But it can't be from Dolly Clackett. She gave me an Easter egg!

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Minerva Crafts, which said "would you like us to send you everything you need to make a dress?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, my answer was something along the lines of ''OH HOLY WUT YES PLEASE WHERE DO I SIGN?" I mean, it's not like I got into blogging to get free stuff. But I'm only human, and free stuff is nice, and working with companies is pretty lovely too. It took me a couple of days to get back to Minerva with my shopping list, because their selection is enormous and also the filtering options on their website? Well, they could be a lot better. But anyway, here's what I asked for:

Vogue Vintage V8789 from 1957 -
I am very amused by the faces on both of the ladies on the pattern envelope here. B looks drunk, and A looks like she's just smelled something awful. Or maybe she's just noticed that her left hand is totally deformed? Look at that claw!

To make it, I chose 3 metres of this Peacock print cotton lawn, from the dress fabric section of the website. Minerva Crafts also sent me the zip I needed for this project. I chose this Vogue pattern mainly because I've been curious about these reprinted vintage patterns, and because I've had good experiences with the Butterick retro reissues. The people at Vogue seem to be better at making the patterns look appealing, as well. I really like the Josephine Kimberling for Robert Kaufmann fabric that the model is wearing in the product shot:

Cute, eh? Except for the fug shiny pink cummerbund thing. But I am very prejudiced against fabric sashes of any kind, so feel free to pay that no mind! Anyway, I think I will look for a fabric with a similar directional print for a future make, but this time round I needed the peacock feathers. I had been invited to a Cluedo-themed party, with the instruction to come dressed as Mrs Peacock. So, I obliged:

Ms. Peacock dress, worn with blue Pin-up Couture belt, Irregular Choice Cortesan shoes and vintage vinyl handbag

That's Ms. Peacock, though. I'm not ever going to be Mrs. anybody.

So the fabric itself was lovely to work with. The fabric requirements on the pattern envelope are bloody shocking, and suggested I'd need over 5 metres of fabric for this. I asked Minerva for 3 (the fabric is 60" wide) and it was MORE than enough. This is partly because I drastically reduced the skirt - the pattern directs you to cut four massive rectangles of fabric and gather them. I'm no stranger to a gathered skirt, but when I calculated the width of the skirt and thought about how much gathering that would be, I thought, fuck this shit, and made the skirt out of two of the panels. You can see in the photo above that it is still pretty tightly gathered, I genuinely can't imagine how the skirt as drafted would fit! So that's a little tip to anyone thinking of making this dress. It'll save you a buttload of fabric (and money, probably) and I still ended up with a skirt that's more than full enough to handle a full fluffy crinoline underneath! I probably could have got away with using even less fabric if I had measured the skirt length before I cut the fabric, but I obviously wasn't thinking. The length of the skirt pieces provided gave me a skirt that was ankle length! I ended up cutting over 10 inches off the length - but I still think I got a pretty authentic looking late 50's shape.

I only got a few photos before my camera battery died, and they're all pretty similar, sorry dudes!

As you can see, I made view A and it was really easy, and it came together very quickly. The bodice is unlined but it has this really nifty thing where the facing is part of the main piece of fabric - you just fold it down and slip-stitch it in place. There are armhole facings but I couldn't get them to lie flat so I unpicked them, and faced the armholes with some pale grey bias-binding I had in my stash. The dress zips at the side, and I put in a lapped zip.

I didn't make any adjustments but, if I were to make this again I would shorten the bodice by an inch. The shoulders are loose, but I think this is more to do with the length of the bodice than the seams at the shoulders. I might be wrong, but I'll play with it a bit and see where it gets me. For this dress I'm not so fussed because it's a party dress, and probably not one I'll wear all that often. That said, the fabric is really gorgeous to wear! When I finished the dress earlier in the week I didn't love it, but having worn it I do like it a lot more and I love the print.

I also really like the shape, so I will make another one of these, and get the fit a bit closer!

Thank you so much to Minerva Crafts for their generosity - I was so thrilled to be given this opportunity, and I am pretty pleased overall with my new party frock!

Sadly, I had to leave the party early last night because I was feeling really unwell. I've been feeling a bit grotty all week and it's just catching up to me now. I've spent today in maximum comfort, lounging around in a jersey maxi dress, letting Nic supply me with many many cups of tea. Hopefully I'll be a bit more chirpy tomorrow. So, with that, I'm going to get back to lazing! Don't forget that there's still time to win a £50 ASOS voucher, though!

Evening, evening! Now, first up - I drew the winner of the £50 ASOS giveaway at random, and the winner is Marie of A Stitching Odyssey! Congratulations, Marie! Appliances Online also sent me a £25 voucher to thank me for hosting the giveaway, and I put it towards that checked dress. It's so rare now that I will buy a new dress, but this one has been on my wish-list for an age, so I'm pretty happy about that. Hurrah!

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good week. Mine got better today as it was payday, and I was finally able to do a couple of things I've needed to do: order the Anna dress pattern from By Hand London; book annual leave for August and flights home and book train tickets to the London meet-up on Saturday. I was also going to buy some shoes, but the pair I wanted had sold out in my size. Ah! More money for fabric, I suppose. I also bought a bottle of wine and some trifle because you have to have some treats, right?

So, on Friday last week Jo of The Amazing Taracat posted her latest make - a fabulous mash-up of two of my most favourite patterns, Sewaholic's Cambie dress and By Hand London's Elisalex. I was immediately seized with a powerful desire to also combine these two patterns - I even had some gingham in my stash if I wanted to shamelessly stalk poor Jo. I was working at home on Friday so as soon as I logged off at four o'clock, I got down to sewing! I decided not to use the gingham - which, to be fair, I already had ear-marked for another project - and went for some more eccentric Paris fabric. I must have been in the zone because by 7:15, I had a dress all finished apart from the hem. That's pretty fucking fast, even for me, but I was so enthusiastic! And here's what I made...

Rue des Poissionniers dress - a fabulous Cambie-Elisalex mash-up, worn with Irregular Choice Mermaid shoes and a vintage handbag

These two patterns are such a beautiful match - major MAJOR props to Jo for putting them together. I cut my regular size in both (size 8 Cambie bodice, size 12 Elisalex skirt) and the only adjustment I really had to make was around the pleats in the skirt. I just did as Jo did, and made them work with the darts on the front and back bodice pieces. Job done. It was super-easy, which is partly why it all came together so swiftly. I loves it!

The fabric came from Paris and it's another pretty eccentric print. Nic spotted it in Coupons Saint Pierre and I have to confess that I mainly bought it because it made me laugh for about five minutes. So, from a distance it looks pretty standard, like a map or a sea-chart. Up close, though, those "islands" are shaped like fish, and the writing all over it is either the names of types of fish, or just generally nonsensical names and terms. It's pretty surreal. I showed it to my friend Michael last week and after looking at it while I ragged on it, he said all seriously that he thought it was so weird it was beautiful. I'll take that.

I like this little shoal of islands.

I have to say, though, I think it does look fab made up as a dress. My random Paris fabric selections have all turned out to be winners - I think I'm going to have to go back! And to always take Nic fabric shopping with me, because he has a good eye.

This isn't the best photo, but it gives you a better idea of the print

So, as I said, apart from the hemming I was able to sew this up very quickly. This is in large part down to the fact that I am extremely familiar with both patterns now. But I don't want you all thinking I was cutting corners or anything - I'm also pretty happy with how my dress is finished. The bodice is lined, as the Cambie dress is, and the skirt is unlined. I finished my skirt seams by pinking them:

As I usually sew with cotton, my preferred seam finish has been turning and stitching. However, I've recently been really enjoying pinking seams. I think it looks so neat and pretty and it holds up well - I have seen vintage dresses that are forty or fifty years old that have pinked seams and that are still going strong!

I finished the dress on Sunday when I hemmed the skirt by hand, and then I put it on and headed down to the Pump Room Gardens to the fair. I love the fair, although it's a bit crap this year. I mainly just like eating candyfloss and going on the waltzers:

PENIS CANDYFLOSS. I'd like to say it looked less like a penis in real life but I honestly don't know. I was too busy eating it and trying to keep it out of my hair. Still though, this is a pretty convincing cock and balls candyfloss, isn't it? And all for the low, low price of £2. Bargain.

Here's a slightly more dignified picture of the bodice. It's not as funny, though, is it?

I've paired the Elisalex bodice with loads of other skirts, but until Jo posted her Cambilex dress, I hadn't thought of using the skirt in other iterations. I will again though, because I really LOVE the exaggerated shape of the skirt. I know it's not to everyone's taste, but I love the tulip shape. It looks great from behind, in my opinion:

BOOM

Hi, that zip does look better in real life. Just FYI. Look at those pleats, though, aren't they fabulous? I love this skirt pattern, for real. I also love that, for once, the bandstand wasn't full of teenagers so I could pose there. Thanks, teenagers. I guess you were all pretty busy on the extra-scary rides at the fair.

And that's that. Cambie and Elisalex. Two great tastes that taste great together. Thanks for the tip, Jo!

Sunday evening, it's raining, and I'm in my pyjamas. It's all good though, because I'm at the end of a long weekend so lovely it's as if I have been on holiday, I'm all loose-limbed and sleepy and relaxed. I love that feeling. I have a proper break coming up at the end of the month, when Nic and I are going back to Northern Ireland for a week, but a little random day off will hold me until then.

I had planned to use Friday to do a bit of sewing and a lot of lazing on the sofa. I was still in my pyjamas at 10:45 when the postman arrived, bearing my copy of the Anna dress pattern from By Hand London. I've been busting to buy this baby since it was released in early June but tedious financial practicality won out and I decided to wait to payday before ordering. It was the first thing I did upon arriving in work on Wednesday - I was sitting in the boardroom, waiting for a meeting to start, buying the pattern on my phone. It's not that I'm a By Hand London stalker or anything. Well, it IS that. But anyway, the pattern is beautiful. I had some amazing fabric that came to me as a gift from Handmade Jane all ready and waiting for it too, so as soon as the pattern arrived, I got down to sewing!

Like the Elisalex dress and the Victoria blazer, the Anna dress is beautifully drafted and it comes together so quickly. It's aimed at beginners and I think this would be a brilliant project for a beginner because the instructions guide you through french seams and inserting a concealed zip so effortlessly. I sewed in bursts here and there throughout the day - stopping to go out for cake, and later to go for a long walk with a pitstop at the new Aldi in Leamington to buy some of their own-brand gin, cooking dinner and making cocktails. Even with that, by bedtime I was putting the finishing touches on my dress:

I love the label that is included in the pattern!

