Flibbertygibbet

Learning experiences

The Letter C.

Currently loving: Rostitchery
I was reading some blogs on a break from ironing, ironically enough, and found Rostitchery.  Her title bar echoes my thoughts in my last post about what's "good enough" - and I was very glad that I did persevere with the Yellow Peril dress for the wedding - or dresses, as I made two views from the same pattern and wore B under A.   No sign of those knobbly knees at all.

Compliments: I was flattered to get so many lovely comments (nothing like these ones  - reload and reload for increasing bewilderment) about the dress.  One admirer was a very sweet girl who's a stylist - and the second time she mentioned it, I caved and said 'Thanks, I made it.'  I'm really glad I did, as it turns out that her mum was a seamstress and has bought her a sewing machine, but she hasn't ever used it and is dying to learn.  So we're making a date to get together and have a bit of a stitch and bitch session.  The blind leading the blind...

Comedy:  scroll down and begin at the bottom of the list under Old School Animated Gifs so that you can properly meet Humphrey and Duncan.  Genius. (also tried to introduce you to the Semaphore Ninja but he doesn't want to play today)

Cat: Looks like I better get back to the ironing before everything is covered with kitty fur.  Little sod.

I made it. Now I'll lie in it.

B is for...

Bed.

Our ginormous, new six foot bed is simply gorgeous.  It would be better if the kitties didn't come in and wake me up by jumping on it from 5.30 am (no door locks and latches yet - long story) and it's lucky that I know how to make a bed properly - after a summer long ago working here - because it's a slightly odd size and so I had to get sheets that are quite a bit wider than the mattress.  But gloriously comfortable.  My mother gave me two vintage hand-embroidered pillowcases which now are occupying pride of place in the boudoir, and which my DH was daft enough to deride when he first came home.

           

I admit it... I pulled the 'My mother gave us those' line.  It worked a treat.  He looked suitably abashed and the pillowcases are staying.

B is also for great blogs.  Maybe some of these are well known and maybe some are hidden gems. Either way...

Ticky Tacky  Check out her Flickr stuff, inspiring. 

I'm a longtime reader of Petulant Feminine.  And I admire any woman who makes an apron from purple satin.

This lady is indeed a Creative Little Daisy.

More than a yarnstorm in a teacup.

And this girlie is probably right when she says 'My house is cuter than yours'.

And finally, B is for Big Bro's Birthday.  He's 34 today.  Happy Birthday, Slap.  He's a luddite so won't ever read this - but he's also very cool.  Bizarrely, he shares his birthday with Martha Stewart - I can safely say that's all they have in common apart from my ardent admiration of both.  And on this day in 1963 Allan Sherman released 'Hello Muddah Hello Faddah', snippets of which my mother still sings to me on occasion (as well as frequently quoting the 'Don worry, Matha is heya' bit from another song of the era - wish I knew the title - or indeed could find it on iTunes.  It's about a mother who I think answers the phone to a distraught daughter who's enduring all sorts of disasters, and repeatedly drawls - 'don't worry, Mother is here' until it's revealed that it's a wrong number... there's a pause and a little voice says 'Does that mean you're not coming?'  That makes me laugh over the phone - unfortunately Mother isn't heya, she's a sea away - boooo.) 

Both those ditties remind me of happy times listening to the radio on Saturday mornings, to the kids club stuff on RTE.  It's a long way from the Cartoon Network, let me tell you.  The other musical gems were the Danny Kaye one about the Ugly Duckling and the Mouse on the Stairs...

A is for...

...August.
...Alphabet.

Alphabet August. 

Attempting to Better my Creative Daily Effort.   

So in short, I'm going to try to make twenty-six posts in August, each one brought to you by a different letter.  Quite why I'm diving into this right now, I'm not sure.  Masochism springs to mind.  But at least I'm giving myself the 30 remaining days for the 26 required posts.

A is for August.

August is Admit You're Happy Month. 
According to the Secret Society of Happy People,

In August wear your SILVER shades, donate your SILVER coins—pay someone’s toll, bus or subway fare, buy a soda, or take up a donation for your favorite charity, or pass out SILVER kisses. Why SILVER? Because not-so-secretly happy people have a way of finding the SILVER lining in even the darkest clouds.

And here's why you should get happy. Perhaps by moving to Vanuatu.

The Secret Society of Happy People's aims for the month of August, and no doubt beyond:

Recognize and express happiness

Don’t rain on other people’s parades

Which reminded me of the thought-provoking posts that I read last night about blogging and comments.  This particular response from Theresa C gave me pause:

I've been reading yuor (and other) blogs through bloglines, so i often don't go to the comment box. Is this going as unpleaseant as it sounds? That makes me question the way I read blogs. Maybe I should take some time to tell how much I appreciate the ones I read (and long for) for some time now. As in any other relationship, maybe I should care a little more.

