Just like what happened to Nimrod? AWWW, MAN!

Evening all! This is coming to you from a very full and sleepy me, I've just come back from having dinner in Kayal with Nic. It was so good... they have this lemon pickle and it's one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten. Right now I feel pretty much like one of those snakes digesting an antelope.

It's been one of those busy and frustrating weeks at work, and I'll be so glad when it gets to the end of the day tomorrow. Of course it doesn't help hugely that the 'smart heating' system in our office means that it's only ever either totally sweltering or absolutely freezing! That said, it's been a good week. I managed to cross lots of things off my to-do list, had a few nice surprises from friends and fun evenings with Nic. Tomorrow after work I'm taking the train up to Liverpool - baby sister is having her Hen do there, and right now I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Mainly because I have another big week next week and I'm nervous about going out on the town with a load of rowdy Northern Irish hens, but of course I'm excited about visiting a new place and hanging out with my sisters. Lovely blog readers, anyone have recommendations for me for cool boutiques/fabric shops/cafes to visit on Saturday? Let me know in the comments!

I don't have too much to say this evening really. I haven't been sewing - although I have been making some sewing plans for when I next have some time. I have been enjoying the changeable weather, particularly today. It was very exciting watching the storm from my desk on the 7th floor:

This was just before it started to rain. What you can't see in the photo is the fact that even through the torrential rain, the people who run the hand car wash in the car park next to the office kept working even through the deluge. That is dedication to clean cars! Thankfully I didn't get caught in the rain and by the time I left the office the sun had come back out. Just as well, I was totally unprepared for a storm:

Floral dress from Dorothy Perkins, Carvela Australia shoes and MacLaren of Norwich handbag

This dress was pretty well perfect for the 87% humidity today, though. It's made from a really light rayon-style fabric so I felt cool and comfortable in it all day. The handbag is the vintage one that Nic bought me from a charity shop in Kenilworth on Saturday. I was pleased and tickled to find that Angie of Redressing was wearing the same dress today. Great minds, eh?!

Now, I have to go and have a look in my wardrobe. I need to pack for Liverpool and figure out what I can wear with this:

The man who served me in the costume shop visibly winced when I asked for this. I agree with him. But it turned out his issue wasn't with the fact that it's so hideous, but because he has a glitter phobia. I think he's probably in the wrong career.

In this house, we think of a dripping tap or a babbling brook.

Afternoon all! I'm posting from bed on this sunny Sunday afternoon because I'm a wee touch hungover. Just a bit. It wasn't a heavy night last night but HayleyJayney came round and we drank wine and watched Beauty and The Beast and The Little Mermaid and, although my rioja was tasty I have no tolerance for red wine at all. Ooof!

Anyhoo. I can live with a mild hangover, especially as I have a cup of tea in bed with me. I've had a delightful weekend and I'm going to share seven and twelfty pictures with you, because I'm good like that! So Friday was a bit dismal and horrible and I was working from home with lots of boring things to do, but the evening was picked up a lot by Nic and I going out for some tapas and wine at Cafe Havana. We've eaten in there before during the day, but the cafe has recently started opening in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a piano bar style event. Catie gave the tapas a positive review at Loaf Review so I was persuaded to try it out. Nic and I had a window seat near the piano, a glass of rioja each and we hit up the vegetarian selections on the tapas menu which were delicious. The pianist played a lovely selection of jazz standards and it was such a good way to pass a few hours on a Friday evening. We'll be back and if you're in the Leamington area I really recommend you stop in there. Nic and I wandered home to listen to jazz and play Scrabble, which was a lot of fun even if we did lower the tone somewhat:

Yeah. Well the red wine went to my head a bit. Like I say, I've no tolerance for it!

Nic and I had planned to go over to Kenilworth on Saturday morning for a wander around and a change of scenery and, as the sun had peeped its head out tentatively it seemed like a good chance to wear a summer dress. You never know, with the way the weather has been for most of June already I reasoned this might be my only chance. I bought this broderie anglaise from John Lewis when Lysy and The Scientist took Nic and I to Cambridge at the start of the month. It was £8 a metre and seemed perfect for a Hazel dress, but in the damp and dismal weather sewing a white dress seemed pretty unappealing. Still, it was the first dress in the Sew Colette 2.0 Sewalong and I was keen to get involved, so off I went. I decided to line the dress with a fabulous hot pink polycotton, which is great. However, it doesn't show through as much as I'd like so I added some pink piping to the waistband too. I don't really have any further notes on this pattern, I think I've said everything before with my Amber and Cod Afrique versions! But enough gabbing, you want to see the dress amirite?

