Y: more than just a letter

In 2007, when Emily was still a wee bundle of grins, Ben came to visit us in Texas.

Isn't that just the cutest Emily you ever did see?

We were chilling on my parents' back patio while Daddy grilled something tasty, when Emily decided she wanted to go inside. I asked her why. "Because," she answered. I explained that "because" is not so much a reason as it is a word that comes before a reason and repeated my previous question. "Because I want to go inside," was the reply she gave me along with a look that said I was clearly as dumb as I was annoying. "Yes, I know you want to go inside, what I don't know is why." At this point, Em's frustration was pretty apparent. She marched up to the screen door, the handle of which was mounted just out of her reach, and declared "BECAUSE YEAH!"

Because yeah. I like it. Why can't that reason work for everything? Because no, that's why. It doesn't work for getting out of family dinners on the back porch and it doesn't work for operating a small business. In case you're wondering, that latter statement has been occupying a lot of space in my brain lately.

Last April I told you Never a Plain Jane Designs was founded because

"garters are important. The materials, the design, the colors are all expressing something about the wearer.  Sometimes she wants to express those things to someone else - like a spouse - and sometimes she just wants a private reminder that she is strong/sexy/whimsical..."

That's still true - in fact, I think it might be even more true now - but I had forgotten all about that. In the last few months I could not, for the life of me, tell you why I made garters. I certainly couldn't tell you why making, selling, wearing them was important. I think I lost touch with my "why," my mission statement, because I assumed it was enough to just put it out there one time. Spoiler alert: it's not.

Once I put nailed down the "why' of NPJ Designs I got busy on the "how." I got so busy, that I let it consume my work day. Then, the how - the blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, the accounting, and the making - became habit.  I everything I had been doing was to start my business, grow my business, maintain my business.  Now you tell me which part of that last statement addresses my desire to help women discover and express themselves.

Yeah, I don't really see that there either. It pretty much looks like I was doing a bunch of work because yeah.

And that's just lame.

This time around I'm going to step back from my work more often to evaluate why. I'm not sure what will come of all this evaluating, but I suspect asking myself "why" will keep me better connected to my passion, which, in turn, means I can let you in on more aspects of why i do what I do.

I make garters for offbeat brides, burlesque, Tuesdays...because the closer something is to your body, the more it should represent the things you stand for. And because every woman should have a reminder that her strength and beauty comes only from her.

What is your why?

Communication is Key

Today, I was challenged to write about the thing(s) I do to give my garters that added something.  What is it that makes them so great - even awesome.

The absolute, honest truth is my garters are amazing because of the me part.

ta da!

Seriously.

When it comes to the actual garters, I still struggle a lot when it comes to calling a piece finished. Sometimes more details make the garter. But sometimes more is just more and less would have been stunning. For example, I recently messaged one of my brides suggesting a glam sequined fabric as the center piece for her bow-shaped garter.

For some girls, those sequins would be a dynamite addition.  This particular bride very sweetly declined and asked that we let the bow speak for itself just like the garter that originally caught her eye.

Pumpkin Spice Latte garter by Never a Plain Jane

My point is, I talked to my bride and, by doing so, I ma making this garter hers. I probably would have added the sequins if it were up to me, and that finishing touch would not have made this an awesome garter in the eyes of my bride.

Luckily, talking to people is my biggest talent. As a result, I've had a bride hug me on sight because she felt I cared about her wedding as much as she did (hi Michele!).  I've had friends of brides come back again and again to order gift certificates as a shower gift because they know I will take care of their friends (I'm looking at you Tiffany). I also have friends who tell me when I've strayed too far from myself trying to please a mass market (thank you, Amy. And Mom).

Will I be adding sequins to a future garter? Definitely!  Will I do it on a custom garter? Not without checking with my customer.  Because the best detail I can add to each creation starts with a simple "hello."

Sweater Girls

Over the weekend, my sweet neighbors invited Em and I over for dinner. There has actually been something of a snap in the Florida air, and my neighbor had all her windows open and a homey, roaring fire. Finally! Autumn! Well, the Tampa brand of autumn.

still, it was enough to get me thinking about my sizable collection of sweaters and that mid-century Hollywood Icon:

The Sweater Girl

Carole Landis* via Film Noir Photos

A much much, more modern Milla Jovovich, shot by Carter Smith

Lana Wood in "A Place Called Today (1972)"

Christina Hendricks rocking late 1960's fashion on the contemporary series Mad Men

Anne Francis in "Girl of the Night (1960)"

Sophia Loren in "La donna del fiume (1954)"

Dying to be-sweater your own inner silver screen siren? I thought you might so I found some modern-day sources.

