Life on the Ocean Waves

If there's one thing I can't resist, it's vintage ephemera. "It's my one weakness" (as Dorcas Lane would say). Just as buttons, vintage sewing things, fabric, tins (the list could go on) are "my one weakness" as well! So imagine my sheer delight when I found this little lot bundled together in an antique shop...

There's all sorts of interesting bits that someone obviously collected and saved when they were cruising in the Mediterranean in April/May 1930.

This is the cruise ship - the 'Arandora Star'.

Inside the Blue Star Line's 'Guide to the Mediterranean' is a handy pull out map followed by pages of useful information and places to visit for all the stop offs on the tour. The introduction starts as follows:

"Passengers bent on garnering a full harvest of sight-seeing experiences from the present cruises, will doubtless have provided themselves with copies of the excellent guides published by Messrs. Baedeker and Messrs. Thos. Cook & Sons, Ltd...And while this guide is not meant to augment or understudy the voluminous literature written about the romantic and historical places of the Mediterranean Shores, it is published in the hope that it may be of some assistance to our passengers..."

The menu for the fancy dress dinner and dance on Friday, April 25th, 1930 reveals that the hors-d'oeuvres included Cavier Russes, Smoked Salmon, Devilled Herrings and Queen Olives. There was certainly lots to choose from for the main course, but dessert seems only to have been a selection of fruit, nuts and raisins (I'm afraid I'm a cheese board or gooey pudding kind of girl!)

The Passenger List gives the names of all those on board this cruise. There were even a few Lieutenant Colonels, Captains and Sirs! The Passenger List Competition looks like it was good fun. Clues were given to names of some of those onboard the ship, for passengers to decipher and arrive at their answers. Clues include: "'Tis said little boys should not be this" (Heard), "This Johnny was banished from USA in 1920" (Walker) and "Proverbially possessed by every dog" (Day).

There was certainly lots to keep cruise goers occupied on board ship...a library, hairdresser and a shop that carried "a large and attractive assortment of articles obtainable at reasonable prices".

I think the Fancy Dress Dances, Ping Pong and Deck Quoits sound like fun!

Passengers were given a card of 'Items of Interest for Tomorrow" every day. On the list for Sunday, 27th April, a note at the bottom reads, "During the Cruise it is proposed to hold a concert. Passengers willing to assist are requested to advise any member of the Sports Committee". I'm sure lots of people would have volunteered...I wonder what the concert was like?

Even though I have the sea in my blood (my Grandfather was in the Merchant Navy), I've never really been one for water. Still, with all the entertainments on board ship and excursions I think I could have managed a trip around the Mediterranean in 1930!

Taking it Easy

I caught Phoebe in this pose this morning. Oh, life's so tough being a cat!

Happy weekend everyone!

A Room of One's Own

One of the biggest luxuries in my life has to be that I'm lucky enough to have a whole room in our house that I can work and be creative in. Mr Treasure is very understanding of my magpie ways when it comes to textiles (and I think relieved that I've only managed to fill, thus far, just one room with all of my collections of fabric, haberdashery and works in progress)! My workroom has been in a bit of a pickle of late, but this weekend I went on a tidying frenzy and so thought I'd take you on a little tour...

I surround myself with inspiration and things I love. There are the photos and mementoes on my message board (made using the fabric of a vintage eiderdown and bought from Rosablue), my basket of Vintage Magpie bunnies and Cath Kidston sewing box which houses (no pun intended!) my sewing paraphernalia.

I just love books...and my collection is always growing!

This little embroidered house was very kindly given to me by Janet Clare at last year's Festival of Quilts. It's taken me ages to find just the right frame for it, but now I have it sits happily on one of my bookshelves.

I have buttons and fabric stashed away in all sorts of places!

At the moment, one of my 'only weaknesses' (to quote Dorcas Lane!) is tins and boxes. My latest acquisition is the oriental style Blue Bird toffee tin (left hand side, on the top).

I often change what I have out on this little shelf. At the moment, I have pincushions and other sewing bits and bobs on display. The photo is of one of my Grandmothers. She was a great seamstress and always wore the most elegant clothes.

I love jars of buttons! I need to fill up the empty ones, which I found in a local charity shop. Sometimes I tip out a jar of buttons and rummage through them, just for fun and to remind myself of all their different shapes and colours.

When I walked in this morning, the sun was streaming through the windows and my heart soared! It's so wonderful to see sunshine and know that Spring is on its way.

A Year of Creativity

I've always loved keeping journals. When I was little I'd write about all the things I got up to each day. Nowadays, I often start the year with good intentions of writing something every day, but this isn't always possible...sometimes nothing very noteworthy happens, or I find myself engrossed in life and don't quite find the time to put pen to paper.

I found this fabric covered journal in the Waterstone's sale and just couldn't leave it on the shelf! The pages aren't lined and it got me thinking about the possibilities of creating a visual (rather than written) journal.

"What a great way to use, amongst other things, some of the vintage ephemera I've collected from junk shops and at French brocantes", I thought to myself...

...and so I've started creating a little work of art each day. I think I'll become bolder and braver as the days go on (I'm still finding my creative feet at the moment).

I often link the images I use with what I've done that day. As you can probably tell, we're currently going through a bit of redecoration here at Treasure Towers.

It's so wonderful to give myself a bit of time each day to be creative. I find it really relaxing!

A Vintage Affair

Every so often a book comes along that I just can't put down. The latest read to fall into this category has been Isabel Wolff's 'A Vintage Affair'. I finished it in two days (which is a speed record for me)! In case you haven't read it, it's all about Phoebe Swift, a young woman who's just opened a vintage dress shop (and is also coping with the loss of her best friend). One day Phoebe buys a collection of clothes from an elderly French woman, which leads to all sorts of intrigue, soul searching and adventure. Vintage clothes, mystery, stories of people's lives and the feel good factor - it's definitely in my list of favourite reads!

Reading 'A Vintage Affair' brought back memories of an article I wrote last year all about the most fabulous vintage shop in New York...

Hooti Couture sits joyfully on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and is owned by the very glamorous Alison Houtte. Even though I haven't yet visited myself, I can tell from the photos that Alison sent me that this is a vintage fashion lover's paradise.

Alison worked as a fashion model for over ten years and was featured in Vogue, Elle and French Marie Claire.

There's all sorts to look at...

...from hats and jackets...

...to handbags and jewellery.

Alison and her sister, Melissa, wrote one of my favourite books of all time, Alligators, Old Mink and New Money - One Woman's Adventures in Vintage Clothing. I found it a few years ago and have been a Hooti fan ever since! It's all about Alison and her Hooti Couture adventures. It's bursting with tales of vintage clothes, her modelling days, the shop itself and excursions to find treasures for it. If you love vintage fashion, you'll love this book!

On seeing all these photos of Hooti Couture (and having read Alligators, Old Mink and New Money), it's all I could do to stop myself from buying a ticket to New York on the spot! I very much hope to go to New York again soon and pay Hooti Couture a visit.

A huge thank you to Alison for letting me share her photos with you here. Hoorah for vintage!