The Merry Go Brown Outfit

 I was having a hard day today. Nothing bad, mind you, just the usual things not going my way, so I'm feeling a lot of self pity. So, I decided to change clothes midway through the day and wear something that made me feel better. Hey, it's hard to be sad or mad in a circle skirt. I think a twirly circle skirt could take the place of chocolate on those days. Okay, let's not be too hasty, chocolate has it's place firmly established.

This is the same skirt I made and wore in this outfit post, however, I styled it a little less vintage this time, and without a hat. I didn't really have a hat that matched the brown today, and honestly we were in such a hurry to get to a ballet class that it's a miracle I was able to pull off what I did wear. Plus I'm still a little wary of wearing hats. I guess I'm just hat shy, but I did wear a hat the other night to a dinner with friends, and I survived. 

I also tried a new hairdo! I did a big roll in the front and gathered the rest in a pony tail. I've been trying to get the hang of rolls for a while now, and although I'm far from perfecting them, so far I've learned a couple of things. 1. It doesn't take a million bobby pins. 2. It works a lot better when my hair isn't clean. (Not nasty dirty, just a day or two out from washing it.)

View the roll! Please keep in mind this was late in the day, and everything was a lot smoother earlier, lol.

I also did a makeup trick I learned from my Grandma. She was born in 1925 and got married in 1940, just a couple months shy of her fifteenth birthday. (Needless to say, she and Grandpa eloped, but were married for almost 70 years until their deaths in 2009 four months apart.) She always had pressed powder and a lipstick in her purse, and whenever she had to go somewhere unexpected or had time before unexpected guests arrived, she would quickly put powder and lipstick on. 

Although I didn't wear powder, I do usually wear a tinted moisturizer and lipstick when we go out, even to the grocery store. Suddenly you don't look like a stay at home mom who hasn't had a shower today. You look like you care just a little about how you look out of respect for ourselves, those with us, and those who will see us. I think Grandma and her generation knew a lot more what they were doing than many today, especially when it came to how we present ourselves. 

Shirt: Old Navy about 5 years ago

Skirt: Made by me :)

Matching earrings and brooch: Etsy seller

Belt: Not sure where I bought it, but it was more than 10 years ago

So, have any tips or tricks to quickly look put together? Do you dress up to improve your mood? 

Happy Birthday To Me Giveaway!

Well, my birthday is November 27, and no I will not tell how ancient I am, but more for privacy reasons than because I'm ashamed of growing older. In all honesty, I look forward to being an unusual old lady, I just don't want my body to give out on me. And as my Grandma used to say, "There's only one alternative to growing old." (Psst, the alternative is dying young, and nobody wants that!)

So, to celebrate with the few souls who actually read my blog, I'm going to be giving away something. One super spectacular reader will win a vintage sewing pattern and approximately 5 yards of vintagey cotton print fabric!

The pattern is Simplicity 5036, a sweet and versatile shirt dress pattern from the early sixties in size 12/bust 32. Don't let the size keep you from entering, because there are some really easy ways to resize patterns and a great tutorial on at the Sense & Sensibility pattern website (click here for the link).

Included with the pattern will be approximately 5 yards of a vintagey cotton print fabric, which will be more than enough to make any of the dresses from the pattern above with plenty left over if you choose to use it for one of the slim skirt versions. 

I know it's not much, and I truly wish I could give away more, but alas, I am not a sponsored blog as yet, and no one will give me something to giveaway. So, I'm going to give you my own stuff. I hope you treasure and enjoy it as much as I do. <3

To enter, simply enter your name (first name is fine or online name, just so I can say who won), email address (i.e. YourName(at)whateveremails(dot)com), follow this blog, and then leave a comment with the info and letting me know you're a follower!

Want more? Share, share, share this giveaway and leave a link in the comments below, and you'll be entered to win extra times for each time you share.

I will choose one follower on December 1, 2013 at 6 am EST, then you, special winner, will receive an email telling you the good news and I will post the winner here!

P.S. I hope you win!

Workbasket Wednesday

 About a year ago I found a stack of Workbasket magazines from the 1940s and 1950s in a local antique store for really cheap. So, obviously I bought them, but not just because they were old and needed someone to love them. Yes, that's been an actual reason I've bought things in antique or thrift stores in the past. However, my maternal grandmother loved to crochet and knit and subscribed to Workbasket magazine as long as I knew her, and as long as my mother can remember. Unfortunately all her old magazines were thrown away after she died when I was fourteen. *sigh* So you see buying these was a way to repossess something I knew she had once had.

If you're unfamiliar with Workbasket, it's a magazine filled with patterns for all kinds of handcrafts, but mainly focuses on crocheting and knitting. So, because the pages are so old that I don't want to handle them too much, and because vintage patterns are too awesome to keep to myself. I will be scanning them and sharing them on Wednesdays here.

Please feel free to share and copy and pin the pattern below, but please reference my blog when you do. It's just nice, and maybe others would like to get subsequent patterns. Thanks.