Pair your preppy with pattern

Soft knit + heavy metal

Argyle. Perfect.

Belted and bedazzled!

 What sort of sweater style will you be sporting?

* I found this photo posted in several places but could not find the photographer or movie credits.  It must have been taken between 1937 and 1948. Any additional info would be much appreciated

Outta control

We're going to talk about my studio space again today and I'm going to ask that you really indulge me because I just can't seem to think straight when it comes to this space.

I like to think I am an organized person.  I adore looking at efficient, aesthetic spaces.  I am enamored with all the trays and dividers at office supply stores. When I close my eyes and envision my work space I see neatly labeled boxes, discrete areas for each task, a cubby for every possible sewing tool.

In reality...well...

This is my computing area:

And here is my packing and shipping space:

I cut, layout, and iron here:

You guys, this is just embarrassing.  I mean, seriously? I pull everything out for a project and it all stays out until the project is finished even if it takes days.  But even when I clean everything up the room still feels so....

so...

I don't know, wrecked?  I can no longer see a clear plan for getting this place into shape.

HELP!

A night on the town

I had something of a blegh week last week. Sales have been slow, participation from my Etsy team has significantly dwindled, I'm bored...As a result, I haven't exactly felt like throwing myself into work.

After a week of working really hard at being unproductive I punished myself with a girls' night out.

I've never claimed to make sense.

The stars totally aligned on Saturday such that my Tampa bestie had the night off work and my very giving neighbor friends invited Emily for a sleepover. I had a whole 24 hours to be a girl again! And boy did I ever!

 My girlfriend and I donned our Halloween best, talked a lot, laughed too loud, were treated to drinks, and stayed out far too late.

Then I slept all morning, spent the afternoon and evening with my girl, and I am actually eager to get back to work. The moral of the story is: sometimes a total break from the norm will put the glitter back in your world.

What goes around comes around

We all know fashion is cyclical. I myself am longing to infuse my closet with some '50s chic this fall.

Kay Windsor 1952

What fashionable features from the past do you want to see make a come back?

Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams

2005 RAIN installation by Stacee Kalmonovsky

All last week I was suffering from a head cold so I felt right at home throughout the rainy weekend.  I spent all week feeling cloudy, so why not enjoy some actual clouds.

Street Art by Vidor

I have mixed feeling about the rain. Sometimes I am the girl who feels the rain. Dances in it, even. But there are also days when I just get wet.  Like when I have to get my kid to gymnastics practice but she only moves at a snail's pace because she's "getting all wet!"

via First Time User

Right now, though, the rain makes me want to dance. The grass looks so fabulously, vividly green against the purple gray billows blowing past. Who wouldn't be inspired by that? If green and gray don't get your artistic juices flowing how about actual, you know, flowing?  Like the two-foot wide stream making rainbows in the oily street as it rushes toward the drain on the corner. And there are droplets everywhere acting like tiny magnifying glasses that reveal the crazy alien terrains on top of everyday things. There has to be a way to capture that with silk and crystals.

When Autumn Leaves Fall by Ginsui-rin

Then again, I'll need to take photos soon and rainy days never have the right light for good pictures.  As if I need any help taking bad photos.

Man with Umbrella by Joseph Hancock

Tell me, my dearest of dears, do you feel the rain or do you just get wet?

NPJ HQ

It has been quite awhile since I talked to you about my studio space. If you remember, this time last year I was dreaming of a coral and sage work room. This probably comes as no surprise, but that isn't exactly the color scheme that's taking shape these days.

Let's go back to the beginning. I started with this.

I actually like the green and probably would have kept it had I stuck with the original plan. But then I painted Emily's bathroom a gorgeous shade of gray.

Pewter Vase by Behr

It really is as beautiful shade, but it looked ghastly in Em's bathroom and had to be painted over. So sad. But not really because one doorway to the right sat my still unpainted studio.

When I started, it was not pretty. The top photo really glosses over a lot of the issues that were driving me crazy.

Pock marked walls.

Years of grimy dust built up around every receptacle.

Eeeeeeewwwww!

But, finally the room is painted that lovely soft gray and the trim has a fresh coat of glossy white. The original paint was flat, which was great for hiding all the imperfections in the sheet rock but sapped the little natural light offered by the window. I am really surprised at the change made by using a semi-gloss.

I love love love my new gray and white palette! It doesn't compete with many many shades of fabric I work with all day. In fact, it offers a place for my eye to rest.

But my favorite part was actually an accident. I had wanted to make curtains from a beautiful fabric featuring cascades of black-trimmed white ruffles.  Sadly, when the time came to purchase said fabric it was nowhere to be found. But then I had an amazing idea!  I didn't need to make curtains. I just needed to hang a curtain rod. Why? Because of this amazing vintage table cloth that belonged to my late Grandma Belle.

