Good hair day

I was rather pleased at the way my hair came out on Saturday. For once, I got the fringe to stand up a bit, just like in the pictures of old movie stars...

And then I went and covered it all up with a hat. I don't think I've showed this vintage hat before, even though I've had it for quite some time. It's made from a really warm and soft and wintry material, but only covers a small part of the head, so it's a bit tricky to know when to wear it. On Saturday I wore it tho the antiques and vintage fair/market held in Kokkola, and got a few nice comments about it...

The fair had very little vintage, only two sellers who sold vintage clothing and no retro furniture whatsoever (which is what I was looking for). But among all the antique porcelain, glassware, books etc I did find something with a fifties style to it. It is quite possibly the first piece of art I have ever bought, it's about 30 cm high and it looks like it could be made of teak...And I absolutely love it and pretty much go "Oh" every time I see it;

How was your weekend?

I've got my red jeans to keep me warm

I have done a few nice finds lately (see previous posts) and here's proof of another;

A pair of red jeans have been on my list of things to keep an eye out for when thrifting for a long time now. I found these (top also) in a flea-market in Vasa before x-mas, and they have been in use quite a few times already. Because no matter how many skirts/dresses I buy/make, when I get home from work I still end up wearing jeans or sweatpants in the winter. I am too cold in skirts and really cannot be bothered to add layer upon layer of tights to keep me warm, when all I do most days is sit by the computer/sewing machine/couch and only hang out with Mr Kitten. If I'm going out it's a different story, but still, it was -26 C on Wednesday which is not really my idea of skirt weather.

I haven't been very busy playing with hair styles lately either, because going outside means wearing a hat, as in something that will keep your head warm-but also ruins most hairstyles. Winter is tough. But tomorrow, when it's only going to be around -8 C, I am putting on a skirt and fixing a hairdo that can be worn with a warm-ish half hat, and I'm going to an antiques and vintage fair in the town of Kokkola. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I got some money for x-mas and I wouldn't mind some more vintage stuff, be it clothes or furniture, I can do both! Wish me luck!

P.s. I've only used baking soda once for washing my hair since the beginning of December, water only the rest of the time! Ina is doing something similar and wrote a really good post about it here. Check it out if you're interested in going shampoo-free!

Christmas and cardigans

Almost a year ago, I started knitting. I haven't knitted anything more complicated than leg warmers since we learned the basics in school, so it has taken me some time...But now it's finally finished, my first knitted cardigan!

I can't seem to stick to any patterns anymore, so this is made without, and therefore slightly too wide in front of the shoulders, the arms slightly too tight in the same area and so on. But maybe it's still wearable? We'll see...

Remember this?

I've taken it in and shortened it now, and I'm pretty pleased with the result! It wasn't all that difficult either, as I had read this tutorial by Casey. Very helpful.

Did you have nice holiday? Our Christmas and new years have been very low key, Mr Kitten has had the flu the whole time so we've pretty much stayed at home and watched movies.

Happy new year!

Seasons greetings

Dot dot dot

Mr Kitten and I went shopping to Kärkkäinen last weekend. What I came home with all seemed to have something in common, can you spot (pun intended) the similarities? The gift wrapping paper I plan to use for making some pretty storage boxes, I've been looking for dotted paper for ages! The blue package is our new shower curtain, in case you were wondering.

Earlier this fall I had plans for making a shirtwaist dress. Well, I made the shirt, but as this is the first shirt I've made since I was in school (aged 14) and I made up the pattern myself, it didn't come out exactly as planned. I also chose a fabric that turned out to bee pretty itchy...Oh, well. Can't win em all. But I now know what I need to do differently next time. To make myself feel better I made another circle skirt instead, this time with a hidden pocket! Turned out a lot better than the shirt...

As I mentioned in my last post, I took some old clothes to be sold off at a nearby flea-market. Of course this meant more room for new items in my closet! At said flea-market I found an item I could not walk away from, even though it had lost it's shape (bad washing?) and needs a bit of work to fit me. An embroided cardigan, 50's style, most likely vintage (it has beads as buttons!). I have been searching for something like this for a while and now I've got one! Hopefully it will come out wearable after I take it in a bit, shorten it etc.

Another lovely find was this vintage dress;

Great colour and style, matching belt (pretty much) and my size! Nothing to alter!? Definitely a style I will try and copy for other dresses. It is not as long as it looks btw, camera was a bit high...And note my matching nail polish!

Hope you are all doing well, I'm going to Vasa to get braces tomorrow...No sticky candy for me for the next few years.

Goodbye and hello

I finally got my act together and got myself a table at a flea market. Tomorrow I'm taking two large bags of clothes to be sold off. I also thought I'd try and get rid of my grandmother's old coat;

Sadly, this mint condition 60's coat is huge on me. I think it's about a european size 40 (I'm 34). It has a beautiful pattern and some very decorative seams, so I thought about keeping it in case I get bigger in the future but...It just takes up too much space, so I'm letting go. However, if any of you readers are interested in it, let me know! I'm not so sure the folks in this town would appreciate a coat like this, and I won't be surprised if nobody here wants it. It that happens, I will give it to charity.

Pretty much the same goes for the coat below too. It was brought over from America in the 40's or 50's by my mother's aunt, and it is also about a size 40. Not mint condition though, the fur is a bit torn under the arms and around the hooks in the front, but I believe this can be fixed. There's a matching hat too...

Check out the tag!

Of the very few vintage pieces of clothing (hopefully) getting sold, along with the modern stuff, is another piece from my grandmothers closet. Marked a size 42, this set is also much to big for me.

Bye, bye, clothes I don't use...and while I was sorting through the stuff I'm selling, there on the floor, between the shoes that don't fit, I found my engagement ring! The ring has been missing for a while, and after a couple of weeks of searching I gave up hope and got a new one...so now I have two! Mad. Which one do I wear? Perhaps I should keep using the new one, it seems to be half a size smaller, so maybe it'll stay on better...

Dear Santa,

Christmas is coming...But I don't want any presents. I have everything I need (and lot's and lot's of stuff I don't really need as well). So please Santa, give my presents to someone who really need them. Thanks!

I personally am going to buy my family presents that get given to people in poor countries, a couple of goats perhaps, because this is what Christmas is really about, isn't it? Giving to those who need it. There are loads of other things in different price ranges that you can buy too, blankets, id-cards, education, plants etc. Even a 5 euro school uniform can change someone's life. You can make a difference.

I will be buying the presents from lahjaksilehmä and toisenlainenlahja (Finnish sites) and I'm sure you have this kind of sites in your countries as well, in case you get inspired. My family will most likely get some small gifts too, maybe something hand made, but the majority of my Christmas money will go to the charity organizations I've linked to above. Will you do the same? Come on, let's give to those who need it!