Media Medley

One of the best things about loving old music is that a lot of it is in the public domain (and thus free). Archive.org has a great selection of various media in the public domain (including movies and radio shows!). However, unless you are looking for something specific, it can be difficult to sort through everything and find the gems. I've been rather lacking blog inspiration lately so I thought I might start a series highlights great songs. Then I decided why limit it to songs? My "Media Medley" posts will feature a movie, radio program, and a couple songs :)

This weeks selections are:
Songs:
Which Switch is the Switch, Miss, for Ipswich? This song is from 1915 and one of my all time favourite songs!
Piccolo Pete Perfomed by Stan Greening & His Orchestra this recording is from 1929.
Various Songs by Smith Ballew This small collections features 5 recordings by Smith Ballew. They are all great but "Just a Gigolo" is my favourite (it is such a sad song!).

Movie:
Lady of Burlesque Stars Barbara Stanwyck as a burlesque dancer who becomes involved with a murder investigation after one of her fellow dancers is killed. Worth watching for some of the costumes alone!

Radio Show:
Casey, Crime Photographer This show ran from 1943 to 1955 and followed the adventures of Casey, a crime photographer for a newspaper (often paired with reporter Ann Williams). Great 30 minute episodes which are perfect to listen to while knitting!

DIY Shoe Clips

Shoe clips are great for dressing up a pair of shoes. They allow you to inexpensively change the look of shoes you already own (which is very "make do and mend"). You could also customize a pair of shoe clips to exactly match a special outfit. You can buy blank shoe clips to decorate (Etsy has sellers that carry them), but here is another alternative. This has to be one of the easiest tutorials I have ever done...

You will need:
A large pair of clip-on earrings
Some ribbon
A glue gun

Step 1) Glue a small loop of ribbon to the inside centre back of your clips.

And you're done. See? I told you it was easy.

Before: Cute but a little plain

After: The clips really jazz up the shoes. They also allow them to be worn with both
cool and warm brown tones (rather than just cool brown tones).

An attempt to get less gloomy

Sorry for my absence from the blog world lately. I haven't been posting or commenting nearly as much as I like to. I've been rather depressed and grumpy these past few weeks. After weeks of searching, I thought I found a place to live, but the landlord gave it to someone else (and didn't bother to tell me...). Now I'm still searching for somewhere. Normally by this time I would have the house decorated for Christmas, my Christmas cards ready to be mailed and my presents all bought and wrapped. So far I haven't done anything.

Last night I decided enough was enough. I set my hair for the first time in weeks, finished editing the youtube video I filmed almost a month ago, and made plans to go for coffee with my best friend. I'm feeling a heck of a lot better now. It's silly how a little thing like setting your hair can make a world of difference. I've been pumping the Christmas music (I really want the Puppini Sisters Christmas album!) and am actually starting to decorate.

Here was my outfit today: (I nearly froze to death taking these pictures. It's getting way too cold to not wear a coat outside!)

Dress: Made by me (from a 1950s/60s pattern)

Sweater: Winners

Snowflake Brooch: Gift

Shoes: Hush Puppies

And here is the youtube video I finally finished:


I have a DIY tutorial planned and will hopefully be able to get back to normal soon. I really need to start making an effort again. The more "vintagey" I am, the happier I tend to be. Time to blast some Bing, put on a nice frock, and get decorating!

That's All.

Holiday Hats

Sorry my lack of posting for a while. I have had a terrible cold and been rather depressed about next term. After months of searching I am still without a place to live. My parents put in an offer on the perfect investment property (which I would have been able to rent from them. I wouldn't be getting it for free or anything but I would have had control and be able to decide who I was going to live with) but we wanted a home inspection so our offer was rejected. Oh well, I suppose it was for the best. But on a slightly cheerier note, I have been working on two new hat designs for the Christmas season!

The first hat is a called "Baby It's Cold Outside" and is for an adorable pillbox hat. The second is for a "Poinsettia Fascinator". They are both super easy patterns (the latter does not even require a sewing machine) and are designed with beginners in mind. This will be a limited run design as I'm only going to be selling this design until January. Britt was kind enough to model the designs for me (isn't she gorgeous?!). 

I'll hopefully be able to come up something interesting to post soon (I always feel slightly guilty promoting my store on here haha). 

That's All.

Capes, Cats, and Halloween

I've finally finished my cape/skirt set! I decided about 2 months ago I wanted a cape for fall. My first attempt, using a pattern I found online, was a complete failure. I decided to draft my own pattern instead and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I bought this lovely thick cotton plaid material on sale (it took me ages to get all the plaid lined up properly!) and I used a super soft faux fur for the lining.

The skirt is an adaptation of this skirt (free from BurdaStyle). I also made a matching collar but I didn't wear it today since the blouse I wore already had a collar.

I wore it to a Christmas craft sale at my moms church today. My mother bought me several Christmas gifts including a lovely handmade quilt. We also bought plenty of baked goods and jam, and attended the high tea they were hosting. I have never had such good scones in all my life!! I really should have taken some pictures but I was too busy stuffing my face.

And as promised, here is my final Halloween costume. The only change I made was instead of wearing a hat I wore a white "maid's cap". Britt dressed up as a cat, using the ears I made her. We had a great evening handing out candy, knitting, and watching Arsenic and Old Lace (aren't we cool? haha).

Please ignore my cat's giant bed in the background...

Kitty cats LOVE chocolate mochas with extra chocolate ;)

Speaking of cats, my own kitty wanted to be in my outfit photos today. Isn't she a cutie? She has gotten rather whiny in her old age and needs frequent cuddles.

That's All.

And the winner is...

 It was a very tough decision to decide the name for my pattern, since I loved all the suggestions you readers provided, but in the end I decided to go with "Sweet Bea" as suggested by Tina (if you could send me an email at purlsofthepast@live.ca then I can send you your free copy of the pattern) . The pattern PDF is now available in my Etsy shop. It's only $2.50 but, as a thank you to all my readers for just being amazing, use the coupon code THANKS to get 20% off :)
Here are some more pictures of the design (since I have over 50 pictures of it I will never actually use...)

On a completely unrelated topic, I can't wait to share the final pictures of my Halloween costume. Unfortunately, my friend has yet to send them to me :( Oh well, I should be able to post them soon. I sure am enjoying reading all the posts about everyones costume's this year. What did you dress up as?


That's All.

Raggedy Kate

I hadn't planned on dressing up for Halloween. Well not in a "costume", although I suppose some people would consider some of my "normal" clothing very costumey haha. I have no plans other than watching Arsenic and Old Lace with my friend and handing out candy if any kids even show up. But then I saw this cute costume and decided I am going to dress up anyways. I'm not sure if I will have a chance to get pictures tomorrow so I did a trial run today. What do you think? I'm a rag doll!

 Everything except the wig I already had in my wardrobe. And I already had red yarn which I sewed into the wig, so technically this costume cost me $0.00 :)

 Anyone else dressing up?

Two New Videos (better late than never!)

I am getting terribly forgetful. I've posted two youtube videos over the past few weeks and completely forgot to mention them here! The first one I filmed with my friend Britt. She was kind enough to let me give her a vintage style (which is definately NOT her normal look).


The second video I just posted a couple days ago. I got a request to do a Downton Abbey hairstyle so I filmed a simple hairstyle inspired by Lady Mary.


Subscribing to my youtube channel is the quickest way to stay updated with my videos but I will try in future to remember to post them here :)

That's All.