... and the winner is

... Johanna of Making it Well -- one of my favorite bloggers! Thanks for entering my Birthday Giveaway. I'll be in touch for your mailing info. :)

As for regular business around these parts, sewing has been a little bit slow, still, but planning has not! I've got my 3 WIPs still underway, and a new project in the works, too.

I recently saw this dress on ModCoth.com and was instantly inspired.

Graceful Greenery Dress in Dog Park

I love the scoop neckline, skinny straps, and full gathered skirt.  It looks like an early 1960s frock perfect for a summer barbeque or party. However, I'm not sure if you all have picked up on this, but I'm not a dog owner presently. The apple of my eye is my bratty darling, Duke the cat. Though I did grow up with a pet dog, I couldn't just betray Duke like that -- I'm his mom, after all. I managed to find some excellent, very similar looking cat fabric, in a Grey and Pink color scheme. I think it will make a great paring with the bodice from a recently acquired vintage pattern I picked up. Add a gathered skirt, and I'm good to go.

this bodice, plus

... a gathered skirt & this adorable fabric.

I'm in love with the cute cats and the fabric colors. It's definitely more muted than the bright Red and Yellow of the Bernie Dexter inspiration dress on ModCloth, but I love it!

August's Estate Sale Finds

Passes the cat test

This month, Tom and I went to an estate sale just a few minutes away from our house (they're usually more of a journey). We picked up some fun, new-to-us things, a few of which I thought you all might be interested in. 

Up first, a new computer chair for me. It looks like it's from a mid-century kitchen set, but there was only the one chair. 

mid-century chair ... sparkly!

It's a light gold color with brown and green little criss-cross marks on it and gold and silver sparkles. It's a good little chair... though the seat could use a bit more cushioning. Here it is in it's new habitat.

computer chair

See, we don't have enough space in our computer/sewing room for Tom and I to both have desks and my sewing table and our big bookcase, so I have my fold-out sewing table and a little rolling filing cabinet thing where my laptop lives. I just pull my chair up next to it and type away.

I also picked up a cute 1960s-ish sweater dress and two vintage slips. The only sewing stuff I found at the sale was a little box with some old thread on cardboard spools. I was tempted at first, but then thought... I don't really NEED this, so I put it down (and patted myself on the back for being so responsible). 

sixties sweater dress

The dress is charcoal grey, dark orange (looks light/bright here), and an olive-brown color (also a little darker IRL), with slightly longer than 3/4 length sleeves. It came with this cute little circle brooch on it, which I think should just live on there forever. The dress comes down to a couple inches above the knee and seems like it'll be great with a pair of tights for fall and winter.

Here's a look at the two slips I picked up. I'm not quite sure what I'll end up wearing them with (since they're black - I don't want them to show through my clothes), but we'll see. I couldn't make myself pass them up.

This one has scalloped details at the neckline and hem.

This one has sheer, mesh-backed lace at the bust and hem and a lovely scooped neckline in the front and back.

Also at the estate sale, in the same room with the slips and a lot of other random, slithery, polyester blouses and scratchy pants was this interesting old trunk. I took a peek inside and found an assortment of clothes and other items - some were pieces of a sailor uniform, one was a cute, bright plaid sleeveless summery dress with the original price tag on it, but nothing really tempted me.

Unfortunately, at some point in its life, the inside of the trunk was painted a beige color, perhaps even while all those clothes and things were still in it, and there was crumbly paint on everything inside (and around) it.

neat looking old trunk

P.S.
Tom got a fancy new camera this week, which is why the trunk picture and the Duke picture actually look good. The others were taken with my sad little camera, but future posts will likely see some better looking photos, hopefully!

Checking in...

I know I've been absent here for almost a week, but it's really been a crazy one. I'll be sharing some details about the events that went down, soon. For now, though, I'm still undecided about whether I should go for a pink top or a black top for my spotted silk wedding guest dress.

