Swirl-y Dresses

I'd love to have a real Swirl as much as the next gal, but I just can't make myself pay what they're going for right now.  Enter McCall 1596.  This certainly isn't the only Swirl-like wrap dress pattern out there.  I have a couple others myself actually, but I just fell in love with this one.  Once again, I couldn't believe I got it last night without so much as another bidder trying for it.  Yay!!  Hopefully, I'll soon have a few "Swirls" for the price of what one goes for on ebay!

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Fun with Fabric!

I need to give a big thank you to a blogger I just recently discovered, Tuppence Ha'Penny, for blogging Spoonflower yesterday!  I stayed up way too late yesterday night obsessing over creating my first fabric print in Photoshop!  It's based on a 1930's feedsack that I have but is in rough shape.  Here it is!  I'm rather proud of how it came out.  Let's hope the swatch comes out as I'm hoping.

I stylized the image here a bit.  The sample that was uploaded to Spoonflower doesn't have the "fabricy" texture applied to it and is higher resolution.

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Cigar Boxes & When It Rains, It Pours!

When I saw 1950's_atomic_ranch_house's post today asking what we store in our cigar boxes, I couldn't help but pull out my one cigar box and snap a picture.  This was my Great Grandfather's, and I used to have more than this, but this is the last one.  Sadly, when I went to open it, I discovered that one of the hinges has apparently rusted shut and the prongs that went into the box part have broken or popped out.  I use it to store Barbie clothes in.  Some is authentic Barbie, some made by my Gramma for my mom's Barbie-esque doll, and some by person's unknown for my dad's sister.  I have my aunt's Barbie too, but she isn't in the box.  I don't know if you can see in the picture, but my Great Gram apparently used it to store sequins! (for her burlesque costumes, I'm sure ;) )

The pair in the picture are my gramma and grandpa.

So, apparently it's true what they say about raining and pouring.  Today I got another copy of the Marian Martin jumper pattern on ebay!  Once again I just stumbled on it because the pattern number was nowhere in the listing!  This one was all of $4.99!  Now I'll have it in a size 14 and 18 which will make grading all the easier as I'm kind of a combination of the two sizes.

Just look at the adorable heart pockets this jumper is sporting!

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Overalls Buttons Found

I've only recently discovered what a great place etsy is when searching for sewing supplies.  I know, I know.  Under search there is that "supplies" category that you'd think would be a dead giveaway, but I just never really thought about it.

Anyhoo, I went looking around there last night and found some lovely buttons for the 1940's overalls.  I had originally been thinking white.  Well, actually my first thought had been red buttons, but that would pretty much limit the top they could be worn with to white or red, so had nixed that.  In the end I picked out matching light navy blue buttons.  They're a pretty basic button, but they have a nice rounded shape to them that I like.  One of my pet peeves is when you turn over a modern button and it's hollow in the back.  Give me a nice solid vintage button any day!

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Sewing & Cupcakes

I've started a sewing project!  Wheeee!!  My first in a few years other than mending.  Between lack of space, pregnancy and then baby, I haven't made anything in a few years.  It feels good to be working on something again.  I'm making the overalls from Simplicity 3322 in a navy linen/rayon blend found at Joann's.  I never find anything at Joann's!  Pretty sure you've all seen this pattern before, but I'll post a pic of it anyway.   This won't be my first time making this pattern, so even though it's a different size this time around, I'm not going to worry about making a muslin first.  (that makes it sound like I'm usually good and do make a muslin! ha!)  I'm pretty sure the fitting adjustments I made to the pattern should be good.  Plus, this pattern has a 3/4" side seam allowance for fitting already built in.  I'm still thinking about the buttons on this.  White is what I have in mind, and I picked up some basic ones at Joann's too, but I'm really not enthused about them.  Anyone know a good mail order button place?

Now onto the cupcakes!  I read about Jilly's Cupcakes here in Saint Louis the other day, and managed to persuade my husband to swing by there this morning after we did the grocery shopping.  I just had to take a picture of them!  They are soooo gorgeous, and pretty yummy too!!  The frosting is definitely what makes them!  We got the Creamcicle, the Death by Chocolate and the Jilly Burger.

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Patterns, Patterns Everywhere...

