A Summer Romance...

Pretty summer dresses....1940s - 1950s and a little bit more.....Fit and Flare basic black, pretty peach, red gingham, 40s silk WWII dress, rhinestone buttons, 40s lace party dress, 60s Mod mini, Lemon,lime and olive Shirtdress, Margaret Smith preppy print, sweet 60s Carnaby Street pastel paisley......It's a Fruit Salad of Fashion.......


A classic style in a silk ribbed faille, this 1950s black silk fit and flare vintage cocktail dress is ready to go a party.
Basic black will look so stunning with red gloves and red high heels, or with any rainbow color you want to pair it with...a size medium .
bust - 39"
waist - 28"

Red cotton, white lace and red gingham, this country girl 1950s vintage day dress is perfect for a picnic, a party or looking real cute at the farmer's market....a size small - medium .
bust - 37"
waist - 28"

Preppy flower print, this Margaret Smith bright rainbow floral 70s vintage dress is made of crisp cotton....a size medium - large.
size 16, vintage.
bust - 44"
hips - 46"

Such a beauty, with its dreamy silk flowers, bows and buttons dotted with sparkly rhinestones.
Of a soft drapy garden floral silk, this 1940s vintage party dress has rhinestone buttons decorating the little bows on the short sleeves.  WWII era silk dress has a deep V neckline, gathered bust and a peaked empire seam, and a waist seam.....a size medium - large.
bust - 43"
waist - 33"
hips - 46"

Sweet summer dress with a collar, edged along the V neckline and down the front with lots of tiny white buttons. Tasty peach crisp cotton blend, this 1950s vintage day dress is ready for the market, the car pool or a backyard party....a size medium - large.
bust - 42"
waist - 33"

Deep navy blue lace and sparkly rhinestones decorate this 1940s navy lace vintage cocktail dress.Perfect for parties with it's shine, lovely color and soft navy velvet ribbon trim.
a size medium - large.
bust - 44"
waist - 34"

Charming 40s day dress with sparkly rhinestone buttons can be very happy at a party too.1940s vintage day dress is made of a silky sheer rayon blend. Held together at the center front with loops and black sparkly rhinestones buttons. ...a size medium.
bust - 38"
waist - 27"

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Coming soon!
 60s geometric ruffled maxi sundress...

60s Carnaby Street pastel paisley shift...

Orange 60s Mod Mini with a funnel neckline....So futuristic !!

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Man stuff....

1930s vintage Salt and Pepper workwear Pants

Rare men's vintage pants from the 1930s. Sturdy salt and pepper cotton denim twill tweed.
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A chainstitched work shirt, this guy was a part of a roughneck crew, working in the oil fields.

1930s vintage Chainstitch Workwear Mens Shirt

Vintage metal fish tool box
Not required to hold just metal fish, this swell industrial rustic simple metal box with a sweet sentiment. My Buddy Since 1862 Falls City Product Made in USA.

Honest Faded Selvedge Denim 40s 50s vintage Apron

There's 2 large pockets on the front, and 2 more on the bib...the one with the circle faded wear flips up. What made that? A snuff can? A tape measure?

70s Willis & Geiger safari shirt vintage shirt
One of the real items of quality from the old days.
Made in the 70s, Willis & Geiger safari shirt is legendary. Deep yoke on the back with a box pleat and a locker loop.

40s Nude woman tooled leather prison art
carved and tooled, this leather belt holder has a hot tomato popping out of the holder.
She's winking, with her hairdo covering one eye.

Pulp Fiction Bad Girls paperback collection
Noir 50s and 60s girls gone bad. Hot summer reading on the beach or while babysitting.

vintage urban Beatnik guy watercolor painting

I bought you an iPhone !

This is what I made for Miles for his grad day.
And I'm gonna make more ...
Leather case trimmed with vintage Fender guitar braid. Perfect size for...iPhone, and all that i stuff...or go old school...money, cassette tape, coins for candy, bus pass, or joints.
Whatev'.

Yeah, I handmade the Fred Flinstone iPhone from cardboard and drew it by hand...It's analog.

Road trip...

a sunny day for sewing !

Sometimes you feel like a short bag.
Sometimes you feel like a cross-body.
Translation.....
Dilemma solved!

