NewVintageLady

So much unpacking still to do.

2012-01-31T00:24:00.000-08:00

Hello one and all.

I thank you for tolerating my hiatus this past week as I got on the ball and moved into my 20s apartment!

First off, did you all listen to the raido broadcast last Wednesday on Women's View Radio? I think it went very well and I was having a blast. The ladies seemed to be surprised that just that morning I had movers inside my new place just hours before I talked with them.

First cup of coffee in the new place.

The movers came to the old place at 7:30 that morning. I went over there after work on Tuesday and just packed and finished up all night. They came, and after an hour, the apartment went from this...

to this.

Then they got all my stuff to the new place. Total move time, three hours and some change. They were a stellar group and the move was so stress free.

After two days of sorting and unpacking.

From then on out it was time to unpack. This apartment has a great storage unit in the basement so I put some extra time that I rarely use like my printmaking and encaustic supplies. First things first, I had a sewing project to do, so I set up my machine.

From there it was laundry. I washed so much stuff and took a cab home from the Laundromat.

Then I went on and finished the kitchen.

Yes, the cutting board slot is fully functional and I used it!
This cutting board came with the apt.

As of today, the kitchen is all set up.

I mean, I unpacked the skillets, so that MUST mean I've moved in.

Pancakes for everyone!!

Okay, I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep.

Catalog Sunday

2012-01-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I have NRA embroidery scans from my Fredrick's catalog.

I'm on the air!

2012-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, everyone.

I'm just dropping a line to let you all know I'll be out for a couple of days as I finish up packing and get ready for the movers on Wed. I'm moving in the morning and that afternoon I'll be on the radio!

That's right, I'll be doing a live interview for Women's View Radio this Wednesday afternoon (4PM PST). I'll be talking about my vintage patterns, and general all around vintage stuff. The show will stream live online and on radio (check listings on the site).

Okay, I'm off to work on my radio voice!

Have a great day everyone!!

Catalog Sunday

2012-01-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

Since I'm moving, I thought 30s home furnishings would be a good post to have. Enjoy!!

These are from my mid-30s Montgomery Wards catalogs.

In Memoriam

2012-01-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Etta James

January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012

Some pictures of my new apartment.

2012-01-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday one and all.

So much going on with me. I'm sewing, I'm dancing, I'm working and I'm moving!

*whew*

If all goes right, I'll be living in my apartment by the weekend. The movers will not be here until the 25th, but I've scheduled all that matters (phone and internet and my sewing machines) over to the new place.

Last night I spent the time after work getting some things together and cleaning the new apt. Thing's were not really dirty, but I did my initiation cleaning anyway. I washed out the fridge, scrubbed the shower, put up the curtain, put up some new drapes, and started to put away some stuff in the new place. I'm excited. It's a great space and I feel I will find my own there.

Here are some images of my new digs.

My living room.

One of the 'nooks'. This one is in the hall on the 3rd floor.

My bathroom!!

Kitchen cabinet fixtures.

The kitchen.

Living room chandelier.

That's it thus far. I'll have more pictures once I get things set up.

Have a great day everyone!!

Blackout

2012-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/

What I'm cramming in in-between packing boxes.

2012-01-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday one and all!

I hope your week is going well. Actually, I hope you all recovered from last week by having a restful weekend. Me? Well, I'm glad you asked. MY weekend was just as packed (ha, that's a pun) as my weeks have been.

On Saturday evening, after a day of determination to go from this,

to this!

I went to a dance venue, second Saturday swing, hosted by my dance instructor. It's a great practice venue where you can dance with many different types of dancers to live music for a swell price.

Here was a highlight where one of the cool dancers did a tap number.

Sunday was Cicada again (I don't think I ever get tired of that place for too long) and it was the 6th anniversary of the Cicada Club. It was 20s themed so I wore my very late 20s early 30s number and got tons of compliments.

I had a couple of lovely, lovely friends treat me to a bleated birthday dinner. Drank too much wine and did a bit of dancing. Even got our photo taken by Paper Moon Vintage.

Even with all of that going on, I have managed to squeeze in a sewing project. Remember those jazz hands gloves I did? Well now I'm making some hoods! This was given to me the other day.

He's light weight, but a bit creepy.

This was what was desired.

Well, I didn't have a pattern, so I had to draft one.

I cut it out and darted it, and double layered, this is what I go done last night.

I'm going to sew int all up tomorrow and presto, instant hood.

I've pressed open all the seams and when I sandwiched the two pieces together I'll have it complete.

*whew*

All that got done before my dance class last night. Man, I work hard and play hard!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

LACMA Mid Century Design Exhibit pt 3

2012-01-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

The last installment of this amazing exhibition. Really, these photos are just a fraction o f the goodies that show has. You have until June, go see it!

I love Saul Bass, so seeing this set up was quite delightful.

I had never seen an Oscar up close. A vintage one at that!

I'll take two, please.

The following are some nice shots of the exhibition layout.

I LOVE American WWII propaganda posters.

Fin.

Catalog Sunday

2012-01-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I have the last installment of my
black women's wig book from the early 1910s.

LACMA Mid Century Design Exhibit pt 2

2012-01-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

More from the amazing exhibit. I think this is going to be split up into three parts.

A 1950's room divider, how cool is that!

I love 30s typography.

The white gravel is soooo 60s.

This was one of the coolest to see to me. Why?
Because you see all the knock offs everywhere for decades and
to see the original is very nice and epic to view.

The jewelry was all contained in domes so you could get real close to it.
It was a very great way to display intricate small things.

Yeah, those are awesome!!

More on Monday!

LACMA Mid Century Design Exhibit pt 1

2012-01-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

This evening I traveled to LACMA for the California Mid Century Exhibit.

It was a Thursday and the museum was open late. We met up at 6:30 and I was surprised that if you were an LA resident, you got in free!

You walk into a large breath of space where it has been transformed into a kitcky 50s tasting space itself. It's wavy gravy, man.

Yes, that is an airstream in the distance :)

I want this desk. Its left sided and awesome.

Yeah, let the awesomeness of these sink in.

For Peter :)

The green skirt/BAITINGSUIT is a waxed cotton.

I am going to make this outfit. Seriously.

There is much more, let me tell you. The exhibit is wonderfully curated and you are able to get close to the work and just admire. It's a very well done show and such a treat. If you are in the area, you should drop by. WhatI took photos of is only a fraction of the exhibit. It will be there until June.

I'll post more tomorrow!

The future of NewVintageLady

2012-01-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

A new beginning always involves packing.

Hello Moving boxes.

I'm finally starting to pack. I get my keys to the new place on the 16th, I've arranged movers for the 25th, and I've gotten two large boxes together for donation so far.

Two and counting.

As I was purging things (my goal is 1/3 of my stuff) I was unearthing some of my earlier projects that I made about 5 years ago when I lived in San Francisco.

I wore this once when I worked at Stitch Lounge.

I wore this 50s inspired number to my first Queen Mary event.
Those buttons are vintage. They are coming with Mama.

I really like this one. The fabric is cool. I'm gonna keep it. :)

I've begun to donate pants, blouses, shoes and the like. Of course, I'm taking some of my vintage notions back. Most of these garments are too large now, and I've gotten way, way better at fitting, so they are not worth taking them apart to salvage fabric (sans that houndstooth wool). I don't mind giving these up, as I think they are totally wearable. I even donated one of my early 60s capes I made. I never wear it and the fabric is stretch. I don't do stretch.

