Stashing the Extras

Carolyn at Diary of a Sewing Fanatic recently posed some questions about notions and buttons stashing on her blog:

I'm pretty sure that if you are a stasher/collector of fabric, you probably stash the extra stuff too...and that if you purchase a piece or two at a time that you probably purchase all of your extra stuff that way too.  Now I'm wondering which way is more effective...

Which caused me to ponder on whether or not having such a large collection of buttons and trims helps or hinders my projects? 

Of course I responded, but it also got me to thinking that this was a pretty good topic for my own blog post. So I'm going to expand on my responses. Should be interesting, at least to me!

So the question of the day is, Do you collect/stash the extra stuff?  If you do, why do you?

I stash the extra stuff too! Here are my reasons why:

• My local resources are limited, so I can't get whatever I want when I want it.
• I'll buy for a specific project, and the project morphs. The items I bought at the beginning of the project then get stashed away. While I don't mind modifying projects as I go, it does result in a lot of extra stuff. 
• I've acquired a lot of my stuff through other ASG members purging their sewing rooms, so I've gotten things like zippers, buttons, and fabrics at very low prices or sometimes even free.
• Our chapter built a relationship with a couple of sewing factories several years ago, so I got bunches of stuff from them as well. That's where a lot of the buttons came from for my Holiday Giveaway. Sadly, those resources are mostly gone now since production has moved to Asia.
• Other people know I sew and they give me things. For example, my sister bought a large ziploc baggie of vintage buttons when she was travelling in Kentucky that I later got as a Christmas gift. Great present!!
• I also recycle interesting buttons from old garments. I'm talking about you, J. Jill!
• Shows. I've been to a few ASG Conferences, and Albuquerque has its Fiber Arts Fiesta every other year. Both have had vendor booths with unusual things, so interesting buttons, trims, and notions always find their way home with me.

Does it help or speed along the sewing process?  Or does it hinder the process?

Like so much in sewing, the answer is "Sometimes." I have some great buttons and trims stashed--many of them are "go to" whenever I need something of that style. Others I haven't used yet but they'll be there for the right project.

On the other hand, sometimes I don't have exactly what I want--I've run into that problem several times lately. For instance, both of the Marcy Tilton jackets I made this month, and the Now Shirt I made in December. Obviously I need to stock up on matte black buttons! However, going shopping is no guarantee that I'll find what I want. And I'm not a bargain shopper, but have you priced buttons lately? Even I pause when I see a single (plastic) button priced at over $4!

I may be delusional but I do think a lot of the "other" stash will get used. I regularly pull items out when planning a project, so I do generally know what I have on hand. Eventually, those great items will make the cut, and provide just the right accent for a project.

I also gift supplies to other sewists and provide stuff for ASG door prizes and such. After all, how much faux suede fringe does one person need, even in New Mexico? It's fun to see what happens after those things have gone to somebody else.

ASG Conference Classes

I took several classes, but I've learned since my first Conference not to take a class for each and every time they're available. You'll run yourself ragged, and it's information overload.

This time, I took the following:

• Louise Cutting, "Cutting It Apart": This one was an optional class that took all day Thursday. We made a bunch of samples under Louise's direction. Awesome class!! I think I learned a lot about Louise's approach to sewing, things that can be applied to other patterns as well.
  


• Louise Cutting, "Cutting and Pasting": This one was a short class that was more oriented specifically towards Louise's pattern line vs. techniques. I enjoyed this class because she talked about ways to play around with each pattern to develop unique looks.
  


• Susan Lazear, "Domino Design": Susan is a bit of a sleeper, in that she isn't a big hype sewing "personality." On the other hand, she does teach college level classes in fashion design, so she does know what she's talking about from a technical standpoint. The Domino theory is "to begin with one fabric, and as you add a piece to the wardrobe, you introduce a new fabric to the mix. As each subsequent fabric is added, a new fabric is introduced and and an existing fabric is dropped. This is the domino effect." OK, so I'm not going to apply this to each and every item I buy/make. But it was an interesting approach to wardrobing, so I'll give her that.
  


• Susan Lazear, "Armholes and Sleeves: Solving the Mystery": Sleeves are usually a mystery to most sewists. Susan provided a lot of detail on how a sleeve is developed, where bust shaping is incorporated into the sleeve, and finetuning of various sleeves and armholes.
  


