The "Vitameatavegamin" blouse

Hello friends, I'm your Vitameatavegamin girl.

Are you tired, run - down, listless?  Do you poop out at parties?  Are you unpopular?

The answer to all your problems is in this  little bottle.  VITAMEATAVEGAMIN.

Vitameatavegamin contains Vitamins, Meat, Vegetables, and Minerals.

Yes, with Vitameatavegamin, you can spoon your way to health.  All you do is take a great big tablespoonful after every meal.  Mmmmmm....  It's so tasty, too!  Tastes just like candy!

So why don't you join all the thousands of happy peppy people and get a great big bottle of Vitameatavegamin tomorrow!

Thats Vita-meata-vegamin! (hiccup)

If you haven't seen this episode of I Love Lucy, you really should watch it! It's the funniest episode ever and what I decided to base my outfit on this week.

Instead of making a traditional 50's shirtwaist dress, I decided to use up some delightful brushed cotton baby houndstooth fabric that I won in a giveaway many moons ago!  I revisited DuBarry 5327 which was my very first blouse I ever made AND I made another version of this blouse as my very first Sew Weekly Challenge (my Coco Chanel inspired blouse).

The blouse features a cute pleated sleeve, two buttons, tucks at the waist (which means it's great with high waisted trousers and other 40's styles) and gathers at the yoke front and back.

Instead of making the blouse collar white, like Lucy's (and like Veronica's version of the I Love Lucy dress), I opted for a darker navy blue to match my 1940 skirt (which I'm wearing here) and my matching 1941 high waisted trousers, all of these are from the same piece of lightweight wool that I found in a charity shop (YAY!)

I'm thinking of making matching sleeve cuffs in the navy wool.  I wasn't too sure about it at first (I don't want it to look like a bowling shirt. lol.)  I also don't want to do the traditional 50's flared cuffs because I'll most likely be wearing this with some sort of cardigan.  What do you think?

Also, I think I was channeling Lucy in more ways than one this week--do you notice my big oops with the blouse?  I think I sewed the sleeves on backwards! hahahhahahaha.

As Lucy would say:

Do you pop out at parties?  Are you unpoopular?  Drink a BIG bottle of vigeameatavegin....this stuff....tastes just like candy!

 I did have loads of fun taking these photos! David made the label for the bottle and all the signs and tried to direct me in making silly faces (lol).

I also had fun doing my hair up in a vaguely 50's style (it's a bit too long for some of the 50's looks).  I really like how it turned out!  I curled up some of my hair to look like fringe/bangs and held it in place with bobby pins.

I love Lucy, don't you?  What a gal! 

{Ness Lovelies} 1940's Inspired

I'd thought I would revisit two of my staple me-made items this week!  The blouse is the very first garment I made as part of the Sew Weekly challenge!  Actually, come to think of it--another iteration of this blouse was also the very first sewing garment I ever made!  The skirt is from a 1940 McCall pattern and I absolutely love the lines.

I paired the outfit with Ness's Bag of the Week: the Andrea bag (on sale this week).  This handbag is definitely 1940's inspired and also comes in a tartan of Autumn colours called 'Russet'.  I just love the size and the classic look of the handbag.  Of course, the red strap is such a nice touch!  Last month I picked up several belts from an estate sale when I met up with Solanah from Vixen Vintage and this red one is one of my favourites and matches the handbag strap perfectly!

This pagoda was set up as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and it's still at the Fringe headquarters, called The Hub.  Visitors to The Hub during the Festival were given their own wishing ribbon to hang from the Pagoda, which was designed by Edinburgh artist, Rachel George.  Also during the festival an exhibition of work by local school pupils inspired by eastern art and traditions accompanied the pagoda.

I just love how all the ribbons float in the wind.  I hope all the wishes have come true!

The Hub is in an old church--they've converted it into a really neat gathering space with a cafe.

The Hub also happens to be right across from the main Ness store on the Royal Mile!  I went in to see the new Henriette shoes in person.  ack.  Love them!!!  I'm definitely saving up for a pair of the teal ones!

Blouse: Made by me from a 1943 pattern

Skirt: Made by me from a 1940 pattern

Belt: Thrifted

Shoes: Ration Fashions on Etsy

Handbag: Ness

FO: The Highland ghost pyjamas...

