Strike a pose. Vogue

It’s been a while since I shared my initial plans to create a space to craft, and while it’s worked out well there have been some additions and changes along the way. The pegboards have been excellent for storage in a space that otherwise wouldn’t have been used, and even though they’re in a cupboard it’s great that they keep things so organised.

But actually the biggest game changer has been the additional desk top - and space that provides - that we added earlier in the year. I don’t know why, but now I just seem to get so much more done and without moving piles or stuff, or projects as I like to call them! Maybe that’s why…

I’m still very much liking the plain white walls, though a couple more things have found their home hanging on the walls here - there’s the colour wheel plate which is already up, and I plan to add a picture which I brought back from my travels, or more precisely from my stopover in Singapore way back in 2000, underneath it.

I thought I was done picture wise.

But it turns out I’m not.

As soon as I saw these at my sewing group’s recent stash sale I knew that some would end up on the wall in my craft room. But how many? I guessed three would work, as I think things in odd numbers always look better. But which three? Eventually I narrowed it down and left with these three images from a vintage Vogue pattern catalogue, thought to date back to 1949/50, and I couldn’t be happier.

Each of them makes me smile for many reasons, and not just for the illustrations which in so many ways reminded me of those I shared from the Biba exhibition recently, but also for the memories of flicking through pattern catalogues in shops which have long gone; The Button Shop in South Norwood High Street and Allders in Croydon are just two that spring to mind.

1 The Jacket Dress

This was actually the last of the images I chose, and it was chosen to balance colour-wise alongside the two-piece dress further below, but that wasn’t the only reason. I’m not so good with jackets, and have few in my wardrobe, though I did fall in love and buy one last summer, and I’ve worn that precisely, once!

But as the text says ‘the jacket-dress is a staunch friend of the busy woman who is in a whirl of activities thoughout the day’ - maybe I just don’t have enough whirl to my activities, though of course with this I would!

2 The One-Piece Dress “Easy-To-Make”

Ah yes, the ballgown which is labelled as easy to make. Yes, I’m sure it is if you’re an expert sewer, and maybe that was the market when the catalogue was published. However I loved the drawings, and was quite taken with the pink version, and the tiny waist.

Looking at the sizing table though, and another indication of how things have changed. A size 14 with a 32 bust - today’s size 14 is usually a 38-40 bust.

3 Two-Piece Dress and Detachable Apron

Indeed, it’s what my wardrobe has been missing! Not. This was the one the first caught my eye. The style of the dress itself is hardly dated at all, but the idea of having an ‘apron overskirt’ is a whole other world away isn’t it. It’s a glorious part of history though, and I know all of the illustrations will look great on my wall.

The stash sale itself was a really friendly and sharing event. Everyone was keen to see everyone’s purchases and new treasures. These illustrations drew some admiration, and I got talking to two older ladies who shared that their mothers had ‘done the housework in their Sunday best’ as that’s what was done then, so the apron would have been a useful addition. One lady recalled how her mother used to have a bath in the afternoon, after the housework and before cooking dinner for when her husband arrived home.

I was speaking to my mum shortly after and recalled the stories above, mum retold a story about her nan always having her best underwear on when she went out, even if that was across the road to the shop, just in case she got run over. It gives a lot of credence to the old adage doesn’t it? Anyway, onto framing my pictures.

Framing them

My plan now (or well soon) is to get these custom-framed, as they’re not a standard size so it’s not as simple as just buying a frame, or as cheap! We’ve had some artwork framed since we moved here, but sadly the shop that did this (and did them very well) has now closed, though they recommended another shop in town, so I’ll have to check that one out.

My thoughts are to have a very simple, thin frame. Ideally I’d like a metal frame but I don’t think my budget will stretch to that (but I’m happy to be proven wrong!) so my second choice will be a metallic coloured frame - I’m nothing if not resourceful! But we’ll see. I’ve also worked out that with a narrow frame, all three can hang side by side which is my preference.

So it’s a watch this space, but in the meantime every time I see them I can’t help but smile and think this is the best £3 I’ve probably ever spent.

Post Comment Love 2 - 5 May

Hello there, and welcome back after our Easter break to this week’s #PoCoLo - a relaxed, friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here for our last linky it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

We’re also keeping this link party open a day longer than usual as it’s a bank holiday here in the UK, so we’ll close it at 11pm on Monday rather than Sunday.

It’s only been two weeks since we last met up, but it seems quite a while ago. I hope you had a good Easter break, ours like most of April, was full of family, good times and good food so I’m not complaining. We’ve been to National Trust properties, garden shows, craft stash sales and plenty more which means my posts are as ever piling up, so I’ve plenty in my blog planner for you to look forward to.

My photo this week is of these darling miniature vases - which I couldn’t resist filling with snippings from the parsley, olive, hebe and mint plants in the garden - are a thank you gift from our neighbour for feeding their cats recently. Aren’t they fab, and yes, the cats were equally cute though mostly they kept themselves scarce, though they were getting braver towards the end of the week. Typical hey?

