Mumma's cute lil bubba socks

My Mumma is soooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at these darling little bubba socks she knits.

These are knitted out of a single strand of wool, that changes colour and as you knit forms little stripes.

The aubergine and lemon stripes on this pair, give them a summer zing, I call these Tigger socks, cos they have the energy of Tigger from Winni the Pooh.

Remember Tigger. In this image Pooh had been woken in the night by Tigger knocking at his door. He had let him in and gone back to bed. As he said goodnight, being Pooh, he thought about breakfast, and asked Tigger, "Do Tiggers like honey?" Tigger cheerfully replied cheerfully, "They like everything!" Then tigger sat down in front of the mirror saying, "I've found someone just like me. I thought I was the only one of them."

Unlike Tiggers, socks come in pairs. These look like Fair Isle knitting, which comes from a tiny island in the north of Scotland. The style was made famous when the Prince of Wales, wore hand knitted Fair Isle vests in public in 1928.

Later to become Edward VIII, he was a leader of fashion in the 1920's and 30's.

Fair Isle socks.

Woollen lollipops.

Aren't they wonderful?

Stay cozy darlings, love you Mumma.

Gotta go to bed, its late.

A Display Doll for my Mumma

Do you remember Pippi Long-Stocking?

Full name, Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking.

I had a wonderful meal with my Mum the other day, and we were discussing how we could better display the toddler and babies' socks, that she knits to sell, at the Spinners and Weavers little shop, downtown Tauranga in the Cargo Shed. We decided on a rag doll that would wear a pair of the socks and attract the eye. As we talked about that idea, we remembered Pippi Longstocking.

I used to love Pippi Longstocking when I was young. The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, is a book written by Astrid Lindgren, that became a T.V. show, and told the story of a young 9 year old girl, who lived in her own house, by her own rules, with her pet monkey and her spotted horse. She would stride around town in a man's pair of shoes (she was the first queen of grunge), and was so strong, she could lift her horse. She was a defender of the poor and weak, and had a suitcase full of gold, and a thrilling naughtiness.

She was a naughty little darling, and don't we all want to be able to be like her at times, free to do whatever we chose.

Rag dolls have been around for a while, as this lovely Victorian doll shows.

This little cutey had a wonderful mouth.

Don't you love those skinny little legs, sticking out of the big baggy shorts.

Rag dolls are even a part of the computer age now.

Oh and she just brings out the Goth in me, scary spider lady.

So I started sewing, and a little warning here my busy creative darlings, making rag dolls makes a mess in your house, all that clipping around curved edges so the seams sit right.

The palest of pink silk taffetas for her legs.

Almost there, I stuffed her with dacron, and it needed to be packed tightly, to hold her form, a chopstick for a back bone was inserted into her body, to hold her neck

upright.

And here she is, the sewing all done, she was a little cold, without any hair, as it has been terribly cold the last couple of days, as winter fights off summer to hold its dominance, in this battle of the seasons that we call spring.

I know she's a little bit, Spongebob Square Pants, but it was a first attempt, and I am hoping the wonderful hair, that Mumma is spinning will cover her misshapen crown. Her eyes are appliqued green chintz, her freckles french knots worked in chenille thread, her nose and mouth embroidered with embroidery silk, and her eyebrows are couched decorative yellow thread - (if you are still reading this, it is official you are a textile junky).

So Pippi is all sewn up, waiting patiently for her hair and some clothes. She is settling in rather nicely, making herself right at home. Now I want to make her a spotted horse, to call her very own.

A New Idea for the blog

Salute ma petite darlings.

I have something new for you today.

It is going to be a regular thing I will try to do once a week, for a little bit of fun.

Its called Spot the Darling!

And to begin I would love it if you could tell me, which one of these three engravings, photographed from old copies of The Illustrated London News, do you like the best.

This Weeks Challenge

THE STYLISH

Do you like the style of these three Samoan men, who worked on English ships in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

THE INDULGED

Or the style of this young woman, who had her toy dog specially trained to carry her train, oh the delight of it! The little thing on its hind feet, with a mouthful of his mistresses robes, kinda like little girls who dress their dogs up in dresses for fun.

THE SEXY

Or this engraving titled, Italy saluting France, well I'm sorry my pristine darlings, but it is just deliciously sexy.