I had fun telling the story of my latest creation--flannel pyjama bottoms through scary halloween photoboards! For a less ghoulish write-up of the construction, click here. Hope you enjoy!

One spooky bat, two spooky bats, three spooky bats! waaahaaahaaahhaaa!

Mission McCall Monday missing images 500-510

It's been a long time since I've done a 'Mission McCall Mondays' post! For those of you new to the series, my goal is to update the Vintage Pattern Wiki so that it's complete for all McCall patterns from mid 1936-1940.  This week, I'm happy to post a few of the previously missing images from the Kaumagraph Transfers 500-510 patterns.  A big thank you to Lauren from Wearing History for sending these my way!

Patterns 502 and 503 are for transfer designs for tea towels and bath towels. I really love the kitty cat in pattern 502!

Pattern 505 is for an amazing apron with an adorable transfer to add an embroidered flower. I just love the waist and hem on this apron!

Pattern 507 is more embroidery for guest towels. I think these are so lovely!

Pattern 508 is a transfer design for embroidery on wool and knitted garments. I think my favourite is the belt, hat and matching gloves!

Last up this week is this pattern 510 which looks like a pattern for applique to put on pillow cushions!

Which is your favourite this week?

Missing images so far:  9011, 9012, 9013, 9014, 9017, 9040, 9041, 9050, 9062, 9073, 9082 and 9088. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Vintage Pattern Wiki.  myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.

{Ness Lovelies} Introducing the new Ness bag of the week!

I'm very excited to announce that Ness is doing a series of promotions where they feature a 'Bag of the Week'.  Each week, there will be a fabulous bag from their new Autumn/Winter line at a huge discount!  If there's one thing I love just as much as shoes--it's handbags!!

For one day only, this 'Krystal' handbag is over 50% off! woot, woot!  It's a fabulous, substantial bag for those of us who, ahem, carry a bit with us but don't want to look like we do! lol.  There's tons of space in this handbag and you can't go wrong with red AND tartan!!

David and I went for a stroll in the Prince's Street Gardens today!  It was the perfect day to wear my me-made 1940's red hooded dress.

It was such a lovely Autumn day.  The leaves are all changing colour and their is a crispness in the air!

Dress - handmade by me

Wellies - Ness

Handbag - Ness

The swing jacket pattern winner is...

Thanks everyone for entering the swing jacket pattern giveaway! This giveaway prompted a few new folks to say hello--I love that!! Without further ado, the winner is...

Nicole A from The Traveling Seamstress!

 Beautiful!!! I would do view C in a gorgeous kelly green in a soft wool/nylon blend! I think the back of the jacket speaks for itself and doesn't need a print.

 Kelly Green would be so fabulous for this jacket--I can't wait to see it!!  Definitely stop by and check out Nicole's new sewing blog!

Sewing Circle Pattern Swap

Yesterday I got a lovely package in the post:

It's from Trish who was my pattern swap buddy over at the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle! Awhile back we all decided it would be fun to build on our notions swap and do a pattern swap! We were each assigned a person to send a pattern and a little goodie to (most people receive from one person and send to another person). I'm so delighted with the pattern--isn't it lovely? Trish also sent me coconut buttons all the way from Australia!

The extra goodie was this amazing vintage teatowel from New Zealand! I love it so much! Thanks Trish!

{Ness Lovelies} Introducing the new Ness shoes!! I am in love.

I've been waiting....waiting for the new line of Ness shoes to come out!  Let me tell you, they do not disappoint!  I am SUPER excited for these lovelies:

'Henriette' Ness shoes in Crush colourway.  

I think I am in love with these tweed shoes! They are so fabulous.  I absolutely adore the scalloped border and the classic Mary Jane look.  I'm definitely going to be picking up a pair of these in 'Crush ' and maybe even another pair in the lovely 'Northern Lights' pattern!

 'Henriette' Ness shoes in Northern Lights.  

You can see the lovely scallop detail in the photo above!  I really love this colour combination as well!

  'Melly' Ness Wellies

The 'Melly' wellies are printed wellies with an adaptation of the classic Crush tartan pattern. I really love the green trim on these!

I have a pair of 'Georgie' Wellies that I got two years ago and I wear them all the time! Especially now when it's starting to get cold.  I find it really good for Scottish weather where we have days that shift in weather a lot.  Rain. Check. Intermittent sun. check. Cold weather. check. Periods of 'super' wind. check. Awesome Wellies able to handle it all. check.

