Blogtoberfest Day 28: Patterning My Dreams

Many vintage sewing patterns that I find while thrifting are uncut, supporting my belief that dreaming about making certain garments is as important as making them. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting at the pattern catalogue counter turning the pages and dreaming about the dresses. Playing dress-up was a favourite occupation and this was just a mental extension of that activity. Other sewers must also feel this way, that possessing the actual pattern is a way to grab onto that dream just a little more securely, with the expectation of it being attainable. The pattern for the dress and coat combination pictured is cut, but the sew-in label that was available with the pattern was not used. I love the seaming details and would like to make it but that would require grading up the pattern size.


This outfit also suits my tastes and is fairly close to my size. As usual, I am a sucker for a jacket especially if it has three-quarter sleeves! The notched collar on the jacket would make a perfect spot for a standout vintage brooch. A brocade, lace, linen or raw silk are all fabric suggestions on the back that fire my imagination.









I cannot decide which view I like the best of this Vogue "young fashionables" design, styled for the young woman who emulates an older woman's elegance. This is somewhat the opposite of current trend of middle-aged women seeking to be fashionable often choosing styles that, at best, erode their elegance.
While in high school, I longed for the time when I could make and wear couture-inspired suits and gowns. This style features darting from hip to bust which was a common detail for fitting a figure before the prevalence of lycra.







The controlled fullness of the skirt would be easier to wear than the above sheath. Although it has bridal and bridesmaid's view, this pattern is also suggested as an evening or cocktail gown. The simplicity of the figure-flattering bodice, self-fabric belt and softly pleated skirt would showcase the beauty of the fabric without overwhelming the wearer.


This apron pattern from the 1940's would be a good place to start turning these pattern dreams into realty, the charm of a vintage design with the practicality of full coverage. It only requires 2 yards and I am sure that I have some great rick-rack for the trim.


Which designs are your favourites? These come from my collection of vintage patterns. I have more than a few collections that I have linked with Vintage Velda's collections post.

Blotoberfest Day 23: An Afternoon Out

Today I went to hear the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestrawith their music director, Valery Gergiev, play two Tschaikovsky symphonies. As the wife of an orchestral musician, I have the opportunity to experience many fantastic concerts. Today was special not only because it was a world-renowned ensemble with a superstar conductor but because my husband got to enjoy the concert with me. I have noticed at concerts that there is a wide variety of fashion choices and that very few people take the effort to make it an occasion to dress up. Of course, the reason to go to a live performance is to hear the music, so I do not mind what others wear. But, I enjoy dressing for the occasion.
Today's outfit was not 100% thrifted! My dress and belt were bought on sale for more than 60% off at an after-Christmas sale.


The shoes, handbag and cardigan were all thrift. The handbag is blogged about here and the shoes and cardigan were found at my favourite Nearly New Shop. The cardigan is a lovely thin and lightweight silk and cashmere blend that is the perfect layer with a sleeveless dress. The brooch was also thrifted, but I cannot remember where I found it. I love the combination of mother-of-pearl and stones.







The headpiece, or fascinator, is one that I purchased when I went to New York City as a chaperone with my sons' choir. The Men and Boys sang a Sunday morning service at St. Thomas' Fifth Avenue. Outside of the church was a vendor who had a variety of feathered headpieces and jewellery, all of which she crafted herself. I love to bring home locally-made items as souvenirs. This headpiece is great to wear to a concert as it does not obstruct anyone's view as various hats can do. The boys also sang an Evensong today which we were also able to attend, although our eldest had had enough and got the giggles, literally a laugh track by the end of the afternoon.
Lots of music!

New Thrifted Things to Share

Part of the excitement of thrifting is finding things that you, or someone you care about, collect. I collect all three of the items shown here: vintage tins, handbags and hats. There is something about designs lithographed on tins that just grabs my attention and affection. This one has designs based on the illustration from the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. I have seen the book a few times while thrifting and knew it to be a favourite of my maternal Grandmother. Edith Holden was much influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and is a part of a long line of female illustrators that include Kate Greenaway, Beatrix Potter and Cicely Mary Baker. Unlike her commercial work, the diary was written and illustrated for her own personal satisfaction and she had no intention that it would ever be published. Could she have know what pleasure it would bring to future generations? Even though I have owned it for over twenty years, the decorating book based on her seasonal observations gets pulled off the shelf from time to time as it is not as dated as other such books from the same period. It is funny how clothing trends are already embracing the late eighties and early nineties as vintage looks to be repeated while most of the decor trends from the same period are now reviled! I definitely need to find the original Diary for my library in my thrifting forays and I would love to find some of the Noritake China.

