The Ultimate Pink Knitted Dress

I am loving working on my Betty cardigan at the moment, but I always find that I knit faster if I have another project lined up for after. Kind of like a carrot, urging me on. Except in this case it's not a tasty vegetable so much as a leaning tower of Baby Bamboo!

Whooooo baby! Look at that pink! But soon it shall be learning tower no more, and instead will be the pinkest, raddest knitted dress of all time. I'm going to knit the Lace Maxi Dress from Noro Knitting Magazine Spring 2013, except mine is going to be shorter and whole lot more pinker.

Yep, this dress totally needs to be made in hot pink yarn! I think I might need to seek out a slip for underneath, though. I may end up looking like a giant raspberry, but I don't want to be showing my actual raspberries, if you catch my drift.

Pattern review: New Look 6884

Jorth Sewing Enterprises and Tyger Wears presents: The Best New Swirly Dress

See! Proof that I have actually been sewing. In fact, this is the 3rd dress I've made recently - it's just happens to be the only one I've managed to get photos of. Probably helps that it's always easier when you don't have to model it yourself, and the model you have makes any photo shoot fun with her ultra-hammy ways!

I made this using New Look 6884, in size 8, which is perfect both fit-wise and length-wise. This was one super easy dress to put together. The trickiest bit was doing the armhole binding, but I've done that a few times this year, so dudes! I'm like an old pro now! Hardly swore at all. Result!

The nicest part of this dress is the vintage orange buttons. Made even nicer by the fact that they came from Nan's button bag. They are perfect - I couldn't have found a better match if I'd tried.

I'd actually bought the pattern and fabric to make up last summer, but alas and alack ran out of time. So glad fabric doesn't go off, eh? Plus it feels like another awesome bit of stash busting. Hoorah!

Project Details
Pattern: New Look 6884, view B (minus the side ties), size 8
Fabric: 1.8m cotton quilting
Notions: Iron-on interfacing, 6 buttons

Orangey cakey messy

Ahh, the weekend. We really should have been doing lots of stuff, like paying bills or mopping floors or putting in our tax returns. Instead we make cake. And mess. And somebody even managed to flour-print his bottom.

And it was delicious. Every minute, every crumb of it!

Recipe found here.

Help with Simplicity 2250 - it's a sewing emergency!

Once upon a time there was a girl called Jorth. In her pattern stash Jorth had a pattern - Simplicity 2250 - and spent many a month waiting for the perfect fabric for the dress to come along.

Then one day she found it! She bought the required yardage, went home and cut out her pattern and then watched with dismay as the weather got cooler and cooler. She decided that she would wait until next summer to make the dress, and put it away and began to work on her winter projects instead.

The seasons rolled past, as they always do, and one fine spring day when Jorth was tidying up her sewing bureau she found the dress again - all cut out and ready to go. With delight she unpacked her sewing machine, set her tools out on the table next to her, and began to sew. Days passed and Jorth was up to the bit where she needed to insert the elastic in the back casing.

But horror! Could the elastic guide be found? Alas, it could not, though Jorth searched high and low. "Noooooooo!" she moaned. "Don't let the dress remain unfinished forever due to my slapdash packing away methods!"

So close, yet so far!

So fellow bloggers, seamstresses and friends: can ye help? I can't believe I have navigated the minefield of the bodice darts, heroically tackled the pleated and gathered skirt, even managed to decide between wide straps and thin, but have fallen at the elastic casing! If anybody has the Simplicity 2250 pattern at home, I would be forever in your debt if you could let me know how much elastic is required for the size 8 back elastic casing.

Just think of the amazing sewing karma you'll get yourself! The sewing gods will be preparing a special place in sewing heaven just for you, and using their special magic to make sure you never have trouble putting a zip in again! I promise!

Come and meet Betty!

Now, don't get me wrong - I love the school holidays and I especially love getting to hang out with Tyger, but when it comes to crafting I get nothing done. Nada. Zilch. Nary a sniff of my own projects. It's a battle struggling to balance entertaining her and fitting in my paid content writing work that alas, the poor old crafting tends to get left behind.

So after I have watched her trundle back into the school gates, and have turned homeward bound myself, my second thought is "YAY! I can get some projects done!", my first thought being, naturally, "Dang I'm going to miss her chatter during the day."

And it's true - I really do miss having my girl around. She is excellent company and there is always a slight hole when school starts back. Thank goodness I have yarn to comfort me!

Like this luscious purple 4ply merino I managed to swatch. It's for the Betty Knit-a-long I'm running at Handmaker's Factory, and I have to say: I think I'm in love! The pattern calls for a 10 play, but I couldn't resist this colour, and so am knitting with 2 strands of the 4 ply, cause I'm a rebel like that and I'll never ever be any good.

I must say, I am really excited about this cardigan. I love that tingly feeling that comes when you find the perfect project, and you cannot wait to embark upon it. The pattern looks complicated, but it's just a whole bunch of knits, purls, yarn overs and knit2togs, considerately spaced out over a 6 row repeat. Trust me, it sounds much harder than it looks. It's going to look so cute over a summer dress. The only danger is that Tyger will want one, too!

Monthly Menu Plan - September/October

Phwwwooooaaat! That's the sound of me blowing the dust off ye olde blog here. School holidays always seem to render blogging priority number nothing, despite my best intentions. Still, the show must go on and mouths must be fed, so here is a truncated version of this month's menu plan.

Week One:
Monday - Lentil spaghetti bolognaise with feta and parsley
Tuesday - Roast chicken
Wednesday - Asparagus, pea and rocket risotto with left-over roast chicken
Thursday - Quinoa-stuffed red capsicums with salad
Friday - Fish fingers with tartare sauce and garden salad
Saturday - Spinach tart with salad
Sunday - Spring vegetable stew

Week Two:
Monday - Spicy felafels in wraps with all the trimmings
Tuesday - Sweet potato gnocchi with rocket pesto
Wednesday - Tomato soup with cheesy melts
Thursday - Carrot and hummus crunch on sourdough
Friday - Indian lamb cutlets with chickpea salad
Saturday - Huevos rancheros
Sunday - Spiced vegetable and chickpea pilaf

Week Three:
Monday - Tuna macaroni and cheese with garden salad
Tuesday - Vegetable and tofu stir fry
Wednesday - Spring minestrone with garlic bread
Thursday - Left over minestrone
Friday - Pumpkin and haloumi burgers with potato salad
Saturday - Asparagus tart with salad