beards beards beards

Dress number four is complete and it is a bearded beauty. 

As soon as I saw this manly Michael Miller fabric I knew I had to have it. My love for beards is well known and joked about amongst friends. In fact, two of my friends made collages of my favourite bearded men for my birthday cards this year. With this dress I am now the ultimate pogonophile.*

*person who loves and/or studies beards

The dress pattern is Prima Pattern's July 2014 summer dress which I picked up for 25p in a charity shop a couple of months ago. The bodice looks quite similar to Christine Haynes' Emery dress which I had been tempted to buy after seeing many lovely versions on sewing blogs, but I actually prefer the more streamlined, A-line shape of the Prima skirt. Bargain!

Yeah I had a bit of a pattern matching fail at the back. You live and learn.

Changes included shortening the skirt by 3 inches, adding a skirt lining, finishing the sleeves with bias binding, swapping the invisible zip for a regular centred one and adding side seam pockets. God I love pockets.

Mmmm, bearded men are going to be drawn to me like moths to a flame.

The greeny-mushroom-taupe colour of this dress is a new addition to my wardrobe. In general I avoid pale, neutral tones like the plague as they tend to make me look like death warmed up but the greeny hue in this looks suprisingly flattering against my skin tone, or so I hope/tell myself. 

I initially really struggled with my bodice toile and spent ages faffing about with the size and position of darts and pinching out excess fabric. Then it occured to me that I should just cut the bodice a size smaller. Duh! So I did that and went ahead with this dress. On the whole I'm happy enough with the fit although it is still fairly roomy. Annoyingly the pattern didn't give any finished garment measurements, only body measurements, so I didn't know how much ease was included. On the upside, I have plenty of space for layering vests or tshirts underneath in winter.

Wooh my dress has sleeves!

A recurring fitting issue I've noticed on all my dresses so far is that my shoulder seams tend to slide back, resulting in gaping/excess fabric between the back neckline and shoulder blades and a waistline which tips down. I'm guessing it's to do with my straight back and shoulder position so will try some upper back adjustments and move the shoulder seams on my next dress. I sense this may have something to do with my sleeve fitting issues too. Although the sleeves on this dress are ok I feel their fit could still be improved.

 Being all nonchalant with my hands in my snazzy pockets

A full bust adjustment may be in order too, as I didn't do one this time, to see if it corrects my side seams which are tipping forwards slightly at the waist. Figuring out little fitting issues like these are puzzling but I'm determined to get a good fit as I really like the style of this dress, it's nice and casual, and I enjoy improving my sewing skills.

And to wrap this post up nicely, here's a little photo montage of some lovely bearded guys. I sure know how to have fun on a Friday evening.

So who's your favourite?

new things

I've found some lovely things in the last couple of months, both online and in charity shops, so I thought I'd share them here.

This J&G Meakin Studio small serving(?) bowl is my most recent find. Although I've mostly been collecting 40s/50s, pastel utility china over the past couple of years I'm finding myself falling hard for 60s/70s graphic patterns again. It's so colourful and funky and I love it interspersed with all my pastel pieces. Who says you need to stick to one decade for styling? Mix and match all the way!

The floral turquoise background is a snazzy single bedding set which I also found in a charity shop. I haven't made any plans for it yet as I'm still at the stroking and admiring stage.

Moving onto sewing related purchases, I've bought a couple of skirt patterns to try out and finally Tilly Walnes' new sewing book, Love At First Stitch. I've been following her blog for nearly three years so it's fantastic to see her style evolve and business develop. Like my favourite baking books I've found myself flicking through it at bedtime just to admire the pretty styling. I definitely see myself making a couple of her patterns.

And after complaining about my sleeve fitting woes I came across the McCall's sewing book in a charity shop for £1. Sure, it looks dated, but it has some really useful fitting advice as well as pattern adjustments, general sewing techniques and even advice on furniture restoration! Some of the colour photographs are hilarious too. Check these out:

Look at that lady swanning around among all that fancy lace, she's amazing. And is it wrong that I love this floral, orange decor?

Still on the theme of jazzy fabrics, I've been on another Frumble bender and bought some teacup and beard print fabric.

I love the 70s, scandinavian feel of the teacup print and plan to use it with one of my new skirt patterns. And words cannot express how much I love the beard fabric. So funky.... so manly. It's crying out to become a fitted, feminine dress.

On a side note, it's apparently World Beard Day today!

And lastly.... I've bought new jackets. Now this is a big thing for me as I have been unsuccessfully looking for a good quality, short jacket for years. I bought a navy one last year which I quite like, but it's already showing signs of wear and it never really replaced the affection I had for my old jacket. Then last month I found two I really like!

This spotty number was from Dickins and Jones in the House of Fraser sale, although it was still quite expensive for me even in the sale. I think it's worth paying a bit more for a well tailored jacket though if you're very hourglass shaped like me as this jacket fits my shape perfectly.

This turquoisey blue Boden jacket was definitely expensive for me but I was completely infatuated with the scalloped edge and big, covered buttons.

