Refashion Saturday

So me, and two friends Amy and Mel decided to scrounge around in our local charity shops and see if we could find inspiration and some re-fashioning opportunities.

And I had some great success.

 I found a great Margaret Howell dress at the bargin price of £4.99. However it wasn't quite right for me (please excuse the photo with my dress underneath - i couldn't be bothered to completely undress) - so with a quick snip off the length and some elastic into the arm cuffs voila! I'm really happy with it. And it's got lovely big pockets....and its Margaret Howell (who i only just discovered in last month's Vogue - Ageless style issue - She's a uk designer, and the dress is really nicely made and 100% cotton - yay!

My next great find was a Diesel skirt- for the slightly steeper price of £8.99 (ouch). The skirt was too big and a little weird with loops and straps that meant you could kind of hitch up parts of the skirt - (I think, i was a little confused by it).

Anyway, i little unpicking, some taking in and hey presto a new dress!

Oh..and I ran 20 miles in the morning - phew! What a day : )

Sticky hot

Oh its been hot by British standards this past week.
We had to get up at 5am on Saturday to do our 18 mile run before the heat crept in. We did it though!

And my Red Cross Running Shirt arrived. Oh it's so glamorous! I know i need to work on the stylings but at the moment i figure everyone will be too astonished at my bright red, breathless face to worry about what I'm wearing. Remember though if you want to sponsor me just head on over to my site
here.

Speaking of shirts though, whilst recovering from the 18 miles, I managed to make headway on my work shirt. Oh and can i just highlight the wonder of my wardrobe edit - i really like having my work clothes separate from my play clothes - it really helps in the morning - no more dithering! (Sorry to all those who have to wear a uniform!).
So here it is - it had it's first outing today and received two positive comments. I just hope it doesn't unravel in the wash!

Holidays

No knitting or sewing on this post - I've just had the most splendid holiday. It was relaxed, quiet, beautiful, serene oh and there was plenty of wine and good bread.

I'm very proud of my little car Totorro making it all the way to France and back without a mishap. Here is Totorro proudly sitting in a French town square, with Ben proudly showing off the redcurrant sparkling wine that is made in the region.

The beaches were beautiful - we kept up with our training and ran 16 miles along the coast (yes, on sand - ow my thighs). And we saw two seals that came onto the beach to cheer us along.

And my little holiday present - was a little cat milk jug - perfect for our new tradition of Sunday morning breakfasts at the table.
I even asked for it in French and had a little conversation with the shop owner (how proud).

Wardrobe spring clean

I was a woman on a mission. I  managed to go through my entire wardrobe, colour code it, filter out the work from the play clothes, note those items that needed adjustment and I tried to be really strict with removing those items that either just didn't fit me; were no longer in keeping with my style (I know..what style..no sniggering please), or i just didn't wear.
Some have been sold on e-bay, some are destined to be used in my quilt, and some may have potential re-fashion potential.
I rediscovered this dress that i made a couple of years ago....the fabric is really soft, it's really simple, falls to ankle length and i really like it (I know i have to tidy up the top a little now that my sewing skills have improved a little).

Oh and here is a pic of the nightie i made (please note, i had only just got out of bed when this pic was taken - but i had a good nights sleep so it does the job); i also made a dressing gown - albeit from a men's pattern in blue and white striped material - it's very 80's, lots of material and Ben said it looked like a stock brokers jacket....it is not staying.

As part of the wardrobe clear out, i worked out what i needed, namely two more work tops as the first requirement. So i went to Masons in Abingdon, delved around and found the material for my first top. I also went to the V and A quilting exhibition and found these lovely buttons in the shop...perfect.

I'm also taking part in the  japanese pattern sew along being run by Cecili - I've taken a gamble and ordered material on-line....it should arrive any day now. Pattern drafting later on today...it may take me a while