A Day of Divine Deco-dence

Now there is no stone we deco devotees would leave unturned in our quest for the perfect costume or deco accessory, and Lady Raglan is no exception.  When she recently heard (via a friend who had been to an unrelated event) of the possibility of visiting a lady who apparently possessed a veritable treasure trove of deco clothing and paraphernalia, she kindly arranged a jaunt for all of us. 

What a wonderful outing!  We were astonished when we entered Jan’s home to find that not only did she have an enormous selection of garments and accessories, but that her house was an original deco gem and that her treasures were all displayed in the most sympathetic way.  We were gasping with admiration because all the kitchen shelves were arranged by colour.

Look at these beautiful tea cosies, somebody has put so much care into their creation.

This coffee set must have been "for best"

I would love to try to recreate the three dimensional felt applique on this bag.

 Likewise in the bathroom cupboards. 

It was inspirational and even the colours of the interior walls were in perfect deco shades.  (Primrose yellow and soft green for the kitchen for instance, I came away determined to somehow create my own corner of primrose yellow and soft spring green.  And I have to take my hat off to Madame La Poste after our discussion about the merits of different shades of green last weekend, the soft spring green looked just beautiful with primrose yellow.  Bliss.) 

Here are some more photos, I couldn’t stop photographing all the nooks and crannies and I hope you will be able to see some of the finer details.  In the bathroom for instance, there is still the original plaster work on the ceiling and there are whales swimming round the cornice! 

Also in the bathroom is this light fitting which reminded me of Prince of Wales feathers but I am not sure if it may just represent an abstract deco shape.  How fortunate that the detail hadn’t been removed when Jan bought the house three years ago.  She has done a lot of work on the property and still has plans as to how to perfect her gem. 

The selection of hats was very good and I am ashamed to say that I called Lady Raglan a nasty name when we got into a tussle over one.  Such is the passion that deco arouses in us!  All was settled amiably though, because Lady Raglan found the perfect crocheted gloves she was after and also found a perfect hat.  Mr Shoestring bought himself a coat and spotted handkerchief but Lord Raglan (ever careful with funds) managed to hold himself back. 

Jan puts on fashion shows of the vintage garments sometimes and many sets of clothes were set out on racks in preparation for the next show.  Jan let us peek into the cupboards where her most special dresses were kept and we admired the workmanship and beautiful fabrics used. 

This original 1930s dress was so cleverly constructed, the work on the pleating impressed and confounded us!

While we visited Jan we took the opportunity of visiting the op shops in her town and here I found my “best buy” of the weekend.  Since starting the pansy project to use up the donated wools I have been wanting to carry on with more of these canvas works but the canvas I need (double thread, 10 count, brown in colour so the canvas doesn’t show up) was fiendishly expensive.  In the opportunity shop I found a roll of it and was offered the whole roll for $50 (it costs $47 per metre).  Having dragged it back to my lair I was hoping I had a large amount on the roll so started to measure.  I stopped measuring at 10 metres because of cat attacks, but there were obviously a few more metres left to measure.  So I have enough canvas to last me for the rest of my life – I had better use up every skerrick of wool in my possession now, to make the most of it.  Perhaps I could cover my “new” lounge suite with tapestry?  All in the fullness of time!  This "chocolate box" representation of a cottage garden was crying out for a new home and we swept it up and put it in the gypsy room with similar sentimental scenes.

Coming home and turning over the green and yellow theme in my mind I couldn't leave my flowers in their original vase, I had to fossick around in the cupboards and get out the daffodil cup and plate and rearrange things a bit.  These minature daffodils are called "tête à tête" and if you are planning on planting any daffs next season I strongly recommend then.  Each bulb makes three strong stems of blossom so they are very prolific.

The camelias are all flourishing - the least troublesome of the winter flowers, they need no cossetting unlike these pansies which are suffering after slug attacks





The surrounding countryside is still flooded and the rain determinedly pelted down all weekend, resulting in even higher levels in the paddocks near town.  But there definitely is a feeling of spring in the air.

The First Signs Of Spring

This weekend I was able to pick a small bunch of flowers at Shoestring Cottage and  tried to convince myself that spring was on its way.  I adore the lime green coloured pelargonium plant leaves, it is one of my favourite "geraniums" and I am forever taking cuttings in case I lose the parent plant.  The bitter green/yellow colour is so "spring time" in my mind.

Sadly the signs outside were not in agreement with me; there was surface flooding all around and parts of the farmland more closely resembled lakes than paddocks.  In my posy there were two daffodils and a few jonquils, but I have high hopes that there will be more to come.  Mr Shoestring helpfully pointed out that considering I had planted literally hundreds of bulbs it wasn’t a very high yield and he didn’t follow my reasoning that it was just as well I had planted lots of bulbs, or else we wouldn’t have had a single bloom.  Hopefully the buds will fatten and in the next few weeks there will be a veritable floral festival in the garden at Shoestring to silence Mr Shoestring. 

The Canucks came to call, bearing gifts for Mr Shoestring.  He was thrilled to receive a copy of The Red Book for Boys, complete with its inscription from when it had been awarded to the diligent scholar George Neathe(?) in 1928 as first prize for arithmetic in Standard Six

Mr S was particularly pleased to see there was included an article about the last of the moas!  All in all a fascinating book.  The Splendid Book For Girls looks as if it was printed later although there is no date of publication in the front of the book.  I would very much like to try wearing a headscarf in the fetching way depicted on the front cover but I fear that rather than looking as if I was about to embark on a sporty adventure, I would look as if I was about to clean the toilet. 
 