I remember this modern kitchy number. Its got really high armholes and its in the waist now, but the boobs are still a bit too tight so I think Ill add gussets to the underarms and start wearing it again.

Stuff I'm keeping boxes.

With the moving, I'm thinking about so many things all together.

One being the future of NewVintageLady.

Okay, don't worry. I'm not quitting, or even slowing down! No, that's not what I mean. I'm pondering if I want to take NVL to another level. I own the domain, and it costs me nothing to make a store.newvintagelady or a blog.newvintagelady, you know?

This is also going to be my third year of NVL!

The reason I'm pondering the change is my etsy sales have nosedived. I use the money I make from that venture for all the fabric and fun I post about here. So it's like it keeps this place going, which I love and admire (thanks loyal shoppers). Yet, Etsy has changed their search functionality, and it's killing me. NOW I'm paying for ads and they are not helping much to draw in new people. So not only have my sales decreased by 45%-60%, but I am now paying twice as much to advertise for less!

Making my own online store gives me certain advantages: Less back end costs, independence, and more control. There are also disadvantages: less support, less traffic, and Etsy has a great Google presence.

My question to you lovely people is, would you follow me if I made my own online store?

I was chatting with Lauren from the cool venture Wearing History and she did this last year for a lot of the same reasons. I guess I'm a late bloomer, but now I understand.

So much going on, so much to think about. I guess what I would like to hear is some feedback on this. As my clients, I'm curious what you think if I did decide to go this more independent route. Would you support it? Shop with me? Still follow a new blog?

These decisions are weeks, if not months down the road, so fear not sudden change! Just let me know what you all think.

Okay, have a super day!

Spoils of the Fabric District

2012-01-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone.

I have had a super busy weekend, and another busy week. It's been planned since the weekend: Monday, dancing. Tuesday, laundry. Wednesday, dancing. Thursday LACMA (museum of art). Friday, packing. Saturday, packing and dancing. Even Sunday is full. Whew!

Oh, I don't know if I posted this, but here is a photo of my new apartment building.

Okay, back to the fabric.

This past weekend when I went out fabric shopping with my friends, I got tons of fabric, all averaging about $7 a yard.

A wool crepe that was 'damaged' because the nap of the
fabric was speckled. Got it for a song.

The botton is a black rayon crepe, and that wool
(which is a dark purple gray).
The rayon just needs to be washed.

A turquoise corduroy and a cute flower broadcloth.

A great light repro broadcloth I got for $1 a yard.

These three are all linen.
I think the olive one has a great 30s vibe.
The middle one will make a great skirt and the
palm trees are totally gonna be a dress for spring/summer.

That's it. I made a good haul. I'm pretty happy about it, even though I spent a good chunk, but hey, it's still cheaper than buying clothes.

Okay, back to packing!!

Catalog Sunday

2012-01-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I have a new acquisition. Pictorial Printed Patterns, August 1933.

A lovely day.

2012-01-07T17:33:00.000-08:00

Some of my vintage friends that are visiting from Australia were up to going down to the fabric district in LA today. We first stopped off to the famous B Black and Sons known for their extensive inventory of suiting fabric. A lot of major films get their material from there.

We then walked to the fabric district and were shopping fends! I'll show my spoils later. On our way home, we somehow ended up in Pasadena and literally tripped over their city hall.

My new boyfriend :)

Weekly Etsy Update!!!

2012-01-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

Hope your week is going well. I'm getting ready for the move to my new apartment in a couple of weeks (I'll have more on that later) and as I'm weeding through my belongings, I've decided to let go of more of my clothing. I'm hoping to pay for the movers with some sales. We will see...

I'll be listing more of my dresses and other goodies soon.

Here are some things I've listed thus far.

Many of the things I'll be listing you have seen in progress on this blog :) A lot of these garments have fantastic hand touches and great vintage finishes. So take a look in my store for the low down.

Have a great day!

I blame myself.

2012-01-04T00:12:00.000-08:00

I'm fasting. That's it.

I'm fasting from buying myself vintage patterns and booklets for a while. Not that I don't see some that I want, trust me, I do, but more so than that, I'm tired of the outrageous pricing/gouging and the insane mis-categorizing I see all over the web!

NO! A 30s-40s pattern isn't from the 50s! Nor can a pattern span 3 decades and still be relevant! People listing 30s patterns as 20s, 40s patterns as 30s, 50s patterns as 40s and even 60s patterns as 50s! Last I checked, mini-skirts were not big in 1956. I've actually contacted a few sellers on eBay about that and most of them have changed it. If it flusters you as much as me, then please, let them know.

Its driving me crazy.

Remember when I posted about pattern booklets?

Remember when I said that they were the next big thing? I shit you not, a week after that post a slew of booklets were all over the web at $12, $15, and $20+ each! I'm not a trend setter, nor do I believe people actually listen to what I say, but that was a shocker. I'm sorry to all you collectors out there, and I take full blame for it. That post has even bitten my collecting in the ass.

I'm just tired of overpaying. So, I won't be for a while. No protest of any kind, I'm just going through my stuff as I'm packing and I'm quite content with my collection as it stands. I need to revel in that. I need to know I can't get everything all the time. Not that I think I can, but I'm just tired of thinking that *this* one is the only one I'll ever see, ever, when it's never been the case, ever.

I could go off on a tangent and bitch about people listing patterns on eBay for $70 when they are barely worth $15. I *could* talk about how lazy people are in listing patterns that they never even checked for pieces but want $100 for an 'old' pattern. I *could* say that if you don't know the era, then SAY SO and save us real collectors a lot of heart ache sifting through your intentional mis-listings in order to get more traffic to a pattern no one wants...

I could say that, but I won't.

I have five full boxes of goodies and I will happily be sharing those via catalog Sundays and the like, so don't think this 'fast' will affect this blog! I got y'all covered. I'm just deciding if this is what I want to spend on right now even thought I have the income to do so. I'll peep out some of my secret places and stay away from eBay for a while. It's, making me angry. So many things are popping up. It just seems that vintage is getting more plentiful, but the prices are getting higher.

What's up with that?

The Plain Pattern Project recap

2012-01-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

With the benchmark of a new year I feel a bit ashamed at asking, what happened!?

The Plain Pattern Project kind of teetered off the far end for mostly everyone. I get it, we all get busy, but I tried my darndest to keep it going and finished my three dresses. Did anyone finish?

Perhaps I was not the best hostess for the project. I did try to encourage as much as I could. Even hosted two giveaways? Is there anything else I could have done, or was I just a victim to the tide of people with busy lives? I think the ladder.

Well, it's water under there bridge.
With the positive view of the philosophy of the PPP, I think it can be an ongoing sewing tenant. Take a look at those plain patterns every once and a while. Appreciate them and study the craftsmanship of them. I can't tell you how much I learned from this exercise.

I made my three dress for the PPP and although I used the same pattern,

each dress was a challenge all its own.

Dress 1: A dress as close to the original pattern.

I made this first one out of linen and I didn't alter the sleeves.

Its a good fit, but I wish I had raised the neckline a bit more.

Which is what I did on the second dress.

Dress 2: Vintage Seersucker

This version of the dress I made from some vintage fabric I had in my stash.

I had to do some piecing, but it turned out great.

Dress 3: My Halloween Dress.

This one made up real quick and easy.

I used my Catlin buttons and even did bound buttonholes. Turned out great.

I learned a lot from this project and plan to do more PPP garments in the future.

Did anyone else complete their PPP?

Anyone else plan on doing the PPP again?

December Pattern Showcase!!

