The Red Velvet Collection Presale is on!

 

Oh hello... you know you want to sew me! I'm only $15.91 USD for a limited time or you can download me as a PDF right away for $14.47!

 

And I just know you want to make all of my friends too... get all five of us as paper patterns for just $46.29 USD or download us right away as PDFs for $36.26.

Phew! I am so excited for the launch of these babies I can't even stand it. My husband Masheka and I are really proud of our work on the art and illustrations, and personally, I just can't wait to sew every one of these lovelies... maybe twice or three times, too!

Three of the PDFs from the Cake Patterns Red Velvet collection are already available for download, and the paper patterns will all be shipping in 2-3 weeks—at which time this lovely presale will be over.

Get the full details on the collection and lots of pretty photos over at Steph's blog.

Finished (At Last): Vintage Pattern Illustration Giveaway

Cosmo on her bicycle in a 1960s dress made with a 1970s print and an orange ranunculus flower in her dreads

Eons and ages and eras upon a time ago (otherwise known as June 2012), I hosted a giveaway for a custom illustration of a reader on the vintage pattern envelope of her/his choice. I had originally promised 6-8 weeks for completion...

And then things got a little stressed around here and then much more stressed and me and the little one were sick for eight months and we had hospital trips and I had surgery and... then we got better and I realized I needed to dig up the giveaway art and finally get it done.

Luckily Cosmo, the giveaway winner (who blogs at Just Too Much and Los Angeles Cycle Chic), was very patient and still loved her final artwork, one year plus late as it was!

She had requested a drawing of herself in Simplicity 3471, an early 1960s pattern (which I see you can get on eBay for about $26):

Made up in this wild 70s-esque fabric:

With an orange ranunculus flower pinned in her hair.

I also chose to draw her on her bicycle, as I always love vintage pattern illustrations featuring props and I thought it would suit her style.

Better late than never.

P.S. Meg the Grand, your promised bonus TARDIS giveaway artwork is next even though you told me not to worry about it!

Spring Sewing Sketch (With Lots of Cake!)

I've had so much fun doing the cover illustrations for StephC's Cake Patterns, and now that I'm feeling better, I can't wait to actually sew them for myself! Shown are Pavlova wrap top & circle skirt, Hummingbird peplum knit top and pencil skirt with back flounce, Tiramisu surplice knit dress with chevron stripes.

(Edited to add note: As I may have mentioned, my husband and I are from Massachusetts—he's from Boston proper. So people of Boston—friends, family and otherwise—you are in our thoughts and our non-religious equivalent of prayers.)

This past weekend I woke up and realized that for the first time since my daughter and I got sick (her with severe asthma/eczema/severe allergies, me with a never-ending serious sinus infection) back in August, I no longer felt overwhelmingly tired and ill and miserable. Wow! I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, stepping out of her black & white farmhouse into the Technicolor land of Oz.

Instead of every little thing being an effort, I was buzzing with thoughts and ideas and excitement and imagination and just, well, JOY. I had a lovely time at the Colette Patterns party at Brooklyn General (pictures later, I need to get to bed!) on Saturday, and on Sunday I dug through my pattern and fabric stash for inspiration.

So now I am really itching to SEW full steam ahead ... but:

I've been busy dealing with a closet moth infestation of epic proportions AND I have had to send both my sewing machine and serger to the shop for a tune-up. BOTH of them! Ugh!

So in the meantime I am comforting myself with my second-favorite sewing-related pasttime, sketching! I whipped up a little sketch using my croquis of how I might look in the three Cake Patterns out so far, and I'm hoping to get Tiramisu cut out while my machines are at the sewing doctor.

The Hummingbird and Tiramisu sketches are based on stash fabric... I'm going to try and sew Pavlova from the stash as well but I have to make sure I have the right fabric for the job.

I do have a huge sewing queue of so many different patterns, but I really want to start with Cake as I really want to bring my drawings to life... plus, have you seen the delicious Tiramisus and Pavlovas other people have been sewing? Seriously.

Which would you sew first? The dress or the peplum top? Or one of the skirts? I really need some summery skirts right now... but I LIVE in dresses...

Pavlova Presale! + Small Sewing Updates!

Pavlova... The latest delicious pattern from Cake, with illustrations by yours truly and graphic design by my talented hubby. And the $11 presale ends tomorrow, Dec. 20!

