So the first Tweed Run in town was good fun. The weather couldn't be more gorgeous for a spring ride dressed in wooly wear. The question was, how many daft peeps we've got in this town up for this kind of fun. Haha, turned out we had about 60 jolly good folks who were up to stunning the general public with a dresed up flock of cyclists.
Yesssss… here it is, the 1930s jumper. I did wear it to the Tweed Run! Just didn't bow tie it as it was just too much. It went fine with the tweed skirt and the weather was just perfect for wearing my Swedish wool cape. So I did... looks a bit funny proportioned like this, hehe, but that's just the decisive moment. ;-)
So we cycled through town and had a few stops here and there for tea, sweet-salty nibbles with bubblies and a locally produced very fine G&T. At the finish line there was live jazz by Whoshedo and more Mechanical Musical Marvels playing 78s.
Probably there will be a next one in October as we all had a jolly good day.
Ain't this skirt just gorgeous? Simple and chic, tweed, asyemetic pleats, lovely buttons, looks like calf length. All 1930s prettyness that serves as good inspiration to make something similar.
click for source
I had a quick look around modern sewing patterns available here without paying overseas shipping rates. Nope, it's not the same (I do like the asymmetric pleats) but it comes quite close.
Ofcourse, always check your stash! This Lisette skirt might just fit the bill.
Just make it a bit longer, add a waistband and maybe some buttons.
So I did and it worked! I lengthened the pattern just a bit. Instead of a 1930s length I kept at a more contemporary knee length. I just had to skip the buttons, I was still handhemming and steam pressing the kick pleats before running off to the Tweed Run. And I think it works fine without the buttons. Maybe a row of buttons would look better on a longer skirt.
Yes, I know, crappy picture, but I'm glad I can show something. Webcam pictures it'll be...
Golly, this 1930s sweater took me some time to finish... I started knitting in December 2010. No, I do not knit very fast, nor very slow. I just start full force and then I will gradually lose interest, put the project away for a while and kind of forget about it, start another one, you know, how UFOs are made. In August 2011, I finally finished all parts. Somewhere in 2012 I started sewing the parts together minus one sleeve, side and the tie. April 2013, it's done! *faint*
It is a bit big and it's not really neatly done around the collar and arm seams, but heck, it'll do, it'll do! It'll be a nice option for the Rotterdam Tweed Run, but gosh it won't fit under the thrifted tweed jacket. But it 'll suit my Lisbon shoes I like to wear. Now... with quck and fancy 1940s pants or a 1930s skirt?
Praise youtube for some online help for the novice knitter who tries to understand vintage patterns in another language. These were some of my life savers:
Knit 2, purl 2 ribbing:
Slip stitching:
Knitting twice into every alternate stitch:
Now, the pattern isn't available online anymore. Or does someone know a link? If you really want to have a go, just let me know and I can mail you the PDF.
Thrifting, blogging, baking cupcakes and sewing on TV: a romantic pastime for the middle classes that obscures neo-liberalism?
This morning I listened to a pocast of BBC's Thinking Allowed. Laurie Taylor discusses the topic of thrift chic with Dr. Tracey Jensen, lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at the School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University.
I found it highly interesting, not sure if I would agree on all of it, but yes, there are definitely some very very interesting points being made. Especiallly after I've been visiting some second hand shops again since long, looking for tweed. And watching the Great British Sewing Bee on Youtube.
Be bold and brave and have your thoughts provoked, after all, your thinking is allowed. Thrifting also, but what about it? :)
So, this ole town will (finally) see its first Tweed Run. When I thought about joining, sartorial panic struck. I don't own any tweed! Honestly, nada, well except for some tweedy fabric. But I just don't have the time to get some proper sewing done. I'd love to have a tweedy jacket, but I would need to testdrive some patterns and that just takes too much time. Don't even get me started on plus fours! One day…
So I cycled around town to broswe through several second hand shops
in town. Turned out to be a sobering trip, hardly any tweed for the
lassies, except quite grubby wintercoats from the 60s and 70s. The
proper jackets I did try on were ill fitting, meh coloured or
overpriced. Many traditional tweed styles come in autumn
colours. Just doesn't look good on me.