Isn't it gorgeous? Check out the detail!

I love it!  Now to work on getting some stuff on the walls... Any ideas?

My new best friend

You remember how I went just gaga  over the ensemble of NPJ bride Autumn B. Well, that sweet lovely girl happily hooked me up with her dress designer, Wesleann Polkowski! My darlings, I have found a kindred spirit, fellow Joss Whedon fan, and muse all wrapped up in a quirky little package with a sass-pot bow!

Parts of the following interview were edited for length, clarity, and because Wesleann asked that I not let her "come off as bat-shit crazy. "

Hi, my name is Wesleann and I like to sew things.

Read more about Wes after the jump.

This is the week!

Take a look at these photos.

via Nette

Notice anything?

via Martha Stewart

Like a common theme?

via Michelle Pyxus

Because this is the week!

via u*handbag

...the week I finally tackle garters with pockets!

Wish me luck!

P.S. What would you put in your garter pocket?

Fall Followup

Well, the season is changing as seasons do which reminds me time is passing.  I thought you guys might want an update on the goals I told you about in May.

Lucky No. 13 Pill Box (click image for more info)

I haven't reached 100 blog followers, but I have hit lucky 13 and I'm pretty happy about that.  Sure, I'd like to have 100 people click that magic "follow me" button at the bottom of the page, but I'd much rather have 100 people checking me out every day. So, thank you for stopping by, my lovelies.  And thanks for coming again. In fact, what is it that keeps you coming back and how can I give you more?

As for my other goal, selling 52 garters in so many weeks. Well...

Rose Red, a unique garter by Never a Plain Jane Designs

...the sale of that beauty marks my 28th sale in 27 weeks!

I'm not counting my goal as completed yet, but I am damn skippy celebrating! But not too much.  I have more garters to make!

Disconnect or something like it

Throughout the last few months I have been loosely following the posting-inspiration guide 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion. The prompt I intended to focus on last week asked me discuss recent news or an event that inspired or motivated me in some way.

We certainly aren't lacking in news around here: the U.S. is experiencing all kinds of weather craziness (drought, earthquake, hurricanes); the U.N. Building in Nigeria was bombed; Libya is undergoing all sorts of changes...

And as far as events go: Ben is traveling, Em started school, I turned 29 for the first time...

But none of the above have really made an impact on my work. Am I supposed to incorporate crazy weather patterns into my garter designs?

via

Okay, I could actually kind of see that working from a design standpoint...
 
Does this mean I'm somehow disconnected from the world around me? I don't feel disconnected.

How about you?  Do you ever feel like there are all sorts of things going on around you but they somehow don't touch your life at all?

What do you want?

via

I want to know what you want to know. You're not getting more mustaches so don't ask. More wedding porn? More tutorials? How about some fashion posts?  I'm here for you.

An ode to my sewing machine

Okay, ode might be a bit of a stretch, but I do love my machine.

Our love story actually started with a love story of a complete other sort  - that of my mother and me.

My mom bought me my pretty little machine for my birthday some ten plus years ago. She was a sewist and had passed her dabbling ways on to me. Once I moved away from home and could no longer use her fancy schmancy Singer, she took me to get a machine of my very own.


We went to Walmart -yes, Walmart - and stood staring at their one shelf of sewing machines for nearly an hour. I had no idea how much a sewing machine cost and even Walmart could only get the prices so low. It felt like such an extravagant gift for someone who only knew how to sew a (sort of) straight stitch. But Mom was insistent.


We looked at lists of features.  This one had too many (what do you mean the machine does embroidery!), that one had too few (someday I'd want to do more than a straight stitch and a zig zag stitch).


We compared brands. One or two my mom had never heard of. We weren't sure where we could get the Walmart brand serviced. That other brand had declared bankruptcy a few years before so Mom wasn't sure we could trust the warranty to be good in the near future.  Yeah, my mom knows a little bit of everything.


She definitely knew about the brother brand.  It had a good reputation.  The machine was plastic, but that was okay because it would be less prone to rusting. The brother with the blue panel had 30 or more stitch options.  A little scary for me.  The pink one had a less daunting selection of 24. Basic enough to get me started but leaving me plenty of room to grow.


I swallowed hard as my mom paid the $200 for my new machine.  Money doesn't mean everything. I know this because my mom taught it to me. But for my birthday my mom spent so much to give me such a priceless gift because she loves me.  So in this case, that $200 meant everything.


One year I used that machine to make my mom and dad a set of fancy pillows for their bed.  My mom and that brother helped me make the roman shade for the nursery of my sweet baby girl. A few years later, I made curtains for my apartment when I was living on my own for the first time.

