Farewell 2014; You Kept Us Busy!

Teetering on the dawning of another new year; a time to look back at what the last 365 days brought us. 

So how was 2014 for you?  I hope it treated you kindly!  Will you be celebrating at the stroke of twelve?  Me? Well I’ll be in my PJs, having consumed a takeaway, watching Foyle’s War and eating chocolates; such a rock and roll lifestyle!! :o)

There is something about the New Year that I adore.  The blankness of the pages in my diary and a crisp new calendar hanging on the kitchen wall; a whole 365 days worth of potential just waiting for us!

In the most part, with the exception of the blip in the summer with my Mr’s work life, this year has been joyous, filled with family fun, friends and much laughter, and when I compare the ride we’ve had to others close to us, we’ve had it easy, and for that I am thankful, and feel incredibly blessed.

The girls have grown another year older, their little personalities beginning to shine through just a little more each time they grow.  C, a book loving, soft hearted, fun loving child, she has been my little rock this year; great company, and such a great conversationalist! 

M, my forever baby, cheeky, a giggler, wears her heart on her sleeve and often lives in her own little world.

We’ve been on our adventures with them, had fun, and learnt more than any school could have taught them.  Home educating them is a gift and pleasure.

From a productive point of view, it was another bumper jumper year; over 20 woollies knitted and sold to fabulous customers both here and overseas. 

Lots of my little felt posies also crossed the miles as far and wide as Australia and the USA.

I also added more than a few knitting patterns to my collection, so there will be lots more woollies coming in 2015!!  Oh to have the time to knit them all :o)

2015 is already shaping up to be another good year.  I’ve given up making resolutions, after all, I’ll only end up breaking them.  Instead I’ll be making a list of things I hope to do, and places I hope to take those girls of mine.

To each and every one of, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and for your wonderful comments and kind emails, especially those of you who got in contact over the summer.  I genuinely hope that 2015 is kind to you, and that it is everything you hope it will be.

xx

1940's Wedding Buttonholes

Almost a year ago, I was contact by a fellow blogger, Emily, who blogs over at Emily’s Vintage Visions. 

She asked me whether I would be able to make some of my felt corsages to be used as buttonholes for her wedding!  

I was honoured, and a little overwhelmed, as well as nervous, as I’d never done anything like it before, but I needn’t have been concerned, because Emily was an absolute pleasure to work for.  

The theme for the wedding was 1930’s/1940’s vintage.  Emily chose the colours she wanted, to match the wedding bouquets she was so cleverly making herself, and I set to work on some posy designs using original 1940’s patterns, the end result being these beautiful, bright posies.

For some reason, I didn’t get any proper photographs of the posies before they left England, bound for America, so please excuse the over bright photograph which was taken at night, using my phone!

I posted the package off in May, and was thankful that it arrived safely, but I thought nothing of my little creations until I received a happy email last month to tell me that the wedding had been a huge success, and that my corsages had gone down very well. 

Emily kindly sent me these photographs, taken by Kris Jarrett Phtography and Media Productions, so I could show how they looked on her special day.  You can read Emily’s blog post about her beautiful day by clicking here. 

Congratulations Emily and Cori! x

Weldons So Easy 86 – 1940's Wartime Silk Blouse

Back in 2013, I bought a rather large suitcase of 1940’s fabric at auction.  I paid a pretty penny for it, in excess of £100, but the case had some beautiful dress lengths of novelty rayon silks and autumnal shades of crepe.  In amongst the fabrics was a small piece of 1940’s silk in a delicate shade of duck egg blue.  Over time, silk can rot.  I’ve had silk in the past that I’ve been able to tear as easily as I can tear a piece of paper.  Structurally, the piece of silk I had was strong, but it had a 1” tear, a couple of holes, and a few water stains, so it got put in the back of the cupboard until the right pattern came along. 

Always on the lookout for new patterns of the sewing and knitting variety, I recently picked up a wartime Weldons pattern, a Special Coupon Saving Design!

Designed to save the original purchaser valuable clothing coupons, the fabric usage was very economical indeed, requiring just 1 1/8yds of 36” fabric for the 34” bust.  I had about 2yds of the silk, but with the damage that I had to work around, it was still quite a squeeze to get all the pieces cut.  This was the sort of damage I was working around.

The blouse I went for was the green one, as I liked the idea of trying a neat little collar, and challenging myself to add a pocket, something I’d never done before.  The blouse required bias binding to keep the sleeves neat, and although I didn't have exactly the right shade for a perfect match, I was able to find some vintage binding in my stash that did the trick.

I think the “So-Easy” is very misleading.  Actually, it’s a total fib!  I’ve worked from plenty of vintage patterns in the past, but this one proved a real challenge.

