Festival of the Forties - cancelled

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, this weekend we were meant to be at the Festival of the Forties. 

Anyone living in Blighty can't have escaped the fact that it has been somewhat soggy under foot.  A duck's paradise but not mine!!!  This rotten weather has put a dampener (no pun intended!) on many events, countrywide.

We have been lucky and, as far as 1940's events go, have escaped relatively unscathed; until today.  

Having kept a keen eye on the weather forecast, hoping that, by some miracle, it might be wrong (well it happens doesn't it?) and keeping everything crossed, we packed the van this morning and headed to Peterborough for the Festival of the Forties only to find out that it, too, had fallen foul of the weather and had been cancelled :o( 

A council health and safety executive had inspected the site and taken the decision that the event could not take place.  Given the enormous puddles and state of the site, we understood why.  If we had camped, I fear our beds may have sunk deep into the ground or, worse still, we may woken up in a puddle! :o)  Mr Y hates camping at the best of times, waking up sinking into the mud would have been the end of his days under canvas!

The event looked like it was going to be wonderful.  It had been 18 months in the planning and promised so much.  The organisers seemed to have thought of everything and we were looking forward to attending, as we know so many others were.  Biggest disappointment?  Not going to Big Band dance.

As saddened as we are, we're know that it is nothing compared to the bitter disappointment that the organisers must be feeling and the financial losses that they will have incurred.  They were a brilliant team and the organiser cannot be faulted.  They did everything they could to keep the event going, the damn weather had other ideas!  We very much hope that they will try again next year; we'll definitely be there if they do.

Here's hoping that summer actually makes an appearance, there can't be much more rain up there, can there?!  Ramsey 1940's event is the next one, 5 weeks today.  Surely by August we'll get some sunshine - I hope so.

On a positive note, what to do with a free weekend?  Well, Mr Y can be seen running for the hills because, you see, I am currently flicking through the paint chart wondering where to begin :o)  Oh, and enjoying a rather large slice of cake! 

Turn Back Time - 1940

Have you been watching the Turn Back Time series which is currently running on BBC1?  If you have, do you like it?  If you haven't, you can see it here on BBC iPlayer. 

The series features 3 families who get to experience what life was like for their actual ancestors, from the 1900s through to the 1970s.  There are 3 houses which have been decorated to reflect the living conditions of the working, middle and upper classes. 

Episode 3 featured my favourite era, the 1940s.  They briefly touched on air raids, evacuation, being called up for service, rationing and the black market.  There was so much more that I would have liked to have seen but, within the time limits of just 1 hour, I accept that they were limited as to what they could show.  Photographs of the series are scarce on the Internet, but I did find this one of the Meadows family.


Image taken from BBC website.

I don't know much about the era's featured in episodes 1 and 2 but the decor in this most recent episode was spot on, so many beautiful things, I wanted them all! :o)  Poor Mr Y was subjected to the shouts of "I've got one of those" or "Mum still uses her one of those" as I sat watching it last night.  The kitchen in the Taylor's house was AMAZING!  Vintage and green - what more could you want??  The sink, the cupboards, the enamel, I could go on but I shan't bore you.  

On the downside, the clothing, in a large part, I found disappointing.  Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't expect that they would all be wearing actual clothing of the period, I believe in preservation and all that, but I thought they could have done a far better job.  Take the "spiv" for example in his 1950's trilby!! 

Also a let down were the hairstyles the women had.  I didn't expect perfectly styled rolls because that's not realistic.  If you could see me as I'm typing you would question as to whether I've actually brushed my hair today - birds nest to say the least - but I would have liked to have seen some curls.  Minimal effort seems to have been made and in my book, if you're living the era, that should encompass everything.  As for Mrs Meadows portraying a member of the ARP with her long hair rather than having it properly put up - don't even get me started!!  I shall get off my soap box now :o)

 At the end of the episode, they celebrate VE day with the family members having a bit of a dance. I was half watching it, half knitting when I saw what looked distinctly like one of our jumpers.  Calling Mr Y to come and take a look, I sat perched on the edge of the sofa hoping it would make another appearance.  It did, although very fleetingly, and I was in no doubt that it was mine.  It was unmistakable because I remember having great trouble with the collar that simply wouldn't lie flat and the colour, emerald green by Stylecraft, was incredibly bright, distinctive in fact.  

