Blotoberfest Day 23: An Afternoon Out

Today I went to hear the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestrawith their music director, Valery Gergiev, play two Tschaikovsky symphonies. As the wife of an orchestral musician, I have the opportunity to experience many fantastic concerts. Today was special not only because it was a world-renowned ensemble with a superstar conductor but because my husband got to enjoy the concert with me. I have noticed at concerts that there is a wide variety of fashion choices and that very few people take the effort to make it an occasion to dress up. Of course, the reason to go to a live performance is to hear the music, so I do not mind what others wear. But, I enjoy dressing for the occasion.
Today's outfit was not 100% thrifted! My dress and belt were bought on sale for more than 60% off at an after-Christmas sale.


The shoes, handbag and cardigan were all thrift. The handbag is blogged about here and the shoes and cardigan were found at my favourite Nearly New Shop. The cardigan is a lovely thin and lightweight silk and cashmere blend that is the perfect layer with a sleeveless dress. The brooch was also thrifted, but I cannot remember where I found it. I love the combination of mother-of-pearl and stones.







The headpiece, or fascinator, is one that I purchased when I went to New York City as a chaperone with my sons' choir. The Men and Boys sang a Sunday morning service at St. Thomas' Fifth Avenue. Outside of the church was a vendor who had a variety of feathered headpieces and jewellery, all of which she crafted herself. I love to bring home locally-made items as souvenirs. This headpiece is great to wear to a concert as it does not obstruct anyone's view as various hats can do. The boys also sang an Evensong today which we were also able to attend, although our eldest had had enough and got the giggles, literally a laugh track by the end of the afternoon.
Lots of music!

New Thrifted Things to Share

Part of the excitement of thrifting is finding things that you, or someone you care about, collect. I collect all three of the items shown here: vintage tins, handbags and hats. There is something about designs lithographed on tins that just grabs my attention and affection. This one has designs based on the illustration from the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. I have seen the book a few times while thrifting and knew it to be a favourite of my maternal Grandmother. Edith Holden was much influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and is a part of a long line of female illustrators that include Kate Greenaway, Beatrix Potter and Cicely Mary Baker. Unlike her commercial work, the diary was written and illustrated for her own personal satisfaction and she had no intention that it would ever be published. Could she have know what pleasure it would bring to future generations? Even though I have owned it for over twenty years, the decorating book based on her seasonal observations gets pulled off the shelf from time to time as it is not as dated as other such books from the same period. It is funny how clothing trends are already embracing the late eighties and early nineties as vintage looks to be repeated while most of the decor trends from the same period are now reviled! I definitely need to find the original Diary for my library in my thrifting forays and I would love to find some of the Noritake China.

This black suede handbag was made in the Republic of Ireland for the Simpson's department store chain most likely in the early sixties. Like Eaton's, Simpson's is no longer; both department stores had venerable histories in this country. The Bay, another iconic company in Canada, is no longer under Canadian ownership. Thrifting definitely inspires one to think about more than just the things one finds. This purse is in like new condition and its quality representative of the goods carried by Simpson's.

The bag has little brass feet and is just roomy enough for many of the extras that the modern woman carries that her vintage sisters would not have dreamed about. Mme. Dariaux says about suede: "No longer elegant for dressy women's shoes, but excellent for sports; black suede (or, better still, antelope) is smart in gloves or a dressy handbag with a jeweller's clasp; washable suede gloves, like the Kislav line, are practical but rather heavy." It is presently my go-to bag!
This hat is a charming little confection made in England out of rayon(labelled viscose) velvet. Anna, my sister in millinery, felt it to be very "eighties winter wedding" which worked very well for a double service choir day last weekend on one of this winter's coldest days. Pictured with the hat are three pieces of jewellery: the red clip earrings are unsigned, the china flower brooch is marked Staffordshire, and the rhinestones hoops are another pair of Sherman's. I think that I may be acquiring too many pieces of costume jewellery and I am working on a solution...stay posted.

