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1940’s

Playing with Toys

I picked up a new old toy for myself today – a while ago I took my grandmother’s vintage Singer sewing machine into the shop, and today I finally picked it up! She’s a beaut, if I do say so myself. I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots with my fancy-pants Christmas camera to share with you. (I need a new hobby like I need a hole in the head, but learning photography is turning out to be fun. 🙂
The plates on this machine are exquisite. There was another vintage Singer at the shop that wasn’t nearly as pretty. 😉
I’ve had the machine for maybe 5 years now, and I always knew that I *could* sew with it, but until I started reading sewing blogs it never occurred to me that a lot of people prefer the vintage machines to modern ones! Lauren and her husband inspected it for me and warned me that the electrical needed to be replaced, so off to the shop it went. She got a couple new wires, a new belt and a tuneup, and now she’s ready to go. I just need to get the table out of the garage and negotiate room for it in the living room somewhere – the sewing room is full up!

In honor of my grandmother, Lucille, my new old machine is christened Lucie. 🙂

This is the BACK of the machine. No modern manufacturer would bother with such lovely details on the back of something anymore.
Possibly the coolest part of the whole machine – if you look close you can see the spool of thread at the bottom of the “S”, and the thread goes through needles. Someone should reproduce this and make jewelry or something.
I’m a complete novice about this, but I’m discovering that the nifty thing about vintage Singers is the serial plate for each corresponds to the date of manufacture. According to the Singer website, this machine is from the end of 1940. HOW COOL IS THAT?! My dad doesn’t know if the machine was bought new or used (the family moved around during the war), but he said it definitely came with them during the move from Minnesota to California in the 50’s.
Now I need to find some family photos of garments that Grandma sewed right? 
Aunts, come to my rescue! 😀

I’m a Model!

Recently, Lauren from Wearing History Patterns asked if I’d be willing to model for a new pattern release – the words were barely out of her mouth before I said YES! Of course I would – playing dress up is so much fun!

This cute little wrap dress pattern is the newest addition to the Wearing History pattern line. The neat thing about it is how easy it is to sew – no sleeves, and because it wraps and ties, there are no buttons or zippers to deal with – perfect for a new sewist! And I want to mention that even though it has a low back, I’m wearing a normal bra – it crossed right above my braline, so there are no special undies required.

If you’re a swing dancer and want to try making this pattern, I suggest adding a few hooks and eyes at the wrap opening, so that the opening stays shut!

And yes, those are my super comfy Aris Allen wedges.

We went to a local marina with our husbands in tow to shoot the photos – I think I’m making funny faces at them in most of the pictures, probably not the best idea. 🙂
Can’t imagine why this one isn’t the pattern cover. Hmm…

I’m no Bernie Dexter, but it sure was fun! 🙂

Long Beach Yearbooks

Last night I was renewing some library books online, and I noticed that the digital archives include local high school yearbooks. I love looking at yearbooks – they’re a great snapshot of a time and place. And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
 If nothing else, they provide lots of hairstyle references! 
I think anyone can look at these without an account with the Long Beach library. They’re in pdf format, so you will need Adobe to look at the files. Some of the scans aren’t the best, oh well.
I haven’t looked through all of them yet (there are 77!) but so far my favorites are Wilson High School from 1938-1940. There are some truly stunning photographs, a common theme is “Beautiful Girls”, and for the ad section they sent students out to the businesses for photos and write ups. Very cute!
Thespian Club, Wilson High School, 1940
W Club Service Group, Wilson High School, 1940
Knott’s Berry Place, 1940 – before it became Knott’s Berry Farm, an amusement park with major roller coasters!
Christmas Swing dance, Wilson High School, 1938 – I think the boy in the bottom center is the bandleader?
White Graduation Gowns, Wilson High School, 1938
Go to Zukor’s for your dress, then head to the Tee-Pee after the dance! Wilson High School, 1938
Backstage in the Auditorium, Wilson High School, 1939
Hip Hip Hooray! Wilson High School, 1939
Herb and his Ambassadors, Wilson High School, 1939
Wilson High School, 1939
Wilson High School, 1939

A corsage lasts longer if you take her to the ice rink for your date! Wilson High School, 1939

The Great White Way

Broadway Melody of 1940 was on TCM the other night, and we turned it on just as my favorite dance scene was starting – the “Italian Cafe Routine”. It’s not as jaw dropping as the “Begin the Beguine” finale, but I love how this routine is natural and playful. And it doesn’t hurt how great their outfits are – Chris and I would wear clothes like this every day if we could!  (He’s just crazy for that little bolero – they show off his small waist. 😉

Here’s a picture of Fred and Eleanor rehearsing for this movie- I love that Eleanor was a trousers gal.

Now where are my tap shoes?!

LA Air Raid of 1942

It seems like a long time ago since the Air Raid happened (really, 1942 was a long time ago!), but I’ve been hanging onto my measly few pics to share.

Because it’s always cold at this event, I asked my mom to knit this Victory scarf for me – isn’t it great?

It looks like a simple pattern, but I haven’t knitted anything in about 7 years and I didn’t feel up to relearning at the moment. (I never did learn how to cast on and off properly!) I asked her to make it a little skinnier than the pattern states, and I think she just used smaller needles instead of redesigning the pattern. That also made the tension tighter, so the V popped a little more. Smart lady!

Muddy shoes! But they kept my feet warm, and now I can try dyeing them like the website suggests. Perhaps mudbrown, so they’ll be ready for next year…

I don’t have any pictures after the dancing started, cause I was on the floor the whole time! But here’s a few links with more pics if you haven’t had enough.
The Sky is Falling!
WWII Factory Coveralls
Air Raid Outfit Post
Inspiring Outfits
Gar Travis Photography

V is for Valentine’s Day!

I know you’ll forgive me for this belated post, as we just moved and I’m lucky if I can find my toothbrush! But I wanted to share our Valentine’s gifts with you! I’m still excited about them.

I gave Chris a vintage tie – his favorite movie star is Fred Astaire, and a while ago a friend showed a picture of this tie to me because it’s just too perfect for him! I randomly searched on Ebay last month and the same tie popped up! It was a promotional tie for Philco Radios, probably given out to top sellers as an incentive gift, so there are probably a few more floating around out there.
Chris gave me a wonderful little piece of sweetheart jewelry, my favorite! This one is two gold hearts, attached to an expandable gold band. The best part is that the center of the hearts are still blank, so I can have our names engraved on it. I think I’ll wear it to the Air Raid this Saturday!
And I love that Chris has his own Etsy account so that he can surprise me with the cute things I want! 🙂