A love for turtle necks

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love comfy clothes above any other clothes! And I love turtle necks. So naturally it was just a matter of time before I started sewing my own super-comfy turtle necks. Enter the Paola turtle neck tee from Named Clothing.

I have to admit that while I pretty much only use indie patterns, I didn't try a Named pattern until recently. No reason, except that my sewing queue was near-infinite and my free time non-existent. But I couldn't resist the Beatrix dress and once I had made that I became OBSESSED. Like, I want ALL the Named patterns! The fit is out of this world. I've never received so many compliments on a dress, handmade or otherwise. (A post about Beatrix will definitely come once I've taken some photos, but it's my favourite me-made dress to date, so I have to do her justice.)

As mentioned, my free time is limited at the moment, so I had to pick something quick and easy for my next Named pattern. I chose Paola.

And the verdict? I love Paula as much as Beatrix! So easy to make, such good (COMFY!) fit, so perfect.

In fact, I like Paola so much I've made three. Two are the straight up tee, including the one pictured in this post, the third is a frankendress with Moneta. Both from the same lovely Milano jersey from Fabric Godmother, in my favourite colour for November, soulless grey.

The other day I was in a horrific, full-on SAD mood. So I paired the tee with some jeans, my Hunters, my lacy shawl and a big heavy coat for a November walk in the fields behind my house. And felt amazing after. Fresh air cures everything.

I think these guys had a proper giggle over me posing for the self-timer.

Autumnal Darling Ranges Dress and A Lacy Shawl

Almost two months ago I moved from an urban apartment to a rural cottage. And my quality of life went through the roof! In the country there is so much space, it is so quiet, my one (!) neighbour is lovely, he gives me crab apples and sloe berries and I give him some blackberry jam I made, the air feels clean, there is a field of sheep a few hundred metres down the road looking cute every time I cycle past them, the view out the window is always pretty and the local pub serves fantastic food. Did I mention how quiet it is? So quiet!

I have fully embraced this country bumpkin lifestyle and shortly after moving in bought a pair of Hunter wellies. Partly out of vanity, partly necessity. The necessity is that it is muddy here when it rains, so wellies are the most sensible footwear. The vanity is that it could have been any wellies, but for me they have to look good enough to wear in public (the public clearly being the flock of sheep and my one neighbour).

Next up I wanted a girly dress. You see, ever since seeing the film The Edge of Love in which Kiera Knightley and Sienna Miller walk on a Welsh beach in dresses and wellies, I've had been obsessed with that type of outfit. Now that I had the boots, making the dress was easy.

Especially as I had the fabric! A friend gifted me some fabric about two years ago and I haven't quite known what to make with it. I asked the sewing goddesses of Instagram, and got some good suggestions. But something told me to save the fabric. And a few weeks later I realised - the fabric would look perfect as a Darling Ranges dress!

I had made one ages ago which I loved. But I remember having issues with the darts. As luck would have it, I was looking at the pattern online and noticed that it now had waist darts instead. I emailed Megan about the new pattern, and with my response I got a copy of the new pattern. And guess what? No issues with the darts this time! Thanks Megan!

(Btw, that wasn't the reason the pattern changed, my issues with the chest darts were because my body type is simply different from that for which the pattern was designed.)

The dress sewed up fairly easily and quickly. The pattern is a delight and very easy to follow. I made no changes with this version.

The fabric presented some issues when it decided to slide all over the sewing table, or not press, but we got there in the end.

The shawl was a long time in the making. I had made one before, for my mom, but liked it so much I wanted one. So when I went to Australia earlier this year I decided that this pattern would be a good form of entertainment for the 22 hours of flight time each way.

I made a lot of mistakes in the first few rows due to...you know, sleep deprivation and jet lag and all that. But you won't see them if you don't know they are there.

I made one big and impactful thing differently with this shawl compared to the previous. I wet blocked it. And while it was a huge pain in the backside the result is fantastic. I am a complete convert.

Now I just gotta work on that Range Rover to go with my country lifestyle....

All photos by Josh.

Rachel wrap dress

I have loved jersey wrap dresses since I bought my first. It is such a fantastic wardrobe staple. In the right material it doesn't crumple and it looks put together and feels relaxed at the same time. Three major wins right there.

Yet I never made one. Until this summer. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner, but when I saw Rachel's namesake dress by Maria Denmark in an Instagram photo I couldn't get it out of my mind. So I ordered the pattern and the fabric and put it together in a week. And I have looooved it ever since.

Josh took these photos for me back in August but life got in the way, so I'm only now posting them.

The fabric is a cotton jersey with blue feathers on a grey background, from Backstitch. It looks beautiful, but doesn't have a lot of stretch. Which means that the sleeves on my dress feel a bit tight. It is not a major issue, just something I should have adjusted for when cutting out the dress. But I was too eager to get sewing, and overlooked the stretch percentage of the fabric.

The hem looks uneven on the above photo but it's just the way the dress was tied.

The construction was very, very easy and I have no comments at all on the pattern. This is one of those patterns where you put in minimal effort and get maximal result.

I have got my next dress planned already. I bought a couple of metres of amazing New Zealand merino jersey when I was in Australia earlier this year, and I think it will be perfect for this cold season which is now upon is.

All photos by Josh.

Hemlocks and Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Anybody who follows me on Instagram will know that my two favourite patterns are the Deer & Doe Plantain tee and the Grainline Hemlock tee. Not because both patterns are free and I'm cheap (though they are and I am), but because I looooove being comfy. And I have yet to meet a pattern comfier than the Hemlock.

