Flying Visit - now she's flown..

Farewell my lovely...

Feeling sad today because my baby's gone. Our beautiful  'Australian' daughter has departed London on her way back home to her husband and little daughter in Sydney. Just a flying visit and somehow it pulls at the heartstrings more than a longer stay. Especially when I see all three of our beloved children together - just larking around, so happy in each other's company, so close, so supportive, so loving. As a colleague observed to me recently when I was talking about my grown up children, "You are blessed". I am, we are.

About Words because Pictures are being Problematic

Charity shop bargain reads

Here's a post I planned earlier so thankfully had the pictures ready uploaded to my computer. Sadly after several successful weeks my Bluetooth  mojo suddenly refused to work while I was transferring pics from my mobile to the laptop on Sunday evening. Admittedly I was watching The Stones in Exile at the time and maybe  the two were incompatible. Anyway it's rubbish as now I have to learn how to use the cable thingy or take my mobile to Boots and be charged for downloading to a stick. I gather Bluetooth isn't regarded as very high tech by those who know but I think it's magic and it did the trick simply and efficiently for me. Well, until Sunday night. Aaaargh! (Any advice gratefully received.)

So back to books. I read a lot - though not as much or as fastidiously or high-mindedly as some of the famous bookbloggers. In fact I've wasted money I can't afford by buying on their recommendations. Which just goes to show that even if you like lots of the same reading matter and admire much the same authors as others whose taste you respect, they can also admire and rave about lots of books and writers that you regard as duds.  I read to escape, to travel in space and time, to explore relationships ( is that what CS Lewis meant by " to know we are not alone"?), to learn., to discover, to be enthralled, to be mystified. To make me smile, to make me laugh, to make me realise that I'm loved, that I'm blessed, that I miss people and places that I once knew as well as those I will never know. Sometimes I think I have acquired false memories so strong is my familiarity with some stories or themes.  Like looking at old photographs of family or strangers, books are snapshots of other lives, other times, other places. Even the popular self-help and business manuals can inspire even if only momentarily. I love art books and reference books. I have/had 50 books on textiles alone. I tried to weed out a few for a vintage fair recently but felt so bereft when they had sold.   

Funnily I used to have as many if not more cookery and wine books. Actually I probably still do. But I rarely visit them with the same delight as in the past. I used to love reading cookery books and I was thinner in those days. Now, when I don't, I am struggling with my weight. Mmmn, note to self: read more about food and eat less! 

Back to the pic above. These three cost £2.98 in total from my local Hospice shop. I particularly want to read The Ghost as it is now an acclaimed 'major film' as they say - but starring George Clooney so it must be good. I have usually read the book before the film comes out, but not in this case so was briefly in a dilemma. but the film has already been and gone from our local cinema so I may as well read the book and look forward to the DVD later. I've now read the Agatha Christie in the lovely old green Penguin cover. It  is very dated but still enjoyable for me. Curiously the current British government in the story set in the late 1930s was Liberal - having won an election from the National (coalition) Government. The Beatrix Potter is for my granddaughter and was half the price of later editions I saw in Oxfam. 

Old and new

On the same day I crossed the street to Oxfam and found these two delights. The grey cover on the left is the sign of the famous and wonderful Persephone imprint. If you don't know of Persephone - go there immediately!The book above, "William- An Englishman" by Cicely Hamilton is No 1 in their list of reprinted neglected classics, mainly by women authors. One of the many lovely things about Persephone books is that they have book jackets even though they are paperbacks. But the best thing for me (apart from the written content of course!) is the endpapers which are printed with images of wonderful vintage textiles. 

The Endpaper in Persephone No 1- 'Pamela'by the Omega Workshops

The dedication in How To Be Idle ( 2005)

The dedication in The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1901)

The comparison of the dedications inside of the two 'Idle' books that I've bought this year amused me. Funnily enough the modern book seems to try too hard and is rather intense compared with the gentle humour and dry wit of Jerome K Jerome. But I have enjoyed both, though again the modern one purchased in Oxfam was twice the price of the other bought at a flea market.  

Quilts for free

A couple of weeks ago I was thrilled to received a free gift from the publishers of Selvedge magazine that I used to subscribe to but gave up because I thought the articles were very lightweight compared to the admittedly wonderful photography. But this issue covered the Victoria and Albert Museum's Quilts: 1700 -2010 exhibition, with some excellent contributions. Do try and visit Quilts or you will have missed a terrific collection and very informative and decorative exhibition. I recommend that you hire the Ipod guide as it's excellent and gives close-ups of many details that sadly can't be seen from the sidelines. Actually although the content is terrific, the display and lighting is yet again confusing and murky and many of the quilts laid out in such a way that the essential details were difficult to view without binoculars. My despair of modern curators who have 'gone designer' and over dramatise their displays continues. 

