Post Easter Post

For me and my family, Easter is a much needed opportunity to take a break and relax.  12 yo daughter is too old for an Easter Egg hunt now but we still partake in a few choc eggs.  Here in New Zealand we have both Good Friday and the following Monday as Public Holidays.  Therefore we have a four day weekend!  There are certain laws about shops and restaurants being open, and over the years the loud voice of Joe and Josephine Public seems to demand the right to eat and drink, and shop, any day they wish, in fact any day a business wishes to be open.

Sadly this need to consume has overtaken the need for many to have a break and relax with family.  As a happy thrifter, opshopper and careful manager of the family pantry, I do not need (or want) to go retail shopping or dine out or go for a drink on a Public Holiday.  

On Sunday, when the sun finally came out from behind the stormy clouds caused by Cyclone Ita, my family and I went for a walk, and this is what we saw:

The stunning Otago Harbour - a rustic boatshed, a crab warming itself in the sun, a heron wading for snacks and a dead octopus.

Walking by the water is fascinating and with only a warm breeze to disturb the surface I could see lots of ripples caused by insects and tiny fish.  The octopus was huge - I estimate the head as large as a 12 yo!  Although it was dead, I realise how lucky I am to live where a live one would not be uncommon.  

In contrast to the calm harbour, the next day we went for a walk to Second Beach which bears the brunt of the Pacific ocean.  The beach is almost inaccessible but there is a pleasant walkway and unusual rock formations to admire:

Wearing vintage cotton smock shirt dress (the fabric is a bit like cordroy but the ridges are not as pronounced.  Jacket, boots and cardigan are all thrifted.  Leggings, scarf and hat are all retail. 

I managed to do a little sewing (nothing of note to share at present).  Also, for the first time ever I washed, dried and ironed some fabric prior to cutting out.  I know I should do this, but I usually can't be bothered.  Although it is not vintage fabric it is very much in the vintage theme and hence I decided to do the right thing and wash, and dry and iron!:

The pattern is huge and I realise I should have put a pen or something in the right hand photo so you could get an idea of proportion.  I am thinking of making something which requires minimal cutting so that the patterns are kept complete - like a shirt dress  - or something totally over the top and impractical like a big skirt.  The background is not white - in these photos it has a pink hue - but it is not calico coloured either.  The pattern is a dark blue that reminds me of the ink my Dad used when I was little - Parkers Quink Ink.  

Lastly I want to show what I was wearing today:

 

 

Pink Osti polyester dress from Toffs, pink cardigan from Savemart, leather jacket from the salvation Army.  Fox brooch a gift, tights and boots retail.  Earrings made in Dunedin by Kismet.

So, how was your Easter weekend? Did you have a relaxing weekend?  I hope so!

Bye for now, Penny-Rose xx

Patterns and Patterns, green and green

Hi Everyone, 

I hope that blog post title isn't too boring to catch your attention.  I may have posted a few colour blocked outfits recently, but I still love patterns - especially spots, dots, dashes, blobs, and lines.  

I really really like graduated patterns which go from the hem upwards!  Anyway, on St Patrick's day, I was in a dilemma about which green dress to wear (I have several) and I ended up wearing this one (which has spots and stripes at the collar and cuffs and the belt):

 

The dress above (a St Michael special for tall women)  may be getting too small for me - or maybe its just my posture.  In honour of St Paddy I also put a demure green streak through my hair and wore my green hair clips.  I do have green shoes but I cannot wear them at present as my torn plantar fascia is still giving me a few problems (arch of my foot).  The red shoes were chosen by my friends and readers via my facebook page.  The silver hoop earrings were my all time favourites as they went with everything.  During one of my Friday lunchtime catch-ups with my Dear Friend Lisa, I lost one and did not realise until I got home.  I am now on a quest for a replacement pair.

With the Easter holidays coming up (combined with School holidays) I am hoping to do some more sewing.  I keep finding awesome sewing patterns that I just have to buy.  They are only a few cents each!  They are green too, in as much that I can recycle them and use them, or use them to wrap gifts. 

