I was sooooo lucky to nab this on ebay for under a £5! I love it!
1950’s silvertone metal brooch set with Crystal rhinestones and a glass cabochon over sky blue with “Mother” written inside in gold.
To all you wonderful women ~ Happy Mothers Day!
Archive for March, 2010
Mother.
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
At least they can knit their own balaclavas!
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Gangster Knitters, Yo yo yo…
Knitting on benches, trees, fences and road signs seems to be the new guerrilla gardening. Now, rather turning up with rakes and spades on a disused plot of land to create a veggie patch, people are meeting at the secret rendezvous (possibly in knitted balaclavas) often in the dead of night, armed with needles and wool to ‘liven the place up’. It’s been described, by some, as the world’s most ‘inoffensive graffiti’, happy street-art and hugs for all.
The craze is being reported all over the place from New Jersey to New Zealand, Finland, and Canada to the UK. In the Auckland district of Parnell, in New Zealand Knitty Graffity got 14 knitters together to create a heart fence (described by some as like a ‘group hug’!?) with 105 knitted hearts for valentines day, while entire trees have been knitted in the USA; and random squares of blanket knit have been spotted on benches in coastal towns in the UK.
Magda Sayeg, founder of the original knit graffiti crew Knitta Please, says she works to redefine a craft that has been relegated to the stuffy attic of people’s brains and dismissed by a limited vision for knitting’s purpose, its function, its practitioners. Some would say this is harmless, charming and updating an old art however, according to the ‘needles and spray cans at dawn’ debate on Deputy Dog’s site, all is not as it seems and the guerrilla knitters may not be as inoffensive and charming to everyone as initially believed. These Gangsta Knitters (YES, they really call themselves this too) have enraged the ‘true graffiti’ artists by calling themselves ‘graffiti artists’ and those, armed with spray cans – rather needles, are not at all happy about it. The spray canners are further enraged, since the knitters have started referring to their undercover knitting as ‘tagging’ (Realgraf: ‘This isn’t graffiti it’s a joke’)! Not to mention local authorities in a borough of New Jersey, America who are trying to make it illegal. According to reports an unknown person, dubbed the ‘MIDNIGHT KNITTER’, has been making sweaters for lampposts and trees in West Cape May and the police are after them for interfering with public property
Who knew something as inoffensive as a bit of hand-knitted stuff (which we love here at Ollie&Agnes, as you know) could cause such consternation and debate … and who knew there was so little crime in West Cape May in New Jersey!
*Photos supplied by Knitty Graffity
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PS: If you are keen on knitting, check this out……
Oh WOW!
Friday, March 12th, 2010
My heart pounds for these insanely beautiful shoes…
*swoon*
They are just perfect.
Made exclusively from ribbons and trims of the 1920s to the 1970s.
Visit Kitty Cooper to feel the love!
Belated Barbie Birthday Wishes
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Oh poooh. I missed out on Barbie’s Birthday… I’m only a couple of days late…
so I’m going to post this anyway…
I really wanted to share the “Barbie Learns To Cook” doll. And I say “Good for Her!”
Perfectly poised our domestic goddess with her lemon blonde swirl ponytail, has been re-created from the earlier 1965 doll, also in picture. With her shiny cooking accoutrement’s also perfectly polished. Marvellous!
The resurgence of 50s and 60s fashion, the growth of interest in all things handmade and what would appear by the many blogs, sites and magazines – mass take up of the “elegant arts” of crochet, knitting and patchwork is truly lovely. I feel a shift has taken place from the “Barbie Learns To Cook” of the 1960s to our modern re-invented version. She’s a gal that wants to try broiling for the sheer pleasure, not because of some perhaps expected social conditioning. And god damn it so do I!
Having spent most of my teenage years departing great chunks of my mind to guys who dared utter anything even slightly derogatory about women in kitchens etc , I now feel I want to play the hostess with the mostess role, bake my own bread and hand stitch a table runner or three (well you can never have too many.)
Of course that quiet serene look in her eyes could also mean a women on the knife edge, lets just hope Ken doesn’t make many smart quips about that matching napkin and tea-dress…
If you feel the need to check out Vintage Barbie’s (we all get that urge sometimes) you can’t go wrong with what would appear to be the definitive guide to Vintage Barbie Dolls at:
It’s Make-it Friday tomorrow!