So now its time for you to make your choice, The Stylish, The Indulged or The Sexy? Tell me what you think, do any of these images, strike a cord with you?

Is this Jemima Puddle-Duck?

The latest Greatest Charity Shop Find

I love hunting through doilies and tablecloths in second-hand shops looking for that hidden treasure. The beautifully embroidered cloth, that has been thrown in with the common and ordinary, by someone who does not have the connoisseurship or specialist knowledge, to see that this was worked by a skilled artisan and is a wonderful piece.

I found two such pieces this week and here is one of them. This is a little pyjama case, or maybe a cot pillowcase, found in a Charity shop.

It has the cutest little duck worked in applique and embroidery, in the finest detail. The colours, the composition, and the content are all delightful, and I couldn't believe my luck. I was going to cut it up to use it as part of a project, but when I got it home and saw how skillfully it had been worked, I decided it had to be saved, this was a work of art.

I wonder if it is Jemima Puddleduck, what do you think? I don't think the hat is a poke bonnet, like Jemima's.

You start to comprehend the detail in the embroidery when you see the scale against my fingertip. These little treasures, like many of us at times, my cherished darlings, are often not appreciated, now that few spend their time at this wonderful craft. If you are lucky enough to come across a piece like this, for $2.50, like I did, think of the hours of work that would have gone into creating it, and the years of training it would have taken to create something as perfect and without fault as this.

The Best Way Series No. 16 Coat

The Design of the Embroidery

Well its decided, and no-one disagreed, this coat is the one for me. I still haven't decided on what fabric to use, but I don't think the hound's tooth is right for it, but we will see. The directions for the Sacque Coat that I am taking the pattern off, say: "Dove-grey garbardine, tricotine, or cloth, with soutache in the same shade. Soutache is special cord that is sewn on by hand to form the decorative patterns as you see below. Garbardine is: A sturdy, tightly woven fabric of cotton, wool, or rayon twill. Tricotine is similar to garbardine, and is defined as: a sturdy worsted

fabric with a double twill, used for dresses and suits.

This is the soutache design on the artist's illustration of the coat. But I wanted to have a go at doing something with more of an Art Nouveau style.

I love this.

I like this for the front of the coat, mirrored on each side of the seam pockets.

So I trace the pattern and then did 4 carbon copies, as I would need to replicate this design 8 times, as it is on the back of the coat as well.

This is the final pattern, what do you think? I think it may prove to be too complicated, but I would be so proud of myself, if I could reproduce it, with soutache and embroidery, and maybe some beading.

Decisions Decisions

Jo Jo's Coat

Hallo my precious darlings, I was hoping that you could help me, you see I can't decide which coat to make. You know I love old newspapers, and I recently came across this advertisement in a New Zealand Herald from 1923, for the old Farmer's Store in Auckland, (which I think is still there on the corner of Hobson and Wyndham, am I right my darling Jaffas).

This is it in 1936, 19 years after this advert was placed in the paper, but I digress.

So this is the coat, isn't it sweet?

This advert for dresses was in the same paper, these simple dresses, were perfect for a manufacturing industry that was still in its infancy, pattern cutting and sizing were not as advanced as today.

I did a sketch to help myself understand the pattern pieces.

Then drew a sketch of what I thought the pattern pieces would look like. I think that collar is totally wrong.

I bought a wool houndstooth tweed, and some brown satin for the lining. I had some leather buttons in my collection, that I like because they were quite masculine.

Houndstooth Tweed

But then, I came across the Best Way magazine in the Brain Watkins House, and it was all over for the 1923 Coat.

I love this coat, what do you think my fashion loving darlings? And those shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT THEM!!!!!!!!!!! Now my admirable ones, don't let this outburst upset you. What do you think? Am I right? Is it the 1919 coat, or the 1923 coat, which do you prefer?

1950's Floral fabric on Trade Me

My 1950's Fabric Find

Look at this wonderful find, 4.3 meters of fabric, advertised as 1950's or earlier on Trade Me. Here it is fresh out of the box.

I loved it at first sight and just wanted to ponder on it for a while before I decided what to make with it. Of course it would have to be one of the Australian Journal Patterns from the 1950's.

The fabric is transparent, and synthetic, and is kinda like a synthetic voile. Voile is normally made of cotton, and has a stiff crisp feel to it.

So let me know, do you like it, or should it be shower curtain in a motor camp?