Category Archives: review

Welcome to 2022

Currently my cat is sitting on top of my notes. I am not sure what she is doing – other than sitting there looking pretty.

Jilly Sitting here reading my notes and looking pretty.

I am so grateful to have come out of our second year of Covid and the other side of 2021 relatively unscathed. But here we are rolling into our third year. When this all started I thought we would have it under control by now. Cases are rising faster than any other time since this began. This is alarming to me.

Because Covid has tore up small businesses like mine the world over; here at the shop I am taking every precaution to protect customers and clients as well as myself.

I was hoping to run into 2022 Screaming, “Take that 2021” but alas 2021 wasn’t done with me yet. A week before New Years, I decided to miss a step going down to studio (we all get in a hurry sometimes and distracted) and I sprained my ankle where it is going to take 5 – 6 weeks to fully recover. So, I limped quietly into the New Year – saying “just you wait”!

I have begun to implement some “minimalistic” standards into my life and my business. I will only check my mail 3 times a day – 9:00am. Noon, around 300/330. Email is rather distracting and once my rhythm is off – I may not be able to get back to it. I have also turned off almost every notification on my phone. 90% are irrelevant but I see them and must quickly reply or look or anything else that takes my focus away. I will let you know how this this plays itself out.

Looking back at 2021, I had a number of ideas that either got moved, changed, or left on the sidelines. Now, it is time to pick them up and make them a reality.

Complete the 1st Annual Edition of the L7S clothing line for home sewers
Decide on which Civil War dress I want to make and lay out the plan to make it happen.
Complete my 18th Century “costume” with all the appropriate pieces.
The website you are reading this on, will be receiving a “facelift” to provide customers accurate descriptions and what Lucky 7 Does
I plan to start on the 2nd edition of L7S clothing line for home sewers and finish that in the spring of 2023.

Other thoughts – I may record some videos while I work on things, those will post to the YouTube page. More photos while I am working on garments, may they be customer alterations, one of a kind garments, or well a sample for someone.

Keep an eye here and on Facebook and Instagram too!

Winter Solstice

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Good day,

This is a letter of gratitude. I want to thank all of you that continue to follow Lucky 7 Studios and stay engaged. You are what keeps me moving forward. 2021 was a heck of a year. ( Keep an eye our for L7S a year in review). Here we are on the Winter Solstice and I am amazed at how fast that appeared. There were a lot more things I had wanted to accomplish by now, but life happens.

The first day of winter reminds me that spring is around the corner. For many the next 3 months are some of the coldest, darkest, and gloomiest days ahead. This is when here at L7S and on the farm know there is a time of rest forthcoming. During our resting time, L7S will be looking at 2021 and then forward to 2022 and begin planning for what is to come.

Be on the look out for more newsletters, social media posts, and preparations for 2022. If you have a comment or idea, feel free to throw it out.

Once again, thank you all for your continued support,

Jennifer A Adams, Owner L7S

Spring is in the air…. I can feel it everywhere…

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Sitting here listening to the birds sing in the tree and shrub outside my office window… the sun is shining ever so bright… blue skies above… alas, and the clocks go back this weekend… here we will all be confused…

This post will be short… there are many patterns to be made and muslins to sew for the F/W 2021 RTW Collection… Along with client garments and any other number of things…

If you are on Instagram and looking for a way to be active, you should follow @pinsent_tailoring and his #modernlessmarch – it has been fun to see all the topics and how people respond. I will be following along as we move through the next week. Today’s topic is #acceptance. This has been a year of hard lessons and acceptance is the key and has been the way to move from day to day. Accepting life may never fully return to pre-covid and creating different ways to work together from a distance.

I am grateful for covid in some regards, it provided me the opportunity to “do what I love” not necessarily what my college education provided. I absolutely love designing, making, sewing, working out how to make something work. It has also afforded me the time to find my niches and “meet” some really great people. I look forward to the future when we can all get together and celebrate.

If you missed it, there was a live Q & A session this past week — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAJ5-WFNIL1vGqJKQELMN_Q – this link will take you to our YouTube Channel. Be sure to subscribe – this way you will always know (first) when new videos are forthcoming.

Ah, yes. My client received her dress yesterday. “It is beautiful” “It is perfect” are just some of the ways she expressed how happy she is with the garments.

Be on the lookout for some promotional give-a-ways and referral gifts. That post will be out next week. We have also added a podcast to our Repertoire of ways to keep up with us. In the meantime, find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Did you watch any of the designers during fashion week?

A week in Review

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I sit here and watch the birds tease my cat as she sits in the chair by the window and advises me of their presence. Can you find the birds?

This past week went by faster than I had anticipated, and my planning was a little fleeting at best. My intentions on Friday mornings are to lay out my plan for the following week. Last week, well, I wanted to do anything but sit at the desk any more than was absolutely necessary. Fortunately for y’all I knew some of what I wanted to post this week.

