7.02.2014

there was a little girl...

oonaballoona | draped maxi dress | marcy harriell

...who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead
and when she was good, she was very very good
and when she was bad, she was HORRID

i laughed like hell when mommaballoona recited that mother goose rhyme to me whilst we were out to brunch.  we were all decked out in oona-mades... all, that is, except ruggy.  horrid little girl, that oona. 

to add insult to injury, directly after brunch, i made the rugster take pictures of my july installment for the mood sewing network.  and lookit this!  The Finger Of Blame!  IT POINTS TO ME! 


you get outta that hole, Finger.  the contractor possessing the digit came out from behind the door shortly thereafter, said i looked great, and suggested ruggy get the posted building plans in the shot.

oonaballoona | draped maxi dress | marcy harriell

yay for light and shadows giving me bullet bra!  pinky swear, this is not part of the design.  no, this draped dress came out of my brian exsqueeze me, brain, took 4 yards, and includes 5 skirt panels, 6 bodice pieces, gathered straps, and no pointy bits.  and the print placement!  this exquisite cotton print is crazy, y'all, and i went nuts over placement!  but ya canna tell from the shots, can ya?  

ruggy!  i said.  are you getting any detail?


babe, he replied,  i'm trying to get the cool blue in the frame.   

oonaballoona | draped maxi dress | marcy harriell

admittedly, the swath of blue, she is super cool.  

and i guess maybe my photographer is not as appreciative of the sewing details when i sew zilch for him.  look man, it's super boring to sew the types of fabrics ruggy goes for.  but hey!  lookit what parental balloonas get!


i am a very very good daughter to oblige my technicolor inclined parents, non?  (please disregard the terrible understitching circa oona 2013, thanks.)  this was the view at brunch!  however, on our side of the table, my other half was in an Old Navy pullover.  again, HORRID.

but unlike the curly haired girl in the rhyme, i'm being rewarded for misbehaving.  do you spy that new little badge in the current events section?  the sewcialists, who sew a themed color every month, have declared july oonapalooza sewalong month!  WHAT?!  in sweet gillian's extremely flattering words:

"Here’s the goal: Oona is known for her bold use of colours and prints, saucy silhouettes, and sense of exuberance. So make anything you want – but let it be loud and joyous, either in terms of colour, shape, or improvisation! Myself, I’m going to imagine that Oona is the voice urging me to be more adventurous as I sew. 'Hmmm… I wonder if I could just change this neckline a bit…'  Yesssss. 'Should I put a thigh-high slit in?' Yesssss. 'These two prints are both kinda crazy – Should I combine them?' YESSSSS! (Does that make Oona the good angel on my shoulder, the wee devil, or both?)"

BOTH, MY FRIEND.  IT MAKES ME BOTH.  

truly, i blush.  i blush like a fine rosé.  i've been giggling gleefully ever since this event (which falls ever so nicely in the month leading up to my birthday) was cooked up on twitter.  ruggy has even concocted a special cocktail in my honor, the Bazooka Balloona (really, i must sew something for him) and i'm cobbling together a prize package for the oona-est contibution to the month, details on that imminent! so go grab some fabric that makes you grin like a fool, pour something delicious, and start hammering! 

this dress was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network.

65 comments:

  1. Oona! Did I just see you in a La-Z-Boy furniture commercial? If not, you have a doppelgänger out there in actress-land.

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  2. I'm not sure who brian is, but he comes up with awfully wonderful dresses ;) ;) ;)

    Also that finger - BAAAHAHAHA! And oonapalooza YES! :)

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    1. HAHAHAAAAA!!!! i guess i'll fix that. or my head will hurt. but HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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  3. Dammit! I was ready to run, not walk, to Hancocks to BUY THAT PATTERN! Full price if need be! Because that dress is DIVINE! And I WANT it! NOW!
    -Sandra

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    1. ah sandra!!! mea culpa!! i hate it when that happens too, truly. but come on back later in the month... i have a brain tutorial for a different dress...

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  4. I don't usually do these sort of theme sewing challenges, not wanting to force inspiration and all that....but oonapalooza?? I am SO on board with that. It's about time I added some technicolor in my sewing world- and there must be something in the air because I just recently purchased some very oona-like fabric :) And this dress- divine. I love a good maxi and yours is just beautiful!

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    1. it's summer ! summer made you buy that fabric, i can't wait to see!

