After-Christmas Break!

Hi everyone (or should that be anyone...since it's been so long since my last post, I'm sure NO-one actually reads this!!)

I've been so busy and crazy over the Christmas season that I haven't had any chance (or energy) to blog. I made several custom aprons for friends to give as presents. That made me very happy, but busy, right up until Christmas. What I've learned this year - don't take any custom orders within a few weeks of Christmas!!

Our Holidays were wonderful, if not relaxing. There was the annual cookie decorating

And we had several lovely dinners with friends and family, a nice and relaxed Christmas morning together (where I was spoiled rotten with a new Guitalele! More on that, later!) with presents and coffee with Baileys, a very merry New Year's party with friends downtown as well as a large birthday party last weekend for my man....he turned 40, after all! All in all, I made out like a bandit and had such a nice time seeing all the wonderful friends and family that I don't see often enough. In a very timely fashion, I have 5 days vacation left over from last year, and I'm using them this week, sewing for my poor, neglected Etsy shop, as well as vintage fashions for myself. I need to use up some of this fabric stash!!

Soon I will be uploading (to my Etsy) the 4 aprons I finished this week, as well as a few more vintage patterns...gosh I have no idea why I even bought them! They are SO much work to upload! Although, I HAVE sold a few so far, and have managed to keep about 25 or so for myself to use.

Speaking of using patterns, here's a pic taken by my man a few minutes ago of my new outfit:

I know, they're a bit blurry, and such. The skirt was sewn from a wool blend fabric using Butterick 8018 - a late '50's pattern. The top was sewn from a plain white cotton, using Simplicity 4530 - a 1950's pattern, with the collars changed to a shawl type...I just can't get into the large 1950's collars. Maybe it's because we had them in the '70's, too. Hmm. I forgot to put on my lippy and have no jewelery on. Please forgive the wrinkles...the shirt is hot off the sewing machine!!

I wish I had a narrower, vintage waist. The photos on patterns always look so much better, don't they??

I have recently acquired some 1940's and 1950's Lutterloh pattern books. If you don't know what that is, it's a pattern system from Germany that still exists today. They've been making pattern books since 1935! It's a wonderful resource for style - since there are drawings of ladies dressed in the outfits (the hair! the shoes! Oh my!) - as well as having hundreds of patterns. You can still buy them when they come up on eBay, though they're fairly dear. I've spent so much time looking at them recently, trying to decide what to make first!!! I think I'll start with a 1940's dress, like this on on the left:

Or maybe this one on the right:

And I'd also LOVE to make this blouse...isn't it adorable?? But then, I'd need a white skirt...and I'm not so good with white...

Chances are, this week, I won't get the sundress done. I'm trying to relax and enjoy my vacation...since my last 6 vacation days were used and I was SO ill. sigh.

Well, I'm going to go snuggle into bed....it's currently -1 degrees outside and snowing. Brrr!

Read more...

Buying spree!

Yes, I've gone crazy. I guess now that I'm looking, I see '40's and '50's stuff or inspired stuff everywhere!

I cruise the vintage shops around here sometimes, searching for work clothes at inexpensive prices (especially since my weight has been fluctuating so much this past year) and have found some cute things.

Like these vintage tan, leather, strappy heels! They're in such good shape...they just need new lifts and the insole needs a tiny bit of glue. I honestly can't believe these fit me.

And these modern, 1940's-esque black peep-toe heels. And they're COMFY, too!





And this bead necklace....I just LOVE the soft color! I have no idea WHAT vintage it is, but I like it anyway.

 My sister has lent me my Grandma's crinolines, of which there are two. I think I'd like to re-create BOTH, so if I want a SUPER puffy skirt, I can double-up. The first is a single layer of very stiff net in two tiers on a waistband (which was probably a dropped yoke at one time, but has been taken up), with a small, softer ruffle on the bottom. The seams are covered with white and silver Greek key trim.

The second crinoline is 2 tiered, as well, with the top tier being a thin dropped yoke. It's made of a very stiff net. The bottom tier has two layers. The bottom layer has 2 ruffles sewn to it's bottom for fullness. The top layer is made of a very soft, sheer fabric with a pretty scalloped edge and has flowers and designs on it in white flocking. The hems on the under-layer are small and rolled. This crin has such a nice shape!