PS: on the subject of photographs - I never know how large to make my pics in the blog. I wonder if it takes ages to download when you visit? I know I had to stop looking at some blogs because of download issues.  I would be grateful for your views on my blogs - how easy or difficult to open? 

Stitching Up the Competition, In praise of Slow Fashion, My Mother's dress

Sewing a channel for the elastic

Such delicious fabric - 1930s or 1950s? It's rayon and the garment is very much of the 1930s. But the fabric design looks so '50s. I'm thinking Agatha Christie heroines or femme fatales.

When I bought this from BusyLizzie  last year I knew that it was an unfinished homemade garment and that I would have to get stitching to make it more appealing to my London buyers who tend to prefer everything 'ready to wear' as sadly sewing skills are not taught at school in the way they used to be. I know that several enterprising modern seamstresses have set up popular sewing courses including pattern-making. In fact I have tried to book a local corset-making course myself but was too late as places were snapped up as soon as the print was dry on the programme flyer. When visiting Liberty's store in London recently, one of the assistants in the fabric/haberdashery/wools department was knitting at a table by a display of wools and I asked if they had seen a resurgence in knitting because I seemed to be seeing more and more people interested. Interestingly she said that actually a renewed interest in fabrics for various creative purposes was the big thing now.  

Well I learned to sew at school in 19filthylie and made my own clothes in the fab '60s and my girl children's clothes in the 1970s. Then suddenly the choice and price range in shops made clothes much cheaper to buy. And it's been downhill all the way since - to sweatshops in the far east and high street 'collections' even in  M&S having fresh new styles every couple of weeks or so. Some expensive clothes are appalling quality (designer ready-to-wear I'm talking about you) and some high street favourites are fantastic for the price but vary in quality so much and literally from garment to garment that you just can't rely on any brand and have to trawl to find the 'bankers' each mini-season. The Internet is helpful of course but I still prefer to " feel the quality".  And of course to try things on.

I hit the fashion scene in the 1960s and made a lot of my own clothes but but also saved some of my meagre student grant for visits to Biba and Bus Stop (more fun, better colours and more variety in design than Biba), then in their heyday. I worked in every holiday and ate yogurt and none of us drank alcohol, yuk. OK the men drank beer. We were thin - not skinny like Twiggy. We preferred Jean Shrimpton actually.  And Julie Christie. Where am  I going with this? 

Sewing. Making things. Appreciating quality. Looking at the seams and hems of 'bought' clothes. Looking at the vintage clothes I buy and sell and the lovely attention to detail in the making. Almost weeping for the times when there was a 'little dressmaker' in every village. Even in the late 1960s early '70s I could go into a fashion boutique and find a dressmaker on the premises who would alter clothes to fit. Not just taking up a hem. Clothes that lasted through several seasons. My mother bought a dress in 1953/4 in Norwich. I sat beside her as she tried it on. Beautiful red poppies on a white background. Tiny waistline, big skirt it was made by Nettie Vogues who many decades later designed a dress for Princes Diana.  In 1963 my mother sold her dress to a younger friend in her 30s who needed a 'posh' frock because her husband was climbing in his career and she couldn't afford a brand new one. In 2005 this friend, now in her late 70s boasted to my mother that she had worn the same dress to an ambassadorial evening with her son. If she returned this dress to me today I could sell it to any number of  fashionable young or older ladies who would wear it with pride and panache. Slow fashion - I love it.

The elastic going in on a pin

The PJs!

I had already packed the oriental style wrap top with mandarin collar so no pics, sorry. Don't you think they are wonderful?

Sewing cottons galore!

Just thought I'd show you my fab selection of sewing threads. Quite an assortment of colours which I love. Whatever I have to sew or repair I can usually find a matching thread in here. They are not the original cottons, but collected from various sources including a similar box which was in poor repair. Having been checking through them today to find suitable threads for a couple of sewing jobs, I realised that the names on some of the old reels were curiously reminiscent of modern nail varnishes. Mmmn - now wondering if that's where the cosmetic houses, many of which were originally haute couture fashion houses ( Chanel I'm pointing at you) found their inspiration?

Fashionista - read my label!

