I can still recall our last summer

swimsuit//Urban Outfitters    skirt//Handmade by me    sunglasses//Asos

swimsuit//thrifted    shorts//DIY    belt//thrifted with trousers

dress//thrifted    jelly shoes//thrifted    sunglasses//Asos

A great big bunch of pictures from last summer that I neglected to upload at the time. So now it's all here in one big photo dump. I hope you find yourself immersed in the images; tropical heat and salty sea air, rainstorms and colourful cocktails. We stayed in Indonesia, on a small island near Singapore, where I explored all there was to be had, from windsurfing to elephant riding. (The windsurfing was rather fruitless as the bay is well protected and there is hardly a breeze, unless a storm is brewing, in which case one is advised to stay out of the water entirely.)

I would also like to thank you for the wonderful response to my last post, I feel much more secure knowing that others share the same views and that I won't alienate my readers by exposing hair in the 'wrong' places.

The Grand Eagle Ball

On the second of July 2013 I travelled back in time 86 years to 1927, at the Grand Eagle Hotel. This was a special event created by Secret Cinema, that brought to life Laura Marling's new album. I managed to get tickets to the last of the events, on extra night put on after the success of the earlier. I'd heard rumours and it sounded so good that I couldn't resist. 

The invitation read:

The pleasure of your company is requested at the 1927 Eagle Ball to be given at the Grand Eagle Hotel, taking place throughout June with a very special performance by Laura Marling. We have reserved you a room for the night. The Master of the Hotel, Thomas Undine and his trusted hounds will be in the Hotel Reception to welcome you. Be prepared for adventure, exploration, romance, secret music and other strange curiosities at the most eagerly awaited Ball of the year.

All should bring one of the following: A suitcase of unwanted clothes. A briefcase or satchel of unwanted books. An instrument. An old Record.

All should bring the following: Flowers for Josephine Undine, the Mistress of the House. A small secret gift for a stranger. A photograph of an old lover. A Map.

Mr Thomas Undine

Indeed there were many curiosities to be found within the walls of the grand old Victorian school building, that the event was hosted in. Everything from the Drawing Room, a room for drawing a miniature of oneself and sticking it up on the wall, to the room at the top of the tower which was full of doves! The evening of exploration, watching short films, watching musicians play in the smaller rooms, and sipping champagne culminated in The Ball, a performance by Laura Marling of past and current songs. It was great. I've signed up the all the mailing lists and I can't wait for the next secret cinema event!

Although cameras and phones weren't permitted at the event there were professional photographers wandering about. Much to my surprise one of the photos that popped up online recently was of me! (Third photo from the top). Which is part of the reason why I decided to share this, so that you can admire my costume. (I will take any opportunity to show off this dress, I love it to bits. Almost literally to bits, some of the beading is fall off, oops!) I had planned on making my own dress for the ball but I didn't finish it in time, as is always the case. This is my only other 20's themed outfit so I went with it. I'd already worn it once a week earlier, to my university's summer ball (also prohibition era themed), where I worked behind the bar. Below is a photo of me from that night. (Note the sparkly hair, I practically drowned it in glitter).

All the photos (apart from the bottom one) were found here. You should click through to see all the other many curiosities there were. It really was like being transported into a new magical world.

dress//thrifted    bag//thrifted    fur shawl//gift    headband//handmade    jacket//thrifted    shoes//TKMaxx

A peek into my room

Last weekend I finished my room, it feels like an odd thing to say, especially after having lived in this apartment for over a year, but it's finally done. When I first moved in I had a bed (left over from the previous tenants) and a desk (free, from a friend-of-a-friend) but no storage. Over the course of the year I got a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a bedside table, a new bed and a chair. I also took my old desk apart, painted the table top white and bought a pair of trestles from Ikea to go with it. Now my room is pretty, functional and everything has it's own space. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot more time in it lately thanks to all the work I put in.

To celebrate my new room I thought I'd share some photos I took of it, I hope you like it as much as I do.

                      

Tutorial: Knee Patch Tights

Labs have started up again which means I have fewer days to get photos and sometimes on those days I'm so tired I'd rather stay in bed all day. Instead I bring you posts in the form of tutorials and other things I can photograph at home. First up is this; a tutorial for making knee patch tights. It's simple and quite cute, I've seen them for sale but they're much too expensive for my budget. Besides, why buy when you could DIY? I'll admit, these didn't turn out as well as expected. I should have stitched the edges before attaching them to the tights to prevent fraying. On top of all that I sewed them with my knees bent so they look a little silly when I stand up. At least I know for next time and I can share these tips with you! Next up on my list I might re-make my circle skirt tutorial with decent photos and full instructions, keep an eye out for it!

Materials

*A pair of tights
*Some fabric
*Needle and thread

Let's begin with the basics, the tights. They should be a high denier or, even better, made with cotton or wool so that holes don't lead to laddering. They also need to be quite close knit so that anything sewn on stays in place. For fabric you can choose almost anything. Stretch fabrics will work well because they'll take on the shape of you knees but they might fray more easily. This would look great with some leather-look vinyl or lace.

One

First you'll want to make the patches. To do this, get a piece of paper and sketch out a rough oval shape that fits the size of your knee. Then fold that paper in half and then in half again and cut along the line you've drawn. This will help obtain a smooth curve. Unfold the paper and make sure it looks about even. Then trace the shape onto some fabric and cut out the shapes.

If you're working with a thin fabric that might fray you can cut out four patches and sew them almost all the way around (right sides together) in pairs. Then turn those inside out and sew them onto the tights. That way there are no exposed edges. You can also use a blanket stitch or some form of stitch around the outside to stop the edges fraying.

Two

Sewing on the patches. First you'll want to baste the patches onto the area you'd like them to be, do this while wearing the tights.

Then, take off the tights and go around the edges and use small stitches to attach the patches to the tights. I used an overcast stitch which prevents fraying and I attached the patches at the same time, killing two metaphorical birds with a single length of thread. Remember to remove basting afterwards (which I didn't do for these photos).