The English Hazel - Saturday 23rd June 2012 - worn with Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Ultragirl cameo shoes and pink handbag by Ollie and Nic

Now, I'll be honest. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bought white fabric. For one thing, I'm a spiller. Like, seriously. But the bigger thing is that I'm Irish, and I LOOK it. Pale pale PALE. I like being pale, and I like my Irish skin, but I'm really not sure that white is a look I can carry off! Still, I'll wear it about a bit and see how I feel and I can always overdye it. I am pleased that this dress doesn't make me look enormous, which was my other concern! Like my other Hazel dresses, it is a lovely fit and this was a really enjoyable dress to wear. To give it a bit more pink, I added some decorative stitching to the straps:

See what I mean when I say I'm pale?

I'm also pretty pleased with how well my piping lined up around the zip:

IRISH ARMS! IRISH ARMS! 

And, just because, here's one more picture:

Nic and I spent a couple of hours in Kenilworth. We looked in most of the charity shops and did quite well - Nic bought me a pretty 60s vinyl handbag, and he got some excellent books and videos. There was a French market on in Talisman Square so I treated Nic to some cheese from the fromagerie:

This photo is for illustrative purposes only. This is not the cheese I bought.

We headed back to Leamington for lunch and to do some errands before HayleyJayney came round for films and wine and popcorn, and it was quite late before I got to bed. It was raining hard as I was falling asleep so I didn't hold out much hope for today to be nice, but the sun was shining when I woke up - hurrah!

Nic and I decided to walk over towards Warwick to stop at the big Tesco (to see if they had Essbeevee's dress, but sadly they didn't) and then through a mysterious overgrown path to the Saxon Mill. There were a few rain showers and at first the path was really dark, muddy, narrow and overgrown. But hey, it was a bit of an adventure! It really was beautiful weather for a walk.

The path had widened out CONSIDERABLY by this point!

The path brought us out into the gorgeous corn field at Old Milverton:

 

 

Luckily, the rain showers meant that there were some free tables outside at the Saxon Mill. It was a bit damp, but sitting outside there is a bit of a summer tradition!

 The ruins of Guy's Cliffe House

The Saxon Mill certainly has a lovely setting and I always really enjoy sitting outside, listening to the water and taking in the view. It's a shame the pub itself isn't great - it's a bit of a gastropub but the menu is really crap for vegetarians - today there were six lunch specials and none of them were veggie - which is ridiculous because vegetarianism isn't exactly uncommon! Anyway, mini rant over - needless to say we didn't eat there, but stayed for a drink before walking home:

The path towards Old Milverton. We got a bit rained on here

I wish this was actually my house... Fever Copacabana sundress, cardigan from H&M and sandals from Miss Selfridge

By the time we got home my hangover was starting to kick in - hence the tea in bed lark. This evening is going to be mainly about watching a film, having breakfast for dinner and mentally preparing for what is going to be a very busy week at work. I'll be checking out Tilly's Sewing Social on twitter, though - if you want to join in, I'm @dolly_clackett and you can catch us between 8pm and 9pm BST with the hashtag #sewingsocial. Have a good evening, everyone!

R is among the most menacing sounds. That's why it's 'murder' not 'mukdek'

Oh hello! Yeah, remember me? I've kind of disappeared recently - partly because when I haven't been sneezing my head off I've been either sheltering from the rain, or asleep because even the non-drowsy antihistamines make me sleepy. I really hate having hay-fever, particularly when it's raining!

But yes, anyway - what has been happening? Well I've been busy at work as ever, and Nic and I were both really looking forward to relaxing in the sunshine at Leamington Peace Festival last weekend. Well, it didn't turn out exactly like that...

Nic at the Peace Festival on Saturday - wellie-tastic

Yeah. On Saturday it rained. And then it rained and rained, and the wind blew sideways. The weather was awful. Nic and I went out in the afternoon to run a few errands in town, and thought we'd brave the mud and check the festival out. I'm glad we went down on Saturday (because I bought a delicious burrito from the Mexican food stall) but I was even more glad to go home. I love the Peace Festival - it's a grand Leamington tradition. I was impressed by how many hippies there were dancing in the rain and mud, but once I'd had that burrito I wanted to go home.

