Would it be bad to have a Martini with my muscle relaxant, or bad in a good way? Introducing Capital Chic Patterns

This is a slightly different type of post today. The normal schedule of ridiculous shoes and silly facial expressions will resume shortly, but today I wanted to talk a bit about a new independent pattern company. My lovely friend Sally - you might know her as Charity Shop Chic - has been working hard behind the scenes this year and her first collection of sewing patterns goes live today under the banner Capital Chic Patterns.

I count myself very lucky to know Sally in real life. Not only is she witty, clever and warm, but she is both an incredibly talented seamstress and a very sharp dresser. Her style is very different to mine - if I'm the froth and sugar of a pina colada, or one of those drinks with sparklers in them, she's the elegance and sophistication of a dry martini. Sally's style is smart, grown-up and totally cool. So I'm thrilled to help her announce the launch of her first line of sewing patterns.

If you follow Charity Shop Chic already (and if you don't, DUDE, sort that out immediately) you'll know that Sally is a talented pattern drafter who has a taste for innovation. This is reflected in her first collection, which is full of classic styles with a modern twist. Capital Chic patterns will take you from work to the cocktail bar, as the cocktail-themed names of the patterns suggests!

It won't surprise you to learn that the beautiful Martini dress is the star of the collection for me. This is far from my usual style but I love the elegant lines and the surprising detail of the crop-top style bodice. The Martini dress features some more intermediate sewing techniques, such as inserting boning and adding a zipper guard. I have a few weddings coming up this year and I already have visions of drinking a smart drink in one of these gorgeous dresses!

I won't talk in great detail about all of the patterns in the collection - Sally does this much more eloquently herself - but the other pattern that has (surprisingly) stolen my heart is the White Russian sweater. It's designed for pre-quilted fabric and comes with the option to applique or quilt a fox or a lion onto the front. I mean, how COOL is that?!

What I am most excited about, however, is the mission statement behind Capital Chic Patterns. These patterns are aimed at intermediate to advanced sewists who want to stretch themselves a bit. I'll be the first to admit that this isn't something I will readily do with every pattern I sew, but I do always want to learn more and to grow as a seamstress. It's to Sally's credit that she's ready to supply to this demand, and with detailed step-by-step instructions so that none of these techniques are too scary!

Also, I mean. COME ON. Who wouldn't want to look as cool as Sally? I know I certainly would.

Disclosure: I was not paid to blog about Capital Chic Patterns and I have not received any compensation for this blog post. I'm blogging about it because I think it's awesome, and Sally is a good friend and I'm really proud of her!

Congratulations, Sally! You rock!

Question 17 was the three part question. The answers were Blue Peter, Wheel of Fortune and This Morning.

Hello dudes, me again, here to bring a little bit of excitement to your lives. I'm good that way. I hope this Tuesday afternoon finds you well. I'm grand - I got to spend the weekend doing some of my favourite things - drinking champagne, sewing, hanging out with friends and teaching.

So I'm back to show you another project that was completed a while ago. Try not to be too shocked, guys, it's another Christine Haynes Emery dress. I know. One of the things I really like about this pattern is how the simple lines mean it is a great canvas to allow gorgeous fabric to shine. So, when I found my perfect anchor print fabric, I knew it had to become an Emery dress.

Anchor print fabric from the Bartholomeow's Reef collection from Moda

And this fabric really IS the perfect anchor print. I squealed a bit when Annie from The Village Haberdashery put a picture of it on instagram, and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I bought some straightaway. It's one of those prints I feel like I've been searching for ever since I started sewing. I have this beautiful anchor print dress from Vivien of Holloway, and basically I've been wanting to make a more everyday-friendly version of this.

Because gorgeous as it is, a halterneck dress with a boned bodice isn't the most casual of dresses (mind you, I have worn this dress to work in the past - with a cardigan on - but it's not hugely practical, even for me) This moda cotton looked like a perfect casual alternative, and it proved to be even more lovely when it arrived. It's technically a quilting cotton, but it has the softness and drape of a really soft chambray, so it's perfect for dressmaking.

Hand Over Hand dress - Christine Haynes Emery dress, worn with Office 'Love Me Tender' shoes

Nothing new to say about the construction of the Emery dress. I'm now sewing a size 2, with the only fit modification being that I ever so slightly increase the width of the darts at the back neckline. I omitted the pockets and used a gathered rectangle for the skirt rather than the skirt pattern pieces. For this dress I wanted to go a little bit shorter than usual as it's nice to get the old knees out in the summer! Oh, and I used a lapped zip rather than a concealed one in this dress - for no other reason than that's what I felt like sewing at the time.

