Apple of My Eye Dress

Our house sale finally went through and we now have the keys in our hot little hands so I will be on a sewing break for a while now until we have decorated and moved in.  Progress pics will be popping up soon!

Here are the details on my polka dot dress for the recent wedding I attended.  I used Simplicity 3780 which is a vintage re-print pattern which I have made before for my sister and it turned out really well.  I really want to use this for my own bridesmaid dresses too so this was a good trial run.

Myself and the bride

I used an awesome polka dot print fabric (saved in my Pinterest for ages!) with some of the dots actually made of little apples!  I was a bridesmaid and we got to pick our own dresses so I just had to make mine.  Unfortunately I didn't buy enough of the fabric (I really should have read the envelope rather than assuming I knew how much fabric I used last time) so I only used the pattern for the bodice and just made a simple gathered skirt.  The fabric is by Riley Blake and called 'Apple of my Eye' which I thought was a good name for my dress as I am so pleased with it.

Myself and Amy

I used a plain white cotton for the halterneck band and some sweet little glass buttons from my grandmothers button box which made it that little extra bit special.  I did try to pattern match the bodice but it didn't really work when I cam to sew it up.  I did manage to get the front piece to frame a little apple at the top though.

I am really pleased with how it turned out and the wedding was pretty much on the last day of summer so I didn't look that out of place in a summer dress.

The only problem with the gathered skirt is that it bunches around my waist and because I am holding my bouquet in each picture it doesn't really look like I have a waist!  In my bridesmaid dresses I will use the skirt pattern that came with the dress as the circle-shape is a lot more flattering.  I bought these gorgeous cream coloured wedges as I didn't want to sink into the soft earth and they worked a treat.  Unfortunately they are nearly the same colour as my pale legs so they don't really show up in the pictures!

Wedding Daze

I love a wedding.  Seriously I LOVE them!  I love all the random crazy little things that brides have sent hours obsessing over like place cards and favours and I love crying at the vows and laughing at the speeches.  Going to weddings reminds me why I am planning my own when I get bogged down in the details, it is the overall air of love, happiness and lifetime commitment which I love most of all, not whether the napkins match the tablecloths.

These are some images I took of Kylie and Matt's relaxed garden wedding in Oxfordshire.  Such a different non-traditional wedding from anything I have ever been too.

Get ready for a picture dump!

Father of the Bride and the Bride 

 Kylie's dress was an original 1950's party dress with gorgeous rhinestones on the bodice which I LOVE.  Her hair and make up was done by her very talented friends which I got to meet for the first time prepping for the wedding.

 Our gorgeous bridesmaid bouquets, made by some of the bridesmaids themselves!

Amy, bridesmaid, and Kylie

 Excitement at arriving at the venue and pulling a 'Kylie face.'  We soon discovered that the bride could not stop giggling through the ceremony, at least until the point she started crying instead!

 The bride and groom.  Look at those happy faces!  What they wore really reflected their personalities and there was so much of 'them' in the ceremony and party.

Bridesmaids, Best Man, Bride and Groom

 The four bridesmaids (that's me on the end and a sneak peek of my finished Apple dress) didn't have a dress code, we just wore what we liked (though some coordinated in advance!) and we had sweet flower crowns and bouquets too.

 They had looooads of pretty and colourful decorations hung everywhere around the venue and I love this picture of lanterns, fans and birdies!

 Th tables were named after mythical creatures and we were on the Dragon table roar!!

 Kylie hand made the glittery stars and the chiffon fabric really made it feel magical without blocking all the light.  We had fabulous BBQ food served family style and I loved the roasted peppers and homemade coleslaw.

 There were lots of garden games including mini golf and, of course, jenga and there were so many little photo op places around the grounds, see the bench with lanterns behind?  These lit up at night and there were fairy lights everywhere.  It was so magical!

 As you can see Kylie is a really good sport and we just had to take a few photos are the place, there are many more like this (one of a crazy dwarf beard that appeared during some manic dancing) we all had a brilliant time and I can't wait to see Kylie and Matt again soon.

Wedding Hoopla

What do you get the crafty bride who doesn't want presents?  Something homemade of course!

One of my bestest buds got married this weekend and I made her an embroidery hoop with their wedding date as a present.  The lanterns were taken from her hand-drawn invitations, ala Tangled, and it was my first time at embroidery, which was better on the lanterns than the writing but I did perfect my French knots.

I am really happy with it!  It went down a STORM and really broke the ice with all of her wizard friends (she's a Harry Potter nut).  I knew she would like it as strangely, seeing as I turned them into animals, it actually looks like them.  Kylie is a vintage loving, mis-matched print wearing red head and Matt loves metal, horror films, gaming and Wolverhampton Wanderers, hence the football shirt. The wedding itself was fantastic, so much laughter and happiness, lots of pictures of that to come!

Oh and if you haven't seen this the watch it!

