Saturday 22 February 2014

1940's robe in satin and lace

Over the past 3 years I have regularly pulled this fabric out of a plastic bag, looked at it, despaired, and put it away again. It's an insanely slippery satin which feels like silk and I knew it would be a complete pain to cut out and sew.

Last weekend, inspiration finally hit.


 The pattern is Butterick 5152
 B5152

The fabric is not exactly 1948-appropriate, but I think it works pretty well!1970's does 40's??

I didn't have quite enough fabric for the length, so I used some black lace for the yoke detail and for a band around the lower edge of the skirt. Apart from that I made no alterations.




These close up photos show the colour most accurately - it's quite a magenta/purple tone and not as pink as it looks in some of these photos.



I LOVE these sleeves. They're incredibly full and billow around like mad. They remind me of a wizard's cape/cloak.

 


The lace is stretchy and adds a lot of weight - perfect for twirling about and sweeping dramatically up and down the hallway (or anywhere really)






Oh! And my hair is purple! I spent two days bleaching the black out of it, dyeing it a permanent purple colour, banging my head against the wall because it didn't work, and then covering up the lot with Paintbox Purple Haze. Success! 
My hair is now quite fluffy because of the bleach but I like being fluffy.


The End.
 

Saturday 8 February 2014

A quiz for book lovers | What are your reading habits?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7gm2VJ2UZf7SJh_-SBKA5UiztO_ANgVb5bU1J-gL1T-1oMXc0dpp6aPH6ikHB76hca5N8mOB-zZB5zOW9CKariiKzEM0yYU4UotLetaHc0PgbbbJzLWs9jrJjzDmL4tgVeIWGhR0KeLk/s1600/pin+up+girl+book+in+bed.jpg
I found this fantastic Q&A over at The Fictionista and just had to take part as I am a total bookworm. I would love to read others' answers as well!

***

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack.

I don't usually eat at all while I'm reading. Most of my concentration will be devoted to the book and, as a consequence, most of my food may end up on the book as well. This is only acceptable with cook books.

http://aroundthefarmtable.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cookbook-300x199.gif

What is your favourite drink while reading?

Tea. Always. Or champagne, if I'm reading Phryne Fisher.


Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I don't like to mark or write in books, unless they're a birthday gift etc, but I have placed little sticky tab things in a very badly written and edited Marilyn Monroe coffee table book. It was completely disrespectful to the subject and my blood boiled.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog ears? Laying the book flat open?

Book purists will scold me... dog ears. I lose bookmarks too easily to bother acquiring them, let along using them. Sometimes I even leave a book lying open, face up, with something resting on the pages (like my phone) to keep my place. Scold away.

http://www.sideshowtheatre.org/strangerland/dog/2692024873_4a27f0e4c4.jpg

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Both, of course! Murder mysteries, vampire series and anything set in Victorian London are my favourite types of fiction... although there are about 50 other genres which all follow very closely behind. Looking at my bookshelves now, I seem to favour biographies or English history when it comes to non-fiction. I'm getting interested in mythology lately as well.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

I try to stop at the end of a chapter, otherwise I can never remember which paragraph I stopped at and have to go back a page (even with the dog ears).

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

On the floor, yes. Across the room, no. 

http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/01/Alicia-Mart%C3%ADn-Books-Cascade-Vomit-The-Hague-10-copy-537x358.jpg

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

No. Stopping in the middle of a sentence would be very distracting. I usually stare at a word trying to figure it out and then promise myself I'll look it up later, which I never do. My vocabulary should really be more impressive than it actually is.

What are you currently reading?

Georgette Heyer biography, by Jennifer Kloester, Death of a Gentle Lady, by M. C. Beaton, and Vanity Fair magazine (yes, it counts).

What is the last book you bought?

A few Hamish McBeth mysteries by M. C. Beaton, The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson and A Handbook of Norse Mythology by Karl Mortensen.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I usually like to have two or three on the go. One for reading on the train to and from work, one for some serious chill out time at home on weekends, and one for light relief or when I'm trying to go to sleep. 

http://ak8.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/1134793/preview/stock-footage-green-books-stack-isolated-on-white.jpg

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?

Reading in bed or in the bath are the best places. I do tend to drop books in the bath all the time... so there are a lot of crinkly pages on my bookshelves. I think books look nice when they are well-loved! 

Do you prefer series books or stand-alone?

Stand-alone books are great but I do love series. I love getting to know characters and making up my own stories for them in my head (whilst always inserting myself as the heroine of course). Living in a land of make-believe is totally acceptable.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

It really depends who I am talking to. My tastes will not always be the same as someone else's and if the conversation turns to books I could easily forget how to shut up. I try not to try to jam five books down someone's throat (or into their eyeballs?) just because I loved reading them. 

http://static.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxMy1mZTAwZGU4NTFkYTg4NjMy.png

How do you organise your books? (genre, title, author's last name etc)

I don't. But I try to keep the series together, sort of.

Displaying 20140208_113557.jpg