Back: Lt Beaver, Light Apple Green, Mustard Gold, Silver Slate, Bright Navy, Helio, Straw, Ivy Green, 

In front: Slate, Coral Pink (exact spellings as on labels)

Heliotrope is my favourite colour - sometimes likened to lavender or lilac but it's not that sickly pale. A few years ago when I first visited the Christian Dior Museum in Granville, Normandy I spied some lovely deep purply flowering bushes in the gardens, which gave off the scent of chocolate (I kid you not). On enquiring of the young gardener he told me they were Heliotropes. Result! A double whammy. My favourite colour AND it smells of chocolate my favourite fruit!

Anyone for Tennis? Frock Me! at Chelsea, Normandy beach holiday

1960s Tennis Dress and Racquet

Just a sneak preview of part of my vintage tennis dress collection that I shall be taking to Frock Me! at Chelsea Town Hall on Sunday 23 May. The nostalgic wooden Dunlop tennis racquet was a find in a local charity shop yesterday so that will go along as well to help my display. 


I think mini dresses like these would also make great beach cover ups for today - although the young fashion crowd who visit Frock Me! are often so creative in re-inventing ways of wearing ("working") vintage fashion, without appearing like a pastiche of past eras.


Actually the painting on which I've rather casually used to hang the frock against is a lovely beach scene painted by a local artist of our favourite beach from our family bucket and spade holidays in Normandy. At first glance we actually thought it was our family and it brings back fond memories of those happy days before they all left us for faraway places. 

Families on Carteret Beach, Normandy c1980s

Such happy scenes, nowadays played out on beaches in the rather warmer climes of New South Wales with our darling granddaughter. We miss them so, although my Sydney daughter is over on a flying visit to London just now but without husband or daughter.  Thank goodness the temperatures are rising this week so she won't feel too chilly!

And The Winner is...!

Mr EM steps up to the box!

It was late to bed for Mr EM last night, having to stay awake until the final chimes of Big Ben at midnight to do the Giveaway draw. So he deserved his lie in today poor thing!

But he did his duty manfully and and very carefully, so here is the winner - TA DA!

The Small Fabric of My Life!

Hurrah and well done to the lucky winner. I just need you to email me ( see my profile page) with your  name and address so that I can post the parcel of treats to you. 

A great big thank to all the dear readers and elite band of followers who not only visited my blog to enter the draw, but left such lovely comments. And especially to those who kindly posted links and pictures on their own blogs - you definitely received double entries. If you were just a passing visitor, do drop by again and if you feel moved to make a comment, please do so! 

Finally, thank you to all those who have actually decided to become followers since finding this blog by accident or via another favourite blog. 

So what next? For me I have just had the exciting news that my 'Sydney' daughter is to make a flying visit to see us and is airborne from Australia as I write. And tomorrow I shall be seeing my 'Hong Kong' nephew and his sweet little daughter before they set off back home after visiting my sister. We are a far-flung family at the moment and will become more so in the future as elder daughter and boyfriend are leaving for Australia in the autumn and son is working on that destination too. Although as the current girlfriend is from California, who knows!

Well I have another Fair on Sunday: Frock Me! Vintage Fashion at Chelsea Town Hall. Looking forward very much to that and have to get on with ironing some newly acquired 1950s frocks. More about that later.

Toodle Pip!

Monday, Monday So Good To Me, Giveaway news and antiques fair report

"Oh Monday Morning still couldn't guarantee

That Monday evening you would still be here with me..."

I know you are all waiting with bated breath to find out whether you are the winner of my little Giveaway! But relax, dear readers and my growing elite band of followers. Due to receiving so many entries from around the world I thought that I should let midnight (British Summer Time) pass before I do the draw as my deadline of   "sometime Monday evening" might seem a bit unfair to those living in different time zones. So I will put all your names in a vintage hatbox as Big Ben strikes the midnight hour tonight.  As you can see below Mr EM is standing by in front of Big Ben further down The Thames. Notice the furled brolly in case of rain, you can't be too careful in a British Spring and he doesn't want the names to get wet and indecipherable, having kindly agreed to stay up late and do the draw without fear or favour.

Mr EM standing by - ready for Big Ben to strike midnight

If you're still with me, here's a brief report on my day at the Antiques Fair at Chelsea Town Hall. First things first:

Boiled egg breakfast!

