I used to have a slight obsession with Peter Pan Collars. I went through a phase where I made so many dresses and blouses featuring them that I think I used to wear one for most of the days in a week. Despite the abundance of these collars in my daily dress I still wouldn't … Continue reading Finding Neverland
Wow, I really cannot believe that it is August tomorrow. That the twins were 18 months old last week just blows my mind, it feels like they just turned one the other day. We are well past the winter solstice and, as someone who has woken before sunrise (even in mid summer when sunrise is … Continue reading Goodbye July
I didn't dare embark upon any elaborate projects last week, as the twins playschool was closed, and my personality is such that I get frustrated if I start something and have to abandon it before I make any real progress. I also find that when I'm in a rush I make so much more mess when I … Continue reading Shiny Things
I have been trying to be quite selective and considered in my choice of sewing project of late. I kind of have this idea that I would like to construct my perfect core wardrobe, the items (and patterns) that I hope to perfect and make, albeit in differing interpretations, year after year. A blazer is an … Continue reading Blue Blazered
When I made this jumpsuit in April I did not have a great deal of free time. Not that I have much now, but at that point the kids were not yet at morning playschool, so my sewing projects would end up being frustratingly long-winded (much like my blog posts). I had wanted a casual … Continue reading Get up, Get Down
Everyone has been sick in my household. Both kids simultaneously, then me. Then them again. Then all of us at the same time. It has been a hardcore fortnight, and I am just coming up for air. I wasn't up for a challenge, and this coat pattern in the Burda Easy Autum/Winter 5/2015 was the instant … Continue reading Faded from the Winter de
My husband came to visit. It was all very sudden. I was going about my day when I received a text saying to fetch him from the airport the following day at 11am. Although there had been talk of a visit within the next few weeks, I had then thought it optimistic (probably in the interest … Continue reading Where I Found You
Ever since I was a teenager I've had an inexplicable fondness for epaulettes. As soon as I had mastered the ability to "bag out" when learning to sew (well, truthfully, before I had quite mastered it), they were a common decorative detail in many of the garments that I made for myself while I was at fashion … Continue reading Civilian
I have never aspired to live in the in the desert. Growing up in the lush subtropical greenery of Kwazulu Natal with its dry, sunny winters and the oppressive humidity and debilitating heat of its summers, the experience of the changing seasons that I encountered when moving to the Western Cape was a welcome novelty. … Continue reading Basic Space
For as long as I can remember I have dreamed of travelling to New York. After my brother moved there in 2014 and got an apartment with his (now) wife, the realisation of this lifelong dream was within my reach. Affording accommodation in the big apple was/is not a realistic prospect for me at … Continue reading Scandinavian Crush
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