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!

June's Finds

This month, I went to a couple of estate sales and yard sales. I thought you all might like to see what I picked up. Get excited!

Yippee! - (source)

It all started when I found an estate sale listed on Craigslist, described as a "mid-century time capsule." How could I resist! It was held on a Friday and a Saturday, so, since my current work schedule is M-F, I was only able to go for the second day of the sale (once I'm done with training at my new job, I'll likely have a Sunday through Thursday work week, though!). I'd had a nagging feeling that all the really great stuff would get snapped up before I could get there on the second day, so my estate sale buddy and I showed up right when the doors opened on Saturday morning. 

 

My suspicions were somewhat correct, as the selection was a bit picked over and the woman in charge let me know that someone had bought all of the sewing supplies on Friday. Understandable, I suppose. The house itself was fun to check out, though, as the kitchen appeared to have been untouched since the 1960s, at the latest (why didn't I get a photo!). As I investigated the bedrooms,  I found these cute napkins that I just had to buy, tucked away in a box of old curtains. They came with this booklet describing all the fancy ways to fold the napkins into animals and other fun shapes, like they do at nice restaurants. I'm not a huge collector of vintage linens, but, at $3 for the set of four, I couldn't pass these up.

Pretty "Vera" floral napkins, with folding instructions

 

While we were out and about that Saturday, we saw a sign for another estate sale nearby and found a yard sale across the street when we pulled up to the house - double whammy!

The house where the estate sale was being held was rather interesting. There were many rooms, including two kitchens, a back, windowless den/room filled to the brim with Christmas decorations, and a lovely little greenhouse/enclosed porch off of a bedroom. While rummaging in the laundry room, I found a bin of sewing supplies and a couple worn and torn, unremarkable 1970s sewing patterns. I managed to dig this bodkin out of the bin and bring it home, complete with original packaging. It seems like a pretty useful tool to have in one's sewing kit and ended up costing something like 50cents.

bodkin!

When we checked out the yard sale across the street, much to my surprise, I found some pretty linens, scarves, and fabric, and my shopping buddy found some cute little lanterns. I ended up bringing home this cheerful floral fabric, with a bright pink, blue, orange, and green print on a white background - four yards for $1! I'd originally thought it was some kind of linen or linen-like blend because of its stiffness, but after laundering it, it feels like soft cotton, and has a little more drape to it. I've really been wanting a bright floral - I'm hoping it'll get used for a sundress sometime soon.

pretty floral cotton

After our yard sale and estate sale success that morning, we were still hungry for more, so we ventured out to downtown Leesburg to hit up some antique stores.  When we stopped by my favorite, Black Shutter Antiques, I snapped up this cute 1960 Simplicity dress pattern for $5 (not the best bargain I've ever seen, but still a good price!). I love the sweet, simple neckline on the dress.

1960 Simplicity 3340

The straight skirt view paired with the coordinating jacket instantly made me think of Emma Stone's character in The Help when she goes to her job interview. Her outfit is a bit different, but there's nothing cuter than a matching dress and jacket like this! I have quite a bit of brown tweed from a past yard sale that I could use to achieve a similar look. We'll see how I feel come autumn.

 

Skeeter Phelan lands a job at the Jackson Journal by carolatthemovies featuring flat leather boots

Hooray for a hundred!

Almost exactly five months ago, I decided to take the plunge and started my very own sewing blog. I was nervous at the beginning and struggled a little bit to find my voice, but now I'm here and I can't really remember what my life was like without it. :)

I must say I'm quite surprised and grateful now to be celebrating having reached 100 followers - yay!

I just want to say a quick THANK YOU!!! 
...to blogland, the online sewing community, anyone who reads this, my mom, and the world in general. Thanks!! I really appreciate the comments you all make on my posts and the support and advice you've shared with me. I've loved "meeting" everyone who stops by my little neck of the internet woods!
 
Now, I'm planning to host my first giveaway to celebrate very soon. I'm thinking something a little bit vintage-y, but more on that in a bit! As I've mentioned, I'm still adjusting to my life/schedule with the new job, so sewing and blogging time are more scarce than I've been used to...but stick with me, it's coming. Promise!

