This past weekend proved to be extremely fruitful on the thrifting front—which was surprising and has got me a bit giddy because the thrift stores have been very picked over of late. I found a few treasures of various sorts, but really lucked out on vintage sewing notions—my sewing room is now freshly restocked! (A good thing, because I’ve actually been running low on some notions I use regularly.) I stopped by both a new-to-me thrift shop and an estate sale, and came away with a myriad of little bits and bobs: zippers, seam binding (including what looks like a barely used roll of 100 yards!), an unused Sulky transfer pen for my new embroidery obsession, buttons, bits and pieces of fabric… I’m really quite tickled by the finds!
This particular notion intrigued me the minute I picked it up at the thrift shop. Things were more than a little crazy at this particular store (there was barely any room to move around and it was crowded), so I didn’t get to thoroughly examine it until I got home. The gist of this is that you can use it to pleat a skirt (or various home décor items—but I like the skirt idea). Simply measure a length of the pre-pleated tape according to your waist measure, remove the stay-basting along the pleats, cut a length of fabric equal to the stretched-out tape, baste, and reform the pleats. Pretty ingenious, no? I’m thinking a nice, lightweight wool skirt would be lovely! (Or something that doesn’t wrinkle a lot; I rather dislike wrinkly pleated skirts…)
But probably my favorite find of all is this Dritz Bound Buttonhole tool. Now you may have heard me sing it’s praises before, but it’s really a beautiful little piece of equipment that makes fashioning bound buttonholes a breeze. They’re also highly sought-after and like many vintage notions tend to be a bit pricy on Ebay and Etsy. Because I found two of these over the weekend, I wanted to pass this one on to someone else! It unfortunately doesn’t have it’s original packaging and instructions, but considering Sarai has written excellent directions on how to use this tool, don’t let that stop you. If you’d like a chance to win this, continue reading…
Entries are now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who entered!
I do hope perhaps this will be of interest to a few of you reading! Best of luck! (P.S. Sewing not quite your thing? Don’t worry—I have a completely non-sewing related giveaway planned for later this month!)
August 1, 2011 ·
301 lovely thoughts
posted in thrifting + vintage
· tags: giveaway, thrifting + vintage
Today is sadly the final day of Birthday Giveaways–I hope everyone had fun? Be sure to drop by and enter Day Six’s giveaway if you haven’t already!
Today I’m delighted to welcome Paige of Little White Chapel. She is offering this lovely set of earrings for one lucky gal! Paige specializes in creating beautiful jewelry and accessories for the budget-minded bride, but many of her pieces work just as well for other occasions or dressing up an everyday outfit. I love the classic style of these cream bead and gold-tone filigree earrings that are being offered in the giveaway. They’d look equally perfect with a casual sundress or pretty cocktail number. When I asked Paige about her favorite birthday treats, here’s what she had to say:
- Giveaway is open to readers everywhere.
- To enter, visit the Little White Chapel shop and leave a comment HERE with your favorite item in Paige’s shop. (Be sure to include your contact information!)
- The contest will be open for 48 hours; until 4pm on May 5. The winner will be contacted shortly thereafter.
- The winner will be randomly selected from the comments.
Don’t forget to check out Paige’s blog and Twitter as well! Best of luck to you all!
May 3, 2011 ·
145 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
· tags: giveaway
Don’t forget to enter Day Five’s giveaway before it ends tomorrow!
Today I’m excited to present a 40s reproduction pattern from Wearing History! Lauren is offering this adorable sailor playsuit just in time for some summer sewing! As you probably remember, I made this outfit last year and it’s one of my favorite summertime looks (I wear the shorts with other tops a lot too–they’re so flattering!). I can see this is a snappy white linen or even red too! Such an iconic look for any vintage-loving gal, plus it’s not too complicated to make. One lucky sewist will win a copy of this pattern in their size choice (packet A bust measurements 30″ to 34″ and B 36″ to 40″). I just know it’ll be perfect in someone’s closet this summer! Lauren was kind enough to answer my pesky questions about birthday treats and memories too…
- Giveaway is open to US readers only
- To enter, visit the Wearing History’s shop and leave a comment HERE with your favorite item in Lauren’s shop. (Be sure to include your contact information!)
- The contest will be open for 48 hours; until 4pm on May 4. The winner will be contacted shortly thereafter.
- The winner will be randomly selected from the comments.
Don’t forget to visit Lauren’s blog (for loads of inspiration!) and the Wearing History Facebook too. Best of luck to you all!
Note: Due to my computer problems, I’ll be posting the winners of all the giveaways on Wednesday, May 4!
May 2, 2011 ·
186 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
· tags: giveaway
Did you enter Day Four’s giveaway? Don’t forget to before it ends at 4pm tomorrow!
For Day Five Josette of Jojo’s Retro and Vintage is offering a beautiful scarf for one lucky (and stylish!) reader to win. Scarves are great for spring and summer; whether tying around your head a la turban, or knotting a fluffy bow around the handles of your handbag for a pop of color, it’s a great and versatile accessory. I know I’ve been trying to pull out more of my own scarves to wear as of late. This scarf from Josette’s shop is so pretty with the colorful figures bordering all edges–it’s sure to add some color to any outfit! Josette also was kind enough to share some of her birthday favorites as well:
- Giveaway is open to US readers only
- To enter, visit the Jojo’s Retro and Vintage shop and leave a comment HERE with your favorite vintage item in the shop. (Be sure to include your contact information!)
- The contest will be open for 48 hours; until 4pm on May 3. The winner will be contacted shortly thereafter.
- The winner will be randomly selected from the comments.
Don’t forget to check out Josette’s blog, Facebook and Twitter as well. Best of luck to you all!
May 1, 2011 ·
77 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
· tags: giveaway
Can you believe we’re at Day Four of the giveaways already?! It zooming by so quickly. If you haven’t already, be sure to enter Day Three’s giveaway before it ends at 4pm tomorrow. (Please note: I have been having computer problems and not been able to log online lately and notify winners of the previous giveaways. However, the first two days have ended and I will contact winners as soon as I am back up and running. Thanks for understanding!)
I am excited today to be offering you one of Colette Patterns newest design releases! Sarai has offered the Ginger skirt pattern for one lucky seamstress! This classic a-line skirt design is easy to sew, and would be perfect for the beginner or seasoned sewer alike! I just love all the waistline variations and am thinking I need to add this one to my pattern box soon. Be sure to check out the Colette Patterns blog for some amazing tips and free sewing projects, and sign up for the Snippets newsletter as well. It’s one of my favorite e-newsletters to get in my inbox every week!
- Giveaway is open to readers everywhere.
- To enter, visit the Colette Patterns shop and leave a comment HERE with your favorite pattern (and why would be fantastic!) in the shop. (Be sure to include your contact information!)
- The contest will be open for 48 hours; until 4pm on May 2. The winner will be contacted shortly thereafter.
- The winner will be randomly selected from the comments.
Best of luck to you all!
April 30, 2011 ·
327 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
· tags: giveaway
