Sewchet

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Sunday Sevens #135

Two week’s worth of Sunday Sevens this week….

1. My sister and niece came for a couple of days. Always something to look forward to and we just chatter non-stop the entire time. And go out for coffee, obviously.


2. We have actually had a few open fires already and The Dogs are first there to hog the best spot and soak up all that heat.


3. Other days it’s still been mild enough to throw open the French windows and let the fresh air in.


4. No.3 Son did some target practice with the BB gun under Daddy’s supervision. Note the newly pruned back blackberry bush:)


5. Mr H-L obsessed over the weather forecasts and finally found two four-hour windows in which he could oil the decking.


6. We cleared out the last of the storage unit and completed the difficult task of sorting through Mr H-L’s late parents’ possessions.   A tough job but it had to be done.


7. It’s been quite a productive week, creatively speaking. The Cow-Print dress I made had it’s first outing that very evening as we went to see “Dunkirk” at the cinema. We did something we NEVER do – had pizza! Having eventually committed to going gluten-free a month or so ago, I really fancied a pizza and, luckily, a place right next to the cinema offered a gluten-free option. With prosecco, of course.


8. This will be another Christmas present. I’m ticking off the list slowly but surely.


9. It’s beginning to look like an elephant.


10. Christmas sock number six is under way after a break of a few weeks. Well, I needed something portable to take to a football match.


11. No.3 Son picked up his knitting again.


12. Talking of knitting, I picked up these two books at a bargain price and, having put it on Instagram, have already been asked to do a commission of a West Highland Terrier. Fab – an excuse to make one!


13. One of my students proudly showing her newly finished fabric storage pot.


14. Although I forgot to photograph the finished article, a friend asked me to make her a roman blind from this Orla Kiely fabric.


15. No.2 Son came home for his first Exeat weekend and he and I spent some time together whilst his brother was at football.


16. It is the GBSBlive in London this weekend. I couldn’t be there in person so decided to get in the spirit of things by making a skirt from the book instead.

17. I whipped up a second “Laurel” too, both inspired by a scarf I had in the wardrobe. See, I told you I’d been productive!


18. Not only that, but I managed to squeeze in craft night at a friend’s on Thursday. Look at all these lovely ladies!


19. We took The Boys out for an Indian on Saturday night. I must admit, we did miss not being able to have poppadoms or naan bread, especially as The Boys were obviously enjoying theirs so much.


20. Still, gluten-free isn’t always a hardship – does this look like we’re missing out?!


See you for more Sevens next week:)


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Cow Print Colette “Laurel”

Yes, I really am wearing Cow-print!

To see more, click on the link to the full blog post over at Minerva Crafts.


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Sunday Sevens #134

Late again with this week’s Sunday Sevens……

1. Not the most exciting project to get back to the sewing machine for the first time in a month for – sewing nearly ONE HUNDRED name labels into No.2 Son’s clothes and belongings for school. Luckily, I had some help and managed to delegate all the socks to Mother:)


2. Unfortunately, both little boys came down with a sickness bug for the best part of that week and spent a large portion of that time flat out on the sofa.


3. In between bouts of throwing up, there were a few times when they perked up enough to indulge in a board game. This one was picked up for a pound in a church fair and was a favourite of mine when I was their age. The Boys soon decided it was their new favourite game, too. Does anyone else remember ‘Ulcers’? 


4. We took The Boys shopping for school shoes and had our last lunch out of the Summer holidays.


5. The next day we took No.2 Son to his new school – here he is in his part of the dorm with the obligatory football team duvet set.


6. He soon made himself at home, putting up posters above his bed. We haven’t seen home in two weeks now and, as we decided not to give him a mobile ‘phone, have only spoken to him twice.

He’s LOVING it.


7. I took a good friend out for coffee to Kilver Court as she can’t drive due to an ankle injury.


8. In the shop there was this ex-display Kingsize bed for sale for the rock bottom price of £400 including the mattress. My friend snapped it up!


9. Hubby and I popped out to a pub for a Persian meal. I drank two bottles of wine on my own. 

No, I’m not an alcoholic – they were tiny bottles.


10. I made ten jars of my favourite Damson Jam.

11. Hannah Dale’s gorgeous mugs by Wrendale Designs were on offer locally, so I treated myself to four more.


12. Together with the jars of homemade jam, they look lovely on my kitchen dresser.


13. Mr H-L bought a new toy  brush cutter and went straight out to play with it.


14. Sewing classes re-started this week and one of my students made this fabulous apron, destined to be a Christmas present for her Auntie.


15. Another of our good friends turned Eighty this week, so we took her out for lunch to celebrate. Little Barwick House – just lovely.


16. We went with some friends to Frome Cheese and Agriculture Show where we bought some interesting Christmas presents. 


17. As well as all the animal shows…..


18. …..there were fun things to get involved in, like the tug-of-war…..(No.3 Son is in the pink T-shirt)


19. ….hubby was plucked out of the crowd to humiliate himself in the Strong Man tear-an-Argos-catalogue-in-half competition!

20. By far the highlight of the day though, was singing along to The Wurzels. Such a lovely bunch of blokes, one of them is now in his Eighties!


21. Just as we were leaving the showground, the skies blackened and a full, double rainbow appeared. We made it back to the car before the heavens opened.


That’s it for this week folks!


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Vogue 1496 Linen ‘Cocoon’ Dress

This is a make from way back in May that has been so useful and worn so much that I just had to get around to doing a blog post about it.

There’s nothing particularly special about the pattern, other than the fact that it is a Vogue original which has been my favourite pattern brand since the Eighties.


I think we can agree that the shape does nothing for the model’s slim physique on the front of the pattern envelope but, on the contrary, I could envisage it working well for my 5’2″ size 14 figure.

The ‘cocoon’ shape has rather a daring low neckline, short sleeves and the length falls to the knee – perfect to show off my best bits (boobs, arms and legs) and skim over my non-existent waistline.

It also features pockets in the side seams, which are a must for me.


I went to a bricks-and-mortar shop to buy my fabric, and chose this linen with a large floral design from Hanson’s in Sturminster Newton.


A quick make, I sewed it up in no time in anticipation of a long, hot Summer (ha, ha!)


I do love hand-worthy pockets.


No bra needed because the pattern is busy enough to distract the eye from any potential embarrassment – perfect for our up-coming foreign holidays where it would be far too hot to wear a bra.


The armholes were an interesting design.


No waist-hugging meant it promised to be the perfect outfit for a meal with plenty of space to accommodate a full belly!


Yep, overall, I’m pretty pleased with how it looks on me.


It certainly has proved to be a worthwhile make as I’ve worn it lots over the Summer – and I mean LOTS.

Here it is at Desert Springs in Spain in May.


Back home in England it has regularly been a comfortable outfit for meals out.


Another holiday in Spain saw it worn even more as the temperatures soared in July.


Paris in August – I’m definitely getting my money’s worth out of this one!


There was even enough left over fabric to make half a dozen little fabric storage pots to donate to the school Summer fair.


Having been away for most of the school holidays, not much (ie. none) sewing got done and I’m looking forward to getting back to the sewing machine again.

 Sewing 100+ name tags into school uniform doesn’t count, does it?!