Sweatin a sweater...well it's more a jumper

I've been working on knitting a sweater for, like 6 months. I can't constantly work on it, which sucks. But I've felt inspired today so im doing a bit of work on it. Im using a 1950s Crew Neck Ski Sweater pattern. Im going to alter the sleeve to make it have a short sleeve instead of a long one. I have a feeling I will never wear this one. Its kind of thick and It's not going to match any of my vintage, but it will look good with a nice pair of jeans so who knows. I started it when I was going through a minor goth stage. I go through them a few times year, I love goth and no on can stop me, we all have our guilty pleasures. Mine just happens to be Rasputina, Siouxsie Sioux and Jill Tracy)Back to why it wont match vintage. I made it in stripes, which isn't very anit vintage but its a purple and black stripe which is just gothy. But I dont mind. I know I will like to wear it during October when I usually feel the need to have a bit of creepy in my wardrobe.

SO I've never made a sweater before, and wow does this shit suck. I hate it but I know it will be worth it in the end. I know once I practice and I can do it I can do fancier things like knitting images into it. I want a cowboy sweater really bad. And I want one with some guitars and maybe some ones with atomic designs on it. And maybe make a silly kitschmas one and a cheesy one for halloween time. I love wearing sweaters sometimes, and I would love it more if I had exactly what I wanted(like a cowboy sweater)

Any pro knitters want to help me figure out how to make the sleeves short?

Actually, does anyone have a nice 1950s men's jumper pattern they would like to share. I can share what I have. I have a feeling I might not like this crew neck. so pretty much I might be looking for a whole new sweater pattern once I finish this one.

P.s. Im wearing my only pair of real glasses in the picture, all my vintage ones have no lenses, I can't afford that stuff!

Long time, no post!

Sorry for the break in posting. Im going through all of the college application stuff right now. Well more like getting my portfolio ready to show etc. Well my last bit of that is done on Thursday when I show my port. at my number one school, Montserrat college of Art. I'm really worried about that, I hate presenting in front of people I don't know, especially men. Hell I hardly like doing it in front of people I do know.( It's somthing with the worries that people hate me right off because I'm gay and pretty noticabley gay)

So on to lighter topics.
I finally got my Vampira portrait tattoo! I feel like I've been waiting forever but it's really only been about 1 year to six months. My tattoo artist did an amazing job, I really do love him and his work. Next time I visit him Im getting a Little Edie quote on my chest I think, or my vintage Rolifelx. I need to take a better picture of my tattoo before I post it. The one I have is pretty blurry. So Ill take one later.

On the music front, I saw Wanda Jackson a few nights ago and that was more than amazing! She put on a great show! Her flight was delayed and she hadn't even ladned in New York by the time I got to the club(after a three and a half hour drive to Brooklyn from Palmer Mass) She came right from the airport and got on stage 15 minuets later. She is rock n roll. I met her briefly after, sadly I didn't get to get a picture with her like I would have liked to, but she did sign a photo for me.

I've done some good thrifting lately. I got a pink 50s bathroom scale for $2. And Four girldes for $9 for the pinup studio. I also got a JFK ashtray and some new records.

I'll do a more in depth post about most/ all of these smaller topics hopefully with pictures.

Thank for follwing me byt the way, I have 13 follwers now and I need to thank Yesterday Girl for doing a little about me I really do appreciate it. I will try and do a lot more posting etc. And as usual in the retro blog-o-sphere I will do a give away when I get to 100 follwers!

Vintage Fabrics

On Friday Beck, who I have talked about before, and I went shopping together after I got out of school. She and I went to my friend's vintage shop Grace Black Vintage, where we found a whole bunch of great things (She has a Hey-Wake table, set of 4 chairs and buffet!!!!!) Next we moved on to Osgoods Fabrics in West Springfield, which oddly enough Retro Renovation(http://retrorenovation.com/) also visited this week and did a post about! She eye'd and photographed a fabric I almost bought! It's the Atomic one that was stained if you read her post! But I did end up buying somthing else. I bought an atomic reproduction fabric in green. It all looks like musical intruments. I have a couple pictures of the pattern.

It's a nice barkcloth! I got it for $9 a yard. I only bought two because I'm not sure what I'm making out of it yet. Is it weird that I want to make a cabana set out of it? I'd find a nice lining for it if I do it. I have my other one to model patterns off of. Who knows, if all goes according to plan I might be going to Viva!