I really, REALLY love this dress and I have worn it so many times since sewing it. It's cute and comfortable and I feel really good in it. I brought it with me to Paris and wore it for a day in Montmartre and an evening exploring the 9th arrondissement.

One of the things that Nic and I were keen to do on this last visit to Paris was to explore as much as we could on foot, and as the 9th arrondissement was within easy walking distance of our flat - just across the Boulevard de Clichy, really, we spent lots of happy hours wandering around the area. Nic read an article written by a Brooklyn hipster who had relocated to Paris which lamented that hipsters had ruined Pigalle - basically saying that people like him had made it easier to find kale in the 9th than prostitutes. Hm. I don't know how true that is, but I thought Pigalle was really cool. Nic and I found some very cool book and record shops - in one of the record shops I bought a 45 of Anthony Perkins singing French chansons, in French. It's weird and awesome, and ol' Norman Bates actually has a lovely voice.

Here I am in Pigalle, wearing my dress with a Hell Bunny cardigan and Miss L Fire sandals

We spent a happy evening drinking in two really cool bars, both on Rue Frochot. The first one, Dirty Dick, is a Tiki bar. I suspect that if you went on a weekend evening you'd have trouble getting in, but on the weeknight when we were there it was quiet and the service was wonderful. I wish I'd taken more photos of the interior of the bar - the Tiki theme is not faint-hearted, from the bamboo furniture to the lampshades made from puffer fish! The barman was English and once he found out that Nic and I were on honeymoon, he treated us to complimentary shots of rum that had been aged in cognac barrels. The cocktails were expensive but delicious, and served up in really fun ways - in Tiki god glasses with flaming sugar cubes in boats made from passionfruit skins!

Rue Frochot

Nic with a flaming drink

All I'm saying is, I wouldn't mind having this mural in my house.

After a couple of drinks we moved across the road to Glass, which was absolutely tiny and really, really cool. I had a negroni, which is their signature drink, while Nic drank boilermakers. I'm sad I can't actually say more about Glass other than it was one of the coolest bars I've been to without feeling like it was exclusive or cliquey - but we passed a happy couple of hours people watching, chatting and listening to the ambient electronica that the DJ was playing. It was brilliant, and it made me long for somewhere similar in Leamington. I suppose I'll just have to go back to Paris.

Inside Glass on Rue Frochot

I have also worn this dress to drink cocktails in a capital city on another, separate occasion! I wore this dress to London on 13th June to go shopping with Sarah and Char and to meet Christine Haynes herself at Ray Stitch. I'd actually already briefly met the lovely Christine, quite by accident, when Nic and I ran into her and her partner on Boulevard de Magenta!

With Christine Haynes on Boulevard de Magenta!

It was such a lovely surprise to bump into Christine in France, but even better to have the chance to meet her properly and chat to her at the Ray Stitch party. I was too busy drinking cocktails and chatting shit to people to actually take any photos, so I'm stealing this one from Christine's blog...

With Christine, Sarah and Char - all in Emery dresses!

So - you know sometimes when you finish a dress and you love it, but then you don't find ways to wear it? Clearly not at all the case here with this dress. In fact, writing about it has made me want to wear it again so I might very well wear it to work tomorrow now. Sadly, I don't think drinking cocktails in it will be an option in that setting, but you can't have everything. In fairness, my job is mad enough without throwing alcohol into the mix! Now, I have the flat to myself this evening as Nic is out at a gig so I am going to take advantage of the peace and quiet and catch up with some trashy television (Law and Order, most probably) and do some sewing. More Paris photos to follow soon, though, so catch you all later!

One last photo because I love my dress. Not sorry.

Well, you were right about one thing. It definitely wasn't Bigfoot.

Hello again! Two posts in one week, I'm really spoiling you, aren't I?!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have something of a backlog of projects and adventures to share with you. This is why I am so late in writing about the lovely day I spent at the John Lewis Sewing Bee on 31st May. Yes, it was over two weeks ago. I suck. I know. But whatever, it was a good day!

I was very excited when John Lewis got in touch to invite me to take part. I was initially going to decline as it was happening the day before Nic and I were going to Paris, but when it came to replying I found myself writing OMG YES PLEASE, which was curious! Anyway, although the prospect of spending the day sewing on the haberdashery floor of John Lewis Oxford Street was a bit daunting, it was too exciting to turn down. The whole thing became even more exciting when I realised I'd be sharing the day with fellow Spoolettes Clare, Emmie, Fiona and Amy and meeting two other seamstresses I hadn't met before, Elena and Charlie.

