A Handful of Ravens

Ahem...hi...

Well, that was an unfortunately long break. 

I could spend this post filling you in on all of the reasons for my disappearing act, but I fear I may bore you to death!

Instead, I will tell you about my two "resolutions."

One:

I am taking on Dottie Angel's "Challenge of the Utmost Kind"  and I hereby pledge to only buy handcrafted or thrifted items for my home for the next 12 months.  I have a couple of exceptions (undies...a no-brainer, really) but I'll go into them in a later post.  I began this on January 1st and other than a sneaky little "this could be handmade...maybe...somehow" slip-up I've stuck to my guns.  I'll be updating you on how I'm doing as the weeks progress.

Two:

Inspired by Mena at The Sew Weekly, I've challenged myself to begin sewing regularly.  My goal is to use (at least once) all of the vintage patterns I've been collecting for eons.  If using it isn't an option due to size or appropriateness, I will pass it on to someone who will love it and use it.  You will note that this fits nicely into my first resolution.  I am going to begin sewing my way through them one-by one. 

I realized after reading Gertie's post on collecting vintage patterns as opposed to using vintage patterns, that I was going to find myself in the former camp if I didn't get off my arse and start sewing.  I hope to sew an item weekly, but as I'm starting a new career as of Monday (disappearing act reason #1) I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself or schedule my sewing time too strictly.

I flipped through my patterns this afternoon, looking for the perfect starting point and this is what I found.  Easy (no need to discourage myself with tailoring or tricky details this week) and perfect for the new job.  I also love the fact that there are so many options for detachable collars and cuffs - how much fun is that?! 

In my stash (courtesy of my Mother-in-law's move across the country) I've got 4 metres of a great, charcoal grey cotton.  It's in the wash now and I hope to start chopping it up tonight.

hoping her thrifted plate isn't too full,

Elle

xox

Oh the Ravens Blog...

...thou hath been forsaken.

You can now find me and my incessant ramblings at my vintage-inspired blog, "Wasp Waists and Wiggle Skirts":

http://ahandfulofravens.typepad.com/waspwaistsandwiggleskirts/

xox

Elle

ps  I bought the Blackberry Tour and I STILL can't blog at work - damn that Telus and their reindeer games.

The Three S's (Ess ses?)

"What about the promise?"  you ask.
"Umm...what promise?"  I reply, unable to meet your gaze.
"The promise to blog regularly, you wanker," you respond.
I reply with a stammer, a stutter and finally, a sigh.

Would it help if I told you that I had been stuck in action movie land?  What if I told you that I had spent a month witnessing stuntmen fall off twenty foot high balconies onto coffee tables while covered in fake blood and all manner of  prosthetic goriness?  Perhaps it would make it all okay if I mentioned that it is my grand plan to purchase either a fancy schmancy Blackberry 3G thingamajig or an iPhone so I can blog while at work and so I shall never be able to use the "stuck on set" excuse again.  (If anyone would like to voice their preference between the two phones, I would sure be happy to hear about them as I'm undecided at this point.  All I know is that my three-year-old Treo morphed into a dinosaur when I wasn't looking.)

On another note, I've joined Wardrobe Refashion again.  Yes, yes, it's because I was so darned successful the last time (your sarcasm has been noted.)  I'll keep you posted on my stellar refashioning successes.

I have managed to begin listing some of my many, many, many vintage patterns.  Meester Raven will be very happy to see them fly off as they seem to multiply like rabbits around these parts.  How many vintage patterns does one girl need?  Have I mentioned that my collection ranges from bust sizes 30-42?  Yup.  I've come to the conclusion that although pattern grading is something I can do, it seems to be something I don't do.  Off to Etsy you clutter causing beasties!

On that note (the vintage pattern one,) I will leave you with this one (yes...the completely unrelated, local wine one.)  It's quite nice, really, especially once it's had the chance to breathe.  Very dry, somewhat fruity and slightly smokey.  Yum.

xo
E

Of Blushing Flappers and Seamstresses

There are few things that make me as giddy as finding treasures in unexpected places.  I just adore buying a vintage sewing pattern only to find something special hidden away inside.  A little time capsule.

I bought the estate of a seamstress a few years back and I found the adorable, blushing flapper (pictured above) tucked away in a little lidded dish.  The story of the seamstress and her estate is an incredible one that  I'll save for another day, but I count my little watercolour, flapper bookmark as one of the best finds!

She has a place of honour, perched in the corner of a cork board I keep in my studio.

(Note to self: take snaps during daytime only.  Snaps taken after midnight, in a basement studio, without a flash are somewhat lacking.  What a shocker.)

Wishing you a Sunday full of surprises (well...only the good kind, of course) - Elle

Where with a barely audible *poof*, I reappear.

   

Well, what can I say?  I failed miserably at my Wardrobe Refashion attempt.  No, I didn't go shopping, I went back to work.  I work in film and television...sporadically.  I say sporadically, because I go through long periods when I'm not booked on a show and then *poof*, the phone chirps and suddenly:

a) I'm working 14 hours a day, 5 days a week;

b) the crazy beast has forgotten who I am;

c) I've forgotten what my feller looks like;

d) sleep is a long forgotten concept; and

e) my best friends have become the on-set caterers and the man who walks around with the chocolate tray after lunch.

When I finish a show, there's often a period where I attempt to rejoin the "Normals".  This is my current state. 

So, in an attempt to regain some normalcy and to have a life outside film, I have been making lofty plans for my Etsy shop and have been sewing up a storm.  It's funny, it seems like the pieces are making themselves.  They also look nothing at all like I thought they would - oh well, I'm just running with it.  The piece pictured above is a skirt made from vintage fabric, trim etc..