I had planned on wearing another new handmade dress to the Goldhawk Road meet-up on Saturday, but when I finished this on Friday night I knew I had to wear it. It's maybe a bit much for Shepherd's Bush, but I knew I'd be going to Camden in the afternoon and that anything goes there! Enough teasing, though, here's my Anna dress:

Beauty School Dropout dress - Anna dress from By Hand London, made with retro swimmer fabric from Classic Textiles on Goldhawk Road

Nic's dad is Indian, and he's always telling me I should give wearing a sari a go. I understand why he says this - he gets that I love bright, pretty clothes, and I think he's nostalgic for the country where he grew up. But wearing a sari would feel too much like cultural appropriation for me, so I'm uncomfortable with it and I wouldn't - but maxi dresses always feel like a good compromise. Nic's dad always likes it when I wear a maxi dress, and so does Nic, but this is the first one I have ever made! It certainly won't be the last, though. When I told Nic I was making a maxi dress he was really pleased, and when I told him I was making it with a thigh high split in it he was all LOL...WUT? To be fair, it's not something I would ever have imagined going for. Blame Sew Busy Lizzy and Karen. It just felt like I needed to go there.

I'll front with you, though. I did have the wobbles a bit about wearing this dress around London all day. I mean, I'm no Angelina Jolie. These are pretty pasty Irish limbs I'm talking about here. But once I was out and about, I felt kind of awesome. It didn't hurt a bit that my lovely man kept telling me I looked like a 30s movie star. I mean, I know that I DON'T, but this dress definitely has that vibe.

I feel that the train in the background really adds a shot of glamour to this photo! No shit though, I know it's sad and everything, but I love Leamington station. I'm obviously a bit of a trainspotter at heart.

The only adjustments I made to the dress were to raise the shoulder seams by about half an inch - something I have to do on basically everything - and to invert the pleats. Yes, my pleats are on the outside of the bodice. They look like little fins, which is fitting given the ladies on the dress. I'd like to say this was on purpose, but it wasn't really. It started out as an accident - but I liked how it looked so much that I left it the way it was. The pleats look kind of deco, and it means that less of the print is lost. As a few people have said elsewhere, the skirt pieces are HELLA long, so when I was tracing them I traced to 40 inches and gave the skirt a two inch hem. I could have gone longer if I wanted a floor-sweeping gown, but this fabric is white so keeping it off the ground felt like a safer bet. I don't have any photos of the inside, but the bodice is all french-seamed, and the waist seam and skirt seams are pinked - apart from the split, which is turned and stitched, and then slip-stitched down.

COFFEE FACE. I was up late on Friday night. That's a vice-like grip on my coffee cup, there.

It turns out that a maxi dress with a thigh-high split is a surprisingly comfortable and practical garment. It was the perfect thing to wear to meet celebrities...

I AM SIEGE FACE

Wanted on voyage. Please look after this bear.

It was also perfect for meeting up with sewing bloggers and hitting up the fabric shops on Goldhawk Road. Nic and I were waiting by the Paddington statue to meet Emmie before catching the tube over to Shepherd's Bush, where we hooked up with Claire and 30-odd other sewing bloggers and sewing blogger groupies. Yes, apparently sewing bloggers do have groupies:

He was offered a sticker with his name on, but Nic opted to stay with this one.

I'd been really looking forward to the meet-up because I loved all of the fabric that I bought last time I visited Goldhawk Road, but mainly because I was excited about catching up with sewing friends and meeting some in real life for the first time:

Here I am with Emmie, Alison, Vicki Kate, Rachel and Amy

I was really looking forward to meeting Vicki in real life, as she's been an amazing friend to me over the past year. I was thrilled to see her in a Michael Miller print, as well - the girl has taste! It was also fabulous to meet Rachel for the first time and to hang out with my fellow Pacey fans Alison, Amy and Kat. I think we agreed that we can share him, but no-one else seemed to feel the Fauxlivia love. Shame, because I think she's a badass.

We headed off to the shops in smallish to medium sized groups - the little group I was in picked up Zora and Lorna and eventually Kat on the way, and of course Nic joined us to sniff out the fab novelty fabrics! We were also eventually joined by a surprise Ooobop, which was a real joy, as ever. I had a lot of fun chatting with the ladies and doing some shopping (no photos of what I bought - it's all washed and ironed and I can't be faffed, but you'll see it eventually) Pretty soon it was time for lunch, and I waved goodbye to everyone as Nic and I weren't joining everyone for lunch. Before we got back on the tube, we made a quick stop into Classic Textiles, which was lovely. Three of the staff were like WOAH THAT'S OUR FABRIC, which was pretty funny! Well chosen, Handmade Jane.

So, Nic and I wandered back through the market and got the tube to King's Cross, and walked from there to Camden. It was a beautiful day for it. I loved walking along Midland Road, it's so beautiful, and of course I found an opportunity for more posing:

Specialist tailor - Midland Road

I'd never been to Camden before, but Nic and I had agreed to meet our friends there as they were working nearby. On Friday, Nic asked twitter folk for recommendations of things to do in Camden - he got a few good ones (and one person who helpfully told him it was "horrid" like yeah, thanks that, Enid Blyton. NOT.) but in the end we just pottered around. It was very hot so pushing through the market didn't appeal, and instead we walked up the canal to Primrose Hill, had an ice-cream in the park and a drink in a pub, before heading back to St. Pancras Way to meet Josh in The Constitution. We snagged a table out in the garden by the canal and enjoyed a few drinks and lots of chat in the sunshine.

The Artist Formerly Known As Nic, enjoying a well-deserved pint

Wine time. This dress is great for drinking wine in. Also look - despite eating, travelling on the tube, drinking coffee, and lolling around on the grass my dress was totally stain-free. GO ME!

It was really good to catch up with Josh and to meet some of his friends, and all too soon we were on our way back to Marylebone to catch the 11:08 back up the road. It was a very full and very enjoyable day out, filled with excellent people and lots of fun. And a fucking brilliant dress. I have to say it again - you ladies at By Hand London are geniuses. This pattern is so beautiful. I'm going to leave you with a few more photos of my dress, and I'm going to go and make myself a cocktail and - you guessed it - watch an episode of Inspector Morse.

Here's what it looks like from behind. I don't normally do concealed zips, but it does definitely work with this pattern.

Another shot of the bodice - you can just about see the inverted pleats there

And one more full-length one, just because. Oh! In case you're wondering, the name 'Beauty School Dropout' IS a reference to Grease. Not because I love the film (I don't, especially. I like it well enough, but I don't love it) but the retro swimmers reminded me of Frenchie, and also the song has been in my head for other reasons recently. It's a good song, too.

Baby get moving, why keep your feeble hopes alive?

What are you proving, you've got the dream but not the drive

If you go for your diploma, you could join a steno pool

Turn in your teasin' comb and go back to high school...

It feels like it's been an absolute age since I blogged. It's just been a week, but it's been one of those weeks where life pretty comprehensively got in the way. Not even in an exciting way, either, mainly work. It's been one of those weeks where it has felt like every bit of my spare time has been accounted for. My manager was on leave last week so I had a pretty full schedule. That was nice, in a way because I am still really enjoying my new job. I'm basically waiting for the other shoe to drop because I know things are about to get pretty intense in the next few months, but it's been so long since I enjoyed my job that I'm just enjoying enjoying it!

I did do some sewing though, and I even started to get some non-sewing related blog posts organised in my head so I will try to be a slightly more conscientious blogger over the next few weeks.

As for the sewing - I made the most of the time-saving of working from home (no commute! Hurrah!) and I was even able to squeeze in a bit of lunch-time sewing on the two days I worked from home last week. Well, you all didn't think I was going to make just one Anna dress, did you?! At the beginning of last week, I cut into some of the fabric I had bought on the Goldhawk Road. I bought two metres of red polka dot fabric with an Anna in mind - once again, the Goldhawk Road came up trumps for good quality polka dot cotton! You'd think it wouldn't be hard to find, but everything in my local stores is cheap cotton poplin with nasty-ass dye that fades immediately. So, this fabric was about £4.99 a metre, I'm not sure which shop it came from but it was one where the young man who served me was an awesome salesman because he managed to also sell me two metres of another fabric. By complimenting me, like, because I'm pretty shallow like that. Anyway - the dress:

Electric Boogaloo dress - By Hand London Anna dress, worn with Topshop 'Lacrosse' sandals

So, no real construction notes this time around. As you can see, I sewed the midi length except I didn't - I cut the skirt between the midi and the maxi length because I like my skirts to hit below the knee. I french-seamed the bodice as before and pinked the skirt seams - oh, and I sewed the pleats as the pattern directs this time around too! I love love looooove how quickly this dress comes together - in a matter of hours, really, so there is a genuine danger that my wardrobe may become as full of Anna dresses as it currently is of Elisalex dresses and Elisalex variations.

I'm basically delighted with this dress. I think the shape of the dress is a perfect match for the polka dots. I'm very pleased with the finish, particularly with my concealed zip, which looks brilliant. I love the bodice and the sleeves, I think it's such an adorable look! My only slight reservation is that I think this particular dress could have done with a bit more ease. It doesn't feel tight but the skirt rides up a bit at the waistline, which indicates to me a slight stomach/fabric conflict. Not enough that I can't wear the dress - I wore it to work today and it was grand - but I guess one of the things about blogging is that I feel compelled to point it out. Like, if I don't, people will be shaking their heads all "Bish, PLEASE" - you know?

I think that, in this case, the variation is down to a difference in fabric weight. The sizing here is exactly the same size as my Beauty School Dropout dress, which fits fine. The other thing is that my stomach is the bit of my body that shows the most variation if I haven't been eating brilliantly for a few days - and I didn't especially last week. So I'm not concerned, it's certainly wearable. And will be more so after I've eaten some more vegetables. But you know, I wanted to point it out in case anyone feels the need to be all "hey fatty, zipping =/= fitting" because, I know.

Damn, that was a bit intense. Here's a few more pictures of the dress, though:

Because, all griping aside, this is really what I want from a red polka dot dress. It's really cute but not too ridiculously over-the-top girly either. A colleague did liken me to Minnie Mouse today, but to be honest, that's a gauntlet I run most days so no biggie.

It's hard to see why I'm constantly being compared to a cartoon character...

I wore this to the park last Tuesday afternoon for a walk after work. Nic and I were both feeling a bit stressed and a walk in the sunshine cheered us both up. I'm having a strangely melancholy August. It's weird to feel the year slipping away so quickly, a feeling that is magnified by the fact that it has turned a bit chilly again. It's also partly that I have a week off coming up at the end of the month and now I know it's coming, I'm aware of how tired I am and how intense work has been. It also doesn't help that I have been freaking myself out by reading about unsolved crimes and also conspiracy theories online recently! There is some freaky shit out there and reading about it is not good for me. Even though I don't believe, like, 99% of the conspiracy theories, they still freak me out. The internet is bad for me. It's how I found out that I'm one of those people that is really freaked out by lotus seed pods. Don't tell me about the surinam toad, by the way, I know I'm going to have to avoid that shit for life now. I'm a dick, basically. And I need a holiday!

Hey, so this post has been all the feelings and a dress! Go me, I am doing excellent blogging. But it is a cute dress, and looking at the photos has definitely alleviated some of my worries that I'm a big chubby chubster. So, that's good! Also, look at my beautiful assistant:

He helps me pick out fabric, he takes my photos and he proof-reads my blog posts. I love this guy.

