Not Quite Vintage

mail call

It is so nice to come home to a package tucked in the door. Especially one from Amazon. I wonder what is inside?

Yay, Crochet Bouquet and Weekend Sewing. I can't wait to dive in and explore. Can I just tell you how lovely Weekend Sewing is? The cover jacket is thick, the hard back cover has the most gorgeous flower pattern, the drawings are lively and the pattern pieces are great. I am really going to have to prioritize the projects I want to make. It will be hard. Take a look at all the great stuff people have been making in the Weekend Sewing Flickr group. Wow.

Goodbye Country Home

So many magazines are closing shop: ME Home Companion, Cottage Living (one of my very favorite magazines, I have been a subscriber from the start... and no, Southern Living is NOT a good substitute), Domino and Cottage Living. As a professed magazine-aholic, I am getting really sad. What am I going to do every month as my mailbox gets emptier and emptier?

 
A couple weeks ago I got the final issue of Country Home and am happy to say they went out with a really nice issue. I pulled some inspiration from the pages yesterday while sitting in the late afternoon sun. Here is what I found:

I have painted stairs (really steep painted stairs) going down into my basement, but the stencil and pattern are a bit more old fashioned and the paint is much darker. They are looking a bit worn, maybe I need to update them.

Something about this room makes me want to relax on the sofa and read a book. Plus I love the pear fabric pillow on the sofa.

I am in love with the budget kitchen makeover... even if it is still out of my budget. Someday. Oh, the whiteware and yellowware bowls, the subway tile, the ball jars, the sink, the vintage scale...

Not only do the dishes look yummy, but I love the packaging.

And lastly, I think this recipe is going into my spring rotation. MMMM ginger.

Anyone else finding inspiration from the magazines and catalogs in your mailbox? Any suggestions on magazines worth taking a look at... I think I am going to go through withdrawal.

hi... and some links

Wow, I have been quiet lately – sorry for the unintentional break! Honestly, things have been crazy busy at work and by the time I get home I am just plain worn out. Hey, I guess I should be thankful for being busy... Maybe being busy means I am useful and therefore needed. Since our layoffs I haven’t been able to squelch the fear, the insecure feeling in my stomach. So, at work I am trying to give 200% and at home I am trying to recover.

Crafting hasn’t completely gone by the wayside, I have been working on a couple secret crafty projects/proposals. I wish I could share them right now, but can’t... I’ll know if I can in a couple weeks. But, honestly I want the answer to be “nope, can’t share them” because that means the book people liked them. If they didn’t, look forward to some tutorials.

 
A few other themes running through my life these days are budgeting, reading and cooking – I’ll be working on some posts on these soon. To hold you over till then, here are a few interesting links:

The authors of the book I just finished have an amazing site: Carrie and Danielle

I made these yummy oatmeal breakfast squares last week. Way yummy, but when I added up the calories, I went in search of some ways to cut them. Pretty successful switching out the brown sugar for Splenda brown sugar blend and the butter for light butter... but not perfect.

Went in search of some other oatmeal options (without the not so natural Splenda and light butter) and found Kath Eats Real Food. If Kath can eat right, exercise, work and go back to school, I should be able to reach my health and fitness goals too. Maybe the key is setting such a pretty place setting at every meal?

I found two great, quick and easy bag tutorials while searching for Christmas present ideas for my sisters: Sew Bunny Bum’s Market Tote and Label-Free’s My Tote Bag. Both these bloggers were very creative in how they presented their tutorials.

This lunch bag tutorial by Katie is great too. l

And because everyone needs a little nice in their life: Operation Nice 

I'll be back soon with more, promise!

my sewing book collection is growing

I really want to learn more about sewing clothes. When I was in high school (too long ago, like late eighties - that seems so unreal, is there really on 2 years till my 20th reunion? I am NOT that old) sewing was the most popular elective. We turned it into a competition - what else would a bunch of competitive girls do? Who could sew the cutest dress (or MC Hammer pants - I swear I didn't make any of those!) the fastest? It was what we did. We even made our dance dresses. Anyway, that little story was to illustrate that I know I can sew clothes. Problem is, sewing for a teenage body is way different than sewing for a women's body.

So, I have been on a mission to find some good sewing classes. No luck so far, basic beginning sewing isn't what I am looking for. I really want to know how to fit a garment, make adjustments to patterns etc. My next step was searching for some good sewing books. I decided to do this on the cheap and turned to used books on Amazon. I was surprised at what I found. Most of the books I bought were  less than a dollar and had 3.99 shipping. I bought an older edition of The Perfect Fit. I had read reviews and recommendations for it on Pattern Review and on some sewing blogs. I just didn't want to pay for the new version. Buying used meant I could by three books instead. Yeah.