It's not as fitted as the other jacket. The waist is a bit roomy on me but I think the straighter shape is part of the jacket's 60s style and as long as I don't do up the top button I don't look boxy. I debated sending it back but then thought screw it, I'm having both jackets as they're both great quality and I honestly don't tend to splurge very often. I think they also look lovely hanging in front of my pink sewing cupboard.

Well done if you got to the end. It was probably a bad idea to spend money on fabric, patterns and jackets just before my trip to London with friends next week (AHHH HARRY POTTER TOUR!!!) but hey, you only live once. If you Londoners see an excitable 5ft 8 female with short hair and a bright yellow handbag in a group of 5 ladies in their mid twenties, that'll be me.

Has anyone else had any fantastic finds recently?

Apple and raspberry cake

This cake came out the oven looking beautiful, but when I came back to it half an hour later the whole cake had deflated, the sides had almost buckled under themselves. This puzzled me as I had given it an extra 15-20 minutes baking time. It definitely wasn't under baked.

Despite the flatter than expected appearance, the cake had a lovely flavour and looked perfectly presentable with a dusting of icing sugar. The apples and raspberries gave a summery, juicy flavour and the yoghurt added a lovely smoothness. Everybody thought it was delicious and very fresh. I just wish it wasn't so.... soggy.

Although the recipe does say that it's a super moist cake, I can't help but wonder whether there's too much liquid in this cake. Perhaps it depends on the apples as they can ooze a lot of liquid? I shouldn't complain too much though, it did taste great.

On a separate topic, I bought new summer shoes from Tesco today. Check out my classy combination of coral flowery shoes, turquoise elephant socks and dusky pink trousers.

Surely the weather will warm up again so I can wear these without socks? I'm not too bothered though, I do love my Topshop socks :)

Apple and raspberry cake

Recipe from Cakes Galore, p.47, byValerie Barrett

150g unsalted butter, chopped

200g caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (I use extract)

185g self-raising flour, sifted

185g vanilla-flavoured yoghurt (I used plain)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated

100g raspberries

Sifted icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm deep, round cake tin. Beat the sugar and butter together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla essence. Add the flour, then the yoghurt, grated apple and raspberries and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until golden and the centre of the cake springs back when lightly pressed (mine took an extra 15 minutes.) Leave in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Banoffee cupcakes

As well as baking an orange cake last weekend I made the Primrose Bakery's banoffee cupcakes. I used my colourful silicone cases for the first time too despite receiving them at Christmas.

The banana flavour came through really well and I absolutely loved the sweet, fudgy icing. As the icing set quickly I just swirled it on with a palette knife. Although called cupcakes these were actually meant to be baked in muffin cases but I halved the recipe to make 12 standard sized cupcakes.

I also went for a walk with my cameras (DSLR and manual) last weekend as it was lovely weather for taking photographs. Although I am no fashion blogger I thought I'd show you my pair of £2(!) floral tights from Tesco. What a bargain. Strolling along the beach with flowery legs is great fun.

Sorry about my scruffy old boots, definitely not fashion blogger worthy. They've seen better days but I love them nonetheless.

Banoffee pie cupcakes
Recipe from The Primrose Bakery Book by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas, 2011 page 74

For the cupcakes:
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
250g golden caster sugar (I think I used ordinary caster sugar)
2 large eggs, free range or organic, lightly beaten
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
250g plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
4 ripe bananas (preferably turning black), mashed with a fork or broken by hand into small pieces.

For the caramel buttercream topping:
45g unsalted butter
4 and 1/2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
165g light, soft brown sugar
180g icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp good quality vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with muffin cases (or half the mixture and use standard sized cupcake cases)/ Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is pale and smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing briefly after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat again briefly. Gradually add the flour and the baking powder and beat again until well combined. Do the same with the bananas. Divide the mixture evenly between the cases, filling each to about two-thirds full. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Combine the butter, milk and brown sugar in a heavy based saucepan and put on the hob over a high heat. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in half of the icing sugar. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the rest of the icing sugar and vanilla extract and stir until it thickens to the desired consistency. If it starts to set just transfer to a microsafe bowl and soften it for a few seconds in the microwave before beating again (or to safe extra washing up just heat it up on the hob for a few seconds, it worked fine).

It says you can leave any unused icing in the fridge for up to a week, but honestly, it's so tasty there won't be any left over.

Pink and grey are the colours of today

There's something very satisying about grey paired with soft, dusky pink. It makes me mad when I see boring people only wearing grey with black, white or even more grey when it could be teamed with something much more exciting like pink or turquoise.

I bought this dress last week from M & Co. Maybe not the trendiest of stores but it's a lovely dress and ticks all my boxes: pattern, colour combination, length and long sleeves with cuffs.

The print and shape is very 1960s, reminds me of Biba or Ossie Clark/Celia Birtwell designs. Can't get much better for me really! I was wearing the dress over old, flared jeans today just to keep the look casual but decided this evening to team it with my favourite pair of pink tights from Gudrun Sjoden which are about three years old now.