Okay, I have rambled a bit this evening. So here's the TL:DR of this post:

The Anna pattern by By Hand London is beautiful and I'm going to make lots
I find reading about unsolved crimes and conspiracy theories on the internet very unsettling but I do it anyway
Polka dots
It's nearly dinner time so... bye for now!

somewhat embarrassed that I've just brain-dumped in this post face

Oh, hello there! Happy Saturday everyone. After a week of full-on, falling into bed as soon as I get home exhaustion, it's so good that it's finally the weekend. I've been having a lovely Saturday - putting the finishing touches onto some sewing projects, tidying, reading - as Liz Lemon would say, I'M TAKIN ON MY BUSINESS.

As I said, it's been a tiring week and I haven't been in the greatest form. I've been feeling run down and stressed and tearful. Nothing is wrong at all, I think I have just been over-tired and a bit homesick and in need of a holiday. I had horrible anxiety dreams every night last week and it made me feel really paranoid - and of course, all of that reading about conspiracy theories and unsolved crimes online didn't hugely help matters. I'm getting to be in a better place now, and I'm starting to get really excited about our mini-holiday home to Northern Ireland next week. I know it sounds a bit pathetic coming from a grown-ass woman, but I'm looking forward to being fussed over by my parents, playing with the dogs and hanging out with my siblings. I miss those guys.

Anyway, that's the craic there. But I know most of you come here for the pretty dresses, so here's a pretty dress for you! After I hosted that ASOS giveaway a couple of weeks ago, I bought that checked dress I'd been eyeing up. I had a voucher, and I bought it on a day when they were doing free next day delivery, w00t!

Checked midi dress from ASOS and Irregular Choice Mermaid shoes

So, this photo was actually taken a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty behind! I am glad I bought this dress, and I'm glad I didn't have to pay full price for it. I think with the voucher and free postage, it worked out to about £30 which is more than I'd pay for the fabric etc if I were to make it, but not a bad price at all. The fabric is a reasonably heavy cotton sateen with a bit of elastane in it, so it's comfortable to wear. I really like it - but I am sort of in two minds about whether I need to take the skirt up a bit. It is HELLA long, right? I mean, I like it, but is it maybe a bit too long? I think at this length it'll look great in the autumn with my knee-high boots (I'm thinking here of all of Chris Cagney's fucking fierce midi skirt and tall boots outfits in Cagney & Lacey) but, yeah. It is pretty long.

It feels a bit weird now sharing shop-bought clothes on the blog. This might be because I hardly buy any clothes in the shops now. I had that shopping ban at the start of the year before going to Paris and between that and ramping up my sewing a lot, I'm hardly buying clothes at all now. I think I've bought maybe five dresses this year. I've just lost the inclination, I think, and all of my spending money is now going on fabric and shoes! To be honest, I didn't ever think I'd reach the stage where sewing made me stop wanting to shop, so this is kind of surprising. It does mean the balance of this blog has shifted away from being a personal style blog to being kind of a sewing blog, which is also sort of surprising to me. I didn't see this coming when I started this a few years ago, or when I bought a sewing machine. Either way, I thank you all for reading and being so lovely.

To be fair, I probably won't ever totally stop buying clothes because it's not always possible to sew your own. What really drew me to this dress was the fabric - I mean, I have sewed lots of dresses in this shape, but I have never seen this windowpane type print fabric for sale. It's really cute - it's like a rust-red with blue and red smudges throughout it. It's not gingham but I suppose it appeals to me in the same way that gingham does. I couldn't get the fabric out of my mind, so I bought the dress.

Right folks, that's your lot from me this evening. I've got more business to be takin' on - some ironing and some dinner-making and some cocktail drinking. Got to do the weekend right, right?

Evening all! I have been working from home today, and it feels like such a treat to do that on a Monday. Of course, it helped that the sun was shining, and Nic was here and that he went out in the afternoon to buy me a fancy coffee. It's the little things. And then I only have to get through the rest of this week and I'm on holiday, hurrah!

After having such an exhausting week last week - one where I didn't even want to look at my sewing machine, let alone sew - I had a very happy stitching-filled weekend. Nic had work to be getting on with and we didn't have any plans, so I made three dresses. My fabric stash is looking woefully thin now and my wardrobe is pretty fat, which is how I like it! It does mean that I'm a bit behind in blogging new makes though, so I guess there'll be a bit of a glut of them over the next wee while.

This little beauty has been waiting her turn for a while. I originally made this dress to wear to the Goldhawk Road meet-up, but then my Beauty School Dropout dress popped up and relegated this one to the bench. This is pathetic, right, but that actually makes me a little bit sad. I get so attached to inanimate objects. Like, when my Daddy fixed my old iBook at Christmas I was thrilled - not because the computer is brilliant (it's so old and slow) but because I am so very attached to it. I'm a dipstick. Anyway, the dress! I hope it can forgive me...

The Janene dress - By Hand London Elisalex bodice and a circle skirt, and worn with Irregular Choice No Place Like Home shoes

I had to name this dress after Janene - you might know her as Ooobop! She talked me into splitting this 5 metre length of stretch cotton sateen with her when we met at the big meet-up in April. It isn't something I would have been drawn to immediately but I was a little awestruck to be in the presence of such fabulousness, and it was busy in the shop! I think it came from A1 fabrics, but these lengths seem to be available in most of the shops on the Goldhawk Road. Janene made hers into an Elisalex dress pretty quickly but I sat on mine for a while, unsure of the best purpose to put it to. I didn't want to totally copy Janene but I do love this bodice, so I stuck a circle skirt on it. Job's a good'un!

That wind-machine look...

Obviously I have very little at this stage to say about either this bodice or a circle skirt! At Janene's suggestion, I self-lined the bodice. This fabric has quite a lot of stretch to it, you see. I machine hemmed the skirt, which is unusual for me. I usually enjoy hemming by hand, but for some reason I couldn't be faffed with this one, and made the executive decision that some machine stitching would be basically invisible on this print anyway.

I'm pretending to be enjoying the view of the - admittedly very pretty - River Leam here, but really I'm feeling a bit awkward because this bridge is a road bridge and there was loads of traffic going past! The things we do for blogs...

One of the really cool things about this dress is that the weight of the fabric means that the skirt sticks out in a very pleasing way. I love wearing circle skirts but sometimes they can be a bit droopy without a petticoat under them. Not this one, though. I guess this one would be pretty mega with my petticoat underneath, I haven't tried it yet though!

I let myself be talked into buying more of this stretch cotton at the last Goldhawk Road meetup, with some geometric blue roses on it. This time, I split the length with Rachel of My Messings. I'm happy to think of our twin dresses, each on opposite sides of the world! I haven't yet decided what to do with it, but it may just end up being another circle dress because I'm so pleased with how this one turned out.

Another selfie with my handsome photographer. He likes the dress, which is always a bonus!

So, that's my Janene dress! Thanks to Janene for spotting the fabric and splitting it with me - this is another dress that will remind me of happy times and lovely sewing friends. Being me, I will probably end up wearing this to work and to do the grocery shopping and stuff, but I do have a few weddings to go to next year and wouldn't this be a cute wedding outfit? But mainly, a cute "It's Wednesday and I need to wear something pretty to get me through the five meetings I have today" outfit?

I think, at this rate, I'm going to have to buy shares in By Hand London, eh?!

Evening all! I hope everyone is having a good week - and now it's Wednesday night so it's very nearly almost the weekend. Can you tell I'm ready for my holiday yet?!

I've had a funny old day. I woke up in a bit of a grump because my sleep had been disturbed by our new noisy downstairs neighbours. I still think they're not quite as bad as the last guy, but they are weird. The girl one is always shrieking - which is what disturbed my sleep. Why do people have to be so weird? Anyway, I put on my Promised Land dress in an effort to wake myself up, and left to go to work. I got to the station only to find my train was delayed by almost an hour, so I turned and went home. I stopped on the way to buy some croissants, though, so it wasn't totally annoying.

Wednesday 21st August - Promised Land dress and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

Having an unintended working from home day had its up-sides. It made me happy to be working alongside Nic, who was busy proof-reading. It made me less happy to have to listen to the millions of builders all around my house making a terrible racket. I know they're just doing their jobs, and that's fair enough, but I could really do without having to listen to them yelling while they're doing it. The work I was doing nearly made me cry, too. Mainly because I was doing data analysis, working across lots of different spreadsheets and my work laptop did not agree that having more than one thing open at a time was a reasonable request. It was so frustrating - I'd try to open a spreadsheet, get the wheel of death for ages, and then the computer would bring me proudly to the one I already had open. OMG COMPUTER WHY YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? Sometimes I really do think they do it on purpose. I soldiered through and Nic and I went out for a coffee when I finished work for the day:

BUSTED. That is not coffee. We went to the pub instead, and that's seville orange gin, with fancy tonic, fresh coriander and some orange peel. YEEEAH.

So yes - gin and shoes. That's two of my top three favourite things, so here's the third - dresses!

Count Grassi dress - By Hand London Anna dress, worn with grey wedges from Topshop (via ebay)

So, this is my third Anna dress. Third of probably about a million, because I have already made another one, and also when I was stressed today I was planning out which fabric to buy to make my next one. Yeah, that's not a surprise, right?

Anyway, the fabric for this version of the Anna came from the Goldhawk Road - the same shop that the polka dot for my Electric Boogaloo dress. It also came in purple, which I was very drawn to, but the very chatty and charming lad that worked there suggested I go for the pink instead. He was right, like. The pink is more me and I think it's very sweet. When I finished this dress, I thought "Oh, I could wear this when I need to wear something a bit more plain" and when I showed it to Nic, he said "Oh, that'll be good to wear to meetings and stuff" - which made me laugh. This is my version of plain.

I'm looking a bit wrinkled here because, prior to these photos being taken, I was lying on the grass eating samosas in the sunshine

Apparently these birds are terns. They could be geese for all I know, but that's what I hear. Anyway, I thought the grey-blue and black in the pattern would mean this dress could work quite well into the cooler weather, and even with tights. Ugh, kind of sucks to be thinking about colder weather, doesn't it? I hope we'll have a couple more weeks of not having to think about layers.

This dress is much, much cuter in real life. It doesn't photograph that well though, which is very annoying! The shoes are cute though, aren't they? I bought them on ebay, and they're high peeptoe wedges. I was on ebay looking for flat sandals. So, win? This happens every time I decide I'm going to buy flat shoes. I buy ridiculous heels. To be fair, I wear them more than flats.

MOST FLATTERING PHOTO EVER.

I had worn this dress twice before I realised why it looked so familar - the fabric is the same as the fabric Joanne of Stitch and Witter used for her Portlandia dress. Put a bird on it, baby! Put a bird on it, and look super goofy!

Actually, maybe this is the most flattering photo ever. With added triffids. Which are still not as freaky as lotus seed pods.

