Thompson Family-Life

Lenore: Vintage Style

These were taken the day I took these photos. I found this little vintage dress at a thrift store many, many months ago. This is my most favorite item of clothing that I've found for her. So cute! Love the sixties styling... those buttons! I was so happy to see her dressed in this when her Mom brought her over. I'm so glad Ellyn enjoys these little vintage numbers I find for Lenore. She even wore it to a Kentucky Derby party they went to! I die from the cute. Even though I know I'm helping them out when I keep her, I have to say that I'm coming out even better in this deal. Toddler snuggles? Playing dress up in girly outfits? Hello, baby fix? Check, check, check. I feel pretty darn lucky. What a sweetheart.

my first dress

One of the girls I follow on Instagram (Debsasassykins if you'd like to follow, she has fantastic taste!) posted some photos of an amazing clothing line for kids based out of Denmark (of course!) called Albababy many months ago and that was really the inspiration for making this dress. My first dress! Big moment for me. The girl that has always been skeered of her sewing machine. And you know what I realized? It was the pattern part that scared me the most, not the sewing (although finicky sewing machines make me insane and edgy, but I'm getting more comfortable with using my machine). 

Here's the Albababy line...

OHMAHGAH amazing, right?! What really knocked me over was the bias tape trim on the overalls and jumpers. A perfect blend of nostalgia with modern Scandinavian color - with that perfect contrasty white trim. LOVE.

But yikes, the price tag! I just couldn't justify getting something for Campbell (the overalls!), much less anything girly for my little pal Lenore. So I decided I would (attempt) to make something inspired by the designs. I wanted the basic shape to be vintage-inspired, a classic pinafore shape, and I wanted to add bias tape trimming. I found a modern pattern online, but I ended going with a vintage pattern.

I asked my wonderful Mother-in-Law (who's been sewing most of her life) if she could help me out with it one weekend and once she explained how to read the pattern and how to cut out the pieces, I felt so much more at ease. This is a pattern that she actually used for her own daughter in the seventies! (see photo of pattern at bottom of post) It's only one piece, so it was a good beginner project. Of course, I had to go and make it more complicated by adding bias tape around the entire piece, but it was worth it! Now, this dress is not perfect by any means, being the newb that I am, but I'll take it.

I used a vintage sheet remnant I've had for years for the body of the dress and picked a solid purple fabric for the front double pocket (such a cute element of this pattern!) and the lining. I then picked out a bias tape color. I wanted something bold and contrasty. I ended up using two colors of bias tape by accident. I ran out of the orange, and went to pick up more, and picked up the wrong color. So there's pink and orange together.. which I actually ended up loving more! The buttons are vintage and the little daisy patch is from Joann's.

Isn't Lenore a doll? Oh man, do I ever love hanging out with her. She is a joy!

The ends of the shoulder straps can really go either way, under the "bib" area or over, where they button. I really wanted them to go on top to mimic the Albababy designs more, but the width of the straps towards the ends were very different and it looked very obvious (newbie mistake), so we had them go underneath which looked much better.

I have to say, I'm so in love with how this came out, and it was really relatively easy (attaching the binding was the only tricky part, but once I got the hang of it, it's actually very fun to sew on. I used a tutorial I found online.) I can't wait to make more of these for Lenore. The vintage bloomers were a lucky find at a thrift store a few weeks ago and I immediately thought they'd go perfectly with the dress. You can never have too much pattern, right? The design on these bloomers is a m a z i n g. They are a little big, and on one side the elastic has come out I think, so they're droopy drawers for now. haha.

Now that I've gotten my feet wet with this simple dress, I'd like to try and make some shirts for the boys. Something simple, like this. I love a lot of the Lillestoff knit fabrics, but yikes they're expensive! 25 bucks for a meter? Sigh. Although sewing with knits can be a bit tricky from what I hear? Do you have any experience sewing with knits? I would love to hear any tips. Also, if you can share any good, simple sewing patterns that you like for kids, I'd love to hear! 

I feel like I have this new love affair with bias tape. I kind of want to add it to everything. Something about it feels so retro. And you can't beat the store bought stuff, already folded for you, in so many pretty colors. I go to the fabric store and it's like looking at candy when I hit the bias tape aisle (ha). I know you seasoned sewers out there are shaking your heads.

Here are some phone pics I took of the sewing pattern, etc.

More posts coming this week! It feels good to be blogging more.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

somebody turned *one*

You guuuuuys, look at this sweetie! Miss Lenore turned the big *ONE* in December and she's walking like a pro. I got to hang out with her today. I feel pretty lucky to get to spend time with this precious little one. I don't know if I've just been lucky the past few times I've kept her, but she has been absolutey FULL of happiness. I'm sure I miss out on the crankyness that Mommy and Daddy see. I always remember those times when my mine were little. All I'd ever hear is "but they're so GOOD! They're ALWAYS good with ME!" haha. I would bite my lip and smile. Spending a few hours with a little one is very different than spending 24/7! But gosh I love it. And I feel very thankful that they give me the opportunity to spend time with little Lenore. Very lucky indeed.

Her lovely mom, Ellyn, always spoils me by dressing her in the vintage outfits I've found at thrift stores and even brings extras just in case. She has one other dress I think, and after that one, I'll have to start combing the thrifts for more cute outfits! We usually take pictures for around 20 minutes right when she gets here and then we play for the rest of the time. I'm really thrilled with how many of these came out, and I can thank my new lens mostly for that. Most of these pics were taken with my new 30mm Sigma lens that I got for Christmas. It's been a great wide angle lens, but not too wide angle, know what I mean? Perfect for indoors and I love how sharp the photos are coming out. It does really well in low-light situations and the background bokeh is really pretty. So I definitely recommend this lens as a budget-friendly option. 

