the weekend

Wish I could go to Lamoni, IA this weekend for the farb fest (aka "party"), but it looks like I will have to stay home. However, my brother is flying in from LA tonight and then we're going out for drinks. Should be fun! That is, if he doesn't miss his flight... I hear it is easy to miss ones flight in LA.

Also I really wish I hadn't miss out on the dance in Iowa City last weekend. Check out the video with the Gilded Bats playing! I hope I can make it out for their next dance, though!

Gilded Bats play the Iowa City Barn Dance



Also, I found this song ("Take me down in the night") I had downloaded to my mp3 player awhile back and just found it. I can't stop putting it on repeat. I know, I'm bad like that. :)

coffee is my vice

{image from smitten kitchen. cold brew coffee.}

Yum yum yum yum yum. I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen just now and right away I went to start my brew so that by tomorrow morning I will have iced coffee. Yes! I love coffee. I never used to, so I'm not sure what is up with my recent {as in the last two years or so} obsession. I guess it keeps me going throughout the day and I love the taste of it. ::skips off dancing and singing:: {coffee also makes me a little crazy and giddy, if you couldn't tell.}

{Also yes, I do realize I have posted way more in one day than I usually do in a week. Must be the excess amount of coffee I had today...}

fall jacket inspiration

Okay, I know this isn't 1930s, but it has been driving me crazy lately and I have to put it down somewhere so I will remember that, yes, I really do want to make this for the fall. {As in, I better get my act together before it's too late to be wearing fall jackets and winter weather sets in...ack!}


{eva dress pattern, Ladies' Serge Jacket, circa 1885. Not to mention it is the perfect size!}

Alright, I am thinking of two options on how I want to make this. First of all I am thinking of cutting it shorter. Taking off all that pleated skirt in the front, which meets up with the back peplum. I LOVE the back peplum, just don't relish the idea of wearing a massive skirt-butt-jacket. :)

Option no. 1-

• Made of wool. {I have brown, black, dark green and burgundy on hand that I can use - now which one to choose??}

• Buttons down the front or zipper? hm...

Option no. 2-

• Made of jean cloth.
• Metal zipper up the front {If I could find a blue metal zipper that is long enough, that would be perfect}

Well that's all I've got for now. I hope I have time for this one because I think a jacket like this would really come in handy.

catfight!

Okay, last video clip for the day (i promise, maybe). Love this scene with Ginger Rogers fighting. Oh so good. It's a cute movie, too. Another one of those obscure films that isn't out on DVD yet. But it has Ginger Rogers and James Stewart. Plus they meet in one night and get married the next day, so it's gotta be good, right? :)

Vivacious Lady (1938)

the future

{1920s-to-1950s-fashion.com via}

I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of a "1930s obsession" theme. You know, not that I haven't already, but it would be kinda fun to start sharing pictures and other clippings I find interesting within this decade. I thought about starting a new blog dedicated to all things 1930s, but then I thought, why another blog? So maybe I will start sharing more images and such that inspire me on here. I'm thinking up new ideas for my Fall wardrobe and what I want to make with the fabric I recently purchased. Hey, maybe I will put out a vote to see what you all think I should make. Could be fun. :) We shall see. And now off to get back to work and compile more images from the LOC. Later!

thrift gods were good

If you haven't guessed already, I'm a huge Ginger Rogers fan. In fact, I'm pretty much a self-proclaimed old movie addict. But I'm OK with that. :) And I read a review of this movie {5th Avenue Girl 1939} today and now I want to see it! I hate that I don't have TCM!



I'll update more when I have some time (with a few pictures), but Saturday I went to the little town of Mount Vernon again and we ate at that fabulous Lincoln Cafe (I seriously cannot get enough of this place - but we actually went to show it off to a few other friends who had never been there before) and then headed to a few of the nearby antique shops. The thrift gods were very good to me that day! Not only did I come away with some great little gems, I also got a compliment on my rather strange style (hair in braids all pinned back, linen sailor shorts and voile flower top - ya know, that 1930s obsession coming out again). This lady at one of the shops kept telling me I looked "artistic" and "fresh." Made me grin (only an older woman would say that to me and not call me "grandma." haha) And when I told her I was a seamstress she had to tell everyone in the shop who had walked by at that moment that I was a seamstress. Very interesting lady. She kept knocking down prices on things and said she likes young people. Every time I go into that particular antique shop I meet someone who seems to be a little bit off their rocker, but at the same time very very kind.

I'll take a few pictures of my little finds and share them later. I am pretty excited about a particular item. It has to do with something you wear on your feet. And they are a shade of green. :)

pictures and schtuff

{yes, it's a picture of my FOOT.}

Right now I'm pretty much out of it, but for some reason I have decided to post a blog. So we'll see what comes out, 'cause I sure am pooped.

This past weekend I went to a wedding. I never did finish that dress I wanted to wear to it, but I wore the yellow number instead, which was just fine. I still want to finish that dress, but hmm...now I have other ideas for OTHER things to sew for myself. Oh decisions. I just haven't had an ounce of time or energy to sew for myself. Gahh...the things I have to deal with. {if only that was all i had to worry about in this life...haha}

Watch this video. It is so cute. {via}

Ever feel like telling that secret crush how you really feel, only you are too scared to actually go up to that person and TELL them? Well, this little form makes things pretty simple. Try it out. Maybe it will work. {wink} Only I am not responsible for anything that may happen to go wrong as a result. I still think it's pretty darn cool. :) {via}

Well tomorrow should be another interesting day. Let's hope I get through it in one piece. Wow, it's already the middle of the week. Oh how time flies. It's also getting hot again, which is making me feel like stripping all of my clothes off. {no you didn't just read that.} Whew. And to end, more proverbial after-wedding-pictures. :)