Evening evening. I am super-cool this evening. Nic is out at a gig, and I'm in bed watching The West Wing with a glass of wine. It's good though, because I am on holiday. Hurrah!

I had a ridiculously busy week at work, so I was extremely glad when Friday night rolled round, not least because I had made plans with my friend Fiona to go to a local pub that has an extensive gin menu, to sample some of their fancy gins. Yes, I know I wrote about gin in my last post! But I have a long-standing relationship with gin, and there seems to be something about gin and seamstresses that goes together. Also, when I was in on Wednesday I was only able to try one of the 14 gins on offer, so I had to rectify that.

By the time Nic and I were heading out the door, the weather had brightened up and I had got myself dolled up as well:

Feckin' Birds dress, Irregular Choice 'Swallow' court shoes and vintage vinyl handbag

I love these shoes. I bought them when I was at home at Christmas and although they have quite a busy pattern, they still seem to go with everything. In this case, they clash with my dress, but I think in a good way. Plus, you know, birds!

Disclosure: these may not actually be swallows.

Nic and I had dinner in the pub and had some gin before Fiona and her boyfriend joined us. All of the gin drinks on the menu are gin and tonic, but with different gins and different garnishes. It's nice. A bit gimmicky, but I enjoy a good gin and tonic:

'Wrath' and 'Greed'

Nic had 'Wrath', which was Bulldog British Dry Gin, garnished with star anise. I had 'Greed', which was Botanist Gin garnished with a lemon twist and some thyme. Fiona told me later that this gin is distilled on Islay, and that it's a great favourite of hers. I can see why.

Hello, lover

Nic had 'Gluttony' next, which was the same drink I'd had on Wednesday. I had 'Pride', which was 6 O'Clock Gin, garnished with a cinnamon stick and a slice of apple. These were all very good, but none of them really came close to the gin we all had later - Monkey 47 Gin. It just came garnished with a slice of lime, but apparently it's distilled with cranberries and it was SO delicious. It's bloody expensive, but at some point I'm going to have to track myself down a bottle of it - because I would say it's worth every penny.

It ended up being a late night, but one of the best nights out I've had in a while. I don't especially like the pub we were in (The Clarendon, on Clarendon Avenue for any fellow Leamington dwellers) but it's hard to argue with such beautifully made drinks. The music was too loud, but it did mean that we got treated to the sight of a middle-aged bald man wearing a 'Rave On' t-shirt breakdancing. Proper breakdancing, doing that thing where they swivel on their heads? It was pretty immense.

Anyway - it's late, and I have to be up in the morning to catch a flight to Belfast, but I will leave you with one more photo of lovely, lovely gin. And I'll catch you soon, in NORN IRON! Yeeeoooooooooo!!!

You know what? I didn't even have a whiff of a hangover this morning. Neither did Nic. MAGIC GIN FOR THE WIN.

Hi everyone! Or, as we like to say here in Northern Ireland, 'BOUT YE? I'm having a very happy and relaxing time here at my parents' house. Nic and I haven't been up to much apart from spending time with my family, and watching all manner of trashy TV. It's been just what I've wanted.

My home town of Dungannon has been really improving over the last few years. A lot of work has gone into celebrating the town's rich history, and a beautiful new visitor centre has opened in the Market Square, in Ranfurly House. We popped in on Tuesday afternoon for a coffee in the tearooms there, and because Daddy wanted me to meet the Dungannon Cow:

The Dungannon Cow. It's pretty cool, and my dad was very excited for me to see it!

The Dungannon Cow...and a sculpture.

Art isn't art in Ireland unless it is cow-themed. Just so you know.

Anyway, it's good to be home. I'm not even missing my sewing machine - although I will be looking in the fabric shops in Belfast later this week. Well, if I can tear myself away from my Boojum burrito, that is. I did a little bit of sewing on Saturday so I could have a new handmade dress to wear at home! No, really a little bit of sewing on Saturday afternoon was a reward to myself for a very busy week at work, and because I wanted another By Hand London Anna dress. I went into Royal Fabrics on my way home from work on Friday looking for some star-print cotton. I wanted navy but only had red, pink and black to choose from - so I bought two metres of the red and a matching zip.

Tonight We Fly dress - By Hand London Anna dress. If you feel like you want to sew your own, those talented ladies will be running a sewalong starting on 16th September.

I knew when I bought the red star print that I was running the risk of it looking very similar to my red polka dot Anna dress. And, I mean, it does. I am becoming a bit ridiculous now, I know. I made a small attempt at making this dress a little different by giving it a lapped zip rather than a concealed one, and I made this dress a fair bit shorter. But really, I don't care that much about having two similar dresses.

My sister has already asked me to make one of these for her.

It wouldn't be a trip home without being photobombed by the dog. Her name is Mini, and my mum decided the other night that her middle name is Patricia.

Getting the approval of the dog is important. Her opinion carries a lot of weight round here. I don't think she's that fussed though, as she was busy scratching here.

I think it just about passes the small dog test. She was equally unfussed by my shoes, as you can see...

"I don't think you're going to be able to take me for a long walk in those high heels. Mini seal of approval DECLINED."

Whatever, Mini. I like them.
.

Irregular Choice IC O'Clock heels

Nic and I went back into town today to spend a bit more time in Ranfurly House, learning about The Flight of the Earls, and had an explore around Castle Hill. This part of the town was closed to the public for most of my life, as it was the site of an army barracks. It closed a number of years ago, and an archaeological dig took place on the hill - in ancient times, Dungannon was the capital of Ireland, and the site is significant for that reason. The visitor centre is mostly devoted to what the town was like in the 17th Century, although the settlement is much older. There's a Wall of Fame - which has some spaces for nominations...

All right. I'm not as famous as Philomena Begley. YET.

It was a delight to explore around Castle Hill. I mean, there's not much up there, but it's such a treat to be able to get up there at all. And the view is incredible:

View from Castle Hill, Dungannon - those are the Cooley Hills you can see on the horizon.

The ruins on top of Castle Hill

Obviously on a clearer day, the view would be better, and it doesn't necessarily translate brilliantly to photograph, but it was certainly beautiful. It's good to come on holiday to my home town - it helps me to see it through new eyes, and appreciate what a beautiful part of the world I was brought up in. Hopefully I'll be able to get back up there before we have to go back to Leamington on Sunday.

Anyway, that's me for this evening. That trashy TV isn't going to watch itself, you know. I'll leave you with a bonus photo of the dog, because I'm good like that.

Mini Patricia Muldoon

Evening everyone! Nic and I are back in Leamington after a really wonderful week at home. I'm all unpacked, and feeling the benefit of a week at home.

It really was a wonderful week off. My sister Colleen was at home for most of the week, so we were able to spend lots of time with her. The weather was good (ish - well, when you're in Northern Ireland, it's all relative) and we had lots of fun. On Friday, Nic and I went to Belfast and basically, we got engaged! I'll front with you - there's no engagement ring, and there isn't going to be one. I don't wear rings (apart from a plastic one I bought in Paris) and I don't want one. So there's no photo of me sporting a diamond. But yeah - we really are going to get married!

Here's my lovely fiance, eating a delicious burrito from Boojum. I think it's clear from this why I want to marry this man. We have a lot of similar interests.

It came as a surprise to both of us, to be honest. We headed down to Belfast for a day out, just to dander around and have a look in the shops, and just to take in the unique ambience that Belfast has to offer. Heh. Belfast is a lovely city though, and totally worth visiting. We did all our usual things - the aforementioned Boojum burrito, (seriously there are no words for how good it is, almost worth moving to Belfast for) a visit to the Botanic Gardens, and drinks in Muriel's on Church Lane. I love Muriel's, and Nic and I always make an effort to visit there because of their delicious gin selection and fun decor. And it was over cocktails - Nic had a martini, and I had a Daisy Cosmopolitan - that we decided to get married.

Martini and Daisy Cosmpolitan. This is like a normal cosmopolitan, but instead of vodka it's made with gin - and it has crushed raspberries in it.

BLAME GIN. I've always thought that I didn't want to get married, but what I have realised recently is that it's weddings I'm not interested in. I don't want a wedding. But being married would be lovely, and a few gins in, I told Nic that this was how I felt, and he agreed, so we decided that it'd be a good idea to get married. It might not sound terribly romantic, but to us it was. I'm so happy that it's something that we decided on together. I already knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Nic, but it just feels right now to make it official.

Daisy Cosmo = Happy Roisin

I still don't want to have a wedding, so the current plan is that sometime next summer, we will get married in a small ceremony in Kent, and then have a party. Naturally enough, I will be making my dress - but it probably won't be a white dress job, just something fun. And with awesome shoes! I'll be keeping my name, too. But Nic and I will be married, and that will be wonderful. I couldn't be happier. Our families were delighted as well, which is wonderful. I still can't quite believe it's real!

So, that's one big reason why the holiday was fucking awesome. But there were other reasons too - namely, hanging out with my family and having good days out, and playing with the dogs. Nothing big - a free concert in Dungannon Park; a long walk around Benburb Priory complete with Dale Farm Choc Pop ice lollies; a visit to Armagh with my sister to tax her car (less fun for her than it was for us); dinner out with my sisters and brothers-in-law and a walk around Navan Fort with Daddy and the dogs. I'm pretty tired and I have to get up early in the morning, so I'm just going to share some photos and then get on with drinking my cava and going to sleep.

Benburb Priory, Co. Armagh. I hadn't been here for a few years - it's very beautiful and dramatic. We walked the dogs, explored the grounds, and picked blackberries in the sunshine. There's an apple tree in my parents' garden and Nic and I made blackberry and apple crumble with our foraged fruits.

This is the River Blackwater, just up from a weir called The Salmon Leap. Daddy told us how slippery the rocks were here but then had to get climbing down for a walk around. He's like that.

Mini stalked me and Nic all week. She's not normally so affectionate, but she was like our shadow and wasn't happy unless she was sitting on my chest or on Nic's lap! The wee monkey tried to break into our room a few nights, too.

Daddy and the dogs right on top of Navan Fort. This is an iron age structure outside Armagh - it's not really known what it was for, but it's really cool. The dogs loved it - there were lots of rabbits to chase - and Daddy loved it too.

Navan Fort

My family are dog people. I visited my Granny a few times, and met my Auntie Tish's dog, Rummy. She's a shih tzu puppy and very wriggly and friendly. She was desperate to get meeting Mini, but Mini was having none of it. I think she'd have eaten poor wee Rummy if she got the chance - she doesn't play well with other dogs.

This is me with my Granny when I was nine months old. Granny gave me this photo the other day. She's been ill recently - she's had pneumonia and was in hospital for a good while. She's back home now and in good spirits, and she's still as sharp as a tack. The last time I was home, she told me that when my Grandfather proposed to her, she told him not to buy her an engagement ring. She told him that instead, she'd rather have a new suit, hat and pair of shoes to wear to get married in. She's still very style conscious at 83 - when I saw her yesterday, her socks matched her cardigan.

