What is Ginger hiding in her bag?

If you've been following me on Twitter then you'll know that all week I've been obsessing about my new bag. This is my FIRST EVER GROWN UP BAG (that is: one that hasn't been found in the op shop and is beautiful and not made of PU or canvas). For serious, it is some kind of gorgeous. I tried taking photographs of it but they were pretty naff, so here is the one from the Saben website so you can see it in all it's glory - is it not actually amazingly beautiful? Observe the stunning clasp, the way the leather falls in folds. I'm having a bad romance with this lovely.

Anyways enough of my borderline bag pron. I thought that this was the best opportunity I've ever had to do a post about what's in my bag. It is For Serious one of my favourite blog genres. Is there a website dedicated to what is in people's bags? If there is, I want to see it. If there isn't, I want to know why.  I love reading about what other people have hidden away in their (admittedly, inferior) handbags.
This is what I have in mine:

1. My lovely Filofax with vintage felt transfer. I love this bad boy so much, and may I comment on how my life has changed for the better? I am way more organised. 

 
2. Maiden Voyage eelskin wallet. This feels amazing, and is the perfect size for all my bits and pieces. I upgraded two weeks ago from a big lumpy leather clutch I have had for about five years. It's so satisfying being able to find anything. This photo doesn't show it very well, but the wallet is a gorgeous shade of turquoise green - green being, apparently, the most auspicious wallet colour. 

3. This is my sunglass case. It only occurred to me after taking the photograph that I should have taken the sunglasses out. They're rip off Ray Bans with a plastic mother of pearl trim; Shan brought them back from India. This is me wearing them in the kitchen (the poster is in the kitchen).

4. Asthma inhaler

5. Lip balm (Blistex Silk & Shine) and a pink lipstick that snuck in to my old bag a couple of weeks ago and managed to get transferred over.

6. My phone (Nokia E63). It's sitting on a little felt case that I made for it.

7. Snack box with Tamari almonds.

8. Minimalised keys and bottle opener for picnic beer emergencies.

9. Pill box containing Kava herbal supplements - or, as I like to call it, "herbal Valium". Good for my inevitable anxiety days.

10. iPod and ear buds, also sitting on a felt case that I made for it (and that is falling apart due to overuse!)

Notable absences: water bottle and a paper back in it's knitted cover. Also, did you note the lack of a halfway acceptable photograph? My photography really is execrable. 

The Great Knicker-Making Mission, Part the Second (big girl knickers are mine)

I've successfully made BIG GIRL KNICKERS. It's taken me about fifteen pairs to get it justright, butI have learnt oodles about sewing in the process. Namely, I have learnt: patience, elastic sewing techniques, how to use my overlocker and basic pattern making. I feel pretty damn pleased with myself all in all (smuggy smug smug).

I've tried out a bunch of different fabrics and elastics during the sewing process, and I think I've finally found the perfect combination: t-shirt fabric for the main body of the pants, as it holds it's shape best, and lacy lingerie elastic trim for the legs and waist which looks tidier, is much easier to sew, and is generally more comfortable than the thin white knicker elastic.

The pattern that has been the most useful to me is the Cheeky Panties pattern on Burda Style (= free). The first time I used the pattern the pants turned out far too small (they were about the size of one of my thighs. I "tried them on" in front of Shan. He laughed a lot). The epic failure of this first pair was, I think, a combination of an existing sizing issue and the fact that the pattern was printed out smaller than it should have been. On my second attempt I blew up the pattern as best I could on my computer at home. This pair was better fitting but cut across my butt very strangely - as in, my butt was threatening to slide out, while the pants slid up.

No.good. I adjusted the pattern so that it sat more flatteringly and more comfortably across the butt cheeks, and divided the main pattern piece (originally one long piece to be cut on the fold) into two pieces - a front and back. This allows the pattern to be fitted on to t-shirts. Having accomplished all this, I made another two pairs, one of which is the pair below. On this pair I found that that the fabric was a bit too soft and stretchy to work with, and the elastic was all wrong (it stretched out the waistband of the pants). The other pair were pretty damn good though, despite being a little higher than I'd like. I was stoked.

The not-so-good ones

After all that missioning I was struck with a severe case of knicker-exhaustion and so I put the whole lot aside until this weekend - I think about a three week hiatus in all. However, I WAS GOING TO SUCCEED. I am, after all, a CRAZY OBSESSED KNICKER LADY.

The first pair I made this weekend totally highlighted the existing issues with the pattern, issues that I'm pretty sure have been caused by the "blowing up" process. Firstly, pants were too high (not very flattering) and the gusset was far too wide and pouchy, which gave the impression that I was (ahem) missing an appendage. Thus, they were not only comfy Big-Girl undies and inherently unsexy with that, but also wildly unsexy through their bizarre crotchy-largeness. And although I wholeheartedly recommend the wearing of comfy panties, I do have something of a reputation to uphold as a sex kitten, thus:

No indeed. There was TOO MUCH big girl undies going on for my liking.

So after much tweaking (removing two centimetres here and adding a centimetre there) and reading of my overlocker manual (finally! amaze!), I finally succeeded in making The Perfect Undies. They are comfy, not overly sexy perhaps, but certainly I feel as though the pattern is (finally) finalised. Which brings me to a conclusion: Underwear Making is not a Science. It's mostly trial and error, and in my case, mostly error.

My finished products! Very lurid.

