Handmade Perfection

This time, a fortnight ago, I was a little bit narked.  See, I had this amazing Beatrix Potter duvet cover.  Char had a pattern for a frock that we knew fitted me and looked nice.  Ideal combination, so you would think.  Well you would be wrong.  Could we turn said duvet cover into said frock?  No.  There was not enough fabric to make the skirt.  I may have sworn a bit.  Ok, a lot.  But all was not lost as we made this frock with it instead (and although it may come across otherwise in that blog post, I actually did do quite a lot of the sewing of it!).

In fact, all was very far from lost.  A quick look through the fabric stash turned up something else.

 My charity shop trips always include a good rummage in the bedding/fabric section.  Most of what you'll find in there is not good - hideous old curtains and bobbly duvet covers abound - but the odd gem can be found, and it can usually be turned into something else.  I am yet to discover any Wombles bedding (this is probably a good thing as I may implode with excitement if I do) but a couple of things have come close.  Victoria Plum anyone?

I still love the fact that Angela Rippon wrote the Victoria Plum books.  Delightfully random.  They're one of those almost-forgotten things from my childhood, so when I discovered a ginormous duvet cover covered in Victoria Plum, robins and bunnies, I was rather pleased.  I was even more pleased when Char decided to take it away with her and turn it into a frock for me. A frock of sheer glory.  With POCKETS and A BOW and A BIG SWIRLY SKIRT.

Is she not amazing?  I bloody love that girl.

Dress - made by Char. Did I mention she's amazing?

Cardi - New Look

Shoes - Irregular Choice, present

ETA - Pattern update! It's Simplicity 2444, and is the little pencil sketch version on the left of the packet, with a few teensy tweaks.

Self-Editing

For my last outfit post I took ... *counts* .... 92 photos.  Partly cos the multishot setting on my camera makes life easy, partly because I like lots of choice.  Whilst this was a rarity in one sense because I actually liked most of the photos, it was pretty typical of the number of photos I take per post.  Editing them into the "hmm, possible" and "hideous, delete, DELETE" piles doesn't take that long and is a natural part of the process as far as I'm concerned.  Most of you are probably the same.  After all, no-one likes to post pictures where they look like a complete horror.  So that's understandable, but where do you draw the line on self-editing?

I can't warm to blogs where everything is portrayed as so cool and impersonal and so achingly stylish and entirely lacking in humour or warmth that you just want to slap the people concerned.  I can't be the only one that looks at some fashion blogs and thinks "Do you really dress like that day in, day out?  How the hell do you afford it? Don't you ever get bored and want to slob round in pj's?".  Please tell me it's not just me that scrolls through lifestyle and interior decoration blogs and mentally screams "Feck off with your endless cupcakes and quirky retro stylings.  Why is your house so tidy? Where is the MESS? And how do you enjoy life surrounded by so many perfectly plumped cushions??!"

Maybe they do.  Maybe some people really are that cool and perfect.  Maybe they like it that way.  More likely, it's filtered through their blog via a certain level of self editing.  Beauty bloggers don't show the photos where they've got the angles wrong and you can see RIGHT up their nose.  Craft bloggers don't usually show the ones where they've monumentally arsed up and sewn their latest project to their trouser leg by accident.  Home bloggers don't take arty shots of cat sick or the dust on their shelves.  Fashion bloggers don't tend to show the photos where they've fallen over trying to achieve a cool pose and are flashing their knickers. Well this one does...kinda...

No actual knicker flashing but behold the look of sheer WTF-ery on my face as I prepare to wobble off my wedges and plummet to my right

I've discussed the concept of "blogworthy" outfits before. I don't inflict my jeans and work fleece outfits on you as I don't expect anyone would be interested.  But I don't dress up just to take blog photos and then go and put something else on for my day to day life either.  In plain photo terms, my self editing has a simple purpose - to try and pick the outfit photos where the clothes look best and I don't look hideous.  It's a constant surprise to me that an angle or two of difference in the way you face the camera can make you look two sizes bigger or instantly give you a massive double chin.

