Spring Break Giveaway Winner!

We have a winner!  Without further ado...

The lucky winner of two fine vintage 80s sewing patterns plus one vintage "ugly duckling"(depending on your perspective!) is commenter number five:

Melissa of Melissus's Journey!

Congratulations Melissa! I'll be contacting you via email.   Everyone else, as always, there will be another giveaway soon. 

Next up: a Tomorrow's Vintage Collectibles post! 

Little News Bits and Places to Find Me

First, if you receive several emails or updates to your reader dated today, my apologies!  I  was testing out a new gadget in Blogger and made a couple of little mistakes that probably got posted to my blog's publishing stream. Oops!
 
Secondly, I wrote a short Disclosure Policy for this blog because I blog with integrity and I've made a few changes to the blog recently.  You may receive an email about it or see the post in your reader.  If not, you can read it by clicking on the link to it in the box beneath the "Blog with Integrity" button.

I've been meaning to post about places where you can connect with me apart from this blog.  It's been fun getting to know some of you better through email or social networks, and I would love to meet more of my readers, especially you lurkers and newbies.  So, here's the rundown of places where we can rub elbows online:

• FaceBook Fan Page 
• On my FaceBook fan page I post updates about the blog and shops, but I also post fun links about fashion, blog tutorials, and other interesting things that I find on the Web that I don't post on the blog.  I also run occasional secret sales, and of course, talk with fans!
  
• Twitter
• I have to admit, I'm spending WAY too much time here lately chatting with other tweeters, but it is so much fun!  This is the best place to receive shop listings as they happen. I also sometimes tweet and retweet giveaways and product listings that I think you'll like from other Etsy shops.
• My Craft Corner 
• This is by far my favorite social network for crafters of all types.  There are so many nice and helpful people at My Craft Corner!  There are contests, giveaway updates from other blogs, and a new featured crafter every week.  I am on the Crafter's Crew, so if you have questions, or just need help figuring the place out you can always drop me a line.
  
• Ravelry
• I love Ravelry.  If you knit, crochet, or spin then this is the place to be. There is so much to do there and so many people to meet. I plan to spend more time here in the future, if only I can make more time.

I also visit these social networks:

• Vintage Life Network
• We Love Etsy
• Vintage Pulse
• Do You Etsy?
• IndiePublic

If you are a member in any of these places I would love to connect with you!  And of course I love it when you comment here too.

Madison Avenue Monday : Hey Sailor Edition

From McCall's Needlework, Fall-Winter 1953-54

Vintage Thingies Thursday: Souvenir Postcard Booklet of Salem, Massachusetts

For today's Vintage Thingies Thursday I'd like to share a vintage souvenir postcard booklet of Salem Massachusetts produced by Curt Teich & Company in the early 20th century:

The House of Seven Gables

Ropes Memorial and Botanical Garden

Scary Salem witch and her house

Inside, there are eighteen total pictures like those of the "Salem witch" above of major historical landmarks and architecture in Salem. The booklet folds into a postcard-sized decorated envelope made of heavy paper that can be sent through the mail. Curt Teich & Co. perfected the "photochrome" or "chrome" technique using images that were based on colored photographs and then printed on coated paper. This booklet definitely dates after 1929 and more than likely before the mid-1940s, but my research on the series number in the lower right hand corner of the outer paper folder, D-626, indicates that it was probably printed in 1930.  If I'm right, that would make this booklet exactly 80 years old! 

Curt Teich & Co. became the undisputed master of the "large letter postcard" that was so popular in the 1930s and throughout the 1950s:

These are highly collectible, by the way, and I really wish this one were mine. There is a definitive book on the subject that was just published last year, Large Letter Postcards: The Definitive Guide, 1930s-1950s, if you'd like to read more about them.

This is my only postcard booklet, and as part of my collections "purge" I've decided to give this one up. If you'd like to have the Salem booklet for your personal collection, altered art, scrapbooking, or other purpose it's in the Etsy shop.

Don't forget to visit Coloradolady's blog for more vintage things today!

Madison Avenue Monday

A new feature for this blog:  a vintage ad or two every week on Mondays.  Enjoy!

From the Butterick Home Catalog, 1970.

Welcome Spring!

 
I think of this poem by e.e. cummings every year when winter turns into spring and I thought I'd share, because it makes me smile.  Happy first day of Spring to you!

 

in Just-

spring       when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles       far       and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far       and       wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

 from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

     the

             goat-footed

balloonMan       whistles

far

and

wee

e.e. cummings

Photo used under a Creative Commons license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofsims/ / CC BY 2.0

Really? Is it THAT ugly?

I just noticed that there are no comments on the Spring Break Giveaway for Simplicity 9575.

