Old Califronia Charm

Usually when I set appointments for the weekends, I try to have people come in after noon. Its not because I need to sleep in. I give myself a morning or two to come hang out in Port Costa to have coffee, cornbread, and hang out with friends in  Earls' storefront cafe! There is a lovely community of diverse people here. People from all walks of life happen by. I have had conversations with tourists visiting from other countries, new neighbors, old neighbors, and Ive even found old friends from back in the day that disappeared. This is one of those magical places where you just end up and keep coming back for more! It has the flavor and vibe of an Old California - a time we'll never have again.

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about some pillows that I had made for the Burlington Hotel .  I call it my Pet Pillow Project. This hotel is a true hidden and relatively unknown gem of the San Francisco Bay Area! The hotel really should be recognized and preserved as a landmark. Through the efforts of a wonderful group of people, this old lady is being spruced up and revived. I am so pleased that I get to help in my small way with this sprucing up - for I love this old lady with all my heart! Port Costa is pretty popular on the weekends. I'm very sure that soon, this area is going to be visited quite a bit more!

My photos cant quite convey the charm of this place or the work that is going into it, but come by and take a look, have some strong coffee and cornbread, have a beer over at the Warehouse Cafe, peek into the windows over at the Theatre of Dreams, stroll through a little town that is surrounded by wild countryside and farm land, and walk the tracks along the Carquinez straits................and then if you plan ahead and let me know you are coming, you can drive back through Crockett and come visit my studio! Perhaps you'll end up going home with a new pair of Sampants! Perhaps you'll find a treasure that you cant resist!

Pet Pillow Project

Throw pillows have to be the easiest things to make and the best way to utilize all those scraps of fabric piling up! These will go to the Burlington Hotel in Port Costa which is slowly but surely being given a little spruce up. This is my pet project at the moment. There is a story here, but I'm having a hard time sitting down and blogging right now. So you'll have to wait.......................don't you just hate it when people do that?

The Donner Party

My sister Tricia took her kids and I up to Tahoe where we had a great time hanging out at Squaw Valley for a few days. As we were leaving, we decided to head over to Donner Lake and check out the Emigrant Trail Museum and learn more about the Donner Party.  I used to be pretty fascinated with this true story of adventure, bad judgement, bad luck, suffering and cannibalism. Its a kind of suffering that we can only shudder and guess about. The event is really just one of the hundreds of stories from those times, but it has remained one of the most notorious. And some of these survivors contributed to some serious molding of the state of California. Vallejo was in the running for becoming the state capitol! (Its the town over the bridge and next door to me!)

The wild, wild west is full of these stories of adventure and hardships. And depending on whose side you are on in the "taming" of this country, its pretty fascinating to look back on how we got to this point in time........what they wore, what they did, how they managed if they managed at all......................

Having grown up in California, having had ancestors that got in their wagons and headed west, having family that headed over to California during the last Great Depression, and now having  lived through a time of opulence and fortune to sadly  be entering into a new period of potential decline of our Super Power country, I am being drawn back once again to stories of courage and .hardship. Stories of what people are really made of when they are forced to make do with what they've got. Stories of never giving up. Stories of living and dying for a dream of a better future. It helps me to go on when I have one of those days of not being able to see the glass half full.

I do love an amazing gown. I love sequins and faded velvet and all the sumptuous clothing that were worn by the well to do from other eras, but it seems that these are the garments that most focus on when we think of the Olden Days. And understandably so. The real clothing isnt very glamorous. It is functional  with maybe a frill or two. You can tell so much about a people by what they wear. Its how I learned a lot of world history.

Tricia and I had fun comparing ourselves to the pioneer clothing worn by the real women of the mid 1800's. What a joke. We wouldn't last a day on the trail like this in our leggings, cute shoes, cowboy hat from Ross and designer capris. Of course, this isnt what we would wear on a cross country hike, but its really hard to imagine walking across rough country in a long dress. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of it. There was no sunscreen, so they had to wear those huge bonnets to protect themselves from sun and insects. They were hot and miserable. There were no lightweight cross trainers or hiking boots. They had hard soled shoes. Their feet must have killed them. They got real old before their time.

And bringing along children...........what spoiled modern child would be able to survive this? The story of little Patty Reed is so sweet. She had to give up her toys to lighten the load but she hid this little doll in her dress. This is just a copy. The original is in the Fort Sutter Museum in Sacramento because those were the guys who came to rescue them and she donated it to their museum.

A few relics. A few textiles. An old sewing machine. Native beaded garments, books, and guns. Lots of dioramas full of facts and visuals. Its not a fancy museum and you might not be very impressed as they get little funding ( I'm sure). It does give you a very clear idea, however, of how it was back then and what happened to those poor stranded  adventurers. There are lots of books on interesting subjects pertaining to the area and since one of the women working there used to be a librarian, she was able to give us a wealth of information on which were the best to read.

  I just finished this one. Its a quick read and he tells it like he supposed it must have been - not a dry read at all. Yet filled with facts enough to appreciate the soft lives that we lead.

If you are in the area, check it out. And here are some wonderful reenactment photos from Fort Sutter.

 Sorry about the vintage iphone photos. I wasnt thinking about using them for blogging at the time. But hopefully its a bit informative and entertaining!

Happy Halloween!

I dont usually make Halloween costumes, but I am making some things for dance perfomances soon, so Im pretty much too busy to go out and celebrate any spooky stuff. However, I'll probably go out in the back yard and burn old papers and stuff in my firepit and talk to the ancestors a bit. Thats more fun for me anyway.

