A few of my favourite things...

Because the fifties are so now I am taking a community college sewing course and making pinafores for Izzie. it is so fun and really entails sitting around chatting to Heidi who is doing the course too.

Fabric is expensive though and pretty ordinary, so I have now started looking for cool stuff to sew with on trade Me. Well, today at lunch i drove over the Harbour Bridge to pick up a 1970s Disney sheet I bought to make an Izzie dress. it was such an experience!

Over the harbour bridge I went and followed the road back on itself ending up right under the bridge at the very last house on the road with the beautiful harbour to my right and the fat legs of the bridge to my left.

The house was huge. the original owner's holiday home all built from one kauri tree with elaborate chandaliers and stained glass. the woman, raewyn, told me that the original owners used to have garden parties down on the grass wearing crinnolenes - of course this was a century before the bridge came along and ruined all that. Raewyn said that at first the noise was horrid but now she feels like she's in sydney.

Raewyn makes very cool lampshades and hand bags and hottie covers that look like something Barbara Cartland would take to bed - all pink and quilting and little rose motifs and poodles and lush rich reds and gold and beading - just gorgeous!! Her whole house is like that actually, lots of setees and chaise longes with little lacey cushions and pink with polka dots.

Raewyn herself was dressed in a beautiful black and white lace frock and she had a little girl Daisy. Her boys Jack and Billy were at school. Andre the husband was in the kitchen making honey and toast - all this under the bridge.

I took my package, wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string and left them to their lunch in the garden. I opened it up a little bit up the road to look at my sheet/dress fabric. the parcel was wrapped again in side - in white tissue with a simple silver ribbon - on top Raewyn had put a soap wrapped and stickered with her own label - it said "La di da". A few of my favourite things all squeezed together into one quick trip to the Shore. Ladida indeed!