But my dear
friend Nora (Hello if you're reading;-)!) found me a cheap secod hand black&white herringbone two
piece suit. It has 65% scratchy wool and it's not really clean. The
skirt is too big but still will be too tight for proper cycle rides. I decided to test
wash it in the machine: succeeded! Now the jacket goes in.
The suit is so basic, I can add anything to this. Black skirt with long Burlington socks. Or maybe some colourful skirt and scarf?
The odd thing is, we just copied this bit of British fun whilst we have our own bycicle traditon. Ofcourse there are many more Brits than us little folks, but according to some statistics 43% of Brits have acces to a bicycle. In this tiny land a whopping 84% of Dutch citizens owns one or more bicycles. The bicycle is not a Dutch invention, but the flat land and the short distances made us some heavy users. Cycling is so much intertwined with our daily life, we would never have thought of a vintage bike ride as good old sporty fun. So, I thought…
We did this thing already, in smaller towns
historical rides in appropriate attire with vintage bicycles have been organised since years on end. We just needed some chaps from across the Channel to point out the hipness of it all. There you go, vintage cycling is the latest craze for the übercool.
Now, all I hope for is fair weather and a refreshing cup of tea midway.
So... some weeks ago, I attended a swing DJ workshop which was quite fun. Put a group of music lovers, DJs, organiseres, dancers and dance instructors at a large table and things won't be boring. Several topics were covered, but time seemed too short anyway. There was some theme hopping, so still many things remain buzzing around my head. We talked about the impact of music on dancing. How different rhythms
influence the way you move. All pretty interesting stuff. It wasn't
about good or bad music, it was about different music. Being aware of the
matter is pretty important, also as a DJ. It was more than interesting to have a dance
teacher's point of view on it.
One topic we discussed was how far a DJ would stray away from the swing core. Some would go pretty far on occasion. As long as your floor stays full and happy, one could throw in unexpected tunes that are swingeable. But how far is far? Along came examples of pop songs and the obvious electroswing. Here's a whole youtube list full of non-classic suggestions.
Our local (Dutch) number one example that always comes up in similar
discussions is Caro Emerald. The example below was a big hit and for sure the retro
styling fits in perfectly with ongoing "vintage" trends. There are
even lindy hoppers in the clip. I've heard her music at swing events, not DJed at a dance, but it served as a warming up tune or for solo charleston drills.
Some would argue, today's pop music, with our without
retro influences, could make lindy hop more accessible to a larger
audience. Offer familiar tunes and it will lure in the young crowd. Electro swing is booming for some time in the club world. Afficionados state it is the next evolutionary step for swing music. It is what keeps the jazz and swing alive (now imagine my evil hollering laughter coming out of your speakers).
Personally, electro swing just irritates the heck out
of me. Anyhoo, I had my little rant already here. But that's just a matter of taste, not
so important. Morgan Day has interesting stuff to say about it here. One of the positive things he states about it: It will inspire more people to discover our dance. And there's this prominent example of the awesome Ninjammerz dancing on stage with Caravan Palace. Man, even reknown lindy hoppers dig the stuff, who am I think otherwise.
And swing dancing is still taking over the world, literally, as far as (from here) Bangkok and I find that pretty amazing. Bright young folks taking things and making things. Is this an example how far we can stretch musically? Or did things snap here? Or did I overlook some tongue-in-cheek fun here?
The discussion isn't over yet. Some musicians, DJs and dancers do want to keep swing alive in all its swinging nature and may get boo-ed in this discourse. They are called the snobs, purists, elitists or even down-right conservatives. Museum shop keepers of a tradition that never was a tradtion in the first place.