• Mary Ray, "Designs in Details" Mary is a contributing editor to Threads Magazine and was formerly on staff. Beautiful sample garments, but she had to fight the skinny/deep layout of the room. The details were beautiful, but I wish she'd had some slides to give close up views.
  


• Jacque Goldsmith, "Adapting Vintage Patterns": Jacque is a younger sewing professional who has worked in the industrial and home sewing aspects of the clothing industry. Fearless about working with all kind of vintage patterns. I enjoyed the class and look forward to working with some of the vintage and vintage-reproduction patterns I have.
  


• Fred Bloebaum, "What's New With Knits": Fred is very organized and always provides an outline of her talks. Plus loads of samples that she passes around the room so you can experience what she's talking about. Look forward to seeing knits in unusual fibers for the foreseeable future. Anything that can be spun will be knitted.
  

A New Tag

Trinilove of Life Happens to Be Positive has tagged me with the following: "your mission if you accept is to list 7 facts of your sewing history and tag five people to do the same." OK, I'm game with the 7 facts, but I'm a little laissez-faire about asking people to participate. I think this is a cool little meme, so if you want to do this, blog it and send Trini and me a little note, mmmm-k?

So here they are, 7 facts of my sewing history:

1. My first sewing memory is a little project that my Grandma gave me. It was a handkerchief with a design on it, and you outlined the motif with an embroidery floss running stitch. I was 5 years old. The needle was blunt, but I can hardly imagine something like that being marketed as a child's project today in our watchful, litigious society.


2. My mom was one of those cautious moms who was always afraid we'd hurt ourselves around the house. So, when I expressed an interest in sewing when I was 11 or 12, she insisted that I take Home Ec so I'd learn to "properly" use a sewing machine. Once I was enrolled, she let me start using her sewing machine, a circa 50's White made of solid metal with an olive drab finish. Man, that thing was a tank!! It didn't have a foot petal, it had a lever that you pushed with your thigh. I made many, many projects in junior high and high school with that machine.


3. The 7th grade home ec class was absolutely awful. The girls in the class were primarily of the "hood" clique, and I did not fit in with them at all. Our first project was a poncho. It was the 1970s but uggghhh!! I couldn't wait for that class to be over but it was enough that I had open access to the sewing machine.


4. When I was in the 10th grade, I went to live with my Grandma for a while. Long story that I won't get into here. Grandma did not like to sew, her needlework activities were needlepoint and crochet. However, like most women of her era, she had a sewing machine that was used for general maintenance and repair of the household's clothing, for curtains, etc. That machine was a "portable" Singer with black enamel and golden accents, and it had a bentwood case. Another tank, and that thing also weighed a ton, even though it was a portable. When Grandma passed away, I inherited that machine and it currently resides in the front hall of my home.


5. Because my early machines were both straight stich only, I got really good at making French seams.


6. I had a sewing hiatus during my college and grad school years, more due to lack of a machine than anything else. I got my first "modern" machine 20 years ago, when my then-husband bought me an early electronic machine from Montgomery Ward. I recently gave that machine to my friend John, who is delighted at learning to sew!


7. My stash accumulation habits have been aided and abetted by my late Uncle Bobby, who worked for years in the custom drapery business. He would bring home remnants and roll ends of high end home dec fabrics with instructions to use them for something. He later taught himself to do basic sewing and fabricated cornice boards and draperies for his house with the help of the ladies in the work room. He also liked doing re-upholstering and made his own cording for his projects.

She also asked a question about little black dresses, "is yours ready to wear?" Why yes, yes it is. My current LBD is from Talbot's, it's the black version of this:

It's matte jersey dress, and I recently bought at Talbot's--very basic, as a LBD should be. I got it to wear with jackets and such for work. I also got the navy version.

Catching Up

ETA: a photo of the completed pj's and a slight modification to the accompanying paragraph, since I obviously completed both of them.

The month is over half done and this is the first blog post I've done for September. Ugh!!! That's what happens when you have three major closings in three weeks after returning from vacation (was that already a month ago?). Today I had a pre-scheduled day off, so I'm home. I needed a little hiatus since I've been going to the office on weekends to try and keep up with the work load.


The plumbers should be here in a little while, we're still trying to figure out why the swamp cooler is leaking into the guest bathroom when it runs. The weather is cooler now, so I don't really need it, but we need to get this solved so the hole in the bathroom ceiling can be fixed.