 'Georgie' Ness Wellies 

 The new 'Georgie' wellies are fabulous!  I am really excited about the introduction of Wellie socks including the 'Izzy' socks which are stripey and fun and the matching 'Judy' cable knit knee-high socks in teal and red!  

Which is your favourite? 

Weekly pattern giveaway: 1940 swing jacket!!

Time for the weekly pattern giveaway! This week I'm delighted to share McCall 3619 with a lucky reader!  It is a size 16 or 34 bust and includes the directions and the complete pattern for the 2 variations of jackets (a swing jacket and a more tailored jacket with great back details) and two sleeve variations (standard or bell sleeves).

This giveaway is open to everyone. Just leave a comment on this post by midnight (London time) on Friday the 21st of October for one entry. I would love to hear which jacket view you would sew up first and in what fabric!

You can also do a blog post on this giveaway, tweet about it or put it on facebook for an additional entry for each method (up to four entries total). Just come back and leave me a comment that you've done all those. I'll randomly pick a winner on Saturday.  It would be great if you could leave me some way of contacting you in your comment!

The only restrictions of the giveaway is that if you've already won a pattern in these weekly giveaways, you are not eligible for this giveaway.  The other restriction is that if you win, that you do not sell this pattern. Keep it for as long as you want and once you are done--pass it along to someone else!

Thank you everyone for your lovely on my completed version of the jacket and for weighing in on the godet skirt vs. clover trousers dilemma.  The godet skirt was the clear winner (20 vs. 9 votes)--so watch this space soon for a matching skirt :)

The 'C'moooooooon Poil!' Swing Jacket

I am super excited to show you my latest creation! You may have guessed from the sewing inspiration board from this week that it was going to be a swing jacket. I'm a HUGE fan of 1940's musical films and one of my absolute favourites is 'Cover Girl' with Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. In that musical, Rita wears a very stylish swing type jacket that is very reminiscient of the mid-1940's (photos of Rita's jacket on my inspiration board).

McCall 3619 fit the bill perfectly for a swing jacket! I actually think this is a rare pattern as it's the first time I've seen a swing jacket so early in the 1940's (this pattern is from the year 1940). They didn't really come into full fashion until 1943/44 and later in the decade (1946/47) and again throughout the 1950's.

When I was in NYC for the fabulous blogger meet-up, I bought some amazing bright teal/blue wool twill from Paron Fabrics (it's actually much brighter than in the photos which were taken at dusk). It's absolutely buttery and fabulous to sew! You might think it's odd that I would buy wool in the States when Scotland has such fantastic wool (which it does!) but I've found it hard to get 'unusual' colours of wool in Scotland. We've got the best quality (and prices--even compared to the States) on high-quality wool in traditional colourways but we don't really have many of the brighter or funkier colours! I've never sewn with wool twill and I must say that I LOVE it!

The pattern was very easy to put together and is fully lined. I opted for view C with the box sleeves. It's funny because whoever had used this pattern before me had shorted it by about 1 inch. I had originally thought of leaving their alterations and doing mine shorter too but decided that I wanted the longer length. Now in retrospect I think I would have liked it a bit shorter!

I really love the rounded front lapel and the neat pleat in the front shoulder areas. I am also a huge fan of pleated sleevecaps! I'm glad I went for the boxy sleeves as that will make this a perfect layering jacket for winter!

The back of the jacket does take that 'swing' jacket shape but not as much as I had hoped. I think I may have to coax it into more of a soft pleated shape with some very gentle ironing!

Overall I am quite pleased with my new 1940's jacket--it certainly gives a proper look for the time period! I love how it matches my other me-made items (my 1943 DuBarry blouse and my 'Mrs Peacock' skirt). Can you tell I'm trying to make a wardrobe of matching items :)



I want to get your advice, I have approximately 1.5 metres left of this fabrics. Should I make:

a) a 1950's godet skirt (I got this through the pattern swap as part of the NYC meet-up)

 

or b) the new Colette 'Clover' long capri trousers (this fabric does have a bit of stretch to it):

 

So far when I polled the readers at the Sew Weekly--they are leaning towards the godet skirt--though many more clover votes are coming in!  What do you think?