Wicker Bee

At Wakehurst Place yesterday.

What's Wrong With This Blouse?

Shall we make a list?!

1. WAAYYY too big.
2. Tie neck is too thick and cumbersome.
3. Sleeves too long by about 6cm.
4. Body too long by about 15cm.
5. Back pieces are too baggy, appear to be several sizes bigger than front pieces.
6. Neck line too low and too wide.

Apart from all that's not quite right with the finished product, I had quite a lot of fun putting this together on Wednesday! I've been mulling it over since then and decided to take another look at this baby this afternoon. So, after taking off the collar and removing the sleeves, here's what I've done to improve it so far:

1. Took shoulder seams in by 5cm. Half the problem I think with looking too low cut and baggy was that the princess seams over the bosoms were just way too low down on my body (rock on with the princess seams, btw. I can tick them off my "can do" list! Woo!). Taking the whole lot up seemed to improve this immensely, as well as being more flattering.
2. Took the whole thing apart, cut off all the excess length and redrafted my pattern accordingly. 
3. Replaced the centre back piece with one two sizes smaller. Not sure if that will help or not, am going to give it a go and see.

I've ironed all the pieces out in their new forms and am going to try putting it all back together again. I feel confident-ish about this, but, you know, this is the practice, the muslin, it's what this part of the process is for! (What, you didn't think I meant to make a blouse in two contrasting 70s prints, did you?!) I'm not sure if I'll stick with the neck tie opening; it seems too bulky. The other option with the pattern is a Peter Pan collar, which I think I will go for and maybe make a detachable bow on a pin that I can add on if I'm feeling the whim. I hope the smaller back piece will help, I might have to resort to a couple of ties sewn in to the back seams to help bring it in. I also need to figure out what to do with the sleeves. Now I've pulled the whole thing up by 5cm, the arm holes seem a little high and I'm not 100% sure, hell, even 40% sure, how to fix that on the pattern so the sleeves themselves still fit in OK. All suggestions gratefully received!

Am off to experiment....

A Friday Jaunt

Jenny and I went on an early morning jaunt today, all the way to Hove.



I went down to the seafront and cycled all the way along to St Aubyn's, then cut up there and had a brekkie of toasted chocolate brioche and Earl Grey tea at Treacle & Co (the best EG in the world is served there, btw. See previous Birthday Ice Cream post) before cycling back the same way. Woo! My legs made it to Hove and back with no problems and no stops to catch breath/rest knees! Huzzah! As I got closer to the seafront, there was that weird, hazy mist that kind of sticks to your skin as it obscures the tops of the surrounding buildings. The photo here I took on my way back at about 10.40am. It's still hanging around, but clearing rapidly. It was getting really hot as I approached home, and the knobbers who can't understand what a cycle lane is were beginning to come out in force, so I was glad I went out early. I do love seeing shops and cafes setting up for the morning; gives me a smug, up-early-and-being-busy feeling. Of course, now I'm a bit hyped up and not really in the mood for settling down and working this afternoon. I shall have to force myself!

Blackcurrant Jam

To go with my Tomato Soup. Not bad for only 65p (even though that's an increase of 10p from last year! Shocking!)

Birthday Ice Cream

It was my birthday last Wednesday, and Husband took me to Fortnum and Mason's Parlour for a posh ice cream and a cuppa:





This was my sundae above, The Beekeeper. Ginger, praline and vanilla ice creams with honey drizzled all over and enough honeycomb sprinkled through the lot to glue my teeth together. Gawjus. The scoops were enormous and it took me about 40 minutes to eat it, and by gum was I going to eat every last spoonful even if it took me all evening.



Husband's monster of a sundae was The Chocolossus, basically chocolate, chocolate with a bit more chocolate on top, a load of cream and an alcoholic chocolate sauce. He also went for an lemonade float topped with lemon sorbet, which was da bomb.



Earl Grey in a proper (and bloody heavy) silver tea pot. I'm rapidly going off EG tea; this one was not bad, but not a patch on Metrodeco's Shades of Grey, the Best Tea in the World EVAH. Yeah, that's my review at the bottom there.

After the ice cream pig-out, I discovered that you had to walk through the Christmas department to get to the toilets. Well, I had to have a look, didn't I? We're still in August, people.







I'll just post these three as it is just a tad too early still, right? Plus the combo of my phone camera and fairy lights makes for a blurry picture. After F&M, there was a leisurely stroll up to Leicester Square to the Wyndhams Theatre to see DAVID TENNANT in Much Ado About Nothing, which was just simply brilliant. I haven't laughed so much in ages. I haven't been a theatre critic since my A Level Theatre Studies days, so check out some other reviews here along with photos of the production.

So, I finished the roughs last night and have an unexpected day off today. I've just braved Asda to stock up my poor, neglected food cupboards, and I'm going to sew for the rest of the day. I'm going to tackle my first ever blouse, so wish me luck. Photos to follow!

Rye

Our First Tigerellas

Just had a couple on top of some cheese on toast. Yum.

An Hour in the Park

This morning I had to go and pick up my prescription from the docs, so I thought I'd be a daredevil and ride my bike there, taking a leisurely route via Preston Park. It was such a lovely morning, bright, warm, but not too hot, not too busy and offering the promise of tea and toast at the Rotunda Cafe.





Nothing like a bit of alfresco knitting with your breakfast.





Beautiful roses still in bloom.



A literal jungle of plants between the tennis courts.







Busy, busy bumble bee.





Orange and purple. Luvverly.





I had one of those "everything is just right in the world" moments as I slowly cycled around taking snaps of the wonderful flowers that just seemed to be taking over the fences. This is Jenny, my noble steed:





I hope to get out and about on her much more often now I'm feeling a bit better. I was quite impressed with myself that I managed the round trip today with no problems at all! My aim for the early autumn is to cycle over to Stanmer Park to have a picnic and take some photos one morning. If I can do that, then I know I'm on the mend good and proper.

It was just a lovely, lovely hour and a bit. I do love being self-employed and having the flexibility to take an hour out of the day to get a bit of fresh air. It's all back to the grindstone now, though; the deadline is approaching with alarming speed!

Ranier Cherries

From the Co-Op, of all places.

Graffitti, Corner of Gloucester Road and Cheltenham Place

Gorgeous.