2012-01-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Hope your celebrations were grand and
you are expecting some great new things for 2012.

I for one have some great things happening this year.
I'm moving! I got a great super large one bedroom that I will be
moving into in a couple of weeks. I'll post more pictures on that soon.

As far as patterns, I've been so decadent in my collecting this past month.

It was Christmas after all.

I posted some patterns here, but here are some more from my monthly hoard.

'Sew-Knit' patterns are hard to find, but alas,
this one does not have the knitting instructions.

I like this one, but I may offer it up as a give-away.

I got this one to add to my blackface collection.

Picked up this great 75 page pattern catalog.
Oh, I paid a pretty penny.

This mag was put out by Singer and has all the major pattern companies in it.
I've never seen that before!

I still haven't sewn too much this past month but as soon as I move I hope to remedy that.

So excited and so much coming so stay tuned!

Have a great day!!

Happy New Year Catalog Sunday!!!

2012-01-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

I thought turn of the decade coats from Chicago Mail Order

would be a grand way to end a crappy year and begin a fresh one.

Enjoy!!

Some of my Christmas goodies.

2011-12-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

I was such a bad girl this Christmas.

I generally don't buy a lot of things because I don't feel the need to splurge just because of the 'tis the season' mantra going on around. I *do* however love to shop. At the mall? No. I'm not insane. I hate the mall during regular times! Why is it people always stroll in the mall and block the flow of traffic. They just slow down to the point of a crawl with their strollers and seventeen children. But I digress..

I decided to splurge on some things that I wanted just because.

I generally don't get gifts. I do an illustrated Holiday card and send it out to all my family and friends. This year I didn't get a chance to do that, so I'm gift-less to other folks. Perhaps I'll send a 'just because' card later in the year. So it's understandable that I didn't get and goodies. I did get the classic $10 in a card from Granny. I love my Granny.

I'm not an easy person to buy gifts for. I admit that. I tend to request just money. I hate gift cards too. I don't like be limited to a place of purchase. Cramps my style. But I did get a practical much needed present from a friend...this mirror!

I've needed a full length mirror for a long time and this one was great. We went down to Target on Christmas eve, and battled the people to get the practical. Thanks Cat!! :D

I also splurged, and I do mean splurged on some patterns.

I will never get tired of du Barry patterns. I love this one.

This was an etsy find. A large size vintage glove pattern. Yay!

Last but not least, I think this might be my new most expensive pattern. **EEEP** I'll have to do the caculations. These are just the tip of the iceberg on the goodies I got for myself (pattern wise). I'll post more in the showcase next month (year, ha!!).

Did you all get some goodies?

Do share!

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

2011-12-27T00:20:00.000-08:00

Now is the time where people start to reflect on the past year. You see all those retrospectives on tv, and all the crap 'these people died' montages online.

I guess I'm one of those who reflect as well. I think on all that happened this tail end of 2011 and my head reels. Finding a job, preparing to move, dancing and having fun. Getting a dog. So much stuff, good and bad has happened to me, and I guess now is the time I purge myself of what is not working and fix what I can.

With that said, I should let you all know that I'm going to surrender Taylor. I've had him for over a month now, and even when I had him the first week, I felt this was not a good fit. I tried because I don't like to give up, but I do acknowledge when something is not working. He's a different dog from my lifestyle and I'm a different owner from what he needs. He's a great dog, but he keeps 'toying' with the cat, and the cat comes first.

I can't figure out what he needs and I want him to have a happy life. He's not getting that with me. I know he will be adopted quickly. He's a great animal, so I'm not worried about his future.

Looking back on it, I think I rushed my choice. I really just wanted Georgia back. I still miss her. More so than having any dog. I guess I was not ready yet.

I also decided to purge myself of some toxic people in my life. You all remember that. It's been very cleansing, and still I have work to do on it. I guess I'm in a 'burn your bridges' state of mind. I'm sick of people dicking me over, it's my turn to cut them loose.

From there I look at this tough year and I see what I want to work on, what I want to do, and what I feel will fulfill me

Get better at dancing. I'm loving dancing, and I feel I can become a student of it, so I want to put more hours into it as often as I can.

Move from my apartment. This is in the works. I just need to find a place that suits me, and not settle for whatever I can get because I think that might be my only option. I have a habit of doing that in a lot of aspects in my life.

Flush out my animation reel. I've been making animation connections as best I can, and even though I have this illustration job, animation is my first love.

Put together a children's book portfolio. I've met quite a few people in the children's book illustration field over the last few weeks and I want to use that. I'm going to get back to my BFA and put together a new and more polished body of children's book work.

Complete one of the novels I've been working on. Okay, I'm not a big writer really, but I do love a story. I've been working on and off of a fantasy story since I was sixteen. I want to finally finish it. If anyone would like to read it, I'll provide details later. I could use the feedback

Get a car/license. I don't drive. I really have no desire to drive, but I should learn and get a moto.

That is my personal list of self improvement.

It's a lot to do, but I got so much done on last year's

list that I feel I can get this one done too.

Anyone else have a list of resolutions?

TDPS!!!

2011-12-25T23:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas Catalog Sunday!

2011-12-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Chicago Mail Order mid 30s

National Bella Hess - Mid 30s

Weekly Etsy Update!!

2011-12-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday before Christmas! Just wanted to tell you all about some of the new patterns I have listed in my store.

I have some 1940s great mail orders listed and more clothes to come soon!

Sewing for other people: The Mandarin Collar Dress

2011-12-21T00:52:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a splendid holiday week.

Mine is going well. Dance class, cleaning, the dog and friends.

My Christmas plans are looking to be me grabbing a lot of junk food and just watching crappy movies. Ah, one of my favorite past times.

I don't know what has been in the water, but I have been bombarded with sewing projects! I'm making six pairs of gloves, taking a part a pair of men's pants and making a pattern from them (more on that later), and with now I'm making a dress for one of my dancing friends.

She likes the Chinese dress look from the 60s, but danceable, so shorter lenght and higher sleeves.

We went shopping for fabric in the LA Fabric district, and she picked out a lovely deep turquoise fabric with a bit of stretch. She's a petite gal, about 100lbs, so I can see why the stretch. It will make the dress formfitting as well as danceable.

As for the pattern, I just pieced one that would give a good 'feel' for that style of dress. She wasn't too into historical accuracy, and I can understand, but more the flavor of the look.

This was my first time working with a BURDA pattern and I can say that it's been pretty uneventful. Not to say that it's been bad, other than the fact that the pattern itself it too big. It starts at a size 10, which is about a 36 bust, as I thought. Well, the lady at the store assured me that a size 10 was for a 32 bust. Um, no. After reading the documentation, I knew I was right. Factor in ease, and the fact my friend is a 32 bust, and I have a mountain of trouble.

Good thing I took tons of measurements.

I altered the pattern accordingly, and cut out the mockup in a striped fabric.

Here is my friend trying it on. She likes it. I have a few odds and ends to fix, but I consider this fitting a wild success.

She needs it by the 26th, so I'll be sewing in addition to

my junk food eating and crappy movie watching.

Also this weekend I cut out six pair of gloves! SIX PAIR!!!

The original pair I made were good, but they wanted thumb holes. I was REALLY trying to avoid those thumb holes. Ah well. Three pair down, three to sew.

I also designed a party poster this weekend! Man, was I just busy all around.

I love all of this work, but I can't wait to sew on my own projects again.

What have you all been working on?

Catalog Sunday

2011-12-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I have blouses from my Butterick Fashion Book, winter 1934.

