Sharon Sews

RetroRama returns May 21 ---this Thursday. The girls and I will be there once again decked out in our vintage finery. I will not be wearing my adorable Scottie dog dress (complete with pink pom-poms) as I have not had time to resew it to fit my smaller size. Tomorrow I'll share my planned outfit with you so you can give me your feedback. This year's event promises to be another fun-filled evening with tips for "old-school" entertaining, drink demonstrations, mid-century trivia, and of course my favorite---the fashion show. This year the designer's focus expands from the 1950s to include inspiration taken from the 1920s through the 1960s. Here's a sneak peek from one of the designers, Max Lohrbach. It was inspired by the glamour of 1920s travel. The five designers are Calpurnia Peach, Ivan Idland, Max Lohrbach, Princess Warrior, and Sarah Holm. With such a wide range of eras to draw inspiration from, it should be quite an interesting fashion show. And I

Life is passing by so quickly with too much to do and not enough time to do it in. My neglected sewing studio, with its cutting table piled high with fabrics and patterns, taunts me every time I walk by. "Look at us!" they cry out. "We're here! Waiting patiently for you to cut and pin and stitch us into something wonderful. How much longer must we wait?"' To which I have no answer.

There I was carrying on a conversation with my daughter as I half-heartedly looked through the vintage/retro section of my fave thrift store. The stop at the store was to look for a hat for an upcoming spring tea, and - if at all possible - accessories for my 60s era dress that will be worn to this year's RetroRama . My daughter and I giggled as I pulled items out of the crowded clothes rack so we could guess at their approximate era. Bright purple satin jumpsuit? Late 1970s disco. Brown polyester shirt with white topstitch trim? 1970s. Black dress with gigantic sleeves in a contrasting color? Mid 1980s. Suddenly I spied a brown crushed velvet dress with sequin trim at the vee-neckline. While my daughter exclaimed "Ugh! is that ever ugly. It must be a hippie dress from the 1960s!", I began laughing. You see, two weeks ago I had donated that exact dress to a local non-charity organization. I knew it was mine because 1) it was sewn 2) it was unhemmed and 3) it's doc