Just Some New Shoes

This seems a little odd to me but I have never owned a pair of pink shoes before. Most of my shoes are brown, black, or tan. I guess that's because growing up I only had one pair of "good" shoes at a time and maybe a pair of sneakers for summer so I got used to picking shoes that "go with everything". But I was looking at these shoes, which come in more than a dozen colors, and decided I have enough pink clothes for a pair of pink shoes to make sense.

It's surprisingly tricky to take photos of one's own feet.

The color in these photos is just a bit washed out. They are a slightly brighter pink in reality. Today I'm wearing them with jeans and this blouse.

Happy Flower Faces

I don't have just one favorite color (at least not one long term favorite) but I must say, the color orange makes me ridiculously happy.

I liked the way this dress turned out so well that I did the same thing with the bodice on this one. The skirt though, is just a plain gathered skirt. It looks much longer in the picture than it actually is. It's just a bit below mid-calf.

And the faces? Here are the faces. I like that only a few random flowers have faces.

Here's the back of the dress. I am addicted to these scoop back dresses.

Before I made the dress I made this bolero or "shrug" as the kids are calling them these days. It's cotton voile with embroidered flowers and I sewed lace trim around the edges, just about an inch in from the edge.

I'm not 100% thrilled with it but it's okay and it might occasionally be useful. Hmmmm... I wonder if it meets the Congressional dress code.

One more thing - the shoes are Clark's Cloudsteppers and they're amazing.

Shoe Review

I first started seeing those woven elastic shoes a couple of years ago, maybe longer. It seems really recent but I know it's been longer than it feels like. At first I thought they might be one of those things that most people either love or hate and get all worked up about way out of proportion and I wasn't sure which side I would be on. Then last 4th of July I noticed my sister-in-law was wearing a pair of them and I asked her about them. She said that they are the only kind of shoes she wears now.

My sister-in-law and I have very little in common, fashion-wise. She is more conventionally fashionable than I am. (I'm more like, "Oh, that's fashionable now? Get it away from me.") But anyway, the shoes - I'm always looking (usually unsuccessfully) for comfortable shoes that look appropriate with dresses and some of the more recent styles of these are fairly attractive. The earlier styles I saw looked a little tacky or clunky to me. So, I've been curious about them and finally got around to trying a pair about a month ago and then bought two more pair.

Shoe selfies are a bit awkward so these are not the best shoe modeling photos.

This first pair is Bernie Mev brand. They look more grey than silver in this photo but in real life they're definitely sparkly silver with a subtle bit of pink trim. They feel like house shoes, very comfortable and kind of flimsy. The sole is very thin and it almost feels wrong to wear them outside the house.

This multi-colored pair I actually saw at Walmart a few weeks before I bought the silver ones and thought about buying them but didn't. I'm not a snob about Walmart generally but I am a snob about buying their shoes or any cheap shoes but I went back and bought these. In some ways they are actually better shoes than the silver ones. The sole is sturdier, like an athletic shoe sole, and they have a very thick cushiony insole. Downsides: The heel piece is very stiff and uncomfortable. I bought stick-on heel pads and that fixed that problem. The other thing about them is they are rather tight with a very strong elasticity. They're fine when I'm standing or walking but when I'm sitting down, not putting weight on my feet they put the squeeze on my toes.

This navy blue pair, received just a couple of days ago, are Sketchers brand and they're the best of the three - sturdy enough sole, cushy insole, and just right stretch. I'm trying to resist the temptation to get one or two more pair of these. The "bronze" ones would be very useful. They would go with a lot of different clothes. But I tell myself I need to wait a while and see how well these hold up in the long run.

I'm not ready to give up all other shoes because I still like most of my other shoes but I can really understand why someone would want to wear these exclusively. I can see myself wearing them more and more.

Just Slippers

Well, here they are, as promised. My first attempt at making shoes using the pattern from LivingDIYStyle. Trying to be positive, I'm going to say, not bad for a first try. At least you can sort of tell they're supposed to be shoes? They have a soft sole so just house slippers actually.

They do look a bit better with feet in them, I think.

The big disappointment is the serious lack of toe room. I made my usual size, 8, but I think next time I will make 8 1/2 or even 9. And I want to change the shape of the toe a bit. Another small problem: as you can see, the lining shows when they are on. (It's cotton flannel, BTW.) This isn't really a big problem with the slippers. It actually would be kind of cute if it showed evenly all the way around, but I will want to fix this on future shoes.

I made these entirely from scraps that I had on hand, except for the soles which are Shoeology soling fabric. This is very nice stuff - exactly what I've been looking for for ages for making slippers. I didn't bother with interfacing since this was just a test. I added little pieces of batting in the insole for a tiny bit of cushioning. I don't know that I would do that again, even for slippers. They need real insoles. As they are though, only a very thin insole would fit. I like my shoes nice and cushy.

I did walk around the house in them for a little while but, with the lack of toe room, I can't really call these wearable. Obviously more pattern testing and tweaking is needed. Here's one more pic.

Still Here, Still Sewing

I hate to go more than a week without posting anything so here I am even though I have nothing new to show off and nothing much to say. I am working on a little sun dress for my granddaughter but I can't finish it until this weekend when she's here.

I started on the shoes yesterday. Well, I cut them out at least. It's funny... this is something I have wanted to do for a long time but now that I have a pattern and all the materials I feel curiously reluctant to actually get started. But I will do it! I would like to say that I will have some handmade shoes to show off by the end of the week but if I say it it won't happen so I'm not saying it. These first ones are going to be just house slippers, using the sewable soling and some scraps of fabric that I already had.

It has been cold lately and I am seriously impatient for hot weather to finally get here so I can wear my summer dresses. I've got the three new ones that I've only worn for part of a day each. This weather actually sort of puts a damper on my sewing mood, at least for the kind of things that would normally be seasonally appropriate.

Oh! Shoes!

I am definitely buying this: Women's Ballet Flat Sewing Pattern. Aren't those the cutest? I like the plain, the three-strap and the one with the laces. The one with the button is nice too. I'm not a big Mary Jane fan, mostly because I have a high instep and the strap hurts my foot. Which, I suppose, might be a problem with the three-strap version too, but they're cute.

Shoes are not something most people think of as something you can make yourself but I first started thinking about the idea long before the Internet. I came across a book about how to do and bought it but at the time just finding all the materials seemed like a huge hassle. So I just dropped the idea and didn't think about it for years but lately my difficulty in finding shoes that I like has started me thinking about it again. I don't think making my own is going to be my magic solution. It will be a challenge to make them comfortable, durable, and attractive enough to wear out of the house. But it might be fun and I'm ready to give it a try. Don't be holding your breath or anything like that though. It might be a while before I post my attempt here.