Converted Evening Gown to Prom Dress or Steampunk Gown

Dear Dress Lovers,

Recently I had an idea.  I saw a long, plain, black evening gown for a few dollars.  The skirt on the dress was just straight, but had some fullness, and it was a nice satiny material.  As-is it was, uh, boring, but it had good "bones," so to speak, especially the way the top laced up in the back, giving it a corseted look.  I bought it. 

When I got it home, I worked on the lower part of the gown, tucking and stitching in various places to give this full, gathered-up look.  The dress had some netting that was torn in several places and had come loose on one side.  First I mended all the holes.  Hey!  A stitched-up look is only more goth!  I reattached the loose side of netting.  It was okay, but it looked too intact.  Too neat.  So I picked up the scissors, held my breath, and began cutting.  I sliced up through the netting from bottom to top in several places.  I trimmed pieces that looked too long.  Ahh, now this time it was perfect to me!  

Jason was kind enough to take some pictures for me to use for the store and ads.  So here are a few of the photos.  We both have several photo editing programs that we use to get various effects.

I hope to one day design an album cover.  He is helping me with a CD of my original songs, but that is another post for another time.  And actually it is HIS music that needs to be out there for the world to hear!

Photo editor used to make the netting a glorious purple but give the rest a black and white look.

A meme!

 




You have seen this one already...



I love this one!



I love that you can see part of the yard that I have been playing in. We call it Lynnwood. The huge group of mushrooms came from The Scrap Exchange. Love it! I will share soon about how I want to do the yard. I love the trees and how it feels like a magical forest. Reminds me of where I grew up!

 

That is all for now.  I do expect to do more of these dresses.  I am ALWAYS shopping for the shop.  I scout around.  I am a picker.  I look for what has the vibe of my shop.  People have heard of me now and they bring me things to buy or to have for the shop.  People cleaning out estates have heard of me.   They bring me lots to offer a price on.  Oh, the joy of buying 100 pieces at a time and sitting in the shop going through it all!

I have performers coming in, and I try to buy what I would want to wear if I worked in front of people.  I love modest things, but I love edgy things.  I think these converted gowns would make awesome prom dresses.  They are fun and attractive but not too revealing.  I just know that I am doing what I love, what truly makes my heart sing.  Add to that our music, and I am very fulfilled right now.  I have to work on continuing to heal.  A quarter of a century is a lot to let go of.  I am learning to keep very close to me the things that were beautiful, and to love myself for being strong enough to leave and build a new life.

Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Remembering The Little Wild Garden

First let me remind us all that there is a difference in a wild little garden and a little wild garden.  You know me.  The garden was cultivated but I had a hard time saying no to anything that wanted to grow there.  The mix was marvelous.  Let's remember...




Roses are a must.



Lilies towered over a mosaic birdbath that I made.

 

Neighborhood kitties felt like our yard was the place to be, and more than one litter of kittens was born in the thick cover of my perennials and wildflowers.

 

A yearning for water in the garden had me installing this first, small goldfish pond. But I wanted bigger, and bigger it got!

 

This was right after the new, large goldfish pond went in. I did every ounce of work myself. And it grew into something that has become a selling point for the house.

Oh how it hurts to see these photos! Jason is a dear friend to mourn over it all with me. He has offered me his yard as a landscape in which to play. Be still my heart. For now, I am in the apartment, so a place to play is a welcome thing. I long to have a garden like this again. I wonder if it will ever be. Actually, I don't think there will ever be another garden like The Little Wild Garden. I hope it blesses the new owner beyond her wildest imagination, with creatures and blooms and days in the sun.  And goldfish.

 

This is a view from one end of the front yard, looking on an early fall landscape of Clara Curtis mums to the left and a potted mum on the front step.  Going forward, where ever I am, I will work with the land.  I am a different person.  The landscape is different.



This last picture is taken in my new place to garden. My friend's yard. I have spent time bonding with this area as a place to play. I know not if I will ever end up here permanently. For now, I enjoy the freedom to plant and rake and make birdbaths again. It is a process. I am doing the same things but everything turns out in a new way.

By the way, the dress I am wearing was a plain black evening dress, thrifted for a few dollars. I turned it into a steampunk dress or prom dress. Take your pick. I can see doing more of these. I altered the skirt and the netting. It is a lovely dress! Jason was kind to take some photos for my shop. 

