Category: shopping

Happy New Year!

I still can’t blog about the piece that I’m working on at the moment – it’s a wedding dress, and it needs to be kept secret for another couple of weeks!

In the meantime I will start as I men to go on, and talk to you about shoes.

Since I received the Handmade Shoes for Men book, I’ve been thinking of nothing but men’s shoes. I love men’s shoes, especially as I’m mostly restricted to wearing flats, but my feet are just too small to be able to wear men’s sizes. Also, men’s shoes tend to be boring. Men’s formal shoes are black, or brown. Sometimes patent, for really posh occasions, or occasionally you might see a daring two-tone number.

Such is the rarity of interesting formal shoes for men that when I saw Vic Reeves on Shooting Stars the other evening, I may have squealed out loud, and pointed at the television.

 

This was the best screen shot I was able to capture, but look at those lovely shoes!

The squealing was mostly because I thought they were pink, but on closer inspection I think they’re a tan/stone combination.

I’ve enjoyed the trend for women’s brogues over the past couple of years, but all the nicest ones seem to have towering heels that I just can’t wear.

My current favourites are from Top Shop – a pretty black and pink pair.

The pink’s a bit pale for my liking, but I’m sure a spot of bright pink shoe polish would soon sort that out!

Unfortunately, I already know that I won’t be buying a pair of these. The shape of my feet means that Oxford shoes don’t fit properly, and I really need to wear a Derby shoe instead.

A pair of black patent and fuschia pink suede wingtip brogue derby shoes would be my absolute ideal.

The chances of me ever being able to buy a pair of those is fairly slim, which is why I’m once again becoming obsessed with the idea of learning to make my own shoes!

Updating the shop…

I’ve just had a little revamp of the Shop page.

Hopefully this will make it easier to work out which items I’m currently taking orders for.

Pink Tartan CorsetRed Katie Jump Rope slippers
Colinette Point 5 hat & scarfSilk & Mohair Scarf

The categories, in case it isn’t obvious from the pictures, are: Corsets, Slippers, Hats & Scarves and Knitting Patterns.

Delivery times will vary, depending on how many things I’m trying to make at the same time!

Handmade Shoes for Men

Paul gave this book to me for Christmas. It is simultaneously both the best and the worst book that I have ever owned!

Handmade Shoes for Men tells you pretty much everything you need to know about making men’s shoes by hand. The only automated part of the process is the carving of individually-tailored lasts. Every other part of the construction of the shoe is done by hand.

The brilliant part is that I can do this! Secrets have been revealed! I can learn how to make shoes!

The terrible part is that all of the equipment is very specialised, and sometimes expensive, and I still can’t afford to go on any of the courses that teach shoemaking properly. 

But… I’ve learned everything I know about dressmaking and corsetry from a healthy combination of reading books and making things up as I go along. Perhaps it would be possible to learn at least the basics of shoemaking the same way?

I have plans for the lasts I bought from Ebay, and I’m still working on ideas for some developments to the soft slippers that can be made without lasts.

I only wish I’d been brave enough to study Fashion when I left school. I could have had more than ten years’ experience as a shoemaker by now, and be creating beautiful work like this:

Petrol blue wingtip ankle boots by Pakerson, at Forzieri.

(I’d make mine in fuchsia pink, of course…)

Rain, rain, go away!

I’ve been a bit quiet around here lately, mostly because all the things I’m making are for other people’s Christmas presents, so I can’t show you any pictures for another couple of weeks! 

It’s also been absolutely pouring with rain for days and days. This is the second day in a row where it doesn’t seem to have bothered to get properly light. Did I miss the memo about England being moved to the North Pole?

Once my Christmas sewing’s a bit more complete, I think it’s time to have a go at making a raincoat.

 

This is Simplicity 3966, a discontinued pattern from the “Built By You” range. (That should give you an idea of how long I’ve been meaning to get around to making this raincoat!)

The “Built By You” patterns are designed for Simplicity by Wendy Mullins. Not only does she have her own clothing collection, she also writes sewing books and designs these patterns.

