L is for...

Lotta Jansdotter
I've been wanting a cafe apron for ages and was pleased to find one in Lotta's book, Simple Sewing. I'd also forgotten that I had this Ikea fabric in my stash which was a pleasant surprise - it's as though it had been waiting to be turned into an apron all these years.

My dressmaking scissors made their inaugural cut and are seriously sharp. And heavy - their weight makes them pull to the right ever so slightly. I made a few tweaks to the pattern - I used cotton tape for the ties and popped a pocket along the front with some bias binding (definitely need more practise at that!!).

Little people
Quite a lot of little people have entered our little world recently and I am wildly behind with gifts. I have such great intentions at the outset and then it all goes a little awry. To speed things along, I popped to Mothercare and picked up a multi-pack of plain white babygros to customise. Here's my first stab...

I've had this book on my shelf for years waiting for the right moment. Jenny's blog was one of the first that I came across when I discovered blogland. She has some great designs. As this is the first embroidery that I've done since I was little, I didn't deviate too much from back stitch and the odd french knot.
I found the perfect spot in a chair bathed in the afternoon sun and didn't move until it was finished. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise the therapeutic qualities of embroidery - something that an 11 year old me never really understood. I couldn't resist the little alien!

Luscious buds
The dahlias from Sarah Raven are still going strong. I removed the heads which were looking a little sad in order to give some of the buds a chance of opening. And do you know what? They are. They are beautiful.

Is it just me or does the pompon bud remind you a little of fish scales. Such delicate colours.

Look what happened again
Couldn't help it. I obviously had to put my new cafe apron to the test and am pleased to report that it performed as an apron particularly well.

This batch were made with chunks of chocolate rather than chips. Yum yum yum.

Lots of thanks
For all of your lovely comments and for liking the alpha-posts (?) so much. Tomorrow marks the midway point!! I have been particularly dreadful at responding and will do so tomorrow.