This black suede handbag was made in the Republic of Ireland for the Simpson's department store chain most likely in the early sixties. Like Eaton's, Simpson's is no longer; both department stores had venerable histories in this country. The Bay, another iconic company in Canada, is no longer under Canadian ownership. Thrifting definitely inspires one to think about more than just the things one finds. This purse is in like new condition and its quality representative of the goods carried by Simpson's.

The bag has little brass feet and is just roomy enough for many of the extras that the modern woman carries that her vintage sisters would not have dreamed about. Mme. Dariaux says about suede: "No longer elegant for dressy women's shoes, but excellent for sports; black suede (or, better still, antelope) is smart in gloves or a dressy handbag with a jeweller's clasp; washable suede gloves, like the Kislav line, are practical but rather heavy." It is presently my go-to bag!
This hat is a charming little confection made in England out of rayon(labelled viscose) velvet. Anna, my sister in millinery, felt it to be very "eighties winter wedding" which worked very well for a double service choir day last weekend on one of this winter's coldest days. Pictured with the hat are three pieces of jewellery: the red clip earrings are unsigned, the china flower brooch is marked Staffordshire, and the rhinestones hoops are another pair of Sherman's. I think that I may be acquiring too many pieces of costume jewellery and I am working on a solution...stay posted.

My love of lithographed tin extends to trays as well as tea and biscuit tins. I know more than one person who might covet this chinoiserie tray by Worcester Ware. The condition is great and still has the label with care instructions on the back. It is not my only piece made by this company so I will need to share more in future posts. All of the items I am sharing this week are things that I collect and possibly have too many.

Of all of my collections, my Pyrex is the most difficult to store. Much of what I have, I use regularly but I keep acquiring more! Fortunately, 'pyrexia' (not the fever) seems to be infectious and my Mum has caught it from me. This square baker is from the Verde pattern. For Christmas, I sent her two of the Bake Serve Store Casseroles in Verde (link shows Butterfly Gold). Now that I have shared this dish with the blogosphere, I will wrap it up and send it to my Mum. To share more thrifty treasure go to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

Orphans

For me, part of the appeal of thirfting is rescuing useful or beautiful items from being forgotten or thrown away. I have many treasure but some of these "diamonds in the rough" are rougher than others. I like to call these "orphans" and I have found them in places other than thrift stores: One of our cats is from the humane society and quite a few pieces of furniture have been curbside finds. Also, many of my house plants have come to me as orphans; they are the marked down African violets or orchids that are not full of blooms and nobody else seems to want them. In the world of Pyrex collectors, red dishes from the early "primary sets" are much sought after. This little red fridgie has definitely seen better days with its lack of a lid and obvious dishwasher damage.

Priced at $1.99, I figure that it was worth taking a chance on this cutie. After washing it, I applied vegetable oil and let it sit for a few hours before giving it a little buff. Significant improvement, I would say and certainly a serviceable piece of Pyrex. I hope that the photos show the difference. While I have put away my overtly Christmas linen, I cannot bring myself to put away the wintery patterns such as snowflakes.

This little cream jug was also found in my latest thrifting foray. I have been collecting this type of "utility china" for a while now. It started with just one, but, of course, has grown. It is marked Royal Art Pottery and you can find similar lovelies on Kitschen Pink's Utility China flickr stream.





These earrings were also found on my weekend thrift mission. The box does not present them in an inviting way. They were an unclaimed auction item at the Salvation Army and I was able to purchase them for $10.00. That is more than I usually pay for costume jewellery at the thrift store but I was sure that I was getting a good deal. I did! They are signed Sherman. The overall design of the piece is what usually catches my eye and then I consider its condition. Now that I have a large number of pieces I am starting to consider resale value and whether a piece is signed can effect its value.


These are the other finds of the weekend: the rhinestone earrings and cameo brooch are signed Coro, the round earrings are Monet and the lovebirds brooch is signed Gerry. Sorry that the contrast in the photo is not good enough to show the detail of jewellery but I really wanted to share the cute mitts that I also found last weekend.