I've also been busy on eBay, after discovering that folks sell whole LOTS of vintage patterns!! This is a serious problem  :o)  I've already purchased two lots, for a total of 29 patterns, and hope to have a few more. I'll be cherry-picking the ones I like that fit me, and selling the rest (if they're complete) on my Etsy. Hopefully I can make back some of the cost of the patterns! Keep your fingers crossed that I win the next 3, too! I can't wait to get them!

I know, I know...I should be sewing things for my Etsy! But I'm still trying to get things sorted out, and will be working on more aprons as time goes by, and when I have some extra free time....if that ever happens! I have plans for a little girl's ruffly apron as well as a little boy's smock. Some day soon, hopefully!

Read more...

My new obsesison!

Ahhhh. Well, I suppose everyone knew I had a thing for the 1950's (hence the aprons...) but I've never done much except look at things online and listen to a bit of music.

So, a while back I started thinking about sewing  some 1950's clothes, and started looking at vintage patterns on Etsy. Oh my God! What a selection and so DREAMY! Women absolutely looked like women back then. Most of it I could even wear today...so I actually ordered several. These to be exact:

Wouldn't this be so cute to wear even now???!

So I know the first and last one of the three are later 1950's, but I like them anyways. 

I also just purchased another pattern from Etsy and I can't wait for it to arrive!! Isn't it amazing?

I'm so excited for this pattern! It's so amazing. It should fit perfectly, though I'm thinking I might need some sort of waist cincher to get the hourglass look right...right? I'm planning on actually wearing this to work and making it in a few in different colors...black, grey, maybe some sort of brown tweedy-ish fabric...

In my excitement for all the research I've done, I decided to cut my hair. I thought I'd try and get a vintage style. My lovely aunt cut it for me, and this is the first time it's been cut so short on top since my youth. Don't get too excited, though...it's still long-ish at about 6 inches. We left it longer at the back, and layered all over. Not a mullet, if that's what you're thinking...

I'm still undecided if I like it or not, as I've been used to wash and go hair for the last, oh...decade. Naturally curly hair definitely makes a short cut a pain. It needs blowdrying and rolling in curlers for the right look, and hairspray. Lots and lots of hairspray. If only I had the courage to cut it to a shorter style, like Elizabeth Taylor in "A Place in the Sun" from 1951!! If you're interested in learning how to do various vintage hairstyles, check out Lisa Freemont Street on YouTube. She's amazing.

The fight with the curlers was...interesting. To make a very long story short, I figured out that sponge rollers work too well (think serious afro), and brush rollers are best with my fine hair and lack of interest in sleeping in rollers (my man was almost ready to run for cover. Not sexy at all!). To make my hair story even more "amusing", last week I decided to darken my hair to a nice chocolate brown  - to cover up my natural roots, and for a change for the winter - and ended up with almost black. Sigh. Luckily, everyone says they like it. I hope they're not just being nice! You can see a little video I put up with my hair all done up in haircombs and curls. This is as close as I can get to the "poodle" style:

I have done a fair amount of looking for foundation garments, as well, since I don't think you can get the correct vintage look without it. However....I just can't get into the seriously pointy boobs! Am I the only one? My sister lent me a vintage dead stock bra from the 50's that she bought from eBay. It fits, but scares me in how POINTY it is. Talk about lift and separate! It's like my boobs weren't even on speaking terms. So I thought I'd make a pattern from it, and take a little of the pointyness away. It didn't really work. My man was so relieved when I took it off! I guess I need to reduce a LOT more, as it was still...dangerous.  I'd heard that getting a soft cup bra (Playtex's 18 hr bra was specifically mentioned) will also give the right silhouette for those who can't afford a reproduction brassiere. So, off I headed to Wal Mart. The selection is dizzying, and depressing, at the same time. Yes, they are fairly pointy and keep your lady bits from talking to each other, however I'm apparently a smaller size than I thought...at least in Playtex's world. So small, in fact, that Playtex doesn't have a size to fit me!! Yeowch. I give up for a little bit. I'll revisit the pointy-boob issue later, once I'm desperate for the right look.

Next up, I'll need to make a crinoline and petticoat, as well as a few slips for under my new clothes I'll be making. I've also been drooling all over What Katy Did's little waist cincher. I'll need something like that if I want to get the early '50's "New Look" look right. If only I had a little more money. OK, a lot more. I never knew that the 1940's and 50's styles and pin-up looks were so popular!