I regularly read quite a few blogs but don't always comment.  Delurk, people, get your virtual selves out there*.  When you read a blog that makes you smile or frown in contemplation, or swoon, tell the author.  Same with Flickr photos etc.  Without being cruel or rude - particularly from behind the cowardly cloak of 'anonymity'.  As my mother says, if you can't say something nice...

Share some happiness, for the month that's in it. 

*I'm being a little presumptuous here, assuming that anyone is reading this.

Kitchen chic

The June/July Tie One On gallery is all about musicals, so much fun! It has also introduced me to some great new blogs which I'll be checking out regularly.

My favourites amongst lots of wonderful stuff:

Julie's is inspired by South Pacific, and her photo is great, loving the hula arms

Selena's Wicked apron - look at Emerald City!

Catrina's Willy Wonka - so simple and works beautifully

Bridget's La Cage Aux Folles creation is so sweetly cheering

And though all of Lori's aprons were great, the Wizard of Oz one is just too perfect! My absolute favourite! My own effort was also inspired by Oz, but I'm now quite glad I didn't go for all over gingham...

I've linked to the blogs rather than to their specific apron posts - but just scroll down if necessary, and enjoy the read.

A state of undress

I now have three dresses and two skirts in various stages of completion.

The Yellow Peril - aka the Wedding dress. It's getting another flounce, to see if that solves the length issue, and then I can either wear a long slip underneath or make View A - or controversially, maybe even B in lining with the flounce in the actual dress fabric - are you following me? - from the same pattern, to get over the see-throughness issue. Oh, and it needs the belt too. When it's tied back with a similar sash it looks good, in an empire line. I think the actual ties that were in the original pattern wouldn't have been much help at all.

But if my darling husband tells me I look like a crazy colourblind auntie that's been let out for the day, then we need a fallback plan.

Which is the black and white spotty dress which needs to be ripped back and resewn. That'll teach me for rushing in the first place (nearly typed 'ruching' which is a bit of a Freudian slip actually, given the kinky bit I managed to introduce in the back by the zip - hence the need to rip and resew).

Can't see me getting back to 'the Disaster Dress' for a while either, funnily enough. Might also have a touch of 'Let Out Auntie' about it.

And I ruled another skirt out because it's green, and I'm too superstitious to wear green to a wedding. Despite the fact that the bridesmaids at my grandmother's, my mother's and indeed my own wedding wore green. And the gold woo-hoo skirt - well let's just say that maybe the sequins weren't such a good idea.

Do you think I could pretend my spotty bathrobe is a kimono?

For some reason I got a bit paranoid about wearing something that I've made myself. But I do have a number of good reasons for wanting to:

If I don't wear some of the things I've made, then what's the point in making them?
Mind you that would mean finishing them.

But if I don't practice making things I'm never going to make things that are good enough to wear.

'Good enough' and 'shop-bought designer standard perfection' are not the same thing. The first are also made by the moderate sweat of my own brow, rather than third world forced labour. Oh god, get me.

I think I'm more concerned that there are going to be a ton of fashion people who are the width of rulers at this wedding. But as I'm not going to lose a stone by Saturday, I just better get on with making my kaftan.

So the question is, do I flounce the yellow peril, or fix the black spotty... or cut out the pink Doris Day, heh heh heh...

whoops think I just posted all those links wrong - eek...

An overdue apology...

To Miss Twiss. I believe I wrong accredited her with a quote which I listed in an earlier post, about echoing someone who'd said how they longed for people to say to them about some of their creations 'where did you get that?' with admiration, rather than 'you made that, didn't you?' with an air of despair.

As Miss Twiss is in fact a very talented professional fashion designer, I imagine it's about four decades since anyone ever looked critically on her creative efforts. I mixed her up with someone else - well, obviously.

Whoops.

*** Mortification. ***

New frocks rock

I've been away. With the exception of Sleazyjet losing my bag for six days, it was muy bien.

Two of our favourite people are getting married this Saturday. Being faithful to the Wardrobe Refashion creed, I've made a frock. I'm quietly pleased with it, as in I pretty much followed the pattern, and it pretty much worked. Hurrah!