Enjoy this day!
Lynn

It Feels So Right

Dear Friends,

I am in shock at how good this feels! For so long I have tried to blog on the iPad, with wavering success. It becomes so cumbersome to try and get pictures published, I give up. Really, the design and layout and template functions are hard to work with. I give up. But over the past week, Jason has transferred literally thousands of photos from CDs and thumb drives onto an external storage drive for my use! I am using his desktop to blog right now, but I am so very hopeful that soon I can purchase a Macbook or Mac Air with a keyboard! On this big screen, I can see everything! I am able to drag photos from here to there. With a mouse! Going down memory lane this evening, I found this.

 

From Christmas 2007. My princess of the universe looks so tiny! That was nearly 9 years ago. She is now 18. I was carrying on, pushing as hard as I could for the life I wanted for myself and my children. It was a lonely road, but I loved (love) my children so dearly and so much! They were a very bright fire that kept me going. Daniel is in this photo as well. What a hard few years, as things got worse. If I had known that only a few years down the road from this I'd finally implode and leave my home, I may have cried. But I might have felt overwhelming hope. Unless you have walked in the shoes of despair and loneliness and grief and, dare I say, abuse, you will never know the ache to be somewhere other than where you are!

 

I walked with my mom around their pond. My sister was probably somewhere nearby. I always love going out and looking at plants. Taking pictures. I was probably thinking of my work day the following day. And lesson plans! And food! It was Christmastime, after all, and my mom always has a spread of delicious food for the holidays. Fast forward...

 

Life is so different now.  So full.  I think most of my discontent, when it is present, comes from agonizing over what things should be.  I have to remind myself that for me, this is what things should be.  I am exactly where I should be.  I am healing and being a parent and a grandmother, making the best choices I can day by day.





I could post so much more right now, but I will stop. It is getting late, and I have not even had dinner yet! I won't even tell you how late it is, because most people don't eat this late! I also would like to pick up the Martin and strum a bit. And tomorrow will, Lord willing, be another day in my sweet caboose, Sidetracked, so I better get off of here. I do want to share just one more photos. A scan from the shop today. This one is by William Shew. You can google him to find out more, but seems he read about photography in the early part of the 1800s, took off to learn about it, his brothers in tow, studied under Morse, and finally ended up in San Francisco with a photography studio. He was obviously very good at what he did.
 

Isn't she just lovely!  I would love to know her name, but it is a mystery.  She knows her name.  God knows her name.  Ah well.  I love old photos!

Enjoy this day,
Lynn

Awesome Hats

So I promised a photo of the way cool hat. In addition, here is a very cute wizard hat that went into the shop today.

Awesome new inventory today. You never know when you will need a tall wizard hat. #wizard #hatshop #hat #sidetrackedvintage #sidetracked #hillsboroughnc #durhamnc

A photo posted by Lynn Hasty (@lynnhasty) on Aug 6, 2016 at 10:05am PDT

And...

Awesome hat that I have to keep for myself. However, there are still lots of hats in my shop at Sidetracked in Daniel Boone Village in Hillsborough, NC! #durhamnc #hillsboroughnc #sidetracked #sidetrackedvintage #vintagehat

A photo posted by Lynn Hasty (@lynnhasty) on Aug 5, 2016 at 3:17pm PDT

The outfit.

Full-skirted dress. Suede belt. Vintage hat. Jewelry from shop. #durhamnc #hillsboroughnc #sidetracked #hat #bohostyle #gypsysoul #gypsystyle

A photo posted by Lynn Hasty (@lynnhasty) on Aug 6, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

Lynn

Marie Corinne Streck

I really hope that someone researching the Streck family comes across this photograph. Look at the curls! And that sweet inquisitive face! On the back of the photo it is written three years five months. photographer is Rojas & Conner at 1007 Canal Street in New Orleans.

Sharing today from the vintage photo in the shop. Marie Corinne Streck. 3 years 5 months #MarieCorinneStreck #vintagephoto #hillsboroughnc #sidetrackedvintage #sidetracked #durhamnc #genealogy

A photo posted by Lynn Hasty (@lynnhasty) on Aug 5, 2016 at 12:50pm PDT