Chintz & Cosmos

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standing in front of a rock wall with a flower garden behind it

Happy September, Dear Readers! The air is feeling crisp and it’s beginning to feel like Fall, but before the season completely changes, it’s about time I shared this dress-turned-skirt I made back in June. I don’t know why I forgot to take photos of if (I’ve been wearing it quite a lot!) but it actually turned out well leaving it until now to take photos, because look how nicely it matches the front flower garden. Cosmos, petunias, evening scented stocks and sunflowers. This flower bed used to have two giant peonies in it, but this Spring the bed had to be completely excavated for plumbing issues, and the pink peony didn’t end up back up in this flower bed. (It’s been planted elsewhere now…)

blue and pink chintz floral skirt

So yes, this halter dress came up on our church’s free group last year and I hesitated to claim it since I was thinking of altering it, so I let it go to someone else. And then a year later it came back up for grabs and I didn’t hesitate to claim it then! And I am so happy that I did because I love how it turned out. As far as refashioning projects go, this was one of the simplest and it only took a few hours to complete.

light and dark pink cosmos flowers

navy eyelet detail sleeveless shirt

Paired with my navy tie front blouse (or a navy t-shirt some days) it has been perfect for summer.

navy blue silk scarf tied onto the handle of a wicker purse

I’ve been really into tying scarves onto handbags lately. I don’t always like wearing scarves because I find them too hot, but they add such a nice touch to a bag.

pink and white cosmos flowers

I’ve been wearing my dainty heart pearl pendant on repeat lately. It pairs well with a more casual outfit to elevate it, but it’s also not overwhelming with a more dressed up outfit.

gold heart and pearl necklace pendant

sitting on a rock wall in front of a flower garden

It’s definitely starting to feel like September. I hope we get a nice warm Fall this year. I never thought I would say it, but I’m sad Summer is almost over. It’s never been my favourite season (re: heat), but this year we didn’t get much sun, so I would love a little bit more!

How is your September so far? Are you ready for Fall, or still holding onto the vestiges of Summer? And how does your garden grow? 

in front of a flower garden full of cosmos blooms

blue chiffon scarf tied around the handle of a wicker bag

standing in front of a rock wall with a flower garden full of cosmos, sunflowers and petunias

wearing a chintz floral skirt with a navy blue shirt and standing in front of a flower garden

Vintage Covers: Vogue Italia 1967, Swingin’ Summer

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vintage reproduction of a vintage 1967 twiggy vogue cover

As the end of August approaches, thoughts may begin to turn to Fall, but we’d rather embrace these late Summer days in style with vibrant colours, bold patterns and, of course, some bright blue eyeshadow. 

twiggy vogue italia cover

Inspiration for this one comes from this vintage 1967 cover featuring Twiggy. Interestingly, when I was layering the photos to make sure I had everything lined up in the correct place in the image, I discovered that we have almost the exact same eye shape! This was a fun cover to do – 60’s makeup is so wild isn’t it?

This & That | August 22

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white yarrow flowers growing by a rock wall

Hello Dear Readers! I can’t believe we’re already into the second half of August; where has the summer gone? Lately I have been…

Reading:

I’m halfway through my goal of re-reading Jane Austen’s books this year! I’ve finished Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice and Emma, have started Sense & Sensibility, and only have Northanger Abbey left!  (I read Mansfield Park a couple of years ago, so I’m not going to re-read it this year.)

paperback copy of sense and sensibility sitting on a striped quilt

I am really enjoying it. Especially when I sit outside on the swing on a peaceful, sunny afternoon to read a few chapters in between watching the birds and the clouds go by.

yellow canola fields and a country road with a storm in the distance

Loving:

Vibrant yellow canola fields and going for walks. Especially when a storm is coming up and the sky is starting to get that greenish look to it that means it is time to head home!

baby clothes

Making:

So many cute baby things lately for new babies in my church.  Bibs for little boys and a polka dot dress and bloomers for a little girl.

Finding: 

Letters from friends in the mailbox. Always a cheerful surprise!

pretty photo box with vintage photos in it

Working on:

The family history photo project. I’ve created a family tree of one side of the family and have printed a whole bunch of the photos, finally, but then some of them were printed incorrectly, so I have to do a re-print of some of them. I got the majority printed on 4×6 papers and trimmed them to size, keeping the white margins so they look “old”. I have them stored in this pretty box until I’m ready to assemble the albums.

evening scented stocks

Eating:

Fresh vegetables from the garden! So many cucumbers in particular. Yum!

And I am not eating these pretty evening scented stocks my mom planted, above, but I am enjoying their lovely blooms and delicate scent.

Watching:

These two videos about two very different dresses were a treat to watch.

-Jane from Snapdragon studio explores a beautiful antique silk dress that has sadly begun to shatter.

–Marilyn Monroe’s pink “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is one of the most famous dresses in cinema (superseded only by the Little Black Dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and it’s on display right now in an exhibit called Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon.

And that’s all for this week!

