Chilly Weather = Knitting Time!

As the weather gets colder, my desire to knit starts to return. During the summer, the idea of sitting with a big ball of yarn just seems icky. But once autumn starts, all I want to do is relax with my knitting needles and a great old radio show.

At the moment I am working on the bow part of one of these, but if I had the skill (or the patience) I would love to knit one of these beauties from my 1939 Lux Knitting Book. If anyone wants the instructions I am willing to scan you the full pattern, but I warn you now that the patterns are very very very long and scary looking!

And one last thing, I would just like to wish Britt (my favourite model and one of my closest friends) a very happy birthday. Sorry I forgot what day it was today... (I feel so guilty but I honestly thought it was the 28th!)

(Ain't she pretty?)

PS: Wow 47 followers? When I started this blog I didn't expect to get more than 2! I guess I will have to start planning a giveaway for when I reach 50. Thank you so much for everyone who reads this. What do you guys think of the new design? I keep changing the header but I think I like this one...for now...

Happy Birthday Nana!

Just a quick little post to wish my Grandma (or Nana as I call her) a happy 86th birthday!

She has always been a source of inspiration for me. She is strong, independent, and has a wonderful sense of style. I like to think I inherited at least some of the traits that make her such a wonderful person.

Although I don't get to see you on your actual birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

DIY Acorn Earrings

A couple days ago I read this post over at Tea with the Vintage Baroness . I couldn't seem to get the idea of making acorn earrings out of my head. Then, as I was walking to classes, I noticed an Oak tree with acorns around its base. I managed to pick up a few as discretly as possible (which involved sitting on the ground, pretending to be studying and slowly sneaking acorns into my bag. Not my proudest moment...).

Once home for the weekend, I devised an easy method to make earrings out of them. This could also work for making acorn pendants.

You will need:

-at least two acorns, roughly the same size

-2 earring hooks

-2 head pins

-wire cutters

-needle nose pliers

-round nose pliers (you could use needle nose pliers but your loops will not be as round)

-a glue gun

1) Pick two acorns. Gentlely remove the tops and clean the acorns with a damp piece of tissue.

2) With a pin (a sewing pin works well), puncture a hole in the acorn top, slightly off centre. Rock the pin back and forth a little to slightly enlarge the hole.

3) Push the head pin through the hole with the flat end on the inside of the acorn top.4) Grasp the pin about 5mm above the top of the acorn with the round nose pliers. Pull the pin around the pliers to form a loop.5) Cut off the excess pin, and use your needle nose pliers to fix the loop so it is fully closed.6) Apply a small dot of hot glue to the top of the acorn nut and reattach the acorn top and bottom. They should fit snuggly together. Let the glue dry for a minute or two.7) Get your earring hooks and open the bottom loop (sideways so as not to change the shape of the loop). Slip the acorns onto the hooks and close the loop (once again pliers are required for this). If you wanted to turn this into a pendant, instead of earring hooks, attach a jump ring using the same method.

And Tada! All finished!

Don't they look great? I wore mine today to the T.O. Clothing Show. (Sorry no proper pictures of my outfit but no one can figure out my camera! I had to resort to webcam photos.)

That's All.

And without further ado...

ROOM PICTURES!!!

I couldn't get a wide enough shot of everything but this will give you the basic idea.

This is the view from the door: 3 "bookcases" on the left, desk on the right, bed in front of the window (also on the right side), vanity at foot of bed, closest on same wall as door.

My Bed! I decided to give my new bedding a try after I learned my walls would be yellow this term. I managed to find some vintage pillow cases that match my comforter cover exactly!

Bedside table.

And this is my desk where I do all my studying. Not my favourite desk, but all my furniture has to be able to come apart for transport (and storage for the terms I am at home). I am not done "staging" my desk yet, but this gives you the basic idea.

Ribbon!

Vintage Alarm Clock on one of my textbooks.

My closet. Dresses on the left :D

Close-up of one of the shelves on my bookcases (from the first picture). I love these hat boxes I got from Ikea!

Mr Owl sits proudly on my bookcase. He was my "going back to Waterloo" gift from my Grandmother.

Since I don't have a dresser this term my bookcases store a variety of things (such as my jewellery and hair accessories).

Close-up of my vanity. I will be doing a post later about making your own vanity (cheaply!), so stay tuned.

PB approves of his new home.

