Days of Flowers & Fun

It's been a floral, sunny and perfect first week of the summer holidays. We're so lucky to live in a holiday county where the coastline and countryside is fabulous.
We kicked off the holidays with a glorious day at the beach where the girls and their friends had seals swimming alongside them. 

When we chose to send the girls to their school we explained that meant we couldn't afford holidays too. They're happy with this as they really enjoy every day of school so much, but just sometimes I wish we had the pennies to go a bit further afield. That's only sometimes as I see such happy girls who love being at school.
I just thought I'd mention it in case you wondered are these people afraid of leaving Norfolk!

Right outside our door are quiet lanes running through cornfields waiting for us to cycle along. We pedal away until we find the perfect spot to hide and munch our picnic lunch. 

Sometimes we find it's not just us hiding out. 

Last week we managed to come home laden with flowers, eggs and homemade strawberry jam from all the honesty stalls we'd passed.

We've also been fruit picking. Miss Millie turned our haul into a raspberry, honey, lime and ginger cheesecake for Friday night's meal.

I rustled up lots of different salads and then the girls prettied up outside for an evenings dining experience.

Now we're feeling properly relaxed and ready for the rest to unfold. We've so many plans and dreams that I doubt we'll even get halfway through the list, but we'll certainly try.

I do know I'm not getting quite enough sewing time. That does need sorting out very soon. 

In fact, after our fruit picking the girls and I headed off to town where I found the beautiful fabrics up top. 

The delicious cotton lawn was in my head all day Saturday. As I was stuck in a hot city waiting for Miss Rosey while she went to the cinema with her friends any plans for that had to wait. After three hours five red-eyed girls appeared, having watched The Fault in our Stars. I couldn't even cope with Watership Down and even the sound of Brighteyes still sets me off. Although I'd love the story, I've avoided Warhorse because I know that would bring on throat hurting full on sobbing. Miss Rosey was just that bit braver, although she knew she'd get really upset.

On Sunday morning I was up and about fairly early with the house to myself. No one rose until 11am. After two nights of thunder storms with girls and cats jumping in bed with us they were all shattered. 

Finally I could get on with my plans for the lawn that had had me in its thrall ever since Friday. You know that thing when the vintage fabric you've lusted after and known must exist suddenly appears in your hands and you just feel giddy with pleasure. Or perhaps that's just me and I need to get a bit of perspective here. 

Anyways. Sunday morning. It's quiet and I know exactly what I want to do with my treasured find.

This time I was going to make up the Jiffy dress (Simplicity K1609 in case you were wondering) with a bow at the neck.

As the delicious fabric is so floaty and light I decided to fully line the dress so it wouldn't rip and pull out of shape. The pattern doesn't offer tips for this, but all I did was make an exact copy of the dress pattern, but just a little shorter in the length. 

As I didn't have any lining fabric to hand I used a soft lemon striped sheet instead.

By the end of Sunday, straddled either side of meals and other whatnot, I had a finished Jiffy Shift dress.

This is my most favourite, most pleased with and most loved dress that I've ever ever made. 

Can you guess how much I like it?

At a guess I'd say the fabric is 1950's as it's 36" wide and the colours are far more 1950's than 1940's. To jiggle it all about I made it up in a 1960's pattern and lined it with a 1970's bedsheet.

Excuse the mad staring eyes. That's me after two stormy bad sleep nights and one late sewing obsessed night.

 

The cardi I knitted a while back looked an absolute treat with the dress too. As my mum was staying over and I'm still hiding my tattoo from her (five years on and I'm in my 40's for god's sake) I always cover up. 

Mind you my man has added another tattoo to his arms of the most beautiful mermaid. I must show you as it's his design based on a C19th original sailors one. It's got me thinking about maybe adding another one somewhere else.

All dressed in my new finery I dropped Miss Millie at her friends while I went off to have the Bob put back in my Bob.

Then on the way back I grabbed them and my other two mischief makers to head for a paddle and an icecream.

Isn't summer grand.