I was standing next to my bookcrockery case when I thought I would have my photo taken with a teacup. Maybe this could be a new challenge? Style an outfit around a different teacup or piece of crockery!

And to finish off here's a close up of my pretty, frilly shoes. Aren't the insides fantastic? I got them from Office a couple of years ago.

Shopping in Edinburgh

First port of call was Lakeland. Damn I love that shop.

I thought I'd buy some cute, pastel cake cases and the get-a-grip piping bags as they appear to have great reviews. I've also been meaning to buy a Mary Berry book for ages, but got completely sidetracked by the Hummingbird Bakery books, and it seemed rude to leave it lying on the shelf. The lady at the checkout asked if I watched the Great British Bake Off (which I do of course) and we had a great conversation about battenberg cake. I can't wait to try something from the book. It's full of classic, British homebaking and I really like how the chapters have been laid out.

I also bought this cardigan from New Look as some of my cardigans are starting to look a bit scabby. It's an unusual colour, somewhere between dusky pink/orange/brick, not a colour featured in my wardrobe. It's a really flattering shape and I love covered buttons.

I also bought little earrings from Accessorize, which I now realise aren't particularly visible in this picture, and two pairs of socks from BHS (a change from Topshop!) with Volkswagen Campervans on them. Yeah, they're amazing! I actually didn't buy the tights in Edinburgh, I ordered them online a couple of weeks ago but they're so nice they had to be included in the photo. They're by Gudrun Sjoden, a Swedish clothing/textile designer. Admittedly her clothes and accessories are fairly expensive, but  she uses lovely colours and prints and the tights are really great quality.

I also got this red, corduroy skirt from New Look. I love everything about it, especially when worn with new stripey tights.

I also made some VERY exciting second hand purchases after work today, but I want to display them properly so will blog about it tomorrow. I'll leave you with two words:

Utility China

It seems I'm doing an outfit post

I went for a walk today to take some landscape photos to draw from and suddenly thought "what the hell, I'm going to do an outdoorsy blogger photo!" I still don't think I'll ever do a full on fashion blog, but it does seem like a lot of fun. I thought I'd found a pretty secluded spot, but just when I set the timer to "pose" a little fishing boat sailed past. Pretty sure whoever was in it spotted me. Not quite as embarrassing as getting caught having my picture taken with the massive Captain Barbosa and Jack Sparrow cardboard cut outs at the cinema last week. Not my coolest moment, but that's another story.

Back to my outfit, today I was wearing a gingham dress/tunic which I bought in a sale from Red Herring at Debenhams two years ago and a pair of seriously baggy, old trousers. 10 years old! Yes, I've discovered they are that old. I've had them since I started secondary school! I'm aware I need new trousers.

Lemon cake and recent purchases

After the success of my lemon cake at work on Friday, I felt compelled to make another at home on Saturday. However I got in a bit of a muddle with oven temperatures. I opened the oven door thinking "oh crap the cake is nearly burning!" but it still wasn't cooked. I turned the temperature down but I knew the damage was done, my poor cake sunk a little in the middle. It appears that the oven at work isn't as hot as the one at home.

In an attempt to redeem myself I thought I'd bake some buns with strawberries inside. However that didn't work particularly well either. I took them out the oven thinking they were all pretty, but they soon went all wrinkly and their bottoms were soggy. Once again, not entirely cooked, and possibly too many strawberries(?). I fired them back in for a further 5 minutes but the bottoms stayed soggy. I was so disappointed I didn't even bother taking pictures.

I also went into town at the weekend to buy a birthday present for a friend. Turns out I'm shit at this as I can't buy presents for other people without buying something for myself. I bought this beady/buttony necklace for £8.95 and it came in a really cute bag.

My piping set arrived too, but it doesn't have the nozzle I was looking for. This is partly my fault for not checking properly before I purchased but I thought there was a fair chance it would be 1 of the 28 nozzles in the pack. Nevermind, it's still a cute box and I like how it matches my bedding.

I also made another purchase...... a playsuit! Now I NEVER thought I would hop on the jumpsuit/playsuit bandwagon, but when I spotted it on the Dorothy Perkins website I thought it looked pretty cute and I liked the old-fashioned William Morris style print. I've also been getting pretty bored with the clothes in my wardrobe so thought a jumpsuit would be a fun addition. I immediately changed little bits though. I took off the weird belt loops and gold buttons and unpicked a seam at the bust to remove nasty boob padding (I HATE padding, plus they weren't even in the right place for my chest!)

Although I started this blog thinking I would only ever use it to document my cakes, I've become really interested in fashion/life blogs. There are so many that it's hard not to feel a little inspired! I don't particularly like my photo being taken as I'm so self-conscious, and whenever I looked at the camera directly I looked like a bit of a twat, so here I am in full, awkward "ooh don't I have a nice bookcase!" glory.

Sorry about the boring grey socks. For a fancy sock addict they are shamefully boring (work) socks.