Ooh! In fact, although this pattern is discontinued by Simplicity, it’s still available from Wendy’s website.

I plan to make a hybrid version – the longer length coat (right), with the full length tabbed sleeves, and the storm cape (left).

I bought the fabric from John Lewis a couple of years ago. The sales assistant gave me a very funny look when I bought five metres of pink and white spotted oilcloth, and told her that it was going to be a coat, not a tablecloth!

I’m hoping that the resulting coat will have something of a Cath Kidston feel about it. I might just have to treat myself to a pretty handbag or purse, to complete the look…

Christmas presents, anyone?

I was supposed to be at a local craft fair today.

Unfortunately, my central heating boiler’s stopped working, so I have to stay at home and wait for an engineer to come and have a look at it.

As a result, I can now offer you all of the goodies that I would have taken to the craft fair with me, for direct sale, right here!

So, if you think that your loved ones need keeping warm, I have a plethora of warming things that you might like to buy for them:

Basket of wheat padsLavender bags

Wheat bags, £4
Lavender bags, £2
One of each, £5

Yellow with kittens: Sold Out
Green with horses: 3 wheat pads, 2 lavender bags
White with leaves: Sold Out.
Yellow with tadpoles: 2 wheat pads
White with birdcages: Sold Out.

Colinette Tagliatelle scarfColinette Graffiti scarf
Paintbox scarf, £15
Purple scarf, £15

Colinette Graffiti scarfColinette Isis scarf
Blue scarf, £15
Purple Chenille scarf (vegan), £15

Colinette Zanziba scarfColinette Prism Scarf
Zanziba scarf, £15
Prism short scarf, £10

Freedom ScarfSilky Chic chunky scarf
Freedom scarf, £10
Silky Chic scarf (vegan), SOLD

Crocheted scarfCrocheted scarf with buttons
Crocheted scarf, £10
Crocheted scarf with buttons, SOLD

Colinette Point 5 hat & scarf
Hat & scarf set, £25

Suffolk puff brooches
Brooches, £4 each

Lavender bags

Lavender bags, £2 each
(top left SOLD)

Payment by PayPal only please, to claire@eternalmagpie.com
All prices include UK p&p.
First comment, first served!

If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can still make a purchase. Let me know your email address, and I can send you a PayPal invoice that you’ll be able to pay using your debit or credit card.

In love with a coat.

I blame Erin, of A Dress A Day. She frequently posts very beautiful things on her blog, and normally I manage to resist.

This time, however, I seem to have fallen madly in love.

These beauties are designed by Samiah.
They’re the Winterfield and the Bailey. 

I’m a sucker for coats, and I’m a sucker for heavy furnishing-style fabrics, so Samiah has me on both counts there. They’re available in a wide range of beautiful colours, and they can be made to your own measurements.

I think what I like about them most is that they’re fantastical and imaginative, without being too costumey. There’s no doubt that the Bailey is a coat fit for a pirate queen, but you could wear it for any occasion without feeling as though you’ve accidentally turned up in fancy dress.

(A feeling that I, sadly, know all too well!)

More Near Sea Naturals

Thanks to a combination of my new medicine and the truly dreary weather we’ve been having lately, I’ve been finding it very difficult to feel inspired by anything much.

Suddenly, thanks to a little visit from the postman, I feel much better!

Near Sea Naturals

(Sorry about the terrible picture – it’s raining so hard that it’s been dark all day.)

Both of the large pieces of fabric are organic cotton pointelle. Three yards of each, in chestnut and natural. The natural piece won’t stay that way for long – I plan to chuck it in the washing machine and dye it Flamingo Pink! After that, I plan to transform it into a pair of leggings and a top.

(The chestnut piece is going to be transformed into a Christmas present, so I can’t elaborate on that any further.)

The swatches… oooh, where to start!

