Still Standing...

Though it is a fabulous tree, huge and majestic, I was hoping it would depart with just one branch to do away with my crappy laundry; alas, the storm passed with no real drama in my suburb, though the beachside got quite a battering....

Today: Presents In The Post! Though coming from Ebay, it's not so much a present..... On sound advice from Shula, I am now the owner of a fucking GORGEOUS cashmere jumper....ooooohhhh my lord, this is by far the most warming, luxurious and divine garment I have ever owned. The fit isn't perfect (as usual, a little too big), but I swear, I'm never taking it off. Never.

Though cashmere is expensive, I managed to score this one for a great price, and even if I'd paid twice as much for it, as soon as you hold it in your hands, you know it's worth every penny.

In other news, we have some more additions to the Nong family:

I'm having a little bit of trouble with the stuffing....I know not to just stuff wads of it in, and to feed it in in a slow, contast stream, but I still seem to get lumpy bits.....any advice?

Nong #4 is a good example:

His legs just don't sit how I'd like them to.

But y'know...... imperfection = originality in my book.....

I've also completed a request from my sister for an apron for my neice, who has taken to "cleaning" the house....but I'll post photos of that once the package has been recieved.... don't want to spoil the anticipation!

xxxxx

Thrifted Tuesday + Blog Crush.....

Woot! I finally have my car back (mind you, $800 later....), so today I could go out for a spot of op shopping......funny how taking just a week off sends me into withdrawal symptoms.....

Today's haul was nothing too flash, but satisfying nonetheless....

A few more vintage fabrics to add to the stash...

Including one pillowcase that is so cute it almost makes me want to vomit....

I don't normally do cutesy-poo....but I really wanted the yellow print to put into my quilt, Lord knows what to do with the mini lovers......

I also managed a good shoe day today, three pairs of brilliant, ludicrously bright 80's numbers, all too small for me, so heading to the Ebay Shop....

I also managed to find a very cute coat for my neice....which I haven't photographed yet, because I might do some embellishments, and that will be a post all of its own....

I also scored a few vintage dresses, also destined for Ebay....

And for my partner, who is irrepressibly English, a book to add to his collection....

So there you have it....Thrifted Tuesday!

Now onto more important matters......

After my Internet Frustration post the other day, I got so many gorgeous emails of encouragement on the being real issue, plus the swearing when I want to! I found out that lots of us pretend we are on a TV show like Martha Stewart or Jamie Oliver, pottering around the house performing to entirely imaginary audiences, and that all of us have that Authorial Voice (kudos to Shula for the term), and that we take photos of the good bits, leave out the messy bits when we can, but in the end, we are all fucking human after all.

I can't begin to say how nice it is to recieve letters of encouragement after taking a leap of faith on a post like that. Suddenly I understand why I so often read on the blogs of people I admire posts full of admiration and gratitude to thier readers for being supportive. I extend such grateful thanks to my tiny little readership, and consider myself a pig in shit for having made such lovely aquaintances. (notice the swearing.....oh how naturally it flows.....)

Anyway, so in spirit of this gratitude, I am devising a new topic. It's called Blog Crush, and this here, it's the first one.

So you know how you'll discover a new blog, and you feel so enamoured or connected to the person who writes it that suddenly they are on your favourites list, you're checking every day to see if they've posted yet, you get excited about their projects, their new curtains, their children, their problems? So much so that you feel weird leaving them comments in case you sound like a stalker? This my dears, is a Blog Crush. And I have decided to bare my Blog Crushes to the world, semi-regularly, to let some fabulous people on the net know that I think what they do is wonderful. In a friendly non-stalkery kind of way........

And the honour of first Blog Crush has to go to Manda, of TreeFall Design. I don't know how I found Manda's blog, but it was one of the first craft blogs I started reading, and her links list has led me to a whole world of creative brilliance.

She has an impossibly cute daughter, a husband who doesn't mind how much fabric she buys, and sometimes even shops for it with her....

