Friday 24 January 2014

Tins Of Vintage-y Loveliness ....On A Dreary Day ...!


Hello there ....
Well its been a dark and dreary day here ...
rain.. rain .. and more rain.

A Girls got a job trying to keep positive and jolly ...
I can feel the dreariness creeping up on me.



The thing is .. i tell myself ... is to look for the positives .. the loveliness .. the harbingers of spring...
They are there if we look closely enough.

Just look at this Forsythia ... I brought these bare twigs in last week ... and with a bit of warmth ... they are doing their thing..

I think its just what I need ... bit of warmth .. bit of sun...

A Girl can have a bit too much of this Winter thing!

Well today's job ... why is it there's always 'todays job' ..?

Well anyway ... yesterday Hubby P brought me this old tin ...



Someones ... friends mother .... its always a long complicated story ... was clearing their mothers attic ...
Along with some furniture Hubby P ...bought the old tin ... he thought it looked interesting.

It looks like it has been part of 'Mothers' sewing stash .. it was full of dressmaking patterns from the 1950's or thereabout. 



Just imagine .. its been sat up there all this time .. like a little time capsule.

So interesting to delve into the tin ... the designs were so glamorous.



Just imagine wearing dresses like this everyday ...  well I couldn't .. it would feel so uncomfortable I'm sure .. and I'd probably need 'sturdy undergarments' to boot.
Mind you .. you would look just fab hopping on a train to the seaside ... or greeting the milkman with a duster in your hand ... of course you would need a suitably frilly .. pretty apron to wear over said fab dress..



And how about this for cocktails ... would this be suitably sleek enough to contain your 'wiggle'?

After much 'faffing around' with them ... I decided to list some on ebay ... Oh how I hate listing on ebay .... boring!

But I thought all the vintage-y girls the Rockabilly's and those young enough to have a 'wiggle' would be able to use them.

And I just had to show you this ...



Lovely 50's floral-y cotton .. it came in the lot from the clearance last week ... a single curtain still with its hooks... but a crumpled dirty rag.
Well ... its washed up well.



It has a lovely softness .. gently faded .. that only years of 'living' can achieve.... being washed .. blown on the washing line .. grubby children's hands .. more washing ... and nightly drawn against the moon and stars ... as the years turned.

Well I have saved three good pieces from it ... I shall have to try and sell some of it .. that 'making a living' thing.
But of course I have a bit for me .. and last week I picked up an old Observers Book of Garden Flowers ... and today I thought this old fabric would look lovely as a jacket for the old book.
Ahhhh a new project .. 
something to keep me amused.. 

So whats keeping you amused at the moment ...?

 I know I am an impatient kinda Girl ... but my seeds I sent for.. Still Haven't Come ... !
I want seeds .. and sun ...
 and seedlings ... and garden ... 
surely it cant be far off!



I will leave you with this little flower ... 
blazing its little socks off ....such a super sunshiny yellow!

xx



24 comments:

  1. I have been looking at my dress making patterns too today and i have chose a vintage dress to have a go at and sorting out some seeds to grow too, i love your vintage tin xxx

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    1. The tin is very old and battered .. much used .. much loved ... its an old Co-Op biscuit tin.
      Best of luck with the sewing.
      x

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  2. I reckon that that red dress pattern would be okay for now. My granddaughter bought a dress similar to that only a few months ago.
    There's always something to cheer us up isn't there?
    Gillx

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    1. nothing really new is there .. everything comes around full circle .. I bet there is so much fabric in those skirts... they do look pretty.
      x

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  3. At last I got this published properly ... blogger playing up no end .. hope you enjoy a peek into my day.

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  4. What a find..both the tin and the patterns! Hard to believe people dressed like that everyday. With heels on....I am a jeans and a turtleneck person!
    Have just back from the store with 3 small pots on offer-tulips, narcissus and a hyacinth! No seeds ordered yet but the seed catalogs are out and I have already planned which strawberry plants I am getting.
    Thanks for sharing your finds..I LOVE that fabric! It would be great in a quilt.

