grandma ida's crazy quilt

this is the other lovely (an understatement perhaps?!) heirloom that i inherited from my grandparents on my recent trip home to Michigan. um, i don't have words....i'm just flabbergasted and awed and humbled by it's beauty and meaning and i feel incredibly honored that i get to take care of it until the next generation of our family comes along...hopefully someone who knows a bit about sewing and will appreciate all the hard work and talent that went into it!



the box was found in my great grandma ida's ceder chest upon her death and we're not certain if she worked on it or if it was in fact begun by her mother, fannie, who was known to be a bit more crafty in her time. my granny and i poured over the thing looking to identify certain stitches and styles and we both agree that it's probably likely more than one person contributed to it.

there are eight quilt blocks in all, some that have been embellished with embroidered top-stitching and some still left to do. they were all folded up neatly in this little old christmas box (which is totally going to have a place of honor among our christmas decorations although i bet my ancestors would laugh). can you believe that the needle was still stuck in one of the blocks, threaded and all?! and look at all that original floss and thread that we found in the bottom. my quilter self and my nerdy museum worker self is going nuts:



all of the pieces seem to be upcycled from silk ties, handkerchiefs, menswear fabrics, and a few knits, velvets, and tapestry pieces here and there. it's amazing to me how conscious they were of not wasting a single little scrap of fabric...check out those button holes from a men's shirt that was used to piece part of the back!



my museum trained self is afraid to touch it and i want to take my time in deciding how to finish it. my mind just reels thinking about ones similar to this that i've seen in textile museums! i talked to granny about wanting to be able to piece all the blocks together while keeping true to the original style but she said something that really struck a chord with me, "don't be afraid to add your own element to it, your own part of the quilt's story."

my foray into sewing vintage

well, i am between custom orders at the moment so i have a little window to start on my first clothing project which i've had waiting in the wings for a while now. i keep having to psych myself up: i am ready for this! there's the pajama pants with the elastic waist i made in high school and i managed to help (or at least i thought i was helping) my granny make my 50's style prom dress so it's about time i tried something completely on my own.

now i've decided on this robe for specific reasons that will make it an easy (easier?) first project. i figured the robe isn't too structured, doesn't have pleats or difficult closures, and if the fit is just a smidge off, no one is really going to notice on a loose fitting garment such as this. of course it's for john and he helped to pick it out so it's not like i'm forcing him to wear my garish creations, ha. all we need to do now is get him a pipe, a stalwart canine companion, and an edition of the saturday evening post to complete the look...if i can get him to model the robe when it's done, you better believe i'll do my darndest to set that up!

it took us forever to find a flannel plaid that we liked and after looking every single time at joann's for months we finally found the above fabric on sale! the plaid does add a dimension of difficulty though as one must be sure to cut all the pattern pieces the same way so that the stripes match up on the final piece. luckily these vintage sewing books that i have a copy of tell all about this!

if you are thinking of working with a vintage pattern i have another great resource to share which i stumbled upon at casey's elegant musings and it's all about preparing and tracing your vintage pattern so that you can use it and preserve it!

with that, i'm off to get started and i'll keep you posted on my progress...assuming that progress and not hair pulling is what actually happens ;)

make it mad men style

(image copyright AMC)

if you love vintage (or just good programming) than you most likely know all about Mad Men on AMC and are aware that just last week they announced that the fourth season will be premiering in late July....i was thinking i should have a, "please buy from my shop so i can afford to get cable and watch mad men this summer and not have to wait until it's on netflix to find out what happens SALE!
too wordy?
maybe a little obvious or pushy?
hahaha, yeah i thought so but honest at least.

the show is not like a lot of the popular network dealios with their rapid twists and turns and gimmicks (sorry, but i kind of hate that crap)....it's definitely a slow burn and doesn't pretend that there are good and bad people but that everyone is a mix of both, everyone with a finished public veneer and a host of private urges and motivations that allow the writers to tap into an intelligent, dramatic, and certainly entertaining commentary on the radical changes of the times. o yeah, and the vintage style is TO.DIE.FOR.

(the women of mad men, copyright AMC)

which brings me to my point. ahem, i do eventually get to those. see those dresses in the photo above? the shirt dresses with their belted waists, fabric with stripes and floral designs that are cut according to how they flatter the female form....for a while now i've been wanting to learn how to sew clothes such as these, dresses in particular, because i prefer the look and so does my "curvy" figure. the styles are just so much more flattering but i am also not a very tiny gal so i need to learn how to make alterations to these vintage patterns.

WELL, i did a lot of research this past winter and found two great books that were published in the same era that Mad Men takes place. THEN i found an extra copy of each to sell in the shop so that you could learn too! they show you all about how to do the tucks, godots, pleats, trims, plackets, and trims that make these vintage styles so alluring and that's just the beginning! they are also full of tips on how to put the outfits together, choose accessories, and color charts to match make-up and fabric to your complexion and hair....yes, very retro! check out these photos for just a taste of what the books include:





drool-worthy right?! and you can just click on a photo to go to my shop listing for that book!

i think it's great that in our time we are able to embrace the flattering styles and creative homemaking of the past without having to embrace the image of a timid and obeying little wife. It's OK to learn how to be creative at home (what's more it's environmentally friendly and smart!) and also be an assertive, intelligent, and powerful modern women.