Hello my dear readers! I hope those of you in the U.S. had a lovely Thanksgiving. I know I did! Today I'm excited to share a quick hair tutorial with you. I love the look of a 1940s-style back roll. It can be an elegant evening style or wartime factory worker casual. There are several great tutorials for this type of hairstyle, including at Va-Voom Vintage and Eileen's Basement. My version is a little different, as it ... Read more »
Fall day trip
Last weekend, it was so warm that we decided to get in a small road trip to Wisconsin. It's one of our favorite things to do, and this year with buying the house and settling in and everything that comes with that we've had very little opportunities to do it. So with temperatures 20 degrees warmer than earlier that week, we hit the road in style. Outfit details dress: made by me 1940s alligator shoes: ... Read more »
Pressing gratitude!
I can't thank you all enough for the loads of helpful comments on my pressing dilemma, with the fabric that just wouldn't crease! Of course I've now read several discussions about gabardine being hard to press. In the end I was able to get it to work with a combination of your suggestions. I think the big winner, however, was Rebekah of St. Gemma's Art & Needlework, who recommended a spray bottle with 2 parts water ... Read more »
Help, sewists! I can’t press my fabric
My dear sewing friends, I have an issue and I need help! By the way, the yoke is gathered, even though it looks like a big pucker in this photo. As if I didn't have enough problems with the bodice already. Seriously, the place where the collar and yoke joins is beyond the laws of physics—or at least my sewing skills. And the collar is bizarrely short at the back of the neck and I worry it won't roll properly. But all ... Read more »
Matching gray beret & fingerless mitts
When I was leaving for Rhinebeck back in October, I needed a small, portable knitting project. After all, I was headed to a sheep and wool festival, flying on a plane and doing some traveling by car, so I knew there would be knitting time. I finished these fingerless gloves the weekend I was there. The pattern is Arctic Blast Mitts (Ravelry link), knit in DK weight so they work up fast. Aren't they ... Read more »
An autumnal outfit
One thing I have been downright terrible about this year is outfit posts. I really need to be better, in part because it gives me an excuse to wear something on days I don't otherwise have a reason to force me out of casual jeans and a sweater. So here you go, a little outfit post, inspired by yesterday's post. This is one of my favorite skirts. In fact, it was in part re-discovering this skirt in my closet that sent ... Read more »
Trying to find inspiration for fall & winter
My American readers, are you voting today, or did you early vote? Yes? Good. Moving right along... Cold weather is setting in. And I've found myself absolutely floundering style-wise this fall! Being inspired by knitting projects but not sure how they'll fit into my wardrobe. Being inspired by certain vintage fashions but feeling very ho-hum when wearing them myself. Being inspired by other vintage fashions but not if ... Read more »
Reviving our Swedish modern dish
Today I want to share with you a teensy little project I did earlier this fall. But before I do, I just wanted to give my many thanks for all of the comments on my fair isle pullover. I was so, so tickled reading your comments! ♥ And I'm tossing around an idea that Katie from The Little Red Squirrel planted in my head: doing a knit-along for "vintaging" a modern knitwear pattern. I know I've fallen flat on my attempts to ... Read more »
Red Queen fair isle pullover: finished!
Happy Friday! Thank you for your comments on being "back". I'm still trying to catch up on life after the last several weeks. :) As promised, I have photos to share of my latest knitted sweater. I actually started this last November if you can believe it. For some reason I only worked on this one in fits and spurts, with the final spurt being to finish it up to wear to Rhinebeck last weekend. My flight was Friday ... Read more »
Sheep, alpacas and work
Well hello my friends! Long time no see! In case you were wondering if the earth swallowed me up whole, it did not. Not quite, anyhow. Over the last month I was involved in a project at work that we've gone through each of the last few years which means pretty much working all hours I can manage for weeks leading up to the launch. I had no time for blogging, no time for knitting, no time for responding to emails, no ... Read more »
Finished: Wearing History Smooth Sailing corduroy trousers
Friends, I finally sewed my very first pair of trousers! Now, I've been talking about wanting to sew trousers for over a year. They are definitely a staple in my vintage wardrobe. Last summer I bought the pattern for the 1930s Smooth Sailing trousers and blouse from Wearing History but just could never work myself up to sew them. As you know, this last weekend I went on a blogger adventure, and bought several lovely ... Read more »
Weekend blogger meetup (& other recent activities)
Hello! Before I get started with documenting a little adventure I had this past weekend, I wanted to say a big, huge THANK YOU for all of the wonderful comments I received on my last post. Wow. It's so nice knowing you're not alone, and all of your personal stories have been so great to read, and I hope helpful to others, too! I've been extra busy the last week and my plans to respond to each comment on my post or by ... Read more »
Carry on
If you've been a regular to my blog for some time, you may have noticed I've done very little outfit-related posts this year. I admit it, I've had some style ennui. Seeing as this blog revolves around style in a lot of ways (though I've never considered myself a "fashion blogger" by a long shot), that's made blogging kind of difficult. I spent a long time trying to figure out what was bothering me. In the end, I think ... Read more »
Simple beauty of a steek in my fair isle knit
I sat down to do a post catching you up on our painting success after my retro fail living room post, but on the camera I found photos Mel and I took a couple of weeks ago when I was cutting the armhole and neckline steeks for my current fair isle project. So instead, I just wanted to share with you the beauty you can find (or at least I can find) in knitting photos. A simple, traditional task in a fair isle knit, ... Read more »
Our retro FAIL living room
I have a confession. But first, I wanted to thank you all so much for your delightful comments on my Knit it in Flag colors pullover! I was really tickled. I think it's going to be really great this autumn, and I think it needs a nice pair of wide-legged trousers to wear with it! Hopefully this autumn I'll be back in sewing mode, but right now I'm in knitting and decorating mode. :) Now, onto the confession. You're ... Read more »
Knit it in Flag Colors – finished Ravellenic Games project
Well hello my friends! I know, it's been awhile! I expected to share with you my progress on my project during the Ravellenic Games, Ravelry's knitting version of the Olympics that coincide with the Olympics. However, not only have I been caught up in watching the Olympics (London, you're doing an awesome job!), I had to change my project. I started off with fair isle legwarmers for autumn, but then couldn't watch the ... Read more »