Nesting

In excitement of what's to come, I'm suddenly obsessed by interiors and already nesting. I finally got around to fixing up the terrible sewing job I did in a rush for our cushion covers 6 months ago. After unpicking and re-measuring, using vintage fabric I picked up in the Bexhill British Heart Foundation shop, I remade the removable cushion covers with this easy pattern from The Guardian. 

I also bought these gorgeous hand block printed napkins from Lulu & Nat and these retro placemats from ebay.

And finally, here is the dress I am halfway through making. It's a Cynthia Rowley pattern by Simplicity (2215) and seems to be going ok, apart from the missing invisible sewing foot needed to finish. I'm hoping to complete once I'm paid and can buy said zipper foot next week.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

M xo

Sunshine and sewing

There have been moments over the past 3 weeks where I thought it might never stop raining, thankfully this weekend we finally saw the sunshine in London. It's been a peaceful, music-filled weekend at home having spent the last few weeks travelling up and down to Sussex organising the collection of our new car.

After countless hours searching for my perfect bathrobe (yes I am that fussy), I decided I'd put my GSCE textiles skills to the test and attempted to make my own. Using some paisley printed organic cotton I dissected my old robe to create a new pattern. While the finished result isn't a complete disaster, it wasn't the best. The issue was the fitting around the neck, which on hindsight was something which could have been easily rectified - the old robe had a hood, the new one didn't. Oh well. To help with future projects I have decided to invest in a dress-makers dummy.

As always, I'm on a budget but after a bit of searching I found I Love Vintage Mannequins who have created dress making forms for a range of clients including Madame Tussauds and the Victoria and Albert Museum. They are currently selling on Ebay with auctions starting from a £1 (they're normally £79). I've got my eye on the Bohemian Rose and Shabby Rose busts, I'm just trying to decide between the cast iron or wooden base. And also where the heck I would put it in our bijou home. 

Happy weekend!

xo

Listening to: HelloGiggles Mix Tape on Spotify

Watched: The Bridge on BBC4

Ate: Kohlrabi remoulade, fresh organic beetroot, parmesan chicken and R's home-made bread

Eco fashion finds for earth day

It is no secret that I'm a bit of an eco obsessive and over the years it's become increasingly important to me as a consumer to find out more about where my purchases come from. Everything we do has an impact, so I do my best to follow St David's motto and 'do the little things'. This includes getting organic veggies, dairy and meat from the lovely folk at Riverford, buying fair trade and sourcing second-hand wherever possible.  I'm also a huge supporter of ethical fashion - as someone who studied and worked in fashion for a number of years, it's important to me that as consumers we're not coerced into buying instantly disposable garments from dirty companies but invest in the brands creating good fashion with great values.

Earth day isn't really a big deal here in the UK, but in celebration I'd thought I'd share with you my current eco fashion faves:

1. Breton-style organic dress by Amour Vert, $79 / 2. Big Sur organic cotton/recycled polyester sweatshirt by Poketo, $52 / 3. Blue bin trench from Anthropologie, £99.95 / 4. High-top trainers by Ethletic, £40 / 5. Supa Skinny Organic cotton jeans by Monkee Genes, £52 / 6. Hand-woven ikat downtown Satchel by Push Pull, $169

Megan xo