Everything will be slow going on the sewing front, as I'm still in training for my current job for about two more weeks, plus I need to do some fabric shopping. Suit material isn't particularly cheap. Who knows when I'll have the time to start sewing, right? 

Read more...

Rain, rain, go away....

It seems that Summer is finally over. The summer heat broke with heavy rains that left a puddle inside my car a few weeks ago, and aside from a few warm-ish days (like yesterday), it definitely feels like fall. And to top it off, today is afflicted with torrential rains that make me want to snuggle under the blankets with a good book!

I haven't the energy to blog about anything specific today, so here's a picture from Playland last summer (since I never made it there this year).

Read more...

Baking for the dogs!

So, my newest doggy is fitting right in to our family. 

 

He's fun, playful, energetic... and a bit tiring! He can run ALL day! I hear that Min Pins are just fun like that. 

The only (tiny) downer is that he is highly allergic to wheat. As in, the first week we had him, he got into the cat treats and cost $123 at the vet for medications to bring down the rash and itchyness!! The allergy is not a big deal, really, since we were already feeding our bigger dog the same wheat-free food (Origen) that Capone was eating - it's only the treats that are problematic. Grain free treats are easy enough to find at most pet stores, but the selection isn't so great, and they're not particularly cheap!

So, like any intrepid dog-lover, I decided to bake up some wheat-free treats for the pooches, and see if they compare to store bought ones. What do you think of the final product??

They're really cheesy-smelling, and they hold together fairly well. They're crunchy, and the doggies love them.

OK...so they love pretty much anything that's edible....but they seemed to REALLY like them! I have no pics, since they snapped them up so fast!

I've got some photos from the process, if you're interested. And I'll write out the recipe at the bottom of this post.

The dough. It was stickier than I expected. The recipe called for not nearly enough water and I kind of improvised. Since it got kneaded a bit more on a rice-floured counter, it stiffened up a bit.

I forgive you for thinking that it looks grey and disgusting, because it did.

I used a tiny (1 1/2 inch) heart-shaped cookie cutter. I wished I had a small dog bone shaped cutter....I guess that means I get to go shopping for one! The flour was still sticky, and after rolling out the first batch, I found I really needed to get rice flour under the bit I was rolling, even part-way through. A good trick is to flop a corner of the rolled-out dough over the rolling pin (that is above the dough) and gently pick it up with the pin, so you can re-flour under the dough. Otherwise, it sticks pretty badly. 

And they cooked up fairly quickly! I just watched to make sure the cheese didn't burn. I didn't actually watch the time. You can cook them longer than these in the next photo, but it doesn't matter. They were crispy anyway.

I turned off the oven, and left the cookies in there to cool off overnight, though I DID unstick each one from the cookie sheet, first. The cheese was extremely melty!

I adapted a recipe from a book I photocopied some years ago and had never used. If you've never used rice flour (like I hadn't) it's a little gritty and seems to take more water than I expected....I never did measure just how MUCH water, so you'll have to just keep adding until it's good!

You'll need:

2 1/2 cups rice flour (plus extra for rolling)

1/2 cup black bean flour

1/4 cup skim milk powder

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (packed semi-loosely into the cup)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Warm water (the recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup, but trust me when I say it's just not enough!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit

Mix the flours, milk powder and cheese. Add the oil, and then the water, starting with about a cup and mixing in more a bit at a time until you get a firm dough. I wish I knew how much I used! Don't worry though - you can add a little more flour if it gets a bit sticky. Plop dough out on to a counter that's liberally floured with rice flour  (you may want to work with a third of the dough at a time. I found it much easier) and knead until it is thoroughly mixed. Flour the surface again, as well as your rolling pin, and the top of the dough. roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness, and then cut with a cutter of your choice. These don't really spread during baking, so they can be placed quite close together, although the cheese does melt out a bit. Cook until golden on top, or until the cheese gets crispy - whichever comes first. (the recipe says 10-15 minutes, but that sounds like too long!) Unstick the cookies from the pan with a spatula, and then place the cookies back into the oven with the heat OFF, to get even more crispy and cool until morning. 