Our brief on the day was to sew a dress using some of the beautiful fabric that John Lewis has produced in honour of their 150th anniversary. I loved all of them and was immediately drawn towards the floral print that Emmie ended up using, but in the end I couldn't resist the mid-century feel of the 'bacteria' print I chose. We had a choice of patterns to choose from and although I had brought my Emery pattern with me (as I knew I'd be able to sew her up in a day) I went for a Vogue pattern - V8998. This was kind of a risk as I have never sewn from a Vogue pattern before but I figured that if I came unstuck with the fitting I had many talented and knowledgable friends on hand as well as the wonderful Sew Over It ladies Lisa Comfort and Freia.

Me, trying to figure out which pattern pieces I need. Photograph by Michael Taylor

We spent some time taking over the haberdashery in the morning cutting out our pattern pieces and fabric - we were provided with an amazing sewing kit, which included some really badass sewing shears. Cutting out my pattern pieces felt like it took ages. The dress I chose had many variations AND was one of those where they have different bodice options for different bust sizes, so as well as having to measure everything to figure out the best one to cut, there were about 17,000 different pattern pieces to navigate. I wasn't on top form that day as I was suffering from a horrible head cold and sinusitis and hadn't slept at all the night before, so I did make one stupid mistake and totally forgot to cut out one of the skirt pieces! Thankfully there was lots of fabric available so when it came to assembling the skirt I was able to just cut out what I needed out of the remaining fabric. Still, I felt like a total dope.

Cutting out that pesky missing skirt piece.

The day itself was kind of a blur. As well as the pressure of sewing a dress to a deadline, there were lots of distractions. Really fun distractions like playing with a new sewing machine - we were given the use of a Janome DC3050 for the day and it was a lovely machine to use - and an overlocker. I've only used an overlocker a couple of times before, so it was fun to finally have the chance to get to grips with one. Of course the biggest and most fun distraction was the fact that I was sewing with friends and the day passed in a blur of chatter and laughter. Lisa and Freia did a good job of keeping us on task - and getting us all started again after a long and tasty lunch in the John Lewis brasserie!

Sewing bee!

I was pretty determined to get my dress mostly finished on the day, and I'm proud to tell you that I did. I totally ignored the instructions - the dress has a princess-seamed bodice, an inset waistband and a 6-gored skirt with some gathering. Nothing outlandish and I was confident I could use my previous sewing experience to work out the best method of construction. The pattern calls for the dress to be lined, but in the interests of speediness, I decided to line only the bodice. I self-lined it, because there was lots of fabric available! Going by the finished garment measurements (once I found them - they appear to be well-hidden on Vogue envelopes) I cut the size 10 with the C cup bodice. I basted it together and - shamefully - tried it on over my dress. Freia and I agreed that I needed to take a couple of inches out overall, so I did this by taking in the side seams by an inch each (although I left the seams of the bust as they were.)

This is my 'concentrating' face

Getting to grips with a new machine and an overlocker was suprisingly enjoyable! - although it made me realise how much I rely on muscle memory when sewing with my own machine! The DC3050 was lovely to use - my own machine is a Janome so I could figure out the basics easily enough - and it was so quiet and smooth! I'm not ready to upgrade my machine yet (I am ridiculously attached to my totally basic little machine, and it does everything I need it to well and reliably) but something like the DC3050 would be a good next step for me, I think. I had very little previous experience with overlockers but I enjoyed using one on the day. I'm not in any immediate need for one, but I must admit to really liking the way my serged seams all looked so I might very well invest in one at some point this year.

By the end of the day, my dress was ready for a zip. I just whacked the zip in as quickly as I could so I could see what the finished dress looked like on, but then I ended up being too tired and overwhelmed to want to go and try it on. Still, it was really pleasing to see what it looked like on the mannequin. I am still not at all convinced that a dressmaker's dummy is for me, though. Those things seriously give me the creeps.

One of the highlights of the day was having our photographs taken in the garden on the roof of the building. I'm not sure if this roof terrace is open to the public, but it's just beautiful. Also, it was really nice to get out into the fresh air after an intense day underneath electric lights.

Me and my almost-finished dress, modelled by my much taller, sadly mutilated friend.

The biggest highlight of the day was getting to spend the day sewing with such lovely friends, and in such an unusual surrounding. We had the run of the haberdashery department, and were so well looked after. It was really lovely to meet the shoppers at John Lewis as well - we had some Spoolette friends drop in to see us, and chatted to customers and blog readers alike. It was brilliant!

I love the look of concentration on Emmie's face in this photo.