Now, enjoy!

Today's pattern is from the August 1951 edition of Workbasket, and is for a "Classic Suit Sweater" knitted blouse! I don't knit, yet, but if you make it, would you let me know, send pictures, and I will try to post them here.

And just because I can't get enough of the advertisements in these, here is an amazing bargain from the "Queen of Cottons". Wish I could write in for mine. *sigh*

My Favorite Vintage Sweater

It's been a fearfully long time since I've done an outfit post, and since I don't have anything new that I've sewed for myself to show you, I thought I'd show you what I wore to church this past Sunday.

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The dress is a cap-sleeved kelly green with a white flower print that I got on eBay along with a matching blue dress with a slightly different flower print for $10.95, and they were new with tags. I'm not exactly sure how old they are, but I thought the style was reminiscent of a simple 40s dress.  

Here is a view of the top without the sweater. It has a square neckline with gathers at the sides and cap sleeves. The buttons are purely decorative, and now that I look at the picture, I realize that the flowers almost look like snowflakes. However, instead of snowflakes today we had a cold rain. I love the comfort of the tie belt of this dress as well as the fact that it is easy to wash and iron.

The sweater I wore with it is one that I bought more than ten years ago at a local antique mall. I wore it all through college. It's been paired with jeans, t-shirts, skirts, dresses, went to funerals and just about everywhere. 

Aaugh! Sorry, this picture is a mirror image.

I'm not really sure of it's age, but it has three tags inside. One says "Made in Austria", the next says "38" and the last tag says "Bullocks & Wilshire". I would love to know exactly how old it is, so if anyone out there has any definite knowledge about it, please share it with me. 

Just realized that the way I have my hands on my waist made the crochet stretch out a little, but it actually does fit me. 

It is a black crocheted sweater with orange and green around the collar and multi-colored popcorn crocheted in almost a heart shape on the front.

The buttons are spherical, hand-carved, wood with flowers carved on the top and painted red. There are also dots carved on the sides of the buttons that have been painted green and yellow.

I also tried what I think could be a late 1930s, early 1940s, hairstyle. I have naturally curly hair, and on rainy days, it's better to go with it than try to change it. So, I just used a couple of plastic combs and pushed a little volume forward on each side. I'm not sure how flattering the style is on me, because I have a large forehead, but it's insanely simple and a great way to combat the frizz of my hair on a wet day. I'm going to have to look up easy 1940s hairstyles for people with large foreheads, lol.

Oh, and I wore my new Red Apple lipstick for the first time. This is their true Red. I've tried other reds before, but always felt the tone looked a little clownish, and so I gravitate towards more pinky reds. However, I really like this red on me, my only qualm is that it doesn't last as long as others. But it feels so wonderfully hydrating and is organic and gluten-free, so I will keep on wearing it.

I absolutely love bright colors and this sweater has the black background to make it basic enough to pair with several outfits, yet pops of color in a flattering way. It's quirky enough for me, and yet doesn't shout weird, I think. I will probably wear and repair it until it falls apart, but I think whoever handmade it would be glad to know it's lasted so well, and will be loved and taken care of for a while to come.

Do you have a favorite vintage piece that never grows old to you? 

Win a $50.00 Gift Card from The Best Vintage Clothing!

Do you like giveaways? Yeah, me too. I enter them every time I see one for anything I find worthwhile, but I must confess, I have yet to win one. I figure one day perhaps it will be my turn to win something, but until then I will keep entering and being content that someone will win something.

Need an amazing 1940s suit with peplum? Find it here.

This is a giveaway hosted by Jessica of Chronically Vintage, and not only does she have impeccable taste and have an inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable blog to read, but she has the best giveaways!

1940s hat can be found here.

Someone will win a $50.00 dollar gift card from The Best Vintage Clothing shop to spend!

Find this 1950s fur collar sweater here.

They have an amazing selection, from very affordable basic vintage items to works of art, and they have shoes, handbags, hats, and accessories to complete your outfit.

They even sell vintage eyeglasses. Find this 1950s pair here. 

Not sold yet? They sell womens, mens, and chilldrens vintage! So theoretically, you could outfit your whole family in vintage. Hmmm....a future family portrait perhaps? I can wish can't I?

If only this Edwardian gown were my size! Grab it here. 

Hurry! Click here to enter, because the giveaway ends Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 11:59 PST!

These 1920 boots are my size and my birthday is in a couple weeks. Hey, I'm just saying. Find them here. 

Oh, and did I mention they have free shipping throughout the U.S.?

You knew I had to include a brooch, and this 1930s one is so stinking cute! Add it to your collection here.

A New Baby!

 Ok,  before you jump to conclusions, no, it's not a new baby at our house. My husband's first cousin, whom he practically grew up with, because they both were at their grandparents every day, just welcomed a new little girl. She is the first baby for he and his wife, and the first grandchild for both of their parents. Yup, she's definitely going to be spoiled.
While I don't have any pictures of the newest babe in the family, because we haven't gotten to meet her yet, I did sew up a quilt for her.