The one in the centre one is a vintage Vogue and I love the neckline variation.  The Weigels (bottom row centre) is far too small for me, but I could not resist the cute picture.  I did not realise when I made this collage that the name of pattern and the pattern number were chopped off, which is a bit annoying when I think that I am trying to keep a visual record of my patterns!  Sometimes, I am just so keen to get the photos in a collage and posted I do not think about what things look like from the readers point of view.  

Okay, its a Monday night, and a pumpkin risotto is on the stove simmering, cold roast lamb is being carved and I just need to cook some greenery.  The fire it lit and one cat is positioned on a chair directly underneath the kitchen table (the roast lamb being directly above her).  Her brother is throwing himself at the front door demanding to be let in. Silly cat.

Bye for now, Penny-Rose

Would I be alive if I lived in a black and white world?

I seem to be loving colour more than ever at the moment - may be its the changing seasons.  We have just turned back our clocks to end daylight savings, and the result is: very few outfit photos.

Luckily, here are a couple I prepared earlier.  

I loved wearing this outfit, just ignore my facial expression.  The skirt is a die-hard favourite which I found at a rummage at a school fair.  I bought it with several other items for a couple of bucks.  My only criticism of it is that the waist band was sewn with invisible thread which has started breaking and now little prickly bits dig into my stomach (maybe that explains the facial expression! )

Me Made top, thrifted skirt, jacket and flower both retail, plastic shoes borrowed from 12yo daughter.  French jet (ie glass) necklace dating bought on Trademe for $1.

The other outfit I want to show you tonight is a violent combination of yellow and pink.  Inspired by my birdcage earrings:

 1980s? cotton linen dress from Toffs, cardigan from Savemart,  

Heart necklace made by my daughter about 6 years ago.

Birdcage earrings retail - the birds really swing.

I lied about the violent bit.  Although I had to be be-headed LOL.  The lighting in the hallway is not flattering for my complexion - although the end result is that it is a very true representation of the colours of the dress & cardi.

Its been a very busy week work-wise plus I had a Union meeting, also 12yo had her final waterpolo game of the season (a win yay) and today the final volleyball game (a loss to an all boys team but it was lots of fun).  My other bit of news is that the local council have granted us planning permission to build a house!!!  This means that we can now talk to the builder and work out when things actually start!    

Hope you all have a great weekend, 
take care, 
Penny-Rose xxx

Colour Block Friday and I found a purple dress

This week I wore something a bit different on Friday, so I can't really call this a FOF post - it is however a Colour Block post.

I am behind in blogging and reading due to a cold.  An annoying cold. 
Bright colours certainly compensate for not feeling 100%.

 Purple skirt - was once an evening dress - from Toffs, with teeshirt and cardigan both from Hospice Shop.  Shoes, watch and liquorice allsorts earrings all retail.

This outfit started from the ground up - I bought the shoes on Thursday and noticed when I put them on that there were flashes of purple - so I put on a purple skirt - then I could see sparks of yellow (very tiny ones) so I put on a yellow tee shirt - then I could see a bit of blue like a cloud - so naturally, I put on a turquoise cardigan.  Voila.  I found the badge at a music store which was closing down at lunchtime on Friday.  The irony is, that the badge was probably made in China. 

Earlier in the week I wore the same colour combination - purple and turquoise:

 

The dress is much much more purple in real life.  I pounced on it in the St V de P Shop, because I don't have a plain purple dress.  The nuclear free belt was a gift from my dear op-shopping buddy Tanya, the bracelets are a mix of thrift and KMART.  Like many dresses of its era, it has an elastic waist which was tiny.  I used my quick-unpick to undo some of the elastic and then carefully cut, allowing for several extra inches in the waist.  Fortunately because the skirt is pleated this was a very satisfactory arrangement.  

My cold is now mostly gone, except for an annoying cough.  As it happens, I have been dosing myself with lots of vitamin C by drinking the cordial I made from a large portion of the blackcurrants I harvested in the summer.  Purple definitely has therapeutic qualities.

Hope you are all well and having a great weekend, 

bye for now, Penny-Rose :-)