London Blogger Meet-Up

A couple of weeks ago, Suzy of Suzy Sewing Blog tweeted that she was going to London to do some fabric shopping and asked for company. Having been a while since my last London road trip I jumped at the chance, knowing I could get a return coach ticket from Cardiff for roughly £20. Further conversations and a blog post later and Lauren of Tea & Crumpets and Justine of Polkadot Pebble were joining us. I'd not come across Justine's blog prior to the meet up but unfortunately for my poor housemate Lauren and Suzy are two of my very favourite bloggers which made me very very excited and very very babble-tastic. For the entire three hours it took to get there (and the three hours return) I don't think I shut up.

We had a lovely map put together by Suzy with shops to visit. I like this approach, it appeals to my Production Co-ordinator side, almost like a call sheet. I had no idea there were so many fabric shops in one area, and we visited each and every one. My favourites were probably Liberty's for its architecture (see Suzy's blog for pictures of us) and the Cloth House. Both Lauren and I decided that if we ever owned a sewing/ crafting shop it would be done out much like the Cloth House. We also discussed a Speakeasy, costume designer careers, Alexander Skarsgard, Game of Thrones, Alexander Skarsgard, Russell Tovey (who we passed in the street), Lord of the Rings and a whole heap of other subjects.

I had a great time chatting about everything under the sun, pointing out the craziest fabrics that could be made in to Doctor Who costumes and wandering around sunny (sunny!) Llundain. Definitely the best road trip in a long time and I hope to do it again soon.

I've finally recovered from the epic day trip and have found the time (whilst at work) to mess about with my photos. I failed miserably to take many interesting pictures, including pictures of any of us, but what I did take is below for your perusal.

Liberty's stairwell

Dress forms at Liberty's

Button wall at Libery's

Lauren, Suzy & Justine at the Cloth House

Suzy & Justine at the Cloth House

The Cloth House's window

And because a trip to London wouldn't be complete without a crazy person busking
whilst hanging upside down from a tree ...

Thanks for stopping by,

Guest Post at Colette Patterns

Sarai of Colette Patterns has very kindly allowed me to write a guest post for her blog on my inspiration for a Spring wardrobe which can be found here should you be interested. It features the yellow shoes of fabulousness (pictured) and my plans for an outfit fit for Spring in Wales. I expect you all to hold me to this please, I need all the arse kicking I can get. The shirt is already a to-be-completed-muslin and the trousers I will sew as a belated effort at Sunni's trouser sew-along. Hopefully all done by Spring. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and a reminder that there are just 5 more days to enter my give-away for an undisclosed (and presently undetermined) prize that I'll ship to anywhere in the world. You don't even have to be a follower, you could just be a random passer-by, I won't hold it against you. I can't guarantee that it's going to be fabulous but it should, at the very least, be interesting!

Thanks for stopping by,

Queensland Flood Appeal

Unashamedly stolen from Sarah, all in the name of a good cause (and my best friend's house which was under 30ft of water). 

Help those affected by the terrible flooding in Queensland

Donate via the official flood appeal website.

Display the above button on your website, blog, etc. Get it here.

Donate an items(s) to be auctioned.

Purchase beautiful items to raise money for QLD flooding.

Participate in Quilts for Queensland.

What Came First ... ?

Is it me, or is there a higher percentage of fashion bloggers out there who are fringed brunettes (or is it just my blog roll)? I follow roughly 60 fashion and fashion sewing blogs en ce moment (I lost count a couple of times), 5 I don't remember seeing post a picture of themselves but 27 of them are brunette's with fringes. Coincidental? In no particular order (other than my reader and their posting habits), we have ...

Ayesha of A Little Brighter Vintage

Laura of The World Looks Red

Maria of Lulu Letty

Lauren of Blooming Leopold

Rhiannon of Liebmarlene Vintage

Mena of Sew Weekly (in my favourite outfit of hers)

Zoe of So Zo

Aya of Strawberry Koi

Len of Can't Say Strawberry

Joanna of La Mignonette

Kennedy of Lay Me In Some Tall Grass; Let Me Do My Thing

Nadia of Nadinoo doing her thing

Kristin of Quiet And Small Adventures

Tasia of Sewaholic

Wendy of The Butterfly Balcony

Twila Jean of The Mysterious Life Of The Metropolitan Housewife

The Stylish Wanderer

Tilly of Tilly And The Buttons

Brittany of Va-Voom Vintage

Let's not forget those lovely brunettes with fringes and short hair!

Sarah of Rhinestones & Telephones

Carys of La Ville Inconnue

Marie of A Sewing Odyssey

Quincy of Q's Daydream

Did I get everyone's names right? Did I miss anyone? Honourable mentions also go out to Gertie, Solannah, Casey and Marianne who, if I remember correctly, all used to have fringes and who are included in my count because ... well, because it's my blog and I say so ;)  That's almost 50% of my blogroll, if I reduced my criteria to just brunette I'd have a much higher percentage. But, still, it does beg the question, what came first, the haircut or the blog?