My love of lithographed tin extends to trays as well as tea and biscuit tins. I know more than one person who might covet this chinoiserie tray by Worcester Ware. The condition is great and still has the label with care instructions on the back. It is not my only piece made by this company so I will need to share more in future posts. All of the items I am sharing this week are things that I collect and possibly have too many.

Of all of my collections, my Pyrex is the most difficult to store. Much of what I have, I use regularly but I keep acquiring more! Fortunately, 'pyrexia' (not the fever) seems to be infectious and my Mum has caught it from me. This square baker is from the Verde pattern. For Christmas, I sent her two of the Bake Serve Store Casseroles in Verde (link shows Butterfly Gold). Now that I have shared this dish with the blogosphere, I will wrap it up and send it to my Mum. To share more thrifty treasure go to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

An Education

Last night, my husband and I went to see this film which we have wanted to see for a while. Somehow over the holiday and through the surgery period we just could not make time to go to a theatre where it was playing. Living in the suburbs gives me a large house and garden but sometimes keeps us away from more urban pursuits. Fortunately, we live fairly close to a second run theatre that is housed in that suburban scourge, the shopping mall and last night was Toonie Tuesday so the frugal me was happy (unfortunately the seats are not as comfortable as the multiplex cinemas and the people that were in the theatre talked!). If you love vintage, especially early 1960's, you will not be disappointed by this film. The handbag I have pictured here is from the late fifties or maybe the early sixties and fits right in with the style of the film.

The charming young actress Carey Mulligan plays the lead as a young school girl destined for Oxford but questioning the reason for such educational ambitions. It could be said that this story, it is based on the memoir of journalist Lynn Barber, puts the finger right on that point when young women started to think about careers beyond being a teacher, nurse, secretary, and, of course, wife and mother. The society in general was supportive of the idea but was as ambiguous about putting it into practise as it might still be. Having the right kind of education was seen as the goal for the parents of the film's protagonist which would not have been unusual for many couples whose children where born near the end of the war. They knew what label to put on it, they maybe just did not know quite why.

The handbag is labelled Lodix England -Handbags of Taste. The only online information I have located is other vintage handbags for sale and nothing about the company that made them. I find this particularly sad as it means we are losing our society's identity as manufacturers and becoming one of sales people and consumers. The label says "Handbags of Taste" which it certainly is and when it was originally purchased it no doubt was intended to last (which it has) and bought for its quality. Interestingly, unlike today, the label is on the inside whereas today the labels are emblazoned on the outside for everyone to see.

The young Miss Mulligan has been called: "the new Audrey Hepburn". As an huge fan of Miss Hepburn, I find this kind of label unfortunate as it would be impossibly overwhelming to try and live up to and negates the talent and charm of this newcomer as well as that of the original. The clothing style of the film, her slim figure and on-screen presence do suggest similarities but I think that this is not a comparison any young actress of integrity would welcome. Just as Audrey knew, I hope that Carey knows that it is what is inside that counts not the outer shell that we see at first glance.

For me, what I really love about the handbag is the design and quality of the inside of the bag. It allows me to carry almost all that I need when I am out of the house with the exception of indoor shoes and a book or magazine. The pockets are useful and orderly, the original mirror is still in its pocket, the suede is of beautiful quality and has been well cared for. From the few other bags by the same make available online, I believe that it is missing a coin purse but that does not detract from my appreciation of this vintage handbag.

Thrifting and some thoughts

Going to the thrift stores can seem to be more than slightly addictive. For someone who likes to make things it offers all sorts of potential materials to alter or work with. Often I find raw materials: lengths of fabric, ric-rack and seam-binding and buttons. Other times I find things to be transformed: worn-out purses with hardware to be re-used, shrunken sweaters, hats, damaged linens and broken jewellery. This habit that started when looking for raw materials has transformed the way I shop and how I look at things. I have always been cautious about how I spend money while still having an eye for luxury and quality. When I was looking for sweaters to felt, I started to notice sweaters that suited me and were in beautiful condition. I also started to find other articles of clothing that suited me and before long I was looking to the thrift store first for most of my wardrobe. I have often been able to find very good quality labels, like this cardigan from Holt Renfrew and try out colours I do not usually wear, like this turquoise.

