Oh, for crying out loud. You see, that's what feminism does. It makes smart girls with nice birthing shapes believe in fairy tales.

Evening dudes, what's happening? Not too much going on here. I've been having a busy few days at work but it's been nice. I've worked at home for the past few days on data analysis and it's been good - it's been giving my brain a work-out, and I have the best desk buddy. It's really lovely to share a desk with Nic - particularly as he makes such excellent coffee!

I've been doing a little bit of sewing and I have been knitting my little heart out - I started my second Andi Satterlund Myrna cardigan on Saturday and I'm almost ready to cast off the body - it's such a satisfying and quick pattern to knit and I already feel like I have learned so much since I made my first one. I do have some more knitting to show you later in the week, but this evening it's all about the sewing up in here. Because, guess what. I SEWED A NEW PATTERN. I know, right? I'm shocked too.

I bought Simplicity 1419 a couple of weeks ago. I was ordering zips from Jaycotts and thought I'd have a little browse through the patterns section, and took a notion to buy one. Simplicity 1419 had been on my radar ever since Sew Dolly Clackett because a fair few versions of it popped up then - it has a fitted bodice and a full skirt, so you can see why people chose it! Julia from Stars And Sunshine made a few and they were ALL adorable. So anyway, I bought it and I made it.

This was a really quick and fun project, as well. I sewed it up on a day when I was working from home - I cut the fabric out before work, basted the bodice to check the fit at lunchtime, and sewed the whole thing together in the afternoon when I finished. It would have taken longer if I had made a toile of the bodice but I took a chance on the sizing because I have usually found that the Simplicity bodice block works on my body. Also, I was using fabric that I could stand to lose - a cute cotton poplin that I had bought for £2 a metre on Goldhawk Road. But enough jibba jabba: here's the dress!

Elaine dress - Lisette for Simplicity 1419 in floral cotton poplin, worn with Irregular Choice Dippy Daisy shoes

This is a really cute pattern and very quick to sew, partly because it isn't lined. Normally with a dress this sort of shape I'd check the instructions and then do it my own way but I did mostly follow the instructions for this because of the keyhole detail at the neckline. The instructions are really thorough and give a good finish - the only thing I'll change the next time round is that rather than sewing a loop for the button, I'll use some elastic. The pattern piece provided for the button loop left me with something that was a bit too chunky to practically use.

Bodice view!

The fit isn't perfect, like, but it's grand. There are a few adjustments I'll make to the bodice for next time I make this dress. I'm going to redraw the armholes slightly so they're a bit freer, and I'm going to drop the neckline substantially. The pattern comes with an optional collar which I'm never going to make (not my style) and I suppose the neckline is so high for that reason. It's okay at the front but REALLY high at the back:

You can see here why redrawing the armholes a bit will be good. That's a lot of coverage!

I'm not used to having the neckline quite this high, and thought I'd feel strangled. In practice it was fine, though. I wore this dress to my friend Adam's wedding a few weeks ago and it was a really long day - we left the house before 7 in the morning and weren't in bed until well after midnight, and no strangulation happened. And this dress was comfortable and cute for dancing in, too!

You can't see it because of the busy fabric and the bright light, but the skirt is reasonably full and pleated at the sides - it's just lovely and it was worth the price of the pattern alone. Well, also the pattern includes a really cute jacket that I might get around to making someday. While I don't completely love this dress I definitely like it enough to make another one. My main reservation is that the very high neckline and a somewhat unfortunate print placement sort of combined so that the bodice makes me look HELLA busty. Well, actually, it's not all that bad. It just makes me feel like I'm all HELLO WORLD. BOOBS.

So that's the craic there with the Simplicity 1419 dress. I named her Elaine because in the week I made this, the wonderful actress Elaine Stritch died. It's hard to believe she was even more of a badass than Colleen Donaghy, but she was.

I sort of wish I had more to say about this and there was a bit more craic out of me this evening, but there isn't! The height of excitement for me today has been doing the grocery shopping and then having a jam doughnut in the cafe at Morrisons. Life certainly isn't all glamour, but I tell you what, that was a good doughnut.

But anyway. I have to go because tonight Nic and I are watching The X-Files: Fight The Future. Yeah, that first X-Files movie. Despite the recent sequel being an incomprehensible pile of ass - you can read my summary of it here - I'm very fond of the first movie. I saw it in the cinema when it came out twice in the space of two nights. It's not that I was a major X-Files fan (or X-philes, as they used to call themselves. Jesus) but the nearest cinema was in the next town and only had two screens, and it was either that or The Horse Whisperer. Which, no. For obvious reasons. So you'll have to excuse me because OMG ALIENS AND BEES AND SOMETHING TO DO WITH BLACK OIL.