On "Old Mr. Flood": A Book Review

Title: Old Mr. Flood

Author: Joseph Mitchell 

Genre: Fiction, Short Story

About the book… 

This book is comprised of three installments written by Joseph Mitchell for The New Yorker in the 1940’s about Hugh Flood, a man in his 90’s, who knows everything about the Fulton Fish Market and isn’t afraid to tell everyone his opinions on life.  

What I think… 

I’m not sure why I picked this book up in the first place, but I’m glad I did and I became quite eager to delve into it when I found where it had originally been published. 

It has the interesting aspect to it of being journalistic. While I’m generally one who favors long winded authors, Mitchell’s style of short, concise sentences really makes this book stand out and gives you a good impression of the time period he’s writing about. His use of detailed description in some cases could be seen as overdone, but it is tactfully used in such a way that you get the feeling of reading a travel brochure for some place pleasant instead of being overwhelmed by it. 

The stories themselves, while simple, are entertaining. Mitchell’s characters are all very realistic, which, as the forward in the edition I read points out, is because they are based on a combination of real people (including the author himself) and experiences. Mr. Flood himself, with the claim to live to be 115 by eating fish and drinking, is quite quirky and Mitchell does not fail to fully develop his title character. 

I would definitely be willing to try some his other works. 

To sum it all up… 

This book is probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed it for its writing style and the interesting characters. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of the fiction published in The New Yorker during the 40’s. ♥

On a Curious Fabric: A Photo Post

Not entirely sure what I'll do with this (skirt with purple blouse, maybe?), but I wasn't going to pass up a fabric that was equally Victorian, as it is weird.

♥ ♥ ♥

On My Valentine's Day Oufit

Happy Valentine's Day! Just a quick post to share my outfit for the day. 

Despite the fact that I wasn't going anywhere and have spent the majority of my day fiddling with a hem that just won't cooperate, I decided to dress up this morning. I also decided, after what I realized has been probably about six years, I wanted to style my hair with faux bangs.  

As you can see, I pulled out my Valentine skirt from two years ago (seen previously here and here, if you missed it the first two times). 

Feeling a bit Edith Head here.

I paired it with a shirt I've had for about eleven years and have never worn since it's always been too short for most of my pants and it's so snugly fitted that layering wasn't an option. When I started sewing 50's skirts I figured I'd finally be able to wear it with something and clearly it was meant to go with this skirt! For the photos, I also donned the vintage hat I found in December. I'm absolutely smitten with it!

The strong breeze is not going to blow my hat away!

Hope everyone is having a delightful end to their Valentine's Day!♥

On "Whooo loves this bag?"

I'm getting back to sewing being a regular part of my routine again! Yay! 

You all probably feel as shocked as this carved spool I picked up at the swap meet a few weeks ago, since I haven't had a sewing post since July.

The "How could I have sewn the waistband on the wrong direction AGAIN?" look.

Cool spool aside...About two weeks ago, I decided I needed a small bag with a zipper. As usual I made this decision the day before I needed it. 

In December, I made my first zipper pouch as a gift for someone and I had some issues with both the insertion of the zipper and then it getting caught in the fabric, so I approached this bag with some concern. 

After doing some research, I came across several tutorials where you attach a piece of fabric at each end of the zipper so that you have a fabric tab at each end instead of just the zipper. This worked marvelously and was soooo much better than trying to deal with directly sewing the zipper to the fabric. It also meant no unpicking, so a big win with me! That detail aside, this bag was pretty straightforward being the type where you sew everything together and pull it right side out through a hole in the lining. 

I was extremely pleased that I didn't need to go out and get anything for this. The cute owl nesting doll fabric I used, a David Textiles print, was leftover from what is currently an un-hemmed 60's dress that first it got to too hot for and now it's too cold. The bright green lining is also leftover from two other projects, as is the black and other colors. The neon green zipper I got in an assorted zipper bunch a couple of years ago and has just been languishing away since 40's and 50's sewing doesn't involve neon colors.  

I seem to have an addiction to putting detailing on my pockets and because unlike almost every other bag I've made over the past ten years this one isn't reversible and only has two pockets, I decided this pocket need everything. Bias tape trim, embroidery, a button, and a contrasting color on the inside of the flap! Who doesn't like a pretty pocket?

Blurry photo due to downloading issues. Sorry.

It's been awhile since I've done a fabric strap and due to finishing the morning I intended to use it, I just went with a simple back and forth straight stitch. Dependent on how well the fabric does I might change this later, but for now, given the size of the bag, I'm just going to leave it. 

 ♥ ♥ ♥

On a Hippie Day

Some days you wake up, stare at your petticoat, and decide it’s be easier to be a hippie. Or at least that’s what I did Saturday. 

In a quest for vintage sweaters last year, I came across this great 60’s/70’s style one on Etsy. While the sizing was a larger than my measurements and the price was a little high, I took a risk in getting it because I loved the bird design (chicken or turkey?) and figured I’d be wearing it over something anyways. I’d have to say it was worth it, since I tend to wear it quite a bit!

Surprisingly, I realized as I was editing the photos for this post that this is really my first post with an outfit from a decade later than the 50’s (this dress, which still has a 50’s look, excluded). Most of my true vintage clothes are 60’s or 70’s pieces, primarily from relatives, but I don’t wear them as much since they tend to lack a more practical aspect (a bright, rainbow paisley with orange lining kaftan? — Great if I want to feel like a butterfly, not so good for work). Simpler looks like this, though, by and far, are much easier for me to pull off with very little effort.

While I’m not giving up my petticoat by any means, sometimes it’s nice to take a day to dress outside of your favorite decades!

Outfit Details 

Vintage acrylic sweater- Etsy

T-shirt- Old Navy

Jeans- thrifted

Shoes- thrifted

Head band- me-made (for a themed dress up day ages ago)

 ♥ ♥ ♥