Dear fellow seamstresses, seamsters, sewists, sewaholics, knitfanatics, etcetera: I hope you're all having a lovely and craftalicious holiday season. Despite the somewhat despondent tone of my last post, I have several slightly exciting things to report:

I actually near-sewed a top last weekend. It was another Jalie 2921 scarf-collar top, this time in three-quarter sleeves in white rayon knit with red polka dots. I am not showing it to you yet for several reasons:

1. It is rather transparent. Oops!
2. It is rather snug. Really, it fits PERFECTLY, but considering issue (1), perhaps I should have been more generous with the ease. It's very sexy secretary. Er.
3. I haven't actually hemmed it yet. I thought I had plenty of time (my parents borrowed my toddler for a family Chanukah celebration) BUT neglected to calculate in the three hours it always takes me to curse my serger into submission and actually get it stitching every time I pull it out of the closet after months of disuse.

Still... baby steps. Also:

The knitting has been helping me relax a little, and I almost have one sleeve on my chartreuse sweater. Really! (Pictures soon on all of this!)

Pavlova, The second pattern I've illustrated for Cake is now in presale (until tomorrow, Dec. 20, it's $11 instead of $17). I had so much fun with this — we moved the background model from Tiramisu, Esme, to the front and center, and added a new cover woman, Maya. And as you can see, with this pattern and Tiramisu, I'm trying to create girls of various figure types who are all gorgeous — but realistically so.

AND I've been enjoying seeing a number of delicious Tiramisus around the blogosphere. I'm hoping I can actually make one myself over the long Christmas weekend, but that might be overly ambitious for my current circumstances.

But back to Pavlova for a minute. Steph and I had fun designing a little paper doll / rag doll pattern (a "petit four" if you will) for the cover girl, Esme. So this weekend my daughter Z and I gave her a test run in paper — Z decided she would look best with purple hair, brown skin, brown eyes, blue top, green shoes and bracelet and a yellow polka dot skirt. I think her instincts were spot-on:

Warm holiday wishes and happy sewing to you all!

P.S. Thank you again for all your kind comments on my last post... I can't even describe how much your support and digital hugs meant to me!

P.P.S. When I am able... I have NOT forgotten about the blog giveaway I ran back in June. Really! Please just consider it a longish delay.

Last chance for Tiramisu pre-sale! (ends Oct. 5)

I know I've been quiet as a little wishes-she-had-time-to-sew mouse over here, but wanted to make sure you all knew tomorrow is the very last day for Steph aka the Consulting Dressmaker's Tiramisu dress presale. As you may have heard, I've been working with my husband Masheka on the illustration and design for the pattern, and it's been an awesome experience... can't wait to actually make the dress!

Anyway, from now until tomorrow Oct. 5 (Australian time tomorrow, which I'm totally confused about), you can get this lovely dress pattern for $11 instead of $17. It ships in early November. Go go go while you still can!

Still no sewing over here due to an ongoing battle with my toddler over bedtime—no matter how many times we send her back to her room, she comes popping back out again unless one of us lies there with her mumbling made-up bedtime stories and lullabies for hours and rubbing her back... which usually ends in me falling asleep on the guest bed around 11 p.m. while she's still trying to jump all over the bed. But as soon as the situation improves, I have lots of crafty plans!

Name the Cake Patterns cover girl!

As previously mentioned, I'm having a delightful time working on the illustrations for StephC (aka The Consulting Dressmaker)'s fabulous new independent pattern line, Cake Patterns. Almost-final Tiramisu knit dress envelope cover art above—but this cover girl needs a name, and Steph is soliciting ideas, detailed backstories (and pattern testers, too!) Why not throw a name or two in the hat?

I'm super-excited to make this dress myself in the chevroned strips version... I already have the perfect fabric in the stash—this lovely soft cotton/spandex knit I got at NY Elegant Fabrics a few months back:

A Delicious Collaboration

My illustration for StephC (aka The Consulting Dressmaker)'s "Sisters of Edwardia" digital download pattern

I've been a little quiet lately, but it's not for lack of sewing or sewing-related projects—as you may have read over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World, my husband Masheka and I have been working behind the scenes on design and illustration for the launch of Steph's fabulous new line of independent printed sewing pattern deliciousness, Cake Patterns.

