War Paintings

Whew, what a week! I have started working at the museum again (I am a co-op student so I have an odd school-work schedule) as of Monday. As much as I loved working there, I was hoping to get something a little more relevant to my program. Also the commute is killing me. It just isn't natural to be up so much earlier than the sun!

I had no idea what to post about, so I ended up flipping through some of my old magazines for inspiration. I came across a set of pictures I hadn't seen before. They were all prints of paintings from WW2. I found them very captivating so I thought I would share a couple with you. My scanner doesn't do them justice!The last one is my favourite. I am seriously considering having a print made for my room.

Just a reminder, there is still time left on my giveaway so leave me a comment on the previous post!

100-100 Giveaway!

As I have reached 100 followers and am writing my 100th post, I thought it was about time for a giveaway! Due to an extremely limited budget, this giveaway isn't as grand as I had hoped. None the less, up for grabs is:

1) A copy of Damsel in Distress by PG Wodehouse

2) Vintage flower brooch

3) Necklace made using vintage beads (one of the many leftovers from the days when I sold handmade jewelery)

4) Any knitting pattern from my Etsy store Purls of the Past (which includes a pdf booklet on how-to knit and other helpful tips)

The book is used, but this is a vintage blog. So instead of used lets use the phrase "previously loved" ;)

To enter:

Just leave me a comment telling me something about yourself. I always love learning about the people who read my blog!

Easy huh? I will announce the winner on February 6th, so enter now!

Simple Fingerless Gloves

This post took longer than anticipated due to the fact I couldn't seem to take decent pictures. So please excuse some of the pictures, since my camera hates the colour red and I had to use my own hands for modelling (I would never be able to get a job as a hand model!).

This weeks crafting project is a pair of fingerless gloves. Not super "vintagey" but very practical. I live in an old house, which means in the winter my hands get very cold when inside. These gloves are warm but still allow you to have use of your fingers (for typing or knitting!). This is a very simple project; if you can knit a scarf then you can knit these gloves.
Simple Fingerless Gloves

-Yarn (I used 100% wool to keep my hands extra toasty)

-Knitting Needles (around a US size 9 or 10)

1) Cast on stitches to create the length of the glove. I used 25 stitches for mine but add more if you would like them longer.

2) Use a plain knit stitch, and continue knitting until it can comfortably fit around your wrist (without stretching). Cast off.

3) Repeat, creating another rectangle of the exact same size.

4) Decide where to put your thumb hole (trying placing your hand on the rectangle to get an idea of size and placement). I used bobby pins to mark the spot.

5) Use some of your yarn to sew the top and bottom of your knitting together (leaving the hole for the thumb open).
6) Turn inside out and you're done! You can embellish these plain gloves any way you like. Perhaps a row of buttons up the side, or some lace around the edges? I knitted little bows from this pattern and attached one to each glove.And that's it! Very easy and very quick to knit. Want something more complicated? Check out my Etsy shop for some more challenging vintage patterns. Yes I know, shameless self promotion ;)

Two (late) New Years Resolutions

I wasn't going to make any New Years resolutions this year. There was nothing that really seemed worth making a resolution about. Then as I was trying to tidy up a bit I realized how much stuff I actually have crammed in my room. I now have two resolutions:

1) Stop buying things I "want" and only buy things I "need"

2) Use up what I have

The last resolution mainly pertains to my craft supplies and fabric stash. My fabric is overspilling its storage unit, as are various things I have saved with the intention of "one day doing something with that". Well that "someday" is now.

So far I have used up fabric by making:

-Pajama pants (really cute but in the wash so no pictures)

-Hair rollers

-A really ugly little purse (I hate quilting!!!!)

-A dress from a 1950's pattern I wanted to try

I actually wore the dress for a girls night out, but had to pair it with a little wool sweater and tights since it was freezing out!

I also made a random pom-pom today. No idea what to actually do with it now... (It is the same size as the picture. Any suggestions?)
I am also dying a sweater as I type this. I had two packets of red dye left over from a Halloween costume I never made. Red dye+White (stained) Sweater=(hopefully) Cute Red Sweater.

How is everyone else doing with their resolutions? I only made mine three days ago and already kind of broke resolution #1. I bought a copy of a 1951 Life magazine. I "needed" it for scanning :D

That's All.

Awards and Things I love

This was originally going to be called "long overdue post #2". Before Christmas, Miss Margarita was kind enough to give me a blog award. The next day, I sat down and wrote a post about it with the intention of adding pictures later. Unfortunately with exams it completely slipped my mind, for which I apologize! The conditions of the award are

1. Post who gave you this award.
2. State ten things you like.
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment.

