I love me a good party or five

I want to thank everyone who accepted invites for all the parties I've ever thrown. It's my favourite thing to do .. so, perhaps without their knowing it, they've made me very happy in the process and I thought I'd tell them as much. I love it because a good party requires hard work, perseverance (in the face of a tower of un-scrubbed dishes), a whole lot of organization and a healthy pinch of OCD .. super-nerdy skills in any other context/by any other standard.

On Friday we threw a party and it was super fun!

I felt like I should send out my fervent thanks to everyone who contributed/helped/took over the scrubbing duties/poured me out some drinks/ saved me from burning myself on the oven door/ poured me out some more drinks etc etc

dear lord.. if only I knew how hard I'd have to work in my Monday pilates session just to burn off the first round of drinks I might have stopped at that - and not added meatballs, vodka jelly and double chocolate brownies to the mix!

prep

Devilled Eggs Glory

Cat = suspicious

A week before that, my friend threw another party. A swap party ... where a number of people meet, share and swap some clothing, sort through some more clothing for charity, drink warm drinks and nibble on biscuits .. and by the end of it, everyone leaves for home with some relatively new and absolutely free additions to their wardrobe. What's not to love?!
*keys remain safely tucked away in our handbags - promise!*

Rachelle and her new flowery dress

clockwise from top:
Lara 'Polka' Schembri,   Alex '2-dress' Aquilina,   'Miss' Audri,   Claire 'Ahoy',  
Carla 'Rita Cholita' Said    and    'Secret Rosey' Sass
... all sporting their favourite swaps

'Oh hai there Elsa!'

a spot of heaven in Attard

And here's what I managed to pick out for myself just before and right after I took a mid-party nap just to nurse myself back to health. Cannot wait for the appropriate occasion (and weather!) to christen these pieces afresh!

bbl with more news from the sartorial front! 

xxx

In a frantic bid to catch up ...

... I decided to write a bit about a few things that have occurred in the interim between now and my last post.

the Spring-PATCHES team *wiii*

The spring edition of PATCHES happened and it was the usual frantic, on-the-spot-problem-solving fun. New and eager volunteers Joseph and Nicole made the experience all that much nicer and for once I could actually shop around at the fair rather than having to stick to and mind my own stall!  .. and shop around I certainly did.

Being very very busy every bleeding day certainly instils a perverse sense of entitlement to week-end fun so every weekend since has been full of initiative, outings, flea-market splurging and even late-night (sometimes themed) 'partying'. 

it's all in the *trashy* details

Stills from Santissima Disco Vol. II .. and below is myself as Dolores Lavermicocca (event organizer) / a.k.a.  Vittorio Sgarbi no.1 fan

*capra*

I also visited the Natural History Museum in Mdina on one of those lazy Sundays when I was too tired to even contemplate staying in to work and it was fun, albeit (or perhaps because it was) deserted. It is a wonderful place in need of some serious investment, restoration .. for chrissakes .. even a general superficial dusting would help at this point. It is the kind of place you go to to dream of how much better it must have been and how absolutely wonderful it could become. The kind of place *blush* that encourages one to dream about the lavish parties they'd throw if only they could move in for, say, a year or so.

paint colour = very good idea

*tweet*

my rodent-friend from Selmunett island

and in between all the *hush-hush* orders I have going on at the moment, I made a fascinator and pimped up some shoes to match ..
and just in case you were wondering ..

 nope, (unfortunately) not for myself but for a fellow lover of hats!
For this hat I used aubergine felt for the base, beige felt cut-outs, wooden blocks (from a 'primitive' lego set) and a bunch of beige feathers from a shop-bought fascinator band which simply wasn't doing the trick!

And this is my bargain of the month and the new love of my life.
Found this piece at the flea market for the measly sum of 20 euros (delivery included - *blush*)
I've wanted a cocktail cabinet for ages.. little did I suspect that my dreams would not only come true, but come cheaply and with faux-tortoise-shell flower knobs.
Now all I need is some money to buy some actual alcohol and Don Draper to come over for cocktail hour(s) 

Of late, my waking dreams have revolved around the need for a dozen (or so) dry Martinis with olives, an oyster bar, thin slices of tangy lemon pie, a well-ironed dress and well-lined stomach to go with that. Sewing from home is so unglamorous.. I sit here all day in my 'FUCK OFF' t-shirt, the weather outside reminds me of wet cardboard covered in sand.. come on.. gimme a break!

very rare, self-imposed, baking session

   

This is the hat that shall see me through summer. It was part of a favourite carnival costume of a Chinese peasant from when I was around 2. Sans-fake black braid stapled to it, this hat brings me such good memories. In the photo, mini-me stands next to cousin Miguel (whose birthday is today) dressed as a clown in a sunny corner in my Grandma's yard. Wish I could re-use the whole outfit to go with the hat.