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    1. A few pots of bulbs are so cheering .. I'm hoping the 'plant man' is at the boot sale tomorrow and then I can treat myself.
      And ... my seeds have come ... off to get a small bag of seed compost today. Hurahhh!
      x

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  5. What lovely old things. A neighbour said if I started making up dresses in 1950s patterns they would sell like wildfire. Hmmm . . . I'm NOT brilliant at dressmaking (not a lot of time either) but I think she had a good point - there's a market opening there somewhere.

    I loved the tin (it reminded me of my 1950s childhood). And the material - so soft and loved and of its time. You get to find some lovely old things

    Fingers crossed I can find some interesting bits at the "field" auction tomorrow . . .

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    1. There is a girl on the island doing really well making and selling 50's style dresses.
      Enjoy the auction.

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  6. You may find that those patterns will sell. Before Christmas I decided to make a dress. You try and find a pattern that isn't in American sizes....cos that's where they are printed now, so I was told at the fabric shop. All different prices too. The most expensive were in the Vogue book.......29 flippin pounds ! Got one off the market, half price £4 instead of £7.99. But still had to faff about cos it was still American size. Anyway, cut out the dress and the neckline is still a bit big. I will fix it cos I love the material and won't waste it. But it was going to be my Christmas dress,ha........yeah, maybe next Christmas.

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    1. I got a shock at the price of patterns .. I think the last one I bought cost me about £10.
      I've tried to make these affordable .. dont think anyone has got a lot of money these days.

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  7. Loving the blue dress, very glam! Blogger played up with me today, I was trying to post and it drove me mad!

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  8. I am so envious of you seeing those signs of Spring. It's bitter cold and very snowy here in Southern Ontario.

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  9. What a wonderful find, Im afraid I am totally the wrong shape to wear such glamourous dresses. I love the vintage fabric...so pretty. Xx

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  10. What a treasure that box is with all those vintage patterns. Those dresses are in style again for the figures that can wear them... Always enjoy your posts so much.

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  11. What a great find, I really love old tins but those patterns are great and I don't even sew!

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  12. love the pretty fabric!
    and the old tin!

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  13. Just got around to reading this and have managed to snap one of the patterns up, now going back to look at the fabrics. I am planning to come and find your stall. Once the sun is shining both sides of the hedgerows anyway.

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    1. Thankyou Pam .. I will post off to you on Monday. It will be nice to see you in the summer time .. the boot sales are huge on a nice sunny day you will enjoy a good old browse.
      x

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  14. I, too want sunshine here in the South. I bought some seed compost yesterday. 5kg cost me £1.65 in a local discount shop. It`s my start to the growing year, with hopes of better weather attached. Your vintage sewing patterns are lovely. I haven`t made any clothe for ages, but I`m considering looking into a vintage dress for an upcoming wedding I have to attend in September. So, I`m hoping to find something I like and still have time to make it before then.

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  15. Patterns are expensive here in the States, too. I buy them when thry are on sale at 50% off or use my 40%/50% off coupons at JoAnn's...I would rathrr support independent shops, but not at those crazy prices...

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  16. I want to get home from work and sit outside in the sun! With a glass of wine! How is it STILL January?????

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  17. Hello Victoria,
    Just wanted to let you know that I have recently found your blog and love it to bits!
    I have spent some time reading the back issues and am finding it so interesting, thank you so much.
    Particularly interested in your eBay selling. I have so much stuff I would like to move along, any tips you could write about would be much appreciated.
    I am originally from the South West of England and now live in Dallas TX, I am so happy to keep the connection with the UK via blogs such as yours.
    Pam in Texas.

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  18. Hi Victoria like the comment above I have just found your blog and noticed these old patterns. I used to be head designer in the Fashion department at Maudella back in the late 70's and through the 80's and 90's. They were the only English pattern company left at that time and it was still a family firm. I too have a great stash of the 50's patterns that I salvaged from the storeroom when they had a big clearout one day and took boxes and boxes of them all to the tip because no one wanted them but me!!

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