Enjoy all the other thrifty finds at Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday

A Giveaway to Celebrate my Blog's First Year!

The best way to celebrate Thoroughly Modern Vintage's anniversary is with a give away for which I have two thrifted items to send off to two lucky recipients. The first item is this lovely vintage brooch with enamelled white heather and lilac-coloured stones. It might be signed (with the stamp very smudged) or it might be a copy (?) or repaired version of an Exquisite brooch as it is slightly different on the back from the one in the link and the one that is already in my collection. What ever its provenance, it will add a delightful vintage touch to many an outfit and it is just lovely to look at!

My second item available is this wonderful cookbook in absolutely mint condition! I have the newer printing but when I found this 1996 version at the thrift store I knew that I needed to pass it on! I cook from the recipes in this book at least once a week and have mentioned the book in a previous post. Many of the recipes do require a pressure cooker to be truly quick, but I believe this piece of equipment from our grandmothers' kitchen is an excellent addition to our modern kitchens (in its updated form). I love how this book gives me the option to make healthy, quick and flavourful dishes even on days when I have little time to be in the kitchen.

Like Birthdays and New Years, anniversaries are a chance to look back at the past year and reflect. I have noticed there were long periods of time when I was not posting and I would prefer not to let that happen again! I started this blog to share things that I find, things that inspire me and what I make and I find a lot of pleasure in sharing. That pleasure is increased exponentially when I have feedback in the form of comments, so, to all who have commented, Thank-you! For readers who have not commented, please don't be so shy!

If you are interested in winning the brooch or the book, please leave a comment. If you do not have a blogger profile (with an email or blog) and do not wish to create one, please leave me an email address so that I will be able to contact you if you are the winner. Also, let me know if you would prefer the brooch or the book but if you cannot decide, I understand and could put you in both draws! I plan to do the draw on March 17, so that leaves everyone just over two weeks to enter.

I look forward to reading your comments. Thank you for your interest in my posts.

Modern Vintage Valentine's Hat

Anyone reading more than a few posts on my blog would have noticed how much I love flowers! The inventive beauty of nature is an inspiration to all who seek a creative life. Flowers are traditional gift for St. Valentine's Day and this beautiful potted cyclamen from my husband melted my heart. He also treated me by preparing the family's dinner. Last evening two members of the family performed in two separate concerts: our daughter sang with her choir and my husband conducted a concert of mostly romantic French music with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra and flute soloist, Joanna G'Froerer. Despite my concerns about my daughter's recovery, I could not be at two places at once and brought the boys to see their Dad conduct. Both concerts were enjoyed by all who performed and attended.


The hat on which I was working in my last post was ready to be worn this morning to the morning's service at the Cathedral. While it is not required to wear a hat at our church, a few of us choir Mums enjoy the opportunity for some headgear! I was hoping to achieve an early 1950's look for my reworking of my thrift store find with a subtle (or not so subtle) nod to my love of hearts. I tried a more vintage hair style but it worked better with my hair down and slightly wavy(I would have liked to have time to do more of a pin curl wave).



I have a small collection of hat pins, one of which I used to keep the cap securely on my head as it was a bit windy this morning. Even with the hat pin, I needed to re-pin the hat after I hung up my coat but at least I did not lose my hat. The felt had a fair amount of body that was increased by the scalloped border of hearts. Although it may be somewhat season specific, I am quite happy with the results.



Today was also a debut for the lovely vintage brooch I received for my birthday from my Mum and a newly thrifted skirt. The colours in the skirt seem to complement the lovely illustrations on the cover of Laura Stoddart's All For Love which was a gift for my romantic husband. This lovely book is already being enjoyed by both of us and I highly recommend it to all; even the more cynical among us will find something that makes their heartstrings ring. I wish us all a little romance in every day.

Six (un)important things I love

I have been tagged by Katherine with the following rules:
Pick 6 unimportant things you love
Mention & link to the person who tagged you
Tag 6 of your favourite bloggers to play along
(don’t forget to comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been tagged!)