Organised chaos

The Sewing Bee Gang - from left to right - Freia, Lisa, Fiona, Elena, Clare, Charlie, me, Amy and Emmie

When we had finished and packed up for the day - leaving fairly well laden down under the weight of the fantastic Prym sewing kits we'd been given, along with our dresses, fabric, patterns and notions needed to finish - Charlie, Amy, Elena, Nissa (who had joined us) and I headed to the Irregular Choice shop on Carnaby Street. I had a £100 voucher that was a wedding present from the Spoolettes that I was determined to spend! The ladies helped me pick out some shoes and from there I dashed to Tottenham Court Road to meet my sister Kelly, who happened to be in London for the weekend. We had time for a quick drink and a catch-up before I got the train back up to Leamington. By the time I arrived home I was thoroughly exhausted and fit only to eat some toast and get into bed. My dress would have to wait until I got home from Paris to be finished.

So, when we got back from Paris (and I had recovered a bit from the journey home) I did finish it. I needed to sew the bodice lining down and hem the dress, but I wanted to also re-do the zip as it wasn't my finest hour. I did all of this by hand because I wasn't that fussed on getting my machine out.

Darkness Falls dress - Vogue V8998 worn with Irregular Choice Dippy Daisy shoes

Overall, I'm really happy with this dress. I must admit that when I put it into the bag at the end of the day, I wasn't totally sure if I was ever going to wear it. I didn't especially like the way it looked on the mannequin - but then, that thing is a totally different shape to me, so that's probably why! I'm happy with the fit, too - I know there are some wrinkles under the bust there in that photo, but that is really more my posture than anything else. I seriously need to learn to stand up straight one of these days.

The skirt on my dress isn't nearly as sticky-out as the one on the pattern envelope or in the sample photos - but this is because mine isn't lined, and also the dress in the sample photos is hemmed with horsehair braid. There is a nice bit of fullness at the sides and towards the back - the version I chose to sew has some gathering on the skirt pieces there. It's a very nice dress - similar to my usual style but I think the inset waistband is a bit different - and I'm pretty sure I'll sew from this pattern again. I think I actually need a little bit more ease so will decrease the seam allowances a bit the next time I make this - it's not too tight and it's comfortable to wear as it is, but it might get rid of some of the wrinkling. Or, you know, once the post-holiday chub has shifted I might not need to!

Bodice view. My posture really is terrible, but this photo is nice because you can see the fabric in better detail.

If I sound like I'm not overwhelmed with love for this dress - well, I'm honestly not, although I do like it a lot. I had a great time sewing it and it'll always have happy memories attached to it, and I'll certainly wear it, but it's not my favourite thing I've ever sewn. It does look good with my shoes, though, which are my Spoolettes shoes!

They have flowers on the front...

...and bows on the back!

So, that was my day at the John Lewis Sewing Bee! It was pretty freaking excellent. And I do like the dress really, because the fabric reminds me of one of the scariest ever episodes of The X-Files, and not just because Scully is dressed like this...

WHY, WARDROBE DEPARTMENT. WHY.

Oh! And before I forget - not only did the lovely ladies at Sew Over It invite me to take part in such a wonderful day, they also gave me a copy of their newest sewing pattern - the Ultimate Trouser Pattern - to give away to one lucky reader. I got a hilarious little note with the pattern saying they'll be interested to see how the Queen of Dresses will sell a trouser pattern but, you know, I know a lot of people like to wear trousers. And as trousers go, these are seriously cute.

These cute trousers could be yours! Dog not included.

All you need to do to win is leave me a comment telling me you'd like to win! I will post to anywhere in the world, and I'll leave this giveaway open until next Friday 27th June at 9pm BST. It'll be good. I promise you won't end up looking like this:

Girl, No. Just... no.

One rage every three months is permitted. Try not to hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it.

Bonjour mes animaux! Remember me? It's been a few weeks. I did actually bring the laptop on holiday, with the thought that I might do a little bit of blogging on a quiet evening. That resolution dissolved in wine and we ended up only using the laptop to watch S4 of Justified (which turns out to be excellent after a slightly ropey start, JSYK) So yeah. Life kind of got in the way, there. But I was back to work today, so life is back to normal, so here I am again.

Thank you to all of you for such warm wishes and kind words about our wedding. We really did have the best day. And Paris was amazing! I won't blog about our honeymoon exhaustively because, you know, other people's holiday photos. Also, I have lots of unblogged projects and adventures to catch you up on. I'm good like that. But I mean obviously I am also going to tell you a bit about Paris because we had an amazing time and took millions of photos.

The Eiffel Tower, seen from the top of the hill at Montmartre. This is as close as we got to the tower, I'm afraid.

