A "Light and Airy" Little Number...

 

Hullo folks, it’s me!  ^Pinch me, I am indeed real!

Yes I know, long time no bloggin’.

I must admit that I’m writing this out of complete shock. I was a little taken aback after reading Theodora’s latest, which isn’t at all shocking by the way (who could be shocked by a dashing chunky knit, eh?), but the realisation that you are lacking in the blog post department was! Golly, seeing a link to my blog on the side-lines with the words… “Pretty ShinyThings… 3 months ago” certainly made me wonder where the past three months had disappeared to.

 Has it really been that long? Oh, where have those bountiful blogging days gone?

These days I never seem to have anything to write about, which is rather queer as I don’t remember being anything other than boring all those years ago. What on earth has changed?

 

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Anyway, I ‘m here now and I have another knitted to show off. ^^See.... SEE! (I was almost certain that I had already shown this one off, but I can’t find the post anywhere. So if is a duplicate, just ignore the last and humour me now- Ta muchly. xxx)

I should also say that this is by no means a newly finished knit either- it must be at least a year old now…. Ah,what can I say? You can always count on me to keep you up to date!

 

(beautiful Peggy. <3)

 

“Coolness personified is this neat little tuck-in blouse

knitted in Coats’ Mercer-Crochet. It only takes four balls,

so it isn’t an expensive affair,

and there is a lovely range of colours to choose from”

 

 

Enough time has since passed for me to forget all about the knitting and pains taken with this knit, although I can vaguely remember that there were a few testing times.  Looking back at the pattern now, I am pretty sure that the tiny needles used and the large cast on amount (134 stitches- ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR!) may have had something to do with those testing moments.

 A close up of the very pretty stitch, but my was it a pain in the (er, never mind) to  do- a lot of picking up and dropping stitches involved!

Oh and there are more ‘knitteds’ to come- including a swimsuit (it is heavenly… in my eyes, that is!), a lacy jumper suit, a zipper (waiting to be sewn up), and I have also just started another cotton jumper… so watch this space. You never know, I may be back in three months with some more pictures!

 

Yours,

Tupps xxx

 

 



 

Baubles and Bobbles!

 

 

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! The Christmas tree is up and decked with an abundance of baubles!

I’m also up and covered (thankfully) in woolly baubles- a little less sparkly and pretty, I grant you, but still marginally dashing in its own way… I hope?!

This is my most recent knit (we’ll forget about the Swimsuit, as it still needs a few finishing touches!), and was started and finished back in August/ September.

I’m struggling to remember back to August, so I have no idea how long it took to knit- All I know is that it didn’t take me too long!

I must admit that I was a little daunted by this pattern. Yes it is a simple pattern to knit, but oh! All that stocking stitch! Have I ever told you that I HATE knitting stocking stitch? Well, I do. I have shied away from it from the word go. I have a great fear of a mass of uneven stitches, and often had trouble in the past with keeping the plain knitting looking nice and even. Luckily I managed to keep the knitting in this jumper relatively neat. Be proud of me people!

 

I used a couple of balls of Stylecraft Life from the stash. I thought this pretty purple would be a rather nice addition to my wardrobe.



To the detaily (I know, not a word!) bits....



 

Pretty bobbles around the neck- so cute!

 

 

 

^ This stocking stitch is SO neat for me! 

 

And I just adore the lattice and bobbly bits...sigh.

 

The sleeve showing a bit of the twisted rib...

 

 

I bought modern buttons for the Jumper-Cardigan as it needed 11. Ugh! Eleven buttons to sew on- that was fun... NOT!

Close up of my jingly jangly bits.

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And FINALLY  (sorry) three showing me baubles off...

I'll be back soon with some more Christmassy bits (vintage of course!) and perhaps even a RAF Friday!

 

 

Cheerio for now,

 

T xxx

Knit for Victory: The Cape.

 

 

Hello everyone! Remember me?

 I have been feeling rather sorry for myself over the past couple of months, and still am rather. So, as you can imagine, blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

Seeing as I have totally missed the whole “Happy Christmas” and “Happy New Year” wishes on here, I hope and trust you all had a good’un anyway. My Christmas whizzed past and, as usual, ended up in a blurry mess of exhaustion. Then there was New Years… well, that was simply non existent!

 Not been up to much myself, so have little to report on great and exciting happenings. I have, however, finished one of my ‘Knit for Victory’ knits… Hurrah for a positive!

I’m extremely pleased with the outcome and swiftness of its completion. I’m pretty sure it took me a week to knit, and I’m in no doubt that it could have been finished in a weekend if I had set my mind to it!

To be honest, there’s not much to write about. The knitting went smoothly and the sewing up was a doddle! Unlike my other KforV knit, which is a right pain in the never mind.- honestly, I have never had so much trouble with sewing a knitted up before!

The only troubles I remember encountering were to do with the tension (the astrakhan yarn from my stash came up a tad too fine in comparison to the original), and a dodgy row (I was such a plonker and did two rows the same, and only noticed three inches later!), but apart from that, it was easy-peasy.

The whole garment was knitted in Stocking- stitch with garter stitch boarders, and comprised of only three pieces- the hood and two sides.

 

 

I was rather impressed with how the cape knitted up. The main part is just two pieces with a centre back seam. There was something very pleasing with the shoulder shaping- I loved how a flat piece of knitting was transformed into a boxy marvel with just a few decreases here and there!

Oh and I totally forgot to take a snap of the hood. Mind you, it was just a long strip of knitting, so hardly a visual treat!

 

 

 And the finished article...