Birthday Dance!

2011-12-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun the other evening! That was one of the first times I've ever thrown myself a get together and I was so warmed by how many people came out to help me celebate by birthday. I had so many drinks in the waits for me! It was fantastic!

I won the game and not because it was my birthday!

Steve, one of my dance instructors.

Me being silly.

My buddy Casaundra and me.

I had so much fun. Tonight is my LindyGroove birthday party,

and I'll have more photos on that by the weekend!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Etsy Updates Yay!!

2011-12-13T00:56:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I just wanted to drop a line that I have a whole slew of new separates in my etsy store. Most are from the 40's and I will be listing some plus size patterns shortly.

Also, as I prepare to move, I'm thinning out my wardrobe and letting so of a lot of separates as well. I'll be listing those through the week so take a look.

Alrighty, have a great day, and today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!

Sewing for Others this weekend.

2011-12-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone.

Taylor and I are doing fine and as we get to know each other, and he gets over his cold, I think things are only gonna get better.

Oh has time gotten away from me. I wanted to make myself a birthday dress for Tuesday, but I ran out of time. I also wanted to make a new Christmas card, you know, the gingerbread me, but I don't have enough time so I'll have to make it a New Years card.

As for other creative ventures, its been crazy. For some wonderful reason, I've been bombarded with a slew of mending and repairs. I even have a dress commission! Real excited about that one. Hey, I'm not complaining. I love being as busy as I am. Only, I do miss sewing for myself, especially when sewing on weekends is the only option open to me right now.

The things I have been working on have been varied and interesting. I just made three pair of drawstring pants for a costumer, and now I'm making six pairs of gloves.

Oh, I HATE making gloves, but I was told these are for a mannequin, so they don't need to be too involved. Good. I think I would have passed on the project if they wanted 'real' gloves.

Yeah, those types of gloves.

As I was looking in my modern patterns box, I saw all my potential steampunk patterns

Soon, my lovelies...

I got measurements for the fake hands and found that they were not much larger than my own hands, so I open palmed thanksgiving turkeyed it.

I added some seam allowance, and sewed the gloves with a very shortened stitch.

I zig-zaged the wrist edge and presto, gloves.

**Jazz Hands**

Once that tester pair of gloves was complete, I had two petticoats to mend. They belong to one of my dancing pans, but the elastic waistbands have given out.

I had some firmer elastic and decided to use that instead of the undies elastic I have.

I thing this will last longer. I basted a gather and sewed the approximate 26" waist (I know) in. Presto. I'm sewing one now to see if this is a good fit, and if so, Ill go on and sew the other.

It's a great feeling to know that your friends love to use you for sewing. I have more projects around the corner, but I'm dedicating this week to dancing. I have a feeling that it's gonna be a blast!

What are your plans for the week?

Catalog Sunday

2011-12-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

Man, you gotta love those mail order pattern envelopes from the 1940s.

Busy Busy Busy

2011-12-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

It's been a hectic week for Taylor and I. Getting to know one another, work and sewing projects have just snowballed. I'm sorry for the lack of updates this week but I do have some news.

I might be moving soon and the timing could not be better. In dog proofing my current apartment, I noticed the boxes just getting taller and taller. I have a lot of stuff, mostly sewing stuff, and I feel it needs its own room.

I also want to purge about 1/3 of my stuff when I move.

It's going to be a lot of tough love, but I think I can do it.

One thing I'm going to do is clear out my closet. I've lost some weight and skirts that used to be tight are not 2" loose in the waist. Rather than tailor them, I decided to sell them.

One going up soon is this number.

Its a great wool felt and ready to be worn. I'll be posting it this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, I am planning to make a dress for next week, which is my birthday.

My other shipment of fabric came!

The fabric that is mine is great and just needs a washing. Other than that, I might do one last PPP dress since its already sized and everything.

Speaking of PPP, did anyone finish? I know the deadline still has w few weeks, but I'm curious. I mean, that's a lot of time to make 3 garments. I hope *someone* finished the challenge. I'll be talking more on that next week.

Busy, busy busy! Okay, one last doggie walk then off to be.

I'll wash my hair later :)

Have a great Friday all!

Meet Taylor

2011-12-05T06:40:00.001-08:00

Welp, he is finally here. I was so excited on Friday evening. I had prepared to leave an hour early from work in order to get to the vet at a reasonable hour. You see, he was being neutered, and I asked them to kennel him until Friday so I could have the entire weekend with him uninterupted.

I get there by bus on Friday evening. What was I thinking, it was bumper to bumper. I walk into the vet, and he looks at me all strange. "I'm here to pick up my dog," I say.

"I don't have any dogs right now."

"What? He's being neutered and kenneled here." The Vet shakes his head. I tell him he was the vet from the shelter I used. So he let me call them. The shelter was still in blackout from the wind storm a few days ago, and they didn't have their computers up.

"Where is my animal," I ask rather pissed. It was 5:20PM and I know most of these places closed early.

"Did you get the name from the person who called you?" There was a vet tech who told me that they would shelter my dog and stuff. The thing is, all the documentation that I was given was to the vet I was standing in from of! And this person at the shelter wanted to make this my fault!

I promptly said, "I'm at the vet that all the paperwork said to be at and he is not here. Where is he!?" They continued to look based in the dogs shelter number. Apparently they use more than one vet and he was at a vet two towns over (Pasadena) and they were in blackout too!

I called the vet at 5:40pm but no one answered. I think I called like 6 times flustered that no one responded. All I could do was go home.

The next morning at 7:30, I get a call from the vet saying they had him, he was fine, and they would be open until 10am because of the blackout. This vet was so nice and if they were closer, I'd totally go there all the time! I hopped on the train, called a cab to shlep us home, and the rest is history.

*Whew*

Taylor is a good dog, though he has some separation anxiety that we are working on. So far, when I would go into the bathroom, he'd weak out. Now, one day later, he slightly whining in my 45 min bathroom stays. I also left the house for a couple of hours and despite a few minutes of barking, he did alright.

He also has some mild kennel cough and his nose is all stuffed. Poor thing. I see him wanting to go to sleep but as soon as he does, he has a coughing fit.

His head will droop in like ten seconds then pop back up again. Poor pubby.

Turns out he's also potty trained. He has big pee pees (or as I call them, tinkle pots) in the morning. This skinny dog has a bladder like a gallon jug!

My cat is indifferent to him. But my cat is an ass, so what else is new.

Today will be his largest test. I'll see how destroyed (or non destroyed) the apartment s when I get home. He's got chew toys, fresh water and food, and after our bike ride/walk/run this morning, he should be sleepy all day.

Let's hope so.

Okay everyone, have a great Monday!

Catalog Sunday

2011-12-04T09:29:00.001-08:00

This Sunday I have work wear and play frocks from Sears 1942.

My guest arrives today.

2011-12-02T06:36:00.001-08:00

I've been preparing all week! I'm so excited!!

I hope to have a name by weekend's end. Yay!!!

November Pattern Showcase!!

2011-12-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone! I hope your last month of the year is going good.

Patterns for this past November have been very precice.

This 20s undies set I grabbed on a whim. I'm not sure I'm going to make it, but the droopy flapper style drawers are very classic and very sought after!

I thought this dress was kinda sweet. I wonder if I can make it work for me.

This last pattern I was surprised I was able to grab. It's a hat from the mid/late ish 40s.

It's been cut out, but the pieces are all there.

