Come into the garden Maud ...

... and wear a pretty frock.

Or at least that's what Tennyson might have said had he had access to the 'Kate' dress sewing pattern from Sew Me Something.

It originally came to my notice being modelled by the gorgeous Gilly over at Gilly Makes. Then she made a couple more and each time I was thinking hmmmm, yeeeeessss, maayyyybeeee. And then - whaddayaknow - old Lazy Daisy Jones goes and makes one as well. Two extremely talented ladies, a supposedly 'easy' frock pattern and a spare Sunday in the offing was all it took.

After the strangest conversation with the salesperson at our local fabric store (in which she relayed a rather intimate dream as I was pondering the cotton poplin) I sped home and started my least favourite sewing job - cutting out.

But once that was done it was plain sailing. The pattern is simple to follow and soon comes together. The only bit I struggled with was getting the neck to fit the binding, but with a little encouragement (and to be fair a minor bit of puckering) 'twas complete!

The following evening saw me wafting down the canal with Mr K attempting to take whimsical pictures of my newest make. Oddly when I scanned through they were all either overexposed or blurred. Now I remember seeing a horror film once where that happened and I must say I was more than slightly spooked, so this evening I felt it was only right to try and rectify the situation. Out came Maud.

Perhaps you can understand my frustration here. The evening light was glorious - everything glowed - but my poor old frock looked washed out. 

Time for a close up to fully appreciate the fabric.

Aaah yes that's better - even with a bit of puckering!

The gathered sleeves and pockets add a bit of interest.

And I did a double row of topstitching down the back seam   - just for the heckity heck of it.

All in all I'm thrilled with the result. 

I've even worn it for work. Adding a floppy sunhat and bursts of 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter' seemed appropriate as I bustled up and down the busy corridors - curtailed only by the look on a poor eight year old's face as he turned the corner to face me. Poor boy.

But I do like it so. And I want to make more. Lots more.

I just need to find a helpful fabric elf to do the cutting out.

Hugs to all of you,

Jane.

xxx