I'm planning to just make a quick decision and decide right before I start sewing, since right now I feel like I could really go either way. That means it'll be a surprise for y'all, but, whether I go with black or pink on top, I'm definitely taking Lenora Jane's advice from the comment she left on my last post and using contrasting fabric for some details on the bodice (like a black little heartbreaker-esque collar on an otherwise pink top, for example).  But, like I said, you kiddos will just have to wait and see what I come up with.

Despite this having been such a crazy week that I have not had a minute to do any sewing, I did somehow find myself at Payless, where I grabbed these adorable wedges for FOURTEEN DOLLARS! And I'm not the only one who's head over heels for them either.

wedges!

They love each other.

Anyway, that's all I've got to share for now. I'll check back in soon, when I've made some progress on my sewing plans. :)

April Acquisitions - Part 2: Paper

Welcome to Part II of my April estate sale finds!

In my Part I post, I shared the fabric and trims I scored at my first successful estate sale. Here, in Part II, you'll get to have a peek at some paper-based goods I picked up.

Well, to start, I found a large grab-bag full of old stitching, sewing, and mostly knitting magazines, along with some pamphlets, and a couple books. The first thing I pulled out of the bag was this old Simplicity Sewing book. It's not quite as intense as my trusty Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, but it looks like a good resource...and there are some fun pictures.

1970 Simplicity Sewing Book - why are those things pinned to the dress form--scissors?

I think I'd be ok if my sewing room looked like this...colorful and organized!

After pulling out the Simplicity book, the bag was still pretty full...

Now, when you see the next items I found in the bag, you may find yourself wondering... "I thought she didn't knit..." and, you'd be right, I don't -- BUT I plan to at least start to learn by the end of the year! And once I've learned, I plan to be unstoppable, so don't worry. But, in the meantime, just drool with me over these:

Just LOOK at these! I want to wear/make/be in all of them. (do excuse the crooked photo, please)

SO CUTE - and cozy. Can I please be her??

...or her, she'd do as well.

Ok, are you done? Have you wiped the drool off your chin? Good.

Here's a kitty picture, too...for good measure. (Don't worry, I kept him from doing any actual damage).

Duke: "I'm sorry, were you trying to do something here?...No? Ok, good. I was just going to do some rolling, kneading, and scratching on these GLORIOUS crinkly pages."

You may have thought that was the tops, but up next I've saved what I think is the best for last: PATTERNS! I was able to get a good handful of 'em, which felt awesome as I can never find good old patterns (and in a reasonable size for me) at yard sales or thrift stores, and hardly ever any at antique stores. I usually end up resorting to ebay and Etsy.

1973 and 1976 Stretch & Sew patterns

Tom? Want a cardigan thingy?

simple shell - for knits

Cute collar options for the simple Stretch & Sew shell - but really..."Dog Ear Collar" ??? Weird.

um...?

super awkward, tacky styling - knee socks? - but a cute blouse pattern...I won't even discuss the shorts (1980s?) & a cute 1979 circle skirt

collared tops for her (1975) & him (1972)

THE JACKPOT! 1960s separates and dresses

You may recognize the center one (my favorite!) in this last photo, McCall's 9458 (c.1968), from a recent post over on Kestrel Finds and Makes. I'd admired it when Kerry posted about it, but didn't even recognize it (pattern amnesia!) when I actually encountered it in real life at this estate sale. Luckily, I snatched it up regardless - I mean, who wouldn't?

Yay, tops! McCall's 9456

And, that concludes my show and tell!

I'm pretty pleased with what I purchased and feel like I really lucked out, but, like I mentioned earlier, this experience kind of left me with some mixed feelings.

Like I said before, this was my first real estate sale. When I was there, I managed to stay pretty objective about assessing items and determining what I ought to buy (I only bought patterns close to my size - not the entire box - and only grabbed one of the THREE trash bags full of misc. fabric). What sparked a bit of uneasiness for me, though, was, after I'd brought everything home, going through the grab-bag of misc. magazines/papers and finding that many of the papers were hand-written notes about knitting and patterns on little note pad pages and scraps of paper.

