Thrifting Karma!

Karma has been on my side this week.

First up, my very first attempt at sewing a shirt turned out as a shirt!  Not only was this my first shirt, it was my first attempt at sewing with a knit fabric.  The result:

I used this pattern, an old Simplicity from 1981.  I did the shirt length in the tunic style.  The fabric was on the clearance rack at Joann's, so this is a $6 shirt.  Which is just about what I like to pay for a shirt.  I wore the shirt the other day and it is really comfy.  Definitely a keeper.  Of course it looks like about half the shirts in my closet, but when I like something I have a tendency to stick with it.

So after my initial success working with a knit, I picked up a few more vintage "just for knits" patterns at a local antique mall a few days later.  These are from the 70's, but again, I bet they'll end up looking like most of my clothes.  My style doesn't really change.

Butterick #3089

Simplicity #6443, 1974

These patterns may be 40+ years old but they look great to me--simple and comfortable!

As luck would have it, two days after I found these patterns, I stopped in to my favorite thrift store and stumbled upon a GIANT, and I do mean GIANT bag of fabric.  Knit fabric.  Polyester.  Cotton.  Silk.  All kinds of fabric.  So much fabric that I could barely lift it into the cart.  I had to get a cart, because there was no way I could carry it.

I didn't bother to look through it at the store.  I also picked up a pink floral sheet set and what turned out to be an Ikea duvet cover in that pink & red print you see on the left.  When I got home, I had a whole bunch of fun sorting through all this:

knits and polyesters

fancy!  

several colors of corduroy

various wovens.

Needless to say, I've been busy washing my score.  I'd estimate I've got about 50 yards, possibly more.  The corduroys, cottons, and polyesters washed up beautifully and I've already used some for pillow cover backs.  I've never used corduroy before but didn't have any problems there.  That chambray you see in the pic above still had the slip from the cutting counter attached to it; the original purchase price was $1/yard (when in the heck was fabric ever ONE dollar a yard?).

It seems obvious to me that someone who loved to sew passed away and her family donated her stash.  I had to rescue this fabric.  I will put it to good use.  I now have enough fabric to last me the rest of my life; however, I'm sure it won't prevent me from buying more.  

Pattern Finds

Recently, I did something that I probably shouldn't have: installed the ebay app on my phone.  It offers constant temptation to scour for vintage patterns.  I've been demonstrating admirable restraint by not buying all the vintage patterns that are out there in the world in need of a good home.  I'm trying to be selective. Here's one I couldn't pass up:

I've always been a fan of 1960s fashions, and anything from the Camelot era in particular.  This pattern has been cut, but very carefully, and is in great condition.  I'm looking forward to attempting it at some point.  First I'll have to master zippers, but if sewing this pattern isn't motivation enough to do that, I don't know what is.

Earlier this week I happened to be near a large antique mall in the area and stopped to walk the aisles.  A few vendors had some patterns...

This is a simple pattern requiring only a button closure.  I'm going to be brave and actually attempt the button.  Version 2 looks very similar to the aqua & white print apron I made last month (using Butterick 4166), so I think I can handle it.  I need a little more practice with the buttonhole foot on my machine, but I'll get there.

What are you sewing lately?

Vintage Pattern Love

Clearly, I love vintage patterns.  This isn't a new thing; I've been collecting them for a few years now.  It all started with this:

The image on these three collages came from a pattern I picked up at Market Day way back in 2009....long before I knew how to sew.  There was just something about this image.  The look on her face, that full skirt, the tiny waist...I'm not quite sure exactly what it was, but I  had to have it, and so I bought it.  Just because. (And it was only a dollar.) I had it about a year before I did anything with it, and it then led to a whole bunch of collages that I just had so much fun making.  I sold all the others, but the first one I did was always my favorite.  Here's a closer look:

If you've followed along with me here, you may recall that I even had this image printed on fabric a couple of years ago.  One of those mini-quilts was featured in Art Quilting Studio magazine last year, which was exciting for me.  This collage is available as an art print or a blank greeting card in my etsy shop, too, in case you might like one.  I've also used old pattern envelopes as journal covers too.  There's just something about those illustrations of the vintage fashions.  I find them irresistible!  I'll be making another batch of pattern journals for opening day at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market on May 7, because they make perfect Mother's Day gifts.