In other news, here's another look at the top I'm working on lately. I've had to give it a little break for a couple days (not quite the same as throwing it in the "ehh" pile, more to prevent that from happening! -- absence makes the heart grow fonder?), but am now thinking I'll revisit those sloppily finished armholes and apply a bit of homemade bias tape to finish them nicely. I've also got some adjusting to do to the back to improve the fit before it can be worn.

You'll just have to take my word for it that this collar is not crooked in real life!

 
I've had a few comments on the fabric used for this project. I was lucky enough to have picked it up at the estate sale I visited back in April. It was hanging out in a huge bag of misc. fabric, along with the plaid I used for my Estate Sale Dress. I believe this teal-y/green-ish floral print is cotton...and perhaps from the 60s/70s? (based on the color scheme in the print), but that's about all the info I've got on it. There's no writing or marking in the selvage, so I don't have any more clues.

I can share my inspiration, though! 

As soon as I saw it, I was inspired by the collar on this cute dress from ModCloth.com. Does anyone know if there's a specific name for this type of collar? Is it just a pointed collar? Anyway, I just had to give it a try and I'm rather pleased with the results. What do you think?

Oh, and here's a quick little explanation on how I put them together, in case you were wondering.
I just made four of these little pieces, sewed them together wrong side to wrong side, like I was making two little pillows. I turned 'em right side out, made sure the corners were nice and pointy, and stitched them onto the shirt, just inside the neckline, so that the notch where the green arrow is was just peeking out over the neckline to the outside of the shirt.

sorry if this is blurry!!

Then, since I'd left the little side by the dotted red line open in order to flip it right side out, I turned that under and stitched where the red line is, attaching that whole back edge of the collar to the outside of the shirt, over the shoulder. I've seen this done a lot in RTW collared tops, and it's a shortcut I thought was worth taking!

That all seems rather wordy and in need of photos to clarify, which I can go into should anyone be interested. It was a very simple little project to make the collar pieces, so if you're thinking of trying out making up a collar, just go for it!

A little update & a sneaky peek

Thanks for all of your kind words of encouragement about my new job!
It's off to a good start, so far. I'll be in training for the next 8 weeks (wow - overwhelming), then I'll be going on vacation and hoping all of the stuff I've learned doesn't fall out of my brain as I lounge on the beach. Once I get back, I think I'll be set loose to actually do my job for real, with some coaching - here's hoping it goes well!

This has felt like a super busy week. I'm sapped of energy from focusing on learning so much new stuff all day at work (and stressing that I'm not getting every single thing!) - it's like being back in school. I'll admit feeling a bit out of my element from this career change, but I suppose that's pretty normal. I'm still trying to adjust to having a new routine, so my sewing has been somewhat sporadic.

Here's a sneak peek at what's been hanging out on my sewing table.

sneak peek!

This WIP is another estate sale project; the pattern and fabric are both April estate sale finds.  The pattern is the sleeveless, v-neck version of  this vintage McCall blouse, with some adjustments (like a collar I just made up). I wasn't feeling the whole making facings thing, even just with bias tape, so I ended up fiddling with finishing the arm holes and neckline just by turning 'em under and stitching - weak, I know. It doesn't look super awesome, so I might end up spiffing it up a bit later. Like I said, work on this has been sporadic, so I'm just kind of winging it. I cant seem to get the fit right, no matter what I pinch or tuck or take in. I've been recklessly altering and chopping away, taking lame shortcuts and hoping for something wearable. I'll let you know if/how it turns out.

As for my wedding guest dress in pink/black/spotted silk, it's currently looking something like this.

mysterious, partially completed blob, sitting in my sewing room

my "ehh, I'll work on this later" pile.

Sometimes I get bored with things and throw them aside part way through. I'll finish it eventually - promise!

Finished Project: Estate Sale Dress

This project kind of popped up out of nowhere. It doesn't really relate to my warmer weather wardrobe plans, but sometimes you've just gotta go where inspiration takes you.

I started it on an impulse, did not plan it to death, and am finding myself rather pleased with the results. As Gillian noted recently, quick, impulsive creating sometimes pans out well and other times it falls flat. In this case, I think it worked in my favor. Not planning this project out too much helped me enjoy the sewing process on this simply constructed dress, kept me from stressing about working with plaid for the first time, and boosted my morale a bit, too.

McCall 9735 - view C

I used the plaid fabric, some navy bias tape, and McCall 9735 all from my recent estate sale haul. Now, I technically made this dress in April (with my Ginger and my Easter Egg blouse, that makes 3 finished pieces for the month...yay!), even though I'm debuting it in May.