During my search on Amazon, my vintage eye caught glimpse of a 1966 McCall's Step-By-Step Sewing Book. Look at the cover - I could see that outfit today, little green sweater with wide legged pants and fancy strappy shoes. The content is good too – it covers the basics of sewing, pattern fitting and finishing. Old sewing books still work – think about it, the basics of sewing haven't really changed. This one gets added to my 60s Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book hardbound edition, 70s Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book ring binder edition and The Complete Family Sewing Book. My vintage sewing book collection is certainly growing.

I hope to put all of my new knowledge  to good use on a couple projects - a plaid inverted pleat skirt and a cute little black jacket.

Anyone have any other books to add to my list? I still have Fantastic Fit for Every Body on the way.

And I still really want to find a class. Do any St. Louis readers have any ideas?

Knit Two preview

One day I read a book, then I wrote a short post about it. It was fiction about a local yarn store. I had just started to learn how to knit, so I was all about knitting (you know how I get when I learn a new craft – I get slightly obsessed). A while later, probably more than a year, I received an email from the author’s publisher asking if I would like to preview her new book. Umm, sure. And guess what? It was about cooking. Seriously, does this author know me?

I thought the whole thing was pretty cool. I write a post on my blog and a publisher contacts me with the opportunity for an advanced copy of a book. The power of blogging. Then, last week I got another email. Yep, I feel so lucky. This time the author, Kate Jacobs, has written a follow up to her first book The Friday Night Knitting Club called Knit Two. I am so excited to get a chance to read the book before it comes out on November  25th. You know what is even better? I get to share the first chapter to entice you! To download a pdf of the chapter, click here.

I can’t wait to get my copy of the book so I can read more... And just like last time, when I am done with Knit Two, I’ll pass it along to one of you.

summer reading

I feel like I always have a stack of books going – I tend to move from one to the next before finishing anything. I do notice that fun, light-hearted and girlie fiction tends to get read faster... Maybe because it often transports me somewhere else for a while. That said, my most recent read took me months to finish. Well, I started it about 5 times, never getting past the first few pages because life just kept getting in the way. Then, a few weeks ago, I picked it up again and was able to knock it out rather quickly.  The book was Comfort Food, by Kate Jacobs.

There is a bit of an interesting story around how I ended up with the book. A few months back, I got an email from the publishing house. They mentioned that I wrote about Kate’s first book, Friday Night Knitting Club, and that she had a new book coming out – would I like to read it and write about it again. So interesting how the blogging world works - I this never would have happened if I didn’t have my blog. Of course I said yes... And soon an advanced, not entirely edited version showed up in my mail box.

This is why I feel a little bad about how long it took me to read it. It was generous of them to provide me with the book – and of course, I know it was a great marketing idea for them too. They will probably sell a lot of books if everyone invited to writes and recommends the book. But, you all know life has been crazy, so I gave myself some extra time to accomplish this.

The book was rather nice too. Very similar to her first book, the characters are likeable and the story latches onto a current popular culture trend, cooking and cooking shows. Us girls like this kind of stuff, just like we like knitting and local yarn stores. While some of the book was a bit predictable, I was surprised by some of the turns... And was sad when it was over – I wanted to know more about the character’s future's.

So, if you are looking for a nice Summer read, give this one a try. It would be very good outdoor reading by the pool or on the back porch. If you are interested, comment and let me know. Since I received the book for free, I should pass it along... So comment and I’ll pick someone to send it to on Friday.  This is good timing too... I hit 200 posts a few post back and totally didn’t notice.

lessons learned from an old sewing textbook

While my blog went quiet for a little bit, I officially became closer to 40 than 30. Not a whole lot of fun, but I did get some good presents! Even at 36, I love presents (heheheh).

One of my favorite gifts (from my good friend Renee) was a "Clothing Construction and Wardrobe Planning" textbook from 1960. Not sure what it has to do with sewing, but the first chapter us entitled "Personal Grooming." It covers everything from good posture, beauty, bathing, make-up, hair styles to personality. The drawings in this book are great, but some if the text is, well, interesting and no longer quite politically correct.

A few thing I learned from the first section:

• The girl with a smiling face stands out in a crowd.
• Your family will appreciate it if you groom your room as well as yourself. Good grooming has much in common with good housekeeping.
• Charm, like charity, begins at home.
• The essential "E's" of beauty include: early to bed, eat for beauty, elimination and exercise.

 
I am sure I will learn much more as I keep reading :)  Be back soon with some clothing and wardrobe goodies...