We deliberately arrived early so that we could have time for a proper breakfast at the wonderful Le Pain Quotidien almost next door to the venue. I see that they have branches all over the world, including Australia, though not yet New Zealand. I enjoyed my organic soft boiled egg and the yummy sourdough bread. I also bought a hazelnut and raisin  bread 'flute' to snack on during my long day on antique duty. Delicious. And see the orange nails! Sadly at the end of the day while repacking and stacking boxes of stock the nails suffered damage, so will have to reapply today.  I was wearing an M&S linen shirt from last summer, a cream 1950s plastic necklace, and unseen - Gap chinos and my lovely Cara nude leather sandals - with toenails still bearing my favourite Chanel varnish, Particuliere. Enough of me - back to business! Here are a few random shots of my stand:

Vintage quilts and a funky 50s/60s lampshade

Funky French quilt, 1930s/40s chenille curtains, 1930s evening gown and jacket, 1920s painted throw, 19th century French painted (original shabby chic) chair, and just seen at the front of the rail - an early 20thc child's embroidered white 'portrait' dress (see later for an interesting connection with a neighbouring seller's stand) 

More quilts and coverlets, vintage fabric lengths,  elegant black kid 1950s evening gloves with pearl buttons

Pretty things - Art Deco French enamel jug, 1930s plaster sunbather, large vintage Jeanne Lanvin perfume bottle (Arpege?) with replacement stopper,  art Deco beaded evening purse, monogrammed period hat and clothes brushes,  group of old cloth dolls in a French bed

OOh! Who's this?

A huge papier mache horse on wheels - not a toy though

This handsome fellow was facing me on a neighbour's stand. Clearly too fragile to be a toy, it's thought to be an early 20th century photographer's studio prop, possibly from Spain. In those days formal family portraits were very popular as personally owned cameras were rare. A child dressed in his or her specially bought or made 'portrait' dress would be placed on the horse for the family group. Similar to the more familiar photographs of the period where the sitters were shown standing in front of painted fantasy landscapes, leaning or seated on a very nice chair or often next to a jardiniere containing an aspidistra. If you fancy acquiring this lovely old steed, I could put you in touch with the current owner, but just make sure that you have £950 GBP handy!    

Well I'm racing towards the finish now - of this post and the Giveaway draw. See you tomorrow!

( Acknowledgement: Lyrics quoted under first photo are from Monday Monday by the Mamas and Papas)

Antiques Fair Chelsea, Mystery Object and A Jacket with Amazing Sleeves

This is where I shall be on Sunday

Along with my vintage textiles, quilts and the usual mixture of lovelies I shall be taking a mystery object - I wonder if any of my elite band of followers or curious passersby can identify it?

Corselet, waistie, bodice?

 Silk bow at the back

The inside showing the mesh covering the sheathed boning

The little treasure is made of lilac silk with mostly fine machine stitching the the front edges and minute hand-stitching to the inside hems. The bow is puzzling but also made of the lilac silk with the long edges seem to have been stamped out with a scalloped edge as if with tiny pinking shears. The lacing is made of silk and is sewn fixed in place - can't be tightened. On the underside there seems to be three sets of bones each in two sections enclosed inside a double mesh - one side of which shows through the lacing to the front. I think this may have become discoloured over time as it is potentially a very pretty effect. The only bone I can see easily through the mesh appears to be entirely sheathed in another fabric, so not broken as I first worried it might be. The rest of the underside is lined in a pale cream or off white silk. The whole has been well loved with a few marks and a couple of tiny holes in the silk on the front.

So what is it? I've had a few suggestions but would welcome your views dear readers. I've never seen the like, though it's not really my period and I'll probably find it's as 'common as muck' in the period costume world!

Well to entertain you further, especially if bodices are not your thing, here's a Victorian velvet jacket with Amazing Sleeves. 

 

Front view and see the length of those sleeves!

The back with soutache, deep lace and frill for a bustle 

The lovely deep lace at centre back

An Amazing sleeve with lace and bow

Side view of one of those sleeves 

This jacket is made of black velvet which is a gently worn around the top of the shoulders, mostly probably and sadly from poor storage, but somehow it does not detract from its appeal. Happily it is a reasonable size and would probably fit a modern day size 10 (UK) and is very wearable. The sleeves have double sewn openings so that the arm goes through the first and higher opening leaving a long section with large silk bows and deep lace to hang down below. Quite dramatic and very attractive. Sadly I did not have a model handy when I photographed it today. Though I had a slim friend try it on for me a couple of days ago and it looked fantastic.  

Well I shall be taking both these with me tomorrow to Chelsea and hopefully not bringing them back! 

PS re the Orange nail varnish. I wonder how you're getting on because today I found another dupe in Marks and Spencer of all places. They have a colour called Tangerine for only £2.99. I put a bit from the tester on top of one of my Rimmel Orange Fizz nails (which are lasting well) and could hardly distinguish the two. It also dried very surprisingly quickly - I was carrying my food shopping and had to get home so did not hang around!

