• Plaid 1940s Fall Frock •

Hello to all my dear blog-readers....if there are any of you left, that is!  ;)  I thought I'd take advantage of a evening home from church due to sickness and try to write up a little blog post.  Life has been hectic, as usual, and I do plenty of thinking about blogging, but that's usually as far as it gets.

This little dress is one that I whipped up last fall (nearly a year ago now!) and it fast became a favorite in my fall/winter wardrobe.  Made of a woven cotton, it isn't necessarily super thick and insulating, but renders itself just the perfect weight for comfortable cold weather wear.

Last October, a customer of mine where I work brought in a big bag of vintage patterns that had been her aunt's, which she "was sure weren't my size, and I probably wouldn't use them."  As it turned out, they were ALL but one in my (and my mom's) exact size range and were amazing, gorgeous, distinct 1930s-1950s patterns that I had not seen anywhere else.  It was SO sweet of her to bring them, and it really was the Lord's timing, as I was having a very hard day and she brightened it immensely with her sweet gift!

This dress was made from one of those patterns, a quintessential '40s frock with just enough nifty details to make it really fun to wear.

{{It has a POCKET....}}

The pattern called for strips of fabric cut on the straight grain and topstitched with 5-6 lines down them, but since I had a plaid to work with, I thought bias would be just the ticket.  It was a little tricky to work with since it became stretchy, being on the bias, but made for a pretty cute contrast!  It also allowed me to NOT have to match up some of the seams, which was very much to my liking!  I love plaid, you might even say I have an addiction to plaid fabrics, yet I really, deeply despise having to match the pattern.  ;P

The sleeves on this dress are some of my favorite '40s long sleeves, and I've used them in several projects since then.  The sleeve cap has three gentle darts, and the remainder of the sleeve is eased in with little or no visible gathering.  The cuffs are pointed just so, which adds another quiet detail. 

My mom bought me these awesome buttons at an antique shop a few years back, and they worked out perfectly for this dress!  Small buttons just didn't cut it, but the large, carved ones gave the dress just the "pop" of contrast needed.

One of the main reasons I love this dress so much is how comfortable it is!  The style of the collar is *perfectly* comfortable, and it fits very well around the neck area.

Oh yes....I hadn't done bound buttonholes in a little while, so I took the opportunity to throw in a little more fabric on the bias.  SO fun.

I paired the dress with my new-to-me Sam Edelman boots.  I hadn't heard of the brand before, but came across these western-inspired all-leather riding boots on Ebay, in my size, for a really great price, and couldn't resist.  I couldn't be happier with them; they are extremely comfortable, fun to wear, and feel great on my feet, even after standing/walking all day long at work.

Well, thus ends my humble little blog post!  I hope that you are all doing well!  I plan to do some more blogging as fall and winter approach, but only time will tell.  I do have great and wonderful plans for expanding my fall/winter wardrobe, so I'm very excited to work on that!  It is bound to be a busy fall with special meetings coming up at church, reenactments, a friend's wedding, concerts to attend, and practice for participating in a production of Handel's Messiah this winter.  Along with the busy work schedule, keeping up with household chores, and property maintenance.  Praise the Lord for a home to care for!

The Lord is so good, so bountiful in His blessings and care for us; we have SO much to be thankful for!  

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

• Fall in the Wintertime •

Back in mid-September or so, when fall was beginning to make its appearance, I happily started getting my fall/winter garments out.  One of the ones I was most excited about wearing was my fall dress, made two years ago.  I ironed it up with glee and hung it up to wear for the next day, only to try it on then and remember just how much I didn't like it.  There was something about the fit/style that just never agreed with me; the fact that I made the sleeves far too big probably didn't help that at all, but in any case, I just didn't like my dress anymore.  I thought of making it into a skirt, but never got around to doing so until I saw Lily's post in which she did just that with her fall dress!  :)  Hers was so gorgeous that it inspired me to finally remake my version!

One of the things that also inspired me to get it done was my gorgeous '50s sweater from Paper Luna Vintage.  I never get tired of wearing it!

