Numero dos from the Moonbox...

This beautiful little jacket is so fragile that I could never bear to wear it. It seems so wrong to have this attitude - almost an insult to the nimble fingers that sewed it - but it's so delicately hand sewn that I'm convinced it would fall apart with one gust of Plymouthian gale force wind.

It's two layers of antique silk, with a Japanese (?) design coming up from the bottom. I've no idea where mum found it, but I know I never saw her wearing it, probably for the same reasons that I never will. What to do with these gorgeous things? I want to hold on to them forever, but that doesn't really fit into my plans for the next few years - I'm planning to get rid of everything before I move from this house.

Maybe I should change the description of this blog...

I'll admit it, I've become sidetracked from the original aim of this blog! The cataloguing of Annie's stuff has been put on hold whilst I learn to sew... after all, I don't want to butcher any of the beautiful things in the Moonbox.

Armed with my trusty christmas Waterstones voucher I invested in Dorling Kindersley's Sewing Book, a veritable bible for newbies like me. I also spent some christmas money on getting my mum's 40 year old Bernina sewing machine serviced by the nice little old man in Saltash. And then came the sewing (and it's all about polka dots this week)...

First up I altered an old dress that didn't fit me across the chest (thanks, Gran, for those genes!) to make it into a full circle skirt. I got so many compliments when I wore it out!


















Next spotty project was a tote bag to cart around my work stuff... This was a big bit of polka dot fabric that I think my aunt gave me years ago. I padded it out with very thin wadding, and lined it with green polycotton (I cheated and bought that!) Don't think I'll be wearing the two together...

For Bobbi

Not strictly from the Moonbox, but made by me all the same... Made for Bobbi from fabric we bought in Brixton a few years ago. The silver and turquoise beads are both Thai, and the waxed thread came all the way from an amazing haberdashery just off Khao San Road in Bangkok. All so that Bobbi, a born traveller, can wear a little bit of the world!

Numero uno from the Moonbox

Well I got everything out of storage back in November, and as Jon and I had only just moved into our new place I didn't really have a look at what I'd got in terms of fabrics. Last week I rooted through them with the lovely Susie, and we came across some absolute gems!

First up is this little dress - it was mid calf length and quite an unflattering fit. So I put some darts in the bust, shortened it and finally made a couple of ties for the waist out of the left over fabric. The dress looks like it was handmade and has an ancient looking label in it, but I don't really know what era it's from...