A Giveaway Winner and some Vintage Eye Candy

Hello my lovely readers,
It's time to announce the winner of the November issue of Molly makes sitting here on my desk!
It was really great of you all to share your favorite sewing/ crafting magazines with me - I'll be checking out a few I've never heard about before so thanks for the recommendations. In case you didn't read the comments on our last post, here are a few that you all suggested:

My Image,
Knit Scene,
Vogue Knitting,
Cotton Friend (Japanese),
A Needle Pulling Thread,
Threads,
Interweave Knits,
and SewStylish.

Our giveaway winner is Angie of Bombshell Babe (I just had fun reading your blog, my dear). Angie, if you could email me your contact info at afewthreadsloose@gmail.com, I can send you your prize!

And in other news, the other day I was lamenting the fact that my favorite sewing/ crafting magazines were all published about 70 or 80 years ago and aren't so easy to find. I started looking through my collection (also known as the massive hoard in my spare bedroom) and fell in love all over again. Oh, how I wish that Nouveauté (novelty) was still published!

So, to honor my favorite, no longer with us sewing and crafting magazine, here are some really, really pretty excerpts from Nouveauté - June, 1935.

One of the most charming aspects of this magazine is that the inside cover was always illustrated to look like the back of the model on the cover.

I wish I could look that glamorous while fishing...

Just lovely, n'est pas? If you want to read more, you can find the entire digital copy of the magazine here.
Happy sewing, mes amis!

Mollie Makes - U.S. Magazine Edition finally arrives and a giveaway!

Hello my lovely readers. Yesterday I was so delighted to get my first U.S. edition of Molly Makes in the mail.
I first found Mollie Makes in Norway. It was a monthly tradition of mine to drive into town for an afternoon, pay too much for parking, treat myself to lunch, shopping, and my monthly editions of Burda Style and Mollie Makes.
There are no proper bookstores or newsstands in my area (something that hurts even more than the painful lack of nearby fabric shops) so when Mollie Makes announced a U.S. edition subscription, I had to pounce!

And, boy, is this sweet little monthly mag worth the $7.99. It's BEAUTIFUL!

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

Along with tutorials for the adorable felt pine cone ornaments pictured above, the issue features knitting patterns for socks and breakfast themed scarves, patterns for a laptop bag, pin cushions and an adorable stuffed mouse, craft book reviews, a feature on Crafty attractions and shops in Portland, a fascinating article on the art of making bobbin lace, and a bunch more!

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

If you would like to get your own subscription to this little gem, you can find it here.

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

And it just so happens that I have an extra copy!
To enter to win a copy of the November U.S. issue of Molly Makes, just leave a comment below with your favorite magazine - craft or otherwise, and why.
I'll choose one lucky winner next week on the 16th.

Happy sewing!

Burda Style Magazine, July 2013...

I have a complicated relationship with Burda Style Magazine. I first discovered it at the newsstand of the Border's Bookstore I worked at, consequently, within days of getting my first sewing machine. I was enamoured! In my honeymoon phase I purchased some expensive silk habotai and a length of rich wool (how this fit into my saving money by sewing plan, I'll never be able to explain.) and set out to make my first dress.

I chose a dress from the December, 2008 issue, the much-blogged about Schumacher Cocktail Dress- which turned out to be quite possibly the most flattering thing I have ever sewn for myself.

Pardon my photo quality, I had a horrible camera back then :)

And then I was hooked, just like that. Even though the patterns have gotten increasingly blasé (and dare I say, uglier?) as the years go by, there is always just one good pattern and I can't stop myself from buying with each new issue.

Naturally, I was excited about the hints I was hearing of a lingerie feature in the new July 2013 issue and I ran right out from my hotel to pick it up (yup living in a hotel until the 12th, what fun!).
I skipped right past the slightly tacky beach cover-ups (though in the right fabrics, I think they could be fun) and turned directly to the "Delicate Liaison" feature.
It starts with a bra and knickers (#114) that is really more of a sleep set.

The bra is wonderful! I'm sure that the bias cut contrast bands will be a nightmare to sew, but I also think it will be worth my time. The 'knickers' however, are another story. With a thick elastic casing at the top, these are more sleep shorts than actual underwear because they will be far too bulky to wear under anything other than a loose skirt. And, I hate to say it, but if you picture the nickers in brown, it suddenly looks a bit like something a roman centurion might wear... or, God forbid... maybe even Xena.

But maybe that's just me...?

Moving on, we have a nice, basic half slip that makes no waves.

And then a rather lovely camisole. Once again it's very basic, but cut in such a way that the under bust cup gathers make one's girls look so very nice.

The camisole can also be made with a lace overlay as in #115A.

Or cut longer as a slip like the "Mini Petticoat" #116.

And suddenly, the love affair has fizzled. There just isn't any more romance. These patterns are ok and might make decent basic patterns that could be embellished but we all know that Burda could do better, be less generic, and pay a bit more attention to what the lingerie industry is doing, and what the rest of us are buying.

Sadly, what could have been a lovely issue just turned out to be a boring 1990's Victoria's Secret catalog.

How about you? Do you buy Burda Style? Are you often disappointed or have you moved on completely to another sewing magazine? Have any good recommendations for my next love affair?

~P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway from Bruno and Betty, it ends tomorrow!~

Loot from Norway

So long, long ago I blogged about hunting down my first Norwegian antique show. And then I didn't say another thing about it. Frankly, I forgot. I'm funny that way. But I did take pictures, which I just stumbled upon. So I thought, better late than never, n'est pas?
The show was small. Really small. I grew up at antique shows, tucked under a display table for a whole weekend with an engrossing book, or playing dress up for my mother's customer's entertainment. This was in Denver and the shows were always on a massive scale. This show was advertised to be the largest gathering of antique dealers in all of Norway, Sweden and Denmark combined.
Sadly, that wasn't much. The building with about 25 booths was about the size of your local small bowling alley.
Regardless, I still found some cute things whilst my husband carefully examined old German pistols and training grenades. I was hunting for patterns.
I didn't find any.
But what I did find was pretty great.

I got some lovely cards of little rhinestone buttons. There are tons of them for those lovely dresses that call for 16 or more buttons.

I especially love the gold double rosebud buttons. Oh, the things I can do with these.

I also acquired a great "Parisian" hairstyles booklet for salons in Norway from June of 1949, with advertisements in Norwegian and French which I find an odd blend, sort of like my life.