Last year I made this long-sleeved cream blouse out of some rayon-blend fabric.  The sleeve pattern I used was dreadfully tight in the forearm though, so I could hardly wear the blouse as it was.  I finally snipped off the sleeves and hemmed them up into short ones at the same time as I made the skirt so I could finally wear it.  I actually like the silhouette better with short sleeves!  It has quickly become a staple in my wardrobe what with the versatile color and style.

Naturally I had to pair it with my ever-versatile Victoria Carriage boots.  :)  I just love those things!!

Since I hadn't liked the gathered skirt on my fall dress, and also have a deep love for pleated '50s skirts, I decided to do just that; pleat it.  What was fun was having the pleats come out the perfect size on the very first try.  :D  That is always fun!!!

I used a big cream-colored vintage button from my stash for the waistband. 

I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever wear another hat again other than this wondrous gray beret.  It has become somewhat of a landmark atop my head these days.  ;)

I love brooches, but never remember to wear them!  I was so excited to wear this pretty one from Emily with this outfit, and I just love how it looks!  :)  Thanks, Emily!!

I really like the skirt from Simplicity 1459; it had been so long since I used it that I was remembering it being fairly straight-cut, but it is in fact quite flared!  It gives a really nice shape, and offers marvelous twirliness, which is downright vital.  ;)

Thanks for stopping by!!

• Happy Thanksgiving! •

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!  Hope you all are able to spend time with family and friends, enjoying the bountiful blessings we have been given.  

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

• Count your blessings, name them one by one,
  Count your blessings, see what God has done!
  Count your blessings, name them one by one,
  Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
  
  
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  In celebration of the Thanksgiving week (as well as Black Friday and Cyber Monday), Northern Shore Vintage is having a sale!
  
  
  

  
  
  Be sure to stop by the shop and check it out; we have recently added some lovely new stock!  It's the perfect time to do some holiday shopping, so don't delay!  Coupon ends Monday, November 28th, 11:59 PM.

  
  

• 1950s Favorite Fall Dress •

Months ago, I saw this fabric at JoAnn and fell in love with it. I ended up only getting enough for an apron and just loved it. A few months later, Lily of Mode de Lis posted about her fall dress, which happened to be made of the same fabric. I knew I had to have one like it. I was thrilled to find that JoAnn still had it in stock when we went back!

Since the neck had to be higher anyway, I decided to substitute a slightly different collar using Burda 7179. The collar isn't as big as the Simplicity pattern, but I still like it.

The only other alteration I made was making the sleeves less fitted. I love this dress!

The fabric called for big buttons, so these waffly ones fit the bill perfectly. 

I have been on the hunt for more vintage shoes, and found these online from DSW. They are leather, which makes them quite comfortable, and they have wooden heels! (very vintage)

This hat was my first vintage hat purchase ever from a local antique store.

My mom and I went out for a photo shoot in our matching fall dresses. It was such a beautiful day, we just couldn't resist going over to the nature preserve for some pictures. We got a few strange looks from passers by as we walked through the woods in high heels and petticoats.

Hop over to her blog to see more pictures.

Thanks for visiting!

Thanks for the great photography, Mom!

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DIY Fall Burlap Wreath

Since it's feeling so fall-y out, (and since I've been looking at burlap wreaths on Pinterest and LOVING them), I decided to make one! I picked up a foam wreath form for $5, some ribbon for about $3 (both from JoAnn), and some berry-like flowers for $0.97 from Walmart. I really don't like shopping at Walmart at all, but it was my only alternative at the time. I had some fake leaves laying around, so I incorporated them as well. As for the pheasant feathers, well, all you need to do is go pheasant hunting, and if you have success, you will have plenty of those to choose from! :)

To wrap the wreath, cut 3-4 inch strips of burlap. I used three strips for mine.

 When you reach the end of one strip, pin it (not to pinterest, but to the wreath form...), and pin on the next one.

Once you have it completely wrapped, pin the end down (preferably color-coordinated pins).

 

 Now we're ready to have some fun!! I clipped the "berry" flowers down a little bit so the stem wasn't sticking out horribly, and pinned them on with sewing pins, just kinda here and there and everywhere around the stems so they stay. Then pin on your bow and stick in the feathers. You're done!!

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