Thursday, March 20, 2014

Do You Love Vinyl?

When I was very little one of my favorite things to do was listen to my Grandmother's record collection. We didn't have a cassette player yet then and the local AM  radio was on a lot during the day playing oldies.
In the evenings after dinner my Gran would set aside some time to play with me. I loved to play dress up with old vintage dresses that had been hers, or her sisters, play records and dance around the living room. One of my very favorite albums was  "Arthur Murray's Music For Dancing" I loved the photo on the jacket of Arthur Murray dancing with his wife. I loved her champagne colored dress. I loved that the back showed you the dance steps. And I loved the music!


Other favorite albums of mine were, "The King And I"  and  "The Sound of Music" soundtracks. I remember dancing around to the later when I was only three and we still lived in Brooklyn. From Liberace to Nat King Cole, there wasn't much I didn't like. I think because I have these great memories associated with vinyl, that it is still something I love to this day. I am the proud owner of all my Gran's records now along with some that had been my Aunt's and numerous albums that I have purchased myself.



Occasionally I will find a record or two at local antique malls or flea markets. My very favorite place to find records is from our yearly local library sale! They always have a lot of records that people have donated or that have come from other area libraries and are priced around fifty cents. Then a week or so after the sale you can buy what's left by the bag! The first year I found them there, I came home with several original Frank Sinatra Capitol records. They are some of my favorites. The next sale is coming up in May and I can't wait!

Another aspect of albums I am intrigued by is the sleeve artwork. Sometimes I will buy an album just because I love the jacket. It's a bonus when it sounds great too!




My Grandmother's stereo set was a mid century Sony. Unfortunately I don't have it. I play my records on a reproduction Crosley from Target that also play's cassettes and CD's. It's been a very good purchase and I've had it a number of years now.

Do you have a record collection? If so, I'd love to know what your favorites are and where you like finding them best. Looking forward to reading your comments!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Sew For Victory With Lucky Lucille!!

I am so excited to be joining another sew-along with Lucky Lucille! My last one was the September Fall For Cotton sew-along and I just loved it! I made this Vintage Vogue repro pattern dress in a vintagey cotton print.
Might be switching patterns/fabric.
Vogue 8811Untitled
For this sew-along I have chosen  vintage 1940's Hollywood pattern 471, I am planning on doing version 1 in the vintage voile floral print on the left. I still need to shop for my collar and cuff fabric and ruffle trim. I am very excited to finally make this pattern as I have had it for quite a while.
If you would like the join me and a bunch of other lovely ladies in this sew-along, just click on the button on the right of my blog. It's loads of fun! Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The NEW Arthelia's Attic Blog!

 photo IMG_2829-1.jpgHello! And welcome back! For a long time I have been thinking about bringing back my blog. It's been over a year since I posted anything and even back then when I did, all my posts weren't all they could be, nor did I post very often. I think I just didn't know what I wanted my blog to be. It was mainly linked to my Etsy shop and I used it mostly for sharing new products. That to me is not fun and is just advertising. I am so much more than that. So I finally decided to make my blog about ALL the things I love about vintage.

 photo Scarecrow_and_Mrs_King.jpgVintage for me I not something I "got into" or discovered. I feel it is just me and the things I like, the things I do. The films, fashion and home decor that is my style. It just suddenly became something that I found others liked and that I could delve deeper into. Having grown up very close to my grandparents and not being very social with kids of my own generation made the things I was exposed to most, those of my grandparent's generation of the 1930's on. Sure I like a lot of things that were from my generation, the 80's. Certain TV shows, my favorite at 12 was "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." Music, I loved Cyndi Lauper and Madonna and I am a huge Depeche Mode fan to this day.
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But when it comes to fashion, films, and most other things I have been and always will be a die hard lover of styles from the 30's, 40's and 50's. Anything that even looked remotely like that when I was a kid had to be mine. I was forever looking for big circle skirts and crinolines!
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Cooking is another aspect that I learned from my grandmother. Pure home style cooking. Cooking and baking from scratch. To this day I am happiest when I cook this way. I want to share this with you too. Sewing, knitting, the list goes on!
 photo images.jpg This is just the tip of the iceberg on the things I think I could have fun writing about and hopefully that you will enjoy reading about! The blog is still getting revamped a bit and I hope to one day add advertising and some new sponsors but all that will come in time. I'm really excited to get started sharing these things with you all "For The Love Of Vintage"!!