Oh life.

Well, I finally found my camera charger!  Unfortunately now my memory card isn't working.  AH!

So in lui of the post I was going to do about my fab re-covered thrifted rocker, I will share this cute and wonderful McCall's sewing pattern with you.  Is this not gorgeous???

McCalls 4039, 1957

I love love love the lapped pleat at the front of the dress, especially in the pencil skirt version.  

Well, hopefully things will be up and running again soon!  

Have a lovely day!

Bessie

Fun New Sales--By The Decade!

Exciting News! 

Starting in September, we will be implementing a monthly pattern sale program at Bessie Miller Vintage--by decade! We will start with a bang in September with 20% off all patterns from the 1950's. Whoop! Perfect opportunity to stock up on some cute swing coat patterns for the fall/winter...:D

Stay tuned for more over the next few days!

~Bessie

p.s. as soon as I find my dang camera charger, I have some really fun projects to post about!  I am almost finished re-covering the cushions on a cute thrifted glider with this fabric, for one. :D  

Auction this weekend!

If you live in North Georgia and love auctions, this is going to be a good one!  

A friend of ours is holding this at his antique/thrift shop, and has loads of great old junk to sell!

~Bessie

Yum. Had to share!

Tonight I improvised a tasty batch of chili.  It was so yummy, in fact, that I want to share the recipe with you!  I made this in my pressure cooker, so I am not sure about the cooking time in a regular pot.  I would guesstimate about 30 minutes or so.

We shall call it the Yummy Bean Chili. :)

Ingredients:

-1 onion, chopped

-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

-2 carrots, chopped

-2 stalks of celery, chopped

-3 tomatoes, chopped (or diced, however you like them!)

-3 cans of beans, rinsed (I used one can of navy, one pinto and one dark red kidney)

-1 can tomato sauce

-3 T chili powder

-1 T cumin

-1/2 t cayenne pepper

-1/2 t salt

-dash of nutmeg

-1 C water

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add carrots and celery; sauté for a few more minutes.  Add chopped tomato.  Add beans and remaining ingredients.  Cover, bring to pressure and cook 10 minutes. 

We had this chili tonight with this delicious cornbread recipe.  It was delish. :D

~Bessie

Loads of New Patterns!

Just listed 65 new patterns in the shop!  Lots of additions to the "Discounted Patterns" section (some of those lovely Vogues that I spoke about the other day...) that are just perfect for the more experienced seamstress. :)  Here is a sampling!

You can check them out here! 

It's A...

GIRL!

We did a bit of a reveal party with our families last night--a very sweet ending to a really sad day yesterday. :)  Everyone was super excited, especially since the last three kids born to our family were boys.  Don't get me wrong, boys are awesome, but I think we were all ready for some sweet demure girly-ness in the family again!

RIP Dave

Dave took a turn for the worse and passed away this morning. 

I am sorely disappointed and sad.  Dave was a beautiful and good-natured goat, and I was looking forward to using him in my breeding program.  :(

RIP little buddy!

~Bessie

Dave is sick. :(

Please say a prayer for my little buddy Dave.  He is very sick.  We don't know what is wrong with him, but we are taking him to the vet tomorrow.  

Sadness!

~Bessie

Last Day!

Today is the last day of our big sale at Bessie Miller Vintage!  

All patterns buy 1 get 1 half-off, or buy 2 get 1 free!

All other items 15% off!

Perfect time to stock up on some fall sewing goodies...:D

~Bessie

Lesson Learned

I am learning from other people's mistakes.  Namely, whoever owned the amazing lot of 1950's Vogue sewing patterns I recently acquired.

(Please excuse the Photo Booth pictures.)

MISSING: Collar, Under collar, Facing

MISSING: Skirt back and front

MISSING: Upper sleeve

MISSING: Instructions

So I am going through these gorgeous Vogue patterns, counting pieces and preparing them for listing on Etsy, and becoming extremely frustrated with the previous owner of said patterns.  For someone who took the time to secure each and every pattern envelope closed with a pin, she certainly had a knack for losing pattern pieces!  I swear, out of the twenty patterns I have gone through so far, fifteen of them were missing at least one piece!  I found an extra "Skirt Front" piece in one pattern, which makes me think that perhaps this seamstress liked to mix and match her patterns from time to time.  I can understand that.  I do that too.  However, she should have been thinking ahead to the young girl in the future who would not be able to use her beautiful patterns because they were all missing very important pieces.  Arg.

(Ok, ok, I know I can draft the missing pieces fairly easily.  It's just annoying!)

Lesson learned?  I am going to be extra careful with my pieces and make absolute sure that they are all returned to the proper envelope once I am finished with them.  I don't want some poor girl in the future to have the same frustrations that I am having now. ;p

Sigh.

Anyway, I hope that you are all having a lovely weekend!  Don't forget to stop by Bessie Miller Vintage for our big sale--it ends on Monday!  Oh, and check by next week--you will probably see a whole lot of beautiful 50's Vogue in my Discounted Patterns section...

Bessie

SALE Starts Today! :D

Big Sale at Bessie Miller Vintage starts today!  

Starting FRIDAY, 8/10/12, all sewing patterns are buy one get one half off (or, of course, buy two get one free)! 

Sale ends Monday, 8/13/12.  Refunds will be given for pattern purchases through PayPal once order has been placed.  For items other than patterns, please use discount code HAPPY15.

Woo-Hoo!

Bessie Miller Vintage

Bessie

SALE on Etsy!

SALE SALE SALE!

Getting ready to add lots of new stock to the shop, soooo...

Starting Friday, 8/10/12, all sewing patterns are buy one get one half off (or, of course, buy two get one free)! 

All vintage kitchen and dining, clothing, and "this and that" items will be 15% off!

Sale ends Monday, 8/13/12.

So head on over to Bessie Miller Vintage and start making your wish list...:D

Today's Inspiration

Today's post will sadly be without pictures, as I have managed to misplace my camera charger and cannot take any photographs.  Alas!  However I am so excited with the project I began today, I felt I at least had to share my inspiration with you. :D

The next few months are going to be pretty tight for us.  Davy is starting back to school, and I am not teaching quite as much as I used to.  So we get to be extra-thrifty.  Woo-hoo!  I was thinking the other day that I really needed to get back into journaling.  It is something that I used to do religiously, but since I've been married journaling has really taken the back burner, which is sad, as I have experienced so many new and exciting things that I wish I had written down.  

One reason why I have not journaled much lately is because the journal that I have is bulky and uncomfortable to write in.  I usually pick my own journals out with much care, selecting only the ones that are easy to write in and aesthetically pleasing.  The one I own now was a gift from someone, and while it is pretty cute, it is simply too cumbersome.  That said, if I want to get back into journaling, I need a new journal...an extravagance I can't quite afford this month. ;)

This prompted me to look into making a journal myself.  I had seen some neat ones made from old books, and found some great tutorials online on how to do so.  I combined this Craftzine Blog tutorial...

With this YouTube tutorial:

And the result has been amazing!  I cannot wait to take a bunch of pictures and show you. :D  Until then, perhaps you will be inspired to make an awesome upcycled journal for yourself!

Have a lovely day,

Bessie

Jenny's Blouse--The ALMOST Finished Product

Yesterday Jenny and I began putting together her blouse!  

Here is the *almost* finished product.  I still need to put the cuff on the right sleeve, press the cuffs, and sew buttons onto the cuffs.  

I absolutely love the neckline with the button tab detail!  So pretty. 

This blouse has turned out so cute!  I need to make one for myself now.  I'm going to maternity-ize the pattern and little and see what happens.  :D

Have a lovely day!

~Bessie