Owl mobile – phase 1

The owl mobile for Miss Madeleine Gibson is coming along nicely. But here is where the difficultly begins – stitching all the pieces together!

stocking up

So the past few weeks I have been stocking up on supplies while I patiently wait for your reply, as a dutiful daughter should.  My two main purchases have been from a fabric sale at Ikea and an Etsy purchase from Earth Gatherings.

Great barkcloth from Earth Gatherings

ikea fabric overload

Now any suggestions on what I should with all this fabric?  More purses, more pillows?  Something new and innovative?

Abra

Trip to Hampden

So the other day George and I briefly explored Hampden, a little neighborhood north of us here in Baltimore. As far as my reference goes, Hampden was popularized by the one and only John Waters and his movie Pecker.  It’s one of my favs.  It’s pretty tame (for John Waters) so you should check it out Mom.

The main drag of the area is called the Avenue and there you can visit various restaurants and shops.  The street has amazing antique malls even for the fact that this area is a popular venture.  There are some amazing treasure still to be found.

First thing I came across was this pristine fur hat from Germany.   It is a Chapeau -Dana Marte- Original.  Hidden under this tag is a smaller one saying this hat was union-made.  Nice.  And how much was this hat do you ask?  $16!!! what a steal!  While this hat looks stellar on my glass head, I can’t wait to bust it out during the cold Baltimore winter months.

George made his way to the maps and postcard section and found a little bit of “home” for me.  He came across some great San Antonio postcards circa the 1940′s.

This one is a scene of Alamo Plaza from another time and almost another place, as we said it doesn’t look anything like this anymore.  I bet my Papa remembers downtown looking like this!

But what’s even more great about this postcard is the note written on the back.  It reads:

Dear Earl,

I just ate lunch at Joske’s Cafeteria.  This is the largest department store in Texas.  M. [Marshall] Fields has nothing on it.  It is cold and windy today.  My black coat is just right.  Louis will write this one.

Love,

Anna

This card was post dated January 15, 1945, so according to the Wikipedia page Anna was probably eating at the store across from the Alamo (which is now full of tourist memorabilia shops and a Ripley’s Believe it or Not Wax Museum) instead of the space which is now Rivercenter Mall.

Another postcard he came across was one of an old picturesque scene of Brackenridge Park.  For us young ones we don’t have to think to far back to the days when you could drive through the wooded areas of the park and come out the other end onto Mulberry St., but I can’t remember any of the drive ways being this wide!

There is no date on the card and it is unused.  Could this be from the era of the famed alligator ponds???  I wonder if there is post cards of those somewhere…

The last great article I found that day was a 1960′s wool dress.  Again, perfect for the up-coming months.  This dress will be nicely topped off with my fur hat, leggings and some knee-high boots.  Currently, the dress has a bit of extra room in the back and looks a bit frumpy on me, so this is where my recent desire to become an excellent seamstress developed.  Hopefully I get to the point where I can take it in on the sides to make it a bit more fitting Mom, any suggestions?).  But, if not, there’s a tailor right down the road from me .

That’s it for great finds, but once I’m bringing in the dough, I know I’ll be going back.

Vespa Pillow

Okay Mom! A great way to start off this blog is to get some guidance and feedback on this new project I started. As you know, I am not the world’s best sewer, but I am working on it. I have a feel though this pillow design, or what I envision, may be a little tough. That’s where you come in!

First, a little background about this piece.

This soon-to-be pillow was originally a tank (?). I can’t imagine it being a dress unless it was for a five-year old. Anywho, this article of clothing signifies the start of my Ebay binge purchases. I bought it back in 2003 when I was living in Denton (TX) and I was spending money frivolously on things I shouldn’t have. Hey, I still do that! But at least here is proof I am renewing and reusing things .

Long story short, the last time I wore this was back in 2006. Needless to say, but I’ll do it anyway: my boobs and belly don’t look as flattering as they use to, so the Vespa tank had been put in the archives of Abra’s clothing history.

An interesting fact about the Vespa print is that it is actually WRONG. My scooter-riding boyfriend George pointed out to me that the kick-start lever is on the wrong side. Oh well =)

Time to make a pillow!

As you can see, I have taken the shoulder ties off, cut the lower portion (under the white trim) off, and unstitched the sides. Right now i have the frame measuring out to be 15 1/2 ” across and 11″ tall. This can still be adjusted from the bottom.

I am going for a patchworky feel, with my main source of extra material coming from my first ever barkcloth purchase back in, woah!, 2001??

I bought at Jive Refried (in the Southtown district of San Antonio) which was called Jai back in the day.

Can I also just say I love ironing barkcloth. It irons so well!

I have cut out several pieces and I intend to use other pink, grey and blue materials, but this is where I need your help.

How do I do this!?!?

Abra