Since then, Frl. Irene Palfy has also been kind enough to give me another blog award. The conditions for this award are

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

As you can see the conditions are very similar so instead of doing two long boring posts about myself, I have decided to condense it to one (with some random pretty pictures to keep you all entertained!). So here are 7 things I love:
1)Stationary: Nobody sends letters anymore, which is such a shame. There is something about receiving a letter in the mail that just brightens up the day. I love sending letters and I have a massive collection of pretty stationary on which to do so. It would just be nice if someone actually wrote back!

2)Frozen Juice Boxes: I realize I am likely the only person who does this, but I love eating frozen juice boxes. It is better if you freeze them upside down then allow to thaw just slightly, then cut open the top, grab a spoon, and enjoy!

3)Books: This one is quite obvious. I have a complete obsession with books and have run out of places to store them all (over 400 last time I counted). I tend to favour murder mysteries, novels set in the 20s/30s, and large beautiful coffee table books about any subject.

4)Rain: I love when it is raining. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than at a great little cafe (with a newspaper and a latte) watching the rain pour down outside. I also love rainy evenings spent inside watching Masterpiece Mystery with my family.

5)20s/30s music: It seems I always have some Annette Hanshaw or Whispering Jack Smith playing in the background. Drives everyone else crazy :D

6)Farms: I would love to own a farm someday, with a Victorian brick farm house, at least 10 acres, and a large old barn. I have it all figured out. I would raise sheep, alpacas, angora bunnies and have a couple llamas too. Then I would make yarn from their fleece and have a little shop selling the yarn, knitting supplies, and completed projects. (Yes, highly unlikely to actually work out but a girl can dream...)

7)Number 7 already? But there are so many other things I love! Oh well, I suppose I will just have to put down Crafting: I do a little bit of everything: knitting, sewing, embroidery, painting, using a glue gun on just about anything, etc.

Well I hope I didn't bore you too much! And now to pass these awards onto other people. I always have a hard time deciding who to pass these awards onto. I have decided to let the winners pick which award they would like (partly because I was afraid of someone thinking something like "wait, what do you mean you are giving me the sweet friend award? Are you saying I'm not stylish enough for the stylish blog award?!" ). So I pass the award of your choice onto the following:

Tickety Boo Tupney

Missy Vintage

I've Got An Island

Red Lips and Corsets

Land Girl 1980

Sirens Sexy

Baby Steps into Vintage

The Girl with the Star-Spangled Heart

For the Vintage Fashionista

Good Rockin' Baby

That's All.

Long overdue post #1!

This is one of two posts which is long over due. Way back in November I won a contest over at The Vintage Lesbian Project (Her blog is fantastic by the way, so go check it out!)

One of the conditions of the contest was that the winner was to blog about the prizes. Due to Canada Post being very very VERY slow, I didn't receive the package until right before xmas. So now here is my long overdue post about the lovely prizes I won.

The first thing was this beautiful ring. Most rings don't fit me (like I said before, I have man hands...) but this one does fit nicely on my little finger. It is quite beautiful and I love having another ring to wear!

The next item is this super adorable hat (modelled here by my Styrofoam head since I am still too ill to have photos taken of me). It actually suits me surprisingly well and is very warm. It will be perfect for going for a walk in the cold Canadian winter (although I suppose it doesn't get all that cold where I live...)

Next comes this lovely 1940s/1950s little black purse. I love little purses. They are highly impractical during the day, but for a night out they are simply a necessity. This one is exceptionally lovely and I am using it as soon as I feel well enough for a girls night out!

Last but not least is this copy of Blackie's Girls' Annual. No date in it but from the look of the illustrations it appears late 20s/early 30s. I love all the pictures and, although I have yet to read any of the stories, I love all the short poems throughout the book. I will definitely be scanning some of the illustrations later on.

So thank you again to Cheri! It was a lovely early Christmas gift :)

In other news, I am still sick. It is really no fun at all. When I was uploading the pictures for this post I realised there was some from around Christmas time I forgot to post. So since I haven't worn anything but pajamas for the last few days, this will have to do for an outfit post. There isn't any good photos of my hair, but it honestly looked like Gilda hair (best hair day of my life!). I just wish I could have better captured that moment on camera...

(Dress: 1970's dress from Etsy, Belt: gift from my grandma)

That's All.

Purls of the Past

Hello everyone. I will keep my first post of 2011 short. I started off the new year by getting a cold, so the posts I have planned are going to have to wait until I am well enough for taking pictures. In the mean time I have been a busy little bee setting up an Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PurlsofthePast

I have started an Etsy stored called Purls of the Past. I will be selling pdf's of vintage knitting patterns. I have about 6 patterns posted so far with more to come. Let me know what you guys think, any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Hopefully I will be feeling a bit better in a few days. How is your 2011 going so far?