I even added a few pattern booklets to my late 30s McCall collection. As you can see, I have two April 1937s. Each one is different so I don't think I'll part with either of them. Selfish I know, but I'm a collector. Come on you all, you know how it is.

Again this past month I gorged on fabric. Since my favorite fabric store closed in the LA Fabric district, I've decided to try online fabric buying. Thus far, it's been a pretty good experience and no more expensive than going to the district. Actually, I save more time, and now that time is money in my life, (yay) I need to plan accordingly.

These were all under $6 a yard. Some are silk and wool. From the fabric sale, I tried to get some of the most classic looking prints I could find.

Don't worry, you all will see some garments from these soon.

If you all are wondering, no, I have not forgotten about my ventures into corset making. I just don't have much time to devote to such an indebted project. I have tons of mending for others and some side sewing projects (for money!!), not to mention I plan on taking my machine in for service in the next couple of weeks. *Whew* So much sewing stuff so close together.

That's about all from my end. I'm just taking the time to prepare for the weekend when I get my dog. I've been dog proofing; getting things off the floor, putting cables away, sweeping and just general organization. I went to Staples and bought some large filing boxes. I've used 6 already. It's amazing how stuff grows and grows. I almost feel as if I'm starting to pack already.

Things just keep getting higher and higher on shelves. I see what I want to purge, and I just have to bag it and take it to Goodwill. Lots of tiny trips. It's like I'm in college all over again!

This new month I feel is going to bring me a lot of exciting things. For the good I hope. One reason is this is my birthday month. I've already booked my birthday celebration at LindyGroove! If any of you are in the area on December 15th, which is the day of the party, AND the LindyGroove Christmas bash, you should come!

Okay, I'm trailing off. That's it so far. I'll chat you you lovely people later!

My end of the year update.

2011-11-28T06:33:00.001-08:00

The year is almost up. Just about six weeks to see if the list I made at the start of the year is still on track for me. Actually, I can happily say that these past few weeks have skyrocketed my list near completion!

These past couple of years have been monstrously tough. No full time work, an apartment that I hate, no money, or real social life. It's amazing how happy one can be when you finally get your foot in the door.

I don't know how it all happened for me, or what tips I can provide, but I guess perseverance and a shit load of luck are some of the most important things that no one ever really admits to saying is what got them going in the first place. Talent, sure, but I know tons of talented people with no opportunity, and lots more less talented people with great opportunity. I've always thought its a combo of both.

~~Get a JOB!~~ *Done! Not only that, but it's in my field! I'm working as an illustrator/animator for a start up doing online training courses. It's way more fun than it sounds. They LOVE my work, give me a lot of creative control, and value my input. What more can a gal ask for!?
~~Finish one of my children's stories.~~ *I did do this. At least I did finish one of my animations, Ninja Sheep. I'm very proud of the work I did on that project, but it's sunk into the aether. Not a lot of traffic, which I hoped would lead to my number one goal, but no.*
Storyboard two stories I have. *Still working on this one., but since I have a full time job drawing, it's been a bit of a back burner issue for me.
~~Learn to swing dance.~~ *It's been about nine months and I'm loving the dancing. I learn something new every time I practice and my teacher thinks I'm one of the best people in his classes. Yay!!*
Learn After Effects. (learning) *I've started with this, but have been standoffish about it. I need a chunk of time to really knock this out, but now because of the job, there never seems to be enough time in the day. *
~~Move from my current apartment.~~ *This is the one thing that I thought I would not be able to do. It's amazing how having a job can make the world open up for you! I am happy to say that I am on track to moving hopefully by the end of the year!! I'm looking for a two bedroom because I want a home office.

It's amazing to me. The constant nagging in my brain to count every penny when I had no money for wiggle room. It was exhausting. Everything I made via etsy pretty much ended up back in the store because that is what was keeping me going for a while. I wasn't able to go many places or do many things, and how I feel like I have a shot at more and it's great.

With this shot, I decided to add more amazing complexity to my life.

Meet my new doggie. I'm not sure what he is, but I'm glad to have him. He will need a lot of work, mostly in training. He's not potty trained or leash trained but he's smart and can concentrate which is a very good thing.

I'm going to have him kenneled until this weekend because I want a good chunk of time with him to get him acclimated to his new home.

I get to go for walkies and bike rides and park visits and pet stores again. Yay! I'll have more information on him (and a name soon).

Happy Monday everyone!!

Catalog Sunday

2011-11-27T12:50:00.001-08:00

This Sunday I have part two of the 18th century black woman's wig catalog. Enjoy!!

I got pretties!!

2011-11-25T00:52:00.000-08:00

Good happy Friday everyone. Whew. I know it seems redundant, but I am still recovering from the last couple of weekends. From work to dance class to extra sewing projects to cooking (made pesto for the first time) to build up of a lot of stuff, to cleaning...geeze. It just kept going and going.

BUT NOW!!!! I feel things have slowed down a bit and

I can get back on track to my normal creative schedule. Yay!

First things first. I bought myself some pretties.

Thread!!!

I wanted to get a decent spectrum of thread for my serger and

I decided to invest in some spools.

I love stocking up.

I also finally found a nice sweetheart piece. A V for Victory plastic brooch. It came in the mail a few days ago and I was really happy until I saw it had a crack. The crack is on the large white back, right above the right side of the top red stripe. It's about 3/4" wide, but I'm not sure if I want to return it. The crack is a hairline, and I didn't pay as much for this as I planned, I don't believe the stability of the plastic is threatened unless I intentionally broke the back and I really like it even thought the listing didn't show it (it's obvious that it was there before hand). Oh, here I go, over thinking.

I also decided to get something that had been in my etsy favorites for a long time.

A pair of scatter pins that are Tom and Jerry, the classic cartoons.

I have them on my tailored jacket as I type this :)

Also, the fabric I ordered came. I didn't know how good it was going to be, but I am over the moon about the navy cotton velvet. Cotton velvet is SO HARD TO FIND!! It's so lush and has a great drape! A plus was the cotton to it's left, the brown cotton I bought, is a border print! Squeee!!! That print is going on the hem of a skirt!!

One cool thing about being in the vintage scene here and sewing is that people often give you sewing stuff. It's true! One of my buddies gave me all these remnants of really nice 60s wool that belonged to her grandmother.

The navy print is linen and that's new but still swell. Im excited about that orange fabric. It's flecked with some cool colors and will make a great 30's styled something one day. Oh! A beret!!!

Okay, okay. Let me collect myself.

Oh yeah, I dyed some more sweaters.

These were my original 5 cotton dyed sweaters.

I tell ya, Lands' End and their $16 sweaters will be the end of me!

As you all recall, I bought some Lands' End sweaters a few weeks ago. Before the mass purchase I had about three sweaters in my wardrobe and I only wore one of them. Now, (thanks Lands' End), I have 10, no, twelve. About that, yeah.

The new ones I aquired are an XL in the misses size. The 2X in the plus size I bought previously were too large so I'm going to take them in. I want the fit to be like a blouse but with a bit more ease so I can almost wear it as a shirt if its cold enough.

I'm starting to think I get them just so I can dye them.

The ones I bought this time to dye were a wool/nylon blend. I'd had much success with the iDye from Jacquard, so I went on and bought their acid dye for the wool. They recommend using both their dyes on blends which is what I did. I also added 1/2 cut of salt and 1/3 cup of white vinegar because with their acid dyes you don't need a special ash or fix.

Well, the dying turned out fantastic!

This one was called steel gray and I LOVE the color.

I now have two ecru colored sweaters. I thought this one would be lighter because I used half the dye. It turned out as dark as the ecru cotton one from above.