I can't spill all the exciting details, but trust me—these patterns are smart, saucy, vintage-inspired (yet modern) and just generally delicious, with fun details and a unique approach to sizing and construction.

Up top you can see some art I did for one of her pre-Cake digital download patterns—the style will be quite a bit different (more graphic and bold) but it's a little taste of what's to come.

Sign up for the Cake newsletter (and the pattern pre-sale update) here!

And the vintage pattern illustration giveaway winner(s) are...

If you're wondering why it's taken me so long to announce a winner for my "You on a Vintage Pattern Envelope" giveaway, well... that'll teach me to have a non-random giveaway! I got 17 fabulous, fun and well-thought-out entries, plus lots of sweet comments and birthday love, and I hated having to choose just one!

But as promised, I picked five names at random out of the 17 qualifying entries, tried to evaluate them based on fun/long-time readership/creativity/etc... and totally failed to make a clear decision. In the end I changed the rules and picked one random winner out of the five. The five finalists were:

#1: Alexa, with Simplicity 3868

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Alexa said:

ohh what an awesome giveaway. I have been reading since you had your daughter, who is a little younger than my oldest. I found you through you sewing.patternreview.com after admiring your work.

I sew, but am not at vintage pattern making level yet. So this is just pretend for me. I think Simplicity 6838 is gorgeous. I like version 3 in a jewel tone like deep purple or dark turquoise.

I would print out your illustration, frame it and hang it in my studio (the part of my bedroom where my sewing stuff lives.)

Alexa is right--how awesome is view 3 with those awesome cutouts?

#2: Beata, with a cover from Australian Home Journal

Source: ebay.com.au via Beata on Pinterest

Beata wrote:

Hmmm, would you put me on an "Australian Home Journal" cover? Like this one.

It's not quite a pattern envelope, but pretty close! Otherwise I'll pick a pattern later :)

I'd like to be in the pink dress, but made up in a purple floral, maybe something like this.

I love the shoes she is wearing, but I'd leave off the other accessories...

As for hair, I want big, bouncy curls like the main picture here.

Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

Oh my goodness, I LOVE all three of those dresses... surplice necklines, gathers, scallops, pockets, peplums, directional stripes... all kinds of awesome, really.

#3: The ever-inspiring Laura Mae, with Advance 5470:

Source: lilacsandlace.blogspot.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Laura Mae said:

While I wish I looked like those beautiful vintage pattern envelopes, it just isn’t meant to be. I wonder what their stats are? I would imagine they are at least 6 feet tall with a 20” waist. So maybe that would look rather freakish in real life.

But what pattern to choose? I think I would choose my most recent creation, Advance 5470, which is special in so many ways. First off, the pattern came to me via Mr. Male Pattern Boldness, himself. It doesn’t get much more special than that! The black and white floral fabric is something that I have been saving for quite a while now, earmarked for a Vintage Vogue pattern that I just have not had the proper opportunity/event to cut into the fabric. The huge shawl collar, full skirt, and lantern sleeves may just be the most perfect pattern I have ever come across.

I did not have the perfect hat to top the outfit off when I wore the dress yesterday. In a perfect world, I would have whipped up something, but time ran out, as it often does . . . But with a drawing I can pretend that I finished that exquisite hat and my softly curled hair looked perfect and fabulous even though rain was threatening all day long and the wind was ridiculous! ...

Wishing you a Happy Belated Birthday! And thank you for the opportunity to win such an amazing prize!

Laura Mae is, of course, way too modest, because I do believe she DOES look like she stepped out of a vintage pattern envelope (or at least a vintage fashion magazine) most of the time with her amazing vintage-inspired creations.

#4: Lee, with Simplicity 1668:

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Lee said:

Mikhaela, this is such a cool project and a generous offer. I've been following you since you commented on my blog earlier this year, though I only recently formally subscribed. I like reading because your sensibility and array of projects and thoughtful way of proceeding all appeal to me. You have smart commenters too.

I would love to see myself on a vintage pattern envelope, specifically Simplicity 1668, a 40s dress with scallop details, in bright blue and white polka dot fabric, red shoes, red lipstick, and hair kind of like my own but more 40s-styled, less frizzy and unkempt. I would use the image wherever I could! Definitely I would frame it and display it next to a photograph of my much missed grandmother in a similar dress.