This is one of many projects that need to be done around Casa Flan before I can even think about putting my house on the market. DF continues to negotiate for a move to his side of town (Far NE Heights), even though the real estate market continues to be stagnant around here. Mind you, DF is a renter so he really has no stake in the matter. It would be so much easier if he'd move in with me when his lease runs out, at least for a while. My house is nice and the neighborhood is too, even if it's not his favorite. IMO, if he loves his neighborhood so much, he should have bought a house up there, you know!?!





On the sewing front, I've done a little bit this month. This is the 3rd month in a row that I've made at least one garment for myself, in accordance with PR's garment-a-month challenge. This time I've made yet another couple of pairs of pj pants from that TNT, McCall's 2476. I do them assembly line on the serger, so both are fun prints in shades of yellow. This is where I can play with goofy fun prints that I'd never wear otherwise. I have 2 more cut out but will hold off on them for now. I've got very many pairs already made in cotton and flannel, so I'm set until some wear out.


I also bought another set of Sterilite drawers for the sewing room. I'd really like one more, but Walmart only had 4 on the shelf. I need to see if I can find another one when I'm out and about later today.


I'm not one for fabric moratoriums and such, but I really need to stop for a while. I'm running out of space and it's getting ridiculous. I don't want my sewing room to be a monument to my stash, I want it to be a work room where I can be creative and step away from my professional life for a time. With too much stuff and no place to put it, there's less room for that to happen, in both a mental and physical sense.


Oh, I also want to make sure I give some credit where it's due. A couple of blogger friends have had giveaways on their sites, and I've won stuff! First up, Materfamilias had a book giveaway and I won Simon Doonan's new fashion/style book, Eccentric Glamour. I also liked the card, a pretty abstract of koi? I'd like to hear more about the artist.





Raesha of My Love also had a giveaway, in which she shared a collection of vintage souvenir patches she scored while thrifting. I got this cool Yellowstone Park patch, complete with Old Faithful and a bear! Isn't it great? Another nice card too. Also, thanks for sending along your business card! Since we're both in ABQ, we really should meet up sometime.

The eBay Lot

I mentioned winning this lot in a previous post, and I just had to post some pictures. I've had a chance to check through them all, and they're exactly as described. Thanks, *legallyblonde! for an excellent purchasing experience!







At this point, my favorites are the purple Givenchy (lower right in 2nd photo), the red Geoffrey Beene (upper left in 3rd photo), and the Ralph Lauren (upper right in 3rd photo).

True, these are a little more recent than what some of y'all would consider vintage. Umm, yeah, you have a point. But that's the beauty of it for me: they're 20-30 year old designs but still fresh for the most part.

More on Vintage Goddess aka Crossover Bodice Dresses

Gigi recently wrote about a couple of "vintage goddess" dresses she'd won on eBay. They're circa 1970's dresses that feature crossover treatments on the front. Well, it dawned on me that I also had a couple of dress patterns with that feature from a different era, and I mentioned that I'd post them to the blog. Interestingly (to me anyway), the dresses I had in mind were from both ends of the 1990's.

Here's the 1990 version:



Still a lot of 1980's influence in this one, but classic. I'm considering a work dress from View A or B.

Then there's this one from 1999, the other side of the decade. Less structure, less pleating. Definitely a minimalist take on the crossover style:



I like this one, too, a lot. I'd make any of the views, but the length would be short like View A regardless of the sleeves. Long doesn't look right to me at this time.

New Pattern Acquisitions

I was shopping in Walmart Thursday evening after work and found a couple of patterns that I've been looking for.




I first saw this New Look top on Stitcher's Guild. The original poster was looking for a garment to try an FBA on. While I recommended against using this one since it has a side zipper closure, I fell in love with the pattern and put it on my "to buy" list. I thought I'd probably have to mail order it because Walmart has only one tiny rack of New Look, but I got lucky this time. My favorite views are A (3/4 length sleeve at upper left), E (sleeveless with the wide collar, 2 versions on the upper and lower right), and D (flutter sleeves on lower left). I also like the remaining 2 views, but I already have a TNT similar to View B at upper center. View C (lower center) has a cute neckline treatment, but it's not really my style, maybe a little too retro? I don't know exactly.




This Simplicity "It's So Easy" is a dead ringer for a regular Simplicity I cut out when I was 30 pounds heavier. It's gone OOP so I couldn't buy a replacement. This is the same design, so I picked it up. This line is pretty inexpensive, so Simplicity doesn't discount it. Regardless, a good price at $2.44. I bought it for the capris, which are very close to some J. Jill capris I love.