The Frock

Where I deviated:
I couldn't for the life of me get the fiddly little back ties to turn out, so I ditched them. Instead I'll be making a wider sash belt, using this vintage buckle, and also pictured is the hat that serendipitously matches quite well (the serendipity arises in that it's the only hat I have, and I can't quite see myself making headgear before Saturday). Actually, my DH may well tell me that they clash terribly - but for the moment I'm believing it works.

There are another couple of potential modifications to come - as the leggy model on the pattern envelope, New Look 6370 hasn't got my wonky knees. Another level of flounce may be required.

I'll also be making View A from lining as a slip to go underneath as it's a bit more seethrough than I'd like.

And as I'm a bit paranoid that the extra flounce won't work, I'm thinking of making a fall-back... also wondering if in fact it's a bit loud, hence the alternative needed. Lots to do before Friday, when we leave!

Vanilla days

It's almost quiet here. If you don't count the car alarm, the washing machine and the Duran Duran belting out of the radio. I've found the most fabulous kitsch radio station - mostly 80s and 90s music. Right now it's Flashdance! Ah, flashbacks... It's like a slightly less cool version of Guilty Pleasures, current stars of my iPod Hit Parade.

My bro has just left, it was lovely to see him although I had to work most of the time that he was here. Plus he brought us the world's best cheese - well, certainly Ireland's finest.

I have the house to myself for about an hour before I have to finish tidying, and packing for our holiday. We're going camping. I must have been deranged when I agreed to it, mind you where we're going in Spain will be marginally cooler than here tomorrow, but only because we're expecting 37 degrees in London. Of course there's news reports on how the roads are going to melt and the unions are asking employers to let staff wear their own clothes tomorrow 'so that they'll be cooler, and then the air-conditioning can be turned down which will help the environment' - oh puhlease. In Espana, it's going to be in the low 30s all week, and we're going to a music festival. I'm tremendously excited about seeing Scissor Sisters but the rest of the line up is a bit disappointing. (Can't I stay here and keep listening to Ace of Base? Wow, I'd completely forgottten them - probably just as well) But I've decided that the now low risk of musical overstimulation is actually dandy, as it will mean that rather than running about like loons from stage to stage, we'll take it at a slower pace, with our friends and are going to take a side-trip to Valencia. We'll be able to chill out and relax. Well, if they can convince any local restaurant to let me stay in their walk-in freezer, that is. Otherwise I'll be slathered in Factor 5000 and periodically dipped in the sea/pool as I try avoid migrating from my normally pale blue skin to any shade of lobster. But hey, it's sea, sun, sand and... singing? And then two nights in a posh spa hotel, hurray!

So it's vanilla ice cream, simple and lovely. Keep cool, no stress, no overplanning and a devil-may-care sensibility. And try to avoid melting. And eat ice cream! That's the general aim for the rest of the summer too, now that the majority of the social madness of hens and stags, weddings, christenings, is winding down. Lazy days ahead...

I finally almost finished* a dress for Sew Retro, but will probably redo some of the seams so that the zip (basted in but not sewn) fits better. Oh, and I'll obviously hem it. And sew in the straps - I'm so not finished this dress, mutter mutter... but I really like it. And it's really flattering, and it made me smile instinctively when I put it on. Can you really ask more than that? It's not perfect but eh, so what. It's got character. It's got potential. Just being motivated to press on is enough, really. Really.

Have fun in the sun (if it's your hemisphere's summertime). See you soon...

*me post something that actually ~is~ finished? Oh now, I think the heat is getting to you...

The Centre of Attention

I found a very effective way of meeting new people in the neighbourhood. It's astounding how many people come out of the woodwork when there's something to look at... and yesterday it was me, after a truck crashed into my car.

Everyone's ok, phew, but of course both drivers involved were extremely shook up and I know I'm still a little out of sorts. I was just pulling out of the parking space in front of our house, we live on a T-junction which can be very busy, what with our little corner shop accepting deliveries and mums on the school run etc. A HGV was pulled up blocking the junction, and I thought that he was probably dropping off goods - which he was, but actually to the community centre around the corner which he had overshot somewhat. There was a car behind beeping him to move on, and someone else trying to pass from the other side - apparently he was arguing with one of the drivers (which prompted the shopkeeper's wife to come out to see what was going on) and made a snap decision to move, to let at least one of the drivers out.

However, he didn't check his blind spot before moving (yes, that's where I was, in our little buggy) and just as I was checking mine for the second time before moving off - I suddenly saw a window full of truck as it slammed into me. Glass rained down as the driver window was decimated, and the door impacted towards me, rather a little too close for comfort. Next thing I know he's outside, frantically trying to make sure that I'm ok, and the audience starts to gather! The driver thought he had really hurt me as he heard screaming, but I think that was the shopkeeper's wife, not me - though perhaps in extreme need I could project that far...

