[ 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!

[ weekend hunting finds. ]

Thank you all so, so much for the amazing comments about my latest sewing project! Per popular request, I am going to work on a couple sleeve support tutorials: first for puffed sleeves and then how to make 40s style shoulder pads. So hopefully those will be up soon!

[ two 50s patterns I found at the estate sale. I'm most excited about the robe/morning gown! ]

You may have noticed I skipped posting last Friday–I have a good excuse though! I was out hunting down an estate sale I had found out about and seeing if it held any goodies. This was the first estate sale I’ve ever been to (I know: really weird for a gal who has been thrifting/antiquing/yard-saling for years!), so I didn’t know what to expect. Although there were no amazing stashes of vintage clothing (boo!), I did come away with a couple vintage patterns, an old tablecloth, some notions, an old frame (slated to be made into a jewelry holder), and two matching feedsacks. Not bad!

[ vintage powder compacts! ]

Sunday the vintage-hunting fun continued when I met up with my new friend from swing dancing at a local vintage store. I got another pattern (a 40s jacket and skirt), and most excitingly: two powder compacts. I have been on the hunt for vintage compacts to add some flair to the contents of my purse for awhile, but I held out over Christmas and only just started looking with an eye to buy. Both of these, although not 100% perfect, fit the bill of functional and pretty. The black one is a bit scratched, but the lady at the store said it’s easy to fix with a bit of hobby model paint, so I’m going to raid Sailor Husband’s model building supplies and see what I can do to pretty it up. Now I just need to get some loose powder and follow Solanah’s tutorial for refilling a compact…

[ I am probably more excited about this find than is sane... ]

Otherwise, the weekend was fairly quiet: the weather was gloomy, so it was perfect for spending time reading and organizing ideas for my next sewing projects, and then Sunday evening was swing dancing. Last week I really wasn’t sure I was going to be able to learn how to dance–it just seemed too confusing! I feel a bit more confident and less clumsy after our second class. I am definitely not the most graceful or talented person on the dance floor–but at least it’s fun! What did you do over the weekend?

Have a great Monday, friends!

( Click for larger view. )

Before I moved, my favorite vintage dealer told me that Florida thrifting can be a gold mine if you look hard enough. Something about all the people that retire here and then get rid of decades of stuff. Honestly, my first couple of thrift outings here were disappointing, and I started to wonder if perhaps this part of Florida was just not that exciting on the thrifting front. But, after last week when Mom and I hit a few in the space of an afternoon, I definitely feel my confidence renewed! I didn’t purchase a ton (there was lots to choose from, but I’m trying to keep in mind my limited storage space), but what I did snag I love! I bought a few things to list for sale: a 90s floral sundress (I like it, but that look I wore the first time around, and it makes me feel weird to wear something I did when I was a kid!) and a pretty 80s yellow dress. Then the goodies for me: a pair of brightly patterned pants (new not vintage; I hemmed them to a 50s clam digger length!), a burnt orange linen dress (gorgeous!) and my favorite: a 1960s brown wool coat with fur collar! Now, I know that in Florida it is highly unlikely I’ll ever wear this (save for the occasional winter hockey game), but I’ve been on the hunt for this sort of coat for a while. I love the rich, red-toned brown too. The piece is in excellent condition, with only a minor fraying near the top of the back coat collar (easily hide-able by tacking up the fur collar). Best yet, I got it for a mere $6! Hurrah!

( Click for larger view. )

I’m all excited to do some more thrifting in the coming months. The idea that there are more treasures awaiting discovery is thrilling! Have you found any dynamite fashion finds lately?