This one is my latest eBay purchase that I got from seller krysia david. I just fell in love with the jacket. I'm not sure you can really make out the details, but there's a faux bolero (fauxlero?) effect in front that forms the stand up collar at the neck. But...there are also traditional lapels underneath that peek through slits made in the faux bolero. Whew! Making this would be a huge challenge, but you have to admit that it's a cool jacket. M. Givenchy is a genious--this one isn't quite vintage since it dates from 1997, but it's cool. The strapless dress might also prove useful if I ever need one (not likely). I'm thinking more in terms of a pencil skirt.

The Calvin Hunt is Almost Over

The Calvin Klein pattern I've been coveting for a long time finally turned up on eBay this morning in a size 10. Of course I got it. Hooray for "buy it now!" Now I just have to be patient and wait for it to get here.

ASG Meeting Night

Last night was March's ASG meeting, with a speaker from one of the local Leather Factory stores. His store is #1 in the country for this chain, so I think I might need to check it out. It would be fun to make and wear some leather clothes some day (after all, this is the Southwest), plus he has a lot of findings for bags and things. He brought a lot of hides with him, OMG! The colors and finishes (metallics! prints!) were amazing. There were also some lovely soft pieces that felt like buttah, baby. A customer of the store also came with samples of work that she's made. Sorry, no pictures. I didn't realize the meeting would be such a great photo op.


As usual, we had our Trading Post, and I picked up some great pattern treats:

These both have 1961 copyrights, are new and uncut, and are pretty close to my size for simple grading tweaks. I know I've previously said that my time for a full-on vintage look is over, but I think both of these could be worn now. I especially like that sexy yellow cocktail dress on the left. I could so see myself wearing it! Interesting how adding a collar and a bell skirt (McCall's term) and leaving off the buttons can change vavavoom to demure.


The shirtwaist envelope on the right is proof that misleading pattern illustrations are nothing new. The technical drawings on the back show a much more normal shoulder slope than the picture on the front side. What is with that look anyway? Did women not have shoulders in the early 1960s? At any rate, either dress could turn into a good, workable dress look for today.


I guess the next pattern could be considered vintage to some of you. But come on, it's only from 1985!! Love the jacket and coat. The pattern also includes stirrup pants, but I seriously doubt that I'll be making them. Never say never, but I'm done with stirrup pants, having worn many pairs during the '80s and early '90s.





Again, my size and uncut. When I pulled the contents out of the envelope, those labels fell out! They're really nice woven ones! Don't you wish Vogue still provided labels for their fancy "big envelope" patterns?


I have this great length of Pendleton Indian blanket wool coating that I'll make into a Southwestern style coat someday, so I keep collecting coat patterns that might work. This one would be great with its straight lines, hood, and big patch pockets.


I also picked up some fabric, a couple of silk pieces for linings and a mini-houndstooth crinkle rayon. They're not that exceptional, so no pictures for now. Perhaps when they become something.


After the meeting, some of us headed to Applebee's for snacks and drinks. This has been a custom for quite a while. But last night, jeez! Let's just say that I hope I don't become a curmudgeonly old lady when I'm older. True, the hostess copped an attitude and the waiter was a little spotty, but come on. The manager came over to the table and everything was made right. People, it's Applebee's, one step up from fast food. Stop being so grouchy!

Aunt Sook Aprons

My latest project has been a couple of kitchen smocks that my sister E named "Aunt Sook Aprons", after our great aunt Sook. This style was a staple of her housekeeping attire, wearing them when she cooked and cleaned her little house in New Albany, Indiana. No, Sook wasn't her real name, that was Sylvia, but I never ever heard anyone call her that. It was always Sook.

E originally requested one of these several years ago because she wanted an apron that would provide good coverage when cooking dinner after getting home from work. She remembered Aunt Sook's smocks and asked if I could make that specific style. An internet search commenced, and I was fortunate enough to locate a pattern at Patterncentral.com. According to the website, "Here you will find over 500 Sewing, Craft, Quilt, Crochet, Knitting, and Embroidery Patterns. Our company has been in business for over 50 years selling patterns through the newspapers and now we are also on the Internet." So those of you who are old enough to remember the patterns you ordered from the paper now have a resource for them.

I'd made 2 Aunt Sook Aprons for E previously, but she gave one of them to her friend who has a medical condition that makes swallowing difficult. The friend wears it to protect her clothes when she tries to eat.

