Jack-o-lanterns, ‘guising, apple bobbing and trick or treating are all recognisable as Halloween celebrations, and conjure up excitement and nostalgia for this time of year – crisp cold evenings, autumn leaves; bonfire night followed quickly by Christmas…the start of the cosy season!

These past two weeks I have been incredibly lucky to have been able to attend the short course ‘Introduction to Customised Pattern Cutting and Fitting’ with the London College of Fashion, UAL... 

With the autumn weather creeping up fast, and with so much vlog, blog and Instagram chatter about winter wardrobe planning I started to think about what might be missing from my own wardrobe. I love winter clothes; layering up and snuggling down…

Ok I admit it – the Mandy Boat tee by Tessuti is only on my radar because I listen to the Love to Sew podcast. But I love a boat neck, I love a t shirt and I’ve listened to Caroline tell me how good this pattern is for a year now…I had to check it out!

I am always looking to challenge myself when sewing, and for this reason I tend to overlook simpler patterns. Especially as new relatively new sewist – I have so much to learn that it seems wasteful spending precious sewing time making simple garments. I often have to remind myself that I’m sewing to create a beautiful wardrobe for myself, and that wardrobe should be wearable no matter what it’s level of complexity!

OK, so maybe I’m a little late to this party!

Despite coveting (and subsequently buying) the Tilly and the Buttons book Stretch! on sewing with stretch fabrics since its launch, I have actively avoided any type of knit! But in the interest of upping my sewing game I decided it was time to at least have a go….

Going (swiss) dotty for the Deer and Doe Datura.

So way back in May (ooops) I was hopeful to cross off a third pattern from my #2018makenine challenge by making the Deer & Doe Datura top to take away on holiday. In fact, I actually managed to sew three quarters of the pattern in a lightweight khaki cotton, but time and body shape were just naturally not on my side.

Worthwhile Workspace Distractions…

Well true to my blogger name, the last few weeks I have definitely been distracted! Luckily for me these are some good distractions that I'm excited to share with you.

Dropping anchor with the Nanöo Idoia (not enough fabric for a) dress hack.

When I first saw the Nanöo range of patterns I was struck by how similar they were to clothes I wore growing up in the (*coughs*) eighties, and that’s probably why I bought both the Idoia and the Lillian dress patterns.

The Sahara shirt revisited.

Sewing goals, the hard-work of a selfie, and the secret sewing army - a #MMMay18 round up!

Say hello to my (current) favourite pattern – The Collins top by In The Folds!

Now I really must confess that I bought this pattern with my mother in law in mind, but seeing so many great interpretations on Instagram I decided to just make a quick muslin in my size to see what I thought….