I had tried to find a sewing pattern in multiple sizes so that sewists of many shapes and sizes would be able to fit into the finished garment. Also, the Northern Hemisphere is going into the Spring season, but the Southern Hemisphere is going into Fall. So I thought this one would work for both types of weather. I've sold and given away patterns that weren't to my taste before, but I didn't realize that this one was THAT bad. I wonder how well it sold back in 1980!

I'm in an 80s mood right now so I'll include BOTH of these uncut and factory folded patterns in the giveaway as well:

Just leave a comment on the giveaway post.

But you'll have to take the "ugly duckling" too! (*wink*)

Spring Break Giveaway!

I'm going on Spring Break!

Ok, I'm actually not going to Miami Beach.  I'm not even going to have a staycation. Actually, I'll be working! I'm going to take a short break from blogging so I can spend more time putting items (especially vintage sewing patterns) in the shops for you. I'll be back in a week or so.

In the meantime, you can enter my Spring Break giveaway for the following vintage sewing pattern:

This simple Jiffy pattern from 1980 makes a cute dress, or top and skirt separates, with a bateau neckline and a loop and button front closure.  As it advertises on the envelope:  no facings!  no zippers!  The waistline is elasticized for a comfortable fit, and you can make this in a knit or a woven fabric.

The pattern is "one size fits most,"  meaning that it will fit bust sizes 32 1/2" (83 cm) - 42" (107 cm), waists 25" (64 cm) - 34" (87 cm), and hips 34 1/2" (88 cm) - 44" (112 cm).  The tissue has been cut to a size large, so all three sizes of small, medium, and large are available.  It has only five pieces, so if you are a beginning sewist construction shouldn't be too tough.  So enter the giveaway!


UPDATE:  The giveaway now includes the following uncut and factory folded 1980s patterns in contemporary sizes 12-16 and 14-18 as well:

To enter, leave a comment on this post.  If you wish, tell me what you would do if you had an official Spring Break, or what you plan to do if you are actually going to have Spring Break!  One entry per person, everyone.  (If you are not entering the contest please do not leave a comment; email me instead).  International entries are welcome!  Be certain to leave me some method of contacting you online; preferably by entering your email contact information when you leave the comment.

This giveaway ends on March 30th at 12 p.m. PST and the winner will be announced on March 31st.  As usual, the winner will be drawn by random number generator.  Good luck everyone, and see you again soon!


Postcard image used under a Creative Commons license from a Flickr user with great vintage postcards and a creepy user name:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Etsy and Web Shop Update - New Items and the Difference Between the Shops

Hello all, this just a quick shop update to let you know that I have added the following fun items to the Etsy shop in the "Costume Jewelry" and "Fabric, Linens, Trims" sections:

I will add a few more housewares, costume jewelry, and linen items this week.  Almost all of the linens are from that cool estate sale that I told you about a few weeks ago.  My Etsy shop will now have a mix of my vintage finds and vintage sewing patterns.

However, you may have noticed that I am posting more patterns in the Web shop at www.serendipityvintage.com than in the Etsy shop.  There is a really good reason for this change.   

In the Web shop I think that you'll have a much better experience when looking for vintage sewing patterns than you do in the Etsy shop, as Etsy limits shopkeepers to only ten sections.  I can list a pattern in unlimited sections in my Web shop!

In the Web shop you can view patterns by:

• Bust size (e.g., 34, 36, 38)
• Era (e.g., 1950s, 1960s, 1980s)
• Type of fashion (e.g., plus sizes, swimwear, menswear, children and teens)
• Manufacturer (e.g., Vogue)

All patterns are now cross-linked into multiple sections.  For example, the pattern above is a 1950s McCall's day dress in a bust size 34 is in "1950s Women's Patterns", "Bust size 34", and can also be found by selecting the manufacturer, "McCall's." 

You can also click on the blue "New Products" link at the bottom of the left hand navigation bar to see new patterns as I add them. If you wish, click on this link now to see this week's new items:  http://bit.ly/bkY0CZ .

Your comments and feedback are always welcome so I can continue to make improvements!

Vintage Thingies Thursday: The Spirit of '70 Manitoba Centennial Plate

With all of the attention that has been focused upon Canada for these past Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, I thought I'd feature a 1970 Canadian collector plate for this week's Vintage Thingies Thursday:

I found this in a thrift store just a few years ago.  Though I have been to Vancouver, Canada, I've never been to Manitoba.  About the only connection I have to Manitoba is liking one of the songs the 60s band The Guess Who sang.  So I really had no reason to pick it up, but as happens so often when I'm thrifting I found it so darned unusual to find this in Southern California that I couldn't put it back down!

The porcelain plate celebrates Manitoba's centennial in 1970, having been formed on July 15, 1870.   The buffalo is Manitoba's symbol.  The plate is edged and decorated with 22K gold, and is proudly marked "100% Canadian" in gold upon the back:

It's rather fun to have this unique plate, but I think that if I ever meet a Manitoban for whom this would have sentimental value I'd be persuaded to part with it!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Vintage Thingies Thursday posts!