Well I have changed the title a little bit because everything I love is important to me even if it is not that important in the grand scheme of things. Apart from life's essentials anything can be important to someone. I am not including my family in this list because they are essential and come before sleeping and eating if needs be. After that:

1.Music
For me music has inspired how I look at and respond to the world and even how I think. As a little girl, music made me dance and my days were filled with song. I loved standing by the piano at ballet class with my hand on the sound board. I was able to identify songs and ballet music and at a very early age was fascinated by anyone with the ability to play an instrument. It should not be surprising that most of my formal education prepared me to be a flutist. This path was derailed by a serious hand injury and my Father's early death but was not completely abandoned. I am married to a full-time musician who played violin professionally for the first twenty years of our relationship and has added the viola for the past two. He also conducts a community orchestra that I usually play in.
With his multiple disabilities, Number 1 does not seriously study an instrument but has benefitted from music therapy and enjoys experimenting with a variety of instruments. He is happiest when listening to music. Number 2 started to play the 'cello at four years old and became skilled enough to be learning some of the Bach Suites for solo 'cello a few years ago. She started to play the french horn at eleven in her school band and it has become her principal instrument and of course, she loves to sing and sings well. Number 3 started the violin at six and endured his lessons for a year. He was never satisfied with how it sounded and asked to learn to play the harp at eight. This past year he also started percussion in the school band and singing in the Choir of Men and Boys. Number 4 has yet to start formal instrument training. We have suggested violin or piano as we have those instruments and the ideas have been met with no sustained interest. He heartily enjoys singing in the choir and has expressed the desire to play the trumpet. Number 4 will likely start lessons on the cornet (related but slightly different than the trumpet) when we return from the choir's trip to England.
While I grew up listening to and still enjoy almost all types of music, I inevitably have favourites. If I found myself on a desert island with an old fashioned phonograph (desert island -no electricity or batteries) and one record to last me all my days, I would pick one with a Mahler symphony on one side (maybe number 4 or 5) and Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs on the other. I have done a little you-tube surfing but have yet to come up with the specific recordings that I might want.

2. Books
Books, and more importantly reading have been (along with music) a salvation in my life. As a child, I suffered from chronic poor health and experienced more than a little social isolation. Both of these situations were made manageable by the reading of books. The physical act of looking at books engaged me long before I could read and some of my earlier memories involve the illustrations in my favourite volumes. We lived in a remote community but my house had a rich library and books were often treasured gifts. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series was a childhood favourite that helped me connect to my own Grandmother and develop my love of history. By the eighth grade I became a lifelong fan of Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. I still do not quite understand my love of Hardy at that age but the Austen makes sense. I am not capable of picking a favourite but a small library of favourites contains many of the classics of English Literature, some more contemporary fiction in addition to as many art, design and other reference books as I can afford and store.



3. Flowers and plants
For beauty (and practicality), plants are the winners. I cannot really describe my appreciation of and for flowers and other plants. Working beside my Mother in her greenhouse as a school-age child contributed to it as did observing my Father keeping bees but words cannot fully express my admiration for the plant kingdom.


4. Useful things with history
Aprons, tablecloths, kitchen utensils, buttons, sewing notions, travelling trunks, pillowcases, utilitarian furniture -difficult to specify all but if it was a useful object that shows its age and could be used as originally designed or repurposed I want to rescue it and find it a home. A careful line needs to be walked here because I could wind up with a pile of junk. My husband requires me to state a very strong case for said object and such scrutiny usually leads to something pleasing in the end.




5. Tools for creating My sewing studio, sewing machine,fabrics, notions,my batterie de cuisine, my laptop, camera and everything else involved in the creative process delights my senses and sparks ideas for new projects. For me,whether it is mending kid's clothes, making a meal, or working on a long dreamed about art piece, a creative life is essential and the correct tools help make that possible.



6. Sparkle with patina
This last thing is a little newer to me than the other (un)important things. I have always tended to wear very little jewelry and have slightly understated clothes but in the last few years I have often added a vintage brooch to whatever outfit or outer-wear I might have on. I have a few new pieces made in a vintage style that I use for winter coats, etc. but I really enjoy the vintage brooches best. I like that I am giving new life to something that was previously enjoyed and they just make me smile when I look at them.
Here is just a few of my collection.

I would like to see what these other bloggers love:
Fine Hand
Little Lovelies
Tweed Thoughts
Two Pink Possums
Thrifted Treasure
Fuzzy Dragons