Tweed!

AH, AUTUMN!

I am so glad to see autumn. I'm not a massive fan of longer nights, or of plants dying back, and definitely not of cold or rain, but I am very pleased to be able to get my lovely woollies out of the wardrobe again, both knitted and woven. I pulled my favourite old purple tweed dress out today and felt so happy to be wearing it again. (The poor thing is very well worn, and while it doesn't show its age too badly on the outside, the lining is completely trashed.) I always feel smart in this dress. Tweed is a very forgiving fabric; it doesn't show every lump and bump, and it's jolly comfy too.

The down side of autumn is that I really need to get my act together and sew that [blorp!]ing sleeve on the 1930s jumper I finished knitting last year, because it's not going to sew up itself.

The brooch, incidentally, is a cold enamel one by British manufacturer Exquisite. They did loads of this sort of thing in the 1950s and 1960s, including a leaf range like this one, and a series of birthday flowers. You can still find them, but often they're a bit battered. This one had some chips when I bought it, but I fixed them. Can you believe one of the acorns had no paint on the end? Managed a good match there. (Here's my post on How to repair vintage enamel jewellery - note that it only covers the painted 'cold enamel' type, not the high-end fired glass type. That's a specialist job, I'm afraid.)
Despite being pleased that autumn has arrived, I did do a bit of shopping in the Boden sale. YES I know it's mumsy, but I'm 43, I'm allowed to be mumsy. NO it's not vintage or even repro, but the fact that my vintage doesn't fit and repro seems to be all about the waist - even styles that are supposed to be 60s - was really getting to me, so I took the modern route. (You have no idea how many posts I've done on feeling awful about my apple-type body, but no-one needs to read that nonsense, so I always delete them as soon as they're written. I've been proactive instead and followed more blogs by older/plus sized bloggers for inspiration.) Anyway, I wanted something for my holiday, and picked up a couple of skirts and a top. I shall show you them later in the month, in the lovely (hopefully!) setting of Madrid and Zaragoza. There's a lot of navy and red in the prints, so they'll go brilliantly with the charity shop bits I bought a week or so ago and the navy handbag Goody sent me.

Ziggy is still in the vet, but he's getting better every day. Thank goodness for pet insurance! He's racked up a four-figure bill so far, and I'm expecting we'll be able to bring him home next Monday.  He seems to have licked or bitten something that's caused his whole tongue and mouth to swell up, so he's been on a drip to pump liquids and antibiotics into him, and also has a feed tube in his neck. Poor little chap. We took him a grubby pillowcase so he'd have something that smelled of home, and yesterday we got a purr out of him, which was nice. Because we both work full time, I don't want to bring him home with the tube still in his neck, in case he or Pippin do something to it, so he can't leave the vet till he's eating and drinking by himself. He's been slurping up high-calorie mush, which is a good sign.

I hope you're all set for a lovely autumnal weekend. Mr Robot and I are off to see Professor Elemental tonight (assuming Ziggy isn't well enough to leave the vet - if he comes home tonight, we'll stay in with him) so I'll actually have something interesting to tell you tomorrow.

Comments

  1. I do love the colour of that purple dress SO autumnal, the brooch is fab too.
    I'm fed up with all the lumps and bumps in random places now I'm getting old like armpit fat? What the hell?? I never even knew you could get such a thing but I certainly have it now, it's just so down heartening sometimes.

    Looking forward to the holiday pics and enjoy youre evening whichever you end up doing. xx

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    1. Chin hair. NO-ONE EVER WARNS YOU ABOUT THE CHIN HAIR. "Oh hai, you late 30s? Have a beard." My tweezers are my bestest friend.

      We're hoping Ziggy can come home tonight, which is a massive relief - we'd been discussing cancelling the holiday.

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  2. Poor Ziggy-hoping he's better soon.

    Beautiful brooch-I'd never known you repaired it as you did such an excellent job of it. I've had great luck with Boden and I don't care who knows it.

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    1. Yeah, I guess Boden isn't as prevalent in the US, so doesn't have quite the same prejudice around it. Because it's a bit pricy, it does have a reputation for being a bit of a 'yummy mummy' middle-class brand. Which is kind of odd in itself, because it's better at using models of all colours than many brands. I just like it because it's usually very good quality; I've had shirt dresses with internal fastenings at the waist, strappy ones with lingerie loops at the shoulders - you just don't get those details with most brands nowadays.

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  3. I'm all for Autumn, bring it on! I love my Autumn wardrobe and like you I can't wait to wear all of it. The brooch is lovely and you did a great job restorig it. Very clever. Good to hear Ziggy's on the mend. Bet you can't wait your Boden buys to Spain ... xxx

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    1. We nearly cancelled our holiday, but yesterday Ziggy started eating again. We'll see how he's doing at the end of the week.

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  4. Sorry to hear about Ziggy. Hope he is feeling better soon!

    I'm excited for autumn too. Tweeds and wool have been taunting me from my closet all summer, and it's great to finally have a chance to wear them again! I love your oak brooch. It such a cute way to add an extra bit of autumn to an outfit.

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    1. He's getting there. We were so worried he was going to die at a couple of points. When we get him home, we're keeping him shut in the house till we go on holiday. He won't like that - he and his sister were street cats and like lots of space - but I'll feel better.

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  5. I'm glad that Ziggy is on the mend. That sounds really horrid for him, I wonder what did it. I love Autumn so I'm pleased it is on the way. All the wool and tweed for me! Love the colour of this dress and the brooch is just brilliant. Want one!

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    1. We think he must have brushed against some chemical on the grass, as the vet found two burny-wound things on his underside - he probably tried to lick it off, which hurt his mouth. He's finally eating again, after a week on the feeding tube.

      Exquisite brooches aren't uncommon - the firm made loads - though they usually show up a bit battered. That's where my repair scheme comes in handy...

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  6. So glad Ziggy is getting better!
    Love that purple tweed on you!
    Life's too short to lament the fact that we aren't all born supermodels. Thankfully we're born in a time when plus sized clothes are fashionable & readily available.
    Never heard of Boden, time to do some pretend shopping!

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    1. Boden is a British mail-order company, a little pricy but usually good quality. It nods at trends without being a slavish follower, and has a few styles (eg the Richmond trousers or cashmere cardis) which it makes in different colours each season because they're its customers' wardrobe staples. I guess it's fashion-aware quality classics. In American terms, a bit 'country club', perhaps?

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  7. love the brooch im not too exxited for autumn

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    1. I don't like the dark and the wetter weather. Lots of people I know seem to be going away in September, I think we all want to escape it!

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  8. Poor Ziggy. Aren't they a worry? I hope he's on the mend now.
    Noooooo! I think I dislike Autumn even more than I do winter, all those damp mornings and those massive bloody spiders not to mention no more festivals.
    The clothes you've worn on your blog from Boden have always been lovely. Jon's found a few men's bits in chazzas, too. xxx

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