{i like to dress up. what can i say? i'm a girl.
p.s. that little flower is a vintage broach. it actually stayed in place the whole evening. amazing.}







{few more pics over there.}

good times

{night time tea. so good.}

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed today. But I'm still going going going. {Sort of.} Just a lot of things happening and it feels like it's all at once and my mind is about ready to explode! But I also had a great weekend. Very relaxing and wonderful to see people I haven't seen in so long. Esther was back and Niki made a surprise visit as well! So last Saturday they called me up randomly to see if I wanted to go out with them. Not to mention they wanted to all try out this restaurant I have been talking up so much called the Lincoln Cafe. I've written about it on here several times. We also went to their wine shop down the street and brought back a couple of bottles. {I think it's kinda nifty to have the wine shop in a separate building down the street. You can get a bottle or bring back a glass, your choice!} Oh man, so tasty. so good.


{esther and liz.}


{niki and leah being silly. they are so much fun.}


{hyper leah! love it when she is hyper.}

So basically that is all I have to write. That and share the pictures. I started on that silk chiffon dress. Just the top part, so I hope I have time to finish it. We'll see. I'm feeling a tad bit stressed lately so not sure how much I should spend on sewing for myself. It depends on how far I get tomorrow. I have a pile of "to do" lists scattered around my desk. And on top of it I can't seem to sleep very well these days so I end up lying in bed thinking of all different random things. :) Well I'm going to enjoy the last bit of this night-time tea and see if I can maybe get a few more things done before I hit the hay. Not that I will actually get to bed for another few hours. haha. night all.

testing testing 123

My sister told me about this video uploading site today and I thought I'd try it out with this really boring video clip I took (the day I totaled my car, actually). I'm just finishing up the shoes by adding the black ink around the edge of the sole. Kind of a silly video, but it's a clear shot! Most videos I upload are always choppy. So yay, more home videos to torment you all!

Edit: It's actually clearer if you click on this link.


making 1860s shoes from Anna Allen on Vimeo.

i love this dress

{vintage hollywood pattern #1352. found here.}

I'm not sure if I'll have time between now and next weekend, but I was looking around for a dress I could make to wear to a wedding. I initially thought I'd make a black dress and then got to thinking that is a little too dressy for this particular wedding. Plus I keep going back and forth about which pattern to use for that "little black dress." The one I was going to use I don't think will work so great. Anyway, so this is finally what I found that I think will work. I have a pattern that I changed slightly that should work. Here's my quick sketch that I made of my ideas:


{i kind of like that green buckle best, but i also think the round burgundy one would be nice. hmmm.}

Now, we shall see if this actually gets made. Though even if I don't get to it now, I hope to get to it eventually! My life is freaking busy and sewing is piling up. Mostly work, which is great! Just gives me hardly any time to sew for myself, because I tend to get burned out by the end of the day.

Well tomorrow sometime {not sure when yet} I'm taking a break and heading to the lake! More sewing tonight and possibly a movie at the same time. I'm in another old movie mood {but then, when am I not??} so I'm trying to decide between Ginger Rogers or Myrna Loy. :) They both make me extremely giddy. {Whoa, I'm a dork!} Have an awesome weekend! And if you have a peach tree filled with lovely peaches like I do, make this amazing peach/blueberry cobbler. I made it last night and oh man, it's like, the best.

linen shorts, '30s sailor style

{Three Smart Girls 1936}

Finally got around to taking a few pictures of the shorts I made. I seriously feel weird posing for pictures, 'cause I know some of you out there are going to think I'm completely into myself. Okay, every girl is sorta into themselves. Even if just a smidge. Because it's just kinda fun to get dressed up and I get obsessed about clothing, especially when it has anything to do with historical or vintage clothing. Since I rarely buy clothing anymore, I've been making my own clothes and it has encouraged me to dive into the 1930s, which is a style I love so much and believe is easily adaptable to modern wear. I haven't gone full fledge 1930s, as cool as that would be, I still like other styles of clothing I like whether they are modern or have a vintage flair to them. All that said, here are the pictures of the shorts I made. (Yeah, ME in shorts. I know it's hard to believe.) I used a 1940s overall pattern I got for $1 a couple years ago. I changed them a bit (which required one failed attempt a year ago plus three or four extra mock ups) and this is what I got:


{linen sailor shorts}

I'll take more detailed shots of the actual shorts themselves when I'm not wearing them. :)

I also took a picture with the 1930s blouse I made last year. I'm liking the shorts a lot, even if it shows a lot of white pastey leg. Oh man, I couldn't tan even if I wanted to. And believe me, I don't want to! I've learned to embrace the curse of the redhead. We don't tan, we freckle. And I'd rather have freckles than a gross cancer shade of brown. Yuck.


{sailor shorts and the '30s blouse i made last year}

back from athens, missouri

Athens Living History Event, originally uploaded by gracefullady.

So I am back and all in one piece! I'm really glad I was able to still make this event. It did me a world of good to get away and relax with my buddies for the weekend. I was pretty stiff on the drive there, but on the way back it was all good. We weren't able to bathe in the Des Moines river, unfortunately, but otherwise it was a great time. The river was just too flooded and contaminated so we thought it better not to risk it.

This picture was taken of a picnic we put together for our soldiers. I'm on the left in the back with my friends Brandi and Mary.

I also want to say thank you for all of your concerns about my car accident. I really appreciate your comments. Hopefully pretty soon I will get back into the swing of things and be able to write more happy posts. I've got a lot of work to catch up to, but that is a good thing! I will just be happy to get my car paid off so I can start once again to save for another. Oh life. It sure is a funny thing sometimes.

More pictures on my flickr!