Although I have on occasion been surprised by what I find, the best clothes tend to come from specific stores. One of my favourite sources is the Nearly New Shoppe at the Cathedral. This is were I found this Liberty of London and it is not the first Liberty item I have purchased there. I have also found some of my beautiful vintage handbags and costume jewellery that I will feature in a future post. Many of the donations made to this charity shop are made by people who bought quality items that were made to have lasting value. With a few exceptions, this is not now the norm in the retail world and is a refreshing advantage when it can still be found in the thrifting world.

Along with the Liberty print shirt, I found two silk shells, one black and one winter white, that will be good under jackets, a black and white gingham shirt in silk and another old purse to add to my collection. At some point soon I would like to actually model the garments that I thrift like my favourite thrifty fashion blogger, Missa. First I need to figure out how use a tripod or a mirror and then maybe I could grow a few inches and lose a few pounds (and about ten years). I am kidding about the second part but I am starting to think a lot about a vintage diet. After teaching pilates in the fitness world for ten years and living the ballet world for much of my childhood, I approach the idea of a diet with many reservations. That said, I have been thinking a lot about how our society eats now as compared to how our grandparents ate and I think that there is a need for further examination. It would seem that I am not the only one to think about this as Queens of Vintage has wondered this and the Imperial War Museum in London is featuring an exhibition on the Ministry of Food. While I would not say that I am fat, I no longer fit into some of my favourite vintage finds or some of my favourite clothes from the past. In an house with three young boys, it would seem likely that I am simply eating a little too much for a forty-something woman whose favourite physical activities do not involve snow and sub-zero temperatures.
Just as I am not inclined to make resolutions at New Year's, I will not declare that I am on a vintage diet but I am certainly going to think a little more about easy it is to eat a chocolate bar and how I really do not need to eat the whole thing to enjoy it. I do hope to bring some war ration recipes to the blog and with time, I may be able to use the lovely vintage buttons on a jacket for a slightly smaller me.

My Creative Space: Inspiration and Cross-pollination

The focus of my creativity this week has not been in the studio or even being inspired by other blogs. My main focus this week has been preparing for a concert organized by my husband performing with his colleagues and our daughter. His fellow musicians graciously donated their services to help him raise funds for an upcoming trip to England of the Men and Boys' Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa of which our two boys aged 8 and 11 are members. I was involved in publicity and helping to oversee some of the little details to make it run smoothly. The programme featured my husband and fellow National Arts Centre Orchestra musicians Donnie Deacon and Margaret Munro Tobolowska the lion's share performed with harpist Caroline Leonardelli.


This young lady sung four beautiful Italian art songs from the 18th century accompanied by harp. As proud parents, we were delighted with her performance and her desire to help the Choir's upcoming trip. We were thrilled for her and hope she enjoyed the praise as much as we did on her behalf. Our daughter has been singing with the Cathedral Girls Choir for five years and this year has had some important solos and is one of two head girls (each leading the two sides of the choir). Her ease and poise that her experience in the choir has helped her develop allowed her interpretation to shine and her audience to fully enjoy the music.


My creative contribution for this event was the donation of a felt purse to the silent auction held before the concert and during the intermission. The body and handle of the purse was created with a thrifted, felled(felted) sweater that was purchased slightly shrunken already. Some sweaters are so beautiful and in such good condition that I hesitate to purchase them for felling because I believe they still have life left in them in the their original form. With this particular sweater I felt no guilt for continuing the process. I find that fair isle patterns often shrink up the best for creating purses with the final product create a dense felt that is thick enough (but not too thick) to create the body of the bag.


The lining of the purse is made from a thrifted curtain. When I found the curtain on the rack I recognized the print to be Laura Ashley which was confirmed by the selvage within the hemmed sides of the panels. The button closure is a vintage button and the wool I use for the needle felted designs comes from the side seams of the sweaters that I remove before felling. I love the sculptural qualities I can achieve working with scraps of felt and I enjoy combining the three dimensional applied designs with the needle-felting. On a scrap of ribbon, I was able to use the alphabet feature of my sewing machine to create a label.

