Well, we drank champagne and danced all night

The Sheffield Antiques Quarter is pretty much on my doorstep, and I am enjoying watching as various vintage/retro businesses spring up in my local area. 

One of these is a shop called Vintedge. 

There was a competition recently on their Facebook page, in which customers were invited to post a photo of their favourite purchases from the shop. 

I posted this;

 

 my 1970s cotton sundress, bought from Marie at The Queen's Drawers, one of Vintedge's traders.

And I won! 

 

The prize included lunch for two at the Electric Candlelight cafe, so my friend Joanne and I wandered down in the sunshine this afternoon, and enjoyed our food very much..

 

I also received £10 to spend in Vintedge, and it was no hardship at all to browse the shelves and rails to find something lovely. 

 

 

There are fabulous fabrics...

 

crockery and home wares...

 

 

gifts and art work...

 

and of course there is plenty of vintage clothing.

 

 

I tried on a few dresses...

 

(a bit too small, a bit too big...)

 

but eventually decided on this 1970s cotton maxi dress.

 

Perfect!

Thanks very much to Sally at Vintedge and Paul at Electric Candlelight for being so friendly and generous. 

 

 

 

I love my new frock.

 

You don't need me to tell you to support your local independent traders and secondhand sellers - I'm preaching to the converted, right?

 

 

 

 

I'll be keeping everything crossed for darling Vix at the Vintage Awards tomorrow.

 

 Hope everyone is having a great week!

 

xxx

50 or so

Oh the British summer...

So fickle and unpredictable. Woe betide any foolish organiser who blithely assumes that a mid-June event will be bathed in sunshine and warmth.

Over the years, our school summer fair has had more than its share of wet weather, so the organising committee have learnt the hard way that it is worth hiring sturdy gazebos for cover.

This was the view just before the gates opened for business yesterday;

distinctly grey and wet.

But as Vix always says, if we Brits let a bit of rain put us off, we'd never do anything, so we cracked on with a smile and a shrug of our collective shoulders.

My lovely assistant Claudia helped Gemma and I on the tombola.

And the weather did perk up later.

 I dressed as though it was summer anyway; this new-to-me M&S maxi dress was charity shopped.
Of course.
 

See? Smiles all round. Mind you, this was after it was all over for another year.

The Dream Team!

Me, Juliet, Alison, Joanne, Karen and Trace.

Saturday was very busy; summer fair, cava back at Karen's to toast a successful event, despite the weather, then round to my old friend Sally's to celebrate her 50th birthday.

Sal and I have been friends for 32 years. She, Claire and I shared a house together in 1988-9. 

On the left, that's me and Sal at her wedding in 1994; I was her Best Woman, and my speech made her cry. In a good way.

Bottom right must be around 1992-3, I was Sally's lodger for a while.

And above right is Claire and I sporting matching big hair and huge smiles at a party in 1988.

Sal insisted I took her birthday balloons home with me, since my 50th is coming up in 10 days' time.

I think they look like the word SO.

Which is rather how I feel about being 50.

So?

And if you have any saggy balloon jokes, I suggest you keep them to yourselves.

Today has been quiet, as befits the day after a night before which involved an excess of cava, gin, and beer.

1970s cotton maxi dress - community fair (£3)

Sandals and bangles - charity shopped

 Walking back from the customary Sunday swimming lessons/coffee shop trip, I saw this sign in a local cafe.

Count me in, I meet both criteria.  

I'll be joining the lovely ladies over at Patti's Visible Monday as usual. 

And if you are wondering about the appearance of Peter Gabriel, In Your Eyes was on his album So.

Don't you love it when a post comes together?

xxx

                                                       

All the fun of the flares

You all know about me and trousers, right? 

I rarely wear them, and am in awe of women who can find jeans or trousers which fit and flatter. I look like shit in most pairs I try on, and find dresses are so much easier.

I can happily live without jeans, but I do get the occasional urge for pants. 

And since you asked me so nicely, I'll show you the pair I've made - ta da!

Now I might have a face like a slapped arse, but I can tell you I am delighted with these flares.

They were actually pretty straightforward to make. 

There is a zip at the back, which I got in without any difficulty. The waistband ended up being too big; herein lies my issues with trousers, I think. If they fit my hips and flatter my thighs, the waist is always too large. I overcame this problem by threading some elastic through the waistband to pull it in slightly. A couple of hooks and eyes, et voila, my first ever self-sewn pair of pants!

  I need to press the hems a little better; because the fabric is a synthetic knit, I couldn't use a hot iron. I should probably press them with another layer of cotton fabric on top, then I could turn up the heat to create a smoother finish. 

But I'm feeling the 1970s vibe; are you?

