On a Dress with a Keyhole Neckline

In April of last year I found some marvelous Venice print fabric from David Textiles Victoria and Albert collection, which I absolutely loved (so much so that I have 5 yards of it in pink) and recently was extremely pleased to find in turquoise, even though it was only a small amount. 

Being in a bad mood and hoping to combat it by sewing, I eagerly pulled out this fabric, whipped out the pattern pieces and started cutting away. Well, I was too eager and after cutting out the front and back piece, I realized I was supposed to have two of the back piece, something that I didn’t have enough fabric for. However, I figured since it was a gathered skirt that this was a problem I could probably live with and with what little fabric was left over (goodbye matching hair bow :( ), found that I could at least get two pieces that would add up to about half the length of the back piece.

I then took out the pattern pieces for the bodice to find that the previous owner had cut off the seam allowances to make the neck wider. This involved having to do some measuring (as well as guessing where the original seam line was in a few spots), but this was more of an annoyance than anything else. 

I had fabric covered vintage buttons that worked perfectly!

With all the things that came up while making this, I still feel like this is one of the first things I’ve made where I’ve taken all the problems in stride and known exactly how to deal with them and did so. I only had to look up one thing to make sure I remembered it correctly, my bound button holes came out perfectly, my tacking on the inside looks beautiful, and I managed to get the print to line up without too much difficulty.

Please excuse the frizzy hair, it was a bit windy.

Technical details aside, I really do love the way this dress turned out! It was a perfect match for the bag I bought earlier this month and now that I’ve used ric rac on a dress, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages, I’m not quite sure I’m going to be able to get through a project without wanting to use it if I can.

 

When he was in his early teens my great-grandfather would go out for weeks at a time on a fishing boat off the coast of Italy and while he didn’t necessarily go to and from Venice, I love that this dress makes me think of that little piece of family history. ♥

On a Visit to the Antique Store

Well, this morning I started a post on the new dress I’m making, but I stopped by the antique store on my way home from buying a zipper and I’m so excited with my finds that I’m going to share them instead.

First I found this straw bag, which I had a great debate with myself about getting based on its size, the question of what I would wear it with, and that it had handles instead of straps.

I did make a beeline to it when I saw it, though, so after carrying around the store with me for the entirety of my shopping excursion I ended up getting it. The more I stare at it the happier I am I got it.   

After finding the bag I started looking at the clothing racks and found this skirt. It’s charming ric-rac, the ruffle at the bottom, and the tie at the waist instantly appealed to me, as did the price tag of $12.

The back. I love the tie and the zipper, which weirdly has a piece of fabric between the zipper and the piece that slides.

I’m not entirely sure how old it is. The seams are pinked, it has a metal zipper, the ric-rac is decidedly older, and the smell of the fabric when I washed it was definitely that of older fabric (I know this sounds weird, but older fabric does have a different smell). The zipper does have a facing that’s been serged (not that this is always entirely reliable) and it has an “of California” label, so I’m guessing it was made some time between the 50’s and 70’s. 

And finally, I found this hat! Out of all three things I found this is probably my favorite. 

About a year ago I got a pattern and I immediately decided when I got around to making it I was going to make a blue dress and that I had to have a red hat just like the picture on the envelop.

While this hat isn’t the perfect match, it’s pretty close and as far as I’m concerned it will be referred to as my pattern hat. Like the skirt, it was a great deal for $14. 

Overall, I feel I had a very successful shopping trip and found some great bargains! Has anyone else found anything fun lately? ♥

On Blueberry Tarts for 4th of July!

“Bunny says we’re very American,…very blueberry pie." 

-Mrs. Blandings from Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

On Monday I decide that some blueberry tart making was in order. I really love making pies and tarts, especially when I get to use berries since they're one of my favorite types of fruit.

After getting the dough finished, I mixed the blueberries through some flour, cinnamon, and sugar to form the filling.

 

Usually I like to roll out big sections of dough and then cut out shapes that roughly correspond with the shape of the tin, but I was having difficulties with the dough and rolled it out in small amounts instead. 

 

I love using my vintage tart tins and the star from my 40's garnish and hors d'oevres-cutter set! Each of the round tarts got three cranberries and the oblong ones got four, which along with the stars I thought made them look very patriotic.

Here's the first round on the cookie tray ready to go into the oven.

 

Finished and while not as pretty as they went in they sure were delicious!

 Happy 4th of July! 
♥♥♥