Antique German §ewing Basket!

meet the newest addition to my family of antiques! i've had her on a 2-month layaway (for $110-- who wouldn't!?), so i'm finally glad to welcome her home!

my camera didn't quite pick up the true colors of the thing. the wicker pretty much matches the dresser behind it, and the pink is not really pink at all. it's more of a deep yet transparent red wine color.. not quite the whorehouse red you see here :-P

and barely detectable on the label in the space above the wording are some numbers written in pencil.. it's more noticable in person, but my best guess is #21?8871 (anyone else wanna give it a go? click the pic for a larger version..)

it is a sewing basket, but i think it's seen better days, so i'm just going to use it as my current knitting/crocheting project since a skein of yarn won't really do any damage. it is tattered and missing some wicker brackets on the underside of the back, but i think it just adds to its charm :-)

French Smut Friday!

I Love my Boyfriend... oh how he indulges me... look at what came in the mail today!:
(click for larger versions)


he's so cool. he called me on his lunch break today to have me check the mail. he said "my package was delivered this morning, can ya go check for me please?" "--SURE! give me a minute... (insert giddy squealing here)."

lots of photos, a few stories, and of course-- boobies ;-) there's no date to be found on it, but my best guess is mid-to-late 50's. i'll have to do some research, but it's cool that it is a"Volume 1 Number 1" issue! oh, and whoever sold this at one point wrote on the cover with a sharpie "50 cents/ 5 for 2.00" so i had to colorblock over it-- BAAH!

thong th-thong

i finished knitting my Lacy Thong! it was a hoot. like any visually interesting pattern, it tested my patience in a few spots, but nothing i couldn't get myself around or out of.. at least it fits like a dream!





i used a length of some pale pink vintage ribbon from my craft extras, but i'm going to try and find a different one, hopefully at the antique store i'll be visiting soon.. the edges of the front are stitched to give it a "finished" look, but they keep on rolling inwards. looks like i need to learn "blocking" after all..

if anyone wants one, let me know your hip size (or where ever you want the waistband to sit) and what color, and you just might have the coolest birthday/whatever present on the block.

it's biscuit bliss..

so my man decided to make those nummy-yummy-oh-so-tasty "Cheddar Bay Biscuits" just like the ones at Red Lobster... i searched for a recipie that had the best reviews, and boy are they good! every time we have these now i am just beside myself with... i don't even know what. just thinking of them makes me stuck on stupid.. just feast your eyes.

now just TRY and tell yourself that you don't want a whole batch of these babies all to yourself right now...

(p.s.-- click the pic for a close-up of the butter topping just oozing into those nooks and crannies, mingling with the cheese throughout and giving birth to savory heaven..)

guilded fans

my example of the Lion Brand Yarn's Crochet Stitch of the Week: Guilded Fans. (click on the picture for a significantly larger version.)

as per usual, the beginning of my work is all loosey-goosey, then i get the hang of it, and by the end my work is rather uniform and consistant. i don't know what i'd use this pattern repeat for, it is really really open and loose.. don't think it would do well for a garment. hmm, i may have to think this one over. overall, a pretty easy pattern.

yarn used: caron simply soft: victorian rose 9721

crochet hook size G/6 (4.25mm)

more vintage goodies

This dress i found at the Antique Mall in Manteca.. who'da thunk?? I asked the lady if i could try it on, and she eyed me like you wouldn't believe! Now, i can usually tell if something will fit me just by looking at it and feeling its construction, so I asked. The lady pointed her reprimanding finger at me and told me not to "push it" if it wouldn't go on easily... well BIG FREAKIN' DUH. I'm not new to vintage clothing, lady. i'm not exactly the "ideal" size that most of the women then were, but i'm not a heifer either. one of the reasons women were the "ideal" size then was with a little or a lot of help from underpinnings-- corsets, merry widows, girdles, waist cinchers-- all of which i have and USE for garments such as these-- plus the fact that sizes weren't standardized like they are now. (you know how they say "Marilyn Monroe was a size 12"? well that pretty much translates in to a size 6 or 8 by todays' standards...) SO I proceded to try it on, and it absolutely fit! it was more like it just glided on. I was meant to be this garment's wearer. I came prancing out to the counter, swooped it up to the lady and condescended, "it absolutely fit like a dream." I put my hands under my chin and batted my eyelashes in a mock Scarlett O'Hara fashion. Hah. Take that.