While The Canucks were visiting Madame La Poste arrived and Mrs Canuck, Madame La Poste and I all shared a happy time going through my bag of green silk ties and assorted green silk scrap fabrics so that Madame La Poste could take some home to use in her crazy quilt.  Imagine my shame when I first of all could not find the bag (Mr Shoestring eventually located it for me), and then when it was revealed to all present that I store my fabrics not in an orderly or even tidy fashion, but screw them up into tortured balls and stuff as many as possible into old shopping bags, then jam said bags under my sewing table and attempt to cover all with a long tablecloth.  Madame La Poste helpfully folded some of the largest pieces and put them all back in an orderly fashion; I fear she despairs of my ever developing a system for storing all my craft perquisites but I hope to prove her wrong eventually, once Mr Shoestring has built floor to ceiling storage units in the sewing room and there will be a place for everything and everything in its place.  We had a lively discussion about the merits of different shades of green.  My taste runs to the greeny-yellow shades while Madame La Poste prefers cleaner, fresher spring greens.  No matter how often I shook my favourite pieces in front of her, she would not admit how attractive they were!  She insisted they made her shudder and that they were ghastly!  Huh!  Mrs Canuck wisely chose not to become involved and Mr Canuck was obviously perplexed and bemused as little by little the room began to resemble a place where a green snowstorm had taken place.  Happily this fabric inspection spurred me on and I finished piecing the last five blocks for my crazy quilt – now they just need to be embroidered, embellished and assembled, a minor detail. 

At The Peaceable Kingdom calving is in full swing and we visited the babies.  How lovely they were with their long eyelashes and lustrous coats.  The roosters were strutting proudly about

and the daffodils were looking magnificent - and putting on a far better show than my pathetic and spindly ones at Shoestring Cottage!

 Maybe spring is coming after all.  The lovely Floss has sadly passed away which has caused a lot of heartache for us all; but look at this adorable new addition to the menagerie, as yet unnamed but very appealing and already much loved by all who meet her. 

The Raiding Party

I feel sure that there would have been consternation in the op shops in the central North Island of our fair land this week following an audacious lightning daylight raid carried out by Mr Shoestring and myself when we swooped down and bought most of the available stock last Friday, on our way to Napier.  No sooner was the danger past and the worthy workers recovering their breath and restocking their shelves than we performed a daring repeat raid, this time on our way back home on Monday following the delights of winter deco.  No article escaped the searing gaze of our beady eyes as we searched for new treasure, and we were not disappointed!  Mr Shoestring was delighted with the purchase of virtually a new wardrobe for winter deco, including a fair isle vest, a suit, a pair of trousers complete with the buttons for braces to be attached, a pair of genuine button braces, and a jacket. 

Button on braces still in their packet!

A fair isle vest for Mr Shoestring's next deco foray

I found a burgundy coloured leather clutch bag and of course I am already planning a new costume around it for next year's deco.

We did not confine ourselves to art deco clothing though, oh no, far from it.  In my quest for pink glass I have been drawing a blank lately so imagine the thrill of finding this rather unusual leaf shaped serving dish complete with four small plates for $5 at the St Vinnies shop in Napier!  And not a chip or blemish in sight either.  

Also there was another terrier to add to the ever increasing collection, this one is clutching a hat in his teeth and has a roguish expression in his eye.

And then this lovely floral picture to add to the others in the gypsy room (the walls are groaning now, I must cease and desist soon),

and this embroidered scene depicting yet another terrier, this one making the acquaintance of a rather perplexed horse. 

I am undecided as to what to use this for, I was thinking of making another bag with it and it would be very capacious and useful for marketing, but some other idea may present itself before I take out my scissors and get started.  

This apron with the embroidered lady (who has a pocket cunningly concealed in her head) was too good to resist, though I fear the person who created her must have lost interest before the project was complete (a bit like me), and she has no lips, presumably for this reason.  I think I can detect a faint shadow where the transfer suggested lips should be embroidered.

Lips - who needs 'em?

Pretty border on the bottom of the apron

In one shop there was a cache of Czechoslovakian glass buttons from a shop in New York which closed during the 1970s and it was hard to know where to stop there, but I selected these ones thinking they will come in handy for deco dresses if I get the chance to sew some.  I have to admit I never did make the ones I planned for winter deco - must to better next time.  

Mr Shoestring dashed up to the counter when he spied this promotional bakelite thermometer, he is a softie for anything made of bakelite.  The text says, "Turn This Over and See Someone Important to Us".  Of course when you turn it over there is a mirror on the back, a very quaint marketing ploy.

I was pleased to see another pansy doyley, I had thought the first one I found was unusual - I feel a collection coming on.

When we finally dragged our booty home we were worn out after such an action packed weekend, but very pleased in the knowledge that no stone was left unturned in our quest for more treasure to line our bowerbird nest.  Probably just as well there are no more excursions planned in the near future because there isn’t much more we can fit into Shoestring.  Particularly as we have taken possession of an old cane sided lounge suite to paint and then recover – but more about that next time!