[ overview of the loot. ]

My mom left Saturday afternoon, to fly back north to Virginia. It’s been noticeably more quiet here and I miss her already! But this visit was filled with loads of great memories which will keep me company!

The week ended up quite adventuresome: not so much from the standpoint of things we did, but rather that the car decided to break down in various ways all week! First it was a tire with bad rubber (we were told after we had someone look at it that the tire could have exploded at any moment!), then when Mom and I were thrifting the front bumper fell off (we’re still not sure how that one happened…). So, we had to scramble on Saturday to get her to the airport since the car was in the shop. Which of course meant Sailor Husband and I were grounded for the rest of the weekend as all our other plans (things like grocery shopping!) involved needing to drive some place. lol. Now I really see why a new bicycle for my birthday would be a good thing… haha!

[ a small piece of a Japanese-themed silk print fabric. ]

Aside from the vehicle drama, we did get to squeeze a few things in between the tire and bumper incident. We went out to Kennedy Space Center last Sunday, visited a bunch of thrift stores (including some I had never ventured to–found a couple good ones in the city!), went to afternoon tea at a new-to-me tea room nearby, and even spent a day sewing! Now that is what I call a great vacation. lol! Thrifting was a little uneven, but considering that it’s been such in Virginia for Mom too, I can’t say either of us were too unhappy and were excited with what we did come away with!

[ a 1943 sewing book, notions and more fabric. ]

I think my most exciting finds was the vintage silk print (I’m thinking I might use it on a blouse) and the 1943 sewing book (I already own a copy, but it has always been in bad condition, so finding one in such a good state and with it’s dust jacket was so neat!). I also got a boatload of patterns for the shop, fabric and notions for me, a few pieces of clothing (nothing terribly vintage, but still needed to add some options to my closet), and some random bits and pieces. The Beatles records (Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) were a big score for my collection; and at only $1 each were a great find!

[ records! ]

Now that the excitement has settled down, I need to do some serious neatening-up around here and get some listings ready for the EM shop this week. Although, now that Mom isn’t here, I’m going to miss having someone to talk to all day!

I want to say thank you to everyone who stopped by last week and commented! A big hello to new readers too–thank you for all your lovely comments and emails! Hope you all are having a splendid Monday!

[ please click for the sources of these beautiful images! ]

This week has just zoomed by so quickly! My mom and I have been busy doing all sorts of things; I am planning on showing you some neat things I found when we went thrifting early in the week. We also did some sewing (tackling some projects from this book and my serger) yesterday as well–which is always fun! But for now, here’s this week’s round-up of inspiring posts. Mom is leaving tomorrow (boo-hoo!), so we’re trying to cram in a bit more fun and visiting before then!

We are about to set off on another thrifting adventure (I haven’t been thrifting a lot in the past year–got to get it in while I can! haha!). So I will bid you all wishes of a lovely weekend! ‘Til Monday…

You will need a few supplies: paper (you can use inexpensive banner paper from the office supply store, exam table paper, blank newsprint, or Swedish interfacing), ruler and/or yardstick, pencil, fine tip marker, paper scissors, pattern weights (I use large metal washers from the hardware store), pins (for printed patterns only), and a flat surface (in this case, a cutting mat).

Begin by ironing all the pieces on the lowest heat setting for your iron, without steam. If in doubt, test on a piece of paper first to make sure your iron won’t scorch the paper. You need to iron out any wrinkles or deep folds in the pattern pieces so they’ll lie flat. Just be careful not to tear the pieces.

Lay the paper on a flat surface. Arrange the pattern pieces on top with pattern weights atop to help straighten the pattern and keep it flat. If the piece has a straight edge (such as the one pictured with the center-front edge to be placed on folded fabric), you can lay that alongside the straight edge of the paper to reduce one more edge to trace.

Begin tracing around the edges of the pattern with the pencil. I tend to sketch around curves and uneven edges, and make dash marks every 8″-12″ along straight edges that I can fill in with a ruler after the pattern is removed.

Be sure to mark all the circles, notches and diamonds! When transferring a dart marking, I indicate those with small dots and connect them later with a ruler for a complete dart shape. If you’re tracing a printed pattern, I tend to pierce through the pattern and paper beneath with a pin to indicate a pattern marking. After the pattern is removed, I go back and add the mark with the pencil or marker.

Remove the pattern piece and fill in any spots with the ruler/yardstick. I also indicate all darts and grainlines at this point too.

Finally fill in the pattern information: company, number, size, piece and quantity to be cut with marker (if this is a final piece; if you’re using it to grade the pattern, you don’t need all the information). I also like to include notes on seam allowances, darts, hem depth, etc. on the pattern piece. Now you can cut the pattern out and start on the important thing: sewing!

I like doing a post every few months showing some of the vintage snapshots that have been accumulating in my Flickr favorites (a.k.a. my “virtual inspiration file”). High fashion is all good and I find it intensely inspiring, but sometimes it’s fun to see what average people were wearing way back when! I love seeing how they interpreted trends and silhouettes of the period–I tend to look at these photos as the forerunners of our modern “street style” images!

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[ please click for the sources of these beautiful images! ]

I have some big plans for this weekend because my mom is coming to visit! I’m super excited as she’ll be here all next week and we’ve scheduled some fun things like thrifting trips, afternoon tea, visiting Anthropologie, and spending some time sewing. I dare say posting will be a bit sparse (although I have a couple posts up my sleeve), and I will apologize beforehand for any delay in email replies. But I’m hoping we’ll have some fun thrifting finds to show off, as we have two days we’ve set aside exclusively for that.

[ 1937 fashion report. click for the large view to read the text. ]

This week’s inspiration comes from a 1937 Home Arts magazine. Not only is this a page full of fantastic style inspiration from the late 30s, but the author (a “Needle-Minded New Yorker”) points out details and materials the home seamstress could use to make her own less-expensive copies. I’m personally loving the blouse designs to death–right now my wardrobe is in need of a few new tops.

Off to finish some neatening up and getting things ready for my mom’s arrival (and a much needed morning cup of tea!). Have a lovely weekend, friends!