Party First! then Hell...

So what's been keeping me away lately? My ears ... my job ... my sewing ... I'm tired ... i'm weary, and i've still got to get through next week which will leave me worn and torn as well as tired and weary. Each day for the entire week I shall work more hours than I usually do in a whole week! Just the thought of it is exhausting me! Can you believe it's been a year since This Post and That Post?? Well .. the time has arrived, the reason I was hired. I have already managed to book the wrong speaker for the wrong dinner ... oops!

Much more excitingly, and before the horror begins, I have a party to go to on Saturday. My favourite party of the year I might say, and I need a dress. I absolutely refuse to buy one. Have you been in Coast lately? Have you seen the dresses? Have you inspected the dresses? I can do better than overlocked hems, underboned bodices and tatty ends, so I'm damnwell not spending over £150 on shoddy factory made clothes.

Here's what I have in mind - Coast-like because I do love Coast Clothes. Quite 'retro' thanks to the belt which will have a vintage buckle from this stash:

And here's the detail ... Because it's a strapless dress, it will need a foundation. I'm not merely doing a boned bodice, oh no ... I'm going all 'Couture' and I'm doing a proper dress foundation with separate closure underneath the zip closure of the dress. Don't faint! I've got a whole lot of blogs lined up to show you how.


The 'foundation' is on the left of the picture. It extends to the upper hip and contains about 8 bones, with a hook and eye fastening. The front overbust seams are vertical for ease.

The dress on the right, has wider overbust seams so as to enhance the fabric pattern. I'm sure it will do something to the line of the bust too, but i'm not quite sure what! Perhaps it will just make my shoulders look big? You can see where the different dart placements are on the pattern draft.

I've never worn a strapless dress before - high street shops don't cater for the fuller bust, ie anything over a B cup, and so if I do dare to try on something strapless in a shop, I end up looking like an overstuffed sausage! I am an F cup!

I did the pictures on Illustrator - very amateurish I know, which is why this book is on my list for Yule.


Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bed to flop into.... zzzzzz.....

Small World

Today I had a conversation over a cup of tea and a latte about - amongst other things - blogging and bloggers. My companion and I discussed the merits of blogging and how it changes things for people in lots of positive ways big and small. As bloggers ourselves, we talked about how blogging had been a positive force in our own lives, having since we started, improved our creativity, made us notice things we may not have noticed before, honed our writing skills, revealed talents we didn't know we had, provided motivation and inspiration and given us access to community, enabling us to connect with many like minded people who have enriched our lives in all sorts of ways and who, if it were not for blogging, or the internet, we may otherwise never have known.

We had such a lovely conversation my companion and I, not just about blogging, but all sorts of other things too, that nearly 2 hours flew by without so much as a second's notice - as it always does when one is having fun.

I admit, I was nervous, for this was a "blind date" of sorts. I wasn't sure if I would be able to say a single interesting thing, and was worried that my companion would wish she hadn't driven the 5 miles out of Oxford centre after the business which bought her to these parts today. But you see, I have "known" Tracy for ooooh ... perhaps over a year now (?) and so I needn't have worried one jot because there was no need for awkward, icebreaking 'small talk' or 'getting to know you' type of questions. Its a bit strange really but I've seen it described so, many times. Infact, meeting this lovely lady face to face was like meeting someone I have real coffee with quite regularly! It didn't feel at all as if we'd 'not met' before ... Infact, by the time I had walked the short distance back home after our meeting, I had already thought of a trillion and one things I should have said or asked or would have liked to find out or follow up ...

Tracy, it was a joy to meet you today, and I hope we can continue our many conversations next time .. and I really hope there is a next time.

Who Said Corsets are for Girls?

In amongst everything else, I've been sending off orders of corset kits and components. I'm very pleased with how things are going, as though I'm hardly rivalling the fortunes of Alan Sugar, I have sold quite alot of things without having actually done any paid advertising! All I've done so far, is take full advantage of the various social networks online, Facebook, Twitter, etc.,

I received an enquiry from one customer regarding a male corset, right at the same time I decided that I would make one for Mr Marmalade, as I have a pattern but have never made one!

So, I put a Mans kit on the site, and d'you know ... they have been MORE POPULAR than the ladies kits!!

The top corsitiere in the world is a man. He is called Mr Pearl and he has a very very small waist. He is corsitiere to the designers and the stars.

He makes all of his corsets by hand. No machines!

Ofcourse, one of his most celebrated clients is Ms von Teese herself who's waist, I have been told by a very reliable source, is "less than 20 inches". Sigh ...