Spring Looks – Textures
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Gladiator Sandals these look so soft and are a bit more understated than others I’ve spied
Fringed Suede Bag Yummy soft suede bag
Chunky Gold Necklace from Esty seller Vicious Vintage Finds
Gold Tassle Earrings from a collection at Chelseadoll
Black Knitted Headband by Ollie&Agnes
Vintage Floral Tea Dress from Extinct Design! (oh yeahhhh)
I like playing around with accessories and see what pops against different colours and textures… here you have the whole remit of leather, suede, beads, wool, metal and material…
Be prepared to play!
If it good enough for Rita Hayworth…
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Banish moths, bugs be gone, let the gentle fragrance waft over you from the new Anti-Moth and wardrobe care items in store!
Every year I have increasingly become more enthused about the Spring Clean – and this year I have even more reason to be excited!!
Cue the beautifully packaged range of sweet smelling anti-moth and wardrobe care products now in store!
The moth season starts end March/April so you should be preventing now and getting your wardrobes ready to avoid any nasty surprises later on!
Click for more information on the blend of essential oils used in the products and my Guide to Vintage Clothes Care. Why not treat yourself to the lovely items as your special reward for your Spring clean!
Betty Grable – The original pin-up girl advertising Lux Flakes.
Wilkaniko have a great range of eco-friendly products for your laundry as well as your house to get you ready set for the big clean!
I especially like the Soap Flakes. I have a vague recollection of seeing these ads in old, old magazines. Do you remember Lux soap flakes? These soap flakes are made by the company that used to make Lux! Soap Flakes are predominantly pure soap – with no added perfumes, enzymes, bleach, phosphates or additives, so you can be confident that they will degrade harmlessly without damaging watercourses and aquatic life. They have not been tested on animals and far less likely to cause skin irritations than regular detergent washing powders. The packaging is made from 80% recycled board.
These flakes are perfect for your vintage garments, gently handwash or pre-wash out any stains with the flakes before putting really delicate items on a cool delicate wash.
Top Tip! Try a homemade laundry recipe – easy on the pocket and your conscience.
Simply add 16 tablespoons of Soap Flakes, 8 tablespoons of Borax substitute and 8 tablespoons of Soda Crystals – all available at Wilkaniko to an airtight container and shake up the ingredients. Use two to three tablespoons of the mixture in your washing load. The washing powder will last for approximately ten washes, with the average cost of about 20p per load.
Need a little help? If you can’t get your clean on to these 80s babes nothing will get you grooving!
Lets hear it for the Pointer Sisters!! I said TURN IT UP!
Mothers Day ~ 100% Recycled Cards + FREE POSTAGE!
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
It’s not too late to order your Mothering Sunday Cards from Extinct!
Not only would anyone be delighted to receive this but can be used again, framed in a room forever….
Measures 5 X 7inches.
Blank inside made of 300gm textured art board supplied with 100 gm white laid envelope
These products are designed and manufactured in the UK. Using environmentally friendly products wherever possible, either paper which is 100% recycled or from well managed sources. Use of biodegradable bags and using a printing company that is FSC accredited.
Plus FREE postage!
So everyone’s a winner – what more do you want?
SEW: Cover your buttons!
Friday, March 5th, 2010
If you enjoyed creating your own fabric buttons from scratch, why not buy a ready-to-make kit so that you’ve always got the right equipment to hand? Sew essential stock a range of self covered buttons priced from £1.10 per set of six. Visit www.sewessential.co.uk to buy.
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Make sure you pick up this months copy of SEW Magazine – for great Mothers Days and Easter how to’s also!
Spring Sale Starts Today!
Monday, March 1st, 2010
One of a kind dresses and jewellry ~ Once they’re gone, they’re gone!
You’d be mad as a March Hare to miss it!
I wandered lonely as a cloud…
Monday, March 1st, 2010
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth
Happy St. David’s Day!
♥ Now if you feel your patriotism needs to be kicked up a gear – check out Vintage Daffodil Dress – in store now! ♥