Here is the house dress/apron dress, i'm not sure which. the tag on it said "black and white 1930's dress", but i'm not sure it was worn as such. it just seems more like a full apron you'd wear over a housedress of sorts. it doesn't look like much on the hanger, but when worn, the ties cinch the waist and gives the skirt more of an a-line look. my problem with vintage clothing is that the shoulders are usually too broad for me. even if the rest of it fits, i just don't get the full range of movement in the shoulder area. i don't always have great posture, but i've tried keeping proper in some of my dresses, and it just doesn't always work. anyways, it came with a few holes on the arms and one on the front that had been patched up with the same fabric of its time. a few minor repairs, she's as good as useful :-)

this is the girdle I bought the same day as the patterns in the previous post. it has a wonderful feel to it. it seems only lightly used, and still completely wearable. the garters still have full elasticity, the boning still strong, and the stretch fabric on the sides still feels tight. you can barely see it in this first picture, but there's a hook from a hook-and-eye sewn straight onto the middle front of the thing. i don't know if it came that way or what it's use is, but i'll leave it there either way. this fits me perfectly, and is even a hair too big. i mean, it is still very form-fitting on me, but these things were meant to "keep you in", tuck your flesh away underneath, sort of downsize your midsection.. it just kind of sits there on me and doesn't constrict much. i guess i'd wear it if i had a specific purpose to, but as it is it'll stay as more of a novelty piece, or put away until i do become a bit more "fleshy" for it's use.

my vintage crochet pattern finds!

I found these great vintage patterns at Hubba Hubba! Antiques on the Miracle Mile in Stockton.. i couldn't be-lieve how many there where. from the looks of the other offerings of the time inside the front cover, they were pretty prolific publications. but hey-- that doesn't make it any less old and intriguing to me! i really try to buy only things that i plan on using or utilizing, so i picked the most interesting "edgings and trims" type one from the lot (and there were a LOT!). Even though 3 out of 4 of these here are edgings, i made three seperate visits with three different money-spending mentalities each time, so i picked the best of what was there. As of yet, i haven't been able to find a date for these, except the first one which is 1915. i'll be doing some research on the rest and see what i can find.

i've got a few more pictures and goodies to gush about, so i'll put those in a new post.

Ooh La-La!

Tres Francais! Oui Oui!

Progress on the "Frenchy" pattern. I'm also making the "Lacy Thong" to go along with it, as Frenchy doesn't have a matching one.

Almost done with the other strap, i'll just need to find some snazzy buttons to use for the top closure and the side closures for the bottom.





i can't wait to get the whole thing done! i'm also going to knit some pasties from the "Naughty Needles" book by Nikol Lohr. i swear, between this book and the two "Stitch 'N Bitch" knit/crochet ones i have, it's ALL i need to keep my interest and make things i'll ACTUALLY wear and use for myself! i'm always making stuff for other people, so it's time i spoiled myself! (i'm sure it's going to be just as much of a present to my man than it will be for me!) ;-D

LOOk what i can do!

haha.. couldn't find a quarter, so a bottlecap just had to do. besides, those are EV-ER-Y-WHERE in our house. (just wish the same could be said of those quarters!)



that is the skull to the "crocheted wristlet with skull shape" pattern on about.com. More progress pics soon..

+ll Fall Madness ll+

So yes, looks as though I've been quite busy with crafting lately, as I haven't posted anything for awhile now..

Crocheted a newsboy cap for my good friend Matthew from this pattern, and the results are in...

on moi:


and on the birthday boy:


too cute! did that in about a week and a half, only because i wasn't working on it constantly...

and I just finished and sent off this wonderful and fun Halloween wreath I adapted from this pattern, and made it funky and all my own:











and here was my workspace and progress--I LOVE sitting on the floor!:







I am so proud of myself! I also splurged today and bought some yummy chenille yarns for my cloche hat I will be making for myself (sheesh!! finally, SOMEthing for myself, I am just WAY too giving... hehee) using the "Essential Hats Collection" pattern from Stitch Diva Studios here, and if it turns out as well as I hope it will, a good friend of mine will get one too :-)

I can't wait to start wearing the things I'll be making soon. And if I get enough compliments, I just might start selling the things! I have an etsy account, I just want to make sure that I'm good enough at all the knitting and crocheting to sell..

well, 'tis all for now, Have a Happy Hallowe'en, Darlings!

XoXo