High tea

My AWOL behaviour has deplorable, I do apologise. The hat making and creating my own dress to wear at the Wellington Cup this Saturday has overtaken my time.

Yet don't think that there has been no play time. Life would be very dull with no play time... as it would be without cakes. Step in high tea at Martha's Pantry with my Mum.

It was a wet and windy Wellington day and we decided that a high tea was just the ticket.

Even the water decanter is charming!!

My Mum with our full stack of goodies... loving the tea cosy.

Mum's are so great, she could tell I really wanted the cake with rose buds.

We had such a fabulous time and it was so scrumptious... I only wish sewing burned as much calories as running.

xx

Musing muses

Hello :) Another day of delightful millinery was had... berry danish and lemon tea too. Yummy. Even more yummy is the fact that tomorrow my mum and me are having a girly day.

We are going to the birth house of celebrated female NZ author Katherine Mansfield. I have often pasted in the van on the way to purchase fabric and wanted to stop and go in, but tomorrow is the day. The house has been restored to what it would have looked like during Katherine's era. That will be great to see.

Katherine did live in the UK and was part of the infamous Bloomsbury set. How exciting! I read a book not long ago on the Bloomsbury set and they didn't mind sharing lovers, of either sex, the odd drink and it seems a far bit of art went on too in all its forms.

Very inspiring.One other lady that is inspiring me is Elinkan from Sweden. She sure knows how to put an outfit together. The images are lovely too, check out her flicker, but below are some of my favorites.

xx

Summer lovin...

It seems that I had my best OpShop day for ages the other day but it seems that my other half, Doug, has the knack himself. Right now I am assisting Amy Jansen-Leen with her orders for race day hats (btw if you need one better make the order quick not long until the Wellington Cup). I came back from a day of wondrous hat making to find an outside oven in my back yard and a beaming Doug.

Wellington has a pretty good dump shop and he went up there with the feeling there was a bargain to be had. He found an outside oven for $50 (well $42 really as the guy throw in a $8 sandwich toaster, nice).

So today we cooked and had an outdoor summer fish lunch, flinging the fish in the new outdoor oven.

I managed to sneak in some more of my french chocolate tort, mmmmmmm.

Ok this post has nothing to do with costumes or fashion but I am proud and wanted to show off Doug's bargain prowes, not to mention cooking skills.

I have put the green silk dress aside and start making my race day outfit... I don't think I will ever get that green dress finished, maybe it is to be a UFO forever!

xx

Planets align

You know when you have been thinking about something and then whammy in the next few days it happens... like somebody you never hear from and then you think about them, then they ring. Well I have had a sewing related version.

In my sewing tool bag the one thing that lacks is pinking shears. I was saving to get some. I was researching the perfect pair. Then yesterday I took my parents on one of my Opshop hunting days and there waiting for me were a pair of pinking shears.

I gasped and asked the lady if she had some spare material I could cut. I looked at the label, Mundial, I looked at the price $10!!!!!! I held my breath, I cut the fabric, they worked beautifully. I smiled a smile only fellow sewers would understand.

Then while my glow was at its zenith I looked around and found some vintage tapestry covered buttons, could this day get any better? Hell yeah!

When I came home a parcel awaited me... from my dear friend Kelly Pringle... inside was Cadbury Wispa's, Dairy Milks, Chocolate Buttons and Monster Munch crisps, I smiled a smile only those far away from home would understand :)

But wait there is more! Wrapped inside some gold star covered paper was a most amazing book, Vintage Fashion, collecting and wearing designer classics, so perfect, so well timed and from such a great friend.

I don't think days like that happen very often and I am still smiling now, I just had to tell someone.

xx

Once upon a zine

It is rainy ole Welly today... so I have been rummaging on the Internet for something new and interesting. I love Wellington library and so while checking out the website I looked in to their blog section on Zines and then stumbled on a zine from Canada called WORN. I am going there tomorrow to check it out pronto.

In their mission statement they say;

"WORN discusses the cultures, subcultures, histories, and personal stories of fashion."

That's enough to want me to read it. You can buy copies from their ESTY store or maybe your library as a copy of their Zine too.

I am still trying to sew my green silk dress together, but now that it is raining and there is no sunshine to tempt me out doors its the perfect day to sew. I am also thinking of having a clear out of my closet or is that just procrastination? Mmmmmmmm.

xx