Seaside Tee

Ahhhh, relax... Imagine the end of a sunny day at the beach, walking back across the beach, contemplating a trip home against the traffic... bliss!

But before we go, wasn't I going to show you something?

Yes, turn around.

There's the sea, the sand and the sky.  And a seaside t-shirt by the seashore.

This t-shirt is one I made at least a month ago, along with a couple more that are going to be ditched for just looking awful (poor fabric choices). This one's a keeper, but the fabric is very thin, so while it's a great weight for warm days in the sun, there's no hiding the tum.

The fabric is something I picked up at The Fabric Store earlier this year, and the pattern is the Kirsten Kimono tee (again, as in Day 4 of MMM - it's my go-to t-shirt pattern). I need to think about varying the size depending on the fabric - the weight and drape of the fabric makes a huge difference to how this t-shirt looks. I love how Winny wears this as a looser style, so maybe my next t-shirts will be a size or two bigger!

Easy sewing, but it just can't be jackets and frocks all the time, can it!

Speaking of frocks, I do have a few projects on the go (a stripey dress, as mentioned over at The Monthly Stitch, a loose summery dress in a lime jersey, and a blue and white stripey skirt).  If I can stick with one at a time there should be something to share with you pretty soon.

 See you anon

- Gabrielle x

Coconut Ice

I'm sure you can see what these are... no need to model them, is there? Phew...

I truly never thought I would make undies, and it's not something I've ever aspired to, but Carolyn's Scorpio set - after many other beautiful sets before it - made me give in.  I now really, really wanted my own personalised undies.  So I thought I'd just have a go, aiming for a simple sporty RTW style, and see how hard it was to make something wearable and halfway decent looking.

As it turns out, being a bit of a collector of swimming costume patterns (and hopefully I'll finally make myself some swimmers this summer), I had a second hand copy of the pattern Carolyn used for the undies (McCalls 2772). In my size too.  So with very low expectations and some non-favourite pieces of leftover t-shirt fabric and elastic, I cut out a straight size 14 in the same style (E) that Carolyn used. My sewing was rough and ready, with white thread throughout just because that's what was on the sewing machine already.  But the sewing was surprisingly quick and easy. Very easy. And then - get this - they fit me! In fact, they fit me just like RTW!

What's more, far from looking like an ugly mismatch, the pink and white reminded me of a childhood treat that I'd all but forgotten about; coconut ice. Is it even still around??

I'm going to have to plan some more interesting undies now. Maybe screen printed, maybe interesting recycles like Zoe's, maybe colour blocked, like Katherine's bikini...  Now I've started I'm not going to stop!