Charity Shop Finds - Simple Fixes

Sometimes it's a simple as changing/replacing the buttons. I got this gorgeous vintage Hardy Amies wool jacket in Shelter in Stockbridge for a ridiculous bargain of £8. Two buttons were missing from the jacket and I looked for ages for something with a bit of interest. I came across these gorgeous buttons on lotsofbuttons.com which were absolutely perfect:

I love the heritage style of the buttons, they go really well with the tweed but from a distance don't distract from the overall blazer. I got some other gorgeous buttons from lotsofbuttons that will hopefully make their way onto things soon. Massive recommendation for that website, it took about 5 days for them to arrive and they were being shipped from the US! 

C x

Hand-me-down blouse

While we're on the subject of lace, here's a super easy project I managed to do in 5 minutes. The original blouse owner was much better endowed in the chest than me, so I looked a bit daft in it. Because the cap sleeves are only attached 2/3 around the arm hole, I could do a straight stitch on either side of the hip up to the underarm without messing with the sleeves at all (I would have had to undo seams in the arms if the sleeves had been longer). I originally thought about putting a tuck in each sleeve too, but in the end, the exaggerated shape next to the fitted bodice looked quite dramatic, so I left the sleeves oversized. The skirt is that fabulous bargain I got in Primark at the start of the year.

C x

Pantone

Pantone announced their colour of 2011:

I LOVE this colour. It's so cheery but it's also a hard enough pink that I wouldn't call it 'girly'. I may just have to buy the mug. Last year, they used that ghastly blah turquoise:

Which you can probably guess, I am really not too fond of. It reminds me of school toilets and windowless ferry cabins. Both of which have connotations of vomit. Lots of it.

So I'll buy the mug and then I'll make a cute tea dress in that very colour. And how will I make that tea dress? Well, with my brand new SEWING MACHINE.

In case you didn't know what one looked like. Best birthday present ever. 

It was my 21st, and despite being snowed in, it was the best birthday ever. Want to see the dress I wore? Of course you do:

Miss Selfridge, on sale for £30. It has a ♥tulle♥ underskirt, which keeps it nice and pouffy. I did my hair up in a 60s beehive and wore black opaques and black heels, since it was snowing. See the pink in the flowers and leaves? Pantone 18-2120. Trendy.

If you were looking for something to click on, try this: www.latestinbeauty.com
You can pick 3 free sample products every month, and you pay £1 via your mobile phone to cover postage. There are some crappy products (like a perfumed wipe) that I wouldn't bother with, but you can get sample microdermabrasion kits, perfume in teeny black vials and men's products too. I'll let you know whether it's worth it when I get my first box.

C x

Scarf knitting

Spent my Saturday knitting, I had forgotten how easy it was to pass time with.

It was a super simple scarf to do, using moss stitch (knit one, purl one). I used 1 hank of gorgeous Colinette Giotto wool (rayon/cotton mix), using 8mm needles. It's supposed to be 21 stitches wide but I lost a bit of tension occasionally which made it a little wobbly. Seems to blend in with the textured wool though. I didn't bother with tassles or anything but I'm considering sewing the two ends together to make a snood...?

Probably the last Saturday of this year with enough free time to do the whole thing, but I am offering my services to friends if they want a simple Winter scarf, free of charge (except paying for the hanks - £6.95 for one Giotto hank). 

Love x

Cross Stitch

My finished cross-stitch project looked awesome:

I mounted it and gave it to Mum for Mother's Day. My one regret was not using an embroidery frame - I lost a bit of tension in places and the bottom border ended up a bit squint. But I was happy as it was a first attempt.

I also made the stupid mistake of not using a craft knife when creating the card mount. Instead I used a nice pair of blunt scissors that, as I should have known, slipped and cut the top of my thumb open :(   Such a rookie mistake.