Nic and I went shopping with Colleen yesterday to the Linen Green in Moygashel. I never see things with my name on, but even I didn't want to buy this candle. Still - you have to admit, it's like they looked into my soul. IT'S LIKE THEY KNOW ME.

My beautiful husband-to-be, outside the Lanyon Building at Queen's University, Belfast.

I will be back in the week - I've had a week away from my sewing machine, but I do have some recent makes to show you. And also about 7,435 photos of the dog that it would be unfair to show you all at once. Goodnight!

Evening all! Thank you all so much for your extremely kind comments on my last post - it really means so much, and basically neither us have stopped smiling since Friday! It's certainly made going back to work after such a lovely holiday that wee bit easier, anyway.

So, as I said in my last post, I have a few recent makes to share with you all. This one is a few weeks old now, but I had to wait to show it to you. I had the privilege of being a pattern tester for Pauline Alice's new pattern, the Cami dress:

Pauline put out a call on her blog a number of weeks ago for testers, and all she specified was that the pattern was a dress with a full skirt - so I knew there'd be a good chance I'd be interested! When she emailed me the PDF and I saw it was a shirt dress I gulped - sewing a dress with a collar was going to be a challenge for me, as I've never done it before. I needn't have worried - the dress sewed up like a dream, and in a matter of hours:

The Summerhouse dress, worn with Topshop wedges and a belt from a Bettie Page dress

The purple gingham is the last of my Paris fabric, sob! I bought a three metre coupon of this 60 inch wide 100% cotton gingham in one of the shops in Montmartre, and it has been waiting ever since on a project. I thought it would be a good fit for this pattern - the pinky purple gingham combined with the sweet shape of the pattern gives it a really vintage feel, I think. Also, I wasn't hugely attached to the fabric and as I was winging this without even muslin-ing the bodice, it minimised the risk. I'm a lucky wee bitch though, because it turned out pretty well I think!

I cut the size 38, which is great through the waist and across the shoulders. When I make this again, I'll bite the bullet and do a full bust adjustment because I'm fairly ample in that department, and I could do with more room around the buttons. It's nothing I can't live with and for an extra bit of security, I sewed a hook and eye in between the fourth and fifth buttons.

Still though, I'm pretty happy with my pattern matching on the old button placket there! I hope it makes up for the complete and utter lack of pattern matching on the sleeves.

I think Pauline has done a really great job with the pattern instructions. They're available in English, French or Spanish! Obviously I asked for them in English, and I found they guided me through the process of making and attaching the collar so seamlessly that I hardly even noticed I was doing it. I mean, my collar is far from perfect but for a first attempt, I think it looks pretty good! Pauline was also great about seeking and taking feedback. The skirt piece is a rectangle, and I didn't bother printing out that bit of the PDF because it was unnecessary, and I believe she has amended the PDF accordingly. In fact, the skirt was the only bit of the pattern I deviated from. I used the whole width of my fabric for the skirt pieces to make it extra full.

I'm not wearing a crinoline underneath this, but it could certainly accomodate one! You know how fond I am of pattern hacks, and I think this would look brilliant with a pencil skirt variation. Or a circle skirt! The dress has a side zipper so there are lots of possibilities.

Mainly I can't believe how quick it was to make this lovely dress. I think the most time-consuming bit was sewing on the buttons! On the note of the buttons - I didn't manage to get a close-up of them, but I love them. I won a big bag of them in a giveaway that Karen of Did You Make That held about two years ago, but never found the right project for them - so I'm very glad to have used some!

HOARDER FACE. Sorry you've had to wait so long to see them in action, Karen!

I had a total fail in that I forgot to get photos of the back of the dress - you can see some on Pauline's blog - but I really like the fact that the back bodice is just one piece. I don't really like back yokes on shirt-dresses and it's one of the things that put me off Gertie's otherwise lovely one. I think it's because I have a wrap dress with a similar feature and it really blouses out on me. I like the clean lines on this dress.

Anyway - I'm really thrilled to have been a pattern tester for Pauline, and to have had the chance to sew this pretty dress. The instructions really are a treat and while I'd probably class myself as intermediate these days, I think this dress would be suitable for an advanced beginner. Even someone a bit less confident could give it a go, as Pauline is going to be hosting a sewalong very soon. It's always a pleasure to see new independent designers publishing patterns, and I think Pauline has done a fabulous job with both the drafting and the writing - up there with some of my other favourite independent designers! I'm already looking forward to sewing some more of these dresses, and I'm eager to see what Pauline will do next.

Thank you, Pauline. You deserve every success with this beautiful pattern!

Oh, HELLO! It's a cold and blustery September afternoon and I'm feeling like we might have seen the last of summer. Yesterday I saw the muscular little shirtless man outside Savers with his top on. Never mind the misty mornings, THAT'S how I know summer is on its way out. So when I woke up this morning I had proper back-to-school feeling. Not the new-pencil-case-shiny-shoes feeling that the shops try to tell you that you should have, but the "aw shit, I hate getting up in the dark" feeling. This was largely assuaged by coffee, but today could have been better. Spilling my soup all over the office floor was a particular high point.

This is basically exactly how it happened, only I was less graceful than Kevin about it.

But anyway, I will stop complaining because things are still pretty damn good at the moment, even if it is a bit cold. I had a very happy weekend, starting with sharing some delicious gin on Friday night with our friend Julian, who was over in the UK for a conference. Leamington Food Festival was being held on Saturday and Sunday in the Pump Room Gardens. As ever, there were far more hog roasts/pulled pork than seemed necessary to my mind but the veggies didn't go hungry either. I totally neglected to get any photos, but the halloumi empanadas were particularly fucking DELICIOUS. There was also the unexpected joy of a bonus meet-up with Kathryn, who was in Leamington to visit friends. I managed to get a fair bit of sewing done as well, and made two new dresses. I also watched one very bad film (Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, and no, I don't want to hear it from the Nolan fans. We're never going to agree. I think he sucks BAWS) and drank some very delicious cocktails.

So, that's us all caught up - how about I show you a dress then?

Well, my love affair with By Hand London's Anna pattern is in full swing. I really love the shape of the bodice and think the combination of the slash neck and the darling little kimono sleeves is extremely flattering. I do want to make another maxi version of it at some point - and I have visions of an autumnal one, designed to be worn with boots - that will have to happen soon. However, I had bought some fabric at the last Goldhawk Road meetup that was crying out to be used. It is a pink floral cotton lawn, and it was only after I bought it and got it home that I realised that it was the same as Ooobop used for her First Dress of Summer - fabric I had been salivating over ever since she posted that beauty. I had enough of it to make a maxi dress, but looking at her beautiful gathered skirt made me want one too. I'm grabby like that. So, The Booklovers dress was born:

The Booklovers dress - By Hand London Anna bodice with a gathered skirt, worn with Irregular Choice Mermaid heels

I look goofy in that photo and I'm inadvertently doing a smug lean. That's not on purpose, although I do like my dress a lot! This dress was super easy to make, in the main because the Anna bodice is such a breeze to sew and also because, uncharacteristically for me, I machine-sewed the hem. It's a dirndl skirt, so I hemmed it flat - one of my lovely readers commented to suggest this and it worked beautifully. I still really love hemming by hand, but with such a busy print it didn't feel necessary.

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago, which is why my hair is longer here. But hey, isn't this fabric adorable?!

I inserted a concealed zip as per the pattern and it went in fine, but the first time I wore the dress it got stuck, and then the zip teeth got damaged. When will I learn that concealed zips + gathered waistline = massive pain in the motherflipping ass? So last week, I took that shit out and put in a proper zip. The concealed zip works with the original Anna skirt but not with my hack. Lesson learned.

I am really happy with how the bodice looks with the gathered skirt. I mean, with this small print I sort of look a bit like a Laura Ashley store from the 80s threw up on me, or like a Cath Kidston migraine, and I think the skirt adds to that effect. So it's not my favourite thing I've ever made, but I am very happy with it. It's been nice to wear in the warm weather but I think it could look very cute with some awesome Chris Cagney style knee-high boots when the autumn genuinely does kick in.

As with the bodice for the Elisalex dress, I love how totally versatile the Anna bodice is - I'm seeing it with all sorts of different skirt variations and fabrics. I bought some really cool zig-zag print cotton lawn when I stopped by Goldhawk Road last Wednesday after work (I got it in Classic Textiles, which I think is my favourite of all of the shops on that road) with exactly that in mind. And it really WILL look amazing with some Chris Cagney style boots. And I don't even LIKE wearing boots. BOOM!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some soup to clean up...

Roisin's Famous Soup. YOU GUYS I AM SUCH A DICK. But at least I didn't spill any on my dress.

Hello everybody! This week has been crawling by at a snail's pace, has it not? I can't believe it's only Thursday afternoon when it should clearly be Friday by now. Bah!

It's been a weird week. I wonder if it's the change in the seasons or what, but I have been feeling very anxious and emotional. I think September is a hard month for a lot of people, and I've been struggling with the low light and generally dismal weather. It all seemed to culminate in a fit of the blues yesterday afternoon and evening. I've been busting my ass doing a big piece of data analysis ready for some work that my team need to start on Monday and it's been going well. It's not something I've ever had to do before, and after some training and being given a crib sheet by a colleague I was up and running and doing grand. I even found it enjoyable - something about extrapolating conclusions from the data was interesting and even exciting to my nerdy soul. I felt good about learning something new and being able to apply it. But as soon as I finished it I had a major freak-out about it. Not for any reason - certainly nobody has looked at it and criticised it, and in fact all of the feedback I have been given about how I've been getting on in this new job has been really positive. But all yesterday evening and all last night I got myself convinced I'd done a crappy, half-assed job. It was a serious case of Impostor Syndrome.

Here's the thing, though. The Bloggess has it spot on, Depression lies. Anxiety lies. The voice inside my head, that shrill and bitter inner critic, is lying when she tells me I'm a fraud. It's hard to hold onto that when it's the middle of the night and everyone is asleep and you're convinced that because maybe you didn't perform as well as you might have liked on one work task that every single thing you do is complete shit and everything about you is pointless and worthless, but it is a fact. Depression lies, and Anxiety lies, and my Inner Critic can GTFO, to be frank.

Of course, in the light of day, after a cup of coffee and a little cry about my fears to Nic, I'm feeling a lot better. The analysis I've done is good, and I know it is, and if it's not as good as it could be it's because I've only been in the job for a few months. I'll get better at it. The other things, those other doubts that came screaming in - well, I'm working on those. It's frightening how quickly I can go from feeling grand to feeling fucking awful, but I suppose at least it can swing back the other way almost as quickly.

So, that's a bit of a break from my regularly scheduled programming of me showing you dresses and stuff. But, I don't know, it felt like an important thing to share. I know lots of people struggle with these sorts of feelings and I find it a comfort to talk about it. Thanks for reading.