So I decided to make a couple of new ones, one to replace the one that E gave away and another one for her friend. I figure that you need at least a couple, one to wear and one to wash. And of course, I have plenty of cottons to work with! Both designs have kitchen themed fabric, the green with its vegetables and the black has little kitchen utensils in the middle of the black squares. I classify this type of project as "utility sewing," but at the same time, I enjoyed making something that I know will be appreciated and used.

And of course, I have yet to make any Aunt Sook Aprons for myself. Isn't that typical?

As a seasonal note, I've been working on Christmas like everyone else and here's my tree! I go for an eclectic look, with lots of glass balls and featuring ornaments I've made or collected over the years. Too bad I can't capture what it really looks like, the flash really flattens and washes it out.

And in local news, Albuquerque seems more like Seattle or San Francisco this week. Over an inch of rain yesterday and more expected today. It's not quite cold enough for pretty snow just the less pleasant aspects of precipitation like slick roads.

Stop Ranting, Start Sewing

I'm a reader of a couple of sewing related blogs, and it strikes me that one of the continuing themes from women in middle age concerns what's in the stores and shown in RTW.


I'm not sure why this is even a big issue for many of us. Long gone are the days when designers dictated a single look (think back to the 1950s when the Dior's New Look ruled). Or when only certain colors could be worn in a given season. Fashion is much less rigid now, and it makes sense not to buy into a trend when it's going to make you look like a fashion victim (ie, the recent babydoll trend). Even die hard fashionistas don't participate in every look that comes down the runway, believe it or not.

A major theme of the last several years has been high/low, or a designer garment mixed with inexpensive ones in the same outfit. Mixing designers and clothes to create a unique look. Wearing an inexpensive t-shirt with a couture jacket. Vintage influence, wearing things from many years ago with new. I wouldn't want to look like an Olsen twin, but they've had an influence in this area, and it's kind of a good thing, because a lot of people are afraid to do it on their own. But if an Olsen twin does it, it gives permission for us to do it. Why can't we, but in our own way?


Yet, I keep seeing these posts with a theme of, "should I, a woman of a certain age, wear a babydoll top? I can't find anything else in the stores." Oh really!?! I live in a mid sized Southwestern city, and I don't find the selection limited to only babydoll tops (Or whatever. I'm not picking on babydoll tops, although I left them behind in about 1975 or so). It's not like I live in a fashion mecca or anything. And you know, there's always the internet.


And then there are the complaints about what's on the runway. Those are show pieces, folks. Realize that the looks on the runways during Fashion Week are not necessarily the ones that will appear at the stores. Store buyers do give feedback to the designers about their customers, so hemlines get changed, linings get added, etc.


It's easy to complain. Just sayin'.


But....


If you're posting on a sewing board, you probably sew. You're not limited to current RTW offerings. We sewers can make things that suit us and bypass unfortunate trends! It's OK. Heck, we're not even limited to current offerings in patterns and fabric. Most of us have admitted that we're stashers, with many patterns and fabrics that we can raid when, say, orange mini skirts are the fashion du jour and they only make us look jaundiced and like "mutton as lamb." And there's also e-Bay with its plethora of vintage (although some of it isn't vintage to those of us approaching mid-century).


Come on ladies, quit whining. If you can sew, you have a solution. It doesn't matter if you're petite or tall, skinny or fat, or whatever. You don't have to depend on RTW. You can do what you like.

Labor Day Weekend is Here!

I'm enjoying an extra couple of days off along with the Labor Day holiday. Ahhhh...

Yesterday was fun. Lunch out (Pappadeaux, yum!) followed by a little retail therapy. All the stores are having summer clearance, and since it'll be warm for some time yet, I picked up some capris and linen/cotton trousers at J. Jill. I also online-shopped at SmartBargains.com for shoes (of course, I found some!) And I added to my HotPatterns collection. I'll report more on the shoes and the patterns when they arrive.

I'm so ready for fall but I need to be careful not to buy or make anything too heavy. Not if I expect to wear said items in the next 6 to 8 weeks. I may use a trick that I learned while living in Florida: go to fall/winter colors but keep the fabrics on the light side. No bulky knits yet but the blacks, browns, and grays can come out to play. And since the summer dress code at work is over as of Tuesday (although it'll be in the high 80's for awhile yet), the pumps and slingbacks will go back into active rotation.

