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C'è chi dice l'amor non è bello; certo quello l'amor non sà far'

Happy St. Valentine's Day!


{translation: "There are those who say love is not beautiful; but how to make love they surely know not"}

Batman & Catwoman

My latest knits could not have been more perfectly timed.  As I sat knitting by a roaring fire, sipping a glass of 1934 Armagnac, eating Narnia-worthy turkish delight and merrily discussing Quantum Mechanics, this year's first snowflakes began to fall.

By morning, the snow had settled, the ponds were frozen and my little caped crusader and I each had a new masked Superhero Hat.

The design was inspired by this Catwoman Hat I had recently seen on Pinterest, and with its ingeniously simple construction, it was a dream to knit.  A fast and seamless knit on circular needles, and using less than a skein of Rowan's Big Wool for each hat, I know this will be something I will make over and over again. In fact, if you know me, let me know if you don't want one of these for your next birthday!

But I've Never Won Anything In My Life!

Being the sort of person that never won anything, these days I rarely waste any time or money over lotteries and competitions.  I'm even reluctant when it comes to entering Giveaway's (when a blogger hosts a competition giving their followers a chance to win something of theirs eg. a sewing pattern or some fabric, or a product from one their sponsors) and I only ever do if I really, really want to win.

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So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I actually won the only two Giveaway's I entered since I don't even know when!!  First up was the print shown above from Little Light Prints.  When I saw this on Life Made Lovely I knew instantly that it had to be mine; either I would win it, if not I would buy it, and when I saw they didn't ship to UK I was preparing to re-create it!  Where The Wild Things Are is easily one of my favourite books... I know the whole thing off by heart; I played Max's Mum in a school play when I was 5; and "we'll eat you up we love you so" is just the best Love-quote ever written I reckon.  I regularly feel the urge to consume those I love, don't you?

I'm now thinking that maybe the reason I won the print was because I had so completely believed and manifested that it would be mine, by whatever means possible.  The same can be said for my next prize, Butterick 8509, given away so generously by Cation Designs, along with some vintage seam tape, a little collection of buttons and an adorable kitty pin cushion (which my son promptly claimed as his own).  The pattern happened to be just the something I had been looking for, was my exact size, and I already had the fabric set aside for a dress just like this!  Since receiving the pattern, however, I have slightly elaborated my plans for this dress... 

...and I want to make the main bodice strapless with a princess neckline, then overlay the whole thing (according to View A) in a sheer nude dotted swiss voile (with black dots) which I think would contrast beautifully with the pinky lotus fabric I've been saving (see below).  Plus, I just love the idea of the double neckline, and the way the sheer voile will modestly cover up the shoulders and bust-line only slightly and actually quite suggestively, but definitely very elegantly...

The fabric I will be using is this 1960's 'Lotus Pond' cotton I found on eBay.  Heavier than quilting cotton so I'm confident about the strapless bodice variation (which will of course be stitched in place to the voile overlay), but not quite upholstery-heavy that the skirt will be too fat when gathered.  It's a dreamy, hazy sort of scene with pinky mauve hues and darker accents which will only be made dreamier I think by the sheer, floaty voile slightly obscuring the print.

So far, not so great though, as I'm finding it near impossible to find this elusive nude and black dotted swiss cotton voile... Nothing on eBay, it was hard enough to even find an image online, no luck on Goldhawk Road... I have yet to try Joel & Son, so fingers crossed I find it there.  And if anyone out there has any other suggestions, I would be most obliged.  

Well, that's all from me for now, in the meantime thank you thank you thank you to Little Light Prints, Life Made Lovely and Cation Designs for my wonderful winnings!!! I'm off to watch the snow fall in my garden.  Goodnight.

And This Is Where You Guys Come In...

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Since the end of last summer, some very exciting schemes have been developing round these parts...  It all began in late August 2011, when two old school friends got together over [a lot of] coffee and cake, to discuss the ultimate dream business venture...

I wish I could spill the beans as I'm literally overflowing with excitement, but unfortunately things are still having to be kept slightly under wraps for now, or at least until we have secured funding and a location.  What I can say though right now, is that we need your help!

We are gathering together a group of talented, creative and passionate individuals who will be up for teaching their skills by means of classes and workshops, or giving talks and demonstrations in our London-based dream-hub.

If you, or someone you know, has a skill (or multiple skills!) that you'd like to teach -- this could really be anything creative, to be aimed at beginners/novices/kids/basically anyone, and we welcome the obscure! -- we want to hear from you!!

Please get in touch either by leaving your details in the comments below, or email me directly at elisalexdcp at hotmail dot com.

Thank you!!!