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Sunday 1 November 2015

Halloween

For Halloween, I didn't dress spooky but wore my handmade Alexandra Henry x Ghastlies cat skirt and my new Cherie Cerise cutsew. I went for a vintage/retro black/grey/white theme.

October Round Up


I felt as though I didn't have a productive month as there were many things I wanted to do and did not get around to doing, but looking back I have made some personal achievements, and it is time I focused on the good things. Too often I think, "I don't practise drawing enough", "I don't wear lolita enough" and mostly "I wish I didn't have a headache/migraine/lack of energy/pain". It's strange really because apart from my health issues, the things I beat myself up about are the things that I take the most joy in and are important to me – art and lolita. Although I lament not drawing every day, I did more sketching than usual, and I completed an illustration for a the Regalia contest winner. I planned out and wore my Halloween coord, even if my event didn't go to plan (I had to cancel it as most people couldn't make it), but I made the most of Halloween anyway by enjoying pizza and classic movies with my best friends. I finished a corset-vest sewing project that I had been working on for a long time, and I went to the Alexander Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in London, where I stocked up on pretty fabrics and got a lot of inspiration for new projects. I also finally got around to writing two long blog posts that I had wanted to do. So thinking about all of that, I feel a lot better about things and positive that I can be even more productive in November. Here are my favourite finds from October, including coords, shopping and new releases – enjoy!

My favourite releases from October:



Baby the Stars Shine Bright x Sentimental Circus Collab. I love the phases of the moon and stars in this print, but I'm not so keen on the bodice. It's a shame they didn't release a skirt!

Sunday 25 October 2015

Lolita Knitwear: Knitting (and crochet) Patterns and Inspiration

The nights are drawing in, the weather is getting colder, and Starbucks is advertising their Pumpkin Spice Latte like there's no tomorrow. With Autumn well under way, and winter soon approaching, I have found myself shifting from the fabric and sewing aisle, to eyeing up soft, warm and beautiful wool and yarn. In a recent escapade to the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching show, I bought this beautiful alpaca wool (along with several other fabric goodies!) to make gloves:

A photo posted by Madeleine Allcock (@madillustration) on

Then it got me thinking – why stop there? What else could I make to fit in with my lolita wardrobe? Searching around on the internet, I couldn't really find a satisfying source of lolita knitting patterns, so, after a lot of research on lolibrary (the lolita clothing database) and ravelry (knitting pattern database), I thought I would share my thoughts and finds with you here. I'm also working on a series of blogposts on knitwear including defining characteristics of brand knitwear, what to look for when buying offbrand knits, how to customise and embellish knitwear, and my favourite finds from Etsy and Taobao).

Monday 21 September 2015

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright fashion show


I woke up early today in order to watch the live streaming of the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright fashion show, filled with new releases! It was exciting joining the live chat and waiting for it to load with other people. Baby is one of my favourite brands for their attention to detail and ability to conjure up designs that look as if they jumped straight out of a fairy tale.

I took screenshots of the show and you can see all the outfits (including ouji styles) on my tumblr blog, but I thought I'd share a few of my favourites here. Unfortunately the camera didn't always focus, and sometimes chopped the models' feet off(!) so these were the best I could get. It was also streamed at quite a low resolution (720p). I think it will be uploaded to YouTube again in a few days if you missed it.

Monday 20 July 2015

Artist Spotlight: Minori


Minori with the Hydrangeas

Today I'm talking about an artists that I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with – Japanese illustrator and Shironuri style icon Minori.

Minori is mostly known as a style icon in Harajuku, Tokyo, for her take on the "Shironuri" (painted in white) style consisting of floaty, layered outfits inspired by nature. With an international fan base, she has featured in Vogue and TokyoFashion.com

Monday 13 July 2015

Lolita Amigurumi Strawberry Gingham Wrist Cuffs Tutorial


I love strawberries and wanted a fun weekend project to add an accessory to my summer coords, so I made these cute gingham wrist cuffs. They are simple to make and incorporate sewing and crochet into one project. Once you get the hang of making the amigurumi strawberries and flowers, you can add them to socks, lace gloves, berets, or kawaii decor for your home. Here's how to make them...

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Blackberry Milk

Welcome to Blackberry Milk, my corner of the internet's poky little blogging cupboard. Although it feels like a thing of the past, blogs have always grabbed me and I don't want to see them disappear. For me and many others, blogs bridge the gap between reading books / magazines, and the fast-paced social media platforms of Twitter, Facebook et al, where everything is short, blunt, and gone in 60 seconds. Like you, I love to read about people's thoughts, research and musings in carefully constructed posts.

What will Blackberry Milk do?
I aim to post 2-4 times a month on lolita, posting reviews, coords, sewing tutorials, illustrations and more. I started this blog because I spend far too much time online researching everything lolita, and so a blog just felt like the right place to store and share my thoughts and knowledge – to make something productive out of all the time I spend neglecting friends and family. Plus, it seemed a great way to procrastinate when I'm supposed to be finishing my next painting. I'm too shy to be a vlogger and I write better than I speak. I am by no means an expert, and love to talk to more experienced lolitas about different topics and ideas.

Why Blackberry Milk?
Milk is one of my favourite words for reasons I don't fully understand. I love nature, autumn and deep colours, so I thought, why not Blackberry Milk? It's as good a name as any, and after a while, names start to mean something different anyway.