  • The one with the trees (top left) is Enchanted Forest, and it’s a wonderfully soft twill.
  • The one with the ladybirds is Tickled Pink, on the same twill base. I can imagine pretty skirts made from each of these.
  • The one with the aubergines is Eggplants, which is a hemp and cotton blend in a linen-type weave. I adore the colour and the little gold flecks in the fabric, so I think I might have to send off for a skirt’s-worth in my next order.
  • The plain black swatch is a wonderfully smooth sateen. 
The swatch packets are for the woven wool fabrics, and the wool knits.
I’m gradually collecting all of Near Sea Naturals’ swatch kits, so that I can show them at craft fairs, and encourage people to place orders.
All I need to do now is work out what I’m going to make…

Slevectomy

Okay, I admit it, I made that word up.

When Laura came to try on her mock-up, we ummed and aahed about the sleeves, but decided to go for it, and see what happened. As it turned out, Laura preferred the dress without the sleeves, so this morning I chopped them off!

Laura's dress - now sleeveless

There, that’s better.

Laura also sent me details for the perfect pendant she’s found to wear with the dress:

She’s had it made by the Etsy seller Jochris12, who does beautiful glass work.

I’m finding it very exciting that more and more people are getting into the spirit of buying and commissioning hand-made and one-off items, rather than simply dashing down to the high street shops. Hopefully this means I’ll be kept nice and busy!

That’s better.

For anybody looking for the knitting patterns – they’ve moved!

I’ve been working with a shopping cart plugin here on WordPress, but it couldn’t accomplish everything I needed from it, so back I go to good old Etsy, with a new account.

The shop is looking a little bit empty at the moment. This is because I have a stall at my local Art Market next Saturday (13th), and I didn’t want to list lots and lots of items on Etsy, only to end up removing them a week later. So, I’m going to wait until after the Market, and list anything that I happen to bring back.

I’ve still got plenty of sewing and knitting projects on the go that will keep me busy up until the middle of October.

I am taking corset orders for October, if anybody wants one? The shipping deadline for items to reach the USA in time for Christmas is October 30th, so you’d better start thinking about it now! If I receive payment by September 28th and your measurements by October 5th, you can have a corset in time for Hallowe’en! (Or Christmas, if you’re in the US!)

Towards the end of the year I’m hoping to be able to devote a bit of time to drafting some patterns for my own designs, and doing a lot more work with organic, Fair Trade and recycled fabrics. I keep talking about them, but so far I’ve been too busy to actually do anything about it. I need to remedy that very soon.

Is it Hallowe’en yet?

I sometimes describe myself as a “recovering Goth”, but I discovered yesterday that I am still rather prone to the occasional relapse! About eight years ago I started a business called “GothStuff”, specialising in, well, stuff, for goths. I made skirts in a variety of styles, and Paul and I invested in a t-shirt printing kit. The t-shirts were designed by Paul and Selina, and they seemed to be quite popular.

We closed that business for a number of reasons, one of which was that I wanted to concentrate on working with organic, sustainable, recycled and Fair Trade fabrics, which are mostly plain, and mostly cream. Not very Goth, really. However I still have a terrible weakness for skull prints, and working part-time in a fabric shop I have to exercise quite a lot of self-restraint to prevent me from snapping up these little beauties!

Skull Fabrics!

The four fabrics at the top left are a fine nylon mesh – two with skulls & crossbones, and two with little skeletons. So cute! They’d be perfect for 1950s-style dresses, as a pretty top layer over a very full skirt. We also stock cobweb mesh in a wide range of colours, which I used to make pretty mini skirts back in the GothStuff days.

The eight fabrics down the right hand side are all 100% cotton prints. You have no idea how much willpower it has taken not to come home with many metres of the mini skull print in black and pink! The larger skull print also comes in several other colourways, but not a pink one, sadly.

The four fabrics at the bottom left are polar fleece. As this is manufactured from recycled plastic bottles, I have given into temptation and bought ten metres of the pink and black! I have two orders for hooded tops already, so you’ll be seeing pictures of those towards the end of the month.

I only wish that I could find a pretty skull print on an organic cotton. That would be my Fabric Nirvana, I think!