This week I have enjoyed how my family's musical/dancing talents have inspired me. I also am thrilled with the way sharing with other bloggers seems to inspire us all, whether it is to try new techniques or just to keep going doing what we do knowing that others are interested in what we create. I spent several enjoyable days reading all the blogs linked to Kristy's blog and would encourage others to do the same. One of the most satisfying things about blogging has been making new blog friends. Imagine my delight when I read Katherine's blog at Woolywotnots and found that she had dedicated her post to me! What a flattering incentive to continue sharing. It looks like she is finding the yo-yos as addictive as I do. I love her knitted collectibles and how she shares her inspirations. All of this creativity is definitely benefitting from cross-pollination.

Lucky Me!

Look what came in the mail! I won a give-away from Nadine at Little Lovelies. This little crocheted Egglet is simply darling and beautifully presented. Following her blog is very inspiring and I am very excited that I get to enjoy Nadine's work firsthand. It is great to look at creative projects that use a skill that I do not have. Lately, crocheting has drawn me in and all I can do is a simple chain. Nadine has been showing her work in making granny squares with inspiring colour combinations.
Also tucked into the parcel are three covered buttons. Take a closer look.



I love buttons and will just be enjoying looking at these for quite a while. Hours were spent going through my Mum's button box when I was a kid and I have told her that I want to inherit it! She feels pretty much the same as me about buttons so she takes this request seriously. When I was a child, I visited a lot of fabric stores but my favourite was a haberdashery or notions shop called Buttons and Bows. Apparently it is still at the same location so I will need to visit it in my next visit to Victoria.


I was also lucky the other day because we had the opportunity watch our sons dance both Monday and Tuesday night. It is wonderful to see the culmination of the year's work and dedication but the thrill is to see how much they enjoy themselves. So why the skillet pictured at here you ask? Well with the two boys at pre-performance rehearsals, we had the chance to eat a quick vegetarian meal. But what to make? We have onions, garlic and tomatoes along with some pasta and cannellini beans in the pantry. I had the makings of quick, impromptu pasta dish. I chopped two onions and slowly browned them in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cook them slowly enough to bring out the onions sugars and then add 2 to 3 cloves of chopped garlic and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes. Chop two tomatoes (mine were vine-ripened but unfortunately not organic) and slowly cook them down (around 7 minutes). Add the rinsed and drained beans to heat. While putting this together I found a block of cream cheese in the refrigerator which was perfect for holding the dish together and marrying the flavours (I only used half the block) and added a small amount of Parmigiana and chopped,fresh flat leaf parsley(from the window sill) before tossing it with the pasta. I photographed it before adding pasta as I had gluten-free quinoa fusilli and my husband and daughter had regular rotini. The meal conversation was very quiet compared to usual and somewhat refreshing to be without our vivacious carnivores.

Of course, seeing a special performance means dressing up a little. I have always loved linen and silks. I look forward to wearing this jacket in linen which is beautifully cut and embellished with the taupe skirt (pictured in the back ground). Recently I found a sleeveless silk blouse at the thrift store which works perfectly with this outfit(great print and fit too) and the jacket is the ideal base to one of my vintage brooches.


Another thrifting find is this vintage wicker handbag. I use my felted purses in cool weather but I like summer-like textures as it gets warmer. This purse is in good condition and although it does not have a label, it does say Empire Made on the inside. The Liberty scarf was found at our church's Nearly New Shop. If you love print and pattern, Liberty's can keep your attention for long stretches.

Nadine included a personal note in the parcel which was typed (with a typewriter) and information on creature comfots blog for making free postage labels. My old Smith Corona needs to be used again. Sharing my luck inspires me to have my own give away soon.

My Creative Space: More inspiration and the creative process

As I wrote last week, inspiration can come from many places. I also mentioned how inspiring nature and especially flowers are for me. Pattern on china is something I really enjoy. When I was in my early twenties I was especially drawn to geometric borders on plain white plates. I like the food to be the starring attraction so most dishes are best served by presentation on plain white china. Maybe as a reaction to the long winters in Ottawa or as a throwback to the Bunnykins of my childhood, I now enjoy pattern on my china. A simple cup of tea gives even more reward when I drink from a beautiful cup and saucer like the one here.

