Some new goodies listed in my etsy store!

Hi all!
Hope you all are doing good.
Me? Sewing and pattern making and pulling my hair out. Gotta make that rent, ha!

Just wanted to let you all know I've listed a few new hand made clothing pieces in my etsy shop.
Take a look.
Thanks!

1960s Wedding Dress Recreation: pt 2 Making the Dress, and that Fabric, yo!

Behold! The most expensive fabric I've ever worked with!

I believe this is a Lyon type of lace. All I know is that it's french.

This is the fabric for the sleeves and the bodice. When I discovered it, I sent a pick to my friend, and she LOVED it, until we both saw the price. It was in the glass case, after all. I should have known...

1960s Wedding Dress Recreation: pt 1 Drafting the Pattern

Look at us, ain't we cute!

This picture is over....13years old, I'd guess. That's me and all my round face adorableness, and that gal with the blue arrow is Kristen. We started out as sales associates in the Apple store so many, many years ago, and like so much of my Apple family, we've kept in touch.

She even came to visit with her two sons one day as the fam was making a cross California vacation. Ah, good times.

January vintage haul: Lucite edition

Happy New Year lovely people!

With the new year and spending nearly 70% less on rent than I did at my old place, I have a bit of extra cash to spend on myself. It's been a while. After bills (which all seem to happen on the first of the month) and food, I sometimes want those lovely little goodies that I see if I can afford a gentle splurge.

My goal this year is to ramp up my brooch collection. When I moved, I overhauled my jewelry, utilizing the case I have them in to the fullest.

On Christmas Eve, I spent the evening with a beer and organized. It was fun.

I'm really into carved lucite brooches and want to expand my collection. I did add a few this holiday, and thought you all would like to see some.

I just took my buttonholes to the next level...

Hello lovely people.

Klingon dog.

I hope you had a good weekend. I did! I went dancing at three different venues in one day on Friday (more on that later this week) and it was a blast.

But before that, another toy came in the mail which allowed me to use another toy that I've had for years.

I will now monogram EVERYTHING!

Hello lovely people.

This isn't the toy I was waiting for. That's a button hole attachment.

This is a device I've had forever but I JUST NOW started to give it a try.

Playclothes repair Friday: The green 60s silk dress

Hello lovely people.

Hope your week was nice and your weekend is going to be better. Me, I've got a list of projects to get through and most of them are going to go on this weekend. 

But first, I thought I'd give you an update on my week.

Home for the Holiday

Hello lovely people.

I've been gone. More like, away. I flew home for the first time in 10 years to surprise my 95 year old grandmother for her birthday.

Upcoming projects.

Hello lovely people.

I spent yesterday cleaning and rearranging my work areas as I prepare for a week of work.

Hello everyone!

See…This should show you all how backwards I am. I did this post which was for Monday, today, thinking this Sunday was Monday! CRAZY!!!
So Catalog Sunday will be Catalog Monday.

Good Monday, one and all. Brian says hi.

Hope you had a good weekend. 

Lovely mending and random stuff

Hi everyone!

It's me, trying to get back into regular blogging. I have just been in a funk. Still no regular job, or steady income, so I'm just trying not to hit the brick wall as I scam my way through (don't forget to support my easy store-shameless plug!!). Hate it, but I'm not alone.

Playclothes repair showcase!!

Hello everyone.

As I get back into sewing more, I'd thought I'd start showing you more of the garments I repair for Playclothes Vintage. I continue to do a lot of repairs for them from the 1800s to the late 60s. It's quite amazing seeing all the garments that come through their doors.

MnM: Drafting a pattern from an existing garment.

Good morning lovely people.

First the good news.

Brian is on the mend. Turns out he had some sort of bacterial infection around his leg and he's now on an antibiotic regimen. I can already tell he's doing tons better. He's starting to play around more. I'm thrilled. He should be back to his normal self soon.

Now to sewing!

Lining to myself.

We often think that it's the visuals that need the maintenance. A skirt hem, a worn cuff or collar. But in truth it's the invisible part of the garment that gets the most wear that requires the most tending.

One of my vintage acquaintances came to me with some thrift store finds. These mid to late 60s coats with utterly trashed linings. She set them out and showed me the damage. Popped seams, shredded armholes,fabric tears, raw seams, you name it. They were not pretty, but the good news is they didn't have to be. She only wanted the linings wearable, because she was safety pinning them just to get by and it wasn't working anymore.

December Showcase: brooch edition

Good morning everyone. 

It's raining this morning so I had to cut Brian's walkies short. He's just had breakfast and now is chewing on a bone. I love having a dog in the house again.

I didn't do much this weekend.

My morning greeter.

Ever have that feeling? You make a list a mile long in your head to maximize those precious 48 hours only to discover that not much of what you planned got done.

CVTotI

Sometimes a basic search can bring up a cornucopia of great things.

There is a Google search for vintage illustrations.

Enjoy!

MnM Progress

Hi all!
This past week had me in a tizzy. I got sick, and it just took over. I was even out from work for 4 days. I thought, that's it, I'm going to the doctor, for real.

I've just started an insurance plan, so I was relieved to establish a primary care phisician. She was nice and stayed with me for a time to get to the root of my problem. She concluded I was healthy and that with all other evidence, this pointed to a sinus infection.

My left ear is apparently clogged, so not enough air equals goo forming and me getting sick. Well dang blasted! She's put me on a regimen and the cough syrup she prescribed is making me high :) but I think I'm on the road to permanent recovery, for good this time. SO GLAD.

Cool Vintage things on the Internet

This week I have a cool Flickr photo stream called Black History Heritage

Great images from all types and dynamics of Black History.

Negro Soldier by Thomas Heart Benton 1942

Black Jockey in riding silks

African American Couple

Take some time and flip through. There are some great images there. Thanks Black History Heritage!

Remember, if you all have some cool vintage related, of color, plus size, or fashion resources online, please let me know by sending me and email and I'll happily share the links.

Thanks!!

August Showcase!!

Happy October everyone!

Time for a recap of last month's goodies.

My main haul being my Royalchrome. For those who are sick of hearing about my love for this furniture, tough :)

Oh! Random cat picture!! Brasco has his own chair.

I got the chair together and put that in the living room. I ordered two cushions for it that I hope will be here by the end of the week, and I got out the rest of the fabric I had and got to piping.