Anyhoo, I took photos of the work in progress so I could point out one of my very favourite techniques for applying Ric Rac.

Perhaps a closer look?

Rather than machine stitching right through the middle, I hand stitch the Ric Rac using a diagonal backstitch.  I came across this technique on a vintage apron I bought and so fancied it that I decided to give it a try.  The brilliant thing about this technique is that by using embroidery floss or different coloured thread, a whole new look is achieved!  Ric Rac never fails to make me happy.  Sigh. 

Now...about that Etsy shop...

"Use it up, wear it out...

   

...make it do, or do without."  This Depression-era saying has been flitting about in my head for the past few weeks.  As a fan of vintage and thrifted clothing, I haven't been a particularly prolific consumer of new goods, but I figure that there's always room for improvement!  I just accepted my invitation from Nikki at  Wardrobe Refashion.  I've committed to four months of refashioning.  With all of the fabric, yarn and ill-fitting (mostly vintage) clothing I have, I'm getting ready to saddle up my old workhorse of a Singer (pictured above) and ride off into the refashioning sunset.  It should be quite the adventure!

Here's my official Button:

The quote of the day; perhaps the quote of the decade.

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
Oscar Wilde (an original if there ever was one!)

Two Aprons, Six Yo-yo's and One Hourglass

 

I've decided to join the Wardrobe Refashion Challenge.  Not one to set the bar too low, I'll be signing up for 4 months.  Yup, 4 months.  I just have to wait until I get my "official" invitation before I can post the all the details here.  I'm really excited about it!  I've got oodles of fabric in my little studio and a whole whack of clothes that are just waiting to be repaired or repurposed.

Ready as always to jump the gun, here are some shots of two aprons I made out of a top.  First, the original blouse:

I bought two of these blouses last summer, this green one and a chocolate brown one.  I never, ever wore either of them.  Had I been paying more attention to  how to dress for my body-type (I'm a textbook Hourglass...yet another indication that I was born in the wrong decade,) I would have realized that this was just about the least flattering style I could have chosen.  By the way, if you're a fan of vintage fashion, take a gander at A Dress A Day, but make sure that you've poured a fresh cup of coffee and that the dog has been let out because once you've read a couple of Erin's recent posts, you'll want to scoot right into the archives to read them all!

So, off I toodled, down to my little studio and into the warm embrace of my 1940’s Singer.

These two little (very similar) aprons were the result:

The first is trimmed with a pale, sage green silk blend that was once a very long, very heavy curtain panel.  The yo-yo’s are made from scraps from my ridiculously large vintage fabric, lace and notion collection.  (Check out Heather Bailey's very helpful yo-yo tutorial here.)

This one is trimmed with a peach silk tie and vintage fabric and lace yo-yo’s.  The silk was a thrifting score, I bought a whole bolt of it for a song years ago.  Again, the lace and buttons are part of the collection I have.

Below are some detail shots.  The pockets were made from the discarded sleeves of the original blouse.

I’m not sure what I’ll ever do with two, nearly identical aprons, but I loved making them!  I may pop one into my Etsy shop at some point but I haven’t decided yet. 

Now, what to do with the green blouse…

 

Teleportation and Reindeer Games

Time management is not my forte. I'm completely incapable of figuring out how long it takes to get from point a to point b. It's been said that I'm convinced that I teleport, but that my teleporter's on the fritz...seriously. The internal dialogue goes something like this, "okay, so I have to be at the appointment at 2. I'll leave at 1:30 to get to said appointment by 2. What time was the appointment? Oh yeah, 2. I have to leave at 2." Halfway to my appointment, I realize that I'm 15 minutes late. This causes me to:

a) drive like a maniac;
b) curse like a sailor;
c) make cellphone calls to said appointment while driving; or
d) all of the above.

I've come to accept this little quirk of mine. My family and friends have started telling me to arrive half an hour before they need me to be somewhere (hi guys...yup, I'm on to your reindeer games.) Given all of this information, you can see how I am completely baffled by the fact that after driving like a maniac and cursing like a sailor while trying to get to today's two-o'clock appointment on time, I arrived to find that I was...A DAY EARLY!!! Now, does this mean I'm getting better?  I was early, after all!

**I'd like to credit this photo but I can't seem to remember where I found it!  Let me know if you have any ideas.

Jeepers!

Well, I consider myself to be pretty adept at manipulating the old computer, but between figuring out Etsy (I was a confirmed eBay seller, but it seems that I've jumped ship) and working on getting this blog of mine up and running, it almost got the better of me. Tags and links and typelists and options galore...I repeat, "jeepers!"

I took a look at my earlier post and considered deleting it, but then I figured that everything has to have a beginning and I'd much rather have a genuine, albeit lackluster beginning than a shiny, perfect fabricated beginning.

Although this birth of this blog coincides with the birth of my two Etsy shops, A Handful of Ravens and Nautical Swallow Vintage, this blog won't be primarily focused on the shops. My life has gone through some pretty radical changes over the past year or so. I switched career paths (again) this March and decided to finally get off my bum and work on selling the things I make and collect rather than letting them sit, neglected in big piles of forgotten loveliness. Wish me luck!

xox
Elle

ps Yes, the daffs are in reference to Narcissus. This wee blog's got me feeling a bit narcissistic.

Curious

Well, it looks like I've finally got a blog.  I've been thinking about it for ages, but here it is!  This post is a test, just to see if it's looking okay.  I sure hope I can delete it!