Chatiryworld

Favourite forgotten books

So there I was, reading blogs this evening, when I clicked onto Jane Brocket's latest entry in Google Reader.  Holy crap!  Phoebe and the hot water bottles!  I LOVED that book.  It made me wonder about what other books I loved as a child that I've now forgotten.  A few weeks ago I saw The Giant Jam Sandwich in the Children's Bookshop here in Edinburgh.  Several years ago, on a family holiday in Torridon, I devoured another childhood favourite, Five Dolls in a House .  It was probably about 20 years since the last time I had read it.  I obviously had a thing about doll's house books, I still think of Tottie: The Story of a Dolls' House and Tilly's House (Amazon UK doesn't have the cover image) every so often.

If you were a fan of the Tottie TV series from Oliver Postgate, here's a little clip.  And have any of you rediscovered favourite old books recently?

London coffee shop culture of the 50s

Via All Things Considered.

Hello baby Henry!

A friend just had a baby last week, and as per tradition, he's receiving a hat knitted by me and a copy of The Baby's Catalogue.  It's a fun tradition.  Three more friends are expecting babies over the next few months so more knitting to be done.

Playmobil people

Who played with Playmobil?  I did, and I've been squealing with delight at some of my old toys on Collectobil (via I like).

I decided this morning that the issue of wearing a veil has been surpassed by whether someone has the right to wear low-slung trousers with a g-string.  Then sit forward.  A lot.  At a conference.  In my eyeline.

Also does anyone know if there is a link between eating haggis and leg cramp?  Someone arrived at Chatiryworld with that question.

serious ice cream

serious ice cream, originally uploaded by chatirygirl.

Since most of my Google searches are for people looking for Clothkits (if the amount of people searching for them bought something from them they could successfully start trading again I reckon!) I thought I'd post a photo of me in a Clothkits dress.  I'm guessing this was taken in 1979, when I was about a year and a half old.  Could be wrong though!

Does you does or does you don't do Access?

access sign, originally uploaded by chatirygirl.

Here's a trip down memory lane, thanks to the General Supply Store on Bridge Street in Montrose, Angus.

Retro post

I am scanning photos from my pre-digital camera era AND listening to a cassette tape.  Remember them?  God it sounds woolly.

Clothkits

NOTE: Since I originally wrote this artist Kay Mawer has set up Clothkits once again, they have some gorgeous kits.  I have also set up a Clothkits Flickr group.

Here's one for you British children of the 1970s and 80s.  Remember Clothkits (scroll down for other people's memories)?  They were a Sussex-based mail order firm where you could buy kits for making clothes, toys and home things.  All the parts you needed came ready printed on pieces of cloth so you didn't need to worry about patterns and pins, just cut them out and sew them up.

My mum LOVED Clothkits, she still has some our old dresses I think.  Most photos of me as a toddler include Clothkits outfits.  My 'other mum' in Orkney, MM, loved them too, as did my aunties.  My cousins Helen and Emma had lovely Clothkits things that were passed down to my sisters Ellen and Martha.  I remember a friend of my mums dressing her little girl in a gorgeous padded Clothkits coat that came with little toys to put in the pockets.

Last night I was fishing out an old Barbie for a Monthly Scavenger Hunt photo and found my Clothkits dolls, Polly and Kitty, so decided to photograph them too:

Click on the photo to go the original in Flickr and then you can have a look at the photos individually (if you want).

I'm not sure what happened to Clothkits.  They had a shop in Sheffield for a while in the early '90s and then appeared in the big fat hefty Freemans catalogue.  I suspect they just weren't seen as being cool anymore but I bet with the craft renaissance at the moment they would be really popular.  A daughter of the woman who ran Clothkits set up her own company, Noolibird, selling bedlinen and wallpaper for children (Helen and Ben, you should carry on the family tradition and get something for the baby from here!).  She also designs for Gossypium.

You can still get Clothkits things on eBay (of course).  I'm going to keep more of an eye on it there I think.  Whilst researching Clothkits on the net, I also found a site with pictures of Sasha dolls, including one in a Clothkits dress (I have this one for my dolls).  MM had Sasha dolls, I think they're quite pricey now but the sight of them fills me with nostalgia.

Here are some more blogposts about Clothkits:

A Was Alarmed about Clothkits

girlprinter on Clothkits

Mhari McMullan seems to know something about it's return

Toady also reminds me about French plaits

More about the relaunch from Tinkering Times

vivien y reminsces

Telegraph article

Guardian article

I read a fair few blogs by people who sew lots of lovely things, so after all this nostalgia, have a peak at what people today are doing:

Angry Chicken - lots of bonnets, dresses, aprons, general loveliness.
Wee Wonderfuls - free patterns for sweet little toys, I'm making Pointy Kitty at the moment (or at least have been for a while).  Also some patterns to buy, at very reasonable prices.
Posie Gets Cozy - prettiness!
Soule Mama - bags, bibs, aprons and very imaginative children
Wise Craft - toys, bags and quilts.
Tree Fall - quilts and a lovely Princess and the Pea set.
Spaciouscraft - lovely fabric and textile arts

Top of the internet hit parade

Spend a while at EphemeraNow.

Via That Rabbit Girl.

Random surfing

Having a look at some of Little Island's retro links, and their links, I've come across these rather cool sites:

Viva Las Vegastamps - All about Mailart  This appeals to me as I used to adorn letters and cards with a Mackintosh-style 'K' stamp.
GRRL - lots of retro and pop culture art, stuff and thoughts.
Retro Recipes - a tribute to awful food.

Your letter is only the start of it

I once wrote to Jim because I wanted to be in Dynasty.  Needless to say, Alan, he had the last laugh and he didn't fix it for me.

But ha!  Now I can make my own Jim'll Fix It badge!

Apparently I do a pretty good impression of the shiny man.  Badge via Frogclock.

Innovations and plants

Yesterday's Guardian had an amusing article on a new book about the Innovations catalogue (RIP). Remember that? Place you could buy crap that looked like it had been invented by stoned students?

There was also a piece on plants that can help keep your home healthy. I'm linking to it so I don't have to keep yet another bit of potentially useful paper filed away.

Kitsch Kitchen

Check out Kitsch Kitchen, bucketfuls of retro tackiness! Another good reason to go to the Netherlands (in addition to the Miffy shop).

From not martha.

Memory Lane

Got a programme about Barbie on in the background. I just turned round to see a clip of the great Janet Ellis making a four poster bed for Barbies and Sindies on Blue Peter.

My mum made that bed for my Sindy!!!! Aw.

Looking through the round window

Am just wasting some time looking at TV Cream, a must for all fans of 70s/80s tv and culture. I found a picture from the cover of Beeb magazine (last about 4 weeks in 1985), I remember owning this little gem:

It's got whole sections on the Children's Film Foundation, Schools & Colleges, Play School... Wow.