Lost and Found – Part 6

Did you think that you'd have to look at those poor wet dogs for the rest of the year? Yes, I shirked my blogging duties for quite a while.

I do have a few new things to share, but while I get organized, I will finish up my Lost and Found Series.

I have a weakness for old books – have you noticed? Children’s books and picture books are especially hard to resist.

Here are two books that I recently found. One is a grade school songbook, quite the worse for wear.

Published in 1947, it clearly belonged to Elizabeth and was very well-loved.

end papers

 

The best thing is that each song has little drawings with it.

 

[You can try click-to-enlarge, but I don't know if it will work. Picasa is being a pain right now.]

 

 

Today's other treasure is a 1952 edition of the Girl Scout Guide.

 

I love the illustrations that accompany the enthusiastic instructions for being a healthy person and a contributing member of society.

Pristine uniforms

No TV or computer!



So many ways to serve the community

Year-round activities

 

 

There’s not much in common between the two books, except for a certain charm and wholesomeness in the illustrations. This was still a pre-television generation - only 9% of U.S. households had them in 1950 (www. tvhistory.tv).

 

I wonder what a modern-day kid would do if faced with the entertainment choices from the 1940s or 50s?!

 

 

 

 

Katrina

Bathing Beauties

  

I bet you weren’t expecting that.

 

 

For years I’ve bathed these two separately. This time I thought I would just try putting them in the tub together. If it worked, I could save time, water, and a lot of back strain.

 

It worked! Neither dog likes being in water, and shampoo is just adding insult to injury. They were so miserable that it didn’t occur to them to cause any mischief. I got them both clean in half the time.

 

I think I have a very limited window of opportunity with this though. Once they figure out that I can only hold on to one of them at a time, it will be every dog for him/herself and my bathroom will end up looking like a tidal wave came through. 

Looks like that moment of discovery is near.

Katrina

TGIF (Finished!)

This dress is finally finished! It only took me two months!

 

I had this partly sewn and pinned together in early May. It was on the sewing table all through the cleaning and decluttering upheaval. I refused to return it to the UFO pile, and so it sat there as a daily reminder of all my sewing projects that really needed to just get done.

Finally, an urgent need to get something else done is what finally pushed me to finish this and get it out of the way. As usual, when I finally put my mind to it, it went together quickly and left me wondering what all the procrastination was about.

It is a lovely pattern and I would definitely make it again if I didn’t have hundreds of others vying for my attention.

 

I simplified a couple of things and complicated a few others. The biggest complication was adding the piping along the seams of the bodice. Getting the lines to meet at a nice point in the center front took a lot of trial and error. The piping insertion is far from even, in spite of my patient basting and careful stitching.

However, I made sure that the piping matched at the back.

Notice that I was completely blind to the mismatched fabric pattern, but that piping looks solid!

A minor complication was my decision to convert from a one-piece dress to a top and skirt. It didn’t create a lot of extra work – I just cut a simple A-line and added an elastic waist – but it did use up every last iota of fabric. I would have made the top an inch or two longer if I had any extra, but I think it is wearable as is.

How did I simplify? By using this fabulous KNIT fabric! 

It’s a pique knit, the waffle-textured kind found in Polo and Lacoste shirts. I think this fabric came from Fashion Fabrics Club but it was so long ago I can’t be sure. All cotton, with just enough stretch to be comfortable, but it won’t pull out of shape. It is perfectly cool and comfortable for summer. I think this fabric came from Fashion Fabrics Club but it was so long ago I can’t be sure.

 

I thought I would still need the back zipper called for in the pattern because of the non-stretch piping, but I gave it the pull-over test, and sure enough, I was able to slip it on with the back seam stitched completely closed. Hooray for knits!

Now here is something amazing I found on Etsy the other day:

It looks like almost the same print, but it’s on a very different fabric. What a gorgeous dress! For sale here.

 

 

Well I’m glad I made mine and it fits nicely. And what a relief to finally get it off the sewing table and out of the way. Now, what’s next?

Katrina

Lost and Found – Part 5

For those of us who are fabric hounds, finding a listing on eBay entitled “large lot vintage rayon fabric” would be a thrill. Reading further to find that the lot is from an estate and includes old dresses from the 1940s, curtains, and yardage, might winnow out the more sensible buyers, wary of mold, bedbugs, and dishonest sellers.

The ridiculously low bid for this lot easily overwhelmed the weak defenses of my common sense, and I nervously awaited the arrival of a huge carton of … what?

In fact it turned out to be just as described – a large lot of vintage rayon fabric in various forms, along with some other goodies. Of course I gave it the hot dryer treatment to kill anything that might have hitched a ride, then sorted through my new treasures.

Several of the “dresses” were actually dressing gowns.

 

This rayon wrap-front robe with a bias-cut skirt just needs a few seams and hems stitched and a new snap on the front. What a color combination!

 

The little navy robe is falling apart, but have you ever seen anything like the fabric?

 

I will definitely put this to reuse.

 

 

 

 

 

The burgundy dressing gown has a huge panel missing from the back, and the fabric shows some disintegration throughout.

 

Still, I’d like to try to use it in some way, maybe in a collar and cuffs that can be stabilized with fusible interfacing.

 

Here are two examples of actual dresses.

 

The pretty polka dot shirtwaist is silk. It’s in pretty good shape other than missing one sleeve and the other one hanging by a few threads. I might be able to repair this with a bit of restyling and restitching. 

The brown dress is missing most of the front (this is the back of the dress). The floral print is beautiful, and the fabric is in good condition, so I can definitely use it in other projects.

 

Then there are miscellaneous pieces. 

An intensely pink-on-mustard floral skirt portion of a dress

A gorgeous black floral piece of something

 

This tropical print was part of a bedskirt!

 

There were also some pieces of modern fabric. How did they get in there? (Not that I’m complaining!)

Doesn’t this look like the quintessential mid-century Hawaiian print rayon? But it’s a Cameron Industries fabric from 1993!

 

There were several other little beauties in the lot, and now that I’ve unearthed them all, there is hope that one day they will make it to the sewing table. At least they are hanging neatly in the closet now, instead of bunched up in a bag on the floor.

 

I have one or two more “Lost and Found” treasures to share with you, and then we’re back to complaining about the heat.

 

Katrina