And for sticking with me this far, here's a dress. And some new shoes! Noel Streatfeild once observed that "There is no doubt that a new dress is a great help in all situations." I've always liked that quotation - partly because it's something I can imagine the Provincial Lady saying. You know, if she were a real person. I think the same idea can be applied to shoes. Especially ridiculously over-the-top colourful shoes:

Irregular Choice 'Can't Touch This' shoes*

I wore these on Tuesday and every time Nic looked at them he laughed. Not in a horrible way, but just because they're pretty gaudy. Even by my standards, they're quite loud. Irregular Choice don't do things by halves, and these shoes aren't even their most out-there style.

Electric Boogaloo Anna dress. One day I will learn to stand up straight when there's a camera on me. I hope.

Of course, it was cold on Tuesday because I guess Autumn has come early and is being an asshole about it. So I have a thermal slip thing on under this dress (it gets cold in our flat) and I also accessorised with this rather fetching and not at all ugly cardigan I got last year in H&M when the heating was broken in our office...

I think this cardigan is seriously fug, you guys, but it is warm. I like the rest of what I have on here, anyway.

I'm going to briefly indulge in a bit of self-promotion - I'm going to be teaching again at Berylune this coming Sunday, 15th September. The workshop is called A Day With Dolly Clackett (I didn't name it!) and it's an introduction to sewing from a sewing pattern. There are still a few spaces left if you're in the area and would like to come along, and the homemade cake that is provided is very good. Don't worry, it's not baked by me.

Anyway, it's time for me to get off the internet and get out into the daylight for a bit. Thanks for listening.

WHO LIKES TO ROCK THE PARTY? I like to rock the party. Hey guys!

So, since my last post/enormous cry for help, I have been feeling a lot better. The weather has still sort of sucked, but I managed to climb out of feeling horrible and I am getting back onto a more even keel. I knew I was starting to feel more like myself when I got my sewing machine back out, and when I pestered Nic again to take some photos for my blog. Thank you to everyone to commented and emailed, it is good to know we're not alone in this.

Anyway - after the last post I'm happy to be more cheerful and to show you something more cheerful as well! I was working in London the week before last - I had to go to a meeting in Holborn that went on through lunch, so my manager told me when it was over I could finish for the day. As I was in town and already had a paid-for travelcard, I hopped on the tube to Goldhawk Road. I only had a little bit of money to spend and I was going with something particular in mind, and it was REALLY hot, so I only stayed for half an hour. But it was very successful, because I got just what I was after.

After seeing Alison's Hot Air Balloon Elisalex dress I roundly kicked myself for not buying some of that awesome hot air balloon fabric. I was with Alison and Rachel when they each bought some on Goldhawk Road and I don't know why I talked myself out of it. Anyway, I went back with the intention of buying some, and found some. GREAT STORY BRO. It's not all I bought (and I very nearly took the two lads who work in Classic Textiles home with me because OMG they are the cuteness) but anyhow, it's what I'm going to show you this evening. I bought 2 metres and at 60" wide, I had enough to make myself one of my favourites - Simplicity 2444 - but with the skirt as the pattern intended!

Passage Over Piedmont dress - Simplicity 2444, worn with Irregular Choice Oz shoes

It's actually been so long since I made this dress with the actual skirt pattern that I was a bit like lalalalolWUT when I got to sewing the dress up. Nothing major, but it required a bit more brain work than usual. As I did on my very first 2444 dress, I cut the skirt front on the fold instead of having a centre front seam. I still don't really get that element of the drafting of this pattern. To do this, I measured the 5/8 seam allowance on the centre front of the pattern and folded it - I could have cut it, but you never know, in some sort of blue fit I might decide to sew it that way. It could look good with diagonal stripes, I suppose. The other adjustment I made was to omit the pockets (So Sorry, So Lazy) and I increased the shoulder seams to 6/8. To compensate for the way that raises the neckline, I sewed the facing on with a 6/8 seam allowance as well. For the bodice, I decreased the side seams slightly to 4/8, mainly to give a little bit of ease so I can wear this in the cooler weather with a slip underneath. Oh, and instead of using the armhole facings included with the pattern, I used some pink bias binding (again: SS,SL) Sorry for all the detail - but I was teaching today, and one of my students asked me what adjustments I typically make to patterns, so I guess I'm thinking that way!

One of the reasons why I love this pattern and have made twelfty dresses from it is that the clean lines allow fun fabric to take centre stage. And you've got to admit, these little hot air balloons are pretty freakin' charming, eh?

Underbust wrinkle due to bad posture, I swear!

One August bank holiday a couple of years ago, Nic and I were on the train home from London. It travels through the beautiful Chilterns and the sun was beginning to set when we saw two hot air balloons. It was a beautiful moment, and this fabric makes me think of that. Of course, the other nifty thing is all of the colours in the print - it meant the dress matched my shoes perfectly, but of course I will be able to wear it with any of the brightly coloured shoes in my wardrobe. Also, I hate thinking about tights but I'll be able to wear this with pink tights when it gets cold.

Nic and I went down to Victoria Park to get these photos by this little paddling pool and to do the one mile walk (yes, in heels. Well, me anyway) but the paddling pool was locked. BOO!

Somewhat unimpressed, even though it's clearly too cold to actually paddle.

I love Victoria Park. It's close by our house and is home to a bowling green, that little paddling pool, tennis courts, a riverside walk and also some really cool swings and stuff. They were occupied, and the bowling green was full of men shouting things like "Mate! Mate! Mate! MATE! HURRY UP MATE! GOOD THROW MATE! MATE! MATE!" but it is still a really good place to go for a walk. One of the downsides to working from home is that I miss my daily hour of walking (added up - to the station from my house, and from the station to the office - works out to about half an hour. And then in the evening, back again) so I'm trying to get out of the house more on working from home days to walk. This is a good spot to do it. It's also nice for photos, at least until the scaffolding comes down from outside of our building.

I haven't worn this dress yet with my big pink fluffy Hell Bunny petticoat, but I think I have to. I'm so glad I went back for this fabric and tickled that me and Alison and Rachel are fabric triplets. I'm easily amused like that anyway.

So that's my lot for this evening. I was teaching at Berylune today and it was brilliant. I had two students. One of them could already sew and just wanted a little guidance, and she was making an Anna dress (hell YES) and the other had never made a garment before, and she made a Colette Sorbetto top. Both women did fantastically well, and I was particularly proud to see Fiona going home wearing the top she'd made, having only used her sewing machine once before! Teaching is really rewarding, and it makes me feel good about myself. Plus, I came home with another satchel (red, this time) and got to spend time with my friends at Berylune. It was a super way to spend a Sunday. And then to add an extra layer of awesome, my friend Char presented me with this, which she'd bought for me at the car boot this morning:

Yes, yes that IS in fact a board game based on The Sweeney. Job done.

It's FRIIIIDDDAAAAY! I'm feeling especially buoyant about that because I'm on leave next week and I am looking forward to a week out of the office like nothing else. Sweetening the deal is the bottle of very nice champagne that's currently chilling in my fridge; an engagement gift from my colleagues.

It's been a good week. A VERY busy week but a good one. So that analysis I was wigging out about last week? Well, we had the meeting where we reviewed it all, and that went very well. Other colleagues, including our organisation's deputy director, had also reviewed the data and we reached similar conclusions. So that was good because I knew I was on the right track. Then, at the end of the second day, the deputy director wrote to me to say he and the head of my department had been impressed by my analysis, with my contributions to the meetings and by how well I was settling into the role. That was an amazing confidence boost for a lot of reasons, as I'm sure you can imagine. I wanted to be challenged at work and to be stretched, so when I was it was worrying to think that maybe I wasn't up to the challenge. It's good to have feedback that I'm rising to it! Of course, it's also nice to be noticed. So, it's been a good week, and I feel like that email has slapped my stupid inner critic in her bitchy mouth. Hurrah! It's certainly nice to go off on leave feeling like I deserve it.

I have a bit of a backlog of things to show you and things to talk about, so here's another Anna variation I sewed a couple of weeks ago to get started with. Much like the Elisalex bodice, I'm finding my imagination is fired up by ways to make Anna variations. I'm a die-hard By Hand London fangirl now; I'd think it was a bit sad if it wasn't resulting in so many dresses that make me happy.

Fang Rock dress - By Hand London Anna dress with a gathered skirt, worn with Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon bow shoes

If I look a bit... mental here, it's because these photos were taken during the Leamington Food Festival, and I'm all hopped up on Colombian food and Rocky Road toasties! And look, Emily - YOU CAN SEE MY KNEES! There isn't much to say about the construction of this dress that I didn't say about the Booklovers dress, it's just a gathered skirt. The fabric is My Favourite Ship by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller and I bought it from the Eclectic Maker. It's a quilting cotton and is 45" wide, and I only bought 2 metres, which is why the skirt is a little shorter than I'd usually go for. That was deliberate though - I don't really do autumn/winter clothes, but I am planning on wearing this with hot pink tights so the shorter length works well with that. And, you know, MORE NAUTICAL FABRICS.

Looking at these photos I see there's some wrinkling going on around the bust. This is at least partly an ironing issue but it's also definitely a slight fitting issue. It's not anything I'm losing any sleep over but I'm going to look at doing a slight full bust adjustment on the Anna bodice - at least for when I'm sewing it in a slightly heavier fabric like this cotton. I've just done one on the Elisalex bodice - spurred on by Emmie's stellar work on her Oz dress, and by having to buy some new bras because I've gone up a cup size (although pleasingly, this random weight gain is not on my waist. So, win, I guess?) To be totally honest though, and maybe this makes me a shockingly lazy and shitty seamstress, I'm happy to live with what I consider to be a fairly minor fit issue here. I'm not going to wear this dress to the Oscars or anything, I'm going to be wearing it to work. The way I see it, you've got to pick your battles. It's a cute dress, I look cute in it, I'm happy enough.

I named the dress the Fang Rock dress because it has boats on it, and because Nic and I recently watched the wonderful Doctor Who serial Horror of Fang Rock. In it, the Doctor and Leela get lost on their way to Brighton and they find themselves at a lighthouse on Fang Rock, which I guess is somewhere off the Sussex coast, in Edwardian times. Needless to say, bad stuff happens. It's a really good fourth Doctor story, and I think Leela is an absolutely brilliant companion - she's such a fucking badass. She takes absolutely no shit whatsoever. I could do with being a bit more Leela, to be honest. You can read an excellent recap of Horror of Fang Rock over at one of my favourite blogs, Wife in Space. And you should.

Fucks given by Leela: NONE.

I somehow neglected to get Nic to take a photo of my lovely shoes, but they are truly lovely. Check it out:

shooooooooooooes - plus in the background, Neil Hannon's adorable beaky wee face. When I was at home a few weeks ago I unearthed my teenage vinyl collection and brought it back with me.

