mary was kind enough purchased tickets for her and I to attend this event. Today we went out with her sister Teresa, who is actually working with the 12 designer hopefuls for this event (I know I totally butchered her actual role…), to Pacific Fabrics to get the fabric and notions to make our own red dresses. It’s not mandatory to create a red dress to attend however Mary and I jumped at the chance. Mary has a couple completed garments under her belt so she is better off than me at this moment. Mary will be creating her dress from a vintage dress pattern. I however chose a modern dress style. I bought a simplicity “Project Runway” dress pattern which I feel is cheesy given the “Project Red Dress” BUT it is truly the best pattern for my size and body type. I chose a deep red satin back shantung fabric for the main body of the dress. There is a sash piece that I have yet to buy fabric for. I want a black fabric that is matte yet dressy and nothing at PF really caught my eye. I’m going to Ebay it up for vintage fabric to add a one of kind feel to the dress. The dress is just below knee length so I plan on wearing either opaque black tights or nude fishnets with black knee high boots. The cut of the dress is perfect for chunky jewelry, anybody who knows me knows my love of chunky jewelry. I actually plan on making the jewelry if I have enough time and funds. Just like I said to Mary as we left the fabric store we bought the fabric so we are now committed to actually finishing. It’s all very exciting!

Lynn and I have been very busy little bees. The business is cranking along; Lynn / J has been working on the webbietech (yes I made up that word, want to fight about it?) and design aspects and I have been what Lynn calls the “China” work aka the hand work on the shirts and dresses. BUT while we’ve been working behind the scenes we’ve been putting our name out there in other ways to start generating buzz.

We created (or should I say Lynn has created) an Etsy shop for our one off fashion or decor experiments along with other pieces we’ve created that we love but do not fit our vision for the future 2GP shop. We have sold several pieces already and it’s only been up a week. I can say for myself that this is a ton of motivation to keep pushing along on product and the website.

2girlsplastic.etsy.com

Along with the Etsy shop we are getting the word out by having a Myspace page that functions as our newsroom while the website is in construction. You can read all about the latest happenings and personal profiles along with look at pictures in the gallery.

http://www.myspace.com/2girlsplastic

Lynn and I have been working to get all our product created for the launch of our site. Here is a little teaser for t-shirts we gave the final touches this weekend.

As I’ve said in my previous post I have been very busy with my various projects.

At the start of last week I had been craving cupcakes. I have a thing for cupcakes and all baked goods that are full of fruit and nuts (door stops as Lynn says). I finally broke down and bought some cake mix and frosting. Out of the box is not normally how I roll BUT I was hard up and didn’t want the major undertaking for from scratch cupcakes… yes for me it’s an undertaking. I bought the new Pillsbury Reduced Sugar cake mix and frosting. I’ve been trying to cut corners and find better ways to have the foods I love with out all the fat or sugar or calories or in general the “bad tasty stuff” and this was a great option. The cake mix was delish and you would have never known it was reduced sugar!! The frosting however was kinda odd… gritty and gooey but you know I ate them anyway… Fred like them - he had no complaints.

I thought I’d do another quick knit project. I found this felted “bobble” scarf from Lion Brand Yarns website. You have to sign up to get access to all the free designs but I must say it is worth it! I have found many great patterns that I want to try - some I have to work up to… However this felted scarf is really easy. You need wool yarn, large wood bead or nuts and string. You knit the scarf in stockinette stitch until you reach the length you want (keeping in mind the scarf will shrink), Tie the scarf around the wood beads or nuts with string then wash and dry the scarf until it’s lightly damp. You then pull the scarf into shape and allow for it to dry completely. I figured I could manage that. Of course I don’t really like the placement of the bobbles per the pattern image so I decided to create my own version of the scarf using warm fall colors in the Lion Brand Wool Ease� “paprika” and “violet”. The violet stripes will have the bobble effect - I’m making the stripe pattern up as I go. At the half way point I will then mirror the stripe pattern I created so the scarf is even. I’ll share it when it is finished.

Lynn and I have approx. 2 weeks until we test launch our website for our brand 2 Girls & Plastic (2girlsplastic.com). We’ve been working on product constantly preparing. We are currently working on revamped vintage skirts with different “themes” in both the Jo and Lola style. The close up is of our “Fairytale” skirt in Lola colors. The ribbon and the appliques will be stitched down securely in a decorative way. So far we’ve created t-shirts, skirts, wristbands, sachets, ties and altered or restored vintage pieces such as tops and dresses. We are very excited and there is much more to come…

I have been having my hands in a lot of pies - Brandy Pie Hands! - but I will blog on that a little later when I download my camera and upload all my pictures. While I have you waiting talk amongst yourselves… Here’s the subject : this AWESOME super cute retro style leopard pattern cardigan (1st image - gold) that I found while looking through the pages of Mary’s k.1. (knit.1) magazine.

I’m looking into hiring a knitting tutor for garment creation and construction. I believe this may be my first project!!