Here is the pieced together top before quilting. I love the vintagey prints and the bright colors.

I have this weird thing about me that makes me feel guilty if I don't make a baby blanket for every new baby around me. You see, I sit around thinking, "What if I'm the only person who would or could make a baby blanket for this baby?" and "Every baby should have a handmade baby blanket from someone who loved them enough to take the time to make one." Sure, some are inevitably more intricate than others, and having my own three has definitely affected the rate at which I make them and just how intricate they are, but I so enjoy making them.

I made this entire quilt with scraps, except for the back, which was a yard of a novelty cotton I had originally bought to back another baby blanket, but changed my mind about it later (It was for a boy, and there were the tiniest flowers on it, and you never know how some people would take that. At least that's what my husband said, lol.). So, including the batting I already had, it was basically a free gift at this point. Can't beat that with a stick!

This is the back of the quilt after quilting. It has tiny bouquets of red, yellow, and blue flowers with a cowboy/cowgirl on a bucking bronco. The mom grew up on a farm riding horses and had a cowgirl themed wedding, so I thought it was perfect for her baby to have a western theme baby quilt, too. 

I cut 8 inch squares, and then cut those in half and sewed the triangles together to make a pinwheel effect. This is probably a block that has a name already, but I didn't look it up, I was just looking for fast and easy.

Finished quilt with pinwheel design.

The best part, and the fastest shortcut I know for making a quilt, is how I sewed the three layers of back, batting, and top together. My mom taught me this, and I've used it on much larger projects, too, but for baby blankets, it's easy peasy.
You lay the back piece of your quilt down right side up.

Then lay the pieced top over the back with right sides together. I promise this works.

Now put your cut out batting on top of the back and top. Make sure you've cut your bating slightly smaller than the back and top. It's easier to sew on the machine that way.

Now, you can either use basting stitches or I use safety pins to keep it all together. Don't worry about using the pins, you can't do the next step without taking all the pins out anyway.

The next step is to sew the entire thing up around the edges except for one hole (large enough for your hand to easily fit through) at one of the corners. Reach through the hole and turn the quilt inside out.

I don't sew up the hole until I've finished all the handquilting (you could machine quilt now, as well).

Quilt layers are sewed up and turned right side out and it's ready to quilt without basting stitches or safety pins holding it together. You can see at the bottom top left corner of this picture where I haven't sewn up the hole and I had just tucked in the ends. 

Now quilt, and you're done! How easy is that? If you're new to quilting a baby quilt is a great place to start. They usually feature larger, simpler designed blocks, and simpler quilting patterns, plus it's much smaller and easy to hold in your lap. (I use a small, plastic, square-shaped, quilting frame that can easily be taken apart and fits on my lap.).

I decided to quilt it in a diamond pattern that actually broke up the pinwheel pattern, and I thought, would be an unexpected surprise from the back. I like it when quilts are just as pretty from the back as from the front, don't you?

For a more puckery (I'm sure that's not a word) look to your quilt, you have to first wash it. I don't know if I will wash it before giving it to them, just because some people are really picky, especially with first babies, about how their baby's things are washed. Ok, that's probably just me, but having sensitive skin all my life, I'm in the habit of washing everything that comes in our house and will be touching our skin. Yes, I'm a germaphobe and a freak, but with a science degree and having worked in hospitals, can you blame me?

I have always been fascinated with doing things the old fashioned way, and quilting is such a great stress reliever, and yet beautiful and practical at the same time. I also feel a connection to all the women throughout history who hand-sewed baby things and gifts for family and loved ones, and hope that when I make things for others it will bless them as much as I've been blessed to receive such gifts.

I hope I find time to do more quilting in the coming year, and I can't wait to meet the new baby girl, and I really hope her parents love the new baby quilt.

Do you make gifts? Do you like receiving handmade gifts? 

Here I am!

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Hello!

Well, although I didn't actually fall off the face of the earth, I guess it must look like it if you're reading this. I actually have gotten a lot done, and I guess that's partially why I haven't been writing as many posts lately. I did finish the Wendy dress, and I will be posting pictures as soon as I get around to taking some.

We had my daughter's birthday party over the weekend, and between trying to get everything ready for costumes and then a birthday, I haven't even felt like blogging. I'm currently reorganizing my sewing area, so I can finish some projects that I've started and really dig into a couple Christmas projects.

Sewing is actually a stress reliever for me.

There will be Christmas programs, Thanksgiving and family get togethers, decorating, special holiday stuff, and the regular homeschooling all going on at our house until Christmas, then we can sit down for a short spell, lol. So, I don't know how much blogging will get done between now and Christmas, but I promise lots of sewing will have to get done, and I will take pictures and post afterwards if not before, and I have some posts in the works.

I have no idea where this image comes from, so sorry for not crediting it.
I'm hoping for the next couple months this is true, lol.

Has the holiday season busyness come upon you yet?