I kinda tore through my pattern collection the other day in search of a particular one.  Now my patterns are all higglety pigglety, and it's time to come up with a new method of organization!  In the past, I've done by decade and most recently, by clothing type - blouses, trousers, outfits, suits, etc...  The problem I'm finding with this method is a lot of patterns fit into more than one category, but I don't really want to go back to just by decade.  Ideally, I'd like to scan all my patterns and be able to have them cross referenced and searchable.  Then I could just file them by pattern company and number, but I don't see me having the time to take pictures of close to 300 patterns anytime soon.  I'd like to hear how you all have your patterns organized.  Bring on the excellent ideas please!

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300 Followers Giveaway at Va-Voom Vintage!

Brittany, over at Va-Voom Vintage, is having a fabulous giveaway to celebrate having 300 followers!  Pop over for your chance to win goodies from Vauje Vintage.

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Wheeeeeeee!

Yesterday was apparently my lucky day!  Always on my desk is a list of vintage patterns that I am on the search for.  Number one on that list was Marian Martin 9397 for a culotte jumper and blouse, and yesterday it become mine!  Not only did I find it, I found it for $6.99 buy it now!! (insert jump for joy here!)  Even though I had it as a saved search through ebay, I hadn't gotten a notice about it because the seller didn't put the pattern number anywhere in the description.  Something just made me sit down and search "Marian Martin" yesterday afternoon, and there it was!  Yay!!  Here's a pic!  I can't wait for it to come!!

 

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Newly Recovered Chairs by Me!

In the new apartment, we actually have a breakfast room and a dining room, so we've been on the hunt for a dining table.  The fomica dining set went into the breakfast room.  We found a table, four chairs, leaves, pads and hutch set for a great price on Memorial Day, but the chairs really needed to be recovered.  Today the fabric came in the mail from Full Swing Textiles, and amazingly I've already gotten them all covered!  They were really easy to do!  Here's the set.  Please excuse the toys in the background... he pulls them back out of the basket as fast as I put them away!

The centerpiece was my Mother's Day gift. :)  You can barely see the hutch in the background.  I should have taken a close-up.

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I Love My Perm!

I know I said I was going to get my perm on Saturday the 12th, but then I found Nikki!  A hair stylist and vintage gal all within 40 minutes of my new home!!  Yay!!  She has absolutely gorgeous hair too!  I love my new perm, and phooey on all the past stylists in my life who refused to do them and thus made my hair life needlessly difficult!  I took some before and after pics ... totally unflattering and the lighting looks yellowish for some reason, but you can get the idea.

 

Before (My bangs are shorter than I'd ideally like because I had to fix wonky cutting by a different stylist...)

After (No Styling except curled bangs)

Styled!

Here it is after setting in Hot Sticks.  In the future I'd brush the hair out more first, but since I just had the perm, I didn't want to brush too much.  I haven't gotten to really test how it will hold in the humidity, but just the styling benefits alone are totally worth it!  I did the rolls in about 30 seconds each.  No aching arms or cursing or wanting to throw things or anything!!  Each roll has two bobby pins in to hold them and they feel solid with hardly any hairspray at all.  Just enough to smooth out some wispy pieces.

If you've been on the fence about a perm, especially if you have fine hair like me, I would definitely recommend it!

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I've done it!

I've taken the plunge, and made an appointment for a perm!  I'm very excited, but unfortunately, have to wait until the 12th because my husband will be out of town for work this weekend.  While I've had perms before, that was in the 1980's, and I was going for a different look back then!  I really hope this succeeds in giving me the body I need and keeping some kind of decent curl in my hair in this humidity.  If anyone has any tips about what I should tell the stylist to do, I'd love to hear them.  Right now I'm just thinking I'll tell them to use the biggest rollers they've got.

We went out to Retro 101 on Memorial Day and found a dining set.  I think we finally found most everything we needed. Yay!  Here's a pic of me and Simon as we're about to head out the door.   Before my hair started to deflate!

Late 30's Green Plaid House Dress : Brimfield Antique Show

Green Greta Wedges : Remix Vintage Shoes

1930's Scottie Dog Pin : Antique Store (I've forgotten where...)

Magnolia Hair Flower : Made By Me

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