Looking beyond that to words and content, I don't try to paint my life as something it's not. I'm not interested in coming across as Little Miss Perfect Fashion Blogger, complete with artfully styled shoots and lashings of kooky clothing and accessories, because that's not who I am as a person.  It's my blog, done my way, and I'm just a normal person with a normal job (albeit in quite an unusual location) who likes frocks and shoes and books and so on. 

I may post more about the fun outfits and the fun things, but that's just because they're more interesting and no-one really wants to hear me beef on about feeling knackered or doing the ironing.  Ha, who am I trying to kid?  I don't DO the ironing.  That blog post is never gonna happen.  But do you get to know the real me from what I write?  I'd certainly hope so.  Not everything - I like to retain some mystique after all - but I'd like to think that if you met me in real life you wouldn't be totally surprised.

  My self editing is mostly done in terms of interest levels.  There aren't any topics that are really off limits, other than the specifics of my job and even that's not because it's dull, but because I don't want to go into huge detail online about it.  Now I know "interest levels" is a self-imposed set of criteria - after all, I don't know exactly what each and every one of my readers want to see on here.  But at a basic level, if it doesn't interest me, it won't appear on this blog.  This is one of my hobbies and I don't have the spare time to waste writing about stuff that I find dull.  If I know it doesn't massively interest most of you then I ration those posts out a bit.  For example, the comments and page views go right down for my horsey posts, so I won't do more than a couple of those a year.  Enough to satisfy me cos it's something I want to write about and photograph, not enough to bore the pants off you lot.  

Generally I aim to make this little part of the internet somewhere fun and colourful and a slice of my life.  That's just me though.  Do you work on a similar principle?  Are there any topics that are off limits for you?  Is blog you the real you?

Green Spots

Ever put on an outfit that just makes you smile?

This one had me in a good mood all day yesterday.  I just had to look down at my legs and I was happy.  Great big polka dots = fun times.  Also these tights are clearly magic because check out the back of my thigh in the picture below.  Where has it gone?? 

Magic I tell thee.

But anyway, happiness inducing outfit all round.  The jacket and dress both have an extra little coating of satisfaction because they were sale and charity shop purchases respectively.  And we all know that saving money makes things better, yes? 

And this is why I rarely smile in photos. I was feeling happy, honest I was, yet still I look mardy.

They are honestly one of the comfiest pairs of shoes I own.  As long as you remember the zips go on the outside and don't put them on the wrong feet...

Dress - Billie & Blossom @ Dorothy Perkins, sale

Blazer - Warehouse, via Oxfam

Tights - wish I could remember! Possibly a stall in the Rag Market in Birmingham

Boots - Aldo sale

Clutch - Dorothy Perkins, present from Char

Bracelets - presents from Zoe and Chloe

And that, my lovelies, is that. At least for this week. I don't really have anything else to say about the outfit other than I love it, but I think you may have already gathered that.


Before I go though - to anyone that expressed an interest in the Good Reads thing I mentioned in this here post, I shall be in touch very soon. If you didn't see that post, go and have a read and please do leave me a comment if you're interested. The more the merrier!

Once Upon A Time...

...There was a girl named Alex. She found a rather amazing Beatrix Potter duvet cover (originally a curtain from the looks of things) in a charity shop. She wanted to make it into a frock but alas she was scared of patterns.  Weirdly, hopelessly scared of them.  All those lines and little triangles and baffling instructions that went along the lines of "on wrong side, pin one piece of seam binding to each back section, centering over lower large circle" made her head boggle.  Luckily she had a fairy godmother to call on in the form of Char.

Two days filled with much honking (don't ask), much removing Oscar from his new favourite sleeping spot on top of the pattern pieces, much letting out of the side seams on the frock when it turned out not to fit over Alex's arse, much patient explaining on Char's part, a LOT of coffee and cake and, lo and behold! A frock was created!

And she lived happily ever after with it, safe in the knowledge that it fitted better and looked less wrinkled in real life than in the photos, and also that she could sort of sew a little now.  But patterns still made her a bit boggly.

Jemima Puddleduck under the boobs.