Now that I know Lee in real life through the Brooklyn BurdaStyle Sewing Club (in fact, I saw her there last weekend!), I can easily picture her rocking the dress she describes. Polka dots + scallops... yummy.

And last but not least...

#5: Cosmo, with Simplicity 3471:

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Cosmo wrote:

I love your blog mainly because you are a cool mom vintage sewing knitting graphic designer. You have a perspective similar to mine.

I am cutting it pretty close on this one because I forgot it was EST midnight not my midnight. I am still not entirely sure that this is the pattern I love the best but Simplicity 3471 is adorable and I would love to have it in a bright Pucci or Marimekko style print. I was also looking at some 70s maxi dresses, but I am really more of an early 60s kind of girl.

I am getting ready to start up a new sewing and fashion blog and would love to use artwork like this. Also I am getting ready to chop several inches off of my locs and would love to have them memorialized this way.

Oh and I would wear a bright pair of wedges and a chunky necklace and my locs in a braid out with one side pinned back with a giant ranunculus.

So yeah. Clearly impossible to make a choice here, so I grabbed the old digital hat and drew a number.

And the winner is...

Cosmo! Congratulations! I'll send you an email--since you already gave me most of the details, the main thing I need is you preferred reference photo of yourself. (Perhaps a bicycle should be involved?)

But you might have noticed I said WINNERS (plural). Did I mention that in my own totally arbitrary way I decided to award a special prize?

The arbitrary because-I-felt-like-it Doctor-Who-Obsessed TARDIS Prize goes to...

Source: shenanagin.deviantart.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Meg the Grand! Meg wrote:

I want this so very badly. So very very badly. I don't suppose you could draw me as a Tardis? An illustration of me as a Tardis would need me in blue, of course, with a light bulb as a little hat, and some rocking blue heels. This would go in the Tardis bedroom, next to my bed, so I could always giggle when I get up in the morning. It would also need to go on my blog somewhere so people know what they are getting into when they click on my page. I have a Doctor Who problem - I'm sure there is counseling for this somewhere.

In my next life, please let me come back as Alex Kingston's duplicate. With her wine colored Louboutin heels.

Seriously, though - this giveaway is truly special. I think any of us who read your blog regularly would be so honored to be drawn by you. I know I am getting misty at the sheer generosity of this!

If I had to pick a vintage pattern, I would pick the Mail Order 9388 that was my Sassy Secretary dress. I would love big hair (I long for big hair in my real life), cobalt blue dress, and then blue heels. I love that outfit. It makes me so happy to put it on, so to immortalize it as one of your drawings would be one of the best things in my life. This would have to go on my blog, and if I ever got around to business cards, it would be there too. It would also get printed and put above my sewing machine so I could always smile when I am seam ripping a zipper.

Now, there are of course several ways to go about this, the main two being either putting Meg in a TARDIS dress, like this awesome one by Tara Reich:

Source: tess-san.deviantart.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Or by drawing her as Idris (when the TARDIS was temporarily in a woman's body in a super-awesome episode called "The Doctor's Wife" penned by Neil Gaiman):

Source: blogtorwho.blogspot.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Congrats to both winners, and guys, I'm so sorry I couldn't draw every one of your awesome vintage envelope ideas!

Polka Dot Birthday Giveaway: You! On a Vintage Pattern Envelope!

Hello dear readers! In honor of reaching 200 followers—well, 226 now!—and my 32nd birthday (that's Friday, June 1st!) I'd like to offer a somewhat unusual sewing giveaway.

The prize: A simple digital color cartoon illustration of YOU, on the vintage sewing pattern envelope of your choice--maybe one you've already sewn, maybe one you want to sew, maybe one you won't ever sew, but just LOVE to fantasize about.

The deadline: entries due by midnight EST on June 6, 2012.

The background: As much as I adore vintage sewing pattern illustrations and their changing styles over time, they're all a bit, well... unrealistically tall and skinny. (Not to mention uniformly white.) I've always had this vague plan for doing a series of "Real People on Vintage Pattern Envelopes," drawings and I started to have a bit of fun with that idea in my 1940s red dress showdown and my header illustration for We Sew Retro:

The qualifications:

• This giveaway is a bit special (estimated value: $125?), so I'd like to reward a loyal blog follower who has come back at least a few times (or who plans to read the blog regularly), as opposed to a random giveaway seeker who is brand-new to the blog.
• I will draw five entries at random, then choose my top favorite based on the items described. Extra points for creativity, style, fun fabric and accessory choices, long-time readership, etc.

