Parisian adventure coat

I just put the finishing touches on this pure wool coat.

I am blogging this in order to show my love for this coat for keeping my lap warm whilst hemming it.. alas! this coat will be going to Paris before me. That's one lucky coat!



Double breasted, flared skirt that's longer (and thus more flattering) at the back, matching set of vintage shiny buttons, detachable roomy hood lined in matching flowery 100% cotton, secret pockets in the lining for the traveler in you and a handy decorative pocket on the hip for bus change or sweets.. Did I already say I love this coat!?





PS: coat looks a million times better on its rightful owner and it's colour is closer to the last photo of the three.. damn you grey inconsistent skies!

Oh la la baguette, vol au vent, trottoir!

SWAP - the return

Volume two of the mighty swap took us to the limits of Rabat.. we barely made there, laden with bags of clothes, pastizzi and wine.. For my part I must admit I was happy to be relieved of hosting duties this time round (and for this I thank Claire of yummy hoummus/olives/salmon sandwiches and glass bead fetish fame).. this was a good party.. I misplaced (ie. lost) the clothes I came in twice and that for me is a sign of a good party.

Another good sign is that I left the party with as big a bag as I came in with; ie. all fair and square.. I have recieved as much as I have given.. the conscience of this cranberry-juice-guzzling swapper is clear.

I am really pleased with my liquorish allsorts themed accessories... [scarf from Carla - necklace from Alex - belt from Denise]



.. as well as with my military-voodoo-hostess gear. [Hat, earrings and belts from Carla - Voodoo friend from Denise]



Both pairs of shoes come from Sarah's lot.. I'm on a mission to come up with a modern geisha outfit to justify the platform on the first pair.. I will not give up on them. I also removed the satin ribbon laces from the boots and will probably wear them as they are or have some new acid green ones put in depending on the occasion.



My Kim Kardashian crochet top/dress also depending on the occasion [from Alex] and my polka dot pleated skirt [from Karen?] ..



I think this 'carpet' skirt is on its way towards becoming my biggest friend .. [both scarf and skirt from Alex]



At this point you might be wondering whether I actually swapped all of these items in an orderly fashion with the intent of making up outfits as I went along. I must assure you that the result was accidental and that all of the swapping took place in a harem-like frenzy of stripping and unzipping. Any 'proxxmu' walking their dog at the ungodly hour of 12 in Rabat must consider 'themself' (tactfully avoiding being sexist) lucky lucky lucky. (or not)

[scarf from Denise - bag from Francesca - silky vest that hides just the right places from Carla]



Please save us all from the slightest mention of that sorry song which mentions a she-person dressed in this particualr colour .. that song sung by a big eyebrow and a floppy fringe.
[RED coverup jacket from Alex - flattering pair of RED trousers I shall replicate from Francesca - and another RED-ish patterned coverup from Carla]



Here's the dress that's going to save me this coming (busy) wedding season.. for all those weddings when anything else would look 'too much' or 'too little'.. provided I do not outgrow it :/ I love the blue zebras. [from Sarah the keeper of clothes and cute pets]



Here's the dress I was given with a warning and a disapproving look. This dress is Carla's and she thinks it's too 90s to be saved. I, on the other hand, think I can still work it. So in a bid to regain Carla's trust in her own offering I paired it with her silver belt and threw in a cute kitten for good measure. I just hope you'll still be my friend if I visit you in it.



.. and here's a blouse that came back from the first Swap. I am taking it as a sign of some sort. I'll pair it with this bag I also got from Sarah and then I'll decide. These are (not) the decisions that shape our world.



PS: Alison I will follow you wherever you go.. till death do us part. Ktnxbai. Over and out.

but just before I leave.. Sorry Rachel for the scarring stories and my attempt to seduce you from behind a flimsy scarf. I owe you tea and cake.

Lady Luck strikes again!

Yes, jubilation! I've been the proud and elated reciever of very generous donations this last week. Thank you Rita for parting with the cutest coral-faced overlocker and a cyan blue jacket with dramatic black trimming. You've injected some well needed colour into my busy week. Your pastel nightdresses are also making me re-consider pink and violet and am cosying up in one right now! Cotton loves your body and you must love it back.. especially if it's trimmed in antique lace.

I'm Honoured!

Today, I recieved my first award ever and I did it in my pygamas in between folding the laundry and waiting for glue to dry.. wish I was dressed up for the occasion!