And there you have it! They jumped all over me for the treats....but then, I don't have finicky eaters. If you do, and they like the cookies, let me know! 

I'm not sure how long these will be good for - the recipe recommends keeping them stored in the fridge in an airtight container - but since we're a treat-friendly family (hey....food-motivated training, anyone?) and I'm apparently living on the edge, we'll keep them in a sealed container on the counter and I'm sure we'll use them all up before they get a chance to go bad!

Hope you all have a good week! 

And HI to my family in Germany!! I'm glad you like the apron :o) Happy birthday!!! Love you!

Read more...

Custom work

Hello again!

I've had quite a few custom aprons (7, to be exact) that I've been trying to work on in my spare time. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten pictures of them all, and I only have two left to complete. SIGH. Time restraints are KILLING my creativity!

I did, however, get photos of these two. The white and yellow apron was made for a 1050's style party!!

I'm in love with the white and yellow apron. IN. LOVE. SO in love, as a matter of fact, that I have ordered more of the cherry fabric, as well as several other types of retro-ish fabrics so I can make MORE! Be prepared for a few of this type on my Etsy....though maybe not quite so full (that's around 100 inches of fabric, gathered into a 24 inch waist. I never said I was any good at math...) I'm going to have to order a bunch of ric rac, too...and here I had been resisting. SIGH. Speaking of ric rac...this is an EXCELLENT deal, if you need to order it in bulk.

We've finally managed to get a weekend away, to do a second test-run of our new (to us) 1970's truck camper (funny, the only photo of the camper is super blurry!). 

I'm loving camper camping much more than tenting. So civilized! We did find, however, that even slight bouncing on bumpy roads can lead to camper issues....like a problem with the ancient doorknob, where we had major difficulties getting in our last lunch-stop (something in the mechanism shifted) and then, once we finally got in, LOCKED us in! Good thing there's an escape hatch in the roof! A new knob set is getting installed today, thank goodness.

Some photos from our trip:

Read more...

Farther along the road than before

Hello again...I know it's been some time since my last post. I apologize to everyone, especially me....I like blogging.

I have been super busy with a job that keeps me hopping, a very long commute every day, sewing to do...and I've had my share of tears recently.

My little 4 year old Chihuahua pup, Puccini, was paralyzed from an unknown accident and after 3 weeks of desperately hopeful treatment, had to be put down. May he frolic happily in doggy heaven and always have someone warm to snuggle next to at night.

Oh my little man, my munchkin....how I miss you beyond all reckoning. You were the best little doggie, ever.

Shortly after that, my kitty Tatu became ill. Within about a month of Pucci, she also had to be put down, with a diagnosis of cancer under her tongue. She was 10 1/2 and will be so sorely missed. She was the softest, sweetest kitty ever, and a constant companion through thick and thin.

But not everything is sad. Two days before the decision to put down my kitty, I adopted Capone. He is a 3 year old red Minature Pinscher. His previous owners could not have two dogs in their condo and as Capone was the newest, he sadly needed a new home. He is very sweet, but not as people-oriented as Pucci was. He's also bigger, and more energetic (which is a HUGE understatement) than Pucci....he can run alllll day long and almost never get tired.

He is making it much easier to be without my two little friends.

I have also been sewing, and have several custom orders left to complete.

Here is one of the customs I've recently done so far(I just didn't get photos of the others), pardon the horrible photo! And if the lady who wanted it never gets back to me...it'll be up for sale soon!

And this is pretty much the only good photo of my stuff from the Honeybee Festival in Surrey. Potholders:

Aside from my little woes, things are moving along otherwise well. My work contract is up, soon, and I'll be working from a location closer to home with a new contract (YAY!) which will mean more time for sewing, my family, and ME! Yes. I've also passed my exam for my lever 2 Insurance License. Yes, I work in insurance....it's not as exciting as it sounds. I've sold most of my Etsy stock and will hopefully be sewing up more to list. It's neat to know that my aprons live in the USA, Holland, New Zealand, Germany and Canada. :o)  And I've recently done some fabric shopping on Etsy for some new apron styles (for when I actually get around to sewing).


I'll also be putting up some photos (eventually) that I've taken this summer, and like so far. I hope you've all been having an enjoyable summer!! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see here, and I'll see if  I can manage it.

Read more...