My Weekend In Photos & Walthamstow Finds

So this past weekend I spent celebrating my 25th birthday with a well deserved to trip to London organised by the husband. We went fabric shopping in the morning, followed by regular shopping in Covent Garden, dinner, a show (Jersey Boys), then a scenic walk. Followed by a BBQ & bike ride on the Sunday. I've been a very spoilt girl!

 

It was my first time at Walthamstow market and it did not disappoint! I've seen people talk about it on various blogs from the UK, but my lord, I wasn't ready for this! Pretty much everything is either £1 or £2 a metre, the most expensive thing I bought was some wool suiting at £3 per metre?! Crazy!

So I went in armed with a £50 budget and this is what I got...





I know you're curious to see a little better, so here's exactly what's included!



4 Metres Grey Herringbone Style Suiting



2 Metres Animal Print Linen Blend



4 Metres Thick Navy Cotton



2 Metres Strawberry Print Cotton



2 Metres Coral Linen Blend



1.5 Metres (I think? Found In Bargain Bin) Teal Georgette



2 Metres Geometric Print Viscose (I Think?)



3 Metres Golden Yellow Georgette



2 Metres Chocolate Polka Dot Viscose (I Think?)

1 Metre Mustard Wood Grain Viscose (I Think?)



2 Metres Diamond Print Cotton



I already have a few ideas up my sleeve as to what I'm gonna do with some of these, but if you were me, what you choose to make with what?

My First Dip Into Quilting

As mentioned in my last post I received this book amongst my birthday presents.

I can honestly say that trying quilting has never crossed my mind, I know a couple of people who do it and enjoy it immensely but seriously how many quilts does one person need to own??

That said, this book has definitely captured my interest, mainly because I enjoy a good sewing challenge and I love making up patterns.

I thought I'd start off easy and try one of the basic quilting patterns, the 'Log Cabin'.

So far I've made 4 squares in total using my jubilee themed fat quarters, and to my untrained eye I think they look pretty good?

I'm not entirely sure if I'm actually going to turn it into a quilt, a cushion cover, or something else, but what I can say is that it was fun.

My Butterick dress is still coming along slowly, although I'm beginning to feel like my interest in it is waining slightly (dangerous territory).

Have any of you guys tried quilting before?



Friday...I'm In Love....

Hello again! I promise I will get back to regular posting at some point, but this week as been particularly busy for me!
On Tuesday I turned 25! So much celebration was had by the husband & I which will follow into this weekend where he is taking me to London to see Jersey Boys. I have been dying to see this stage show for years, and I finally get to see it!
Saturday morning will also see the husband and I venture to Wandsworth Market so I can spend my birthday cash on new fabric! Yay for birthdays!

As promised here are a few snapshots of some of the things I received -

As you should know by now I'm a huge fan of classic movies, and have been dying to get some Fred & Ginger movies on DVD. I also received a book on quilting which I've never done before, but more on that later!

I finally have a copy of the Colette & Burdastyle handbook, and now own 3 more Colette patterns. I also treated myself to these babies after spying them on Ebay.

I am so excited about all of the above that I feel like i've gone into a bit of a sewing related overload, and am completely clueless as to what I should do first?! (After finishing my African Print Butterick dress of course). Any suggestions?

Ooh and I also got a few bits of fabric too

The bag printed fabric is brushed cotton I think? It's so soft. I think it would be perfect for 1950's shirt dress? And the jubilee themed fat quarters are going to be used in my first foray into quilting!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Back From A Break

You may or may not have noticed that I've been a little absent around these parts for the past week or so. Well fear not, posts are being lined up as we speak!
I decided to take a little break from the blog due to me preparing for a vintage car show that I had a stall at.
I was busy replacing zippers and buttons, and re-hemming dresses all last week, which was very dull. Mainly because it wasn't going to be me wearing them!

Anyway, the car show happened on 19th May, and was a roaring success! I had such a blast that I think I'm going to be going back for the Christmas market they hold in December.
There aren't a huge amount of photos floating around as I was slammed from start to finish and didn't get to take many.
My husband managed to take a couple on his phone which I will be stealing at a later date, but to those of you who are curious I managed to find a couple of 'official' photos that were taken by the organisers and are available to buy (along with photos of all the cars featured) here.
I'm probably not allowed to do this, but here are a couple featuring my stall.

