Peonies

Peonies are my favourite flowers. I don't think photos do them justice. I love the way the petals are balled together tight as babies fists. I think they are the essence of nature.

My first dress

I bought this gingham material back in the summer. I think it harks back to previous childhood days when we used to make lavender bags with it. Originally I intended to make a top with it, inspired by Christopher Kane's summer 10 collection, which I loved. But instead I made the coffee date dress, at first only the top, but later the skirt too.

 I really love how it falls and I found it much easier to make than I thought I would. However I somehow managed to get the two sides of the dress out by about a centimeter by the zip which looks quite weird. The ruffles also stick up quite a bit. It is suggested that you sew them down, but I quite like the flounce they have at the moment.

I feel very much like a housewife-to-be when wearing it, much like the ladies that inspired Mona Lisa Smile, which I think this photo emulates perfectly. (Photo from UncleEddies blog I think.. ) All I need is a string of pearls and flawless make-up, and I would have blueberry jam and muffins for tea.

Please comment with any tips or suggestions you have, and thanks for reading.

My first top

My first ever attempt at an item of clothing. I absolutely love it. So it doesn't fit too well... I used poppers because we have drawers full of them for some reason (I think they were inherited from my great grandma, and all the packets have really pretty old designs on them) Anyway I couldn't quite place them right. But I do really love poppers. I don't think we use them enough on clothes, and they make a fantastic sound, although they are a bit fiddly.

I made a vest top because they're what I wear the most, and it appeared quite simple, although I did somehow manage to miss out a pattern piece on the back. I think it's quite airy and I really can't wait to wear it on a (hot) summer's day and run through a meadow. I'm getting a bit sick of the cold, which is funny because I'm going to be spending my summer in a subzero environment.

Patterns are often so hard to wear. I'm never really sure about them, and it's always a bit tempting to wear every single piece of clothing with a pattern on it, and make an enormous melee. They're a great way to make an outfit interesting, but sometimes they look just plain weird. The shapes in the pattern of my shirt are a bit like kidneys. The top reminds of a photo I took of rose sweets in Florence. I wish I had bought some of those sweets because they look delicious, although I doubt I would ever have been able to bring myself to actually eat them.