First of all lets talk about the dress! A little while ago I purchased this pattern on etsy:
What I really loved about this pattern was the neckline. I also thought having the waist seam at the hip looked niced and was different to what I'd been doing. I'd ummed and ahhed about what fabric I'd like to sew it up in, and then I found this gorgeous one:
The background colour is a uniform sky blue - don't be fooled by the bad lighting
I adore this fabric! The pattern is quite small (the cherries are about 1cm across), but I loved the colours, and I loved the way the cherries were red AND hot pink! I thought it might look busy when it was made into a dress, so I also bought some hot pink bias tape for edging, and some hot pink fabric to make a belt using one of my vintage self-covered belt kits.
And after a bit of effort and not too many issues (except for the collar - adding bias tape around the edge definitely increased the frustration factor), I ended up with this gorgeous dress:
And after a bit of effort and not too many issues (except for the collar - adding bias tape around the edge definitely increased the frustration factor), I ended up with this gorgeous dress:
Coincidentally, I am wearing this same outfit today at work, and I was
just told by a random stranger that I looked gorgeous.
And no he wasn't some old codger remembering days gone by - he was about my age.
The last photo was taken at the Lady Luck Festival at The Carrington Hotel in Katoomba. Another pin-up girl, Dixie, and I thought we'd go and check it out. And we had a great day!
Katoomba is in the Blue Mountains and as far as I'm concerned is the capital for antiques and collectibles in Australia. It was a popular tourist destination in Victorian times, right up to the 50s and 60s, but then its popularity wained. The Carrington, where the festival was held, is a beautiful Victorian era hotel in the main street of Katoomba. When I was a kid visiting Katoomba with my mum, The Carrington was derelict and empty and sad, but still beautiful. She was purchased in the early nineties and after 8 years of restorations she was re-opened and is once again a beautiful hotel. You can find out more about the history and see some photos here.
Unfortunately for the festival organisers, it was a misty rainy cold Katoomba day on Saturday. However there were still plenty of people about, and plenty of things to look at.
Once Dixie and I had wandered around the festival we were pretty hungry, so we popped next door to another one of Katoomba's historical landmarks, The Paragon. The Paragon is a magnificent example of inter-war Art Deco architecture. It was built in 1909 and has been running as a cafe in its present form since 1923. It is so beautiful! They also sell hand made chocolates, so as an indulgence I purchased this very expensive box filled with chocolate treats:
just told by a random stranger that I looked gorgeous.
And no he wasn't some old codger remembering days gone by - he was about my age.
The last photo was taken at the Lady Luck Festival at The Carrington Hotel in Katoomba. Another pin-up girl, Dixie, and I thought we'd go and check it out. And we had a great day!
Katoomba is in the Blue Mountains and as far as I'm concerned is the capital for antiques and collectibles in Australia. It was a popular tourist destination in Victorian times, right up to the 50s and 60s, but then its popularity wained. The Carrington, where the festival was held, is a beautiful Victorian era hotel in the main street of Katoomba. When I was a kid visiting Katoomba with my mum, The Carrington was derelict and empty and sad, but still beautiful. She was purchased in the early nineties and after 8 years of restorations she was re-opened and is once again a beautiful hotel. You can find out more about the history and see some photos here.
This gorgeous stained glass is across the entire front of the building,
and closes part of what was once a very large verandah
and closes part of what was once a very large verandah
This is the room/hallway that was created when the stained glass was installed in 1911.
Coincidentally, that dress on the right on the front of the rack was AMAZING!
All that embroidery on the bodice and the skirt! Sigh!! Luckily for my bank balance it was too small.
Coincidentally, that dress on the right on the front of the rack was AMAZING!
All that embroidery on the bodice and the skirt! Sigh!! Luckily for my bank balance it was too small.
Unfortunately for the festival organisers, it was a misty rainy cold Katoomba day on Saturday. However there were still plenty of people about, and plenty of things to look at.
Once Dixie and I had wandered around the festival we were pretty hungry, so we popped next door to another one of Katoomba's historical landmarks, The Paragon. The Paragon is a magnificent example of inter-war Art Deco architecture. It was built in 1909 and has been running as a cafe in its present form since 1923. It is so beautiful! They also sell hand made chocolates, so as an indulgence I purchased this very expensive box filled with chocolate treats:
Or is it a box filled with very expensive chocolate treats... who knows!
Now I just need to keep my fiance away from them...
After lunch we didn't have to go far to find fabulous antique and collectibles stores to dig through. There was one next door and two across the road! Dixie and I had a fabulous time trawling through all the goodies! I didn't buy much, just a pair of gloves and a pair of 40 denier vintage seamed stockings. Dixie completed her beauty case matching set with a fabulous find but I forgot to get a photo - she was very happy!
We also found this dress and had a good laugh at its expense:
Now I just need to keep my fiance away from them...
After lunch we didn't have to go far to find fabulous antique and collectibles stores to dig through. There was one next door and two across the road! Dixie and I had a fabulous time trawling through all the goodies! I didn't buy much, just a pair of gloves and a pair of 40 denier vintage seamed stockings. Dixie completed her beauty case matching set with a fabulous find but I forgot to get a photo - she was very happy!
We also found this dress and had a good laugh at its expense:
Does anyone know why the bride who wore this dress would have wanted
a big bulge of flowers right where Eve would have put a fig leaf???
a big bulge of flowers right where Eve would have put a fig leaf???
As the sun had come out (well sort of, at least the rain had stopped) Dixie and I thought we'd have a look at some of the cars at the festival. I'm not much into vintage cars and hot rods, but this one caught my eye:
As vintage cars and hot rods go it was pretty boring EXCEPT for the leopard print visors! Now I want me some leopard print visors for my car!
While we were looking at the cars and taking some photos, some random stranger came and gave Dixie a big kiss on the cheek! I asked him for an action replay so I could memorialise the moment in my blog, so here it is:
I had such a great day I am now planning a weekend away in the Blue Mountains so I can spend more time trawling through the antiques and collectibles stores. The only hope I have of going with my fiance is if there is more than one golf course... wish me luck!
Beccie
xx
As vintage cars and hot rods go it was pretty boring EXCEPT for the leopard print visors! Now I want me some leopard print visors for my car!
While we were looking at the cars and taking some photos, some random stranger came and gave Dixie a big kiss on the cheek! I asked him for an action replay so I could memorialise the moment in my blog, so here it is:
Random kisses from strangers... where was mine!!!
I had such a great day I am now planning a weekend away in the Blue Mountains so I can spend more time trawling through the antiques and collectibles stores. The only hope I have of going with my fiance is if there is more than one golf course... wish me luck!
Beccie
xx
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