The Lil(le) Black Dress

Now that winter is well and truly on it's way, why not do a post about a really hot summery daytrip in July, eh? The occasion was The Manbacon's 35th birthday, and I'd spent the previous two weeks frantically arranging tickets to Lille, and making sure that he'd booked that day off, while keeping the trip a surprise from him. I also managed to make myself a little black dress for the trip, in between everything else. 

It's difficult to make out many details on this dress, but it's made with black jersey (from the op-shop, of course), to a bodice pattern by Sew Vera Venus. The pattern itself is only available in one size, for busts between 35 to 37 inches, and is meant for woven fabrics. Since I usually wear a 34" bust, I simply 'cheated' and made the seam allowances slightly larger, instead of faffing about with grading it down. I figured that since my fabric had quite a bit of stretch to it, it wouldn't really matter too much if I accidentally took too much in.  

Once the bodice came together, it took no time at all to make a skirt from the rest of the fabric (simply two rectangles joined at the side seams) and attach it to the top. I also cut a long strip of fabric and sewed it into a tube, to make the spaghetti straps for my dress. Probably not the best idea to use a flimsy strip of stretchy jersey to hold up your dress - I spent many minutes throughout the day tugging at the bodice and tying and retying the straps and as they had a tendency to stretch and head south as the day progressed. 

Other than that little problem (which seems to have finally sorted itself out - the straps seem to have stopped stretching), the dress itself was a dream to wear, especially on a filthy hot, humid summer day. I've since worn that dress several times, putting it to the test by cycling and even getting tangled in blackberry bushes while wearing it, and it's held up wonderfully. 

As I mentioned above, it was a pretty disgustingly sweaty type of day, so we passed the worst of it in the seemingly under-hyped treasure that is the Lille Natural History Museum (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle). There was almost no one else there except for us and the staff, so we explored the collections in peace. There's plenty of wonderful taxidermy animals in it, including the rather magnificent Ron Swanson-like snow leopard above, as well as a little tableau showing how they mount the animals for display. 

The twitchers among you might also be interested to know that the museum has a vast collection of stuffed birds, all displayed in beautiful old vitrines, including hundreds of jewel-toned hummingbirds. These were breathtaking, I spent ages staring at them trying to memorise every single detail. There are a few displays of dinosaur fossils, although nowhere near as spectacular as the displays at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. And, almost forgotten in a hidden corner upstairs, is a rather lonely little axolotl. It's quite a small musuem, but it's got such a still, old-fashioned air about it that it's easy to lose hours in there enjoying the various exhibits. 

Dress - self made, pattern from Sew Vera Venus, handbag - vintage, belt - Sainsburys, sunglasses - vintage

Musée d’Histoire Naturelle

19, rue de Bruxelles
59000 Lille

France

Hercules

Hand-cut collage on card, approx 4" x 6". 

First Aid

If you find yourself with a cut, a scrape, a bruise, or a wound of any sort...please do not seek me out. My stall at the Tea Rooms may have a rather impressive collection of First Aid kits, bandages, and various lotions and potions, but they're all rather, erm, old. Strictly for display, or to frighten off some squeamish friends. 

Stall Stuff

Change is afoot at the Tea Rooms stall...Former stall partner Rory is now off to greener (and much better paying pastures), and I have partnered up with a fishy little purveyor of Toot. Come and check out the new layout (in the same old space) if you're in town. 

Old ladies, horses with broken legs and naked men with half an arm -we've got them all!

A naughty alphabet - avert your eyes, children!

We also have an occasional inhouse tarot reader, who comes with a set of cards she designed herself. What clever people!

Damnoensaduak Floating Market

Little old Thai ladies may look cute and frail, but they're way tougher than your favourite MMA fighter. Seriously, don't ever mess with them. 

I don't think I could ever have too much mango and sticky rice. Anyone know a good recipe to make this yourself at home? 

Damnoensaduak Floating Market, just outside Bangkok, January 2012. 

Cards

I made some any-occasion cards.

All handmade and one-of-a-kind, they have been left blank inside so you can include your own messages. These and more will be available at my stall in the Tea Rooms, Brick Lane, every Saturday and Sunday. 

Marche aux Puces de Bruxelles

I was not joking when I said in an earlier post that we managed to cram a lot into a mere day and a half in Brussels. Not only did we squeeze in visits to the Atomium and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, we also managed to have some mussels at Chez Leon, and perhaps most importantly, visit the Marche aux Puces not once, but twice! 

Having arrived in Brussels too early to check in to our hotel, we decided to make our way to the Marolles district to visit the flea market. If you're the sort of person whose heart beats faster at the thought of a new market or boot sale to explore, and who daydreams about trawling through boxes to uncover that one perfect item, then welcome to your dream. 

She came home with me!

Look at that - boxes and boxes of stuff, from travel kettles to antique dolls, vintage dresses to dead birds.  Neon pink ballroom dancing dresses. Antique French laces. Rainbow sets of Victorinox kitchen knives (plenty of those there - everyone in Brussels must get given a set as a wedding present). Absolute heaven. I had to rein in my desire to purchase huge framed wedding portraits and antique chandeliers. Some stalls were fairly nicely organised, with items displayed on rails and tables, and neat little aisles carved between  rows of boxes. Other stallholders resisted the temptation to make their stalls look presentable, and simply laid their goods on the ground. I find that I tend to gravitate towards the messier looking stalls - more chance of finding a treasure among that mess, perhaps? 

Treasure-hunting made us very hungry, so we headed across the road to Charlotte, lured by the wonderous smell of cooked onions and burnt meat, and shared a very massive hotdog.