We had a bit more luck on Sunday, when we were able to meet up with friends and even have a bit of a dance:

With HayleyJayney during a brief window of sunshine

The Quaker Wish Tree

It's not all Peace, though. We did find the dismembered body of Batman scattered around the Pump Room Gardens:

His bum wasn't far away, and one leg was somewhere close by too.... no sign of his head, though

It's a shame the weather meant that we couldn't laze around on the grass and listen to the music as we have in previous years, but it did brighten up enough on Sunday for it to be enjoyable.

Another rainy weekend meant lots of sewing time. I finished off my Hazel dress, which you can see in its entirety during the Hazel Parade for Sarah and Erin's Colette 2.0 Sewalong. But you can have a wee sneak preview:

Can you see the pink piping at the bottom of the bodice?

Lovely Nic treated me to some fabric on Saturday - we called into Royal Fabrics and bought some more gingham. YES MORE GINGHAM AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME. Actually I think the only colour left in the store that I haven't bought yet is purple, and I am thinking about it. Now, my lovely Mummy reads my blog and she was telling me on the phone yesterday that she wasn't sure green gingham would work... but, well, I think she's wrong. And actually, I think she'll think she's wrong too because green gingham + Cambie = perfection:

 Stephanie Cambie dress and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Cherry Lady Dragon shoes

I had some issues with the construction of my red gingham Cambie dress - I couldn't get the bodice darts and skirt darts to line up. And do you know why? It's because I had mis-cut the skirt front piece. D'oh! It was only out by a bit, but that was enough to cause some major head-scratching when I was putting it together. Not the pattern's fault, just the fault of me being a dipshit. Having figured that out, this one came together without any hitches. I sewed most of it on Sunday afternoon, a little bit on Monday after work and hemmed it this evening. I guess it goes without saying that I love the green gingham and absolutely adore this pattern. You might all get bored of seeing it, because I can totally see myself making loooooads of these. Inspired by the recent post on the Coletterie blog about ric rac, I added some to the pockets on this frock:

I bought the ric rac last month from Berylune on Park Street in Leamington - I have lots more, so you can be sure you'll be seeing it on future makes! I was sort of tempted to put it round the hem, but decided to restrain myself to the pockets. I think it looks good! I will say once again though how much I love this pattern. If you've been on the fence for any reason about buying it, stop dithering and buy it already. It's so lovely to sew, and gorgeous to wear. Go on - buy it!

I wore this out this evening for a walk in the sunshine with Nic and took my ridiculous new sunglasses out for a spin, too. I think I have reached saturation point with cat-eye sunglasses now...

I have got two legs (from my hips to the ground and when I move them they walk around and when I lift them they climb the stairs and when I shave them they ain't got hairs)

I know I look goofy in that photo but I don't even care. Anyway - as the forecast predicts the weather going to shit again tomorrow Nic and I both wanted to get out into it. We walked down to Victoria Park and had a drink in The Cricketers, before having a turn around the park. I love living in Leamington - it's a lovely town, and it really comes into its own at this time of year:

I love that the pub sign has W. G. Grace on it, and also that the pub overlooks a bowling green.

Victoria Park at dusk

Anyway, I'm going to leave it there for this evening - good night, all!

Has Oscar Wilde come in?

I'm going to have to be upfront here and admit that I have been on a serious gingham binge recently. I think it started when Julia Bobbin gave me a severe case of LOADS with her Peggy Olson dress. My first proper foray into sewing with gingham was my Lonsdale dress, followe by my recent Cambie dress. Hot on its heels is another Simplicity 2444 - the Oh, Jane! dress:

Sunday 10th June 2012 - Simplicity 2444 and Melissa Amazonas sandals

So, I have named this the Oh, Jane! dress after fabulous fellow blogger and friend, Handmade Jane. She's another ginghamoholic and I'm often to be found breathlessly swooning "Oh, Jane!" when she posts about one of her makes. I mean, have a look at her gingham Peony dress. For that matter, have a look at Lauren Lladybird's one as well. Too cute, right? Actually, looking at those again makes me feel a bit less guilty for being obsessed at the moment. So anyway, back to the sewing. I've been wanting to make another 2444 because, as we established during Me Made May, multiples work for me. I will probably make more of this pattern because it really is lovely.

This make was reasonably uneventful. The only thing is that I really could have done with lining the bodice as the poly gingham is quite drapey and I think more body would have been nice. I did briefly consider dismantling the dress and adding lining before deciding I couldn't really be arsed. It's fine as it is - the neckline facing is a bit visible for my liking but to be honest, I'm not hugely invested in making this perfect as it's basically just a fun summer dress. This time around I did cut the skirt front in two pieces so it has a centre seam - to see if it would make the pleating any easier. It did, sort of, but I think that was more to do with having figured out the instructions. This came together very quickly.