I can't wait to select buttons.

Okay, okay, so I've splurged on some things. I will use them! I'm also waiting for some more fabric to come. I KNOW!!!! But after that I'm done for a while. I haven't found any patterns that have interested me so I'm gravitating toward fabrics.

I think I'm going to make some hats to go with my sweaters.

I hope everyone had a rocking Thanksgiving. I played it cool. Cleaned the home, washed my hair, watched a movie and did 6 loads of laundry. I still have three more to do. Then a birthday party this weekend. I'm so on the go!

Speaking of which, I should go to bed. I have to work on Black Friday.

Have great day everyone!!

Eugene's last stand.

2011-11-22T06:32:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Eugene's last night out and about. He's going to retire to a lovely place in the woods. But before he does, he wanted to do one last might. Our team, Passport to Dance went out with one last hurah and pranced Eugene all over the floor in a celebratory dance.

The crowd was a bit, surprised, but we had a conga line and a lot of fun.

It was fun, and I danced to some fun and fast music. Our team leaders handed out small thank you presents and cards, and I got some cash for freelance sewing AND might do a wedding dress! Whew. I just won't stop, will I? Okay gotta get ready for work. Have a super Tuesday!!

Catalog Sunday

2011-11-20T09:30:00.001-08:00

Today I have hats from Sears fall/winter, 1941.

I'm back with a Dance-A-Thon recap!!

2011-11-19T10:46:00.001-08:00

Helloooooo everyone!
Wow, this past weekend and the past week have been busy. From the start of 'resting' on Monday from the Danceathon I had two sewing projects, plus I decided to take on some OT at work. How could I pass that up!? I got so busy I missed a dance class. I'm pretty bummed about that.

But now that I'm at a regular pace, I gotta tell you all about the Danceathon!

It was so much fun as I'm sure you could see from the two videos I posted.

Here are some of the pictures I managed to snap in between dancing and sewing (heheheh).

Here I am the morning of. I spent the night at a friend's place, and we just went from there. I didn't even have time to wash my hair for the event, so I did it that morning and twisted it in the car!

Here is the venue. The dance took place in Irvine. It was really nice.

One carload, and most of this was my stuff!

Us setting up.

This was the first dance which started promptly at 12 Noon.

Me after a shower in the very nice gym showers.

All the live bands donated their time to play for us. Jonathan Stout and his Campus 5 even came and did a set (his wife was on one of the teams). One of our team members was even in a band and they did a set. They played Rockabilly with went over very well with the crowds.

Most of our team right after the band played.

Most of our team in front of our booth, Passport to Dance.

There was dancing and classes, dancing and classes. It was so much fun. I set up a station to sell tailoring services, and though I only got about two things to sew, I was busy with our t-shirt contest entry.

Every time this event goes on, there is an altered contest entry and a prize. Off the bat when the team leader asked me to join, she allowed me to choose what I wanted to do. She described some of the previous entries: a flapper costume, etc. I wanted to do a team costume. I mean, it is a team event. But, I didn't want to use a lot of outside things to make it. I wanted this to be in the rules, so to speak. So I decided on a Chinese New Year dragon...or something like it :)

This is Eugene.

He was made of about 20 shirts, most donated from the team and extras from last year, and his head is made of cardboard boxes and tape. That's it. The contest was at 6 am, and Eugene and one girl were the only entries. Eugene got a huge reception, but because the girl was the only one there, she 'won' because they had only one prize.

It was a shame, and my team leaders were pretty pissed, because they would have given to the prize to me, but I didn't care if I won or not. Seeing my team members in the costume put me in tears it was so great. So many of them helped me cut fabric, and hand sew and cut cardboard. It was a team effort! Still people, and even the organizer who announced the winner said no one had ever done anything like this before. That made me happy. I changed the game. Now group costumes will be expected. I mean, it is a group event. Why not group costumes!?

We even brought Eugene out later that morning and he lead a conga line!

Eugene on stage at the closing ceremony.

I had a blast at the event, and I am so glad I took Monday off to rest, even though I didn't really, HA! There are tons of images on the Facebook, and more videos on YouTube.
The even has raised $126K so far and you can still donate until the end of the year!
So what are you waiting for!!??

Thanks all and have a great Saturday!!!

Dance-A-Thon news coverage!!

2011-11-15T06:19:00.001-08:00

Check out 0:09 :)

Here is another one. I'll have a recap soon :)

Catalog Sunday

2011-11-13T19:49:00.001-08:00

Better Late than never :) These are from my 30s German Catalog, Bunte Mode.

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T06:59:00.001-08:00

Let's all take the time to say thank you to the Men and Women who have served so bravely in our armed forces.

Thank you all!

Last days to donate. Please donate!

2011-11-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I'm going to be MIA until next week,

so I'm making one last plea to donate to the Dance-A-Thon.

You can donate here. I will be posting images throughout the weekend,

so stay tuned here and you can see the coolness of the event.

Thanks everyone, and I'll see you soon!!

Catalog Sunday

2011-11-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I have an assortment of accessories from the era. Enjoy!!

Chicago Mail Order 41

Sears 1944

Wards 1933

National Bella Hess 1930s

Sears 1944

October Pattern Showcase!!

2011-11-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

Oops, September was last month! :D
One pattern. Seriously?

Yeah. I didn't find many patterns that I was interested in.

I did however decide to get some fabric!!

I bought some wool for a hat that I plan to dye. More on that later, tee hee.

I also decided to get some fabric online.

I got this great brown cotton that I'll make a dress with.

I've wanted some cotton velvet for a long time so I could make a floor length coat. This navy cotton velvet will be awesome.

This bright sassy rayon will make a fantastic dress.

So that's what I bought.

For the weekend, I'm going to clean and make some pants. My old pants are quite big, so it's time to make some new ones and take the pattern in.

So that's my start. Have a great weekend!

Some Halloween photos...and the winner is...

2011-11-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

Beer with a straw. Mmmmm.

I don't know why I'm looking so sour at Amy. She didn't do anything and she's our team leader.

Thanks to one of my team members Cassandra for taking these lovely pictures. More photos can be found here.

As for the giveaway, there was only one entry that was submitted during the allotted time.

Sew Vala!!

Congratulations. Just send me an email and I'll send out your pattern soon.

Have a great Friday everyone!!

Still recovering from Halloween weekend.

2011-11-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

Good morning, everyone. I'm writing this before I get to work just to let you all know I had a blast over the weekend.

Saturday I caught up on some sleep and decided to finally put together my last PPP dress. I was going to wear it for Halloween where we were having a bake sale for my Dance Team for the Dance-A-Thon later this month (still plenty of time to donate)!!

Sunday I went to see the Tim Burton exhibition at LACMA. It was cool and very crowded. Kinda discouraging, but I saw the sections I wanted to see.

Now onto finishing some stuff.

The linen I bought last week was a great black orange squared pattern, and although I thought I had some black linen for the sleeves, I didn't. I used a dark gray cotton twill and it worked great. More final pictures are to come.

As for my actual costume,

I didn't have time to make the one from the pink I bought earlier in the month, so I went to plan B.

I love that this started out as a cracker box :)

I didn't have any material to use for whiskers and my cat kinda needed his own.

This monday I went to Joe's Bar again where we set up a great spread and made some good cash for our fundraiser. I also found out that what we made will indeed be matched! Yay!!!

I made vegan chocolate chip cookies, and they sold pretty well!

MMMMMM!!! I'll have more pictures later. Hope you all have a great Thursday!!

