Thinking about Vintage....

This is what I envision when I think about vintage... the everyday people. This is a photo of my maternal Grandparents in the 40's-50's.  I miss them very much... they were such a big part of my life while growing up.  It's too bad that families aren't like that these days.... I have fond memories of them being around - Bubba helping out with house repair stuff and Gramma helping with gardening, cooking, & cleaning.  Spend the nights at their house were always special!  Bubba would let me play with the big block batteries and light bulbs and show me how current worked... Gramma would let me hang out in the kitchen with her....  yes, fond memories!

My sewing room has been gutted!!

I hope everybody had a reall nice Holiday and are looking forward to a Happy New Year!!

Sorry I haven't been online all week!!  My hubby took the week off and we spent the entire time in the basement addressing some issues ....  lack of insulation a couple leaks, etc... you know, the typical fun stuff that comes along with home ownership! LOL

Anyways, my sewing room has been found to be a major leak of air and so everything had to come out... the drywall will be coming out and insulation will be put in the walls... don't know why it wasn't done in the 80's when the house was built!!!???

The window also needs to be replaced and insulated around.....   He has promised to once again make it a nice sewing area for me.

To be continued.....   I'll take a photo when it's done!

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

I just love all the wonderful movies this time of year! Here are some of my favorites:

There are so many more but these are my all-time favorites...  coming soon is the 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story... Woo Hoo!!! 
What are some of your favorite movies this time of the year??

Decorating time!

Time to decorate for Christmas... I found this and thought it was pretty interesting to see how trees were decorated long ago! Enjoy!

A Vintage Short Film About Thanksgiving...

I borrowed this from "famouspictures" on the YouTube channel...






About this day of Thanksgiving...

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving would be the next-to-last Thursday of November rather than the last. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought this would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. Increasing profits and spending during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would aid bringing the country out of the Depression. At the time, it was considered inappropriate to advertise goods for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, Roosevelt's declaration was not mandatory; twenty-three states went along with this recommendation, and 22 did not. Other states, like Texas, could not decide and took both weeks as government holidays. Roosevelt persisted in 1940 to celebrate his "Franksgiving," as it was termed. The U.S. Congress in 1941 split the difference and established that the Thanksgiving would occur annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes the next to last. On November 26 that year President Roosevelt signed this bill into U.S. law.

Since 1947, or possibly earlier, the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. The live turkey is pardoned and lives out the rest of its days on a peaceful farm. While it is commonly held that this tradition began with Harry Truman in 1947, the Truman Library has been unable to find any evidence for this. Still others claim that that the tradition dates back to Abraham Lincoln pardoning his son's pet turkey.[2] Both stories have been quoted in more recent presidential speeches.

In more recent years, two turkeys have been pardoned, in case the original turkey becomes unavailable for presidential pardoning. Since 2003 the public has been invited to vote for the two turkeys' names. In 2006, they were named Flyer and Fryer. In 2005, they were named Marshmallow and Yam (who went on to live at Disneyland); 2004's turkeys were named Biscuit and Gravy; in 2003, Stars and Stripes.

Since 1970, a group of Native Americans and others have held a controversial National Day of Mourning protest on Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

I WON!!

Thank you Lizzy!!  This is the very first time I have won a blog giveaway! I am so excited!!! 
Lizzy has a great blog site and it is so beautifully designed! I encourage everyone to visit her at:
http://lizzyinlovewithvintage.blogspot.com/

Here is the pattern that I am on "pins and needles" excited to receive....

When I receive it, I will gather the needed materials & notions and document the making and then the finished product...

Thank you again, Lizzy!!

I googled my name...

I googled my first name, Syrena, some time ago and found out that there is a statue in Poland with my name! My mother knew nothing of this statue - even though her mother's parents came to this Country via boat from Poland....   I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to share with you!

Current Project...

McCall's 4769 is the latest project I'm working on... I looked through my stash of fabric and found a small printed cotton fabric in just enough yardage to make this dress without the sash.  I have cut out the pattern pieces and have yet to get started actually sewing them together.  I will post more on this project when I get something to take a picture of ... :)



This could work....???

 Thanks to Tilly for posting this on SewRetro... this is Simplicity 7032 and I think with a little altering, this could be turned into the dress from the Psycho movie (instead of the 2 pc suit that the pattern shows).  I will have to keep my eyes open for a pattern similiar to this.... one that is cheap!

Back to having some fun!

Now that the voting formalities are over.... let's "get back in time" again!
I was flipping throught the channels and came across the 1998 remake of Psycho... it was the scene where she is wearing the print dress, below... I really love both these dresses and would love to add these to my list of patterns to make... does anybody have any ideas of what pattern these would come close to???  Or am I going to have to try to create them from scratch??