What has your August been like? What have you been reading, making, finding, eating, and watching?

vibrant yellow canola fields and blue skies

Blue Eyelet

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wearing a smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist dress with a rattan bag walking underneath elm trees

And here’s the dress I finished sewing…three months ago! I gave a sneak peek in this post, and then never got actual outfit photos. So here they are finally.

smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist dress paired with a leather belt

I started sewing this dress back in 2018, I think it was. I was going to finish it in time to wear it to the Ladies’ Garden Tea that year, but, well, obviously that didn’t happen. I threw it aside in despair for 8 years, and then pulled it out this past spring to finish it. The way I had left it actually wasn’t the best fit, so no wonder I wasn’t pleased with it. I ended up raising the waistline, cutting 8″ off the hem, (originally I had planned for it to be floor length) and adding sleeves.

smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist style dress

The button placement is wonky, and there are some areas that aren’t the best fit, which I shan’t point out to you, but it’s done! And I’ve worn it several times already! I was planning to sew a matching belt, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I like it with the leather belt, though, so we’ll see whether I end up sewing one or not.

shirtwaist collar and sleeve details, paired with a dainty pearl necklace

wearing a blue eyelet shirtwaist dress and walking underneath an arch of trees

Paired with my new round rattan purse, and my old ankle strap sandals: I absolutely love this outfit and am so happy this dress is out of the Pile and into the wardrobe.

This round purse is the most impractical thing, it doesn’t even fit my wallet, but I have no regrets. I have always wanted one of these, and found this one on Poshmark. I just noticed it’s facing backwards in the picture below-oops!

round rattan and leather purse

And I guess that’s all I have to say about this. I had a goal this year to sew one new garment for myself. So far, I have only finished up half completed projects, and alteration/mending projects, and I don’t know whether that’s a goal I am going to actually achieve this year. Still, I have been sewing a lot more this year than in past years, and that’s the important thing.

Do you have any sewing (or creative) goals for this year? Any half finished projects sitting in the Pile that you just need to push through and finish? 

peering over shoulder standing underneath elm trees

walking under an arch of elm trees wearing a blue eyelet shirtwaist dress

Thrifted Treasures | #6

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vintage lace handkerchief draped over books with a miniature tea set on top

Hello and happy August Dear Readers!

I have some recent thrifted finds to share with you today…

First up, is a new computer power cord! Mine broke a couple of weeks ago and only worked if I held it in one particular position, kind of like the radio antennas of old. Needless to say, my screen time was drastically diminished last week, which was probably good for my brain. However, I was able to purchase a secondhand one on Poshmark (which took forever to arrive!) so I am back to full computer capabilities now.

lace and embroidered vintage handkerchiefs

Now onto the textile department…. a stack of pretty vintage handkerchiefs, above. I am using these to style items on my book shelf.

woven vitnage cream coloured bedspread

Next was this beautiful deadstock woven bedspread still in the package.

tapestry woven bedspread vintage packaging

I have always wanted one of these, so to come across one in mint condition was a great find!

woven tapestry bedspread

Then, some various tablecloths and vintage sheets and pillowcases that I want to upcycle into some dresses. The table cloth is stained, and the bedsheets don’t fit modern mattresses, so they are the perfect candidates for refashioning into something new.

vintage floral sheets and a battenberg lace tablecloth

Now for dishes…I saw these one week and I resisted buying them. It was $10 for the incomplete set, and I told myself I didn’t need any more dishes. But then, the next week I stopped in and they were still sitting there!

blue and white transferware dishes

So of course they just had to come home with me, and even though my shelves are a tiny bit more stacked, I don’t regret it at all. Sometimes when you see something again after thinking about it, you just have to get them. At least that way I knew it wasn’t an impulse buy, right?

blue and white dishes styled on my display shelf

Now for a couple of free items: I have been looking for a vessel to hold my paintbrushes since I had them in a vase, but whenever I wanted to use the vase for flowers I had to take all the brushes out. For a while I had them in a different old mug, but it wasn’t really “sparking joy”.

milk glass mug with a tavern scene on it

And then I was putting some stuff away in the basement and saw this vintage milk glass mug my mom had and it was perfect. Yes, I asked her if I could have it, I didn’t just abscond with it! She said that peanut butter came in them. Why don’t they do cool things like that now with packaging?

tiny watercolour house artwork in a cream coloured frame

Also, for about 6 months I have been looking for a new frame for this artwork by Terre Pigment Studio that I shared in my last “thrifted finds” post. I had it in a pretty brass frame, but the dimensions weren’t evenly spaced. So I thought, no problem, I’ll just keep an eye out at the thrift store for a simple wooden frame I could cut down to size….and then apparently no one has been decluttering picture frames, because they haven’t had any frames of the correct size! Then a couple of weeks ago, my sister was getting rid of this vintage frame that was a square, so I only had to cut the top and bottom to the correct width and, ta-da! It’s perfect.

And to finish off this post with the best find I have ever found….sometimes you go to the thrift store and browse the entire store from top to bottom and don’t find anything worthwhile, and then other times you pop in when you’ve got five minutes before you have to meet someone and you find the perfect Victorian boots of your dreams!

victorian style leather boots

Not only do they look almost unworn and in perfect condition, but they are my size. I hardly ever find shoes in my size at the thrift store. I cannot wait for Fall to come so I can wear these!

So, those are my treasures lately. For August I have decided to do a “no buy month”…we’ll see how that goes. I’ll have to avoid “just stopping in” to see what they have!

Have you found any great treasures lately? Do you ever “just stop in” and then come home with things you certainly didn’t know you needed? 

vintage handkerchief styled on books with a teapot on top

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