If  you're  hanging out, seeing the sights.....shopping for a few things, you want a bag  you can put up on your shoulder...
If you're in a casual mood, being busy.....wanting to keep your hands free...to carry coffee, to carry stuff, to look thru piles of things.....well, you  want a cross-body bag. Er, uh, tote bag.

The long strap looped thru and buttoned.

then if you choose,  pull the strap farther thru the loop and button it shorter.
I made the straps wide...so they'll feel good resting on the shoulder.

I've never been completely happy with those Yawn! metal slide mechanisms that every bagmaker uses...so, as per usual for me...in addition to using fun and  unique blends of mix and match fabrics and prints.....and of course...there is a lot of recycling going on........

so, not only did I give my anything-but-boring line of tote bags/purses a sense of humor, but I invented a simple changeability feature to go to from a shoulder to a long-strap tote...using buttons...
Vintage buttons of course!

always with the vintage buttons....

This is the road map fabric, lined in a weird novelty fabric. Some in this series have ticking stripes..some have solid moire. They're lined so they have body, yet aren't completely stiff.
They can carry the daily......or even a laptop...or your electronic book....(i  Pad)

Here's a typical view of the inside....pockets....and a loop that flips over the top and buttons closed.

The other side is a recycled pair of pants with big pockets.....the better to keep things in ..my dear!
Each in the series is slightly different....yet they're all roomy and easy to take care of....made of cotton or cotton blends.......They wash and dry by machine. Yes.

*****The next set of tote bags I'm working on are Bike bags...tie ons for the handle bars, or they can be tied on a belt too.*****

There's always a bit of lace and lots of topstitching too. I make sure it's all sturdy, and I really love my signature loopy stitching at the edges.

and....tho there are lots of pockets to keep the keys handy...to stash the transit card, the lipstick, the hanky.....
I made little zipper pouch purses to go with...
these are handy for a billion things!

each is a mix and match of cute, sweet, romantic, sharp and quirky cotton and cotton blend fabrics, laces and ribbon......some have vintage metal zippers....some have vintage nylon zippers.

my label in muslin....

They're about 7" x 7" or so. They're machine wash and dry...
or hang to dry......whatev'

The Bugs Eye view

Poppies......stamens and pistil

pollen....

The bug and I see the mossy stick talking to the oh so slightly bored pinecone....

Cherokee Purple tomato....fluted and so tiny....

tiny bell pepper....

tiny tiny lawn posy......

Johnny Jump up....peach and lilac with delicate hand-painted eyelashes ;-)

a little baby bud...watched over by Mom..

My Wattle...

as time goes by, I'm acquiring a wattle, and a waddle....but here's the kind I really love!

photo and Mother Earth news article

That's a wattle fence....woven sticks....almost any kind will do....I think the most common is willow....wouldn't that be nice!
I haven't the time right now to weave my sticks...and I have a lot of sticks in my yard...because I have..several locust trees..and as lovely as they are and they are...^^^^
they are notorious for their rather brittle wood...so, every wind blowing harder than 30 miles an hour, litters my yard with twigs and branches. Which is fantastic! Here's what I did with some of them....
I made a Lazy-Lady Wattle fence...

I decided to make a bit of a woodland garden here between the locusts. I think the skeleton laying in the bed is kinda funny...with the bike and my salvaged beach find...No Wake.
get it. dead guy, no wake...nevermind...:-(

I gathered the sticks and stacked them...I pull the grass and dandelions as I feel like it. I've planted a foxglove, a pretty poppy, and a few seeds so we'll see what comes up.
There's ivy regrowing in the bed...and when the house was being "remodeled" the gold shag carpet was tossed here, in this bed. I shudder, and get real angry when I think of what this yard used to look like...I guess it was full of deutzia, viburnum, hundreds of daffs and lilies, all the best mid-century old fashioned things to grow...just pulled out when a House Flipper fucked it up. What I think was here...will be another post...with pretty pictures!

Just stacked sticks...pretty effective...the flowers will fill in...and by fall it'll be real purty....

and here's night ...with purple lights....

Here's 2 wattle fence ideas from England...which is where I think this originated..it's been around as long as humans had some time on their hands, and a big pile of sticks...