I've just been awarded the Liebster Blog Award - 'liebster' meaning 'dearest and the award nominees having with less than 200 followers .. see who would have thought that having only a few dedicated followers would turn out to be a good thing!!

I must thank Marika from FairyFiligree for nominating my blog and 4 others! I follow FairyFiligree because it deals with everything lovely and up my alley.. thanks again Marika!

Now to the instructions...

When you're given the award you -

1. Thank the one who gave you the award and post a link.
2. Mention 5 blogs to forward the award to (let them know by leaving a comment at their blog).
3. Keep your fingers crossed that the chosen ones want to keep forwarding the award ;)


And now.. the moment you've all been waiting for: (*dum dum dum)

I shall award the blogs I follow religiously because I care about the people behind them and because I believe in their crafty/arty/wordly capabilities or otherwise...

1. The Secret Rose
2. denisescicluna
3. alexandra-aquilina
4. is this your periscope?
5. The Wizard of Gobbledygook

may I also award Ewe and Me ?? I can.. it is MY award-winnin' blog after all!

I have favourite tumblr(s):,( which I couldn't nominate *I cry

It just keeps getting cosier and cosier

Seeing as, as children and teenagers we spend most of our time in our bedrooms, it came to me as no surprise that what I was lacking in my life was a cosy bedroom to somehow compensate for the one I had 'built' and added on to at my parents'. I never appreciated the addition of two pieces of furniture as much as I enjoyed welcoming these two bedroom pieces. How could I have neglected this area in the house for so long..? I was missing having drawers on top of each other and a dramatic wardrobe. My life is not complete but it sure feels warmer in there. There's a long way to go.. but the room is taking shape and it's a good place to retire to for some hand sewing chores at the end of the day when it gets too cold elsewhere. Here's the display on the chest of drawers; the mantlepiece in the kitchen is now partially relieved and all the items I've collected over the years have now found their true home.









In the chest of drawers I found old newspaper sheets: 'Lehen is-Sewwa' and 'The Torch' (The General Workers Union Weekly) from 1952 and 1958 respectively. I also found a black chess piece and a small plaster sheep from an old crib. You can probably tell they made my day.






Nannas know best! This weekend I was given a lesson in old skool posing for photos whilst munching on king prawns. Something tells me weekends hardly ever get better than this x

a lesson learnt ...

It's a sad day for Babettopolis!

I wanted to treat myself to a new head of sky blue hair - I was under the impression the sky's the limit (excuse the half-hearted pun!) in hairdressing!

I was encouraged to try a test strand instead.. fair enough.
I was also informed that light blue is absolutely out of the question for my hair type.

So I opted for grey .. why not?! I love the colour on everything else..

Unsurprisingly, the bleaching process stopped at canary yellow when it should have made it to dirty platinum.. so the grey dye turned out looking BLACK! I turned full circle .. I have a full head of same old same old BLACK hair with an (as yet) camouflage 'charcoal black' strand that'll turn a dirty army green as the dye washes out.

*I has a sad and I must excuse myself for promising my immediate relatives and friends that I'll have something special for them next time we met.
I must also start looking into non synthetic wig options :/ .. or a life.

All curtained up...

I am not a staunch believer in letting things brew.. I love quick fixes even though my craft teaches me otherwise on a daily basis.

Following are photos of my sewing cave! It took me ages to upholster this tiny nook, from finding the appropriate material to sitting down at my table and cutting every piece to size. And despite my general outlook as expressed in the opening statement, once finished, these curtains and covers and cushions and pelmets sat in their bag for months on end. Only yesterday I decided to get it all done in one fell swoop.. I wanted to start the second week of the year in style!





I now have a comfy place to wind down.. theoretically. By the end of the week the bed will be suffering (once more) under piles upon piles of textile and paper bags full of more textile.





Can't help feeling happy with the place so long as Gustav's happy with it too!



This is the material I want more of.. 1/2 a metre just ain't gonna cut it (excuse the pun) to cover the sofa and armchair :/



And to end. Here's a green hat I just finished for the 'Hey Birdie-pie!' stall.. I was temporarily donated a green hat with dead netting and a limp velvet bow at the back so as to work some magic back into it. I love the colour especially, however it's the shape that inspired this up-do.. an unusual shape that sort of mimicks a jockey's cap and makes it possible for one to wear it in several ways. It must be tried on and played about with.. so keep your eyes peeled for details about Birdie's next event!