That's All.

Vintage Halloween Costume?

Hello everyone. Once again no room pictures (I know! I keep promising and promising.......) but I am having a bit of a dilemma and thought I would ask for your advice.

I am trying to decide on a Halloween costume. Since it is only a little over a month away I figured it was time to start planning an outfit (school eats up a lot of time so a month isn't a long time to buy supplies). I would love to make my costume, although I don't have a whole lot of time or money. I also don't seem to have a lot of good ideas.

I want something with a vintage theme to it, but just dressing like I am from another decade seems too easy. I dress like that normally!The only three ideas I even half like so far are:

1) Rosie the Riveter
- Blue button up shirt with cuffs rolled up, hair curled and pinned up under a red and white scarf (I have the perfect one!), red lipstick, and either a pair of high waisted trousers or overalls
2) Rita Hayworth as Gilda
-black evening gown (I have one that is similar to her's but not strapless), hair down and curled, long black gloves, some form of simple but sparkly necklace
3) Julia Ogden/ Victorian Lady (for people who don't watch Murdoch Mysteries)
-black skirt, button-up blouse (buttoned all the way up), grey vest, a tie, hair either pinned up or in a long braid, Victorian-style boots, and a straw derby (if I can find one for a decent price)

Which one do you like best? And I am open to suggestions if anyone has any other ideas :)

Murder and Old Magazines

Sorry, once again there are no pictures of my room. I am still not fully unpacked yet, due to a very inconvenient cold that has caused me to spend the last few days in bed.

Instead, I thought I would post some great jewelery I have been eyeing on Etsy, in honour of Agatha Christie's (belated) birthday. It is all from this lovely shop. I would love one of the charm bracelets, but unfortunately I have to save for silly things like food and textbooks :(

AGATHA CHRISTIEs MISS JANE MARPLE Artisanal Charm Bracelet

METHODS OF MURDER Mystery Charm Bracelet

AGATHA CHRISTIE Mystery Quote Typewriter Pin

Mystery Theme Charm Set No 2 (Ok this one leans more towards Sherlock Holmes but I just had to include it. It has Jeremy Brett on it! <3)>

In completely unrelated news, I have just discovered that the Jalou Archives have digitalized copies of L'Officiel de la Mode, dating all the way back to 1921 on their website. I highly suggest you go check it out. You can view them all online for free here.

So far I have only had time to browse through the ones from the 1930's, but they are quite lovely. Unfortunally, despite 5 years of French classes, my French remains quite rudeamentary so I can't actually read them. Luckily the pictures are so pretty that you don't need to be able to read french to enjoy them. Here is a sample page:

That's All.

Well if I drop out of Math I can always become a Milliner...

I really do not enjoy university. That whole thing about it being the best years of your life? That better be a lie or else I am going to be veeerrryy disappointed in life. Right now I am looking forward to retirement.

As I am sure you can tell, it has been a hard first week (and the week isn't even half over yet!). My room is still a disaster so no pictures yet. Here instead is a picture of the hat I just made (the glue gun is still hot!). It is the result of my latest shopping trip to Michaels. I bought the flowers (on sale for $1!) and a square of felt (also $1). I was going to try and steam the felt into a 1930's shape but that didn't quite work. Still I am happy with the result. Total cost for new hat? $2!!!! :D

Also bought on my Michaels trip were some lovely notecards. 8pack for $1.50 (well actually it was $6 for 4 8packs but that is a lot of notecards)! I love writing letters and these give me the perfect excuse. I also bought a mug with the same picture on it (my old mug seems to have gotten lost in transit....)



And finally, just before I left I made one last trip to the Kirby book sale.

Some I bought just for their covers:

And some I bought just for their age (this book is circa 1890 and I got it for $1!):

That's All.

Friday Night Outfit

Top: Giant Tiger

Skirt: I found it half finished in my grandma's old sewing box. I think it is from the 1950's based on the style and the other fabric that was in the box.

Shoes (which you can't actually see in the pictures....) and Purse: Bigleys Shoes

P.S. This really is the last post before I move :D

Autumn Fashion (via 1934)

Autmun Fashions from a 1934 magazine:

Note: This may be my last post for at least a week (or two) as I get moved into my new place and start school. Of course if the first week isn't as bad as I assume it will be I may be back sooner with pictures of my new room (it is soooo pretty!).