I made poor Nic take about 3,489 photos of me because I was having one of those I HATE MY FACE days on Sunday, and eventually I did get a few that I didn't totally hate. Looking at them now they're grand - the gingham looks a bit wrinkly here but I had been wearing the dress for a fair bit by this point. I did like how I looked in it in real life, so this is definitely a keeper! I'm wearing it in these photos with a petticoat underneath (a la Joanne) but actually, on me, I think it looks a bit better without. Still, I do enjoy being cupcakey every so often.

I definitely have a few more of these dresses in my future. I quite fancy one with sleeves, having seen Miss Dibs's recent version. I also have at least one more gingham dress in me - I have a hankering for a green one. If only the weather would buck its ideas up a little bit so it would be more fun to swan around in these!

So there's another recent make. I'm halfway through another summery frock but have had to take a break from it owing to a sore neck and shoulders, and a bloody annoying cold in the head. In fact, that has sort of characterised the past few days. So, not much craic this way. I'm just hoping these aches and pains jog on before the weekend so I can finish my dress and actually, you know, do stuff. With that in mind, it's time for me to put the laptop down and pick up a glass of wine. Adieu, all - until later!

This is why I don't allow crying in the break room. It erodes morale. There's a place to do that, like your apartment.

Hola my friends! Long time, what? I've had a week off work and, having been majorly lazy with it, it's all been quiet round these parts. And I'm going to try not to moan about the stinking weather too much, but obviously I have spent the week mostly indoors. LE SIGH.

I had a super busy week at work last week so I was very happy when Friday rolled round and I could work from home, rather than in the secure room. I got all of my boring admin stuff done and Nic and I went out for a dander at lunchtime, to check out the new French Patisserie on High Street in South Leamington. It was full of prams, so we didn't stop for a coffee but I bought some mini macarons and took them to the park. They were pretty good, but not so good that I'll be down there all the time - which is kind of a relief, to be honest! I also broke in my new shoes:

Friday 1st June 2012 - floral dress from Red Herring, Nica bag and Carvela Australia shoes

The photos don't really do the shoes justice, they're much prettier in real life. They were grand for a wander in town but the slim heel will take some getting used to for me - I kept thinking I'd snapped the heel tip off, for some reason!

The rest of the weekend was really quiet and low-key - the rain started, I had some sewing to do, and we had some non-Jubilee related fun planned with Lysy and The Scientist in the shape of a visit to Cambridge. The Scientist is up there for work reasons at the moment, and the gorgeous house he's staying in had room for a few visitors. We got there in time for lunch on Sunday and spent the afternoon seeing the sights of Cambridge through the drizzle. It had been some time since I'd been, and I must say we had a wonderful time. I'll try not to bore you with 345691 of the photos I took, but here are a few:

The path through Jesus Green

Some of the grounds at Downing College

The original 10 Downing Street front door!

With Nic on Garrett Hostel Lane

When the sun (very briefly) came out

The skeleton of a whale - this was ridiculously excellent!

I came home from Cambridge with some broderie anglaise and a new handbag, but unfortunately I also came home with a stinking migraine so the early part of the week was lost to feeling a bit crappy. I did perk up as the week wore on though and have really enjoyed having a week off with nothing to do. I've done some more sewing, and read lots, I've started to catch up with Season 5 of Mad Men, and had time to spend with friends. I love having free time and not worrying about having to fill it. I'm off to the pub this afternoon with my girls Lauren and Hayley, and as the rain has briefly stopped (but there's more forecast for tomorrow) I thought I'd debut one of the dresses I made this week:

 Sewaholic Cambie dress with polka dot wedges from Marks and Spencer and Nica Cannes handbag

Another Cambie dress! This time the a-line version. I must say, this one was less fun to sew than my first one and I'm not sure why - I think maybe because the gingham wasn't brilliant to work with, and I wasn't feeling swell when I was sewing it. Still, it came together very nicely and I hung it up for a week to think on it before wearing it, and of course now I love it. That usually does the trick! The red gingham is so happy, even if it was a bit of a pain to work with.

Pockets! I added a little detail to the pockets on this make:

Yes - one very satisfied lady. I'm looking forward to making more of these:

 And now... the siren song of the pub is calling.... catch you all later!