The photos in our living room (with the yellow and orange couches) were in very low light, with just a little light coming in through the windows. It rained all day and was cloudy, so you can see that the photos came out quite nice with such low light (which can be such a pain to work with!)

The photos taken in mine and Ethan's bedroom (with peach walls and sunburst mirror) were taken with mostly artificial light. Most of the bulbs in our house are "daylight" bulbs which mimic daylight (a photographer's dream), so I used the overhead light and an extra clamp light from Home Depot (also using a daylight bulb). Sometimes you just gotta use artificial light and sometimes the results are surprisingly good!

The photos in the living room, with the white fireplace and turquoise walls in the background, had this natural vignette, or glow, around her that was totally naturally created from light coming from the window to her right (our left). I thought it was so pretty! I love happy accidents like that.

I found this gorgeous harlequin patterned blanket at a thrift store a while back. It was handmade with polyester fabric and the prettiest pink crochet trim. It wasn't backed by anything, so it's scratchy, as polyester can be, but it sure is pretty. We put other softer blankets underneath. And it was King sized so it fit our bed perfectly. I love the colors.

Until next time, Lenore!

Lady Lenore

I am no pro at identifying clothing worn in past eras, but I must be watching too many period dramas lately (The Forsyte Saga anyone? Thanks to my Mother-in-law for recommending this! If you're a fan of Downton Abbey, you will love this show) because the style of this vintage dress I found feels very old-timey! It must be the poet style sleeves, not sure, but she looks like a little Lady. This was made in the 70s I'm assuming (?) found in this Etsy shop. 

We got to babysit this little gal for three hours today and it was bliss! Not one tear like last time - she was so happy! All four of us were home this time, so I had help to keep her entertained, but honestly, she was just happy as a lark, exploring and even doing some walking! She was quite infatuated with the boys and kept touching their faces. So sweet. We were happy to help out Mom who I know enjoyed some time to herself (I remember those days!! Bribing anyone I could find to TAKE MY CHILD. haha)

I think she must be getting used to us. We spent New Years Eve with her family, and have seen a lot of them lately, so she must be getting used to our faces. I stuffed some vintage outfits into her bag that I've found over the past couple months at thrift shops. I'm looking forward to hanging out with this little gal more in the future. And thankfully her Mom loves the vintage clothing! ; )

*And yes, we desperately need to take down our holiday decorations!! Have you?

her new ride

I got to hang out with this little lady again today because Mama had to go check out a new school for her. I'm lucky because her Mom is still in the process of interviewing for jobs & finding a place to keep her, so she's needed someone to babysit.

And I can't complain one bit!

I love it. I truly enjoy spending time with her and it scratches that girl-itch since I'm surrounded by boys. Heck, it scratches that BABY itch! Now don't get me wrong, we're done with babies. But I still have those motherly cravings when I see a baby. I have to fight that urge to grab any cute-non-crying-baby I see in public, and just RUN. (Don't tell me you don't feel it, too.) 

There's really a lot of truth in those "motherly instincts" people talk about. It's just something you feel in your bones! In your very being.

I'm just glad I can help out, and I made it (hopefully) clear how much I love keeping her. Maybe I can keep up my babysitting duties even when Mom goes back to work.

She's definitely still very attached to her Mama, so there were some tears. But I can tell she's getting more used to me and the tears didn't last long. (See that single tear? So pitiful.)

But no worries, after about ten minutes she looked like this:

And then she got really excited when we saw these ghosts hanging in a neighbor's yard...

I kept saying "say boo!" to the ghosts and I think she did!

And then she started growling really loud at them. It was hilarious.

Oh, that amazing stroller? Well, Miss Lenore really loves going for walks. She prefers to be on the move or otherwise she starts thinking about Mama too much. ; ) So, when I saw this incredible vintage stroller (60s? 70s?) on Etsy at such a great price (even with shipping!), I had to pounce on it. I never see these in thrift stores, and this one was in mint-never-been-used condition. It was such a find, I had to have it. 

Was it a silly purchase? Absolutely. Did I have buyer's remorse afterwards? Probably. But I justify it by saying I'll have it for my granddaughters (you know I'll end up with 8 grandsons). I'm going to try and take care of it to keep it in the condition it's in so that I can use it many years down the road (or I'll sell it maybe.) She's the perfect size for it and it feels very safe for a short walk.

The first time I took her for a walk, she became attached to my Miffy key chain, so I let her hold it every time we go for a walk now. She loves it! She has good taste.

The smock top was a purchase from Etsy as well. Luckily you can find vintage baby clothes very affordably and they are very easy to find at thrift stores for a couple bucks a piece. I've already procured some pieces for her for future photos. ; ) And speaking of vintage kids clothes, have you checked out my friend Heather's shop lately? She has lots of cute pieces! When Lenore is done with her vintage wardrobe, I'll be selling them in my Online Yard Sale, so be looking out for those.

The leaves are SLOWLY starting to change colors around here in Atlanta. It's still very green. But at least we have these orange friends to make it feel festive. Luckily the trees have completely changed right around Halloween. It's always perfect timing.

And speaking of pumpkins, we went pumpkin picking this past weekend with Lenore and her adorable brother Martin (who's exactly Campbell's age). 

They recently moved here from Baltimore and I don't think they'd seen pumpkins quite this... LARGE. : )