Yesterday I took a little time to tidy up my sewing room and hang these three collages up together.  The colors in these pieces seemed to go well with the apron I was working on.  I love the combination of aquas and reds together.  Here's the apron:

The fabrics used are from JoAnn's; the pattern is a vintage McCall's from 1966.  It's a "sample" pattern; I've never come across one of those before.  I bought it simply for the envelope illustration, which is retro and yet looks very contemporary to me:

Eventually I want to frame some patterns and hang on the wall and this will likely be one of them.

What's just as much fun as vintage patterns?  Vintage pattern print FABRIC, of course!

This fabric is by Michael Miller.  Love it.  I'm tempted just to re-cover a message board with it rather than sew it, so I can enjoy looking at it all the time.

Fabulous 40s Apron

This weekend's project:

Simplicity #1837, circa 1944

I scored some sweet vintage apron patterns from ebay and etsy recently.  I loved the wide straps on this one.  I haven't seen one where the straps cross in the front before.  Here's my version:

This fabulous floral & dot print is from JoAnn's.  It took just about all of the two yards I had to make the apron.  I did 2 pockets instead of just one; the more pockets, the better, in my opinion.  I would have preferred a contrast pocket, but I didn't have any suitable fabrics on hand.  I might make this pattern again and do just that.

I "adjusted" the pattern a bit to suit my skill level and personal preference: the pattern called for the straps to cross in the back and attach to the waistband/ties via buttons....which naturally demand buttonholes, and I don't do those.  When I tried the apron on before finishing it, I liked the straps better un-crossed, so I pinned and stitched them that way.  It works just fine.  The pattern also included embroidery instructions, which I omitted.  This print doesn't really need any embellishment anyway.

Love the retro style!  As a friend said, she can easily imagine this over a crisp white blouse, with a skirt and anklets.  Exactly!

all about aprons

One of my goals this year was to expand my sewing skill-set beyond basic quilting.  Eventually, I'd love to be able to sew a simple skirt.  So I figured that aprons would be a good way to work my way up to skirts.

 Another skill I want to improve is my ability to follow a sewing pattern.  When I make quilts, I don't use patterns.  (Truly, I don't  see the point.  Half the fun is designing your own quilt, right? )

So I've been having a lot of fun looking through sewing books and my ever-growing collection of vintage patterns.  One of my favorite sewing books is this one:

(Disclaimer: I'm not being paid to promote this book; I just really like it.)  This book is a rather unique sewing book in that it contains lots of interesting historical info plus patterns.  Good stuff.  I chose the Flapper Apron and the end result looks like this:

The polka dot fabric is one I've had in my collection for quite a while.  It's from Hobby Lobby, and I purchased it a few years ago, before I even started sewing.  The pockets are made from an adorable crown print that I've used very sparingly and I had just enough left to make the pockets.

After the flapper apron, I went back to my old habit of making it up as I go along, and sewed some half-aprons using some fun fabrics:

The red dots print is from Riley Blake design and the pink print is from Lotta Jansdotter.  I've been holding on to both of these for quite a while, because that's what fabric hoarders do.  We buy fabric to cut up and then we just can't bring ourselves to cut it up.  Perfectly normal, right?  I think aprons are a perfect way to showcase those favorite fabrics.

Last week, I decided to challenge myself with a vintage pattern:

Butterick pattern #4166, 1966

Obviously, the pattern says "easy" but for me, this would be a challenge because it involved sewing darts, which I had never attempted before.  I looked up a bit more information in my copy of Sewing Made Easy, which gave a bit more information than the sewing pattern.  Vintage patterns assume you know how to sew! Then I dove in, cut fabric, stitched seams and the intimidating darts, and I'm pretty happy about the result.  It's not perfect, but totally wearable.

And wear it, I will.  I love this happy fabric, a JoAnn's clearance bin find.  As you can see, I didn't bother to make the belt.  I will also confess to cheating just a bit: instead of a button, I used velcro.  I haven't quite mastered buttons yet.