Here is me wearing my 1970's polka dot dress, I've got the most unflattering facial expression going on mainly because the man standing next to me (John Madejski) insisted on scanning the tattoos on my arms.

After asking my mother-in-law who he was, he's apparantly the wealthy owner of Reading F.C & the Madejski Stadium situated in Reading also.

And speaking of my mother-in-law who helped me set up & run the stall, this is Sarah and Mr Madejski.

And here's a brief view of my stall overall! My lovely husband made my awesome posters, which I absolutely love!

Later this week I hope to have some photos of my finished Butterick dress, as I'm planning on wearing it this weekend.

And finally.....it's my birthday tomorrow!! My birthday is my favourite day of the year, more so than Christmas! So i'll share what sewing goodies I'm gifted with later in the week also.

Hope you've all had a fab past week/weekend! 





Old Hollywood Inspiration: Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908. Her parents divorced in 1916 and her mother took the family on a trip out West. While there they decided to settle down in the Los Angeles area. After being spotted playing baseball in the street with the neighborhood boys by a film director, Carole was signed to a one-picture contract in 1921 when she was 12.

The film in question was A Perfect Crime (1921). Although she tried for other acting jobs, she would not be seen onscreen again for four years. She returned to a normal life, going to school and participating in athletics, excelling in track and field. By age 15 she had had enough of school, though, and quit. She joined a theater troupe and played in several stage shows, which were for the most part nothing to write home about. In 1925 she passed a screen test and was signed to a contract with Fox Films.

Her first role as a Fox player was Hearts and Spurs (1925), in which she had the lead. Right after that film she appeared in a western called Durand of the Bad Lands (1925). She rounded out 1925 in the comedy Marriage in Transit (1925) (she also appeared in a number of two-reel shorts). In 1926 Carole was seriously injured in an automobile accident that resulted in the left side of her face being scarred. Once she had recovered, Fox canceled her contract. She did find work in a number of shorts during 1928 (13 of them, many for slapstick comedy director Mack Sennett), but did go back for a one-time shot with Fox called Me, Gangster (1928). By now the film industry was moving from the silent era to "talkies". While some stars' careers ended because of heavy accents, poor diction or a voice unsuitable to sound, Carole's light, breezy, sexy voice enabled her to transition smoothly during this period.

Her first sound film was Wanted (1929) at Pathe (her new studio) in 1929. In 1931 she was teamed with William Powell in Man of the World (1931). She and Powell hit it off and soon married, but the marriage didn't work out and they divorced in 1933. No Man of Her Own (1932) put Carole opposite Clark Gable for the first and only time (they married seven years later in 1939). By now she was with Paramount Pictures and was one of its top stars. However, it was Twentieth Century (1934) that showed her true comedic talents and proved to the world what a fine actress she really was. In 1936 Carole received her only Oscar nomination for Best Actress for My Man Godfrey (1936). She was superb as ditzy heiress Irene Bullock. Unfortunately, the coveted award went to Luise Rainer in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which also won for Best Picture.

Carole was now putting out about one film a year of her own choosing, because she wanted whatever role she picked to be a good one. She was adept at picking just the right part, which wasn't surprising as she was smart enough to see through the good-ol'-boy syndrome of the studio moguls. She commanded and received what was one of the top salaries in the business - at one time it was reported she was making $35,000 a week. She made but one film in 1941, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941). Her last film was in 1942, when she played Maria Tura opposite Jack Benny in To Be or Not to Be (1942). Tragically, she didn't live to see its release.

The film was completed in 1941 just at the time the US entered World War II, and was subsequently held back for release until 1942. Meanwhile, Carole went home to Indiana for a war bond rally. On January 16, 1942, Carole, her mother, and 20 other people were flying back to California when the plane went down outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. All aboard perished. The highly acclaimed actress was dead at the age of 33 and few have been able to match her talents since.

Biography: Taken from Imdb
Photos: Taken from here