I have been working on a customers’ Historic Recreation shirt and dress. Here is the video from where I dyed the fabric to obtain the perfect color. (And even the swatches to get to the final). Kitters thought she was helping once or twice. Here are a few other photos.

I have been writing the transcript for the video that will post next Friday – patternmaking. And it will provide a sneak peek into the Fall/Winter 2021 collection that will be virtually showing in May.

Next Wednesday, February 24, I will be live on my YouTube channel for anyone with questions. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAJ5-WFNIL1vGqJKQELMN_Q If you won’t be able to attend, email your questions to Jennifer.adams@lucky-7-studios.com prior to Feb 24 and I will answer them live.

The renovations of the studio continue. I have to wait till its finished before I can add more photos.

This was the last week of the Introduction to Mantua-making: An 18th Century English Gown in Miniature by Burnley and Trowbridge https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com. There is much I have learned and hopefully have made a few friends.

I am looking forward for the weather to break. I need to get outside on the trail again. Here are a few photos from last year.

Be sure to follow us on all our socials. You may find a surprise, as we post throughout the week.

Fashion Era Series: Sumerian (#3)

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The Sumerians are the earliest known civilization in the historic region of southern Mesopotamia. Believed to have lived from c. 4100 – 1750 BCE. This part of the world can get very hot during the year, so some of the statues with few garments would not be out of line with the climate.

In researching Sumerian culture, the images that are presented provide an account of the types of costume they would have worn during that period of time. It appears men wore what looks to be some type of robe maybe that they pulled over their heads – shoulder straps that connected to the back that was lower than the front. Most representations of men appear to wear a costume that is wrapped and tied about the waist.

The Smithsonian has a statue “Rim-Sin Carrying Clay” – this is a statue of the King of that time. He appears to be rounded at the bottom half as if he were wearing what we would call a “skirt”. However, there does not appear to be a costume on his upper half. ^[1]

In the book Development of Sumerian Art by Wooley C Leonard^[2], there are a handful of complete statues that definitively separate the male and female. The male continues to wear a costume on the lower half – in a circular shape (as such we would call it a “skirt”) and the women appear to have what appears to be a “strap” of same material as the rest of the costume – it goes around her one shoulder – it most likely connects the front and back parts of the costume.

In much the same way we study existing extant garments from before the 17^th Century and thereafter, we can study the art, carvings, and symbols from a long-ago culture/society/people. Studying these items, provides much detail to their lives, and allows us to look in for ourselves. I have included several images below. These I clipped from the book that is referenced.

Leave a thought in the comments. What do you see in the images?

^[1] https://www.si.edu/object/rim-sin-carrying-clay-foundation-deposit-figure:nmnhanthropology_8503940?edan_q=sumerian&destination=/search/collection-images&searchResults=1&id=nmnhanthropology_8503940

^[2] https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.33972/page/n77/mode/2up

Week in Review and Year of the Ox

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Well, here I am again, on Friday morning writing this post. I had this whole thing sort of wrote in my head or how I wanted to write it.

It has been a very busy week around here: from outlines for marketing plans and policy and procedure templates to PayPal accounts and setting systems for new clients. This is the part of owning a small business that I find tedious but necessary.)

In the historic gown class I am taking we started on the sewing this week. I was working on that some yesterday, I needed a small break from the “busy” and hand stitching allows my brain to sort of slow down and relax some. (Right now as I am typing this there was a beautiful Blue Jay right outside my office window – he flew away, now there is a sparrow). There went the hawk, he was on the roof of my house. So graceful.

So let me just admit, that I have a little attention problem today. It is Friday after all. So where was I again? Ah, yes, the busy of the week. The client’s historic recreation shirt and dress is moving along nicely. The pattern pieces have been completed and all materials and supplies have been delivered (Thank you Burnley & Trowbridge for being on the ball with your orders.) In fact, I cut out the pieces for the shirt last evening. I also began working with the dyes to get the right color for the dress. More tries today, the color had a little too much red. This is the fun part – I get to play with colors.

I think that catches ya’ll up with happenings here…. Oh no wait, we have begun the face lift, or office destruction/construction, whatever ye shall choose to call it. This means that we (by we, I mean the cats and I) have moved out of the studio and into the large part of the basement temporarily. This is an adjustment for me, Anna and the cats take it all in stride.

So today marks the New Year for the Chinese – they get a new animal every year (has to do with the transition of zodiac signs). So cool. This year is the year of the Ox. Their celebration can last up to 16 days, however, only the first 7 are considered public holiday. Their celebration culminates with the Lantern Festival. If you follow the link, you will find more information. I just thought it was interesting. Here in the states, our New Year’s celebration is well, one evening and culminates with the annual drop of the ball right before Midnight. Short, simple, not steeped in tradition, as we are a people of many cultures.

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