Welcome to the Solstice (Litha) edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. I haven’t participated in the last couple, but it’s nice to be back. You can find links to the previous and next posts in the Hop at the bottom of this page, along with a link to the Master list in case of any broken links.

I must admit that I struggled somewhat with the broadness of the topic (though mostly with all the references to “faeries”), the main theme of which was to share a gift or talent with the circle. I’m afraid that I suffer from a rather British reticence about blowing my own trumpet in any sort of blatant way. Our overseas cousins have never seemed to be afflicted by this malaise and are quite happy to blithely puff away, but over here, we tend to find that kind of thing faintly unseemly and embarrassing, albeit increasingly less so these days based on the wannabe culture of  X-factor and the myriad of other such shows. On this occasion, however, I have girded my loins, pulled up my big girl knickers, armed myself with cliches and set aside my reserve. I have emerged from beneath my bushel, blinking mole-like into the Solstice dawn. I have buffed up the brassware, taken a deep breath or three and am all set to blow like Gabriel. Ready?

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Pah! Who needs a Fairy Godmother anyway. Mind you, I could have done with one yesterday after much manic sewing to finish outfits for the Spectacular Spectacular Masquerade Ball. It was a close run thing, but I made it to the Ball…in a (sort of) finished dress. One wave of a Fairy Godmother’s wand and it would have all been ready in a trice, without all the blood, sweat and tears (and glue). Maybe, we’d even have been in time to get some food before all the selfish, greedy bastards very hungry guests who went back for seconds and thirds before some of us had even had firsts (and then left their plates piled with their uneaten food). That aside, it was fun (though being plied with wine on an empty stomach undoubtedly aided in relieving the stress).

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1906 Black floral corset

I had a fascinating day last Saturday visiting the Symington Collection to fondle original Victorian and Edwardian corsets.

What can I say? I felt like a child in a sweet shop, surrounded by delights; drooling and desperate to sample all of it in the all too short allotted time. Suffice it to say that I took over 300 pictures of the 30 or so corsets that were laid out for us to examine and pore (paw) over and the rather good public Fashion Gallery, which put the V&A to shame.

(Do click on the pictures to get an enlarged view)

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I went to the library on Tuesday, primarily for the children, but I always enjoy a good browse and while I was there I popped upstairs to the non-fiction section to look at the crafty books. This is probably a bit sad and middle-aged, but I was really excited to find both this and this. (more…)

Yesterday was my daughter’s Victorian Day school trip to Reading Museum. I’d volunteered to go along and help herd some of the other little Victorian urchins (they don’t alllow you to be with your own child for some reason) and rather pushed the boat out regarding costume, as you might expect. (more…)

…blue and red.

Another wedding and another bride, well, two actually. I have a fascination for the unusual and it is always more fun creating dresses that are not your usual bridal attire. On this occasion, the gowns had a Victorian flavour and did not involve white, ivory or any of the usual shades associated with brides. One bride was in a full length red coat-dress and the other was corseted and bustled in blue, as you can see below.

I hope to have more pictures of both brides to post up soon. Both looked absolutely stunning, though it may be immodest to say so, but I did get a great deal of pleasure in seeing them in my gowns.
The brides also invited me to the reception, so I got a rare opportunity to dance my stockings off (and anyone who knows me will know how much I enjoy that) 😀