vintage {birthday} shopping in baltimore

With very little spending money on my birthday last week, I took a trip to old reliable - Avenue Antiques!  You know how just when you actually intend to buy something when you shop you can't find anything (as opposed to when you're dead broke and all of a sudden you find everything you love)?  Impossible for me at this store.  The latest goods...

 Flowy, girly, 70's/80's? I need to find or make a slip since it's sheer - I can't wait to wear this.  $25.

The picture doesn't capture the poofy ballerina-ness of this skirt but I love how that style contrasts these colors.  $15 I think?

vintage shopping in arizona

 A dress from Incahoots in Flagstaff for $23...

 My rust-colored tights didn't make it in the picture, so here they are with a close-up of the pattern...

 A dress from How Sweet it Was in Tucson for $19...

The belt is also from How Sweet it Was - do you already know that the trick to fixing vintage clothes that are too big is to throw a belt on?  I didn't until a fashionable former coworker told me.  Genius, because that first dress above is too big, as is the pile of alterations I'm supposedly going to complete one day.

Hand-printed fabric from Eclectic Flea in Tucson... $4!!!!  It's now hanging on the wall next to our dining table, as you can see above...

And a Chimayo weaving for $9, from Eclectic Flea as well.

I could take ten more trips to Arizona and still want to see and do more.  I love the stuff we saw, did, and got, not to mention some awesome Day of the Dead stuff as well.  We were so close to Mexico, I would have loved to cross the border...

vintage finds

Oh my goodness.  I loved Avenue Antiques, once I discovered the downstairs. 

That place is so big I never bothered to go upstairs until last weekend.  It's even BETTER up there.  It's like vintage pyrex heaven.  I think I was in the whole store for two hours (poor Ben).  That place is a gem, and luckily I don't think anyone from Baltimore reads this blog, so I can keep it to myself a little longer...

Charlie Brown/heart monitor skirt (I don't know) - $10!!

 I'm working one of these plate walls - $6!

I untangled this necklace for 10 minutes in the store without knowing if it was worth it - my hard work paid off - $10!

And a vintage map of Massachusetts for $6.

Earlier in the week I picked up another addition to my vintage suitcase collection from Avenue Antiques and it's becoming a paper and pencil organizer for the kitchen because EVERYTHING ends up on the kitchen table.  This was half off - $7.50.

I know it's probably so tacky to list the prices but they're SUCH good deals!  You'll know if I don't list the price I'm embarassed to admit how much I shelled out for something...

Blogging has been slow because I've been waiting for my new camera (and now a CF card?!) and I wanted to take these pictures and others with it.  Hopefully today - I got the camera yesterday and I was sitting there with the manual in one hand, dslr guides on the computer with the other hand and somehow a third hand fiddling with buttons and switches and then I just put everything down to start looking for photography classes.  I feel like a baby learning to walk.  I'm SO excited though.

vintage shopping in baltimore

One of the first things I loved about Baltimore was Hampden, a neighborhood full of vintage shops (hence the love).  I have trolled it many times with little money to actually make a purchase, but last weekend I finally went into Avenue Antiques with a few bucks, and learned that there is a DOWNSTAIRS full of clothes and some home goods.

I found this little button-down with tiny whales all over it for $10.

And this little pitcher - I just love the shape and the cork stopper.

Which reminded me that I never posted this blanket that I LOVE that was also a Hampden score - at Charlotte Elliott, back in November, when I had no business spending a dime without a job.

I am hoping the posting of vintage items I have purchased is going to surge soon...

vintage loot

in between packing and more packing i've made last (and second-to-last) trips to my favorite vintage shops in providence.  oh, dear.

vintage fabrics from What Cheer? (round one) - i particularly love the funky barkcloth sailing scene and this wool plaid (apparently a half-finished scarf?)

round two at What Cheer? this weekend found me more plaid (i couldn't get this image out of my head when i saw this fabric in the store) and a great 60's knitting booklet.  the cover, alone, was enough to get me to buy it, what with a couple smoking cigarettes at a table covered in coke bottles, sitting in two feet of water.

but i want to make this shawl-collared sweater in an oatmeal/brownish shade.

and finally, i found this precious little packet of transfers at Rocket to Mars.

the good thing about having all this good stuff is that i'm newly unemployed and will soon have too much time on my hands (hopefully not for too long).  the bad part is that i'm not supposed to buy anything.

also, guess what - the Tideland pattern has just been published - go buy it here right now, because it's discounted until november 6!  i can't say enough what a beautiful pattern it is.  aren't they great?

photo by londonleo via ravelry

back from a break and some changes

i'm {apprehensively} back.  i loved that internet break!  i was surprised how much i didn't miss it, and surprised at how much time i was wasting.  i started reading BOOKS again.  and good timing, because i read this one, which kept me inspired. 

i've settled slowly back in, reducing the blogs i read by half (uh, because i think i was reading about 40) and not going on pinterest every day.  i think spending so much time on the internet was causing me to think for myself less and crossed the line from inspiration into loss of originality.

anyways, enough blabbing.  something else happened which i will tell more about soon, but the living room redecorating has to stop early.  so, i'm posting what got done so far, and since there are gaping holes on the wall and no curtains like i wanted, i'm posting before and afters so that the afters look more impressive!  (please keep in mind that several months or years lapsed between these pictures, so this is an evolution and not an overnight change).

before...

after!

and a closer look at after!

we were stuck on what to hang between the windows, and i have always wanted to display this beautiful frank lloyd wright scarf i got at a vintage shop in montreal.  the books and plant started to make it look too snooty, so i added a vintage hulk lunch box.  off to the right are a stack of vintage suitcases with art and craft supplies.

