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Avoncroft WW2 Weekend 2022

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Kitten von Mew
Avoncroft WW2 Weekend 2022

This weekend I sang at Avoncroft Museum’s WW2 Weekend! The event had only been organised in 6 weeks, so I knew it wouldn’t be as rammed with reenactors and stalls as it would’ve been. The open air museum is vast and has a large range of buildings from 1800’s to a 40’s prefab! They even have a vintage showman’s carriage (my favourite).

There were some allies forces (Brits and Yanks), with a spattering of military vehicles. The setup looked great against the old buildings and you just couldn’t take a bad photos!

Mr Mew
Kitten Von Mew taken by MJ Wartog!

Remember folks… please don’t clamber on/ in or touch people’s vehicles without their permission! It’s very bad form! ALWAYS ask permission and they are allowed to say ‘no’ as it is their pride and joy. I asked obviously!!!

It was wonderful to catch up with my good friend Mark and see his new (to him) Willy’s Jeep name Bouncin’ Babe! Mark also overseas my official Facebook page when I’m too busy, so he is ace.

Mark and Kitten
Bouncin’ Babe! This set was taken by Mr Mew.

I managed to do a bit of modelling for Heyday Vintage at the same time, which was swell! This is the new Josephine dress I have teamed with Lulu Hun shoes, a gorgeous crocheted bag by Doodlebug Bags and a vintage hat.

As ever, I was super-nervous about my voice coping! Last weekend I lost my voice and last year, at a different Avoncroft event, I lost my singing voice and couldn’t do the second day! So all week I was inwardly panicking, drinking my weight in hot ginger and trying not to raise my voice too much.

Huzzah! My voice held up beautifully and I made sure to take care of it between sets too. I had great feedback both days and met some absolutely wonderful people. it was super to see Guy Roles once more and to meet The Vintage Class Singers for the first time.

Lindy Lou Shelby and Kitten Von Mew in the Guesten Hall on Saturday.

As well as the buildings, Avoncroft also has a mini railway; much to the joy of children and land girls alike!

Betsy and I had a go and it was lovely! Only 50p a ride and a nice little bit of fun to end the day.

Although a very much scaled down event, it was superb and everyone I spoke to has a brilliant time. Thank you to all the organisers and volunteers who pulled off the event in such a short amount of time!

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New Victory Fabric by Kitten von Mew!

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Kitten von Mew

WWII Victory Fabric designed by Kitten von Mew

At the weekend, amidst a bout of poorliness, I decided to make and COMPLETE my first garment. I am usually very enthusiastic about such challenges and love choosing fabrics and trimmings and carefully cutting out each piece of the pattern…and after about an hour Im through with the sewing machine having eppy-fits and realise that shopping is more fun than making sometimes.

I had purchased a WWII house dress pattern from Etsy which looked rather a lot easier than anything I had attempted before (No buttons or zips! Huzzah!). I quickly ordered this and chose a pretty fabric – bright sky blue with white polka dots and pink, yellow and red flowers.

The only pain about the pattern was that there were no size lines to scale it down, so being an amateur, I made up the piece at the size intended and then put it on and pinned it to my shape. Being so basic this worked well and the only trouble I had with it was the darting and pin tucks, but after a sweet tea, a few naughty words and a good film I managed to get through this trauma.

With my first dress complete (please do not look too closely at it once posted, although proud, there are parts of the sewing where it looks like I was trying to use the machine whilst on a rollercoaster), I am now ready to do another and to celebrate have designed the fabric above!

I am hoping to have this made in time for the War and Peace Show as a comfy sun dress to walk around in.

I have ordered 2 yards and if I need more I will use a contrasting plain cotton I think. It is not currently available for the public to buy as I need to receive the sample before it goes on sale, but if you wanted to order it through me then let me know.

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WWII Toys

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Kitten von Mew

I thought I would share a couple of photos with you of some 1940’s military wooden toys I got Mr. Mew for his Birthday. He is starting to make some WWII inspired things, so thought these would be greta inspiration and show how some of them were made. These would have been the type of wartime gifts you would have bought from Sears in the 1940’s. There were more expensive varieties of WWII toys around, but I loved the fact that these had obviously been played with and seen many ‘carpet battles’ in their time!

I saw three ships come sailing in...!

I saw three ships come sailing in….! With their original paintwork and a couple of missing pieces, these WWII ships are great examples of toys from the period. Metal was highly rationed in the war, meaning a lot of toys were wooden or plush.

WWII Landing Craft and Armoured Vehicle

Although sporting a Netherlands style flag, I do believe this to be an America toy Landing Craft. It also has an armoured vehicle inside that can slide out when the ramp is lowered.

There is something very humbling about these toys. Created for children to take their minds off the horrors of war with a little escapism, but also to bring them closer to their fighting dads, uncles and grandads who were off fighting. They could win any battle with these little wooden toys.

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