Fabric Shopping at the Thrift Store

I had a super day yesterday at one of my local thrift stores and I'd like to share! As I said in my article Buying Fabric on a Budget, who says you have to buy fabric at a fabric store? There is no shame in buying good fabric, whether new or used, anywhere other than a fabric store and thrift stores often provide me with some of the most wonderful fabric finds, including vintage and antique textiles. Here's what I mean:

The needlework on the hem this curtain and valence, both made from a cotton blend, is marvelous. The curtain measures 17 feet and the valence 11 feet in length. I paid $10.00 for both.

~Beautiful needlework detail~

~Washed and hanging on the line~

This is a purple and ivory checked medium weight linen table cloth that measures almost 9 feet in length and 5 feet in width. Oh, do I have a costuming project for this! I paid $5.

~On the washer ready to washed~

I'd say I did well for a $15 fabric thrift store shopping excursion and there is still more I'd like to buy, but when do I ever have enough fabric?  

Blessings and happy sewing! 

Senior Trip & Ladies' Tea

~Me at Cedar Point in 1978 and 2012~

What a week! This last Saturday was the Emerald Parlor's Third Annual Ladies' Tipsy Tea, and the theme this year was the 1950s. But before that, I had the pleasure of chaperoning the senior girls on their senior trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio - what a treat! The last time I was there was in 1978, haha! We ladies stayed at the historic Breakers Hotel, lived at the park from opening to close, scoured the beach on our off-park time, and spent our late evenings living in the hot tub. The pool and the beach were no more than a few yards from our hotel room - it was wonderful!

~View of the Breakers Hotel from our room~

When I returned home Thursday evening, I unpacked, spent the remainder of the evening with Beautiful Husband, and then sank into my dreamy bed like the dead (because hotel beds suck - lol). Friday was a mad dash to ready for the Ladies' Tea on Saturday (thank heaven I had cleaned the house top to bottom before I left on the senior trip) - grocery shopping, hat shopping, food preparation, table setting, music selection, etc. It all came together without a hitch! 

~The table setting using late-50s vintage glass~

Although most of the pictures from the tea have not been rendered yet, here are a few pictorial teases, including some wonderful accessories that Maria and I used to adorn our 1950s looks. Let me start out with this fabulous cane handbag from the late 1940s, which I bought for Maria a couple years ago at an antique shop on Wayne Avenue here in Dayton. One day this is going to mysteriously disappear from Marie's closet and magically appear in mine (insert evil laugh here)...

These little gems are earrings that came from my grandmother's old costume jewelry box, both pairs being a perfect match for mine and Maria's dresses this year. Don't you just love those daisies? Darling! 

The black satin rosette purse and black gloves I bought at the mall on clearance - $12 for both! They were charming additions to my tea dress.

Oh, this is my best vintage buy of the year (so far) - a 1950s black straw Gage Brothers platter hat in mint condition! Found it at Feathers, my favorite vintage clothing shop in Dayton, for $26 (loving it)!

~The netting ties behind the neck - no need for hat pins!~

And finally, a few pictures of tea...

~Ooo, I feel like Sandra Dee!~

~Teenagers - need I say more? What's next, planking? lol!~

~A few of us ladies (L to R): Elma, Tonia, PJ, Moi, Kate, and Maria~

More pictures coming soon - blessings and happy sewing!

A Daisy of a Dress

Maria's 1950s summer dress for the Ladies' Tipsy Tea next week is finished and she looks darling! For her dress, I used a vintage Butterick pattern from 1957, which belonged to my grandmother. I struggled with the portrait neckline on this gown. Maybe it wouldn't have been so difficult if I would have gathered the neckline rather than pleated it - whatever the case, and despite the fact the neck is cut on the bias to give it greater ease, it would not hug the shoulders the way that I wanted, even a loose draping effect around the shoulders looked off. What I ended up doing was gathering up the pleats at the shoulders and the center back (similar to ruching) in order to get the proper fit - I think it came out well considering. As you can see in the original pattern, this gathering is not part of the neckline, but sometimes you have to do what the fabric will allow you to do. Also, the skirt is a full circle and fits perfectly to the bodice with no pleating or gathering - it is not nearly as full as the pattern's sleeve illustration would indicate. Okay, enough of my yammering! Here's Maria in her 1950s finery:

Now, it's time for me to get cranking on my dress for the tea - blessings and happy sewing!