Have a good week, and thanks for being here.

My garden in April

Last month it was all about the bulbs in my garden, this month they’ve been and gone. The tulips were a bit of a let down really, and so I think they need some attention once they’ve died back. My plan is to repot them so they’ll have some fresh soil for next spring, and while I’m at it some of my daffodils would probably also benefit from the same treatment.

This month it’s been about the shrubs coming back to life, though not all of them are there yet disappointingly. There’s been a first visit to a garden show - more on what we saw there in a future post, but carry on reading to see what I left with and my plans for those.

With nice weather it’s surprising how quickly things - and specifically plants - change. At the start of the month this acer was only just coming into bud, a fortnight later it was in full leaf and looking really healthy. These past few hot days has seen it drop a few leaves, so plenty of water when it cools down in the evening has, I think, been helping.

Likewise our crab apple tree started to develop the red buds of blossom in the middle of month, so for our family barbecue, it glistened jewel-like in the background, and then boom - the blossom was out in all its gloriousness a week or so later. I’ve many more photos of it than I’m sharing here, but please indulge me a bit of home grown blossom love!

Yes, you can see how it’s quite addictive!

Elsewhere in the garden the dogwoods also started to flower, and yes they’re still in the pots we moved them in. Over the winter I’ve been trying them out in a new spot - one that we can see from the house, so when their stems are at their vibrant best we can enjoy them from inside. We’re happy with the spot they’re in now, so they are earmarked for planting out when the conditions are right.

The peach tree has shed all its blossom now, and there are a few tiny, tiny fruits starting to develop. It’s shot up too, so I think I’ll be able to train one, maybe two more horizontal branches - though I do need to get some more canes (or shackle enough together) to do this.

It’s also developed what I’m pretty sure is peach leaf curl, a fungal disease which causes red patches - and while they in themselves are quite stunning, they can’t be doing the plant any good. The advice is to remove the affected leaves as quickly as possible and before the fungus blooms, which I’ve done, and hopefully this will reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for any more leaves, and removing those too. The solution is apparently to cover them with plastic over the winter months, which clearly is a bit late to know about now. Anyway, let’s hope it’s just a blip and it continues to grow and produce at least a couple of fruit.

Our longer term plan is to plant it at the base of the wall (which will make it easy to cover in plastic sheeting in future) but exactly where is still unknown. If planting it out is its next step then I could probably make a call, but if it’s happy to continue in a pot then I have one - and a much bigger one - on standby. We bought this at the Newark Garden Show, and while it looks like terracotta it’s actually plastic, and it’s one of the best I’ve seen. It’s much lighter than a terracotta pot (obviously) and a bit more resilient too, and if the peach tree is ready to move then it also gives me a bit more decision-making time!

We also bought a new, but aged and distressed, iron sculpture at the show - it’s currently still in its black plastic wrapping but has moved inside the garage for the time being. Getting it into the car was fun, but we managed it with the seats rearranged and MOH sitting in the back holding it in place.

Last year I only left the show with a couple of lupins, as our new garden was still very new to us and my plans were completely unknown. This year my appetite for plants has returned a little, and we did make some purchases including these Southern Globe Thistles which are perennials that like full/part sun and should flower in July/August with blue spherical flower heads.

This unusual Iris caught my eye - its flowers are a copper bronze and mahogany and it’d normally flower in May/June and once again it’s one that will return each year. Then there were a couple of dark flowered and purple leaved Penstemons, which along with those pictured will look great in a cottage garden type setting, which is lucky as that’s something I have in mind, but in the meantime I’ll continue to grow them in pots, potting them on as I need to.

I also succumbed to a fatsia, we had one in our previous garden which was huuuge but also very forgiving and very structural. This one is quite a bit smaller, and since seeing the white fatsia at last year’s Gardeners’ World Live it’s clearly been playing on my mind. I didn’t even know you could get white fatsias, but a variegated one seems like an even better option to me.

It has a bit of growing to do though, and I’ll be potting it on through a variety of ever increasing pots I’m sure.

Then I picked up a couple of tomato plants, this year opting for something a little more unusual than the Gardener’s Delight which I picked up from a garden centre late-on last year. There’s a red Honeycomb cherry tomato plant on the right, and a black skinned variety on the left.

It’s the tomatoes that have made me realise how much I miss having a greenhouse, and that not having a greenhouse makes seed growing quite hard work! That means it makes sense to stick to buying some plants for the time being, and that planning a greenhouse really should move up my priority list. And so it seemed right that my final purchase from the show was these tiny vintage terracotta pots, to add to my growing collection - and which will have pride of place in my new greenhouse one day!

Aren’t these just fab? And that one with PINK written on the rim, well I couldn’t leave that one there now could I?!