Wednesday Wonderfuls #57

Hello there and welcome to this week's Wednesday Wonderfuls!

I've had a lovely week, what with Valentine's Day preparations and the actual day, plus I went out to Bill's in Covent Garden with my lovely mum (now my favourite cafe!), and I got the chance to hang out with some gorgeous puppies, so life has been good!

I hope you've all had great weeks too, but allow me to add some more joy to your lives with this week's Wednesday Wonderfuls!

• A few thoughts on thrifting from the lovely Casey of Elegant Musings.
• Fancy trying your hand at some painting? Well you cannot fail to be inspired by this gorgeous piece by Cassie Stephens over at her blog. Seriously, this is one if the cutest paintings I have ever seen, I want one!
• I am a huge fan of Joan from Mad Men, so you can imagine how excited I was to see Gertie's version of Joan's rose appliqué dress. This is another technique I am itching to try!
• Another great tutorial from A Beautiful Mess, this time for a scout inspired bow tie. Don't you think this looks just like something Florence Welch would wear? :)
• I loved this piece about wearing what you love over at Tuppence Ha'penny Vintage, I agree wholeheartedly with every word.
• Finally, you really should check out this interview by Kat of Rock and Roll Bride with Megan of Princess Lasertron. Both of these ladies are gorgeous, stylish, savvy business women with many gems of advice to share, both of their blogs are a joy to read :)

Yet again another fab selection of Wonderfuls this week, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

Katie xxx

My Valentine's Day

In pictures! With the help of my trusty instagram app :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, filled with lovely love and yummy treats (the treats are always an integral part of any holiday for me!). I had a gorgeous time with my Sweetheart, we spent some proper quality time together munching sweets and sharing presents (he bought me the most beautiful wicker and bakelite bag, swoon!) and we treated ourselves to the Marks and Spencers dine in for two deal so we didn't have to worry too much about cooking. And it was worth it, the food was divine! We also watched Midnight in Paris and it blew both of us away, seriously, if you haven't already, watch it now! It was a very special day spent with my very special someone :)

Katie xxx

The Swing Dress - Finally Completed!

Project: Swing Dress (originally part of Casey's Swing Dress Sew Along)

Pattern: 1940s "Swing" Dress pattern from Sense and Sensibility Patterns

Stash Buster? yes, and it was a UFO too!

Items From Stash: Floral fabric, swing dress pattern

Date Started: January 2011

Date Finished: February 2012

New Techniques Used: none

Wear Again? Definitely :)

I cannot believe this dress is finally finished!!! Seriously, I am so excited that I can finally wear it out, I've been working on it for over a year in total! This dress has been my longest ever UFO, it's the main reason I started my Stash Busting/UFO Challenge, I needed the incentive to finish this dress! And here it is in all it's glory :)

I struggled so much with this pattern originally, I just couldn't get my head around it, but this time around it all came together beautifully and I really enjoyed the construction process. The final look is something a lot more sophisticated and grown up than what I usually wear, and I like it! I have already received an abundance of compliments on this dress after wearing it out a few times, it seems to be a big hit with everyone. My Sweetheart went as far as saying it was his favourite of all the outfits I have ever made, so I think I'll probably be wearing it quite a bit in the future!

I want to dedicate the completion of this dress (finally, hallelujah!) to two very special ladies in the blogging world. Firstly Casey for hosting the Sew Along for this dress, as her posts were amazing and informative and if you ever want to sew this dress then you really should follow every scrap of her advice. And secondly the lovely Tasha who gave me some sewing advice for this dress way back at the start of the sew along which finally helped everything become clear when I restarted the project, so thank you! 

I hope you like the dress as much as I do! 

Katie xxx

A Peek in my Wardrobe: Beaded Cardigans

Quite a few of you expressed some love for the beaded cardigan I was wearing in my Brighton Adventures post, so I thought I dedicate a post to my little collection of them. Beaded cardigans are definitely one of my biggest loves at the moment!

Because I knit most (if not all!) of my sweaters, if I'm ever going to buy one they have to seriously impress me, they have to have that special something. And I have to be honest, cashmere beaded cardigans don't have to do all that much to impress me, they make me swoon! :)

I bought my lovely powder blue cardigan at a Vintage Fair in London and I can't get enough of it! It's only when you own a piece of vintage cashmere that you really appreciate the quality of good knitwear! It's so warm and fluffy, and I love the unusual colour combination :)

This little cream number I found on my recent trip to Brighton at Beyond Retro. It was actually on one of the display mannequins, but there was no way that I was going to leave this beauty behind! It's covered in iridescent sequins as well as white and pearl beads, adding that extra bit of sparkle.

This pink beauty came all the way from America to be with me, and it's the most recent addition to my collection. I fell in love with it when I saw it on etsy and so I decided to treat myself. And it was worth it, because the beading is flawless, something really special for this kind of sweater!

I love these cardigans, because even on a grey day I can throw on of these over a skirt or dress and feel pretty. They add a bit of girlie glamour to even the most bleak of times!

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my wardrobe, perhaps you'll now feel the need to invest in some beaded cashmere. I warn you though, it's very addictive! Proceed with caution!