I have been after these shoes for a while, and I bought these on the day that Nic and I got engaged. I went into Cruise in Belfast and they had them for half price, in my size. So I jumped up and down a bit and decided to buy them (despite having already bought three pairs of shoes that week, and under strict instructions from my mum not to buy any more) The salesgirl went to get the other shoe in the pair... and didn't come back for ages. Nic joked that they weren't going to be able to find the other shoe, and it turned out he was right and I couldn't buy them. The size 4 I wanted seemed to have been mistakenly sold alongside a size 5. The wee girl in the shop was mortified, and I was a bit sad - I know it's shallow, but I love the shoes and having had them in my grasp, it was a bit gutting to then be told I couldn't buy them. Anyway, we left the shop and went to Muriel's, and on the walk over there poor old Nic was so upset that I was disappointed. And it's going to sound slushy as anything, but it's one of the things that is so wonderful about him - he never thinks I'm trivial or shallow, and he wants me to be happy, and I think I'm extremely lucky to have found such a darling man. When he was at the bar in Muriel's buying me a cocktail, I found somewhere online selling them in my size at half price - which is totally weird, because I hadn't been able to before - and I bought them. And then we moved seats to a comfy sofa, got drunk, and got engaged. So these shoes are always going to be very precious to me.

You can't really see the dress here, but that's all right because you've seen it already. However, you can see a bit of the food festival in the Pump Room Gardens and the river. I love this bridge. After this photo was taken we bought some freshly ground vanilla coffee from one of the stalls and then I had a minor rage stroke at being pushed around by middle class foodies so we had to go home.

That's me for the evening. I'm off to celebrate my week off by cracking into that champagne. YES INDEED. Happy weekend, everyone!

Oh hello! It's been a wee while, but I have been on holiday this week visiting Nic's family in Kent. I'm back now though dudes, and lovely and all as the seaside is, it's good to be back in Leamington. I will catch you up on the holiday in a separate blog post, though. I still have a backlog of sewing to get through showing you!

When I was at the Goldhawk Road meetup in August, Rachel of My Messings and I went halfsies on a 5m length of cotton sateen - just as Janene and I did in April! It's a good way to do it if you can - 2.5 metres of 60" wide fabric is plenty to make a dress with and it's a nice thing to do with a friend. So, I'm not sure if Rachel has used her half yet but a creation by another Rachael - this time, Rachael Conroy of 52 Creations - prompted me to use mine. She paired the bodice of By Hand London's Anna dress with their Charlotte skirt in a two-piece suit deal, and it looked so fabulous that I immediately ordered the Charlotte skirt pattern. It was kind of a perfect storm of inspiration, because in the same few days, Nic and I had watched Bridesmaids again and the dress Lililan wears to her bridal shower triggered in me a severe fit of LOADS. Annoyingly, I can't get a good photo of it online but it has a kimono sleeved bodice with a pencil skirt:

Maya Rudolph as Lillian in Bridesmaids

I had to recreate that dress - and so, the Rachel dress was born:

Rachel dress - By Hand London Anna and Charlotte mash-up, worn with Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

This was a very easy make. The fabric has a fair bit of stretch to it, but it behaves like cotton for the most part. I cut a size 12 in the Charlotte skirt to match with the Anna bodice, and it all fits up fine. Even the darts on the skirt front basically line up with the bodice pleats. The darts in the back don't match the darts on the bodice, but whatever. That would probably be easy to rectify but with such a busy print I didn't feel the need. The skirt is quite pegged, which I think looks lovely. As this fabric is stretchy I didn't need to put a split in the back, but for a more stable fabric I probably would need to.

I feel like this is a bit of a different silhouette for me, but I've been wanting to make another pencil dress. When I started getting my autumn clothes out of storage, I tried on my spotty New Look 6000 (the Polka Dot Problem dress) and found my feelings about it haven't really changed. It's pretty cute but I don't like the feel of the fabric - I'm not sure I'm going to wear it all that often, and I don't love the pattern enough to want to spend the time getting the fit just right, you know? So adding the Charlotte skirt to my sewing arsenal felt like a good way to get this shape into my handmade wardrobe AND it means that I now own all of the BHL patterns and you all know what a massive stalker I am. Anyway - I need more pencil dresses in my life, because I fucking LOVE this one.

I didn't make any major changes to either the skirt or the top - I stuck with the pattern as drafted in both instances, apart from raising the shoulder seams as usual. I pinked all of the seams - this fabric behaves itself and doesn't fray, but I thought any other finish would add bulk. I used a lapped zipper because that's how I do!

Lapped zip

Neckline facing and label

So there's not too much else to say about the dress! I wore it last Saturday to do a spot of fabric shopping in Birmingham with Helen, Amy, Sabs and Kat. I bought a few lengths of fabric for dresses - including some viscose, which I've never sewn with before, and some Liberty tana lawn in Barry's. Nic came along too and while we shopped, he did some research for his book in the new Birmingham Library. After I parted ways with the ladies, Nic and I went for some early evening cocktails in Hotel La Tour; proving that this dress is comfortable enough to shop in and elegant enough to wear while sipping champagne cocktails in a nice bar. You can't say much fairer than that, can you? Needless to say I want to make a few more - perhaps one in a waxed African cotton would be good. I mean obviously it would also look good in a block colour, but let's not kid ourselves here. That isn't going to happen.

Anyhoo, I am going to leave you with one more photo and then I'm going to go out for Mexican food and drinks with some friends. BOOM! I love the weekend.

There's always one photo like this one when I get photos taken for the blog. It's usually when I'm looking away to rearrange my face, and then they turn out to be good ones. This one is just reminding me that I need to get my hair cut.

Evening! As it's gone all grey and chilly again, I'm going to try to mentally warm myself up by blogging some of the pictures I took when Nic and I visited his parents last week in Kent. Apparently we're due more good weather during October, but I'm skeptical about that so I'm going to reminisce over the sunshine I have enjoyed, hey?

So, Nic and I left for Folkestone last Sunday, and as it was the first time in ages that I'd been to the seaside, I made sure to pack some of my (many) nautical themed dresses. This tickled Nic's mum, who has just redecorated a bit, giving the soft furnishings in her living room and kitchen a more seaside feel. So I kind of blended in, ha!

On Monday morning we went to Dover to visit Nic's grandparents, and in the early afternoon we went to the seafront. Dover is such a strange town but despite the ferry port, the seafront is pretty cool. Although, I was genuinely freaked out by the enormous seagulls. Some of them were bigger than my parents' dog.

Stay the Course dress and Mel by Melissa flats

Here I am with Ian Fleming. He had a house in St. Margaret's Bay, which is just along the coast from Dover and the book of Moonraker is set in this part of the world.

On Monday evening, we walked along the seafront in the sunshine to meet our friends Mr and Mrs S in Folkestone. It's funny, you know. I've kind of always thought of Folkestone as being Coventry-by-Sea (hey, I'm allowed to be a bit snarky about Coventry. I lived there for 6 years and I work there now) but actually, much like Coventry, Folkestone has some beautiful places if you know how to look for them. The walk along the coast from Sandgate to Folkestone is one of them.

Beach huts on Saxon Shore Way

The last time I visited Folkestone, these beach huts were pretty ugly. They're made from concrete slabs, but in the time since, they've been painted. As we walked along, we saw lots of people enjoying the evening sunshine and the sound of the sea with a glass of wine in their own little beach houses. It made me pretty jealous, I must admit!

We were meeting Mr and Mrs S in Rocksalt, which is in the old fish market part of Folkestone. This is a little bit of town that I'd only ever been through on the bus - and from the top deck of a bus it looks really skanky - but on the ground it's lovely! To get to the bar, you walk underneath the arches of the old goods railway and from there you just enjoy a view of the sea. The bar has an excellent two for one on cocktails deal at Happy Hour, so it was rude not to really...

This is a happy place. A champagne cocktail in the sunshine by the sea. Bliss!

We were tipsy and happy as we walked back to Sandgate for dinner, and I promptly asleep on Nic's shoulder while we watched an episode of The Barbara Stanwyck show.

On Tuesday, we had plans again with Mr and Mrs S. We walked to Folkestone to meet them for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant on Tontine Street. Tuesday was sunny, hazy and warm and it was the perfect day to explore.

"Nope, I definitely can't see France today." - Fang Rock dress and those cute flat shoes again. They're plastic so I was even able to paddle in the sea with them on. On a pebbly beach that's useful.

Folkestone Harbour - it's pretty, isn't it? Apparently there's a proposal to turn that old goods railway into a park, which would be awesome. Can you see the white cliffs on the horizon?

Here's me, mugging with some boats.

We had lunch in Beano's on Tontine Street, which I can't recommend highly enough. This part of Folkestone is becoming the Creative Quarter and is undergoing some exciting changes as well as being the heart of the creative industry in the town.

Tontine Street

After lunch we bid farewell to our friends and set off exploring. We walked across the harbour and out towards The Warren. It was so peaceful and warm - it was heavenly!

The Fish Market in Folkestone. Do you see what I mean about the gulls? That one is nearly as big as those parked cars.

This is the view of the sea from above The Warren. On a clear day you really can see France from here, but it was too hazy last Tuesday.

Nic looks so cute here.

Sorry, not sorry for the millions of photos of me by the seaside.

After rambling across the top of The Warren as far as we dared, we headed back into Folkestone to meet Nic's brother for dinner. Nic did explore a little bit more closer to the sea, though, following some mysterious little steps down to find this:

And I met a Mermaid...

Wednesday was my birthday but I must confess to having been in horrible form. Both of us suffered from terrible insomnia on Tuesday night - neither of us slept for more than an hour - so I was a bit miserable. Still, when you're sad, the sound of the sea is very soothing.

Of course, this lovely view was very cheering too.

My birthday was grand, though. Nic's family spoiled me with gifts and a special dinner and by bedtime I was feeling a lot better. And on Thursday, on our way back up through London, I celebrated myself by buying some ridiculous shoes (which I'll show you in a later post) and Nic treated us both to these:

Fuck. Yes. Cocktails.

So, the moral of the story is that Folkestone is pretty cool. I'm very excited about getting married there next year. I'm also pretty excited about my imminent dinner, so I'm away to eat that. Night!

HOLLA. Hoping this Sunday evening is finding you all well - I'm just coming out the other side of a three-day barometric pressure headache. Those things suck. It's not like a migraine where you can't function, but it's hard to shift, and I get fun things like impaired vision. Woo! Still - it comes and goes, so I was still able to do some fun things this weekend. But. Yeah. Headaches fucking suck.

I managed to miss the 'Red October' hashtag that went round my sewing friends on Twitter last week and, if I'm totally honest, I'm not really a joiner. I'm not really one for sewing to challenges now, they don't work for me. No judgement on anyone, like, but nothing demotivates me faster in my hobby than having a deadline or a prescription. That's just me, though. I can't really explain it. But funnily enough, I have sewed a few things in red recently so I'm going to hop on that bandwagon because why not.