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  5. Gorgeous summer dress, no one in the sewing blogosphere pulls colours off quite the way you do, you gifted lady. The Bazooka Balloona may well become an online sensation if you publish the recipe and yes, sew something for Ruggy, the boy deserves it :)

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    1. oh yes, it will be published. it is delicious! i made ruggy a pair of navy twill pants, and all i need to do is hem them, but they have mysteriously gone AWOL. appropriate.

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  6. My grandmother used to read that book to me!!! I always insisted it was about my sister! Love this dress you're wearing.

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    1. thankyou! mommaballoona says i heard this repeatedly as a girl, but i have no recollection. did sis like the comparison?

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  7. I grew-up hearing that nursery rhyme on a regular basis. There must be something about all us little girls with curls. It's really awesome that you've sewn for your parents! I knit sweaters for mine a couple years back, but I'm not sure I'll ever sew for them. My husband, however, has managed to receive both knitted and sewn garments, somehow.

    Beautiful dress. And, HOORAY for an Oona inspired month. Its going to be bright and bold.

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    1. it is SO easy to sew for my parents, as their tastes are easy on my eyes, which is hilarious, technicolor calms me where navy makes me want to drive a fork through my skull....

      thank you!

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  8. Does my recent lace pant and crop top count?!?! I posted one day before this started, can you pretty please include me :) I swear I had you on the mind while creating it!

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    1. it totally does, and WOW i love that outfit...

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    2. Yes! Then consider me in! I uploaded my organgw ensemble to Flickr. Happy birthday chica :)

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  9. Beautiful summer dress, you were color and patterns with such style and sauciness. Fabulous job on the draping.

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    1. thank you lori! can't wait to see what you do with it :)))

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  10. I just started waking up to sewcializing on Twitter & was pretty excited when the Oonapalooza contest was one of the first things to come down the channel. I've been sewing neutrals almost exclusively over the last few months, and this provides the perfect opportunity to shake things up! Will I be able to land the kind of perfectly executed pattern placement you have demonstrated above? Doubtful, but it'll certainly be fun to try!

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    1. AND, if you land in the country of ikats as headlights, you're still totally in oonapalooza land!

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  11. i believe the poem in question is by Longfellow... and i've used it many times to describe one of my daughters. but this dress! love how brain is able to drape you in glorious prints so skillfully! gorgeous. and since i happened to recently pick up a colorful fabric, and just made a maxi dress out of it, i totally get to participate in oonapalooza :D

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    1. can i just say i had no idea longfellow wrote that sort of thing?? so what's up with mother goose taking all the credit?

      let's see that maxi!

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  12. I too, am that little girl with the curl. I, however, didn't know it was a nursery rhyme. I just kinda thought my Nana was brilliant with words...

    The dress. The DRESS! It's bee-yoo-tee-full in every sense of the word. Colour, pattern, drape, swish, twirl; she's all good and them some. I love it! And you look gorgeous!

    Sigh, I'm the same way with the mister. Years ago, I would sew quite a bit of his clothing, but I just can't seem to find the time ;) these days.

    I'm sooooo excited to sew something up in your honor Oona! And I can't wait to begin my telepathic Kalkatroona dialogue....What would Oona do? Okay, let's git ourselves to the store, shall we!

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    1. i feel we are kindred spirits in many ways, my curly colorful friend. let's get shoppin.

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  13. Stranded on Martha's Vineyard with only boring-palooza fabrics! I'll have to dig around a little bit in the remnants. There was the Edith Head turban hat pattern I'm game to try... (because my behind is beyond the land where prints are possible.)

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  14. GURL! You continue to amaze me. So oonapalooza is all my fault, I PROUDLY PROCLAIM! I got some brainstorming going on in my lovely head. ;)

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    1. i expect a closet full from you, master (mistress?) mind!!

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  15. I ADORE that word, horrid... and I totally laughed at that rhyme because I remember it, and I think it's hilarious too - oh you horrid girl, we love you XO
    As for Oonapalooza, I am going to try and start sewing the pinkness this month so I will definitely be participating, even if I'm late to the party... fashionably? ;)

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    1. isn't it just a great word? a word that REALLY sounds like what it means, those are the best (and i think there's a word for that, but i can never remember it, because it doesn't sound like what it means).

      one can always arrive late, especially when wearing the pinkness (!) and ESPECIALLY when bringing a beverage...

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  16. Loving this dress.

