shoes and pie

May 31, 2010 · 8:43 am

Memorial Day

Cpl. Harry Sisserman, b. 1918. Enlisted 1942. KIA 1944/5

From Wikipedia: Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I. [â€¦] A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at National Cemeteries. [â€¦] The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR. Music is performed, and respect is paid to the men and women who gave their lives for their country.

From Twitter: Happy Memorial Day!

Umâ€¦ “happy” memorial? Look, it’s not that I don’t want everyone, in general, to be happy. And I don’t expect anyone to spend the day in mourning. Have your cookouts, enjoy the company of your friends, do what you will. But please, don’t forget that your 3-day weekend is quite a bit more than the unofficial start of summer. Take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices of the many men and women who have died while serving. Honor their families. Appreciate that you live in a country which doesn’t require mandatory service. Then fish a cold drink out of that ice-filled bucket in the back yard, crack it open, and tip your head in a silent toast.

Say “thank you.”

4 Comments

Filed under citizens, for doing the right thing., holidays

May 22, 2010 · 9:19 pm

Well, Yellow There!

Friend and fellow Twitter-er Betty Red asked today, “Why is so hard to find cute, yellow retro lingerie!?”

My first thought was that yellow can be a difficult color to match against your skin tone and as such is often overlooked by clothing manufacturers. But for those of you who are confident in your ability to wear yellow, I present the following uncommon treats:

Click on the photo to go directly to the Etsy treasury where all of these vintage lingerie items are available for purchase.

â€“EDITâ€“
I should also mention here the Etsy shops that are represented in the above collection. Reading left to right, from the top:
VintageFray
lexismonkey
TavinShop
thedabara
sewninpieces
KitschAndCanoodle
tiddleywink (that’s me!)
vintagerunway
ShonnasVintage
wunderlustvintage
fadedfrocks
HartsCloset
FancyPantsAndMore
GeneralWhimsy2
sewingmachinegirl
CapricornOneVintage

My First Sewing Project

Jessica over at kusine.com is hosting a pattern giveaway, and all you have to do to enter is comment on this post and tell everyone what your first machined sewing project was. I’m posting my “reply” here, however, because the sundress pattern is quite fetching but I already have too many unsewn patterns in my stash and I don’t want to dilute the pool of contestants.

So yeah, that first project. Are you ready for this? A pillowcase. Woo. Heck, does it even count? Three straight lines. No closures. To my credit (?), it was a pillowcase for a very large pillow. 30″x 30″ I think. And I was at some age that was measured in single digits. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure it was more my aunt’s attempt to keep me busy and quiet for a brief period of time than it was her burning desire to teach me a new skill.

That bright red pillow cover was also the last thing I sewed for a good 10 years. My mom made a good portion of my childhood clothing, and all of my Halloween costumes, but never taught me to sew. (She did teach me a blanket stitch early on, as well as cross-stitch. Mom is an avid embellisher.) My seventh grade home-ec class taught only cooking. My closest friends (and roommates) during my first two years of art school were fashion majors, and so it was in college that I bought myself an inexpensive machine and taught myself bad habits how to sew. My first project-from-a-published-pattern was a hooded, ankle-length cape, which I still have. I did a good job, if I do say so myself, and it’s sturdy and toasty warm. However, I selected a completely inappropriate fabric. I went with fleece, to which has adhered every fallen leaf and cat hair EVER.

It’s been many years since that first Brother came home with me from The Rag Shop, and while I’m confident in the area of relatively simple dresses and have cobbled together many Halloween costumes, I still have much to learn. I’ve yet to sew pin tucks. I’ve never tackled ruffles. The one boned bodice I made was not a particularly good fit. I should really, really take a class and make myself a good pair of custom-fitted pants. And unlearn some improvised shortcuts while I’m at it.

Pink Kitchen

It’s Friday, and I had cash in my pocket, so I decided to go to an estate sale that I’d read about. The organizer’s website was chock full of photos that scrolled way too quickly, but I did spot a Formica dinette set flash by, and I figured it was a good indicator of what else might be in store.

The dinette set was still there, at an unheard-of $135. Alas, I didn’t have that much cash, nor the tools required to disassemble it so I could cram it in my car. My bad luck, someone else’s good fortune.

I picked through a few things, found some earrings and a kooky little how-to-rumba pamphlet (oh yeah, that came home with me), and then walked into the kitchen.

Ohmigod, the kitchen.

The house was built in 1952, and the kitchen was NEVER REMODELED. Actually, that can’t be true because the Frigidaire Flair Custom Imperial range (AND IN PINK!!! COVET!!!) was only available between 1960 and 1968. So okay, the kitchen hasn’t been remodeled in 42-to-50 years. Everywhere I looked were strips of masking tape saying NOT FOR SALE and I tell you I would have rented a truck, maxed out my credit card’s cash advance option, and picked up that entire room otherwise. Pink refrigerator. Pink countertops with gold flake. Pink built-in banquette booth (with that same pink Formica surface as the counters). My heart was beating so fast!

I took my own crummy photos, ill-prepared as I was with only a cell phone and with people milling about and clutter everywhere. See teaser photo above. BUT… when I got home and looked up the address to get the build date, I saw that the house is for sale and the Realtor has provided some lovely photos. So here they are, and a bonus photo of the pink-and-black bathroom. [insert choir of angels here]

Bonus bathroom photo:

5 Comments

Filed under kitchen, nostalgia, vintage

April 23, 2010 · 4:35 pm

New-to-me sewing patterns!

I realize that I have a stash of patterns that so far remain unsewn. However, I recently bought myself some vintage red-white-blue striped fabric that is begging to be made into a summer frock and the patterns I have on hand simply aren’t appropriate for what I have in mind.

What do I have in mind, you ask?

Well, that’s actually hard to say. It’s a boldly-striped fabric which immediately made me think of a gathered skirt made from rectangular cuts. That is, if I want to go for a full-skirted look of the 1950s. I do love a full skirt, but I also love an efficient 1940s silhouette, although there isn’t quite as much of that in my current wardrobe. And what with this fabric being so patriotic and all, I thought that a 1940s look might be the way to go. With those two ideas in mind, it was off to Etsy I went.

A short time later the following items were en route to my home, from Vintage Rouge and Dawn’s Divine Finds (click images for larger views):

I was heavily leaning toward Sew-Rite 8045 (Oh, those turnback cuffs! That roll collar! Those not-eleven-buttons!) until Mikhaela posted the below pinafore pattern on SewRetro, and now I’m smitten with View 1.

Sweetheart neckline! Ruffles! POCKETS! I’ve found this exact pattern in a couple of places online, but those listings are out of my budget. It was a popular look at the time, so there are many options out there. It’s just a matter of me matching myself up with the right one. Oh dear, oh dear, so much candy in the candy store!

Of course, I’ll keep you all posted as (if?) the project progresses.

3 Comments

Filed under collections, fashion, sewing, vintage