Like many of you, I'm a Threads subscriber. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the newest issue, which arrived on Thursday. Excellent article by Georgene of her own blog and Sewing Divas. I also enjoyed the articles by Marcy Tilton and Linda Lee. Although, note to the editors: the styling on that Linda Lee article could have been better. Both pair of trousers were too short for heels, and what was the deal with the wrinkly crotch on the blue pair? Could you not have chosen better photos? Yes, I realize the garments were not made for the models, but we all know that they could have been tweaked to give the appearance of fit. It pains me because I've seen plenty of trunk shows of Sewing Workshop garments and they're beautifully made, gorgeous garments that deserve better treatment. Please? But back to the positive: I'm so going to make an Istanbul vest or two. I have some shawls that were given to me by a former customer that would get much more use if remade as vests.

Oh, and all of my vintage patterns are now scanned, placed in page protectors and placed in their own binder. I currently have the patterns stored inside the page protectors, but I can see that's not going to work very well. Although I used a 2" thick binder and don't have that many vintage patterns, the binder's already full as a result of all the extra bulk from the envelopes, tissues, and instructions. Plan B calls for all of them to be pulled out and stored separately. I think I need some Ziplock baggies for that because some of the original envelopes are pretty delicate, crumbling as they're handled. I don't want to keep storing pattern pieces, etc. in them because they're not going to hold up much longer if used that way.

Hopefully, I'll get some sewing activity done this weekend. It's been difficult to get any actual sewing done for several months, the result of a hectic work schedule, weight loss/exercise, and general "stuff." Sewing helps my mood so much that I really need to do it instead of putting it off for lack of "time." Even if it's just a little bit each session.

More Vintage Pattern Scans

I've had a couple of additional comments on specific vintage patterns from Linda and BjP. So, I thought it might be interesting to scan and post larger images so you could get a better look at them. I also included the backs of the envelopes.

McCall's 6761:

This pattern is copyright 1963 but the skirts are current looking. Skirt silhouettes do change, but this style is still going strong. And notice, even with the boxy tops, there are darts for shaping. There are a total of 4.

Here's the back of the envelope:

McCall's 5160:

And this pattern is dated 1959. Both views represent the grandest examples of robes that I've ever seen. Actually they are described as "housecoats" on the envelope. Is there a difference or has the terminology changed?

Can't you just envision the long one made up in silk satin?

This design is constructed with a bodice and skirt, and the skirt has 7 large, very flared gores, as shown on the back of the pattern envelope. I can't imagine wearing "foundation garments" (shapers in today's terms) under the robe to create the hourglass silhouette of the fashion illustration.

Advance 3031

This one is for Carolyn, who asked for a scan of this pant suit:

As near as I can tell, this one dates to the 1940s. Although I can't find a date anywhere on the pattern, I'm basing this on a couple of factors. First, the styling of the drawing. Those hairstyles just say "bobbysoxer" to me. Second, the fact that this pattern isn't printed. The tissue is marked with symbols, and I remember my mom (HS class of '49) telling me that patterns used to be done this way. If I'm right, then this is a pretty bold pattern for its time. Pants? Naw, that just wasn't done way back then, at least outside of the home.

No, there are no copyright dates on any part of the pattern, so I don't have that to rely on. So a guesstimate will have to do. I do love this little blurb on the instruction sheet:

All Advance Patterns are cut accurately for size and conform to the measurements recommended by the Bureau of Standards of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Ah yes, another reason to think this is from the 1940's. Government agencies are a good thing.

I don't know if I'll ever make this up from the pattern itself. It's a little small for me, but I couldn't see it going to the prison or landfill. It's a little historical jewel, you know? I can see myself making a similar outfit as an homage, using a more current pattern, though. Carolyn is right, the basic lines are awesome!

New Vintage Patterns

I mentioned before that my ASG sewing sisters are a marvelous resource for vintage patterns. Last night's meeting proved me right, with a Trading Post haul of epic proportions. Advance, Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity, and Vogue from the 50s and early 60s! I'm looking forward to using these as inspiration pieces, for their interesting details, and (dare I say?) I might even sew one up!

I also got some cute patterns that are merely OOP. 2 Simplicity dress patterns and a McCall's sleepwear set.

Vintage Musings

Marji posted about vintage projects July 23 and issued the following challenge:

So I'm going to challenge you, what do you still have hanging around that
you created years ago - pics, actual patterns, actual garments? Do you have
a fabulous collection of knitwear designs from decades ago? Show us.