Mrs Tiggywinkle and Peter Rabbit on the skirt

and an unidentified mouse.  There are also some guinea pigs on there.  Not quite sure why. 

Frock - handmade
Cardi - Gap (was originally about 6 inches longer but someone put it in the tumble dryer)
Shoes - New Look
"Once Upon A Time" Ring - MerCurios
Necklace - Accessorize

April Scavenger Hunt

Last day of the month is Scavenger Hunt day! Thanks as always to Kathy for organising it. If anyone wants to join in during May I'd love to see your photos. My April efforts are as follows:

On the move:

*cough*tenuous link*cough*

I kinda failed to take any action shots this month.  But if you're on the move then you need some antique cases to carry your stuff round in, yes?  Sadly these aren't mine.  They reside at Dinefwr.


Amazing:

We had giants in Liverpool this month. What seemed like the entire population of the North West turned out to see them. It was genuinely amazing to watch the spectacle.


In/out:

It's a gate.  Nuff said.


Direction:

You won't get lost outside the Albert Dock.  Signposts AHOY!


Indulgence:

Bed.  The bed of a single and selfish person who likes to make a fort out of the pillows and sleep a lot. I know it's indulgent and I don't care.



Multi-coloured:

Wool used in the Abergavenny Tapestry.  Aren't they a beautiful range of pastels?



Sticky:

It's stickier than the time that Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun (cool points to anyone who gets that reference).  Absolutely delicious though.


Rock:

A really rather big rock half way up Garn Goch



Spring:

Blossom and bees.  Yay!  I love spring. 



Smile:

Mine.  Avec additional blurring because I was paranoid it would look like I have a tache.  I don't!  But poking a camera that close to your face is just asking for trouble. 




Tangle:

A shadowy tangle of branches.  I just rather liked the effect.





Can't live without:

Books. Books. Books. I get physically twitchy when I'm deprived of reading material.

New Things

I hate the run up to payday.  Now I should point out that I am not the sort of person who massively overspends on a post-payday binge and then has to live off beans for half the month, but I do set pretty strict savings targets for myself and, well, it's the same overall result isn't it?  Not very much disposable cash to live off.  April is always an evil month - holidays and birthdays and lots of fun things eat all my money before I even know where it's gone.  It's a good job I take pleasure in the small things because there's no way I can afford the big ones right now.  So here are some that have found their way to me recently.  Small things, but definitely happiness inducing things.

Hostess teacup and plate (birthday present).  More room for biscuits on this than on a saucer!

Ah, Dorothy Perkins jewellery section in the sales.  I love it so.  £3 for the three.  Something else may have fallen into my hands as I went to the tills but that is reserved for a separate blog post if it ever stops chuffing raining.  Seriously weather, you are hampered my blogging efforts!

An antique collar box - a present from one of the volunteers at work who didn't want it any more.  I think it might be snakeskin?  Anyway, it's both useful and beautiful.

And a good glass of wine after a day volunteering at Kelsall Hill horse trials.  They supplied the wine as a thank you, which I thought was a rather lovely touch. 

Alex in Aquascutum

You've probably all heard this week about Aquascutum going into administration and closing its main factory.  I'll leave it to the business and fashion analysts to properly assess the whole sorry situation but from my point of view, it's always sad when we're on the verge of losing such a classic British brand.  I'm not sad in the way I would be if it was somewhere I actually shopped at - I mean, could I ever afford to buy anything new from them?  No.  I considered myself very fortunate to find an Aquascutum scarf in a charity shop for a pound last year.  It was even more exciting to find this amazing coat in the back of an antiques shop whilst I was in Hay on Wye.

Ok, it cost slightly more than £1 but it was a birthday present from my lovely mum and it was still cheap considering what it is.  I would try and type coherent thoughts about how nice it is to own really decent quality clothing but I'm quite tired and all I can think to say is "OOOOH it's pretty and it has a great big collar and shiny, shiny silver shiny buttons."  So on that note, I shall leave you to admire it.

Coat - Aquascutum, vintage.  No idea of the age though.
Cardi - H&M
Vest top & heels - Dorothy Perkins sale
Skirt - River Island sale