Summer Catch Up

Eek!  Time for a bit of a catch up!  I'm afraid I had to have a little break from blogging due to other commitments.  It is not easy to work 2 jobs, help run a guide unit, organise a camp for 12 girls, potentially buy a house, organise a wedding and start my supervisor training course!  When I look at it like that I wonder how I have any free time at all!

So where was I?  I finished off the last week of Me-Made-May with these outfits.  I managed my target or 2-3 outfits a week, and really that is about all I could do as I spend so much of my time in uniform.  I did make me take much more time over planning and decided which outfits to wear which was really interesting.

Vogue Summer Dress

Banana Carousel Dress

I also made  my first Sorbetto!  

Sorbetto Wearable Muslin

I used some random fabric from my stash and I think the pastel colours work really well for sleep wear.  I measured myself and cut the Sorbetto but I could really have done with cutting it at least 2 sizes bigger as it is really too tight.

To make it fit I let each of the seams out as much as possible, using really tiny seams.  I also found that the bust darts are way too high on me, I shall have to change them next time I make this pattern.

Pink fabric was a bit see-through!

I used some pretty floral bias tape for the edging and although my stitching is pretty straight on the front, it is a bit wobbly on the back.  I think I need to find some techniques to improve this.

I have already cut out my second one, from some sheer polyester chiffon that I had left over from my Titanic dress and I am leaving out the pleat and just using gathers at the top to make it really free and flowing.  I am hoping this works out as I am in need of summery clothing at the moment!

I will endeavour to post more regularly but with everything that is going on I am not getting much sewing time at the moment.  I do have lots of sewing plans though, next will be a summer dress for a wedding from this awesome polka dot apple print!

On the back burner

My recipe challenge, that started so well, has come to a halt.  Week Three- 29th-6th I didn't manage to cook ANY recipes due to over work and the sad fact that my weighing scales died after being dropped on the floor.  They were only a plastic cheap set I bought before going to university but the fact they had lasted nearly ten years and helped me make many a cake made me sad.  Plus is was my birthday on the 9th and I wasn't able to make a cake for it.


Week Four - 7th-15th
I rustled up a recipe of my own without needing scales but again, it was a poor show for the recipe challenge.  I did cook quite a bit but I made things I already knew and as the other half did the shopping and we had guests it meant I stuck to roast dinners and stir-fries.

I rustled up this pasta dish one night when I was on my own, similar to the stuffed peppers recipe (as that's what I like!)

Roasted Sweet Potato and Goat's Cheese Pasta
1 small sweet potato
7-8 cherry tomatoes
1 serving of pasta shells (you can decide how much this is!)
1 tbsp pesto
Crumbled goats cheese over the top

Peel and cut the sweet potato into small cubes then roast in the oven with oil for 10 minutes.  Add the cherry tomatoes to the oven dish and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Boil the pasta and once the veg is cooked, stir it together with a spoonful of the pesto and crumble the goat's cheese over the top.

Quite simple but really delicious.

Sweet Potato and Goats Cheese Pasta

 This challenge was pretty hard but I did manage to make 4 dishes from my book and make up 2 of my own.  Not as many as I would have liked but I think I will continue trying to challenge myself to use my cookbooks more often.

Me Made May - Week Two and Three

I'm doing 2 weeks in one post as I haven't managed that many outfits and I have got behind on blogging about them.

Jersey Circles Dress (pre-blog)

This is one of my first ever makes but I am still wearing it even though I should have made it a size smaller and the hem has pretty much come undone.  I wore this on a rare half day at home, it is comfy for lounging around.

Anchors Away Circle Skirt

I wore this skirt paired with a top I bought recently, I thought it might be a bit too matchy-matchy but I actually really like it.  The photos are grainy as I took them just before bed after nearly forgetting and the camera was out of focus and it was dark, hence the shiny glasses.

I actually wore this to go an visit a possible wedding venue which is actually the top one of our list at the moment.   Sam's parents had come to stay so it was helpful to get their opinions on it too.  It was really lovely to go and visit even though it was pouring with rain!

Ditsy Floral Dress

I wore this on my day off and I am not so sure about this dress now.  The length feels a little too mumsy to me now unless I wear it with heels and the sleeve cuffs are too tight.  This seems to be a common problem with my me-mades, perhaps I have muscular upper arms!  (Awful photo, again, before bed and being blinded by the flash.)

This week I have a holiday from my day job so I am only working 3 evenings which will be bliss.  I am hopeful of getting some serious sewing time in as I do not have that many plans this week which is rare for me!

Pinwheeling

For the spring issue of Something Borrowed magazine I was asked if I could make a pinwheel tutorial as they were running a fairground wedding themed issue.  This sounds like great fun and is actually something that some of my close friends are thinking about doing at their wedding.

I made two sets of pinwheels, one with coloured acetate and one of card, they are surprisingly easy to make, the trickiest bit is threading the wire through the holes tightly enough that they stay in place but not so tight so that they don't spin.  I found a length or drinking straw really helped.

I think these would be really fun for an outdoor reception, especially one with lots of children running around.