Unlike today’s patterns, most vintage patterns are unprinted, meaning they have no written markings on them at all, they have punch holes instead, and that’s fine, but this one had absobloominglutely no chuffing punch holes at all.  Absolutely didly squit!  It had me turning to my sewing bible, The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Dressmaking, and when that didn’t help; I had to turn to my sewing guru, my mum!  A quick over the phone sewing lesson, and I was sorted.

Plenty of head scratching, chalk marking, tape measuring later, it was done, and I’m really rather pleased with it.  Teamed with the skirt from one of the 1940's suits I have in stock, I think it really looks the part. 

I originally planned to add glass buttons, but the 1930’s buttons I had were slightly rounded on top and therefore a little too heavy for the silk so, for now, it has faceted plastic buttons on.  If I find more suitable buttons before I sell it, then they will be swapped.

I strayed very slightly from the pattern.  I top stitched the yoke to the blouse front, because, personally, I think it gives a cleaner finish.  I also top stitched around the collar and cuffs because, again, I prefer that kind of finish.

The pocket was far easier to add than a thought it would be, it just took patience, lots of measuring (note the no markings comments!!!) and plenty of tacking and pressing. 

The photographs don’t really do justice to this exquisite piece of fabric.  It’s genuinely far nicer “in the flesh”, and I hope it finds a happy new home soon, as it would be perfect to wear in the summer sunshine. 

Reluctant Sale – 1940’s RAF Uniform

Back in 2013, I acquired a small collection of RAF uniform from a private collector in North Norfolk.  The pieces had been in her collection for over 30 years, and originally belonged to one incredible man.

As a general rule, I try to steer well clear of WW2 uniforms.  It’s not that I don’t find them fascinating, because I do; it’s just that I know very little about them and therefore I leave the trading of such things to the experts.

However, just occasionally a collection comes along that is just too darn intriguing to resist. The history attached to a piece of uniform can be fascinating, and in such cases, the budding historian in me, eager to know more about the original owner, wins through, and the piece gets brought home with me!

The collection consisted of a 1945 dated greatcoat, a 1941 dated tunic, a 1930’s mess dress jacket and waistcoat, a pair of post WW2 mess dress trousers, 2 1950’s caps, a late 1940’s blouse, a leather sword frog, some leather gun holsters, and a pair of plus fours with matching waistcoat.  While the sword frog and gun holsters are now sitting happily on my dad’s Sam Browne, the rest of the uniform had been safely stored away, while I pondered what to do with it.    

 

Being bespoke made some of the pieces bore the original purchaser’s name, a G.M.Buxton.  Some delving later, and we established that the uniform we had was originally made for Geoffrey Mungo Buxton, a Wing Commander, later to become Group Captain in the RAF during WW2.

A search of the Internet turned up quite a lot of information.  Technology really us a wonderful thing, and after putting out a request some months ago to see whether anybody had any information about Buxton, I was incredibly lucky to be contacted by his daughter, who furnished me with some invaluable information.

So who was this man?  Well, Geoffrey Mungo Buxton was born in 1906.  Buxton entered the air force as soon as he left school.  He trained in India with them, before being sent to Cambridge University where he achieved a starred first in aeronautical engineering. 

He designed the Buxton Hjordis, a single-seat sailplane built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd, which was flown at competitions in Europe between 1935-1937.  He went on to design the Buxton Hjordis 2, which was again built by Slingsby, but renamed the King Kite. 

During WW2, Buxton was involved in research experiments with “Queen Bee”, seeing whether wooden gliders would get picked up by radar. 

Post war, he was sent to Germany to see how far the Germans had got developing rockets, and the like.  His record of his trip to Germany is held by the RAF Museum, Hendon.  He worked at the Ministry of Supply until 1956, when he retired to North Norfolk. 

Fascinating, don’t you think?  My heart says keep it, but my head says it needs to find a new home with someone who will, hopefully, love and appreciate it as much as I do!  Parting with it is not an easy task, but it has, very reluctantly, been listed on eBay, and you can find the listings by clicking here, and then looking at my other items.

I would dearly love the collection to stay together, but realistically, it is likely to go to separate buyers. 

So if you, or anyone you know, is in search of some RAF uniform, then please take a look at my eBay auction, and give a piece of fascinating uniform a new home.    

Heartfelt Thanks Giveaway!

I want to offer my sincere thanks to each and every one of you who read my last blog post.  I try to mostly keep the blog a happy space, and not whiter on about the duller parts of life, but I had been neglecting this page, and my Facebook page, for far too long, and felt that an explanation was warranted, hence my last ramblings. 

I was worried that it was a little bit of a “woe is me”, whinge and whiney kind of post, but I have been overwhelmed by the number of supportive and kind comments and messages you have sent.  Every single message and comment has been gratefully received, thank you so much, you are all lovely!  It would appear that showing reality, showing that life isn’t all colourful crafting and vintage hunting, isn’t a bad thing after all! 