Is pop music or electro
swing really an atrratictive bait for wanna-be dancers? Does it work to
overcome the assumed culture shock of "old" jazz?
Actually I find this a strange assumption and I am not buying it. I think swing, yes even this old creaky kind will appeal to the some
ears and it's not age-related. Swing is pretty capable
of selling itself, it doesn't need this assumed modern tweak (emphasis
on the heavy dance beat) to make it go down as easy as baby food. You
either feel it or you don't. And I suppose if you don't like swing
music, maybe this dance is not for you. The world is big enough for
other dances, fusions and cross-overs.
So, here's another clip. I don't know the exact situation and why pop songs are being played in a lindy hop contest. The only thing I understand it's one of the special events where they're giving away Herräng party passes. I can see it's a bunch of young dancers having a good time in some lindy hop Jack & Jill game/contest. And they're are not beginners.
Tell ya, blindfolded dancing is a pretty tricky game. I don't want to judge the dancing in this video, but after discussing and pondering
about music and the influence on dancing, I watched this slightly differently. And I
couldn't stop myself from hollering "whoa"!
I haven't DJed on that many occasions, so I'm not sure if I can come to any valid conclusions. I am attracted to this dance because of the music. When DJing, I do stretch out and play pre- and post-swing styles. But I do like to keep the core in focus. The music influences the dance and how a DJ can have an impact on that was just a vague notion I had. The more I listen, the more I watch, the more I discuss and think, the more I do understand. And it's so freaking interesting! (Yeah, dancing is lacking on that list. Physical progress is still slow but it is there.)
March 6, a fun post showed up at the blog Veit Talks, as DJ Dr. Jazz made A Jazz Song Alphabet, a list of 26 songs starting with a different letters of the alphabet. Out of that came this idea:
The Challenge:
compile a jazz alphabet
if you don't find a good song for a letter, send it anyway
preferably don't repeat songs that have been in other compilations already
preferably don't repeat the same artist
send it to me, and I'll post your playlist on this blog :)
Several swing DJs jumped in on the fun of this game and sent in their alphabets. DJ Chrisbe, founder of Swing DJ Recources loved the idea, made his list and put it on Swing DJ Resources and grew the fun by putting up contributions from other DJs. Alphabets from all over the world are popping up now and I enjoy going through them and (re)discover all kinds of tunes. Big fun!
It was just too irrisistable not to make an alphabet myself. I will admit that I was a tat intimidated, making my list, thinking of the the caliber of international swing DJs sending in their lists. Oh well, plenty of hours and excitement later (many darlings to kill), I came up with my ABC. And I wanted the alphabet to sound nice as a compliation as well. So here's my go at it:
So, yes I kind of lost my blogging mojo, as I lost my sewing mojo, my cooking mojo, I lost my laptop (it just stopped) and after all that non-imporant stuff, I lost my brother in law. My sister is a far too young widow raising two confused adolescents. It's beyond bitter and yet, life continues, raw on certain days and I wonder what is important and what is not and even if that is important to know at all. But let's leave it here.
Gloria Swanson in Sadie Thompson (1928)
Like most of us in the northern hemisphere, I am waiting for spring. But winter won't go away just yet and pesters us with snowfall, icy winds, spreading colds and flus, making us chilly and grey faced. So I occupy myself with work and organising and planning swingdance stuff. It's a nice distraction I will admit. Especially it seems my injured leg is finally showing some recovery. I'm not there yet, as my calf strain wasn't just torn muscle tissue but the injury ripped also into my achilles tendon. It's a long and boring story, but things are getting better and I can dance a bit. I am focusing on some lazy balboa and blues and staying away from lindy hop for the moment.
I am sort of submerged in music and am DJing on several occasions. I joined a swing DJ workshop with other peers from our wee national scene and it was fun geeking out on stuff, as one of the attendees put it. Listening to opinions, experiences ant ramblings about the got my brain racing and I may try to put it into written words, later…