Last Day of the Giveaway!!

2011-11-01T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Just a reminder, tonight at midnight is the last day of the PPP Giveaway!!

Catalog Sunday

2011-10-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

Lane Bryant fall/winter, 1929.

I love a bargain!!

2011-10-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd introduce a new series on my blog about my finds of new cool and discounted things that I feel will enhance my attempt to lead a vintag-y life :)

I say new because we can often find used deals at Goodwill or thrifting, but shopping new and finding good clearance is getting harder and harder to unearth. Especially when clearance is quickly becoming to go to place to shop. I mean really, who needs retail pricing, am I right!!

For fun, I occasionally roam around Bed Bath and Beyond to marvel over all their completely useless crap, wonder who would ever buy it, and how long it would be before the novelty of them actually buying it wore off. On this jaunt, I came a cross a clearance shelf in their baking section. I had just had a tough battle with a 'dough kneader', and decided not to invest in the $8 gadget.

I scanned the shelf and saw two Pyrex baking trays. I turned them over and discovered they were part of a set. This set. I would have never used the lids, as I was going to fill in my gap of needing two small glass trays for layer cakes and one more for the bread. The square one was $5 and the bread one was $4. SOLD. As I was collecting them, I saw a bowl sitting all by itself. I need a new cereal bowl, and this would save me a dreaded trip to Cost Plus to get another bowl to match the one I broke some weeks ago when it slipped out of my hands during washing.

All total pieces were $11. I was thrilled. I filled gaps in my baking arsenal, and I did it with a quality product. That's a bargain!!

My next bargin came just last night. I was stopping in the grocery to grab some much, much need catlitter for Brasco, when I decided first to stop up at the shoe place. I do love me a good pair of shoes.
I hate their skank ho heels and their boots all look so Beyond Thunderdome, so I tend to gravitate toward the sneakers. Well, as luck would have it, they were having a sale on Keds.

I had just looked a few days earlier for Keds on Zappos. They wanted $45 for their basic canvas kicks. Ouch, Zappos. These were priced at $40 and 50% off. What!? $20 Keds!? That's a bargain!

Out of the pairs they had that I thought were classic enough, I decided to get a black velvet pair and a plaid pair. These will be great kick around shoes, replacing a pair of old sneaks I should have retired a long time ago. Mmmm, bargains.

So that's it. Good shoes and good glass bake wear. I'm a simple girl.

Have a great day!!

My weekend of sewing.

2011-10-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I did a few things. I went to the LA fabric district to look for fabric on a few projects. I has been a while since I was able to treat myself to some nice fabric. I haven't found many patterns lately that I've been interested in, but I have been craving some fabric.

For one project in particular, I have a trade going on with a lovely etsy seller. She has a dress that I have my eye on, and in exchange, she wants a dress made from one of my repro patterns.

Done.

I adjusted the pattern, used some fabric from one of my previous jaunts to the district and made up a mock up. It's on it's way to her for a try on and if it fits fine, I have the fashion fabric already in the waits.

Now, back to the fabric.

since my favorite place closed, I went to my second favorite store which is a bit more pricy, but they have lots and lots of rolls of fabric. That was where I got this great linen for about $6 a yard (60" wide).

This is going to be my last PPP dress!

I'm hoping to get it done by Halloween because I'm going to a bake sale and helping raise money for the Dance-A-Thon.

I also got the fabric pieces for new repro, the Soldier Doll.

Very excited about these!! I'll keep you posted.

I also got some lace (cotton) for trim on more underthings. I'll work on those shortly.

Look at that pink! This is suppose to be my halloween costume, but I'm on the fence. I'm tired and the party I'm supposed to go to is this Saturday, and I am so overextended this weekend (yay) so I don't know if I'll have the time to make it! We will see.

My main focus is the PPP tress for the actual Halloween day/night. Okay, I'm tired and I have a big day at work tomorrow! Oh! Don't forget to donate!

Have a great Tuesday, all!

Catalog Sunday

2011-10-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I have scans from Sears fall winter 40-41.

Enjoy!

New Pattern Day, yay!!

2011-10-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday everyone!

I've just finished a new repro for you all. A sweet little soldier doll. He has working arms and legs, ears and separate clothing.

The pattern is in PDF and available now!

And also, all sales from my etsy sore now until Nov. 11th will have 10% donated to the 24 hour cancer dance-a-thon.

Have a great weekend!!

My peacocks need a new home.

2011-10-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

I've had this green sweater for a few years. It was a discount department store find, a few dollars, a nice dark color, and seemed to work with a lot in my wardrobe. This was when I was starting out in the vintage. I decided to pick up some appliques and deck the puppy out. It looked even better after that, but there was one problem after all these years of wear.

I've never washed it.

Okay, don't start getting grossed out. I was very careful with the sweater, but because of the applique, and I'd have to remove them, I didn't see the point. The sweater was an acrylic/cotton blend, and I just never felt it sticking around that long. Turns out it did.

But that was then, and this is now. I live in sweateville, population me! You all remember miss chartreuse? She's had some work done.

Turns out she likes to tan.

I finally got around to using my last bottle of RIT green, and this is the outcome. I like it. It's lighter than that original sweater, but its much nicer (for my skin tone at the least) than the original dye that this white sweater first got. Wow, this thing started off as white! Ha!

I still have to stitch over the button holes to hide the acrylic/polly thread, but thats minor. Once that is all out of the way, I'll add the appliques and be all set.

Whew!

I'm tired of talking about sweaters, as I'm sure you are tired of hearing about them.

Back to foundation garments!!

I finally have enough cash to start the shopping for corset supplies. I will keep you all updated on that this weekend. Also, I have to go and get fabric for my halloween costume. It's not as cool as last years, but I'm thinking it will be pretty rad.

Okay all, have a great Friday, and drink a nice cocktail if you can!

I'm Dancing to fight Cancer!

2011-10-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

I've decided to add some more activities to my plate. Aside from the sewing, and the job, and a few other small things, I'm going to kick my dancing into high gear.

I just signed up to participate in...!

It's a 24 hour dance that goes on the weekend of November 12th. There are going to be classes and dancing and bands and all sorts of things!

How it works is if you want to participate, you establish a team.

I'm on the Passport to Dance team. (I didn't do the drawing.)

As a member of this team, I have to raise $65 myself for the cause. I can do that through some of the activities we have planned for our team, (can anyone say vegan chocolate chip cookies?), asking people, or whatever I decided to do.

If you would like to donate, you can find out how here, and if you donate by selecting me, it will go toward my total. The donation is 100% tax deductible.

Also, starting today until Nov. 11th, I'm donating 10% of my etsy sales to the cause! So it's a win win, people!

Isn't this exciting!? I'll be sure to keep you posted on this event.

Have a great day!

Just Because

2011-10-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

"Don't worry," comforts your mother, "you'll thin down in a few years". But-who wants to waste precious Teen years just waiting for pounds to melt off? Much smarter and smoocher to wear Chubbette fashions, designed to minimize; sized to fit.

The Plain Pattern Project Giveaway!!

2011-10-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday one and all. I hope you all are recovering from The Walking Dead premiere (I'm a dork, I know!). Guess what, I have a giveaway for you!!

In honor of this sew along that I'm hosting, I think it's time for more motivation. I'm two for three in, so I think I'm on track, but for those that may need some more encouragement, behold!

A great mid 40s topper hat and purse pattern! Squeeee! The pattern is unprinted, complete, and in great shape. All you have to do is pick what fabric you want to use.