The rules: To enter, please...

• Follow this blog (better yet, already be a follower!).
• Leave a comment describing the vintage pattern you'd choose, in what type of fabric, with what sort of hairstyle and accessories. (For example: A red rayon 1940s dress with peplum, hair in victory rolls and red wedge sandals.)
• Tell me what you'd like to do with the drawing (put it on your business card? post on your blog? print for your mom?)
• Tell me why you like to read my blog.
• Make sure your contact info is obviously available in your Google profile or leave an email address.

Details and disclaimers:

• If you enter, you will have one week to send me a clear full-length photo of yourself, a decent image of the pattern envelope you'd like to be pictured on, and a photo or description of the fabric(s) you'd like it to be made up in, plus inspiration images for accessories and hair. The fabric does not have to be accurate period vintage—it can be as wild or weird as you like..
• You understand that these reference photos may be published on this blog in the giveaway followup post.
• I will provide you both with the pattern envelope art image and a separate image of yourself in the dress, sans envelope, like so:
  
• I estimate I'll have the drawing done in 6-8 weeks (not that the drawing will actually take that long, I just have a ridiculously busy life at the moment).
• Copyright for the standalone drawing stays with me, but you have unlimited usage rights (on your blog, business card, wherever) as long as you attribute it.
• Because the idea is "Real People on Vintage Envelopes" please keep in mind that I am not going to make you look taller, or skinnier, or more or less X, Y, or Z--I will pretty much stick to your actual fabulous outlines as delineated in whatever photo you send me.
• I will send you a rough sketch as part of the process, but reserve the right not to make many/any edits or changes to the sketch or final.

Remember: giveaway entries due by June 6, midnight EST!

And with that, I'm off to ink this Downton Abbey-esque vintage-inspired "pattern envelope" art I'm working on for the Consulting Dressmaker for her Sisters of Edwardia blouse...

Sewing Through the Decades Illustration for We Sew Retro!

Our family is off on another little trip for a few days (to Boston for my grandmother's 90th birthday party and my husband's 39th birthday), but in the meantime, I did finish up one of the sewing illustration commissions I was working on!

It's a timeline cover photo for the We Sew Retro Facebook page. Here's a screenshot of the art in action:

I had so much fun working on this (even though it took me ages longer than I estimated), deciding what outfits to dress each of them in (SO hard to choose) and on their hair and makeup. (Can you tell that 1960s seamstress woman is pregnant? I originally was working on a more rainbow-bright color scheme (1970s seamster dude originally had a bright orange plaid jacket) but it looked like a box of crayons so I muted it down.

More details later! Hope you like it!

On my sewing table and in the mail

Oops, did I say "sewing table"? I meant "drawing table"--or more precisely, computer desk, since I draw directly into my Mac. I'm back from a fabulous trip to San Francisco but there will be no sewing until I finish a few exciting sewing-related illustration projects.

A little sneak peek of one is above--part of what's shown is final inks, part is a sketch, and none of it has been colored yet. (My toddler's sleep has been all wacky due to travel--hoping she'll start going to bed before 11 p.m. again soon!)

You may already have seen PART of the other--I'm doing a little illustration for one of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie aka The Consulting Dressmaker of 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World fame... so here's my flat line art for her lovely Downton Abbey-inspired Sisters of Edwardia blouse:

Source: craftsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

While on vacation, I deliberately ignored my Google Reader, so I am only just now catching up on all YOUR sewing awesomeness (Me Made May isn't happening for me, but I'm loving it vicariously). But I did follow the continuing comments on my frustrated post about natural-waisted jeans, "In Defense of Mom Jeans", and I totally recommend taking a read--a lot of you feel really strongly about high vs. low waists, and the discussion is still going!

Which brings me to what's coming in the mail. After multiple fabric shopping fails, I finally caved and bought the infamous Jalie 2908 stretch jeans pattern, which do have a higher-waisted (if not totally natural-waisted) option, plus I can make jeans for the little Z girl:

Source: jalie.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I don't know if I'll go for a boot-cut, though--think I'll do them straight, or even skinny. We shall see!