Here she is! (the collar looks rather uneven in this photo, but I promise it's just an illusion.

Let's get down to some details about this dress, shall we?

I opted for version C -- SLEEVELESS! (I'm still pretty much over set-in sleeves) I think this will make it a good casual summer dress that can easily be paired with one of my ever-present cardigans. Now, speaking of the sleevelessness of this baby, at the last minute I decided to use bias tape to finish the armholes instead of just as armhole facing.  I'd even cut out the actual armhole facings with the pattern pieces, but now they're hanging out in my scrap basket - oh, well. The way I did the bias tape kind of extended the edge of the armhole over onto the shoulder a bit, so they're verging on cap sleeves of sorts, which I actually like.

I did end up using the neck facing pieces, but not as facings! I combined the front and back pieces to create a little collar and faced the inner neckline with more bias tape.

Bias tape bound armholes.

Collar!

As soon as I'd decided to make this pattern, I knew I wanted a belt involved, or else I'd just feel like a frumpy, plaid blob. Instead of opting for the exact belt option in the pattern, complete with buckle and eyelets, I just used a strip of fabric to make a little sash/tie. This helped eliminate the baggy tent-like aspect the pattern design, sans belt, had going on.

From the back - the belt/waist tie definitely helps give this dress some shape.

I was inspired by the soft, lightweight, linen-y feel of the plaid and wanted a casual warm weather dress (I haven't switched out my winter wardrobe, since the weather here has been all over the place. All my spring/summer clothes are still hiding in a bin). I love how comfortable this dress is. Part of that is due to the loose fit, though I'm considering making a couple of darts/tucks in the front bodice near the waist to keep it from looking super blousey on top - at the same time, though, I don't really care! like it anyway.

Might eliminate some extra bulk in bodice with more darts or tucks.

Now, about working with plaid...matching up the stripes in this project wasn't totally horrible, but I'd still call it a fail, mainly because I just couldn't really be bothered to care. If I'd been really trying, I'd say I did my best, but...I didn't. I did work to at least acknowledge the placement of stripes when I was aligning the pattern pieces on the fabric before cutting, but I didn't match anything along the seams. The bust darts plus the long french(?) darts combined to kind of make plaid-matching impossible, or at least not worth it for me. I came close, but then failed at matching the plaids at the center back zip, but, like I said, I'm not sweating it! I've noticed it's not terribly uncommon for inexpensive RTW garments to not bother with matching plaids and prints at seams, so for this quick project, I don't mind and don't expect to get any weird looks when parading around in my somewhat miss-matched plaid creation - or at least not due to my lack of matching stripes.

Is it even possible to match plaids on side seams of an A-line skirt??

Also of note for this project, I was finally able to install an invisible zipper with my regular zipper foot and not have it look totally bunchy, blatant/un-invisible, and gross! yay.

I promise I'll do an official fashion show with this dress and my Ginger(s) - I'm hoping to have a denim one in the works very soon - once I can get some photos of me actually wearing them.

Also, up next, I'm going to be picking one or two of these dress patterns from my stash to make so I can have a pretty new dress (or dresses!) to wear to the two back-to-back weddings I'll be attending this summer. What do you think? I've numbered them one through four, so feel free to vote on which one or two you think I should make!

As always, please excuse the crappy photo! Bonus points to anyone who recognizes the vintage McCall pattern. :)

Previews

Here's a little sneaky peek of what I've been up to.

I've made little bit of progress on my warmer weather wardrobe plans, which had branched out (unofficially) to include the 1960s McCall tops pattern I got at the estate sale I attended earlier this month. I'd thought any/all of the versions would pair well with the Ginger I've had on my to sew list forever.

McCall tops + Ginger

Well, I have yet to get to the tops but I did take a crack at the Ginger in a dark blue broadcloth. I had just enough of the fabric in my stash leftover from a UFO from my early sewing career. It was a nautical inspired, springy/summery dress of sorts...I might just have to dig it out of the UFO pile and try to save it (as if I have nothing else planned for my sewing time). Anyway, better pictures and a full post on my Ginger later, but for now...

v. 1 - pointed waistband

This fabric does NOT un-wrinkle fully....ever!

