I find the quilt-making process exhausting and yet every time I finish one (not that there have been that many times) I’m already thinking about my next.

Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow is a movie that has certainly grown on me over the years.  (I know I’ve must have mentioned this movie before!)  I love the production design, especially the costumes; Colleen Atwood can do no wrong.  But in the last few years (I watch it annually around this time) I’ve changed my focus to something else: the quilt.

This quilt is one of the prettiest I’ve seen.  The pictures are dark, I know, but I hope you can see what I see.  This simple triangle pattern might be my favorite quilt design.  I’ve seen this type of pattern more often in older quilts, like early and mid 19th C.  What I find most interesting are that the triangle’s bases in one row do not line up with those of the next.  (Unlike the example you can see here.) Instead the triangles themselves line up with the triangles in the second row over.  (Sorry for the possibly convoluted explanation.)   This pattern seems less common than the former, perhaps because it’s more difficult to keep all the rows lined up neatly without having the bases to match up.

Here you can see some detail.  This is also proof that I’m a certifiable sewing nerd: “Folks, forget Johnny – LOOK AT THE QUILT!”  Oh, I even love the shattered pieces and yellowing.  Look at the blue piece by Johnny’s right ear, isn’t it lovely?  (Gosh, I wonder how the art department found such a quilt.  It looks like a genuine antique, doesn’t it?)

Another slightly more awkward image of Johnny, I mean Ichabod, on the quilt.

I’d like to make a quilt like this.  I don’t know if I’d use feedsack or feedsack-like prints or something more Victorian.  I’d probably use colors that are lighter and maybe a little brighter although I really love the ones used in this piece.  Anyway, I don’t know when I’ll make this but I already have some fabric in my stash that would be suitable.  I hope to start this winter.

In the meantime, I’ve got some frocks to finish up and share with you!

Thank you for your comments and sales!  I admit, launching the new shop is a little nerve-racking, hee hee.  Anyway, I’m glad to have put the shop up because I can focus more on making things, the best part.

There are many new treats in the shop, including these vintage digital kits!  I’m really happy about them, actually.  I love vintage postcards, particularly Victorian and Edwardian ones, and I’m so stingy about them – I can’t seem to part with them!  So, along with vintage buttons, millinery, calling cards and even an old saucer, I made a digital few kits to share.  Violets & Violas, above, has a ton of high resolution PNG files which are really nice because they have transparent backgrounds which are good for layering in blog headers and scrapbooks.  (And since they are 300 dpi, you can print them out too!)

There’s also a kit with pretty blue vintage buttons, ranging from the 1920s through the 1950s, in PNG format and in a handy collage sheet (JPG) to print out (both 300 dpi).

And red & pink vintage buttons too!  Love those swirly ones.  Oh!, what projects can be made with these…

I’m so thoroughly enjoying the little rain we are having.  Staying in, snug and cozy.  For dinner tonight we’re having tacos with blue corn torillas  (I just love the novelty of them) which I need to make ready right now.

Happy Wednesday, my dears!

(P.S. Images are watermarked and degraded for posting purposes – digital files do not contain these watermarks and are high quality, of course!)

Perhaps it has to do with all the wedding imagery I’ve been looking at the past couple of months but lace has really grown on me.  I don’t have a lot of lace in my wardrobe; it often seems too prim and Victorian for my taste.  And cheap lace looks, well, cheap.  But as you probably know, my wedding dress ended up being a pretty off-white lace.  It doesn’t have any tiers but it could have!  The pretty combination of frothy, lacy layers is so feminine and decadent.  And in soft colors like blush, mauve and antique cream it’s almost irresistible!   I can imagine myself and a few friends playing dress up in a dusty attic in these pretties….

Vintage-style bolero (above), TopShop.  I love the pretty pale pink and contrasting belt in this Layer Cake dress from ModCloth:

The almost moth-eaten look of this Chai Latte dress (also from ModCloth) is delicious:

This lace cami is almost ghostly, J.Crew:

Really fun 1950s Lace Dress from TimelessVixenVintage:

Gorgeous 1950s lace dress from Caberet Vintage:

Other tiered beauties:

• Wavelet blouse at Anthropologie
• Strapless Ruffle Tiered dress from Forever 21

Oh, and are you wondering how you, a modern girl, can pull off such a look?  One of my most favorite stylish bloggers, Miss Francesca, has the pretty but not fussy lace look down to a t:

(If you haven’t checked out her blog before, you must – prepare to be inspired!)

I’m tempted to dig around my stash for yards and yards of lace trim and create a little vintage-inspired layer cake top or dress of my own.  Just another thing to add to the ever-lasting To Do list!

Me thinks my room is turning into a little museum.    What is it about these lovely and well-loved old things?  I know I’ve said this before but I adore vintage and antique things that are a little worn and imperfect.  But a couple of these recent finds are very worn and must surely have been deeply loved!

The best part is I got this old blouse, bag and hankie for $15!  Is it just me or is that a good deal?

The ’20s handbag is my favorite.  I really love vintage mirrors, especially when they’ve become foggy with that greyish cloud of a patina.  I also love old rhinestones, foil-backed buttons and sequins for the same reason.  Especially in silver and gold tones.

This bag sat forlorn in the corner of this antique dealer’s booth.  Sad and ghost-like.  I picked this up along with the pretty grey-blue and cream hankie.  The bag is actually in pretty good condition with just a few beads missing and some tiny stains on the interior (and again, I love that the foil in the sequins is very worn and old looking).

So I opened up the bag and spied a little mirror inside!  It’s foggy too although there is a clear spot on one side so that it’s actually still usable.  Snap works great.  And there’s a handle in the back – it’s too small to put my hand through so I suppose you can hold it or perhaps it could go on a belt?  Did they wear their bags on the hip like that back then?

I was interested in this Edwardian (?) blouse for its parts (re-purpose?) but got even more excited about it when it was apparent that it would fit me.  (An extreme rarity.)  But I don’t know if I could or should wear it, it’s so delicate.  The collar is yellowed and shattered and the front hem has been torn away.  And yet I love it so much it was meant to come home with me.

Here’s the back view (Edited to note: Lisa graciously has pointed out that this is most likely the front of the blouse, and I concur after trying it on again.):

Well for $15  for the whole lot , I couldn’t say no!  And speaking of decrepit things, I picked up this brass floral necklace piece from another dealer:

I like how the pearls are all but completely missing but then again I might replace them with new pearls or rhinestones; we’ll see.  And I might just remove the connectors and make a necklace out of the pendant.  The connectors I can use for a bracelet or two, or maybe a fancy brooch.

Ok, back to work I go, for it is Monday afterall!