Seeing these little notes solidified for me that the things I'd bought weren't just some random possessions but were important to the woman who'd owned them. She'd thoughtfully tucked them away to be referred to later. They are truly the artifacts of a life spent making things for herself and her family.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've always loved yard sales, thrifting, and the act of digging through people's old stuff in general, but I've come to realize (some of you will be saying "duh" here) that estate sales like this are actually a bit different.

Yes, at estate sales you can find some really great items, but you're not digging through some stuff that the owner has actively decided he/she no longer wants; you're basically unceremoniously rifling through the artifacts of a person's life, about which they no longer have a say, to see if you can find anything "good."

I keep thinking about the idea that these were a woman's saved belongings that she'd purposely held onto over the years. I think her saving them for so long is what gets me. She kept these things because she thought they were important, for whatever reason...who am I to undermine that?

Now, don't worry, eye rolling is welcome, but I'm a person who feels a strong connection to things (in case you hadn't guessed), especially small, practical, everyday things -- overly sentimental, you might call it. It's part of why I'm so fascinated with vintage stuff and old objects, clothes--anything tangible.

I myself am somewhat of a saver of stuff, but on the other hand, I can't (and don't) save everything.
Do I really need all of the fabric or knitting patterns I brought home? Nope.
Was I absolutely in love with every single thing I got? No, not every single thing 100%.
Does it make me a little sad to admit that? Sure.
I just have to tell myself, this woman didn't absolutely love and treasure every single thing she held on to. ...Right? Yes (say yes).

I guess the message I want to get out there is this: I'm very appreciative of the things I got, though I feel a little uneasy about how/why I acquired them, and I'll be passing on the things I'm not in love with to someone who will appreciate them...and so, this woman's thoughtful saving, wont be for naught...and I can sleep at night.
 


Thanks for bearing with me as I rambled through that -- I feel like I could go on and on in a circle all day about this, but at least I've got my thoughts out there so they'll stop eating away at me.
I've already started a project using a pattern and some fabric from this estate sale, so that makes me feel a little better. More details on that in a bit. :)

All that, for $11? Yep!

After seeing this post about an amazing estate sale on the sew weekly (make sure to check out the amazing Mad Men inspired dresses over there this week!) some time ago, I've been on the lookout for something similar in my area. This weekend I stalked Craigslist for happened upon a great yard sale that, not quite as awesome as the sale Mena found, was pretty impressive. 

Before I even got there, I had a good feeling about it. There was mention of fabric and sewing items in the listing and it was located just a short drive away from my house. When we arrived, I was not disappointed. The woman holding the sale had been sewing for years upon years and was not at all emotionally attached to her twenty or so boxes of fabric she had removed from her stash. She'd cleaned out her sewing room in preparation of selling the house and just wanted everything to go. Even my boyfriend, who I'd convinced to come along with me, was impressed. He managed to pick up a couple of vintage ties, while I feverishly grabbed the following:

This box, full of fabric - not a hyper cat, for $5. 

Some tracing paper and three vintage 1940s mail order home decor patterns (not sure what I'll do with these yet), thrown in my box-o-fabric and included in the $5 price. 

This vintage display mannequin thing that has a 7.5" waist (I guess 15", when doubled) and a three-dimensional chest, for $5. It's kind of like a human-sized (ignoring the ridiculous bust/waist/hip ratio) metal hanger. I've named her Mable and, though difficult to photograph, she seems to hang quite happily on the wall in my sewing area. Hopefully I can use her to display future makes, since Ruby (my red, adjustable Singer dress form) is fuzzy, wobbly, and pretty cranky, making her a huge pain to drag unlined dresses onto.