You know, I also mentioned that I've got a project in progress using a pattern and some fabric from the estate sale. It's still in progress, but here's a few glimpses of that, too.

Plaid!

McCall 9735 - guess which version I'm making!

Pattern pieces, with stripe matching attempted, almost all cut out

I'm not too obsessed with matching the plaids, though I did give it a shot - this is my first time working with plaid. I am planning to add a few little embellishments to this dress, so you'll have to stick around to see how it turns out.

I've also officially got some plans for dresses to make for the upcoming weddings I'll be attending this season, so more on that soon, too!

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!
Do some sewing for me - there's a good chance I'll be too busy with birthdays and a wine festival and boring things like laundry. Sigh.

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. :)

April Acquisitions - Part 1: Cloth

Alternate post title: The Opposite of Stash Busting.

This month, I went to my first successful estate sale. I've dragged Tom to a couple in the past, hoping to hit the jackpot, but always left with nothing to show for it.

I found this one on my beloved Craigslist and even emailed the people just to make sure the sewing stuff would be there and hadn't already sold (which does happen!). Once I was given the go-ahead on the sewing stuff (more like, "PLEASE come take this off of our hands."), there was no turning back.

"Maid of Honor" ice crusher

I managed to snatch up quite a few goodies.
While I was digging through the fabric and sewing things in a daze of happiness, Tom checked out the rest of the house and found this ice crusher. He's quite a fan of cocktails and has got a nice little liquor cabinet and bar set up at home, complete with vintage glass decanters and cocktail shakers. So, this baby fits right in.

But, back to the sewing-related finds.
I've divided this up into two posts. Part one focuses on cloth goods and Part two on paper.

Let's start off with trims. One of the things I'd really been hoping to find was a box of notions -- bias tape/trims and zippers, in particular. Well, I didn't find any zips, but I did manage to get my hands on this excellent box of bias tape, hem facing, seam binding, piping, trims, and lace. Yay! I've already used some of the light pink bias tape on my Simplicity 3266 blouse.

Trims galore!

Pink bias tape - I love the old labels

Up next, fabric! After inspecting everything sewing related in the house, one of the ladies in charge (I think the daughter of the elderly couple that had lived in the house) pointed me outside. In the backyard, along with other miscellaneous gardening odds and ends and some sets of dishes, I found three trash bags stuffed with a variety of fabrics. I managed to just pick one bag that looked good (instead of all three! - thank goodness Tom was there to reel me in) and ended up with this:

fabric grab-bag contents

Want some closeups? Ok, sure.

the whole pile

smooth and stretchy

regular knits - another coral, two stripes, and dark brown

poly/cotton woven blends atop a big piece of plaid flannel

more blends, lighter weight

The smooth and stretchy pile is rather dubious, and by that I mean synthetic and polyester-y, but who knows, I just might come up with something good to use them for. As for the regular knits, they feel more normal and less synthetic, so that's good...

Even though it was a grab-bag, I feel bad hating on any of this fabric. This is where I start to have some mixed feelings about estate sales like this, which kind of surfaced more when I went through the papers/books/magazines, and which I'll go into more in my Part 2 post.

From the huge pile, these fabrics were most intriguing to me:

brown, black, orange, white slightly textured and stiffer...barkcloth imitation?? I have no idea what this is or what it's best suited for...

lightweight cotton blend in light blue - begging to be made into a shirt

lightweight blend - original fabric store tag still attached!

I'm pretty sure I'm planning some casual warm weather tops for these two florals, and probably tops or a summery dress for the two florals & a plaid in the lighter weight blends category. Or I can dream, at least - we all know I'm a slow sewer and it'll likely be winter before I complete any of the projects I just mentioned. Oh well!

Any idea what I should do with the mystery brown textured stuff, or even what you think it might be?? I feel like I've seen vintage fabric like this before, but I obviously know nothing about it.

Maybe I could get a little crafty/home dec. and use the mystery brown stuff for a pillow or two on our new couch, once it finally arrives? (you may have noticed this baby pinned to my house board recently on Pinterest). It'll be a lime green color, not this aqua (even though it's lovely, too), so maybe brown would work for an accent pillow? We do have a lot of brown in our living room... 

New sofa!

Our green sofa fabric.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll share all of the papery goodies I found at the estate sale (magazines, books, pamphlets... PATTERNS!) and reflect a bit on this whole estate sale shopping thing.