Tiki Dress - Progress

Well, almost progress, especially considering this was supposed to be my Summer dress project and Summer is almost over.

I decided I didn't really want to draft my own pattern for this, as it contains techniques such as shirring and boning which I've not used before. Finally I had the funds and have bought this gorgeous sarong dress pattern from Scissorhappy after seeing it mentioned in a post on Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing. Hopefully it will arrive soon from the US and I can get on with making my dresses!


The first one will be in this tiki fabric, and I'll probably just use the pattern as is for it. I'll make a wearable muslin first I think, probably in plain black as I don't actually own a black dress! (Apart from a fully sequinned one I made for halloween a few years back, which cuts my underarms to shreds.) This way I can use cheap fabric and it won't show up badly if I have to rip and redo seams or tweak the pattern as I go.


The second one I want to make is in this retro cocktail fabric, and I think I'm going to make it full skirted rather than a sarong. I could even make it a sarong with a full overskirt so I can change the look by adding the overskirt and a petticoat, I think I have enough of the fabric.


I'd like to make one of the dresses with a winged bust like this beauty from WhirlingTurban, but that's definitely something to try only after I've made the pattern up in the version without alterations and gotten used to working with it.

July's Vintage Purchases

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out to a car boot sale, I took £20 and bought a few vintage treasures!


Green dressing table set bits, £1. This is missing a tray, a powder dish and a lid from one of the trinket pots, and the little old lady seller told me that the rest of the set had been there but that an earlier customer was going to buy it and dropped half of it, breaking the other pieces! I have no idea why she didn't charge them for breaking her stock.


1950s sunburst wall clock, £4. Unfortunately we got this home and found it to be not working, hopefully Paul can fix it with his soldering and electrics skills.


Vintage Singer manually opeated sewing machine with case and key, £15. A man was trying to haggle the seller down, telling her he only wanted it for an ornament and trying to make her accept £5. He faked disinterest so we swooped in and gave her the £15, you should have seen his face when she then produced the case from under her table. I certainly didn't begrudge paying the asking price seeing as it's worth a lot more, and I didn't appreciate Mr. Cheapskate trying to con the nice girl selling it - there's haggling when something is overpriced, and then there's plain dishonesty.


I looked it up at Singer's serial number registry where you can check the serial number of almost every individual Singer sewing machine and find its year and place of manufacture. My machine was made in 1920 at Clydebank, Scotland, and is in perfect condition apart from the rubber ring on the bobbin winder, which has perished but is easily replaceable.


Amazing sandwich plates, £3 for both. These are missing their teacups, but I got them for a great price, and this is a rare pattern! Unfortunately these plates sparked off a need to collect more pieces in this pattern, and this week these pieces arrived in the post!


They cost considerably more than £3. Tureen and serving platter!

Rebellion Punk Festival 2011 - (drunken) Pictures!

Last weekend we headed off to sunny Blackpool for our annual holiday to Rebellion Punk Festival (formerly Wasted... and before that it was Holidays in the Sun, I've been going for ten years but this was Paul's 3rd). First, let's get the shopping out of the way!

On the condition that I didn't get anything else all weekend, Paul bought me this Lux De Ville 'Sin City Motor Tote' handbag from my friend Kathy, whose shop Rockers had a stall at the festival. I may just love this thing more than life itself.


Plus it has a leopard satin lining, and room inside for all my gubbins.


We also got a record each, mine is an album of NOFX rarities and Paul's (his first vinyl, aww!) is a Tenpole Tudor album. Pure 80s punk cheese... the singer, Ed Tudor Pole, is a descendant of Henry VIII and used to present The Crystal Maze on TV, he took over from Richard O' Brien of Rocky Horror fame. Best game show ever? Quite possibly... plus they both had fabulous taste in frock coats.


We also found out a local artist has done a painting of us! Her name is Corrine Streetly, this picture of us at the 2009 festival is for sale for £1000... good lord.


A couple of band pics... punk rock Überlord Jello Biafra!!! He was amazing, and his band The Guantanamo School of Medicine were great.


Stza Crack, of Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack... bands I love from my past, definitely not vintage or one for those of you with delicate little ears.


Things got more drunken as the weekend progressed... Paul, Fiona, my Paul.


Me with the paintings of us! I also got the Mad Sin t-shirt, they played on the Friday night and my friend Sally is the bassist's girlfriend and runs the merch stand. This is the first year I've ever been able to squeeze into a girly fit t-shirt... go weight loss!


Here I am posing in our hotel room so you can see my hair (day 3, brushed out my curly set and backcombed it) and makeup.


Here I am with Gemma, she is one of my best friends but we only see each other every few months since she moved away. I miss her.


The Pauls enjoy a lunch break...


Ridiculous posing... our friends Ciana and Steve, Lee and Alessia, myself, and the Pauls.


This is what four days of late nights, cider (that's the fizzy kind with alcohol, America) and a diet of fried potato products will do to you.