tiny happy

Here we are in mid-December! I had good intentions to write more blog posts this year, but the months have really whizzed by this year. Something to aim for in 2023, perhaps? 

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the end of the calendar year, however you celebrate it where you are. As always, our December has been filled up with end-of-year concerts and gatherings, as well as much work to be finished up before the summer break. It's been a happy time though, with Keira finishing her high school exams, and Arlo coming home for the university break. Both will spend time washing dishes this summer and saving their pennies for next year's study. 

In this post, I was tempted to write about gift making but I think I'll try and do another post in a couple of days about that. I've been doing a little sewing and knitting in the evenings and have a few things to share in that department! I had wild ambitions to make many of my Christmas presents this year, but as it turned out, I've only managed a handful. But that's ok! I'll share them in my next post, along with some ideas for things I wanted to do, in case you are looking for inspiration.

I spent a few evenings sewing a dress for Keira to wear to her end-of-year school ball (like a prom/formal) last month, and realised I never got around to sharing it here. Partly that's because I didn't snap any good pictures of it – the day she wore it was rainy and she got ready for the event at a friend's house. Anyway, it was fun to make her something special like this, and I thought the finished dress looked fantastic on her, despite not having much photographic evidence!

I used the Papercut Maya Cami Dress pattern and made a toile first, which prompted me to do some major fit adjustments to the bodice pattern pieces. They were too wide and gapey, we decided. I re-drafted those pieces to better fit Keira but kept the body pieces the same, except to make them longer, so the dress is floor length. For the final version, I bought some viscose crepe fabric from The Fabric Store in a beautiful forest green shade.

I love the Maya pattern but have found the same fit issues when I made it for myself (as a black slip to go under other dresses). I might try re-drafting the cup pattern pieces for my size too, and having another go. The skirt part is cut on the bias and is pretty perfect, in my opinion. 

And because this is a tale of two dresses, I'm including a couple of photos of a dress I sewed for myself recently. I didn't use a pattern, but rather drafted my own by measuring a favourite second-hand dress I've loved wearing but needs replacing. The result is a super breezy and loose-fitting cotton dress for the summer.

I'm looking forward to swanning around at the beach, wearing it with my new sandals and a big sunhat!

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Recently I invited a dear old friend of mine around and we spent the afternoon drinking coffee and painting with watercolours. It was the best! I highly recommend it for a relaxing time, especially if you can schedule such a meet-up before the Christmas busy-ness begins. The evening before, at my request, Tom had cut a huge branch of roadside roses for me – I expect they were going to be cleared by council workers otherwise – and we set them up as a dramatic cascade on our fireplace, inspiring our watercolours.

And finally, I wanted to share some very lovely baking – almond fingers, which is a recipe originating from 1947 that I found in Ladies a Plate by Alexa Johnston (someone has shared the recipe here). They were slightly fiddly to make, but so worth it, I think, if you like almonds as much as I do.

Thank you, as always, for reading! I hope you are having a lovely week, and see you again very soon,

M X