I wish I could find better pictures! I searched the internet thoroughly trying to find better pics....

Burdastyle & Bernina are having a competition!!

 

GO TO Burdastyle website and sign up!!

Announcing the BERNINA "Party Through the Decades" International Competition!

This Blog is sponsored by

• Competition
• Today, 08.00 AM, by rachelnyc

• ShareThis

Calling all independent designers, sewing hobbyists and D.I.Y. crafters from around the world: Here’s your chance to win a BERNINA 3 Series sewing machine or cash prizes by putting your design skills to the test!

BERNINA 3 Series and BurdaStyle cordially invite you to showcase your best work, by competing in our “Party Through The Decades” international design competition. We’re summoning you to create a party look inspired by your favorite era in fashion history. Which decade represents the epitome of style: Are you mad about the 50’s? Do you swoon over the roaring 20’s? Your party look can be a dramatic evening gown, a dress, or even a tuxedo! Inspiration could be found in a painting, an architectural monument, film or fashion— we just want to see your best skills put forward towards creating a dazzling party look!
To enter the competition you must submit the items listed below to: submissions[at]burdastyle[dot]com with “BERNINA Party Through the Decades” in the subject line. The deadline for submissions is November 23rd, at 11:59pm EST.
1. Inspiration image from your favorite era. Where did you find inspiration for your look? Your inspirational image can be a single image or multiple images depicted in a mood board or collage. You can combine two decades if you’re so inclined— just remember, we’ll be looking for innovation, technique and gaiety. Please double check that your inspiration image is at least 600 pixels wide.
2. Head to toe, front view photo of your party look. Please make sure your submission photo is high-resolution and at least 600 pixels wide.
3. Username, Project Name & Link to your project on BurdaStyle. Once you have sewn up your garment, upload it to BurdaStyle.com and put “BERNINA 3 Series” in the title. Simply copy and paste the url of your project into your email. Example: http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/black-ruffled-cape. Your project page is the perfect place to show off all other photos of your party look.
On November 29th, BurdaStyle will launch a slide show where our community will have the chance to vote on their favorite party looks. Three lucky winners will be announced on December 14th via blog post and newsletter!!
1st Place- $300US cash prize
2nd Place- $100US cash prize
3rd Place- $50US cash prize
One lucky winner will be chosen as a sponsor favorite by BERNINA to take home their own BERNINA 3 Series sewing machine.
This competition is open to all BurdaStyle members, including international members! For official rules click here. There is no limit on submissions.

Step up to a machine that won’t hold you back: The BERNINA 3 Series. The affordable new line that combines superior performance, outstanding durability, and incredible Swiss engineering.

Inspirations...

Do you remember?

• Howdy Doody
• Abbott & Costello
• The original Twilight Zone
• Rin Tin Tin
• Bewitched
• Green Acres
• Gilligan's Island
• 45's (records)
• suitcase styled record players
• green stamps
• Candy Cigarettes
• Silly Puddy
• Transistor Radios
• Pogo Sticks
• Air-raid drills at school
• The Lunar Landing

Do you also remember when women/girls acted like nice proper ladies? And men/boys acted like fine proper gentleman??  Even the risque photos of the pinup girls were done tastefully...  I'm not naive enough to believe that there were no naked photos or promiscuous behavior going on at the time, but it wasn't flaunted all over the place like it is today.
It's time for me to go enjoy my homemade Potato Soup (my Grandmother's recipe from the depression).  It is so yummy and perfect for a chilly day like today! 
Enjoy reminiscing....

Happy Halloween!

Our town is trick or treating a day early because we live in the Bible belt and most will be in Church during trick or treat hours on Sunday....  I bought a cheap halloween wig from Walmart and I am finally getting to wear my "Jackie Kennedy" outfit.... I am a flight attendant from the 60's. 
My daughter is an 80's punk rocker girl....  We had fun doing hair & makeup!!

As you can see, my English Bulldog wants to go too! LOL Hope everybody has a great Halloween!

What a Deal!

I decided to make a quick stop at the Community Thrift Store just to see what they had... sometimes they have some nice, useable fabric, notions, patterns... it's pot luck as to what you'll find! Anyways, I lucked up on some really nice vintage looking material!!  5 1/4 yds for $2.50!!! 

Looks like something from the 50's....??  Anyways, it will be transformed into something nice for my closet!

Inspired by Jackie Kennedy...

This is the very first complete outfit I have sewn in my new sewing space - Thank you my sweet Hubby! The jacket and skirt are from NewLook 6290 and the pillbox hat instructions came from Threadbangers.com.  The material is some kind of rayon or polyester blend and has very small gold threads running through it... I thought it was the perfect color and feel for a 60's outfit. Here is the picture that inspired me... it is actually Katie Holmes playing the part of Jackie Kennedy and I just love the look!