New shoes

I have new shoes


New shoes I have


Shoes new have I


Have you ever tried to photograph your own feet while standing and wearing 5 inch heels? It's very difficult!

Shoes are from ModCloth, bought after about a month of staring and debating. (Tights are from Topshop. The real one! In London!) They are the highest pair of shoes I own. I'm usually drawn to flats or little heels but these were call the Dietrich Heel, so I kind of had to buy them.

Cherry dress - the finished product

I finally finished this dress today. I don't know if I want to wear it now because after days of working on it I'm kind of over cherries. The best way to describe my mental state is if you picture me being dragged backwards down a hospital hallway, wrapped in a straight jacket and screaming "Cherries! Cherries! LOTSA cherries!!" followed by appropriately maniacal laughter.

I might be exaggerating slightly. Here is the dress.



As you can see, it fits well. The length is great. It sits just below my knees and looks a bit 1940's (in my opinion). I'm usually not very interested in 40's styles but I like this one. I've previously made this dress in a mustardy yellow fabric which is above knee length and looks quite cute.


And it shows off all my tattoos pretty well too!


Is it just me or does it look kind of Christmas-y?

They grow up so fast...

Remember these little babies?

Well look at them now!


They look like they're about to burst out of the pots any day now. My front garden will be so pretty soon.


The little forests on the right hand side are the chilli and long pepper plants. They'll stay out the back.

A work in progress

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to put something up here this week, so for now here is my current project.


The bodice is sewn together but the skirt is just pinned straight onto Doris, and I've only used the front half so it's probably sitting completely wrong. It's difficult to see in the photos but there is gathering under the bust. The sleeves are not attached yet. Pattern is Vogue 8470


The only thing I'm changing with this one (you know I just have to alter something!) is the sleeves. The pattern has quite full sleeves and they just won't sit well with this fabric. They'll make me look like I've got little misplaced wings. So I'm just going to add little cap sleeves instead.

Cherries!


Yawn. Goodnight.

Hats & shoes

My old sun hat has had it's day. It has been reduced to a gardening hat. It is made of felt and has a permanent dent in the front, and part of the brim flops over one eye. You can imagine how upset I was at the prospect of having to buy something I actually required.

This is the hat I bought to replace my old sun hat...



...and this is the hat I bought because I just needed it. I've wanted a cloche hat for some time now and the paper flowers and beading on this one are just gorgeous.


But why stop there when there were shoes on sale as well?? Why?!

Red & black florals

This is a dress I made a while ago, to wear to a friend's wedding in the south of France, dontcherknow *waves pinky fingers in the air*



The dress is a mish-mash. The skirt is a circle skirt from Vogue 8470; the bust and bodice sections are from New Look 6557.


I love the bodice variations of the New Look pattern but the skirts are plain A-line and not very fabulous. Luckily, the bodice fits with the Vogue circle skirt with very little alteration required. But of course, I altered it anyway. The bodice is designed to sit on the natural waistline. I have a high short waist. A skirt that sits on my actual waist makes me look pregnant. Guaranteed. I get around this attractive issue by extending the bodice in the front so that the skirt will sit about 1-2 inches below my natural waistline. It still sits right on the waist at the sides and back though, so my little high waist is still plain for all to see.


This dress is featured today on my friend Lou's blog, Miss Tallulah Porkchop! I think I look like a bird in the third picture.

The pencil skirt project continues

Now this is a pencil skirt.


The blue skirt, from the previous post, was a first trial which definitely allowed me to see some alterations were required before I could go on a pencil-skirt-making spree. I needed to add about 4cm to the length, and the seams needed to be let out about half a centimeter each. The blue skirt was very tight! and not at all stair-friendly. I had to take the lift everywhere at work and I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to get up into a tram to go home. I've never been so glad to see a handrail in my life.


So the pink skirt was cut out longer and a teensy bit wider. It fits like a dream. The hem falls just below my knees. I made the back splits about 2 inches longer than the blue skirt, and tapered the waist band slightly. The waist of the blue skirt gaped just enough to be annoying.


The waist band (which the pattern calls a yoke -why? I think of a yoke as something for tops and dresses. This is just a wide waist band as far as I'm concerned) is faced with satin which kind of "goes" with the fabric (or not). I made the waist of the blue skirt the same way. I don't like facing a waist with the same material as the actual garment, particularly when it's a rather thick fabric. Don't you love the hot pink zip?


The fabric is an Italian wool I picked up at a market aaaages ago and have been saving for "something special." It stretches a tiny bit which is why the skirt is just so comfortable to wear.

I can't wait to make this in tartan!