I have always love vintage clothing, especially the WWII era. If you have seen any of my pictures from recent Readers’ Luncheons, which I post on Facebook, you know that I’m all about the clothes.

Well, a while back I bought a pattern for a 40s era Swing Dress from Sense & Sensibility patterns. I’m not sure how long ago I got it or, honestly, why.

Recently, I’ve been bitten by the sewing bug again, thanks in part to my friend Katja. She was in China with us and if you check out her blog, you will see pictures of her darling daughter and at least one of my kids, too. Anyway, Katja invited me to join her sewing group, and I’m helping her make a quilt for her daughter. (Do you know how interesting it is to teach someone to quilt via Facebook and email?

Anyway, she and her family came over to our place for dinner one night, and she’d brought me some fabric and took a big pile of mine that I bought years ago when I thought I’d be making lots of pajamas.

So, I’ve been wanting to sew again. I’ve been making messenger bags which you can see on my Instagram, but I wanted to sew clothes.

At the same time, I started looking at vintage sewing blogs and I ran across “Fall For Cotton,” a sew-along for vintage lovers on Lucky Lucille’s blog.

I had this cute apple print that I wanted to make a blouse out of maybe a year ago.

IMG_20130922_092623

Turns out there wasn’t enough to make the whole dress, so I just made the skirt and the bodice and band I made out of a dark red cotton I had in my stash.

There is me in the finished dress.

Someone told me this could be a book cover. I was thinking a woman waiting for her husband or sweetheart to come home from war. My daughter said a woman who had just been diagnosed with a fatal illness!

Someone told me this could be a book cover. I was thinking a woman waiting for her husband or sweetheart to come home from war. My daughter said a woman who had just been diagnosed with a fatal illness!

Trying to look like I'm not posing. Like I would actually try to climb into my son's tree house!

Trying to look like I’m not posing. Like I would actually try to climb into my son’s tree house!

"Why hello! Yes, please come in. I probably have some vegetable in Jell-o or something in the ice box."

“Why hello! Yes, please come in. I probably have some vegetable in Jell-o or something in the ice box.”

Just another strong woman dealing with the boys being off overseas. Yeah, the hair's wrong, but I'm new to this whole actually trying to be vintage thing.

Just another strong woman dealing with the boys being off overseas. Yeah, the hair’s wrong, but I’m new to this whole actually trying to be vintage thing.

I'm trying to pose so you can't see the side zipper. I'm not happy with the way it turned out.

I’m trying to pose so you can’t see the side zipper. I’m not happy with the way it turned out.