In Which A Bit of an Enthusiast Holidays By The Seaside, Wears a Megan Dress and Keeps Warm-ish in a Hand Knitted Cardigan

Readers, you know how this works.  You make some things and then what with one thing and another weekends roll on by without so much as a quick snap of said Sewn Items.  Happily this weekend changed that- we were on the South coast and a glorious beachy walk gave the perfick opportunity to look like a total amateur in front of a film crew who were faffing about with light meters and horse poo and whatever else techy guys on that particular (equine) film set get up to.

I’m told we missed seeing Ms Kidman and Mr Law being filmed on the same beach by a mere weekend.  The nerve.  Anyway, the dress.  Yes.  There’s not much of a story here- my very kind husband bought me Tilly’s book of dressmaking, Love at First Stitch for our wedding anniversary back in July.  What a pretty book!  Great projects, too.  But my least fave?  The Megan Dress.  I mean, I loved the jersey version in the book but the woven ones I’ve seen I just don’t love.  Then a while later I went browsing round my local market and the fabric lady had a thick stretchy jersey knit in black and white stripes.  Ping!  Went my braincakes.  Stripes!  Stripes and a solid!  A Megan in stripes and a solid!  At last I could reconcile with that pattern and I’m so pleased I did.

I’m not going to lie- the insides are a nest of iniquity and the stripes are kind of wonky on the bottom front but the bits I like, I REALLY like.  I love my zip insertion; I love how the stripes match across the zip at the back; I love the cute sleeves and how they seem to line up nicely perpendicular to the floor.   I love how it feels to wear in the soft fabric and the deep hem (it was a lazy moment of not wishing to cut the skirt shorter, but I like the look now) and how it looks with bright tights (I think Miss Demeanour would approve of that sentiment, being the Disco Tights in the Daytime Queen and all).  I even went so far as to make a little detachable collar should the fancy take me.  It’s love!

There’s a third make in these pics- my cardigan.  I took 8 months to knit this thing but it’s my first more technical project (i.e. not a knitted scarf or handwarmers or tea cosy!) and I’m so enjoying wearing it!  If you’re interested in moving your knitting to the next level but cardi’s are too scary (as they were for me) I can recommend the craftsy class My First Sweater – does what it says on the tin.  Not the most exciting class to watch but it’s a good one and easy to follow!

 

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In which a bit of an enthusiast receives a gift, wonders what to do with it and comes to An Important Decision

Ring… ring.  That’s the phone.  It’s my mum… “Hi mum…”: It starts as an ordinary chat, and ends with a proposition:  would you like to choose six patterns for yourself?

Well, what’s the answer to that question?  Duh- it’s yes, isn’t it?  Now at this point I must tell you that this conversation dates back to New Year.  It’s the weekend of the Sew Direct sale and I’m on limited time- it being a weekend sale and me being more than a little indecisive- have worn a total of one items I’ve made from a pattern (and that took me six months to make), am in the middle of the never-ending blouse that is my Sassy Librarian and am nearing the end of a period of several months of extreme fatigue.  Will I ever, ever, EVER get to use this lovely gift?

 

Fast forward a few months and the energy is back, I’ve made two skirts (a Beignet and a quick jersey skirt), finished my Sassy (finally- it only took me two years from point of buying the fabric to finishing it!)  and made a top from the GBSB sewing book- I’m riding high on a wave of MUST SEW ALL OF THE THINGS EVERYWHERE NOW.

So what’s a girl to do but ride the wave, start a blog, and keep sewing?  Want to hear more about the Six Pattern Challenge?  ‘Course you do.  And also I’d like you to come back again.  So I’m pulling you in with my tempting ways and the promise of a premise.  Until then!