So all that to say that I have just made another.

This one is in the softest viscose slub jersey from Minerva Craft. It's so soft and fine that it's almost transparent, and on a hot summer day almost has a bit of sexiness about it. Despite its boxy and slouchy shape. But that's good drape for you.

I cut it one morning before work, which took all of 20 min. I sewed it up the same day after work. In 1 h. And that's kind of it. It's so quick and easy and I've already made so many that I have nothing really to say about it. Except that I lovelovelovelove it!

So I might as well move on to some photos from its first outing.

My day trip partner in crime and I hopped on the train to Bristol last week to see a bunch of hot air balloons float over the city in the annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta.

The balloon ascent was scheduled for early evening and we arrived in the early afternoon, so with time to kill we made our way from the train station into town with no particular target in mind. We came upon a gothic church, St Mary Redcliffe, which was really rather grand. I'm not religious, despite experimenting with religion at university the way some people experiment with drugs (I think they probably had more fun), but I like churches. I love how welcoming they are and the tranquility in a church, but most of all I love the architecture.

And luckily for me, my friend quite likes churches too. But then again, she was doing a degree in Theology when we met.

We also visited the Bristol Cathedral. It is nowhere near as grand as St Mary Redcliffe, but is has some pretty magical stained glass windows.

Churches visited, we went for lunch by the harbourside and then walked along the water for a good hour or so, overdosing on fresh air. It was like being on holiday.

Ahh, both of us in handmade tops. Lika barn leka bäst, as we say in Sweden.

Can you see where I dropped food on my white trousers and then tried to wash it off in the restaurant bathroom?

As it was approaching 6 pm and the time for the ascent we decided to find our way to the Clifton Suspension Bridge and go look for a good spot for a good view of the balloons. This was stupid easy, as all of Bristol was doing the same and we just had to follow the crowds.

Viewing spot found, the waiting began. The whole of last week had been windy and five balloon ascents had already been cancelled because it was too windy. By 6 pm the next scheduled ascent had not been cancelled, but neither were there any balloons. So we took about 14 000 photos of the bridge. And waited.

And then, close to 8 pm, the first one showed its chubby top! Followed by many more.

Lacy Mabel part 2 and a water mill

Apologies for yet more photos of the Mabel skirt. On the same day that we went to the lavender farm we also went to a water mill a few miles up the road. And because I've recently fallen in love with my Fujifilm camera all over again, I just have to share a few snaps.

Stotfold Mill is a working watermill dating back about 1000 years. The website describes a mention of four mills in Stotfold in the Domesbook of 1086.

Me and my friend are suckers for historic places, so of course we were curious. And since we were in the neighbourhood we had to drop by. We actually started the day here, with a walk in the nature reserve, admiring the clean waters and wildflowers.

Among all this beauty it feels almost rude to say that we got bored after about an hour, but we did. It's a beutiful meadow, but the landscape does not really change, so it's quite quick to see it all. Not to mention, we were desperate for coffee! Which we had with scones made with flour milled on site. I know, it's practically a cardinal sin to have scones with coffee rather than tea, but what can I say, you can take the girls out of Scandinavia but you can't cure a caffeine addiction.

The tea room is part of the original mill (if my memory does not make things up) and incredibly charming. It offers a cool escape from the hot sun, the ladies serving the cakes are lovely, the walls are covered with art by local artists and the scones are good.

Rested and refreshed we headed to see the action in the mill.

George and Samuel are the two mill stones.

The waterwheel was kind of cool, but the rest of the mill didn't really blow my mind, to be honest. But if we are being honest, the set up of the mill was probably aimed more at children than...me.

Still though, a nice start to the day. And a nice outing for my Mabel skirt.

Lace and lavender

In April of this year I went to Australia. And went a bit crazy fabric shopping. I've shown off some of the fabrics and makes on Instagram, but two of my favourite purchases came from a store I had never heard of until I arrived, Spotlight. It's not the least fancy, but it's an absolute treasure trove! A bit like the Goldhawk Road shops all rolled into one but with a much better layout. I found my lemon fabric from the previous post and a coral lacy fabric.

The coral lace is backed by a cream coloured fabric of some synthetic variety. The whole thing is in fact probably synthetic, but it's soft and has a lot of stretch, so it makes it very comfortable to wear.

I knew when I bought it that it was destined to be a Colette Mabel, and that is exactly what it became. Within weeks of coming home I sewed this skirt up. Yet I've only worn it once. I love the look of the Mabel skirt on others, and it's a beautifully designed pattern, but I love my skirts to sit at the waist and the Mabel sits a bit below the waist. It's one of those things you realise doesn't suit you only after you've worn it out and about.

Ah well. It is very comfortable, so last Sunday I decided it would be part of my secret pyjamas for the day, along with one of my many Deer and Doe Plantain T-shirts. I dressed, met up with a friend, got in the car and drove the 1.5 hours to Hitchin. 

Why Hitchin you might wonder. Well, I saw on a friend's Instagram feed that there is a lavender farm in Hitchin! Her photos were stunning, so I just had to go check it out.

I was not disappointed. Row upon row of this beautiful purple blossom.

And upon closer look, cute little animals.

There were also lots of bees, but they were fast and I didn't get a clear photo of any. I did get stung by one though. 

It was superwindy that day. Promise I didn't make my friend stand there with a windmachine to make my hair look nice.

My friend the photographer, who deserves credit for the photos of me.

It was a wonderful day. One of those where I felt so lucky for having the life I have.