I don't know about you, but I choose blogs to follow because they're inspirational and make me feel better about my own choices. It stands to reason, when I think about it with more than my usual absenteeism, that the majority of the blogs I follow regarding fashion choice will be written by women who resemble my choices or the choices I want to make. I suppose even amongst vintage and fashion bloggers (or is it just me again?) there's a need to find others like yourself to help bolster your confidence?

I've had a fringe off and on for the last 15 years or so. I say off and on because I have a love/hate relationship with hairdressers so when I find one, regardless of how far away it is, I tend to stick with them. Usually that means a haircut twice a year, including fringe trims. As you can imagine that doesn't bode well for the fringe and it's usually only a matter of weeks before I'm pinning it back.

Fortunately, I've potentially found a hairdresser in Caerphilly who very nicely trimmed my fringe for me a couple of days ago and, as they're very easy to get to and trim fringes for free, I should hopefully be able to keep this one going for longer than three weeks. Win!

Thanks for stopping by,

Welcome 2011

Firstly, Happy New Year! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! And huge apologies to Andrea and Evelyn as the below was supposed to automatically post itself some time ago. I'm so sorry girls, I am obviously incompetent. Thank you both ever so much for my goodies, I love them! I would have posted a picture of me modelling the fab apron that matches my kitchen floor but until I get the wire out of my hand I can't shower, wash my hair or put on make-up properly and, quite naturally I feel, there will be no picture of me until I can. It's a fantastic haul and I'm very grateful to you both for sending it to me.

I know many bloggers are doing/ have done round up posts for 2010 but I've not been blogging a year and I don't feel I've really contributed much that's worth remembering at the moment, beyond silly poses for finished shirts and a truly wonderful shoe collection. Personally, that's more than enough for me but I hope to work a little harder this year with regards to this blog and my sewing. However, I'm dreadful at finishing things so I won't be making that a resolution, that's just asking for trouble! Instead I'll just wish everyone a bright, prosperous and fun New Year. And leave you with a traditional toast to all the beautiful ladies for 2011. For the men who are fortunate enough to have us, the losers who had us and lost us and the very lucky bastards who will still meet us! May this be a fantastic year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Winner!

Just a quick post because I'm way too excited to keep this to myself. I won a giveaway! Evelyn of Oh My Word held a giveaway and I somehow managed to be the lucky winner. This is A First and I'm very excited. Stay tuned to see what the winning prize is once it arrives. Thank Eve! And if you haven't checked out her blog I do recommend it.

Thanks for stopping by,

Project Saver!

Today a rather innocuous envelope appeared on my doormat, courtesy of the lovely Anne of Vintage Fabric Market. If you don't know the site I highly recommend it, she has some great fabrics for sale, vintage patterns, hats, costume jewellery and a range of accessories. And she's got a sale on too!

Whilst browsing her site I came across Simplicity 1683, which you might remember stalled after I discovered I was missing the collar piece. On a whim, I emailed Anne to see if she might be able to help me with my missing piece (s - when I checked fully I was missing three pieces in total). Well, look what arrived this morning!

Yes, that's right, I can finish my dress! The collar, the cuff and the long sleeve pieces are now carefully stuffed in the envelope with my original pattern pieces. It'll have to wait a little longer until my crafting orders are over and done with, but it's now not a wadder for sure (which is always nice!).

Thank you, Anne. I really appreciate all your help.

Thanks for stopping by,

Scavenger Hunt

I've been tagged! I'm at a standstill in terms of clothes as a) I don't have many b) I can't afford fabric and so c) I have little to blog about. Consequently, this post is kind of like the white noise on a telly after a night out on the pish, you can ignore it if you like and no one will be the wiser ;)

Tell Everyone Who Tagged You:

Tea and Crumpets

Find and post the following items:

Your Favourite YouTube Video:

Followed closely by:

A photo of something that will make people say 'awwwww':

Puck and Bear sparko after a spot of duvet destruction

A Funny T-Shirt:

{ Source: Unknown }
Okay, so not funny per se, but it makes me giggle every time I see it

Something Geeky: 

{ Image © Genie Chua }
The jump seat on the TARDIS is the most comfortable chair I have ever sat on. Seriously

{ Image © Genie Chua }
Much more comfortable than Captain Jack's

{ Image © Genie Chua }

An Image From Your Favourite Movie:

{ Source: Unknown }
This is me every time Viggo does something heroic:
"..." *thunk*

A Link to the Newest Blog You've Discovered:

Did You Make That?

A Picture of Something on your Wishlist:

Tag 3 other blogs:

Molly & Mango

Sysaker

Quietandsmalladventures

Thanks for stopping by,