Eventually, I'll be listing some aprons on my etsy shop as part of a new product collection.  They are so much fun to make and personally, I think putting on a pretty apron does make housework a bit more fun.  As someone who definitely does not enjoy housework, I need all the motivation I can get.  Buying fabric and thinking about my next sewing project is good motivation.

Winter is for sewing.

I don't have much good to say about January in Iowa except for that it's a great time to get some sewing done!  It's much too cold to go outside, so I'm staying warm inside, having some fun with fabric.

I spent a few days re-organizing my sewing room.  I moved a desk out and some cubbies in.  I had a whole bunch of fun re-folding and re-organizing my fabric stash.  I had it stored in the closet, but I really like having it in the cubbies where I can see it.  I'm definitely a visual person, so this really works better for me.  I found some fabric I'd totally forgotten about, so sorting through everything was a bit like Christmas!  Another thing I've been wanting to do is to use up some scraps, and so I tried my hand at making a doll quilt.  It was so much fun that I made two!  And I'll very likely make more.  I like a project I can complete in a day or two.  Here are the results:

I was really pleased to finish 2 projects using only fabric that I already had on hand!  For some reason this feels like a real accomplishment.








One of my goals for the new year (in addition to sewing room organization!) was to expand my sewing skills beyond quilts.  A couple of years ago I managed to make an apron with a great deal of help from a friend who is an expert sewist, and so I thought I would start with an apron.

I managed to do it.  I had to re-do the waistband/sash because the pattern that I used as the basis for this very simple apron called for a much skinnier sash....which I found absolutely impossible to turn right-side-out.  Eventually I gave up and made a wider one.  Keeping that in mind, I soldiered on....

As you can see, this apron has a really big sash!  I like to wrap the sash around and tie my aprons in the front, don't you?  This apron has two layers: the top one, made from a linen calendar from 1974, is because I find myself wiping my hands on my aprons instead of grabbing a towel.  I thought this would be pretty useful.

During the week of apron-making, I did venture out to Joann's and lo and behold: they had dress forms on sale!  Now, I don't know about you, but there is just something about a dress form....I have wanted one for the longest time but couldn't justify the cost because I don't sew clothes.  But aprons are kind of like clothes, right?  And for $40 I decided that I would resist no longer.  So I brought it home and put a necklace on her (those are vintage 1950's beads) and had more fun than I should have taking apron photos.

I'm playing around with some new ideas for quilts too.  A few days ago I discovered a line of Jane Austen-inspired fabric called Ardently Austen.  Naturally I had to get some.  Showing admirable restraint, I ordered just one of the prints:

I can't think of too many things in the whole world better than this.  For me, this is especially wonderful, as it brings 2 of my very favorite things in the whole wide world together, Jane Austen novels and fabric.  I think that this fabric really deserves to be showcased in a quilt.  Don't you?

Happy sewing!

Around the house

This spring, we moved into a beautiful mid-century brick ranch.  It needed a bit of cleaning up and TLC, but it is a beautiful home and I love, love, love it.

Because it has a mid-century modern design (it was built in 1957), I strongly feel we should enhance that with MCM furniture.  So I was delighted to find this adorable rocker at a local garage sale a couple of weeks ago:

This darling chair is from 1967.  It's in great shape.  It's just the right size for me.  And it goes perfectly in the living room.  Perfection for only ten dollars.

Outside the house, we have a fabulous back yard.  When we moved in it was overgrown but I did a lot of weeding and planted some stuff.  Gardening is a bit like gambling for me, my skills are improving but still somewhat hit or miss.  Things seem to be growing pretty well.

It's been a challenge to work in the yard due to the power of the mosquitoes this year.  They are absolutely crazy-bad.  But we spray and fog the yard so we can still enjoy our backyard oasis.  Maybe someday we'll add on a sunporch.

Something else I love about our house is that it's a walkout, and since I work in the basement, I'm just a few steps away from my beautiful backyard oasis.  Also it's so nice to have windows in my studio.  I have so much more room to make a nice, messy mess, too.  Maybe someday I'll get the studio "finished" and share some pics here, but for now, it's definitely a work in progress.

Enjoy what's left of summer.  I know I will.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.