A single cookie is more satisfying on a lovely plate. Both china patterns are predominately pink and are beautiful in the sitting area of our bedroom. As I wrote last week, translating flowers to felt benefits from help in seeing artists renderings. It may be obvious by now that I am very inspired by blossoming trees. That love may come from my father's appreciation of Japanese gardens. Many family day trips as a child were spent enjoying the Japanese gardens in and around Victoria, B.C.

Sometimes we were able to visit the world renowned Butchart Gardens. It was expensive to visit even in the seventies so we tended to go only when we brought out of town guests. While many people think of the sunken garden or the Italianate rose garden when referring to Butchart's, I remember the Japanese Garden and the plantings of azaleas and rhododendrons most fondly. While thrifting I came across a souvenir book of the gardens that was published in the mid-seventies. Memories of Butcharts is also a memory in my husbands childhood. His love of gardens did play a small part in the development of our relationship and he is quite delighted that I have inherited some of my skills and love of gardening.
In Ottawa spring takes a long time to really arrive and then suddenly it is summer. In Victoria spring is a long season that gradually unfolds. The cherry blossoms are first and there is one street that sometimes has them blooming in February. Usually the colours and texture of the felted sweaters inspire what sort of surface decoration I create. Possibly because of the faint spring green stripe(between the thick brown stripes) is what suggested the cherry blossoms on this purse. I apologize for the poor quality of the colour in this photo. It was a commissioned bag that I presented to its new owner without taking a digital shot. Another person had a film camera and this is the photo scanned into my computer. The pussy-willows I had in a large pitcher in my dining room when I started this bag likely inspired much of the design.

My domestic surroundings seem to have a huge effect on what I create. Spring seems to suggest little tweaks to refresh our home. The two pieces of pottery are both Denby that I found at the Salvation Army, the ceramic bird is Danish and I bought it at the garage sale of a friend of my grandmother when I was a child. The pillowcase in the background was picked out by my husband (at a great discount) is the only new object in the photo as even the pillow form is an unused Ikea feather pillow form that I thrifted last year.
Be sure to check out what inspires others in there creative space at Kristy's

blog.

Thrifty week

I do not thrift everyday or sometimes even everyweek but some weeks the thrifting fairies are on my side. It seems that a lot more people are thrifting or all the good stuff is not being donated. I get more excited about less. I am happy about how I did the week before last. In this photo there is new(tags still on) Echo silk scarf, Fall 2007 MSL, vintage English binoculars, and a unseasoned Pampered Chef mini-multiple bundt stoneware pan. I have been looking for binoculars for a while and the bake ware should be perfect for mini (6 inches across x 6 cakes) pumpkin loaves and especially gluten and egg free baking.


Also found was a lovely for spring silk chiffon blouse in a lovely robin's egg blue. I had to add some new Tag soap that look like duck eggs. A cute satin evening purse was something I was also delighted to find. It reminds me a little of a Faberge Egg in construction and the handle detail is something I would like to try on my purses.

The best find for my family was a new set of vintage dishes. We have been more than a little frustrated by our current set of stone ware as it is chipping and quite heavy to lift. This almost complete service for eight is Noritake's Progression China in the Arunta pattern. It was made between 1966 and 1974 as everyday china and is microwave and dishwasher safe and the serving pieces appear to be atleast somewhat oven-safe. Does any one know more about this range of china? Replacement pieces are available online and I will keep my eyes out in the thrift stores for more. I find it interesting that the plate size today is so much bigger. If you have an older home with an original kitchen you would be unable to store today's dishes in most upper cabinets. We are becoming a more overweight society and plate size will not help that trend if the plates stay bigger or get bigger still. I have read that even in cookbooks the portion sizes are bigger than 50 years ago. One other recent thrifted find (not photographed) was a 1950's Good Housekeeping cookbook. It has sound nutrition advice for feeding your family and interesting practical meal plans for weight reduction that would seem to work far better than most of today's fad diets.