She makes beautiful collages and patchwork pillows and sometimes toys and things, which you can buy Here

But the best thing about Manda is that she is real, she writes about her life in a way that makes you feel included as a reader, and this, more than the fact that she makes fabulous cushions, is why I read her blog. One of the best bits of reading about the lives of other creative people is that you realise how similar we all are, whether it be a sudden hankering for all things yellow, or how we pull ourselves together after a fall, or the mini Martha Stewart in all our heads......

So thanks Manda, this one's for you.....

Cheers!

(I also should say that I totally stole the above pictures from Mandas blog.... so make sure you go visit and see them in context, and know that all copyright belongs to her......)

Thrifted Thursday!

Well, since my Thrifted Tuesday went so badly this week, I decided to have another go at it today, and man did I come home with the goods:

So, I'm sure you're like; how cute is that suitcase? But look! It's FULL OF FABRIC! I know, I know, I hit the jackpot today for fabric goodness... The suitcase was five dollars, perfect for adding to my vintage suitcase collection, and inside it is this brilliant stash of fabrics and linens:

My favourite so far is the yellow floral, but I'm sure my love affair with yellow has to peter out soon....(edited later: actually, I have just noticed that Blogger seems to cut the edge of all my photos off; in this one, neatly severing my favourite fabric from the picture. Does anyone know how to fix this? I don't want to post smaller photos....I want the page to expand to fit them! How??????)

Then, on my second op shop, I managed to find another stash of vintage sewing patterns, some vintage iron-on embroidery transfers, and this vintage sewing book:

Complete with gaudy photographs and loads of practical instructions on how to finish garments correctly, something which I can never seem to master....

And then, my favourite thing of all; two of these placemats, and some wooden fruit.

I tell you, I have been coveting some of this fruit for ages, and there they were, a pear and an apple, of all things, 50 cents each. Love them love them love them.

So if this wasn't even a picture heavy enough post for you, I'm not done yet! I've had four days off work this week, and the golden opportunity to do some sewing,and my first prototype for the shop is nearly done:

It's a girl's dress, size Three, completely reversible (obviously still unhemmed), and cute as freaking pie. I'm now completely decided on making more of these for the shop; though they won't all be reversible, but they will all have a contrasting facing in the bodice for extra cuteness inside. They have a pleat in the front, rounded shoulder tabs (which are hidden cause I haven't done the buttonholes yet) and vintage buttons on the shoulders.

If any of you out there have little girls, send me some comments on what you think!

Oh yeah, so, new dresses in mind, I also went shopping for new fabric:

Pretty much all of this fabric is for the dresses, except for the pink linen right on the bottom there - it was on sale, linen, for $2 a metre. I tell you, that's cheap in anybody's currency! As a general rule, I steer well clear of pink, I can't stand it. Blame it on a regressed childhood memory if you will, but I hate pink. But this stuff won me over cause it was soooooo cheap and I'm going to dye it so I don't have to look at it's fairy flossness til I throw up. Then I'm going to use some of it for the backing on the quilted baby blanket I posted about the other day.

And if that aint enough productivity for one day - I also updated the Ebay shop today too, with more to come in the next few days......

Whew! Now I need to have a cup of tea and cut out some patterns!

Wardrobe Remix and Other Pursuits.....

wardrobe remix, originally uploaded by paperstringcloth.

As mentioned before, I have joined the Wardobe Remix group over at Flickr, hosted by the fab Tricia and Jenny. This is my first contributuion to the group......

I'm wearing.......

Mustard cardigan from thrift shop, accented with vintage cloth covered buttons by me....grey jersey button down henley top from Cotton On (chain store), handmade black cotton wrap skirt with red pinstripe lining, made by me..... and my new fabulous $3 thrifted brazillian woven leather slingback wedge flats! Also included; A Concise History of Modern Art by Herbert Read, my vintage suitcase collection and my partner's vintage Apple Mac collection!

