Sketches and Yellow Skirt Update

I haven't posted any of my journal sketches for a while and I particularly like the one I did below to celebrate the next 365 days of blank pages begging to be filled with happy intrigue, romance, adventure, and riches...



I think the man cat looks like Karl Lagerfeld. Purely coincidental! I am wearing my pale-nicotine faux fur coat, red beret, denim jeggings, and low-heeled boots. The cool cats are wearing things I WANT to wear, especially that colourful maxi coat.

In the next sketch called Cat's Cradle I am wearing my Steve Madden houndstooth ankle-zip stovepipe pants (did I miss any adjectives?), my Shar-Pei black wool sweater, and indigo wool beret, all thrifted.

I love my pencil crayons. It's a meditative process drawing something and then adding life with that tight scratchy colouring action. I know a lot of you have inspiration boards and Pinterest - I guess this is my way of doing the same thing. Do you colour?

TRAVELLING YELLOW SKIRT FREAK SHOW UPDATE

Helga of Helga von Trollop wears the travelling yellow skirt! If you haven't seen her in it yet, you simply MUST. I didn't think it possible, but this neon yellow is probably the least eye-catching of the pieces she has on. Thanks, Helga, for adding to the love. See her original post of it here.



Everyone needs a ballerina dress

I was meandering down the sidewalk when suddenly a tiny glittery whirlwind engulfed me...I thought I was dreaming. When I awoke, prickling warm and dazed, I found myself wrapped in a tangle of autumn leaves and white tulle.

This lovely vintage dress surely has stories to tell judging by the irregular trail of snags and rips in her balletic cloud of skirt. The bodice is ivory silk with a built-in foundation garment and boning along each side seam, and the straps are fragile soft pink elastic. I shall do minor mending on her to halt further deterioration and wear her only on special occasions, like today, just because. I only ventured as far as a local mini park with my tripod and tea, but my outing was very satisfying indeed.

Details

• thrifted vintage gown with full tulle skirt and silk bodice, saved from Halloween abominations
• black tights
• black stretch pointed shoes
• Shar Pei sweater over black boat-neck top, necessary for warmth
• Spode teacup with tea

I'm sorry I didn't get a full standing shot; you'll only have to imagine a cloud of white tulle billowing across the horizon... Bwa-ha-ha!

I'm hooking up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style. She always starts the week off right. I shall see you there...? I must.

Coming out of the clochet

Today I did something different. Usually I grab things in my closet pell-mell to create an ensemble that reflects an overall mood, giving equal weight to all parts. Today I chose a signature piece, an accessory, which singlehandedly seemed to embody everything I was feeling, and then constructed my outfit around it. I'm speaking here of my felt cloche with the flower. Poor little thing was buried in the closet.

This one little hat said it all: I wanted to partially shield myself during my walk (still in recovery mode) and I wanted to feel romantically 1920s. The colour palette is quiet, but my cloche demanded it be so. The jacket has convenient velcro tabs for closures on the front and the shift has a freighter neck, much wider than a boat neck, which is concealed by the jacket.

Details of the outfit:

• cloche, new decades ago from Sears(?)
• shimmery green jacket, thrifted, Value Village
• moss-grey shift, new years ago from Eatons closing-out sale, downsized 4 sizes
• black tights, "Frump" shoes, The Bay
• magic teacup carrier with heirloom teacup inside; I made the carrier, O did the hardware
• hand-me-over black vinyl bag that holds all my pencil crayons, sketchbooks, etc.
• Shar Pei wool sweater

I'm still recovering but managed a brief, low-intensity game of squash today. It felt good to MOVE!

And finally - 

Ms. Helga recently posted a brilliant photo essay of her drunken escapades under a tree. I immediately thought of this painting I did, although Helga was much more visually exciting than the waitress in this piece.

Title: "Becky had had trouble sleeping lately; she finally realized that it wasn't the coffee keeping her awake but something much more sinister." Acrylic on canvas paper, 18" x 24"

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Shar Pei sweater

I'm linking up to Patti's Not Dead Yet Style Visible Monday today - barely. I am glad that I am NOT so visible today because my head feels like a balloon, the usual hot hair of course, but lots of cold too - the dreaded head cold. The best remedy for this malady has been unexpected...

Jean at Dross into Gold!

Thank you so much, Sweet Jean, for your lovely Ode!!

You've given me a real pick-me-up!

So a big, warm hug to you (with my face mask on)

I haven't been out or online for the past couple of days, so I'm happy I had these shots from late last week squirrelled away to share.

Details of the outfit:

• thrifted wool walking shorts, two sizes too big, cost almost nothing 
• thrifted polyester graphic sleeveless mini dress, worn as a top, Value Village
• thrifted black wool sweater that I resized using my Shar Pei technique, described below
• maxi cardigan, sample sale, Metallicus
• fingerless gloves and beret - these two are inseparable
• dirty dove-blue tights, with D&G thrifted heels from Value Village

This was another positive bubble outfit. I love to jam my fists into the pockets of these low-slung shorts, which makes them sit even lower - marvellous. And until I tried the mini dress as a top, I never cared much for either the dress or these wool-prickly shorts. Now I think I'll hang on to them both for a while longer.

Above I have my thumbs hooked into the pockets.

And here's a close-up of the sweater.

I pinched up the wool in vertical worm-lines at the front and back of the sweater and around the sleeve, and hand-stitched them so the gathers remain on the outside. I love that Shar Pei (wrinkle dog) effect. One sleeve has a tuck and the other doesn't; there is no symmetry. This was a quick way to add detail and bring a large piece down to size. 

Happy week everyone! (Achoo!!) Excuse me.