Apothecary Inn

Productivity & Pretties

I have decided that since I can never seem to afford to buy actual vintage clothing, I would be better off sewing my own. Old patterns (if you know where to look), can be very cheap, and I tend to have a great deal of fabric scraps on hand at any given time (or vintage sheets that can be "recycled"). While I'm not a phenomenal seamstress, I can sew clothing when necessary (I did our costumes for our holiday cards several years ago - that was a difficult dress, too!). Most of my problem is that I hate sitting still for the time it takes to sew. That, and I have two very inquisitive and playful kittens who add an extra level of difficulty to the equation!

As many of you know, I have been spending the past few weeks cleaning out the garage. I have been going through old trunks of toys and vintage memorabilia, repacking what I want to save, and selling on craigslist what I don't want. It's been a pretty profitable endeavor. Thus far, I have managed to bring in around $260, and there are still a few items that have not yet sold. Some of the money went toward household expenses, but I saved a good chunk of it for me. I haven't had "mad money" in a while, and it was nice to be able to splurge on a "new" hat, a coat, and a lovely vintage 1940's dress pattern (with apron peplum) from Things Found on Etsy.

While I wait for my dress pattern to arrive, I decided to try and sew a full skirt for an upcoming wedding that Ryan & I will be attending. I have a sewing book from the 50's/60's, and I found a pattern for a skirt with flowers applique that I thought would be fun and relatively easy to try (see the top image). I have a large scrap of leftover brown tweed fabric, some vintage lace, and some gorgeous deep blue satin and iridescent blue/brown fabric from making those costumes several years ago. The latter two fabrics will be used to make the flower appliques (and I will sew them on with a lovely contrasting red thread), and the brown tweed fabric will be the body of the skirt.

Here's a picture of a "mock-up" of the skirt:

Speaking of sewing, I also made a lovely score yesterday at a local antique store: a rhinestone setter from the 1950's for $10!

It comes complete with original box and even the rhinestones!

I was so excited! I plan to use it to decorate my skirt and dress! Another woman in the shop had been eying it (and trying to crowd me into dropping it - I loathe it when pushy shoppers do that!), but I grabbed it first and held onto it!