However, frustratingly, I had to wait until this morning to check it out on iplayer.  Having watched it and paused it numerous times, I can safely say that yes, it's one of ours!  It's shown at about 54 minutes in.  The buttons on the back were the clincher.  I remember selling it last year through eBay.  I wonder where it went and how it came to be on the box!  Here it is being modelled by Doris (the dummy)!

I've been on the telly :o) !!!

Forgive me for being somewhat chuffed, safe to say I haven't stopped smiling since!  

In other news, this weekend, we're at Festival of the Forties.  This is a new event but there is so much going on and even better, it's only £1 to get in :o)  The organisers have gone the extra mile to make things easy and enjoyable for all parties concerned and I'm really looking forward to it.

I should really go and start sorting some bits out, so much to do, not least packing wet weather gear because, according to the weather forecast, we're supposed to have rain, rain and more dastardly rain.  So far this morning all I've managed is to do is card these pieces of jewellery, surprised I'm parting with them really :o)

1930's / 1940's earrings and brooches

Back soon!! x

Little Vintage Lover Fair - Heydon

Well what a wash out today has been.  We were meant to be taking little Y's to the zoo but the weather had other ideas!  We woke to pouring rain which didn't ease off until gone 2pm!  Reluctantly, we spent the day at home knitting (only me obviously!), catching up with friends and eating FAR too much cake. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              A day at home gave me the time to download the very few photographs that I took last weekend.  On July 1st - although I can't believe it was only a week ago because it feels SO much longer - we had a stall at the Little Vintage Lover Fair in Heydon.

I'd never been to Heydon before but found it to be such a pretty village.  It has no through road and no new buildings have been constructed there since the Queen Victoria commemorative well in 1887 (although I'm not sure a well classes as a building but I'm sure you get what I mean!).  As beautiful and quiet as the village is, I'm not sure I'd like to live there - a bit eerie for cowardly me. 

The fair had a lovely atmosphere, was well attended, well organised and we had a brilliant time.  There were some beautiful items offered for sale but I resisted the urge to bring more goodies home with me - just!  Thankfully, the weather stayed fine and only a few drops of rain only fell at 4.30, by which time, we were packing away.   

Shame on me, I didn't get many snaps of the fair, 3 to be precise.  I'm a bit of a camera coward and am not that comfortable walking around taking shots.  Thankfully others did though and you can see some of them here.  My shots.......

This lady was beside us and made the little girl dresses from vintage fabric - very sweet.

Being in North Norfolk, Mr Y took the little Y's to Sherringham and then Cromer.  There was a vintage vehicle run on the North Norfolk Railway and they all had a ride on a vintage bus and steam trains were running on the line.  We're back at the railway in September for their 1940's event.  I'm already looking forward to it!  Just look at the carriages!

Of course, a day beside the seaside means the obligatory ice-cream.  When they came to collect me at the end of the day, the first thing they told me was how tasty it was and how Daddy had let them have a flake AND sprinkles - no photos though as Daddy was too busy scoffing his - and half of eldest Y's!

The next fair is on September 2nd in Burnham Market, North Norfolk.  The fairs are very well run, have a great atmosphere and lots of treasures to be found :o)  What's not to like :o)

Pass the Jubilee parcel :o)

A few months ago, I signed up to the Jubilee swap which had been organised by Lakota over at Faith, Hope and Charity shopping.  I was paired with the very talented Nicole whose blog is Nicole Needles - this lady can really sew and has an amazing collection of vintage patterns!


I have a mountain of paperwork surrounding me this morning and so was very happy to be distracted from the laborious task by the arrival of these parcels in the post.

The paper is brilliant, something I've never seen before and the little Y's have made great use of it.  The carpet is currently covered with a rainbow of stamps as they play postie :o)  Inside the parcels was this collection of goodies :o)

The brooch didn't make it into the shot - sorry :o)

Some lovely patterns, always a winner as far as I'm concerned and you can never have too many.  A pin cushion beautifully made by Nicole.  This was a perfect gift because, as daft as it might sound, I don't have one and was only considering the other day how to go about making one - you've saved me a job - thank you!  The trivia quiz will be tested on Mr Y when he gets home from London tonight.  I wonder if I can make him play for dinner - if he gets them right I cook, if he gets them wrong he buys the takeaway??!!  The tape measure brooch, cleverly made by Nicole, is so novel and very well made, it's already had an outing :o)

The knitted purse is actually my favourite.  Beautifully knitted, and neatly lined, such a pretty design and colour wise, totally up my street - I adore it!  The chocolate coin which had been thoughtfully slipped into the purse made it into the picture, just!  I know two little girls who have their beady eyes on it, we'll see how long it lasts.