Sew Poorly

I've been laid low with a horrid ear infection! I thought it was just a little swelling, but by Thursday last I was in such pain that in tears I called the surgery to be told that they only had an appointment the following Monday (today) and that the whole of the West Oxfordshire medical team were "training" for the whole of that afternoon!! I swear it would be easier to get an appointment with Dr Who in his Tardis these days! Anyway, I think the receptionist took pity on my tearful whimpering and, after I explained the problem, managed to fit me in with a doctor before said 'training' event! I came away with a bottle of antibiotic eye drops (yes EYE drops) to drop in my ear, and thankfully, they seem to have done the trick! Apparently the pharmaceutical company who makes these drops, couldn't be bothered with the time and expense of re-licencing them for ear purposes ... not that that decision was reflected in the price!

I'm not the only one who's had some 'medical' attention. While the aforementioned doctors were 'training', a nice man came to my house to service my sewing machine. Yes, came to my house! I couldn't bear to drop her off in a shop and wait the prescribed two weeks for her return, and so it's lucky that I found out about this man.

Look a the state of my needle plate! The nice man had a special file, so it's smooth again now, but these divvets were playing havoc with my sewing as you can imagine! They're there because I had a nasty habit of pulling the fabric through from the back which bends the needle, and then all it takes is one pin to cause a crash, and then a crater.

And look what happens with a blunt needle ... really I had no idea!! The strip on the left is blunt needle syndrome, and on the right, nice new needle perfection.

Meanwhile it's been busy busy busy here, and will continue to be so for the next three weeks. On the table, I've got my ongoing shelf stock makes, a party dress, a corset (for sale), another party'ish dress, and oh .. did I mention my day job.... it's the big conference the week after next .. the one for 500+ people that I was hired to organise ... eeek! The overtime is going to get me one of these ...

So I don't mind too much!

Something Different ..

Here are some things I was very lucky to 'acquire' during my recent shift at Antiques on High - They are vintage, from the 1970's, collars and cuffs which have been hand embroidered with proper mirrors by craft workers in India (or thereabouts).

The collars and cuffs are embrodered onto thin cotton, within printed pattern lines as you can see on the detail picture above. I am supposing that you cut them out with a seam allowance all the way around, and then sew them on, with seam allowance tucked under, to your chosen garment, which I think should also be white as with the best will in the world, it would be hard to entirely hide the white fabric which holds them.

Aren't they exquisite? This green one is my favourite. Here is a detail of the back. The thread used is a thick woolen type of thread - or should I say thin woolen thread?. What I mean is that it is thicker than the usual embroidery floss, but thin like darning wool. All of them have a yellow and black chevron design incorporated, I wonder if this has a special meaning?

I guess those who like to embroider, could make these quite easily to their own design, to sell, or perhaps even for gifting to crafty friends or family members.

These lovely panels need to be cleaned. Very very carefully, by hand, in cold water and on a sunny day!

On the Shelf

I have been busy busy busy! Sewing stuff for my 'shelf', and also stuff for myself!

A selection of red things ...

A selection of brown and gold things!

Dress one - nearly finished, here's a sneaky preview - Dress 2 is currently on the slab, oh ... and then there's Dress 3 - a remake! And I haven't even started on the winter wardrobe yet!

Shopping Anyone?

Yesterday was my first shift at Antiques on High in Oxford, where I have a shelf in the Craft Gallery selling my wares. The shop is a 'co-operative' where antique dealers and crafts people pay a small amount for space to sell their treasures and work one day per month per 'shelf'. It's a great way for people to 'share a shop'.

I thought you might like to come to work with me! No? ... OK .. you do some shopping, I'll show you around...

What about starting the day with some sewing ... there are buttons, and pin cushions, equipment and thimbles, but you might need deep pockets! that little duck down there is made of silver and costs £395!! Worth every penny i'd say!


Fancy a cup of tea? Perhaps there's some cake in one of the tins? Lots of pretty cups and plates to choose from ..

Need some party accessories for later? Choose from bead encrusted bags, divine vintage stones, funky enamel brooches, even collars for the gentlemen and spats for the ladies ..


Glass of wine anyone?? Pick a glass...

Or perhaps just another cup of tea, in a teapot found at the bottom of the South China Sea ... Can you see the barnacles?

When you're Christmas shopping this year, remember, that all antiques and vintage treasures are ...
GREEN!

For more delicious vintage pics from 'Ants', click HERE.