Tag: pink

Another fuchsia pink hat!

Helen's Custom Cloche

This is the latest hat (almost) off the blocks – another fuchsia pink cloche with black guipure lace trim. I was asked to amend the shape of the back, so that it wouldn’t catch on the back of Helen’s coat collar.

Helen's Custom Cloche

As you can see, the cutaway flattened out a little bit once I’d added the brim wire, but I think it’s still a nice shape. Hopefully it will be shaped enough to accommodate Helen’s coat!

Helen's Custom Cloche

All I need now is a really nice button to finish it off, and to cover the join in the lace. (Where the pins are, although I was careful to make the join as discreet as possible.)

I’m looking forward to having a little more time on my hands when next month comes around, all this hand sewing is very slow. I lost the best part of a week to being ill, and I’m on a course with work this week, which is more sewing time gone, and I’ve got a backlog of hats waiting to be trimmed!

Don’t forget that all of the felt hats in the Etsy store will be going up in price at the end of the month, when the introductory offer comes to an end! I’ll try and get a few more finished before the deadline, so you’ve got plenty to choose from.

Fairysteps Birthday Shoes

Fairysteps Queenie

Happy Birthday to me! And what a perfect chilly-but-sunny day for frolicking in the grass wearing my new shoes. Aren’t they gorgeous?

These are Queenie shoes from Fairysteps, in pink dragon leather to match my beloved handbag. I may have put them on before I got out of bed this morning, to the accompaniment of rolled eyes from my husband. I don’t know why he expected anything less, to be honest!

There’s a silly story attached to these shoes.

A few months ago Ren made a pair of Puck shoes in this leather, and I wanted them very much indeed. Sadly I couldn’t afford them at the time, and another lucky person snapped them up. Because all Fairysteps shoes are limited editions (each hide is a finite size, and not all colours can be repeated) you have to buy them when you see them, otherwise they might not reappear! So when another pair magically appeared a few weeks later, happily coinciding with some money in my PayPal account, I gleefully snaffled them straight away.

When Paul came home from work I confessed that I’d bought the shoes, and he looked at me, paused and said “Oh, um…” at which point he was forced to reveal that he’d already bought this pair, and put them aside for my birthday! I quickly sent Ren a rather embarrassed email explaining the situation and, bless her, she was happy to refund me straight away. So a huge thank you to Ren, for sorting out our silliness!

I did feel a bit silly though, and spent a good while wondering whether I could possibly justify owning two almost-identical pairs of shoes… but now I can keep saving up for a pair of Mustardseed or Moonshine boots. I know that a pair of Moonshines are in progress, but it’s probably just as well that they’re not in my size! Maybe next year…

Paul’s been threatening me for weeks that he wasn’t actually going to give me the shoes for my birthday, he was going to put them away until Christmas. I’m so pleased he wasn’t cruel enough to actually do that, because I do love my new shoes! (And my handbag… and my purse… and my choker…)

It’s so lovely to be able to wear or use a well-made item that fills you with joy!
Soppy, perhaps, but true.

Pink Suede Brogues

Pink Suede Doc Marten Brogues

It’s been just over two years since I wrote about looking for a pair of pink suede brogues.

I’ve had these for a little while now, and suddenly realised that I’d completely forgotten to mention them. They’re Dr Martens, obviously, the 3989 shoe, in hot pink suede. This colour seems to be sold out now, but they are still available in pale pink. (There are other colours, but they only seem to come in men’s sizes.)

Thanks to the nice soft suede they’re lovely and comfortable, although I think it’s likely that I’m going to have to dye them black eventually. The seams at the back of the heels have already turned blue, where my jeans rub against them. I haven’t worn them much yet, mostly because it won’t stop raining and I don’t want to ruin the suede. I’m really pleased with them though, and I’m really looking forward to wearing them more often.

Fairysteps Elder Handbag


Photo © Fairysteps

Look what the postman very kindly delivered to me this week! It’s a lovely new handbag, courtesy of Fairysteps.

In living proof that social media can really work for small businesses, I spotted this on Ren’s Facebook page, saw that this pink “dragon” leather was limited stock, and snapped it up immediately!

It’s going to be a replacement for my big pink Mulberry bag. I bought that back in 2007 and have barely used it since because the straps are precisely the wrong length. I’ll be giving it a bit of a polish, and popping it on Ebay, where hopefully I’ll be able to get back pretty much what I paid for it. (Thankfully Mulberry bags seem to hold their value very well – limited edition colours even more so.)

This new bag’s quite a bit smaller (you can’t quite squeeze an A4 pad inside), but it fits my giant diary and my little netbook – although not both at once. The front pocket is big enough for my phone, iPod and other assorted bits and bobs, and I can’t cram in so much stuff that it makes the bag too heavy to carry. Perfect!

I absolutely adore the clever closure – there’s something very satisfying about squishing the smooth wooden bead through the little gap in the leather. The raw edges on the front flap are so soft and tactile, I can’t stop stroking them. The first time I went out with this bag, everybody wanted to touch it. And smell it. There’s something so lovely about the smell of new leather.

Now I just need to decide which to buy next.. matching shoes, or a matching purse!

Pink Suede Loafers

I wouldn’t normally even consider wearing a pair of loafers, they’re simply not a style I’ve ever been terribly fond of. But these? I might just have to think about making an exception. How great would these look in the summer, with a smart pair of cropped jeans?

They’re Dr Martens, and if you don’t fancy the pink they also come in grey, midnight blue, teal (all suede), burgundy and dark brown.

I might have to try and track down a store where I can try these on…

Baby Camouflage

Camouflage baby dress

This evening I will be mostly rushing around like a lunatic, because I lost track of the time while I was making this fun little dress.

One of my colleagues is starting her maternity leave next week, so I thought it would be nice to make her a little gift for the baby. I didn’t think about it in enough time to knit anything, so this afternoon I drafted a pattern for a little dress.

The top is self lined, and fastens at the shoulders with poppers that are hidden underneath the matching fabric-covered buttons. The skirt is gathered onto the bodice, and trimmed with a little bit of lace.

I have no idea about the relative size of babies, so it’s entirely possible that this dress is absolutely enormous and she won’t grow into it until Christmas. But it would certainly make a very unusual party dress!

Pretty in Pink

Rhona's pink tartan skirt

This is what I’ve been working on today – a pink tartan skirt for Rhona.

I drafted the pattern this morning, and made the skirt this afternoon. I had originally bought a Burda pattern to use, but the proportions were so wrong that it seemed easier to start from scratch than to make a lot of alterations.