At the Goldhawk Road meetup in August, Kat and I were rooting around in the remnants box in A1 Fabrics, and we each came across a 2m length of really lightweight cotton lawn for £5. I hemmed and hawed on it, but when Kat said she liked it, I said I'd buy some if she did. What can I say, I'm an enabler in that way. I thought I could use it for lining or something, but anyway I decided to make a dress out of it. One based on one of my favourite RTW dresses; this one from Dorothy Perkins:

I love this dress! It's made from a polyester viscose and is really light and comfortable to wear, and I think it's very flattering. It has a low scooped back and a lapped zip, which is a nice detail in a shop-bought dress. The viscose has a similar weight and drape to the lawn, and I thought that the bodice from Butterick B5748 and the pleated skirt from NL6824 could work well together for a similar result. And they did, so I made it. And then I hung it up in my wardrobe for ages because I suddenly went off it. Not sure why, to be honest, I just totally lost enthusiasm for the whole thing. I put it on again last week and realised that it's actually pretty cute:

Festive Road dress - worn with Carvela 'Australia' shoes and vintage vinyl handbag

I think my reservations about the dress are connected to how light the lawn is. It's really floaty and soft - which isn't a bad thing in itself - but it's hard to wear because it creases. Also, the flowers in the fabric up close kind of remind me of those lotus pod things; those damn things have kind of ruined a lot of stuff for me because I see them everywhere now! But I'm just griping really, because it is pretty. I don't love it as much as I love that blue Dorothy Perkins one, though.

I'm considering my lunch, here. On the day this photo was taken, we were going to go to Bread and Co. Instead we fell into Kayal for Business Lunch. That's what I call WINNING, although the boiled duck egg in Bread and Co is pretty good as well.

Not much to say about how this dress was made, either. I self-lined the bodice because I had enough of the fabric to do that and I thought anything else would show through. I'm wearing a slip underneath the dress here - I don't think the fabric would be see-through, but it was pretty breezy on the day these photos were taken. That Dorothy Perkins dress is a demon for catching the slightest passing breeze - I once inadvertently flashed some of the daytime drinkers that congregate outside Murphy's Bar on Regent Street, and I was keen not to make that mistake again.

"All right, it's lunch-time now though, isn't it?"

For all my bitching, I will wear this dress. I wear a lot of red - the pink and red section of my wardrobe is the most populated part (YES, I colour-code my wardrobe. I have a lot of dresses. It makes finding them easier) but, do you ever get that? Where something you make is absolutely grand, but it's just...okay? Like, it's not a wadder but you just don't love it? Or am I over-thinking it?

Anyway, that's the Festive Road dress. Festive Road, by the way, is where Mr Benn lived. It's also the opening track on Liberation by The Divine Comedy, and the song is one that often pops into my head when I'm walking down my street (that, and The Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady.)

An ordinary day down on Festive Road

The children will play, and never will know

That when Mr Benn, of number five two

Walks in through that door, peculiar events will ensue

The shopkeeper peers through spectacles round

As Benn wanders in, and shuts out the town

The shopkeeper wears his customary grin

'Cause he knows when they go to try on his clothes

Each fantasy chosen begins...

Hello! As I type this, I'm half watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Bev takes up with some smooth new dude, and of course it turns out that he's a Trill, and that's complicated. But, also, there's a beauty salon on the Enterprise. That explains why Bev's hair is usually so awesome, right?

Anyway, it's been a good couple of days. My sister-in-law had a baby boy yesterday, so my little brother is a father and I'm an auntie to a darling little nephew. I'll have to get on with some sewing for babies before I go home next month (after my youngest sister has her baby) but for the moment, here's some more sewing I did for myself.

As I said a few posts ago - and be warned for maybe some TMI here - my bust size has increased slightly lately. Not by a huge amount - I'm still more Dolly Clackett than Dolly Parton - but a bit. Enough to make me stop being lazy and do a full bust adjustment on my beloved bodice pattern from the Elisalex dress.

Getting technical about fitting is something I have shied away from before, out of a fear that my silly fluffy mind can't handle it, I guess? I'm sure that sounds totally lame to all you super seamstresses, but I needed to gain some confidence in my own abilities before I attempted it. My recent work successes made me realise that the analytical side of my brain does work, and that really did give me the confidence to give it a go.

Turns out that I don't really have a problem with maths. Or that doing this FBA didn't really use a lot of maths. GO ME.

I used the excellent tutorial on the By Hand London blog, which is broken down into such manageable steps that it's not at all taxing. I sat down after a pretty thinky work day, and after basically covering the living room with tissue paper (I was tracing the Charlotte skirt pieces at the same time) I came out with a bodice modification that I was happy with.

It took about a week before I cut into fabric, and I decided to have a crack at the new bodice using some super cheap cotton poplin I'd bought in Barry's in Birmingham. I reckon it's a knock-off of some better quality cotton - I think there might be a similar Michael Miller print - but at £2.50 a metre, I was happy to give it a go. It's a wee bit on the stiff side, as you might expect from cheap cotton poplin, but it washed well so it's find. AND it's nautical, AND it's red so I'm going to count this as a Red October make!

The Rocksalt dress - By Hand London Elisalex dress, worn with Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

Um, okay - try to ignore both the scaffolding and the pigeon-toed-ness here. I swear my feet point out the way they should. Look instead at how much better the bodice fits me now. Hurrah!

Now to be honest, I'm still not totally done adjusting the bodice. I made and attached sleeves to this dress, but that caused issues. I'm going to need to drop the armholes a bit and make the sleeves a bit bigger at the top. But that can wait - and to be honest, with this print the sleeves looked a bit much anyway so I wasn't sorry to lose them.

The slight stiffness of this fabric is perfect for holding the shape of the Elisalex skirt. I know quite a lot of people worry that the exaggerated tulip shape won't be flattering. To be fair, it might not be on some body types but I really like the way it creates an hourglass shape.

I love this skirt. That's why I look so smug. That and the fact that I love my shoes. I loved the pink and navy ones so much that when I saw these for half price in Author shoes when I was in London, I bought them. I'm not going to lie, in the spring I'll probably buy the cream ones with the pink bows on as well. And I don't even care.

I wore this last Saturday to parade around town in. The woman who served me and Nic in the bakery told us we were the best dressed people she'd seen in ages. So that was nice! Of course, I was maxing out on the whole nautical theme by wearing the dress with this lovely jacket from Fever Designs.

Importantly, the dress held up to a full day of fun - including an evening round at Amy's house eating Mexican food, margarita ice-cream and drinking gin. As eating Mexican food and drinking gin are important features of my life, this is pleasing.

So, on the cards for tonight is home-made sweet potato and chickpea burgers and Private Benjamin. Catch you all later, me hearties!

Evening all, on this dismal and rainy Monday! I had a super weekend, fully relaxing after a busy week. I opened the blinds yesterday morning, took one look at the torrential rain outside, and got back into bed to spend the day reading. I re-read The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, for the first time since my late teens. Ghoulish though it may seem, the film is in my top 5 (along with Jaws, 10 Rillington Place, Clueless and Short Circuit 2, not even sorry) and, having recently rewatched it, spending the day rereading the book was both enjoyable and weird. Because, there's a lot of sewing in the book. There are lots of detailed passages about construction, and about fitting and that's odd to read. Because, it's like "Hmmm. This is relevant to my interests....

...Yeah. Maybe not."

I am endlessly amused by the sewing that you see in the film. In Jame Gumb's sewing room/lair, there's a bed covered with a swastika quilt. I can't help but get the giggles when I think of some local quilter in Pittsburgh being asked to make a swastika quilt to be in the film. But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, yeah. Some sewing that is not, you know, human skin related. I've been sewing again with Simplicity 2444. Not even sorry; I love that pattern. As with the Passage Over Piedmont dress, I made this with some fabric I bought the last time I visited Goldhawk Road - I think at the beginning of last month. I spotted it in Classic Textiles, didn't buy it, faffed around, got some more money out, and went and bought it. At which point the lads who work there thought I was an easy mark and started trying to sell me anything. They're cute, though, so no worries. Anyway, I initially bought it with another project in mind but something about the zigzags and the diagonal darts of the 2444 bodice seemed to fit together so that's where I went with it.

Locutus dress (Simplicity 2444) and Hard Hearted Harlot 'Reply' boots

Nic and I are on a major Star Trek TNG tip at the moment, which will be obvious to anyone who follows me on twitter, and I was watching Best of Both Worlds when I was making this dress. Poor old Picard gets assimilated by the Borg, and his Borgy name is Locutus. It all works out fine in the end, kind of, but it takes him a few episodes to get over it. I think he starts to feel better after he goes to France and wrestles his brother in a vineyard.

Anyway, the dress. I made my usual modifications to the pattern and I omitted the pockets. This lawn is really light and soft and anything in inseam pockets would pull and drag, so no point. The seams are pinked, and I followed the pattern's instructions to sew the front and then the back and then sew them together. It feels weird, but it works. I did consider lining it, as the weather is getting colder, but decided not to because I didn't want anything to change the colours and I figured I could always wear a slip with it. Bam, job done.

I wore this last Friday, when I was working from home. I'd had a busy day that was rendered infuriating by various IT issues, so by the end of the work day I was ready to get out for a walk and to go for a coffee, and to pretend to be Christine Cagney.

That is really an NYPD shield. It's definitely NOT an expired Young Person's Railcard with a post-it note stuck to it.

This isn't something that Christine Cagney would actually wear, I don't think. Red cord midi culottes are more Christine's style, but I don't think I could carry them off. But the colours and shapes of this dress, combined with my tan knee boots gives this whole thing a very late 70s feel. I'd blend in all right in the 14th precinct with this, I think. It's why I included the scaffolding in the pictures. It's the modern urban crime environment, and I bet Chris had to deal with scaffolding outside her loft from time to time as well.

This is not the last you'll see of Simplicity 2444 - in fact, I made another one last week. But, whatever, it's a great pattern. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are some sounds coming from the basement...

When people get a little too chummy with me, I like to call them by the wrong name to let them know I don't really care about them.

Fundamentally, people are suckers for the truth. And the truth is on your side, Bubba.

Erectile dysfunction. It's not just a dog problem any more.

No round envelopes for me! No way, Hose.

Doris Day could never make me cheer up quite the way those French girls always could.

My father says there's only one perfect view, and that's the view of the sky over our heads.

You made the same mistake that Mickey Rourke made on that catamaran. You didn't kill me when you had the chance.

Oh god, Ted. We had to strip her of her title. We found out she'd been in a film called 'Stallion Farm'

Sorry, Ted. I was concentrating too hard on looking holy.

We've missed our slot. Dance Witch Abortion are on now, and they're rocking out.

Oh god, yeah. Jack's good, but if anything happened to Nick we'd be up to our necks in flip.

If anyone ever gives you ten thousand to one on anything, you take it. If John Mellencamp ever wins an Oscar, I am going to be a very rich dude.

I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.

Not even Crowded House gets a 90-10 split. It's unheard of!

Don't shoot until you see the green of its tentacles.

It's like I'm not even camping. This is actually a dog couch, but it's super comfortable.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

I didn't know they made champagne in New Jersey.

Nice legs. For a human.

We've tried to study him, of course, but he's much too sophisticated for the standard tests.