    So if I were to do Oonapalooza, what kind of things would she whisper in my ears?

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    1. I have like no motivation in the summer. The most I have been doing is learning a new language. I am a Summertime LOSER!!

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  17. As usual - BEAUTIFUL. Bravo. Now I admit it was your love for the flowing, draping, dramatic, which made me recently sew up a full length Saltspring Maxi with gold and teal stripes. Now I'm going to have to dig into my stash to see what I can come up with for Oonapaollza! Exciting!

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  18. Holy Palooza Batman!!!! There was a good reason why my eyes happened across those gaudy sunflowers in my stash the other day, and a reason why I couldn't just stop a single pair of shorts, which are shiny enough to stop traffic on their own, mind you. But then I had to pull out the remaining scraps in a great cutting frenzy last night to continue with the gaudification of myself and my family. Somewhere in my subconscious I was preparing for the great Oonapalooza!

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    1. you prepared well, my flowered friend. those shorts are TERRIFIC.

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  19. your way of telling stories is amazing, Oona. I enjoy so much!
    two other things:
    fabric placement! wow, applause. great great job!
    aaand, Oona hommage? I'm in!
    love <3 and sunshine to you *

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  20. I am totally in love with the dress, I love how it falls, and the pattern placement ....OMG!!! I am definitely in for Oonapalooza. I don't have such bold fabric BUT this will give me a reason to shop! (Like I really need a reason to shop for fabrics). Thanks.

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    1. oh, you're welcome. no problemo. i'm certain you also need something appropriately naughty to eat/imbibe whilst shopping stitching. might i suggest pepperoni pizza as a start?

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  21. I have very curly hair, and I heard that rhyme growing up. I didn't like it much! Probably because I heard it when I WAS being horrid, ha ha. Your dress looks great.

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    1. thank you! and yes, i think if i remembered this as a kid i would have hated it-- right down to the jumping on the bed part.

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  22. Love the dress & love the idea of Oonapalooza! Now to find suitable stuff in the stash...

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  23. LOL, my mama used to sing that rhyme to me too! I might have to see if I can spare some time away from wedding sewing and baby clothes sewing (not for me! I hasten to add...) to make myself the gorgeous oona-style maxi dress I've been dreaming of.

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    1. well the first thing to do is to put a hold on the Sewing For Children. oonapalooza sort of demands it.

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  24. Dude, I love this dress. It's so, so fab. I also REALLY like the fun you've clothed the parentals in! Pineapples!!!

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  25. Ooonapalooza?? All hail the Oona!!! :)

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  26. And don't forget her shoes....Prints and shoes, prints and shoes....

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    1. ah, shoes. i pine for daffy's. my five dollar shoe source has gone bankrupt (perhaps it was the pricing).

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  27. Would Oona wear wide-legged trousers? Yes, she totally would. Just probably also in a kalkatroonan print; I'm making mine in white...

    I love the swathes of fabric in this dress. It looks like a great airy dress for summer.

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    1. oh she ABSOLUTELY would. in fact she had a pair in white which she wore clean out, right up to the point she dropped 3 scoops of chocolate ice cream on them.

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    2. I've already squirted a cherry on them. Already. (Lemon juice to the rescue, and hoping the rest will come off in the washing...)

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  28. My Dad used to read that to me a lot when I was a little Blinky.

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  29. Oh yeah, I remember that rhyme. I remember that rhyme well! (And yes, I had curly hair.)

    Fabulous dress. :-) I am rather looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for oonapalooza. (And debating what on earth I can do for it that won't make me look too much like a psychedelic blimp at the moment. Hmmmm....)

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  30. Damn, that pattern placement! Lovely dress!

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  31. That dress is so gorgeous! Every time I see another one of your maxi dresses I want to make one just like it. I don't think it'll happen this month, but hopefully soon! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for Oonapalooza!

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  32. you're the queen of maxies, sis! and i wanna rip this one off of you and wear it to pieces

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  33. Wow!! Love, love, love your dress and all that I can see of the Parents Balloona garments! Looking forward to seeing those oonapalooza entries! And hope Ruggy gets his soon...

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  34. I guess the Oona doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to technicolor! poor Ruggster.

    Beautiful dress!

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  35. Super impressed by your placement, lady! Love, love, love your dress. Off to check out the deadline for the ooonapalooza sewalong which is hugely wishful thinking on my part given I'm on borrowed time already. But hey. Might just be a late entry!

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!