I also finally bought the Colette Ginger skirt... I was buying the Jalies from Pattern Review anyway, and I have just the denim for it.

Source: colettepatterns.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I'm somewhat embarrassed to realize that I own quite an expensive and large collection of Colette Patterns, including the handbook and Macaron, Ceylon, Crepe, Sencha, Parfait and now Ginger... but NONE of them have ever made it past the muslin stage (though admittedly, I muslined/altered several of them while pregnant, then realized they would look better with like, a waist.) Let's see if I can change that up.

Oh, and here's what my knitting looked like the day before I left for San Francisco--a half-finished grad-dyed-by-me Waving Lace sock, and two carefully washed and blocked swatches formy chartreuse Georgina cardigan:

I don't have pictures yet, but the sock is now almost-done (though it of course needs a twin sister, argh!) and I've cast on and gotten a good ways (er, a few inches) on the lacy center of the cardigan.

So: what's your most expensive pattern you've never actually sewn?

Polka Dot Crush: New Vintage Lady!

The New Vintage Lady shows off her handmade gardenias, Billie-Holiday-style

Reverse-inspired by the Selfish Seamstress and her sinister parade of nemeses, I thought I'd write an occasional sappy mash note to my favorite stitchy bloggers. First up: New Vintage Lady (aka Shelley J.)

I first e-encountered New Vintage Lady a few weeks ago via Sew Retro, but I had an instant blog crush, with a bit of jealousy mixed in. Firstly, in my biased cartoonist-girl book:

The Lady can DRAW! Which makes sense, since she's an animator by trade. (And as someone whose drawings don't move, animators totally make me green.)

You might have noticed that most vintage pattern envelope illustrations--even for plus-size or maternity patterns--have one thing in common: skinny, wasp-waisted white ladies. Not so New Vintage Lady's line of plus-sized reproduction patterns, which she recently began illustrating with gorgeous variations on her cartoon self-portrait (click any of these to enlarge):

And here's a peek at her drawing development process--unlike my digitally addicted cartoonist self, she uses actual pencils and paper:

The Lady can grade. When she had trouble finding plus-size patterns from her favorite style eras (the 1920s-1940s), she just taught herself to size them up. (Considering how many bust size 32 patterns I continue to cling to, I had better get on that.) I can't tell from her blog what size this fabulous Hollywood 1486 dress was originally--but I'll just guess that she graded it and she can correct me if I'm wrong.

Don't you just love the cut, fabric and asymmetrical button front styling? (It should probably be noted that like many vintage lovers, Ms. NVL has a serious button problem passion).

The Lady can accessorize. And I don't just mean buying vintage accessories, though she does that too-I'm talking some major home millinery. (I don't even know how to wear hats properly, never mind construct and design them.) Check out her depression picnic cloche:

The Lady can repo. When she became obsessed with vintage sewing--and disappointed in the lack of patterns in her size--she didn't just grade them for herself. When Ms. NVL obtains particularly fabulous plus-size vintage patterns from the 10s, 20s, 30s and earlier 40s (i.e. the ones generally safe from copyright protection), she reproduces them, as in the examples above. Here's a 1920s "dustbowl" dress:

The Lady can teach. Who doesn't love a tutorial? (I swear I'll have some up here SOMEDAY!). Check out The Lady's (beautifully illustrated) Style Tips on:

• The right vintage fit for plus-size sewers...
• Plus-size-vintage-pattern-selection dos and don'ts
• How to (properly) put on stockings

The latter could have saved me some grief over the years, as I am pretty much guaranteed to get major runs in any and all stockings either while putting them on or in the first 10 minutes of wear. (Although I'm so pregnant right now that filing my toenails to ensure a snag-free stocking application will have to wait until I can actually see/reach said toes!)

And it's not a tutorial, but she also did a two-part "Black Hair" series on her blog with her thoughts on the pressure for black women to straighten their hair, her disappointment with the Chris Rock documentary Good Hair, and examples (with photos) of how she does a natural vintage hair style.

So there you have it, my first official Polka Dot Blog Crush! Be sure to visit Shelley's New Vintage Lady site, blog and etsy shop for a whole lot more vintage fabulousness. (And just to be clear, I'm not in any way sponsored by her or getting any kickbacks!)