So, we had 11 days in Paris, and had a total blast. We were staying in the same cute little studio apartment in Montmartre that we stayed in last year. This was great because it meant we knew exactly what to expect from the apartment and we knew the area. Also the apartment owner, Rafet, had treated us so kindly when we stayed last year we wanted to give him the repeat business.

Our street

We didn't do many of the cultural or especially tourist things in Paris, I must admit. Most of our time was spent exploring the 18th arrondissement and everywhere that was within walking distance of our apartment. We walked so much that Nic knackered his ankle, and I made my toes go numb, but it was good because I guess it balanced out all of the bread, champagne and pastries. Just wandering the streets made me feel so happy. One of our favourite walks was down the Boulevard Magenta to the Canal Saint-Martin, with occasional rambles further to the Marais district.

One of the many pretty bridges over the canal

I really loved this area. The canal was really beautiful - especially on a sunny day when its banks were lined with people eating lunch, drawing or just socialising. There were also lots of very cool bars, cafes and shops on the nearby streets. It was just a very beautiful and restful place to be, especially on a hot day.

Ice cream on a sunny day in Paris. This was a happy moment in my life, I must admit.

One of the places that we kept going back to was an awesome bar/cafe/community centre called Le Comptoir Général, on Quai des Jemmapes. Nic had read a review of it that described it as being 'Holy Fuckballs Amazing' and, you know what? It totally was. I want to go back for one of the evening events next year, but this time around we were happy to visit in the daytime for lunch and coffee.

Inside Le Comptoir Général

The other excellent place we found for lunch was Pink Flamingo, on Rue Bichat. You can eat in the restaurant or you can have your pizza delivered to you at the canal. They give you a pink helium balloon to help the delivery guy find you. The pizza is pretty good - not quite as good as the pizza from Trattoria Pulcinella on Rue Eugène Sue - but good. You can get an 8-cheese pizza named after Eric Cantona, which obviously Nic ordered.

Pizza tracker! His face was even happier after he'd eaten his pizza.

As the area was so scenic and the weather so beautiful, I thought it'd be a good place to photograph a newly minted dress. This is one that I cobbled together some time to sew during May because I wanted to wear it on honeymoon.

The Frog Princess dress, Swedish hasbeens 'Ornament' sandals and yellow Zatchels satchel from Berylune

Yeah, it's another By Hand London Flora dress with a circle skirt. I loved wearing my wedding dress so much that I wanted to make another version. The fabric is the floatiest, softest, most delightful cotton voile from The Village Haberdashery. Back at the start of May, I ordered some Moda cotton from them and Annie very kindly surprised me with a gift of a couple of metres of this voile, saying she thought it would make a pretty Flora dress. It was the sweetest and most thoughtful gift, and most unexpected. I was so touched by it that it made me cry, and I really love the resulting dress. It was the perfect dress to wear on what turned out to be a really hot day in which we did a lot of walking.

When the fabric arrived, I thought I may have to underline it or line the skirt as it's so light - but thankfully it's not at all sheer. So on this dress, as with my wedding dress, only the bodice is lined. Admittedly, the dress probably looks better with higher heels than these low-heeled clogs, but I knew I'd be doing a lot of walking!

A little close-up of my massive face, so you can see the pretty print on the fabric. Looking at this photo, I might need to take a tiny bit more width out of the neckline again but, you know, shit happens.

This is the goofiest picture of me I've ever put on the internet. Wevs. Now you can see the skirt in partial glory. Kind of. But I think the big silly grin on my face shows you how happy I am with my dress. Anyway, I did lots of fabric shopping in Paris and I have a couple of really cool lengths of fabric that are basically crying out to be made into a Flora bodice/circle skirt combination.

So that's my Frog Princess dress. I even managed to avoid getting pizza on it, which was a bit of a triumph for me, especially considering I was eating it on a wall next to the canal. Hurrah! I'm going to leave you with a few more pictures of the Canal Saint-Martin area and I'll be back later in the week. Bon soir, mes amies!

One of the locks along the canal. There are a number of these, leading right down to where the canal goes underground - from Rue du Faubourg du Temple to Bastille. One one of our visits, we watched a barge navigate the locks right until it went underground. It was really cool.

Nic on one of the bridges over the canal. Do you see the locks on the bridge? NONE OF THEM ARE OURS. While we were in Paris, part of the Pont des Arts collapsed under the weight of those tacky things. Not our style.

While we were standing on this bridge, a very sweet man offered to take our photo. I mean, he could have been angling to do a runner with the camera, but the risk paid off. I think this is a pretty cute photo.

This is how I spent most of our holiday. Just straight chilling. It was TRES BIEN.