Some HOTT underwear making tips for you:

1. The best way to sew on the elastic lace is to stretch the elastic while overlocking the lace to the edge of the fabric. Sew right side facing right side (i.e. the right side of the lace faces the right side of the underwear fabric). Then flip the lace upwards and sew the seam in place: this is me attempting to take a picture of this final step (sewing the overlocked edge to the inside of the knickers).

2. The best time to sew on the elastic is while the undies are still unseamed at the sides - that is, while they're laying flat. There is a good demonstration of what I'm trying to explain here on this underwear tutorial. I saw it, didn't think that much about it, and have only just discovered that it's by far the best way to apply elastic.

3. Patience is a virtue. Remember: you will always win against the machine, because you know how to love. However, you will win even more if the knickers look like something you might actually want to put near your butt.

4. Your boyfriend/girlfriend may not be as enthusiastic (ahem) as you are about wearing their old t-shirts around your lady parts.

ANYWAYS: I am planning to Start Again, and see if I can also make some wearable sexy undies. I had a go at making the string undies outlined in these two blogs, but ended up making the knickers faaaar too small. I threw them out before I took a photo because I was kind of embarrassed. I'll upsize the pattern this weekend and try again I think.

In other Sexy Homemade Knicker News, I had a look around for French knicker patterns again. I love the idea of wearing French knickers under my skirts all summer long - sexy and practical - so I am absolutely.determined to make myself (at least) A Pair.

Dudes, half the fun in this business is getting the pattern justright. I love the feeling of accomplishment!

Wednesday List: My five best fiction books (in no particular order)

Books are yum and I like books. During a particularly random hazing process for our book club, we made a list of our five favourite books and made our Potentials list theirs. It's pretty fun finding out what kind of books other people love, and if I was an internet dating kind of a girl I would make any and all interested suitors list their top books. I might make everyone I know do it anyways, for fun.

My top favourite books were all fiction, which I find odd given the amount of biographies and histories I read. I'm guessing I must have something in my head that subconsciously blocks off non-fiction. To be fair, it's been fairly recently that I've discovered my love for non-fiction so maybe the favourite book thing is a hangover?

Anyways, since I'd already done all this work and thinking, I decided to exploit ny pre-existing work. That's just the kind of girl I am. Don't judge me until you know me.

So: here are my top five fave fiction books, and the whys and wherefores.

♥ Lolita - Nabokov. My copy of Lolita is thoroughly dog eared and well loved and has been foisted upon many and various people over the years. I love the story and the way it manipulates the reader, I love Nabokov's amazing way with words, and I love the dream-like sense of the whole thing. It's a beautiful and terrible book, and I strongly recommend.

♥ One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This is a seriously epic book. I'm essentially a Geek For Magic Realism, and given that this is the height of the art, it's perhaps understandable that I like it so much. Tortuous love/family stories set in wildernesses and brutal places? Satirical histories of fictional South American states? Yes please.

♥ The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford. I'm totally in love with the Mitfords, and the Redesdales in the Pursuit of Love are perfect cardboard cutouts of Nancy Mitford's parents. I also love the fact that Linda lives in Paris in a tiny apartment and waits for her unrequited love and then wastes away in furs. And the Hons Cupboard! J'adore Colonel.

♥ The Wind Up Bird Chronicle - Murakami. More Magic Realism, but with a confusing mystery (and a hell of a lot of spaghetti) involved. I also managed to convince myself during the reading of this book that I was somehow getting an inside perspective on the ins and outs of Japanese society. And as I'm writing this I'm thinking about how much I want to read it again. Muuuust reeeeead.

♥ The Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann. Most ridiculous OTT and super good fun book ever. What's not to love? They're all hopped up on bennies and heading to a sticky end. There is more divorce and various levels of unrequited love than you can shake a stick at. Who will survive in the cut throat world of the theatre? None of them. They're all doomed. HUZZAH.

Share share share: your favourite books and why?

Also, there is a very cool Tumblr blog Women Reading. The picture above is from that blog. You should check it out, dude.

Summer Style Direction: in which Ginger takes stock of her "Look"

Hello hello my darlings!

This kind of thing has not particularly enthused me in the past as a blogging topic, but I've adored Alexandra Franzen's take on the whole thing so much (as in: also with concepts) that I was INSPIRED.

My direction then is

A Summer of Genteel Poverty

Inspiration:  The books I Capture the Castle and Greengage Summer, the film version of Sense and Sensibility (the colours, the sunshine and Kate Winslet) and the 1997 film version of Lolita (the colours and this spaced-out dream-feeling you get when watching).

I imagine: vaguely 1930s/40s/50s style skirts and dresses, Liberty print cottons, rose pink, navy blue, fawn-coloured cable cardigans and peach-coloured hair, and general thriftiness.

I'll be making: everything. I'm going to knit myself a fawn That Girl cardigan, and will make a bunch of cotton skirts and tunic-style tops. I also like the idea of making myself a dress from some pretty pillow cases, something like this (mmm, rick rack):

Also: bicycles, picnics in the countryside, pink champagne, Pimms, Shandies, not overspending, making my own pickles and preserves and bread, gardening, clean-smelling and well worn linens. Oh, and SUNSHINE. Did I mention sunshine?

And Some Pictures to further illustrate

Picture credits: four don't knows (lost in the hard drive!), Sabino, Sabino, Effusion of Fancy, Sabino, don't know (vintage?), Ffffound.