As a token of my genuine thanks, I am giving away one of my handmade felt corsages.  As I know everyone has different tastes, it will be up to the winner to pick a corsage from my Etsy shop, or I can custom make one in their chosen colours. 

Will it be a cheerful anemone, remembrance poppy, delightful daisy, colourful cluster or one of my other creations? 

 

The giveaway is exclusive to the blog and won’t be on my Facebook page or IG feed. 

What’s more, entry couldn’t be simpler.  All you have to do is be a follower of my blog, and to add a comment to this post.  That’s it.  No hoops to jump through, no sharing required, just a short, one word if you wish, comment – simples!!

The giveaway is open worldwide and entries can be made up until midnight GMT on July 10^th.  The winner will be drawn shortly afterwards.

Good luck.

x

War on the Great Central Railway

Last weekend, we took a trip to the Great Central Railway for their wonderful wartime event. 

We love this railway, wartime event or not!  It boasts ?? miles of track, and they have an impressive collection of traction, of both the steam and diesel variety.  With my Mr being a bit of a train buff, his enthusiasm for traction and a well run railway station has rubbed off on my girlies and me!!

Anyhow, our home for this most enjoyable weekend was the general waiting room on Quorn and Woodhouse station. 

The space we have there is smaller than we are normally used to, so we aren’t able to take our full compliment of stock, but the space has so much character, that we don’t mind taking slightly less stuff with us.  A major plus point of being in the waiting room is that it is clean.  Coal dust and original ‘40s clothing don’t mix that well, so we are happy to have it all safely tucked inside, away from the smuts and smoke of the engines.  The room also gets locked at the end of the day, so we can head back to the hotel, knowing that all is safely under lock and key!

The station staff at Quorn are absolutely brilliant.  They were all helpful and friendly, and certainly made the weekend more enjoyable.  What I didn’t realise, until late on Sunday, was that the station staff are all volunteers, which makes the job they do even more commendable, especially when they were faced with numpties who seemed not to understand that standing on the edge of the platform, with a considerable tonnage of engine heading towards them, wasn’t the most sensible thing in the world to do!! ;o)

As to the event itself, it is brilliantly run, and clearly has a dedicated team behind it.  Every member of staff we met was nice, which sadly isn’t always the case at these events.  There was plenty for the public to see, with battles and parades, static vehicles and displays, including a Spitfire on the Sunday.  We felt that the re-enactors and traders were really well catered for, with great food outlets, good camping, and great facilities.  And what’s more, there was evening entertainment and a bar, to help wile away the evening. 

As is generally the case with such events, I tend not to get the chance to stray far from base, and this weekend was no exception, and I only made it into Quorn yard to have a look at what some of the other traders had on offer, as you do, so sadly my pictures aren’t the best.

There were lots of highs to the weekend.  For the most part, the sun shone, which always seems to lift spirits.  C got to dress up in her newly made dress.  We sold lots of lovely forties goodies (which is what we do it for, after all), and I got to spend some much needed time away with my family. 

Sadly, where there are ups, there are downs, and for some reason, we saw more than our fare share of idiots this weekend!  Now I know that some people won’t think I’m being overly kind here, but bear with me. 

There is no denying that the stuff we sell is expensive.  It is original wartime clothing that has stood the test of time and survived, in the most part unscathed, for 70+ years, and that carries with it a degree of value.  In a way we have never experienced before, we had people compare out stock to charity shop goods, and scoff at the prices of the jumpers which have taken me 50+ hours to knit.  In my opinion, ignorance is no excuse for blatant rudeness.

We also had the jokers of the pack who thought our clothing offered a great fancy dress opportunity, a chance to shove (yes, with force) decade’s old homburgs and bowlers onto the heads of sticky fingered children so they could pose for granddad to take a picture.  Ah, how sweet!  I don’t think so.

There was the lady who tried, and failed, to squeeze herself into a petite 11011 utility coat which resulted in torn lining, brilliant!  Then there was the person who thought one of our fur stoles was cute and cuddly, the perfect thing to play with, roughly, and promptly tore the skins apart.  It was all topped off rather nicely with the theft of a rather exquisite 1930’s carved bone necklace.  I’m hoping karma catches up with the light fingered foul fiend!  Oh, I get to meet some charming folk!!

To be fair, 95% of the people I meet are wonderful, truly.  They are respectful and gentle with the clothing, and understand that, in most cases, it is irreplaceable.  These customers are lovely, and are welcome back anytime! :o)

The perfect ending to the event was the poppy drop, where 1000’s of paper poppies are dropped from a plane and flutter serenely, if a little off target, to the ground. 

Although tired, and a little pinker for our time spent in the sun, we are already looking forward to June 6^th and 7^th 2015, when we can do it all again, if GCR will have us!! xx