Valentines Day Pinup Shoot!

This past Saturday was the group shoot with my Valentines Day set. The whole set we built down to the wire, as most are with me. Haha! But it ended up coming out well. I shot 4 girls and for $50 they are getting 5 edited and watermarked photos for the web. Now of course, I had a friend take some photos of me in the set, it wouldn't be a group shoot if I didn't get shot.
It was a fun set. It didn't photograph the way I hoped. I had to use my flash, which I don't like doing because it casts shadows. But without my flash the drapes came off purple. I'll give you a bit of a backstage look. I had set up shop in my bedroom, which meant clearing it out etc.

As I went to hang up the drapes I realized I had nothing to hang them on so I just(to the unhappiness of my mother) banged in a few nails and strung it up on rope!

Hard at work? I think not! I have a feeling I was just putting on music. Gotta love Podcast on iTunes when You can't get your music to work. I love Easy Ed's Variety Hour(now two hours) Look it up!!

Shane

Saving a dime..

Now, I am a modern teenager so I cannot escape things like twitter, myspace, facebook and blogspot. Well I was reading through some tweets after school today and I saw one from Dita Von Teese, who I know I covet and many other vintage collecters do too! When asked "Do you dye your hair at home, or go and get it done professionally?" much to my surprize Miss Von Teese answered "At home! Garnier Blue/BLK=$8!" I am happy to see that she knows where to spend money(fabulous vintage clothing and burlesque props and costumes) and where to save(hair dye!)
I was just saying to someone that if I were to ever perform on stage in any manner(may it be sideshow, boy burlesque etc) that my name would be "Baby Shane" that way the name of my act could be "Whatever Happened to Baby Shane?"

I'm going to leave you with a video of Dita Von Teese. Oddy enough not stripping. But she does talk about a dildo camera.

Valentines Day Pinup Shoot! Help?

Right now I'm working on throwing my Valentines day shoot together. I have so much to make and get ready! I need to make A set of nice red drapes for the background, which won't be too hard. Make some pillows in matching fabric. Cover and pad a small audomin. Make and collect various props and some(very little) clothing.
And all of this needs to be done for the 23! I've got a lot of work ahead of me and little to no time. Right now I'm having troubling getting girls to book the shoot. As of right now with the number of girls I wont come close to breaking even. I'm charging $50 for 5 edited photos and that includes hair and makeup. Which I am doing myself this shoot. Which brings me to some questions if any of you ladies can help.
What kind of hairspray or setting lotion do you use?
If you use hot rollers, what brand and size are they?
What other methods of hair curling do you use effectively?
Where can I find nice makeup brushes that aren't too expensive? I wish I could buy MAC brushed and makeup but I could not afford that at all!
What Brand of makeup do you suggest?
What shade of red lips do you think is most versatile for most skin tones?
What colors of eye shadow should I get?
If you have any tips or trick I would greatly appreciate it!

Shane

In the Middle of an Island....

This past New Years Eve I attended a Tropical themed party to ring in the New Year! It was, of course, in Suburban Wonderland! Beck and I got all dressed up in out vintage tropical best! She wore her Whirling Turban(well, not vintage but the next best thing) and I wore my 1950s Jantzen cabana set! It was great fun! Beck's house was a sweltering 85 degrees(she is the queen of the theme party!) The best part was there was a nice Massachusetts snow earlier in the day to really remind you, you're really in Massachusetts in the middle of winter. But once you got in Suburban Wonderland you wouldn't have know that!

Ain't we cute?

Since I am a good party goer I of course asked "What can I bring?" I could bring whatever I wanted so I decided to try my Domestic Goddess skill and make a Jello mold. Not a normal Jello mold, a 9.5 cup Jello mold. This thing was massive and my pride and joy! It was three different flavors layered. Orange, Strawberry and Raspberry! For it being my first Jello mold it was perfect! It tasted great but most importantly came out of the (1950s) Jello mold flawlessly!

9.5 cups of Jellorific fun!

A Proud father and his bouncing, baby...Jello?!

Well folks sorry about the delay. More posts to come. I want to make a post about the vintage shirt I was given. I nice Penny's Towncraft from the 50s.

Shane