This weekend was fruitful in so many ways: how did your’s go? Mine started a day early with the annual hospital-benefit rummage sale that I’ve faithfully attended for years (even to the point of dragging myself–still half sick–to the event, like last year!). It was definitely crowded this year, but the amazing selection of goods for sale (everything from antiques to modern designer wear) made up for bumping into people and having to squeeze through the throngs. Mom and I arrived bright and early, and both made out like bandits! I didn’t have a list or idea of what I wanted to look for: this year being my last year to attend, I decided I just wanted to enjoy the experience: and well, gosh-darnit, I wasn’t going to be uptight about finding anything! lol. Dunno if that mindset worked, or what, but I found some truly special treasures:

I’m especially pleased at my restraint to not purchase any winter-weight coats this year (despite my longing)! I did buy a red rain slicker, but that will come in handy in Florida, I think. And it was red: how could I pass it up?! lol. I also poked around and found a pretty umbrella (will work as a parasol for me; I’m rather fair skinned that sun protection is a must!), a 60s mustard-yellow overnight bag (in gorgeous condition–honeymoon here I come! haha!), various bits and pieces of clothing, etc. Unfortunately, I can’t photograph it all, because I was quite efficient this year, and all of the garments are being cleaned. lol.

One of my favorite finds were these two teacups. They were looking so lonely; all chipped and faded, no one wanted them! But I thought they were so pretty with their organic–almost modern–designs (how very Anthropologie?!). They’ll be perfect to hold bobby pins and short makeup brushes. (More images of rummage sale loot here.)

Saturday was the Big Hunt for dresses for my two bridesmaids. Both my younger sister and L.’s will be acting as my attendants. Though they’re eight years apart (mine is 21, his is 13), both girls are very petite and short. So finding dresses that would fit was a bit of a trick, but Banana Republic came to the rescue (thank you, BR, for making petite sizes!)! I found two, deep teal sheaths (the photo is for the fuschia style, but we found the teal) that are very 1960s (so they’ll compliment my dress design), and simple. Not typical “bridesmaids” dresses at all, but since this wedding is shaping up to be somewhat unconventional, it fits! lol

Sunday, I rested. I’ve been going at a frenetic pace lately, and had orders from both L. and my parents to rest. So I sat around, watched movies and caught up with the new season of Pushing Daisies. (I want to steal Anna Friel’s wardrobe!) Now, it’s back into Wedding Mode. Things are definitely kicking up a notch in that area… Five weeks ‘til!!!

Hope you’re having a fantastic start to the new week, friends!

Thank you all so, so much for your outpouring of lovely comments on my last post!!! You all are so sweet and so kind–I’m so overwhelmed and delighted that you loved the results of Kate’s photography and my camera-hamming! lol. Thanks bunches!!

This post marks the beginning of a new blogging schedule for me. From now on, I’ll be writing later in the evenings. Schedule-wise this works best for me (so I don’t *coughcough* waste time blogging first thing in the morning.), and I also found from the survey I did that most of you are catching up with your blog feeds first thing in the morning. So this way they’ll be a fresh, little post waiting for you! Hopefully it’ll work out…

I wanted to share with you all a recent refashion I did! I spotted this dress in the thrift shop a few weeks ago, during one of their $1 days. Although the style is quite mid 1990s (gosh–I remember a dress that had an similar silhouette that I wore when I was 11 to my piano recital–circa 1996!), the fabric and “bones” were good. For the price, I couldn’t say no, because I kept thinking that the waistline and skirt cut were just screaming late 1930s/early 40s! The most obvious change was shortening the skirt (harder than it would seem; the fabric didn’t want to cooperate!), but I also removed the shoulder pads, and redid the sleeves a bit. Those were easy-peasy: taking up the sleeve hem and creating a pinch pleat on the side, topped with a button. This gave the sleeves a sort of puffed look, and echoes a lot of sleeve styles from that era.

I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out! A little shorter than most real 40s dresses, but I prefer this length with my short legs. And the key to refashioning, after all, is customizing something to your body or aesthetics.

I recently acquired some new magazines, chock-full of drool-worthy fashion images from the early 1950s. Here are a couple of my favorites for this week’s Vintage Monday feature! Enjoy!