Speaking too soon...

Hello folks! I'm just gearing up the energy to get back to working on my Elisalex Dress, which is taking me much longer than I thought as my last couple of makes were so speedy! However I think this is definitely an intermediate make and perhaps a bit too challenging still for me. I've done an FBA following the tutorial on the sew-a-long (which I have to confess I found really confusing as the example pattern pieces were the reverse way round from what they would have been if you'd cut them straight out or traced through, which really threw me). 

I'm not sure if I've really done it right, but I took the trouble to make a muslin and this seems to fit OK. Now I'm just getting the guts to sew up the real thing, it's all pinned to within an inch of its life and has been waiting for me for about a week!

So what have I been doing in the meantime? I've given into temptation and bought the Perfect Pattern Parcel #1, because I've been eyeing up the Lady Skater for a while and now all the blogs are full of it again as other folks are getting their mitts on the parcel. So now I have another five projects on my list! 

I've also been taking advantage of my free cinema privileges and watching films- I saw THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL on Thursday which was beautifully choreographed and lovingly animated. I love the art direction of Wes Anderson films. The plot was bittersweet and very charming too, but not as moving as THE LIFE AQUATIC or THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. Very good though, I recommend. I also saw UNDER THE SKIN on Friday which I'm still mulling over. A haunting and beautiful watch with very atmospheric sound design and Scarlett Johansson is as captivating as ever, and a film that raised a lot of questions. Is it about the upcoming Scottish referendum? A comment on celebrity? One I'll be reading more about and continuing to think about for a while.

If you happen to see GRAND BUDAPEST at The Ritzy you'll also see my handiwork- staff are wearing some old '80s jackets which I refashioned into traditional usher uniforms- here's a photo from the event they were originally created for. 

And, to cap off my little foray into pattern accumulation,  my lovely mama went and bought me a further two new fabulous patterns from the Knitting and Stitching Show which was a lovely surprise! I think she went and visited the By Hand London ladies but as she knows I've been working through a stash of those she bought me not one but two vintage-inspired dress patterns from Sew La-Di-Da. I'm really excited about these as they are so gorgeous, I just hope I have the skills to do them justice. 

Here's the 1952 French Gypsy, which I'd love to make up in a blue and white gingham. 

And here's their newest pattern, a 1940s Dior-inspired wonder called 'Sweetheart'. I think I'd go classic with this and make it in something plain black, matte with a bit of weight. 

 The patterns have a little booklet with visual instructions and some black and white photography which looks decent enough, but I love the hand-holding of having a sew-a-long that breaks down the tasks for you and tackles everything in a fun, informal tone like the By Hand ones. Plus they always chuck in a few variations and I love the pattern hacks that people think of, they really open out the possibilities of a pattern! Has anybody else made these up at all? I'd love to see how they look in real life on what spins people have taken on them.

So, back to sewing if I want to have my Elisalex dress finished in time to wear to Paris, which is where I'm off to for a mini-break at the end of the week! I also have to repair a seam that's come undone at the bottom of my Charlotte skirt, which I've been wearing to death already. 

Hope you'll all had lovely weekends and been more productive than I have!

NorseOtter xx