That all led to a very shaky day, trying to sort out details and recovery vehicles and hire cars and tow trucks. The other driver completely admitted liability - and we reported it to the one of the local Mounted Police - they pass by our house six or eight times a day as I presume they are stabled nearby, I was very glad to see them yesterday. Very possibly the worst part of the day was when the @*&%$£$ at the insurance company misinformed me that in fact I wasn't insured on the car - at which point I very nearly threw up, the thought of driving around without insurance... anyway.

What was really reassuring about it all was that lots of people came to help, or came by during the day - one of our new neighbours, everyone from the shop, the manager of the centre that the driver was delivering to, and even the foreman of the site down the road - firstly he thought that it was one of his drivers - he was incensed, and said he'd effing kill them. I don't doubt he would have done it personally. God knows what or indeed who will end up in the foundations of those flats.

So much for collecting the new curtains (which was where I was headed). I think I'll get them posted to me.

In other developments, I may now have made the disaster dress a bit too small! Hah, is that the metallic tang of irony that I'm choking on.

My brother comes to visit tonight, for the first time in about seven years, which is very cool. He'll be off haunting the Imperial War Museum, he's such an anorak.

And to end, I think I found the perfect secret garden in Lewes this weekend. Can you imagine the girl with long brown hair, wearing the crinoline dress, peeping out from behind the roses?

Eyes almost open

This morning I had a lie-in as it was 7.00am when I woke. I'm taking advantage of the fact that I can get a few minutes of quiet time alone down here before the guests wake, and the electrician and carpet fitter arrive. Admittedly I normally wake about 6.30am anyway, but at the moment I'm sleeping in our 'new' [finally renovated and moved into after two-and-a-half years] bedroom - hurrah - which is south-facing and has had only one blind installed - boooooooooo. It's like being interrogated by nature from 4.30am every morning. The new room is also that much closer to our marvellous little corner shop, which sells almost everything known to man and housewife, even organic wine - hurrah - and reduces hugely the need for me to use Big Corp Supermarkets - double hurrah - but opens at 6.30am with deliveries starting from 6.00am, usually with a lot of associated banging and clamouring - boo boo boooo. Even with earplugs and a sleeping mask, I'm not getting a lot of shut-eye. I'm surprised the kids aren't frightened by me when I crawl out of the bedroom to do breakfast.

We've also hit on the idea of the kids using the eye masks from the airplane too, as the 5 year old, B, thinks that as soon as it's daylight it's time to get up and start playing Playstation. So he kicks his ever patient brother, I, until he drags himself downstairs to switch the machine on. It's daylight at 4.30am.

To recap a little, I did manage to get the biscotti done, the aroma of chocolatey vanillaness was permeating the whole house when the guests piled in on Saturday morning, plus we had the bread in the oven - mmmmmm. Of course to add to the atmosphere there was the carpet fitter banging on the stairs, doing a poor job of laying the last of the runner, and the plasterer was in the front bedroom with a jackhammer, smashing out the prounounced hearth with a view to re-laying it later. Welcome to the insanity that is our home!

The guests have come with their own agenda and plans, which has been great as I've been largely housebound. They've done the open top bus tour, Madame Tussauds, Covent Garden, Harrods, the Rainforest Cafe, the London Eye, the Tower of London and the Natural History Museum, and more. Thankfully, we've had glorious weather for the last week, with just the odd shower yesterday which has been perfect for sightseeing. Didn't even use all the 'weather-cover' options, so they have a few more places to go today if when it rains!

I'm still working on the gold Woo-hoo skirt, I did get some more sequins done yesterday but I'm still unsure. I hope I'll get to the dress today (have to be positive and stop calling it the Disaster Dress) to see if it can be salvaged but I don't think I'll be finished on it by tomorrow for the wedding, as doing the bodice the first time took me almost a day. I am a bit concerned that the embellishment on the skirt makes it look cheap. As someone else said (sorry, can't remember - was it the wonderful Miss Twiss?) it's less of the 'oh where did you get that skirt?', more of the 'you made that yourself, didn't you...'

I got my packages from Posy Gets Cozy, really love the fabrics.

Today the electrician comes to replace all the socket plates and light switch covers, and to install the new lights, and the fight about the carpet starts (I'm just predicting that one but I have a feeling it's going to be ugly). I call the blinds company to find out when the other one is arriving. Tomorrow the joiner finishes hanging the doors and puts the handles on. Next week the painters finish the gloss paint on the doors, I collect the curtains and get them hung. Then I try to get out of the house...