I like vintage clothes and have since I was in grad school, during the first wave of vintage. Ahhh, to live in Florida when retirees moving south were getting rid of fabulous 1940s and 1950s wear! I had friends who made great money picking through South Florida thrift and charity shops for excellent swag, then turning around at selling it to the students at UF. Those were the days--good stuff could be had relatively cheaply. I wasn't doing a lot of sewing then but I had several cool beaded outfits that I liked to wear out clubbing.

But lately, I'm of 2 minds re: vintage. I love all the vintage garments I'm seeing on various blogs like Hungry Zombie Couture and Pins and Needles, not to mention Erin's inspirational pattern shots on A Dress a Day. But I'd feel like I was in a costume if I wore them myself. Maybe my time for full-out vintage looks is over.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures of myself in outfits back in the day. I remember at least 3 dresses I made for high school dances in the mid 1970's:

• There was a chiffon and crepe print halter dress I made for the junior prom. The chiffon was white with purple flowers printed on it. The crepe was plain white. Both polyester of course. The chiffon was an overlayer that also formed a capelet attached to the halter's neckline.



• Homecoming senior year was a long sleeved black Qiana dress with large art deco flowers. I'm not sure, I think it was empire waisted but cut narrow and a bit low cut for high school.



• And the senior prom dress was a Gunne Sax knockoff--they were the rage! Mine was yellow cotton with yards of white crochet-look lace. I liked it so much better than the drab tea stained shaded of the real Gunne Sax dresses from the store. I remember I wore white patent leather platform sandals with that one, and my date wore a matching yellow and black tuxedo. Don't laugh, it was cool to dress that way back in 1976!

I know these photos must still exist someplace, probably at the 2 family houses in Louisville. I'll ask my sister and brother to take a look around for them sometime when they have a chance. David still lives at my parents' house (nothing has changed) and Ellen inherited my grandparents' house from my uncle when he passed away. Both places have been in the family a long long time. The actual patterns are probably long gone though, and my mom's notebooks from her sewing classes in the 1940s. Too bad.

Anyway, back to me and my early sewing days. I actually used 2 machines, my mom's White (a tank from the 1950s that had its own cabinet) and my grandma's Singer (a "portable" black enamel tank with a bentwood case). I still have the Singer.

I remember being pretty fearless in my sewing. Of course it helps that I could run up a pattern right out of the envelope. Plus I didn't know I was supposed to be intimidated by fabric and patterns. So I'd try almost anything. I'm sure there were a lot of mistakes, but I was oblivious. I wore my clothes and loved them--the jeans, the embroidered cowboy shirts, the tunic tops, halters, sundresses, "baggies" with cuffs, shirt dresses, and on and on. My parents would almost always finance my fabric purchases, more so than my RTW trips to Stewarts, Bacons, and Levy Brothers. There was a fabric shop (creatively named "The Fabric Shop") located within walking distance at the local shopping center, which made it easy to buy fabric in the afternoon, sew it that evening, and wear it to school the next day.


Actually, the 2 most vintage things I have at my house are quilts that were made by my mom's paternal grandmother, who worked as a professional seamstress for a time.

This one is a doll quilt. Based on the bubblegum pink color and my mom's birthdate, I'd peg it at mid-1930s. I'm planning to have it framed one of these days for display in the sewing room. I think the doilies are from around the same period. I don't know their provenance, but I know my maternal grandmother had them at her home. They're teeny tiny gauge crochet and I want to frame them up too.

This one is for a regular bed. It's handstitched and made from scraps of men's shirtings, but was meant to be a utility quilt, not a "company" quilt. That's Ghost checking things out. Basically there are squares of plain muslin crazy quilted with the shirtings, joined together and hand quilted with a fan stitch. According to an appraisal I had done, the fabrics date from the 1910's.

Strangely, I don't have any quilts from my paternal grandmother, who lived in Appalachia and quilted all of the time. This is probably because she made them to sell, like a lot of the mountain ladies did. She also had a lot of children (13) and grandchildren(?) and the family quilts probably all went to the daughters (My dad received a shotgun when she passed. No, I'm not kidding).

Like a lot of us, I've been acquiring vintage patterns. Most of them have come from my ASG sewing sisters (meaning free or near free). Maybe I'll sew some of them up in spite of my misgivings, maybe not, does it really matter? Anyway, I've already gone on and on about my early days of sewing so I'll post more about that collection another time.