To enter this giveaway, I'd enjoy it if you followed this blog but it's not mandatory. What I want is to see a picture of a finished PPP item. The more you have done, the more you can enter! See the incentive!? This is open worldwide, so all are welcome. Just drop a photo of your item(s)in the flickr forum. Ill make a room for entries.

You have until Nov. 1, 2011 at midnight (my time) to enter. I'll choose the winner by the end of the week via name from hat.

Good luck and enter often!!

Catalog Sunday

2011-10-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I have a collection of 30s odds and ends. They range from the mid to late 30s. Enjoy!!

Wards Sale Catalog

Marian Martin Pattern Catalog

Late 30s Simplicity pages

Once, twice, three dyes a lady.

2011-10-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

Sweaters are done!

As you all know, I decided to re-dye that navy one with a more 'blue' dye. Welp, success!

I am very happy with the outcome. It is a bit lighter than I thought it was going to turn out, but the color is even and smooth and I used some of my most wicked 20s buttons on it, so yeah, it was worth it.

The chartreuse sweater on the other hand is a different story.

I decided to re-dye it.

I used a RIT dye on this one. The original dye was iDye. What I didn't expect was the streaking. It's not too bad, but I noticed it and as I was cleaning, I discovered a bottle of unused hunter green RIT dye. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

So this weekend I'll pop this swearer in for its third dye job. I'm getting efficient at this! I can have it dyed in an hour. I'll keep you posted!

Have a great Thursday!!

Your pants too big!

2011-10-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

Made these cords years ago. It was before I got my jeans fit from my repro. I made about three pair of corduroy pants, in what I thought was a good loose 40s fit. Now, they are just too droopy on the sides. It's kind of embarrassing. I'm talking each leg like 5" too much fabric.

Last week I decided to make this week wear skirts and dresses week. Why not? I have all these dresses and I was getting into a rut of just throwing on pants, so I'm making sure I keep with my vintage like aspirations and I'm putting some effort into my look.

The beauty of the pants is that all I had to do was make sure the skirt was long enough. I cut open on the inside seam of the legs and slightly tapered the waist line of the new center seams of the skirt. I decided to make the skirt without a waist band because I had already folded and pressed the cuff of the pants.

I did add a band of bias cut cotton on the waist for some extra stability.

A simple zipper and hook and eye and a hem and the skirt is done.

Done and done. I wore this skirt dancing on Monday and it handled great. I did five hours of dancing and most of it was to a great band, Petunia and the Vipers. IT was a great time. They preformed three sets of cool country swing and then played on after that! I got home just in time to get in 3 and a half hours of shut eye before work.

Totally worth it.

I plan on doing this to my other corduroy pants and another pair I have. I need more skirts anyway. Alright! Have a great day!

Just Because

2011-10-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

I found this McCall ad in one of my patterns. I love it!

Catalog Sunday

2011-10-09T00:11:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours...So dance in the puddles!

2011-10-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Sorry I have not been posting much this week, but now that I'm working full time (I love saying that), I've been having a crazy time.

First off this month, I'm taking 3 dance classes! Two of them are on the same night, so I sometimes don't get home before 10 pm. I like to get to bed by 11, so I can get up at 6:30 and have some decompression time before I leave for work at 8.

I love the ritual of getting up and ready for the day.

Work is fine. I'm having a good time and constantly mentally thinking, "am I being productive enough." I know way too many people out of work, so I want to make sure I am doing a good job.

That, and the death of Steve Jobs hit me pretty hard. Having worked for Apple for over 4 years, I made life long friends there, and actually got to talk to SJ a few times. So his passing was very hard for a lot of us.

Right now I'm trying to work my way out of poor. I hate that transition time in work where the 'three weeks' of pause from the first pay cycle. It sucks if your budget is quite fixed, as mine is. That, and the irony of two things happening. One, my rent check was cashed the earliest it's ever been cashed, AND two, it bounced, the first time EVER for me! What sucks even more is that the money is in there now, but I'll most likely be paying nearly $100 in fees for the bounce, returned check, and the back fee.

Geeze, they will screw you every which way they can, won't they?

In any case, I bet you are wondering what this is. This box is part of a traveling beauty box destined for gals all over the country and beyond. The idea was started here, and to me is reminiscent of another venture that I participated in a while ago, here.

What you do is look in the massive box of beauty goodies, take what you like, and pt something in and send the box on its way. The box has all types of make up and soaps and other lovely odds and ends. I'm particular about my make up, as I tend to brake out, so I let that alone. I was thrilled to see a bottle of Thayers in there. I was JUST about to put in an order for some, so this is a most wonderful treat.

I also decided to remove a couple of larger things to free up some space. I've been wanting to play with sets, though my hair is already curly and holds waves pretty well, I decided, why not. I was actually curious to see this bottle of Motions in there. Considering I'm the only black woman doing this round beauty robin, I wonder who this bottle came from :)

I am leery about using black hair care products, though. Always have been. A lot of them, for natural hair or no, can have some relaxer in them and all my natural hair work is out the door. So I may do a test, when I feel up to it. I'm quite content on my hair and I just got into a rather good stride. The last thing I want to do is mess it up with a crappy hair experiment.

That's about it for me. This weekend I'm working on another freelance project, hence the name of the title on this post. I'm not gonna pass up on any work!

I also wanna make some skirts this weekend. I'm making next week, skirts and dresses week. As in that's all I'm gonna wear. Should be interesting.

Okay all have a great weekend!

In Memoriam

2011-10-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

I've got one word for you...Chartreuse!

2011-10-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, no, maybe, ick?

I got to dyeing again and picked up a pack of chartreuse iDye. I'm sold on this stuff. It dyes so well, no streaking and it washes very well. I still have some RIT, so if I decide not to keep this color, I'm going to use the kelley green I have to tone it down.

I know, I have been on sweater overload lately. It was that Lands End sale. It got me. That and I've always had a knitwear deficit. I decided to invest in some sweaters. 5 100% cotton, and some cabled sweaters of cotton/nylon/wool.

The cotton sweaters are all dyed.

Ecru, orange, purple, navy (which is going to be re-dyed shortly, and that white one is the chartreuse one above.

It's been fun dyeing these sweaters, but now comes the real fun, changing out the buttons!!! Because the button holes were so small, I was able to pick a lot of my 20s glass buttons.

For the cable sweaters, I also had joy picking out buttons.

I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this tan sweater with these MOP shank buttons. It looks fantastic!

Mmmm.... I've actually put all the buttons on the wool blend ones, and most of the buttons on the dyed ones. It feels great having sweaters! I'v e always hated buying them because they were so pricy. That, and I'm not paying $50 for an acrylic sweater. So these are just perfect. I'm over the moon!

Now, if it would get cold enough to wear them :)

Have a great day everyone!

Catalog Sunday

2011-10-02T01:24:00.000-07:00

September Pattern Showcase!!

2011-10-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to October! I hope this month is going to be a grand one. I've got employment, prospects, and my etsy store is still humming. I'm adding new items all the time, so things are looking up! Yay!

My addition of patterns this past September was not too bad.

I did get some nice ones, I think.

This Du Barry was a lovely find. Remember that gray cotton I bought (I was able to take it back, BTW), I was going to use that on this. More on that next week.

I think this Simplicity is wicked, but I don't know if I'm going to keep it because it's small.

Gotta love the pockets on that McCall.

This months I'm going to focus more on fabric and getting my corset supplies together because I still want to make it. I'm also going to whip up some more slips and a few more underthings.