But .. above all else .. wish this hat could bring some real (as opposed to tantalising and dream-crushing) summer vibes with it.



PS: just one last thing before I leave. At one point I considered devoting this whole post to my current irk but then, in light of my actual position, I decided to not go out of my way and instead only devote a post script.
With Malta Fashion Week behind us all I cannot help but feel offended by people who come up to me and pity my work's absence from the show.
To these people I say: please consider that for some, MFW is not the be-all and end-all of their calling. That some crafts people's aims and aspirations lie elsewhere, perhaps, more closer to home, to fine-tuning their actual technique and diversifying, to achieving goals that do not subscribe to and do not fall within the parameters of any fashion week as we know it.
My statement reflects nothing on the standard of this year's MFW - I've only attended one event and followed only superficially some bloggers' documentation of the happenings. My opinion about the standard is another thing entirely.
I've had the opportunity to participate in the past, and truth be told, I turned down the offer. Not because I do not believe that MFW could be a very good platform but because, at the time, it wasn't (and still isn't) what I felt I needed to do for my craft.
That is all.
So I decided to have my little say,
that done.. I am off to sew some more!

Hats Off

It started with this quickly-put-together inspiration board.
I had been thinking about having a good photographic record taken of the hats I make for a very long time so I took Stephanie up on the offer immediately.
I also always knew I wanted Rachelle to model them - even though, as it turned out, said lovely person inside and out, had never modelled before. In my heart of hearts I knew she had the perfect hat-face for the kind I make so I must thank my lucky stars that they aligned in such a way in the right place and at the precise moment in time for this shoot to happen the way it did.

It ran like well-oiled clockwork, the sun shone and the location gods smiled down on us.

What did I say about the location gods?

Waking up early to a day like this was an added bonus. It got me thinking that perhaps I must have done something extraordinarily good in a past life to deserve all this.

I got my first lessons in setting up lights and was reunited for the second time with the beloved reflectors. I had missed my shiny shiny circles since we last met on set.

Credits and thanks and a handful of kisses go to ...

photographer: Stephanie Galea

model: Rachelle Spiteri

make-up artist: Dyna Spiteri

location: a bit of heaven thanks to Mr. R. Bianchi


all hats, brooches as well as some of the clothes are one-off pieces by yours truly a.k.a. Babettopolis

These are the final shots!

alternatively you can view the lot in a better format on Stephanie's own website!
actually, I suggest it.

x

 

 

 

 

Spring is in the air ..

... and with the much appreciated help of my parents-in-law, I had the pleasure of seeing grandma's chandeliers up and alight! Following a nail-biting and nerve-testing re-wiring, I drove to the ironmonger's and got me a bag full of light bulbs. Now, I see and love-what-I-see better than ever before. 

ceiling roses and some hardcore (and inevitable :s) dusting and polishing later.. I was one happy bunny!

fixing up a couple of rooms needn't cost a lot .. I live by that mantra and in inestimable gratitude for the constant support and help of family members who are handy with pliers and glue!

to top it all off, a neighbour gave me two pretty (one beaded, one shimmery lame) evening bags, just like that, out of the blue - may I just say: surprise gifts RULE!

and in the midst of it all, piles of clothes needed a thorough ironing in preparation for the Babettopolis photoshoot which was to/did take place on Saturday - a healthy mix of handmade and vintage pieces to complement some of the many hats I made over the past two years.

Now that the photos are out (more on that later!) and it's Monday again .. I can't help recalling the excitement that the Friday prior to the shoot brought with it - at last I was to have some professional help with documenting my work - and for that I'm super grateful!

so, yes, spring is in the air ... cat is shedding fur .. and I'm stuck indoors, dedicating whatever time is leftover after the sewing is done to spring cleaning and piling and sorting and dusting in anticipation of the next swap party!