Funnily enough, I found some wide-legged palazzo pants in a charity shop last week, which I also really like.

Palazzos, denim jacket, sunglasses and bangles - charity shopped

Hobbs t-shirt - jumble sale

Sandals - retail (sale)

Now, no post of mine on the vexed question of trousers would be complete without the infamous Penis/Labia Pants, would it?

It's been a while since they made an appearance, and there are new friends around these days who haven't witnessed their insane glory.

(Photos from 2012)

They're Valentino, darlings, found in a charity shop for £2; and they are one of the funniest items of clothing I have ever seen, so I had to buy them.

They would be great Pulling Pants - no mixed messages here, the agenda is written all over the pudenda.

How naughty!

Flares - made by me from a 1973 pattern (gift from Vix) and 1970s polyester knit fabric (flea market)

1970s blouse - gift from Tania
1970s apple necklace - vintage market

1980s belt, sunglasses and bangles - charity shopped

Shoes - retail (sale, ancient)

I'd definitely make some more trousers using this pattern, it's easy enough, and a lighter fabric in a floral print would be great for summer.

And this version will do very nicely in the autumn with ankle boots and my 1970s brown leather/suede Sweeney-style jacket; it's too warm for that now, but I'm planning ahead.

Hmm... what shall I make next? Suggestions?

PS. This is a message for Beth Waltz, who leaves the loveliest, most thoughtful and intelligent comments on my blog and many others. Beth, where is your blog? If you don't have one, you should start one, because you are fabulous! Thank you for always taking the time to say something brilliant, I really appreciate it but had no way of letting you know, other than saying so here.

xxxx

She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls

 

In Welsh mythology, there is a legend about Blodeuwedd, a woman created out of flowers.

 

I always think of this as my Blodeuwedd dress; I feel as though I am growing out of the ground.

Fanciful today, no?

 

I only know about this myth through one of my favourite children's books, The Owl Service, by Alan Garner. It's a sparsely-written, haunting book, published in 1967, seething with class prejudice, tensions between the Welsh and the English, a disturbing atmosphere, and a background of mythical sexual rivalry.

 

 

 

I'm not sure I got all that when I read it as a kid, but revisiting it as an adult was an eye-opener. 

 

(There's a great review here, if you are interested.)

 

Sadly, I have searched the house for my copy and cannot find it anywhere; now where on earth could it be?

 

Blodeuwedd is later turned into an owl as a punishment for betraying her husband...

 

 and look what we have here!

 

The owl on the right was a gorgeous handmade gift to Nina from our dear friend Kylie; Nina wanted to make one, so the one on the left is her version. She did most of the sewing herself (I helped with the buttons and stitching up the gap at the end.)

The Kylie owl is called Owlie. Hmm, I know; very poor.

I suggested Athena for the new owl, but Nina rejected that in favour of Archimedes. Guess who has reached the Ancient Greeks on the school curriculum?

So Archimedes he is.

 

More flowers, but cats instead of owls, and perhaps that's Mellors, come to call on Lady Chatterley.

 

This groovy 1970s tin tray was a charity shop find last week. The ladies in the hospice shop laughed at me for buying it, but I think it's beautiful. It cost 50p.

I'm easily pleased.

 

 

 

1970s maxi dress - Ebay (99p)

Bangles, sandals, belt, and sunglasses - charity shopped 

1960s bracelet - local vintage shop

1960-70s steel pendant - flea market

So what else have I been up to?

We watched Saving Private Ryan, since it was the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. I hadn't seen it before, and didn't realise it would be quite so harrowing. Poor Owen sobbed right from the start, but he made it through, and we have had some really interesting conversations about the reality of violence and war, and how it affects people afterwards. And with a bit of luck, it's put him off ever joining the army.

I took my big girl for her first bra fitting. She'll be mortified that I've told you, so keep it quiet, OK?

My mum never took me to be measured, she just guessed a size, and I didn't have a proper fitting till I was in my twenties. Needless to say, it was a revelation and I had been wearing the wrong size.

Don't worry, I'm not going to flash my cleavage again, I'm reining myself in.

 

But I will tease you with a sneaky peak at this;

 

 

 

 

such a quintessentially 1970s fabric could only ever be made into a pair of flares, right?

I'll show you the finished article next time, I just need some hooks and eyes for the waistband.

 

And such is my new-found sewist status that my friend Sue asked me to come and chat to her daughter, who wants to start making her own clothes. We pinned and cut out a pattern for a skirt on Friday night (thankfully before I drank too much wine...) 

 

We're all getting the sewing bug, isn't it exciting?

 

 

 

 And that's been my weekend.

 

I am woefully behind on commenting on your wonderful blogs, so I will rectify that as soon as possible. 

Hope everyone is well!

xxx