before...

after!

after we painted, we wanted to rearrange furniture, but had some limitations to work with.  finally i decided to think outside the box and put the couch off-center in front of the "mantle," rather than the more traditional display above.  the painting is of new york city, painted by my great-grandmother and the coffee table base is from a textile factory in fall river, ma, and dates from the early 1900's.

before (from a different angle)...

after! (from the opposite angle)

i didn't have a good before picture, but this actually ended up being one of my favorite parts of the new room.  it's like a quirky mini library, with more of my great-grandmother's paintings.

and while i was looking through before pictures i was struck by a couple contrasts of my kitchen (which has turned into a 3-part room).

before...

after!

 little busy, huh?  the kitchen had NO counters so we had to improvise, and now it is also an "office" and a "reading nook" (see below).  oh and a bike.  and typically, a drying rack full of clothes.

before-ish...

after!

after!  (the "reading nook")

i look at these and want to add more patterns!  that's going to be it for now though.  i wish the pictures were better.  no design*sponge sneak peak, but i like it.  this internet break made me re-think the whole blog thing, and i'll probably post slower again, but if you're thinking about an internet break, i highly recommend it!  

vintage finds

we spent yesterday afternoon doing some vintage shopping in boston - i found stuff at two great stores, one of which i had NEVER been to or heard of and can't believe i was missing out, and one which i knew of but did not realize was as great as it is.

i bought this dress at oona's, which was having a 50% off EVERYTHING sale!  this dress was $17.50.  i want to fall-ize it (like wear it with layers for fall), cardigan, tights, boots.

this little scarf i found at cafe society for $6, which i had never heard of or been to before yesterday.  i used to live not too far from there at one point.  shame.  this scarf might become a pillow.

and this necklace is also from oona's, and $7.50!  the chain is kind of short, so it hangs down from your collarbone, which is kind of nice, i usually buy pendants on longer chains.  this is almost a choker but not (hello 90's!).

we also went to garment district where i found nothing.  and now i'm off to saver's to find an old sweater to unravel and knit with...

living room updo part one

 so... ordering a new couch led to... painting the walls, which led to... rearranging the furniture, which led to... a new living room re-do. there's still a bit left to do, but i guess it's 75% done, so i'm going to post pictures piece by piece until it's done.

this first section came together by surprise (i was more skeptical than ben), but in the end i like it a lot and it's a nice little way to store his records.  this funky structure is actually a 1970's twin headboard i got at salvation army for $15 and the records are in grape crates we found on the sidewalk.

i tried to put together a vintage and modern hodge podge (since i love the vintage clutter) and i LOVE how the old map of my dad's new hampshire hometown (in 1867 and 1967 - there is little difference between the two maps), the handpainted birds from a french book, and ben's old pittsburgh pirate's pennant all came together.  my grandparents dancing in the 1950's, dried roses from ben on valentine's day two years ago (they were not dried when he gave them to me, that's obvious though, right?), and my mom's high school picture adds to the charm and the family memorabilia.  oh she's gonna kill me for posting this.

yes my picture is off center.  i'm still learning.  by the way, take a look at tidytipsy's thrifted decorating.  i'm telling you, i'd swap homes and clothes with her in a second.

a refashion from my nonna

taking a cue from granny chic week at C+C i pulled out my nonna's handmade dress that i had started and then put on "hold" for 2 1/2 years, back when i was starting to figure out how to sew. refashioning isn't something i'm very experienced with, and using my grandmother's dress is important to me, so i guess that's why i sat on it so long. i got scared.

i forgot to take this "before" picture before i dismantled the sleeves, but they were longer and wider. the theme of this dress was "conservative."

much to my amazement 2 1/2 years later, i did a pretty good job tailoring and waist-shaping, and when i discovered a zipper on one side, it took me a long time to realize i did that way back when. i didn't know i knew how to do that back then! not bad!

this week i finally shortened and narrowed the sleeves and hemmed the dress. the cool thing about the hem....

... is that i discovered this nifty little technique i guess my grandmother used for hems... and i got very excited because i have a box full of this type of hem tape (?) that i found when i was going through her sewing things last year, soooo....

... i thought it would be nice to pay a hidden little tribute to her dress and her sewing legacy and such, and i tried the same in purple! (although my whipstich doesn't hold a candle to hers).

thanks to Lizzie from C+C for the nudge!

kitcheny apron

i guess most aprons are kitcheny? that is the word this pattern makes me think of (maybe more like kitsch-eny). i LOVE it and have a ton of it, that i already made a tablecloth out of. why not match your tablecloth?

i basically made a 2" wide band and unfortunately had to sew two lengths together because i didn't have enough yardage. mental note for next time. the square of fabric for the apron was something like 25"x 18" and i gathered the top middle, leaving 4" on each side flat. the ruffles were cut on the bias so i could keep the edges raw. i sewed them a little crooked but i kinda like it.

i like it! it is now 5th in my apron collection. i may make a little change though - because the top edges sort of angle up because of the gathers in the middle, i sewed them into the band that way, and i think it wraps around me too much. i may re-sew them not at an angle. does that make any sense?

vintage fabric from rocket to mars, one of my favorite places.

p.s. re: the post below - i tried to add an addendum but blogger wasn't having it. like most things blogger won't let me do. i fully realize that gauge is more important to sizing than making your sock yarn pattern in a pretty way. :) and i found out that 48 st works for both reasons... more to come...