This bolt of bright pink, thick, home decor fabric, for $1. There appear to be several yards still on there, so I'm thinking maybe a twirly '50s style party dress? If it doesn't work out, whatever, it was ONE DOLLAR (plus, it makes my sewing room look super legit to just casually have a bolt of fabric hanging out, like I'm a dressmaker or something). For now, this baby gets to live in the only free corner in my sewing space, behind grumpy old Ruby.
 

Oh, and maybe you're wondering about the contents of the $5 box of fabric?  Don't worry, I'm pretty excited to share. About half of the pieces of fabric were smaller lengths with pieces cut out, but the other half consisted of a few great fabrics in good sized cuts.

Duke likes to inspect anything new that comes into the house.

I threw some of the smaller pieces outside on the table to improve the lighting.

 Here's what it looked like when I pulled out all my loot and spread it on the living room floor to admire. You may have noticed the good sized spool of something like seven miles of white lace trim. Yeah, that was included in the $5 box, also. Anyone ever try dying lace trim? 

longer lengths from the magical box-o-fabric

As for the longer, more usable lengths of fabric, here they are. Some of my favorites are also pictured below. Most are wool, but I did manage to get a huge length of white lace, that I'm also considering dying.

white lace

lovely plaid in mixed browns

deep blue and dark green plaid, darker than it looks here

light blue with darker blue flecks, worsted wool (maybe??)

more wool! brown and white with flecks of blues/greens/reds

Maybe you're like "that's great, Sue, but when are you ever going to finish your Joan dress for the Mad Men Challenge?" Well, to you I'd say, I'm not quite finished yet, but I think I'm in the final stretch. I've got the zipper in and have tried it on, pinched out all the extra baggy bits, made alterations, and was struggling all morning with trying to get the dang sleeves set in before realizing that my alterations affected the armholes. So, once I get those sleeves in, I've just got to add the collar and hem her up. If I have time before the deadline, I'll post some little previews. Otherwise, look forward to April 1st, when Julia Bobin rounds up all of the entries. ;)

Sunday blues

I know it's Superbowl Sunday (go Giants! - only because I have a crush on Eli), which at the very least for me means that later today I'll be able to eat a LOT of junk food in mixed company without anyone really judging me. (I'm so over that 'eat healthier' New Year's resolution.) And, maybe on this particular Sunday, it so happens that I've also already eaten a sizable bowl of coffee ice cream with freshly baked, gooey chocolate chip cookies mixed in. But, regardless of all this happy food time, I'm not feeling super happy -- it's still Sunday; work beckons tomorrow, and today did not pan out as I'd hoped. I think I've got a case of the blues. Feeling lazy, mopey, and unmotivated.

So, on the off chance that anyone else is in the same grumpy Sunday boat as me, here are some images to cheer us up (click the links to see my Pinterest board, which will lead you to the image sources - I'm sorry I'm this ridiculously lazy :-/). Enjoy! Oh, and if you don't like animals, don't bother scrolling down.

Wistful. This was me this damp grey morning. 

I really should have been doing something like this with my time today.

But, I was basically only able to act like this all day. Blah.

At least, at the Superbowl party I'm attending later today, I can do something more along these lines. 

So, I should get hyped and stay positive!

Because, really, how could I consider being grumpy when I know this baby llama exists somewhere?

P.S. I promise I'll have a Violet update soon. I ordered the batiste to underline the Swiss dot. I'll share more on that front once the fabric arrives and I can get to sewing!

hmm...up next?

"I love sewing!"

Meet Duke. He may look a bit cranky, but don't be deceived; he loves sewing. He loves everything to do with sewing. He especially loves to cuddle with dress forms and caress fabric laid out to be cut using his 

entire body.

cuddlin' up

He's been politely bugging me to let you know about what sewing projects I've got coming up next. The thing is, I've got  a few different things in the works...so, I'll be sharing more in a little bit!
Until then, have an excellent rest of your week!