I am over the moon with what Nicole chose, thank you SO much! :o) 


I know Nicole has received, and blogged about, the parcel I sent her so I am safe to show you what I picked.  Nicole's blog is lovely.  I had a good old nosey around it to help me chose some things for her and this is what I ended up sending.

A 1950's knitting pattern, a Needlewoman and Needlecraft magazine from 1952, 2 vintage sewing patterns, a handmade felt corsage, a beret I knitted from a 1950's pattern (that I love so much I shall be knitting one for me!) and a packet of jubilee coloured sweets (which may have tasted disgusting!).  Nicole has already had a chance to use the beret and looks very lovely in it - you can check out her post here.


I've never done a swap before.  It was great fun and Nicole was an excellent swap partner - thank you Nicole :o)

1940's Hollywood Dress Pattern

I'm linking in with Lakota's ta-Dah Tuesday posts - check her brilliant post out here.

Back in March, on a day with weather not unlike what we have today, I brought you this post featuring the dress I was planning to make.  

Well, 4 months on (where does time go??), and it's finally finished!  This one was much longer in the making than the blue one.  The problem was, I made the skirt, then the blouse but then things ground to a halt - I think the prospect of those bound buttonholes put me off :o)  Well with the bright weather and renewed enthusiasm having tackled the buttonholes on this dress and it's done! 

Like many vintage patterns, they are hard to date.  I used this website and am guessing that my pattern is probably from 1938 or 1939, vague I know :o) 

This was a real joy to make.  The fabric was so easy to use, not slippery and really good quality.  The fabric comes from The Sunbonnet Sue Collection presented by Windham fabrics.  It's a 1930's reproduction print called tonal clover and it's still available here.  Something I hadn't considered when I had it sent from America was the ludicrously high import charges.  The tax isn't too bad; it's the £8.00 handling fee courtesy of Royal Mail! 


 
With the exception of the buttonholes (which weren't a pattern problem just my lack of experience) the pattern was really easy to work with and everything matched up perfectly.  The buckle is vintage and I made the belt using double thickness petersham ribbon, covered with the fabric.  I drew the line at doing belt holes though as I couldn't find anything mighty enough to get through the finished article.  I welcome any suggestions :o) 

Thankfully I photographed it last week when the sun was shining.  Photographed today and the dummy would have sunk into the mud, as it was the dummy ended up sliding down the pole so I had to sit on the floor to get the shots.  Should probably have made use of my iron before snapping :o)
  

That will be it on the sewing front for a while.  I've got my knitting bug back and will be starting the back of the squares jumper, this time taking greater care!!

1940's Simplicity Dress Pattern

Well, I’ve done it, I’ve made a dress, my first of 2012! 

Last week I discovered, having got up to the neck!, that I had made an irretrievable mistake on a jumper I was knitting.  The pattern is a repeat of squares and I'd managed to get an entire vertical row off centre!!!!  After throwing it across the room and having a right royal tantrum, I pulled it back to the rib (2 weeks work ruined) ready to start again.  I was somewhat cheesed off and simply couldn't face picking up the needles again - I'm sure I'm not alone in that :o)

An entire change was needed and, having seen some other bloggers showing off their beautiful creations, I was desperate to sew a dress.  After much sorting, I opted for this fabric.

It was bought last year in a charity shop for just £5 and at 4 yards long by 45" wide, I think it's safe to say a bargain was had.  Although not an original 1940’s fabric, it has a very pretty print and does the “40’s look” perfectly.  The fabric is a soft cotton which made it really easy to work with (not at all slippery) and it’s so floppy that it hangs beautifully.

An avid hoarder collector of 1930's and 1940's sewing patterns, I have quite a collection.  They are mostly American and many of them are for very small garments - 32" bust anyone? Not I :o)  Because I had oodles of fabric, I thought I’d be sensible and squeeze the biggest dress out of it that I possibly could,  opting for this pattern by Simplicity, dated 1940.