PPS - only 48 hours to go before my Giveaway closes! Get your entry in now. Double entries for those who mention and give a link from their own blogs.  Good Luck!

When Everything Became Orange!

My what lovely nails!

Today I have been channelling the lovely mistress of chic, Ms Faux Fuschia who resides Down Under and delights her followers with her funny and perceptive daily musings on good grooming and glamour and who abhors chipped nail polish - which meant I had to take these pics very quickly!

Looking for a new nail polish colour to add some much needed brightness and zing to my spring wardrobe while still being my thrifty self, I decide to follow FF's recommendation of the rather lower priced Revlon Make Mine Mango instead of the high end Chanel Orange Fizz. But first I went round to my local Debenhams Chanel counter as they have testers and give you a strip of sticky tape across the back of your hand so that you can test as many colours as you like, without actually touching your nails.  

Chanel nail polish (left to right): Orange Fizz, Riviera, Miami Peach, Nouvelle Vague 

So armed I dashed round to Boots and checked out the Revlon colours - but no Make Mine Mango to be found. Clearly not stocked ( or maybe not available in the UK or maybe a different name). I also checked in SuperDrug but no joy there either. Over to Plan B: check out other dupes because after all I had the tester sample on my hand. I narrowed it down to two - another Revlon one ( sorry can't remember the name- think it had 'coral' in the title) and this one:

Rimmel Orange Bliss!

I bought it for £4.99 and got (a few) points on my Boots card, though with the current promotion at Debenhams the Chanel price would have been £14.85 instead of £16.50 as well as points on my Beauty Card. You have to constantly 'do the math' when thrifting these days. So much to compare - I could do with a pet Meercat! 

So how does Orange Bliss compare with Orange Fizz do you think?

(Two coats on nails just one on the tape)

Actually the Rimmel colour seems a good match, though the Chanel may have dried a little more 'muted' and peachy but I am very happy with the Rimmel. It was easier to apply than my recent Chanel polish, Particuliere and seems much stronger. The Chanel started to peel off in less than 24 hours each time I used it, even after splashing out on a base coat. But I do love that mushroom colour - especially on my toes although I am looking forward to matching the Orange Bliss with recent Coral (!) purchases: those are my fingers in this shoe by the way!

Oo-er - avert your eyes from the size button!

I had just taken pics of  the shoes and dress when I suddenly noticed the colour of the handles of the scissors I'd been using earlier, and a screwdriver in the pencil pot, and a carton next to the kettle, and a paperback waiting to be taken to my son, and a colourful carrier bag and box which holds my treasured Christmas present, and my favourite perfume from the same supplier, and a flyer for a local restaurant Mr EM had picked up from the doormat as he came in. Lying nearby was that vintage Jacqmar scarf I almost wore today, and my pot of Sanctuary body cream and my old Jump handbag, and, and  - yikes - I've been Tangoed!

PS - don't forget to enter my Giveaway which I shall draw sometime next Monday evening (17 May) so plenty of time yet. 

Giveaway! Hold the Front Page...

The Little Flea Market is now open!

After I set up the photo of pretty things for my first Giveaway, my camera's battery ran out - how annoying! So while I put the charger on, I tried taking pics with my phone and think they might be OK.

Let's see if these will tempt you to join in?

So what's in the bag?

* A pretty paper and wood Japanese fan - probably 1950s - with a print of a beautiful white peony. Very useful for that heatwave we are told to expect this summer!

* A sweet 1950s pale eau de nil rayon scarf, with a design of sketches of carriages and  silvery stars.

*  A gold-tone and faux pearl cross-shaped scarf ring which is very reminiscent of vintage Chanel jewellery - I think it would also make a very stylish brooch. 

* A lovely eau de nil rayon and Nottingham lace applique for lingerie - taken from a 1950s sample book.

* A small handful of decorative metal and glass beads from a broken bracelet. Could either be rethreaded or maybe used in another creative project.

* A  charming vintage postcard of an old painting, "Blossoms".

All these treasures will be packed inside the useful cloth shopper shown above. I think it's from the German department store Karstadt and has a bright and cheerful butterfly motif which seems to have been specially designed for them by a German artist  in 1998. ( I don't speak or read German so am relying on an internet translator!)

I do hope my elite band of faithful followers like what they see, and are tempted to enter the draw by leaving a comment below. Other gentle readers are also very welcome to join in and anyone who mentions my giveaway and gives a link back from their own blog will receive two entries into the draw. I will leave it open for a week - until next Monday 17th May as I think Mondays often need cheering up don't they?