It's amazing how difficult it is to take a decent photograph of yourself, I am actually not very photogenic, so I have to take millions of shots before I get one where I'm not pulling some kind of pained-looking expression....!

In other news, I managed a great big trip to the Op Shops today, with some good results:

A big haul of vintage buttons, which will help me when I go to send off my button swap package this week!

Plus a bit of a renovation project; this 50's corner unit with one cupboard and three shelves, cute etched glass door, and pink laminate...$10! I think a coat of paint and a good clean will have this one ready for installing in the hallway, where we need somewhere to dump our keys, the mail, etc etc.

I also bought a whole stack of other things, knitting needles, some plastic beaded necklaces, some fabric remnants, but I won't bore you to death with ALL the photos!

I've been doing a bit of work on my studio, which is looking much more organised, but somehow I don't think I'll be satisfied until I convince myself that I really DO need that fabulous big, roomy white bookshelf I saw in IKEA the other day.....It really would look perfect with all my new jars of sewing notions, my neatly folded and stacked fabric collection, and the storage boxes now stuffed full of vintage dress patterns........ la la la la ......the ways we justify spending money we don't have!

I'm also working on some listings for the Ebay store, but here's a sneak preview, just for you.....

All Sorts of News.....

This week has been a big week for news in the big, life-altering sense...

First of all, my Dad is going into hospital next week to have a kidney removed. They are pretty sure it's nothing serious, but he has a growth on one kidney that shouldn't be there, so they are going to take it out, just to make sure. For a big, strong, farming man who has never had anything really more serious than a head cold, this is a pretty big deal.

The second bit of news is that my sister has fallen pregnant, after a short course of IVF, which is fantastic news! I'm already an aunty twice over thanks to my other sister, but more nieces and nephews are absolutely fine by me!

And THEN, today, my best friend of many years has called to tell me she's getting married! Which is kind of crazy, because we aren't really the kind of people who do the whole weddings thing, I imagine this will be a rather left of centre service, not your traditional wedding at all. Which sounds fantastic, and I'm so happy that she has found someone that she feels she can share such a commitment with.....and it will be my first proper wedding in my circle of friends, which is even more exciting!

As for me, my life is seeming rather quiet compared to everyone else's!

Today started with eggs on toast, and a little bit of arranging in the house, my new Ikea vases found thier new home.

Followed by a spot of op shopping, which resulted in me being the proud owner of this fabulous/ridiculous chicken shaped basket!

Another trip to Ikea for some storage boxes also ended up with me indulging my new, weird passion for yellow, by buying this quilt cover for the bed. Our bed is usually quite sedate, we've had a chocolate brown quilt for AGES, and even though this is way brighter than anything I would usually own, and will probably give us nightmares, I couldn't resist!

I'm happy to see that I am not alone in this new found love of yellow - Manda from TreeFall has been having exactly the same experience with yellow as me. And, like me, she hated it before. WHY? What were we thinking? Will I hate it again next week? Who knows?!

There are also some more Vintage Goodies in my Ebay store, if you are so inclined....

A navy and white spotted shift dress,

Some, well......... Yellow, high waisted, skiiny leg, 80's pants!

An 80's geometric shift dress in black, blue and white....

And a pair of fantastic vintage tennis bloomers with little racquet applique!

And now that I'm on the computer, I may just do a few more listings... so look out for those!

Ebay Store full of goodies!

Just letting you guys know that I have listed some new things on Ebay today, with more to follow in the next few days.....Happy Shopping!

Green polka dot cotton smock dress with neck and hem ruffle...yum!

Fantastic lemon yellow vintage 50's swimsuit with boned bodice and pleated skirt...oooh and button up straps...DIVINE...

Teal green kimono/haori with waist sash, russet lining, and cute japanese umbrella print...

Nautical anchor sailor top with applique and purple details...original tags too!

Vintage Oroton red and white neck scarf......

And some fabulous oversized blue French vintage sunglasses!