Here are some little vintage Halloween images that I nicked off the interwebs. Enjoy!

Kellsie's Wedding Dress

 I met Kellsie a few years ago at a party at my last house in San Francisco. Her sister was my roomie, Kristine Adams, and we had a big birthday/housewarming bash. So later on down the road, Kellsie came to me to work on the gown that she wanted for her wedding.  She brought me a dress that she had purchased earlier but it wasn't working for her any longer.  She loved it, but wanted a more Steampunk feel for her wedding attire now.  Silk was the main fabric used in the purchased gown. So she brought me some beautiful jacquard fabric, the dress, some ivory silk, and a Truly Victorian pattern  - style # 1879, the Cuirass Bodice with Evening Options. You can purchase this pattern from Lost Coast Historical Patterns or Lacis.    

 This was the dress before I cut into it. We decided that we would take the bodice off and make it into a skirt. This was a very full skirt and more of a hobbled bustle effect was wanted. The skirt was a wee too small, so when I started cutting down the skirt, I added more fabric to the back, repositioning the zipper, and that took care of that.  I constructed a sturdy, wide waistband to carry the weight of the skirt and to produce a nice line under the jacket.

This is the skirt unbustled. I ended up using most of the extra silk fabric given to me to make the inner structure of the bustle skirt. I chopped off quite a bit in front to shorten the skirt and to create a slimmer front. There were a lot of flowers on the train, but I repositioned them and placed them in strategic points where there would be hooks for bustling up the train when she wanted to do so. It was nice to have the option.

I followed the pattern for the jacket pretty closely. I always make a mockup first and it fit pretty well the first time with a few adjustments. Im dont even think I had to read the instructions more than once. It was pretty straightforward. I think I shortened the sleeves and lowered the front, then further squared off the front of the bodice. I used hooks and eyes to fasten the front. When I was done with the dress, Kellsie took some of the extra fabric flowers and made a veiled headpiece. She also did the beautiful embroidery on the upper bodice. Kellsie picked out her trims and I placed them where I thought they would look best. I think we did a lovely job. She had a strict budget and we used as many existing materials as we could. We reused a beautiful dress with lots of yardage in it, and we made something it  much more interesting. And now she has a Victorian two pieced gown that she can reuse if she likes.I'm sure she will since she too, is a costumer and loves to dress up now and then!

This is Kellsie and Kristine - two hot babes! Congratulations, Kellsie!
kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Photo Love

Model: Unsinkable Molly
Costume: Kathleen Crowley
Photo: Black Lotus Clothing

Etsy Equinox Sale!!!!

Im having a little Autumnal Sale on Etsy for specific items that perhaps you are sitting on the fence about...........
   like this plus sized coffee dyed and distressed 18th century styled corset........very Steampunk (well, they traveled back in time) .........15% off might help!

I'll be putting new things up for sale and for your perusal as well as a new mark down here and there. Ive already marked my aprons down by at least half - so no new mark downs for those! :(

Thank you, everyone who helped me with your purchases, for getting me jump started into a new location and a new life! Im loving it here!

kc.costumecuture@gmail.com

Breakfast Blogging

I need never worry about being bored or lonely here in Crockett. In fact, I have more company and things to do to keep me entertained than I did in the city. Granted, I felt I had just plain done it all in the city and was ready to move on, but I have a full plate every single day. I am constantly amazed and inspired by all that goes on around me in this small town.

Never a dull moment.

Our last Stitch N Bitch  started at my house. Sandi, Lee, and Katherine Summer each brought their current project over and I worked on a quilt that Ive never been able to finish. But then the subject of photo shoots came up and we headed over to the Port Costa Warehouse for Bloody Marys, Manhattans, and the keys to the Burlington Hotel.

Ive blogged about this town before, I was yearning to live here once. And while I looked at several places for rent, the timing was never quite right and it felt just a little too isolated - which gives it that charm - but maybe not so great for the likes o me without a car. However, now it is  just a stones' throw away and so handy for a sometimes much needed break! Port Costa was a booming little town in its day and now it is the place to head to for charm, great drinks (Bloody Mary heaven ), outlaws and colorful characters. I'm a total tourist right now. But hopefully I can integrate into the culture of this area  somewhat............

Katherine Summer got the keys and we went into the hotel for a look see. Supposedly an old brothel and haunted, it is  available for rental and we got super inspired. It even has the names of the girls on the doors.Whether this has just been fabricated for amusement, I don't know - I don't think anyone really does anymore -  but it sure is a fun bit of local lore. I got lots of new ideas from wandering those halls! You can see more about our adventure here at the Salome's Suitcase blog.

Check out the wallpaper.

Theater Of Dreams is across the street. I'm a big fan. I believe Wendy Addison spends her time between her home here and her friends and business connections on the east coast. Her studio is usually open twice a year, but if she is around and you are around, she might let you in, Ive been lucky enough to catch her and check out her fabulous storefront. Can you say Vintage German Glass Glitter?

In order to start connecting with the community, several of us in Salome's Suitcase will have a booth at the Port Costa Arts and Crafts show this Sunday the 19th of September. We are not going to be representing Salomes' Suitcase - but will be hanging out, enjoying the day, and bringing some of our personal and  unique artsy crafty pieces that will be sure to be a hit. It will be at the old Port Costa School. Follow the winding road. You cant miss it!

So now I'm off to finish wrapping up some Etsy merchandise and making a trip to ye old post office!
See you Sunday!