Weekly summary and a Gypsy Fair

 Dear Readers, let me present exhibit A.  This is the purple cuff to cuff knitted cardigan started a couple of weeks ago.  By this point I had used 5 balls of wool and had only two left.  I realised that I did not have enough wool.  So, I did what any self-respecting knitter would do, I pulled it undone.  All.  The. Way.  I started again and made the sleeves shorter.  I also decided I did not like the horizontal ribbing so I decided to knit in stocking stitch.  I was not a happy bunny.  However, I knew it was a short week with Easter coming up and I would have time to knit and after all it was only a few hours of knitting.  Its not like I had finished all the wool and THEN realised that I did not have enough wool.

The week progressed fairly well.  Until we went to get in the car on Thursday afternoon.  Let me present Exhibit B (below) of the rear passenger right door.  Yes, that is a large dent isn't it.  Thankfully the culprit left me an apologetic note on my wind shield.

 Today, being Good Friday I decided that I would like to sit in the sun and maybe do some reading or some knitting relaxing.  Well the sun shone for about an hour during which time I brought outside my Childaw Mannequin and got her ready for a fashion parade.  I got as far as adorning her with the green cotton house dress I bought via TradeMe.

So dear friends, here is Exhibit C: The Green Cotton Dress:

On close examination I realised that this dress was not in great condition.  The bias binding on the neckline and sleeves was stained yellow and in parts it was threadbare.  Also the stitching was less than perfect - yes, less than perfect in a way that was clearly less than my style of sewing.  So I sat in the sun for an hour with my quick-un-pick and unpicked the bias binding and the hem.  I am not sure if you can see it in the photo but the hem is all puckered because it looks like the sewer (I am too hesitant to type "seamstress") was a learner.  In fact as I unpicked I wondered if this dress was the first dress that the sewer ever made.  The zip is slightly crooked - well now, its actually completely removed, and in places I can see that the cutting was crooked and the seams are a little wobbley.

I am not going to lie, I am disappointed.  I thought this would be a bargain at $1 plus postage.  As you may have gathered the sun decided to hide behind a cloud, so by lunch time I was out of my sundress and into cargo pants and a tee shirt with a cardi.  As I consider Good Friday a family holiday we got in the car and went to what is known as the "Dinosaur Park" which funnily enough has a slide which is like a dinosaur, it also has swings and slides, an adventure climbing thing, and a huge area mapped out like streets so children can ride their bikes or scooters around.  My 10yo happily scooted around on her beloved scooter while Darling H and I got colder and colder.  The park is near the sea - only a large sanddune seperates it from the ocean and I swear that every single time I have been there, I have been cold.  The easterly breeze from the sea seems to make the air cool and damp and therefore while children scooted around and ran around like mad things in tee shirts, Darling H and I sat huddled in our coats with our hands firmly shoved in our pockets.

Now, what did warm me up was the prospect of going to the Gypsy Fair.  We drove past on the way to the park and my 10 yo wailed "oh maybe there will be a mood ring there..." and I thought "maybe there will be some vintage clothes or something interesting".  So on the way home we pulled over and made our way amongst the caravans and stalls.......

Readers, I can tell you that there is *T*R*E*A*S*U*R*E at the Gypsy Fair in Dunedin.  Treasure in the form of a stall selling awesome vintage clothing.  I was restrained, honestly, I was!  I bought a polyester dress in green and red, that does not look like a Christmas ornament, a House of Raymond jacket which looks like it was originally the top part of a dress, and an embroidered cotton shirt from the Philippines.  The dress is quite possibly Debenhams or something British, and yes it has had work done to it, but it is a vision of polyester loveliness.  The jacket is also polyester and in two colours with a cool fabric covered buttons, and the shirt is cream with red and green.  All are drip drying on my washing line as I type this.  While my photos have been uploading I have been trawling Trademe for vintage goodies (and to get some ideas on prices in case I think of re-selling anything).  My dear family exhausted by scootering and walking and playing tennis in the driveway are now in the prone position with glazed eyes watching The Return of the King.  

So what have you been up to?  I hope you all have had a good week, and are having a well deserved rest on Good Friday.