 

I chose some super vintage glass buttons from my stash for the neck fastening. I decided to use something a bit more special for this just to lift the whole thing a wee bit- well, otherwise it's a bit bland being all black!

 

All in all, I'm extremely pleased with my little cosy cape. I consider it a great success (in my eyes!) and have plans on doing another when funds permit.. It's just so nice to have something that actually has turned out how it should. Of late I have had so many knitting failures! (more on these at a later date!)

 

Little Miss Pixie Hood! Oh how I love the hood!

 

 

Anyway, that is enough from me.

Hope you are well ....

 

 

Your

Tickety xxx

 

The Cottontail Topper!

 

Hello there, tis I, the owner of this much neglected blog!

Today I thought I’d share the hat that was bought on my birthday way back in May. I’m pretty sure I promised to show it off at the time, but, as usual, I forgot all about doing it until recently. Then again, wearing a bit of fluff in the summer months seems a little funny, no? So now we’ve reached the autumn months, it's finally  (FINALLY) the perfect time to show it off. After all, it’s nice to have a bit of vintage fluff when the winds blow cold!

 

Cue silliness....

 

 

Believe it or not, this little cutie was saved for me- aren’t I a lucky girlie! I had been secretly after a little late 30’s / early 40’s fluff topped hat like this too, so I guess it was meant to be! I’m not really up on furs, but I presume the fluff is rabbit? So I must apologise for the title! :o

I know some people don't like wearing fur, and I would never advocate the buying of new fur garments, but I'm of the opinion that vintage fur should be worn and enjoyed otherwise it will only go to waste. So I'm going to give it another life, whether people like it not!

hahah!

Here’s a few snaps taken on a proper model- my gorgeous, but somewhat battered hat mannequin, Miss Hattie Jacoll!





 

People! It has a BOW!

 

 

You may be interested to know a little about my dress too! Well, I’ve owned it for donkey’s years- it’s American (fancy!) and dates from 1941. Unfortunately I’ve never worn it as it’s now totally unwearable in my eyes. All I can say is that a previous owner must have got a bit hot and bothered when wearing it, and the dress now sports some delightful fading under the arms! I bet she was fond of  a spot of Jitterbugging now and then! Ooh, I can just imagine this dress swirling around a dashing American chap...  * cough... a Jimmy Stewart lookalike.... cough* Ok, that girl is totally forgiven!!!

 

Right, that's enough silly snaps of me in my new-ish to me hat (bar the two to come!). I have a pile of knitting that needs my undivided attention....

 

So, here's to the next time dear followers.

 

TTFN

Tupps xxxx

 

 

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hmm, yes... best go to facebook to find out!

A Candy Stripe Creation

                                                 
Hullo there folks, again, long time no useless information!
I'm just one big muddled mess at the moment, so things on the old blog front have been somewhat quiet. I'm pretty sure tumbleweed would  have passed by if I had left it blogless any longer!

Anyhoo, I'm back with a lonely outfit post of a recent-ish 'me' make.
Nothing spectacular though, as like I said before, it was made by yours truly so one can't expect much! Having said that, I was pleased with the outcome... well, more so of the skirt than of  the blouse, but hey ho, they are finished at least. ;)
(Oh gee, why oh why did I say 'lonely'? Now I have "The Lonely Goatherd" song in me noggin...)

Some of you may remember the skirt from my previous holiday blog (yes I will do the second instalment at some point!). It's a nice, easy to wear skirt, which makes a welcome change form my usual tweeds, and not to mention it's terribly girly to boot. I'm not really a girly, girly dresser (I've always thought myself as more of a sideboard... ok, I'll behave!), so I have no idea why I longed for such an outfit!

Anyroad, enough babble... to the outfit>>>
(warning: it's picture heavy!)

 

The chosen patterns...

(Yes I can still fit into a 12-14 years!)

 

 

The finished pieces...

This outfit is one of those where it makes you feel all girlish and mischievous- so you better watch out if you see me in this skirt as I may be up to no good!

T'was extremely windy outside when I took these, hence the wind tunnel look!

 

Dodgy picture- makes me look most odd (I know I am but..). Good shot of my waves though (which are no more by the way!)

The Blouse was super easy to cut out and sew as it was just one piece- Hurrah! I'm not particularly keen on the whole drawstring thing and would much prefer a shirred or fixed gather instead... ah well, it looks okay I guess.

 



Little miss girly-wurl.



I was rather impressed with the skirt opening- no fiddly placket- just a cleverly placed cut under one of the folds at the back. The opening was then bound with bias binding (also known a Boris binding in our household), then the lap was made by folding about an inch from the cut and then fastened about 2 inches away from the left of the cut, thus concealing the opening.... not sure if that makes sense, but it truly was simple!

 

The MASSIVE Bow!

 

Now I'm still undecided about the bow- not sure if I want to attach it or not. I may at some point sew on some clear press studs to both parties so I can wear it with or without... just need the enthusiasm to sew the darn things on!

 

Oh and that reminds me, I had to make the skirt bigger in the waist because of the wide waistband.... gasp! I can tell you I had a bit of a shock when I placed all the pleats to the waistband to find it sat high and wouldn't do up comfortably over my ribs. All was well after jiggling the pleats a bit and cutting a new waistband though!

 

 

All in all, I'm rather pleased with the results. The skirt pattern is certainly going to be made up again at some point - perhaps in a subtle fabric? I'm not sure about the blouse, as I have some other peasant styles that are altogether more pleasing!

 

Here's to the next time,

 

Tupps xxx

 

 

 

♥ ♥ ♥

And here's some even sillier pictures of Miss Girly-wurl. I especially like the one with Norm the Gnome.... got to love a gnome!