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

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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!