Equipment Love: Matilda the Dress Form

Original ad for my Acme Dress Form, circa 1959 - 1961

I admit it, I'm a vintage sewing equipment geek. Three of my four sewing machines were manufactured prior to 1965, and I just recently replaced my very warped 1930's all-wood ironing board. By now it's a choice and a habit, but in the beginning the vintage equipment was simply what I had on hand. I inherited my grandmother's 1949 Singer sewing machine, got the old family ironing board for free from my parents' garage, and from then on I was hooked: Old was affordable, old was awesome, old ran better and was easy to fix. 

In a similar vein, my late 50's / early 60's Acme Adjustable Dress Form came to me free or cheap, and she's still a sewing superstar in my studio to this day.  Originally the "plus size" dress form in a friend's alteration shop, she was sold or given to my mom when that friend moved.  From there, she was shipped to me in a large coffin-sized box and now presides over my work area like the Grand Dame that she is.  

A few years ago, I was gifted an entire stack of vintage craft magazines and this original ad for my very dress form was inside one of the issues.  I'm not sure how much truth there is in this advertisement, though.  I'm sure when this dress form was new, the adjustable sliders inside moved a bit easier.  You can still adjust her, but she's pretty squeaky and a little rusty inside.  It's not a problem; she's just about my size, and for further accuracy I've applied a duct tape duplicate of my torso over her.  She's helped me re-draft many a pattern and pin many a dress, and at this point I don't know how I would sew clothes for myself without her.  So yes, there is truth to the "see in advance how finished dress will look"claim. I only wish that the "make beautiful clothes easily in half the usual time!" were really true.  Well, you can't have everything, especially vintage and for free!

Flea Market Finds: 1950s Bar Ware and Lots of Hens

Once a month I take a break from the routine here at the studio and I venture out to the old Naval Air Station Alameda, now home of the Alameda Point Antiques Fair.  We locals call it the "Alameda Flea Market."  The whole thing is held out on the airstrip of the old base, where you can find hundreds of vendors comprising one of the biggest antique shows in the US.

I usually go with a few things in mind that I'm hunting for, but I always come away with a surprise item that found me.  This month, my husband alerted me to this bold hosting set of vintage 1950s beer pilsners, which feature my favorite mid-century diamond motif silk screened in gold and turquoise -- perfect for serving up ice cold oat soda or a bubbly French lemonade!

Each month I always seem to notice one item or category of items that are literally everywhere throughout the market... something always seems to be trending... do all the vendors get the memo or what?  July's item of the month were glass hen-on-nest covered dishes - in every color and type of glass imaginable.  They're a common item to see at the market, but this month they were at EVERY booth, it seemed.  Carnival glass, milk glass, jadeite, bright orange, painted ceramic... we saw them all.  As hen lovers ourselves, we couldn't resist this petite duo:  A clear hen with red comb and her milky white sister, who will undoubtedly be serving our after-dinner butter mints from now on.