Katie xxx

Wednesday Wonderfuls #56

Hello and welcome to a special Valentine's Day addition of the Wednesday Wonderfuls!

First up, thank you so much for all your comments on my Perfectly Personal Valentine DIY Tutorial, I hope that many of you can use it! And as it was my first ever tutorial I'm extra happy that it went down so well :)

Sources, Clockwise from Top Left:
1. Egg in a basket from Petite Kitchenesse, 2. Sandwiches from Rattlebridge Farm,
3. Scrabble Valentine from 320 Sycamore, 4. Heart Pies from Martha Stewart,
5. Cupcake from Creature Comforts, 6. Heart Wreath from Cassie Stephens.

Can you tell from my pictures that the way to my heart is through my stomach?! Take note my Sweetheart! :)

There have been tons of great Valentine's Day inspired posts recently, here are my picks of the bunch:

• The lovely Maxine of Little Miss Delicious has released a gorgeous collection of Valentine's jewellery, subtle enough with it's theme to be able to be worn all year round. What lovely gifts they would make!
• These business card sized Valentines from Scathingly Brilliant are adorable! Download them for yourself and maybe send them to all your gal pals :)
• Cassie shows us how to make Valentine's Day decorations, I included her gorgeous heart wreath in the pictures above.
• If you're looking for something sweet to wear on Valentine's Day then look no further than this embellished sweater DIY from Casey, it's so pretty and looks quite simple to do too!
• I love these sparkling heart pins over at Pretty Little Things. Make your own, I'd wear one everyday :)

I hope those Wonderfuls have left you feeling inspired for Valentine's Day, I can't wait to spend a lovely day with my Sweetheart :) Have some fun showing that special someone that you care, even if it is all a bit lovey dovey and silly!

Katie xxx

DIY Tutorial - A Perfectly Personal Valentine

I know that some people don't like Valentine's Day and how commercial it has become, but personally I have always been a sucker for this holiday, I can't help it! As it's only one week to go until Valentine's Day, I'm going to show you how to make a really personal Valentine for your special someone. Go on, avoid the commercial side of this holiday by giving something handmade and heartfelt to the one you love!

What you will need for this project:

I also used a pencil, pins, an embroidery needle, scissors and pinking shears. This really is such a simple project, so let's get started...

1. Cover your chosen photograph with the tracing paper and trace the main details using a pencil (you can tape the paper down if you wish but I prefer to leave it loose so I can easily view the picture underneath for reference!)

2. Secure some scrap fabric tightly in your embroidery hoop and pin your traced reference on top of it.

3. Using three strands of embroidery floss thread your needle and sew along the lines of your tracing paper reference. I mostly used split stitch, but get creative, there are heaps of different embroidery stitches you can try!

4. Once you have finished your stitchery gentling tear away the tracing paper from behind your design. Go carefully so as not to disturb the stitches!

To finish I pinked the edges of my embroidery in the shape of a heart before sewing it to a larger felt heart with a simple running stitch. I also added a felt pocket on the back of the heart to hold a handwritten Valentine message.

And there you have it, a Perfectly Personal Valentine to be treasured forever! And wouldn't this make a sweet gift outside of Valentine's Day? Maybe using the portrait of a pet or a friend? The possibilities are endless!

I hope you've enjoyed this DIY tutorial, if you have any questions then please get in touch!

Katie xxx

What's on my sewing table...

Hello blogosphere! What a productive couple of days I've had!

I want to share my UFO/Stash Busting sewing with you, but first up I just want to say a huge thank you for all of the comments on my last "I'd just like to say..." post, "...growing up is optional". It was obviously a topic that affects a lot of you and it was so lovely to read all your thoughts on the subject. Thank you, I loved writing the article so I'm really happy that so many of you liked reading it :)

The last couple of days have been packed full of sewing, mostly because I have been away from my sewing machine for two weeks (shock horror!) and was suffering major withdrawal, and also we have been inundated with snow so staying indoors seemed like a good idea! And I'm happy to be able to announce that one of my longest UFOs is almost completely finished!

My Swing Dress!

I started this Swing Dress as a part of the marvellous Casey's Swing Dress Sew Along which began in January 2011, so this dress has been a work in progress for over a year! I started well with the dress but I stumbled when it came to sewing the shoulder yokes, and I just couldn't get past them, they were the banes of my life! I couldn't get my head around the construction of these shoulder yokes, it felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall, so it was easier for this dress to end up on the UFO pile.

The shoulder yokes that nearly beat me. Not so tricky now!

However, when I started this project again the shoulder yokes seemed so much more simple than before, I could't believe I had struggled with them so much! Maybe it's because I now have a year's worth of sewing under my belt, but everything with this dress has come together beautifully this time around, I cannot wait for it to be fully finished :)

This dress was the inspiration for my UFO/Stash Busting Project, I needed the incentive to finally finish it, and now I have it! All that's left to do is sew in the zipper and complete the hem, then I can finally swing about in my Swing Dress.

Don't worry, as soon as it's finished I'll post some pictures :)

Katie xxx