I went for the option on the left because I like the puffy sleeves and I didn't have enough fabric to do the long sleeved one :o) 

I had grand designs to do the contrast collar and trim but just couldn't find suitable fabric.  Buttons and a buckle were, yet again, impossible to match so I had to opt to cover the buttons myself and it was surprisingly easy.  It involved cutting a small circle of fabric and running some stitches round the edge before putting the button into the middle, pulling the thread tightly to create a bag and then fastening it off.  There is a little plastic piece that looks like a washer that slips firmly onto the back and your done - simples :o)

Not so simple were the damn buttonholes!  Bound buttonholes are not a favorite of mine, I find them awkward and fidly and incredibly difficult to line up.  I know it would be easier to use the buttonhole function on my sewing machine but it wouldn't give the finish I was after.  To help me, I made use of a most brilliant book called "The Complete Guide of Sewing".  It was printed in the USA in 1943 and is an absolute gem of a book with clear instructions to complete even the simplest piece of sewing.

I fluffed the binding on the sleeves by machining it onto the wrong side of the fabric, that'll teach me to concentrate harder!  I also ended up not having enough fabric to make the belt in one piece so had to match the fabric on an all blue section and join it together - make do and all that :o)!! 

In all, it took a week to make and the sun was shining beautifully yesterday so I could finish the hem, sitting in the garden - perfect!  Here are the snaps I took today.  The camera isn't doing the colour justice, not sure what happened there and the breeze was doing funny things to the skirt! 

The belt doesn't stick out like that normally, the dummy is smaller than the dress so I had to make the belt far smaller.

Oops - I should probably have ironed it before I put it on the dummy!

It’s all finished in perfect time to take to Heydon this weekend for the Little Vintage Lover fair that is being held there.  Never done this event before but from the pictures on the website, it looks like a goodie!

Here’s hoping for beautiful sunshine :o)

Sutton Hoo

Sorry for my blogging absence - no excuse, I've simply not had anything to blog about! :o) 

I've been busy, incredibly busy in fact, but I don't really feel I've achieved a great deal.  Lots of little things to finish off on various projects and I really need to make time to do them - never enough hours in the day and all that.

Taking me away from more crafting time was a trip we took today to Sutton Hoo.  If you've never heard about this National Trust property before, it's an Anglo-Saxon burial ground, the most important burial found on the site was that of Raedwald and was excavated in 1939.  10 years ago, the exhibition hall opened and the event this weekend marked a decade of it being open to the public. 


The event had both Anglo Saxon and WW2 re-enactors.  An odd mix, you might think, but the Anglo Saxon's were there for obvious reasons and the WW2 element was to represent the use of the site as a military vehicle training site during WW2!  

I must confess, Anglo Saxons aren't really my thing.  I get why the site is important, historically, but it's a time that doesn't interest me.  Having said that, the people portraying this period in time were engaging and very friendly, especially to the little Y's who had a wonderful time and learnt some new things.

More my cup of tea was the WW2 element.  There was meant to be a "make do and mend" display in the house, but it wasn't much cop.  So much so in fact that there wasn't even anything worthy of a photograph :o( 

There were no 1940's "civilians" (not that I expected any) but there was an American camp (which I totally forgot to photograph!) some Land Girls, a lone member of the WVS and the 10th Regiment Suffolk Home Guard. 

The Home Guard interacted with members of the public brilliantly (I am a little biased to be fair!) and they encouraged participation offering broom handles for rifles.  The "physical jerks" (program listing, not my words) were entertaining as the Home Guard took off their blouses (uniform jackets) and got jumping.  Even Raedwald got in on the action, although the press ups were beyond him :o) 

Littlest Y got to fire blanks using a Lee Enfield 303 rifle and the icing on the cake, for her, she got to take the empty casings home.  She has reliably informed me that these make perfect skittles if you use a marble!

As to purchases, I made just the one, this little booklet.  A gem in itself but an added bonus were the 3 tickets inside for the National Fire Service end of course social and dance which was held on January 26th 1944.

The cover makes it clear as to what is inside and I was quite taken with it.  How it survived WW2 though I don't know because, with conundrums like this........

"In our village live Mr. Carpenter, Mr Builder, Mr Joiner and Mr Plumber.  Strange to relate, these four men are by profession, carpenter, builder, joiner and plumber, although none is engaged in the same trade as his name.  The Plumber's son is engaged to Mr. Builder's only child, and the carpenter whose son plays ludo, plays golf with Mr. Plumber.  What is Mr. Joiner by trade"???  ( have you worked it out??)

.......I know for a fact that, had I been the owner, I would have thrown it out the window in sheer frustration! :o)

Finally, when flicking through the photographs of the day, this was my favourite, my oldest on the zip wire.  She did manage to hold on, although how, I'm not quite sure! :o)

Hope you've all had a good weekend.