What do you think? Fit for an audience with a king? Or, more accurately, fit to be in the audience watching the machinations of not one but two kings? Making this frock was part of some pre-play prep. There was homework of both a practical and a theoretical nature to be done. Want a new… Continue reading Fit for a king?
Not just pattern repeats but fabric repeats too. This Burda top in the fabric that I had leftover from Vogue 7799. Love the fabric, love the gathered raglan sleeves. Cannot get a neat neckline finish. And Vogue 7799 in fabric I had leftover from one of my firsts attempts at jammies and vest. A pink, elongated… Continue reading Nothing in the autumn schedule but repeats
The youngest member of our family is away. Even the cats appear to miss her. Prior to her departure the short-haired cat slept on her pile of half-packed things, giving every impression of knowing that the suitcase symbolised imminent separation. Pack me too. Last night, youngest’s first night away, the long-haired cat was unsettled and… Continue reading Separation, displacement and a sheep called Sheila
Barley Harvest Skinny Scarf Notes: This is a Double Lace Rib worked in two sections, each end is finished with a picot bind off. The Double Lace Rib is worked in multiples of 6 stitches + 2. The pattern repeats every 4 rows. The dimensions of the scarf pictured are 93 x 5.5 centimetres. The… Continue reading Barley Harvest Skinny Scarf
Do you know what I would do if I could time travel? I would ask Past Penny to remember to photograph her recently purchased locally sourced wool in one of the many picturesque locations by which she was surrounded. Maybe artfully perched upon a magnificent dry stone wall? Or placed thoughtfully atop a skillfully constructed… Continue reading Woolly Wensleydale – A Floccose Dalliance in the Dales
I’ve made something a bit twee you see. I could be more detailed with regards the garment construction but basically it’s a circle skirt. I have to put the blame fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Margaret McCrirrick. In her book Better Dressmaking, she blithely tells me that one of the few things that you can… Continue reading Makes me want to nip behind the bike sheds
No, not me. As if! The eponymous Babe was admired from afar, she will never know of my existence or how she inspired me. Let me set the scene. We have travelled to The Other Side of the World. We are jet-lagged, we are hungry, we have embarked upon a possibly over-ambitious hike along the… Continue reading Bronte Beach Babe
Is there a special place in your heart for the fashions of your early childhood? Do you hark after a pair of loon pants, a granny square waistcoat, a ra-ra skirt? I have a theory you see. It’s this. If you were too young to sport the adult fashions of the time they will forever… Continue reading Reverse Nasturtium
Is this cheating? Is this the sewing equivalent of a packet of cake mix? I’m going out on a limb here, I say not. I say that there is still room for a pinch of the personal, a dash of the different, a hint of the handmade. What am I talking about? My present to… Continue reading Not one for the purists
As the lawn dries, cracks and slides inexorably from ‘Centre Court on Men’s Final Day’ to ‘Summer of ’76’ I find myself in need of verdant shades. Enter stage left, an elderly bit player: Something ready-to-wear which to the faint-hearted may seem beyond redemption, but I say cut her down from the gallows, furnish her… Continue reading This precious stone set in the silver sea
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