They say we always hurt the ones we love.  I failed to get it cleaned and serviced for at least seven years. That poor machine has been peed on by my roommate's  angry cat.  It has suffered broken needles and a misaligned bobbin plate. I've dropped it. Often.

But I guess it loves me despite all that. It opened up a world of possibility beyond bed pillows and window coverings. A world that is Never Plain!

Thanks, mommy.

Tutorial: Garter using the tube method

I'm sure you all could have guessed this, but there's more than one way to make a garter.  Today I thought I'd share a tutorial on the tube method, but I'll only show you if you promise to turn a blind eye to my sad, stained ironing board cover. Deal?

Supplies:
fabric
3/4-inch, no-roll elastic
measuring tape
water-soluble fabric pencil
pinking shears (optional)
scissors
fray stopping liquid
straight pin
thread
safety pin
sewing machine
snips

I chose a rich dupioni silk in antique gold. Dupioni is actually my favorite fabric to work with because the texture keeps the fabric from being too slippery to work with and adds depth to the finish piece. It is also easy to prepare: hand wash, line dry, and iron.

You will first need to decide on the size of your garter. Measure the circumference of your thigh at the place you wish your garter to sit.  For brides this is traditionally four inches above the right knee. Add 3/8 of an inch to that measurement. That is the length you want to cut your elastic. (My strip is 16 inches long).

The length and width of your elastic will help you determine the dimensions of your fabric. For the width, you need twice the width of the elastic (1 + 1/2-inch) plus an additional 1 + 1/4-inch for seam allowances. You'll want your tube to be snug, but not so tight that you'll have to fight to insert the elastic so add an additional 1/4-inch. That brings the grand total to three inches. There are two ways to determine the length of your fabric.

1. Method one is to simply make your fabric 2 to 2 and 1/2 times the length of the elastic. In this case, that would be 32 to 40 inches long.  The longer your fabric the more scrunch your garter will have.  I almost never use 2 and 1/2 times the elastic length because I find the fabric will actually crowd against the elastic and prevent it from snapping back to its original length which means your garter won't fit snugly enough.
2. I typically just stretch my elastic as far as it can possibly stretch and use that measurement as my fabric length.  For the 16-inch elastic I got a total stretch of 31 inches.

It takes longer to read about calculating your measurements than it does to actually do the measuring. Once you have your numbers (for me that was 31 inches long by 3 inches wide), lay your fabric out flat with the wrong side facing up. Mark your rectangle using a water-soluble fabric pencil. Measure again to make sure all your markings are correct and cut out your strip. I used pinking shears to keep the cut edges from fraying.  Silk frays like mad. Pinking actually wasn't enough so I recommend treating all of your cuts with a fray-stopping liquid such as Drtiz.

The top edge is pinked and in the bottom right corner you can see where I took advantage of the fabric selvage to save time cutting and to ensure I started with a straight edge.

Iron your fabric strip.

Now, fold your fabric strip in half long ways with the right sides together. Pin along the opening to keep your edges perfectly lined up.

Typically, you will purchase your fabric and your thread at the same time so they will match.  I was working from my scrap pile so I just chose from the thread I already had.

If you cannot find a perfect match choose a thread that is lighter than your fabric.

I opted for the gold on the slender spool.

Machine stitch along the opening, making sure to back stitch at the beginning and end and removing the pins as you go. Again, you want your tube to fit the elastic snugly, but not too snugly. I wanted my actual tube to be an inch so I used a straight stitch and a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

Snip all of your "dead ends" - that is, the tread tails where your seam starts and stops.

To turn the tube right-side out attach a safety pin to one end and push it inside the tube.

Scrunch the fabric over the safety pin, then gently pull down so that the tube slides over itself. Repeat until the pin comes out the other end of the tube. Continue sliding the tube over itself until it is completely right-side out.

Align the seam along the center back of the tube and iron.

Attach the safety pin to one end of the elastic and insert it into the fabric tube.

Repeat the scrunch and pull dance from above. Before the opposite end of the elastic disappears into the tube, pin it in place.

Continue scrunching and pulling until the safety pin comes out of the tube.

Grab both ends of the elastic, forming a circle.  Overlap the ends and stitch. I use a straight stitch. First I make a box, then stitch an "X" in the center.

To close the tube over the elastic slide one end into the other.  Be sure to fold under the raw edge of your outer tube.

Machine stitch. Turn and stitch again. Snip your dead ends.

Now stretch your garter a couple of times to distribute the rouching evenly and Ta Da!

I love hearing from you so use the comments below to let me know if you have questions or just want to add your two cents.