Almost Winter Green

You may have noticed I've been working on sewing my winter wardrobe of late and now the cold weather has finally arrived, I'm glad I got started early.

This 1940s day/afternoon dress isn't on my winter wishlist, but I'd found the perfect fabric and it just couldn't wait.

Butterick 4379-S

Several weeks ago, while on my quest to find the my ideal winter green, I came across some winter-weight ponti de roma in a lovely shade of emerald green and quickly snapped up a couple of metres for a dress. The fabric is mostly synthetic and has a bit of a plastic-y / chemical smell about it before washing, but it was really nice to sew and falls beautifully.

Once again, there was a whole lot of pin gathering goin' on in order to get the sleeves lovely and flat, but overall Butterick 4379-S lived up to its promise of being 'quick & easy'. It's about time too!!

Ordinarily, I'm not a fan of wearing long sleeves - I find I'm constantly pushing them up so I tend to stick with the short version - but I actually really liked how they looked on this dress. Plus, longer sleeves are generally warmer. So. in order to avoid the 'pushing up', I took roughly 1.5 inches off so the sleeve now finishes just below my elbow. Still warm, but out of the way. Problem solved!

I also really like how the simple, gathered loop detail livens up the front of the dress. At the moment, I've used a piece of velvet ribbon I had in my stash, but am thinking I might change it for a regular ribbon instead. The pile of the velvet has caused the ribbon to fold over, making the gathering appear  bulky, and it also stops the ribbon from moving smoothly inside the casing. The velvet does look classy though...

This dress is so comfy and warm; I think it's safe to say I've another sucessful addition to my winter wardrobe. Yay!!

- Tamara

Gotta Love Vintage

This weekend was a busy one. There was a dress to finish, a 40th birthday to attend on Saturday evening and the Love Vintage Show on Sunday. My dress was intended to be multi-purpose; I was able to wear it for the birthday party and the Fair so it's fairly safe to say it was a success.

There will be pics and details tomorrow, but today I'd like to share some pretty things from the Love Vintage Show.

Fluffy, pink party dresses

Stacks of hats

An adorable lady lamp

A watch for the Steampunk fans

There were also several presentations and parades throughout the day, most of which I missed, but I did manage to catch a bit of 'Vintage Styling for Modern Brides'. The above dress is modelled by Esz who blogs over at Kittys Drawings. This girl is a talented artist and fellow sewer who often leaves helpful comments of my blog. I kept spotting her iridescent red hair in the crowd and then losing her; it's such a shame we didn't get to meet in person.

One person I did get to meet however was Rosie, aka Madame Blavatsky. She was dressed in a stunning, hand-made creation and I just had to compliment her. As it turns out, Rosie owns her own business - Madame Blavatsky - and specialises in pin-up clothing and couture garments. She has also offered an excellent solution to my fitting problem with the 50s top I started last weekend. Thanks Rosie!

While there were lots of lovely things on sale, I'm on a very strict budget so a lot of it was well out of my price range. I did manage to pick up a gorgeous 1940s dressing gown at the bargain basement price of $35! The colour is a little patchy and faded in some areas but it's in excellent condition so I couldn't leave it behind.

Now I just need to find some matching slippers...

- Tamara

Together Forever

Look what the postman delivered on Monday!

Meet Libby & Roy, the latest addition to my ever expanding collection of wire name brooches. So far, I only have female names so to find a couple joined together was pretty exciting. They're a little age weary but still in good condition and I think with a bit of careful cleaning they'll polish up nicely.

Aren't they sweet?!

- Tamara