Wool hat and fuzzy boots

I got to wear a new (to me) hat with my most favorite circle skirt!

A pretty pearl collar and cardigan finished up the look.

I also wore these boots with faux fur. My church is in a riding arena and there is no central heating so I never really know what temperature it's going to be in there. It was supposed to be warm-ish so I wore these boots to help keep my legs warm.

Oh, I love my circle skirt!

The hat was a gift from my mother-in-law (who is awesome!). It had a green feather at one point in time but it was broken off near the base so I removed it. I haven't found a suitable replacement that I like the look of. I think I may just not have the eye for feathers. : /

Going Local

I love supporting small businesses! I know the owners really appreciate my business and the quality and customer service are usually miles ahead of what you find in chain stores. So Saturday, I took a break from dreaded final exam studying and the hubby and I went to the 2nd Street Market for lunch and some grocery shopping.

Since I was just going to be lounging around the house studying all day, I didn't bother putting on any makeup so please forgive me!

I wore a cute vintage 50s dress with a modern white cardigan over it since it was a bit chilly. I'm on the look out for cropped cardigans because they are so much more flattering with vintage dresses than modern length cardigans.

We both gobbled up meat pies from a New Zealand shop called Cheeky Meats. They were delicious!

We also picked up some locally made cheese-goat, feta and pumpkin quark- and a few other goodies. Nom, nom, nom!

Do you frequent a local market? I love it and wish we could go more often!

Christmas Dress Conundrum

I made a Christmas dress way back in 2010 from Colette Pattern's Crepe dress but I'm dying to make something new to wear for this holiday season.

It's cute and still fits but I'd like to have more than one dress for all of my holiday events.

I snagged this red fabric with black velvet polka dots for 50% off clearance price at JoAnn's and it'd be great for the holidays with some green accessories.

My initial thought was for a circle skirt. It's not super fancy but I know it'd get loads of wear in my wardrobe.

But then I remembered that I had this great pattern from 1951 that I almost made for Promaballoona/Costume College 2012. It's not exactly the most practical for winter but here in Ohio it doesn't get that cold in December (plus that's what coats are for.

So I need your help deciding. Circle skirt? Or dress?

1950s pixie and pompadour

I know many of you have been looking forward to some cute short 50s hair tutorials since I got the pixie cut and here's the first one!

Pixie does 40s

The decade I've been most nervous about pulling off with my pixie is the 40s but I finally decided to take the plunge and see if I could rock it!

It was unseasonably warm so I pulled out this vintage 40s dress for one last hurrah before the cold set in.

While this sort of pixie definitely isn't period, I think it looks super cute!

My husband was taking Christmas photos for clients but I made him take some shots playing around on the set!

The good news is that this set up is at my church so I'll have a good backdrop for photos for the whole Christmas season!

I really love the cut of 40s dresses. The skirts are so swooshy without being bulky like 50s skirts can be.

I just love the darling print on this dress! It's almost as cute as my hair!

Is there a decade that you are afraid of wearing? Be bold and believe in yourself and you can do it!

In which I knit

I've been in quite a knitting mood over the last few months so it's about time I shared some of my projects with you!

My husband won me some gorgeous red wool yarn and I decided to knit up this cute cropped sweater with it.

It knit up pretty quickly. The longest part was actually picking out the buttons! lol

It's not from a vintage knitting pattern but the crop style works great with high waisted skrits.

My ravelry page for this project is here.

One of my friends and her husband just started fostering a little boy and I couldn't resist knitting up this little monster hat! Ravelry page here.

I also whipped myself up this cute lace hat. I definitely need more hats for this winter! I don't have a lot of stash yarn but I do need some more stash busting projects like this. Ravelry page here.

I've also been knitting up some Christmas presents but I can't exactly share them here incase people peak! My current work in progress is a great shawl from the above pattern. Maybe after it's done, I'll be brave enough to try out one of my A Stitch In Time sweaters again!

Cocktail Party Month: Dressing for Hosting

There's one last bit of 1950s cocktail party wear that I couldn't resist! The hostess apron! There are gobs of cute vintage aprons that are obviously not ment to actually protect clothes from cooking messes. But they are super cute over a vintage dress and instantly say "yes, I am the fabulous party hostess!".

A cute shear apron in a bright color will see you through parties all year round. Available here.

Or go with a holiday one to compliment your party or to make a plain dress more festive. Available here.

Fun details such as ribbon trim make an apron special. Available here.

Aprons patterns also abound and are a great beginner sewing project. Available here.

Novelty patterns were super popular. Available here.

Add an applique to any apron pattern to make it more festive. Available here.