What else is happening?

And in other news:

Both of my babies now need glasses. Noah got his first pair on Wednesday, and Joey got a pair with a slightly lower prescription which is good news as it means his eyes are correcting.

I dismantled this:

and put up this:

Very happy with it. Noah has his own room of course so we didn't need a bunk, however I thought it would be more useful. Joey doesn't like using a ladder, so we can throw his extra junk up there and also use it for sleepovers.

We had some sun, and I broke out the paddling pool.

I bought some new running shoes because for some reason I entered the Race for Life in Cambridge next month...

...and some fabric

  

I met up with some of the gals in London and visited the pinup popup shop off Brick Lane and then we ate and drank and were merry

And Godmanchester had a 1940s event

Plus Size Fashion: Miss Fortune and Dorothy Perkins (again)

*Work Loo Shot Alert*

Sometimes I just can't wait to try things on. Luckily the toilets are nice and clean where I work. 

Package from Clarence and Alabama arrived Friday at 2pm. Sadly I'd already left at 1pm, so I picked it up this morning.

Pretty packaging. Well done C&A

I ordered two dresses - both £20 in the sale which is a bargain. Both in a size XL

I honestly was a bit baffled by the sizing. I'm usually an 18. Approx 44-38-48 (however hips not relevant here)

So I went for the XL (16) because I figured the bust on the XXL would be way too big. It was kind of a gamble.

Luckily a gamble that paid off. This is the 'Into The Sunset Blue Hawaiian'

I've been eyeing this up for a few years, but never gone for it. However at £20 I couldn't say no. I'm really pleased with it, but it is quite snug. Half a stone less might make it feel more comfy. It does look great though, even if I say so myself.

This is the Lady Luck Swing Dress Red Atomic

Believe it or not, its the same size as the one above. However there is a LOT of gape on the armscyes. I will have to take it in, but I still love it. Very comfy. More of a day dress.

EDIT: 

I made adjustments and I'm happier with it now. Darts on the front, darts on the bag to reduce the gape, and then a little tuck on the front to make it a more flattering sweetheart neckline. Ta Da!!

And so to Dotty P.

Its just not happening for me. If they'd had this dress in an 18, I might have kept it. The one in this pic is a 22 (all they had left). I was going to modify it but the bodice is lined which means more faff, and I didn't like it enough to want to bother, so I returned it. Bit sad but not the end of the world.

Then there's this one. Same design. Right size. I just don't think I'm a stripes person though. It just felt wrong. So It went back.

Then on the way back to the car park, I popped into M&Co, and fell for this little minty coloured cardi. I would have preferred shorter sleeves, but it was a tenner in the sale, so I bought it anyway. I think it might require a motif, but chances of me ever remembering to sew one on are slim!

Plus Sized Fashion: Lindy Bop and Dorothy Perkins

Lindy bop sale is on, and as always its absolute chaos. Wrong orders, cancelled orders, late and missing orders etc etc, however I finally got two dresses.

The first is the ZsaZsa tropical wiggle which comes with a bolero. Now a wiggle is always a gamble for me. I have a supersize bottom and a big old belly. However this fabric is just the right thickness and has enough stretch and I love it. I don't quite have the chest to fill it, but that's ok. £12 well spent.

The Myrtle in red gingham on the other hand - WTF is going on with the wings? They are just too big to look anything other than absurd when down, and won't stay up of their own accord. Apparently this is a common confusion. People have suggested interfacing, velcro, stitches and so on. I think I'll just sell it on.

Dorothy Perkins are also doing the hard sell at the moment. I couldn't get the dresses I wanted (anchors and pineapples) so I thought I'd try these three because I want something comfy and soft to wear on holiday. Well none are particularly flattering, and the third isn't really comfy (and has crossover back straps and a saggy bodice) so I may just send them all back.

Bagmaking: The January Bag of the Month 2016 - the Backgammon bag Betz White

Its that time of year again. Bag of the Month club is basically a subscription service in which you pay a set amount for 6 patterns from 6 designers which will remain unavailable to the general public. Its a very social event for us bagmakers (online social that is!) and there are prizes available. 

For the next 5 months I shall be attempting to get these bags completed before the next pattern is released ( I didn't manage it last year - there are 2 I still haven't sewn - so this is my challenge)

I completed my January Bag with time to spare. This is called the Backgammon bag for obvious reasons. The designer for January is Betz White (who also designed a bag for last years BOTM club - which is one of the ones I managed to make)

The pattern actually states you can have pockets front and back, but I only had a fat quarter of the Robert Kaufman retro bulbs fabric which was what I based the bag around. Therefore it has one pocket on the front. 

The green fabric I got half price from John Lewis - I assumed it would be quite thick and solid, but actually, its fairly thin and has 4 way stretch. Which foxed me a bit. 

I made some piping with it as I felt the flap and the top of the pocket needed to look a bit neater. 

The front pocket is secured with a magnetic snap.

There is also a zipped inner pocket.

Overall, I'm very happy with this bag. It comes together very quickly and has a nice shape to it. Its a good size for an every day handbag. The front pocket for me is where I'd plonk my phone - I think a fair few folk have chosen to split it into two compartments but I left mine alone. I think it has quite a retro look.

Itsy Yellow Check (Makower)

Lining and flap

Boiled wool in Forest green from John Lewis

Outer, strap.

Aunties Attic Olive retro bulbs canvas (Robert Kaufman)

Contrast, Inner Pocket, Flap and Strap

Plus Sized Fashion: Scarlett and Jo at Evans and a bit of Hell Bunny. Jeans that don't fit from collectif.

Yeah. I've been buying again. first up is this Blue floral button front dress from S&J. I like a bit of S&J. Their clothes are always comfortable and well cut. I really liked the shape of this dress on the Evans website, and it was in the sale for £20. 

I didn't love it so much when I tried it on though sadly. There wasn't enough fullness in the skirt for me (actually thats fair enough, its quite a 40s style and the skirts weren't full) but I prefer more, well, swoosh. I love the yolk detail, but I just felt frumpy. So I returned it. I'm at the point where if something doesn't make me feel grand, I won't keep it.

Then there was this. The printed mesh front dress. I think that I would actually love this in another colourway. I adore fluted sleeves and I like the sweetheart detailing, but I feel this does nothing for me, and in all honestly I don't need more work wear (I wear jeans most days anyway) so I returned this to. Check me out being all strict with myself!

Don't laugh. This is what it looks like when things spectacularly don't fit. I bought these collectif Rebel Kate jeans in my normal collectif size (18) for half price. I think I probably need more like a 24. I am keeping them as a measuring gauge (because I started a Body Transformation course nearly 3 weeks ago - I won't go into that here as its not very exciting and involves the gym and an eating plan) I shall see if the gap has shortened in a few weeks time <snort>

What I did keep. I saw this Hell Bunny harriet dress being worn by someone on facebook a couple of weeks ago and she/it looked lovely. I've seen it advertised a million times and never given it a second glance as it looked pretty ordinary, but all of a sudden... I WANTED IT!

I think its the colour and the bodice fit and the swishy skirt that made it a must have for me. Only found one in the UK on the Rockamilly site, and as fate would have it, whilst I was umming and ahhing about spending the full price on a frock (I normally won't) she posted a 20% discount code. Well, okay then. It came. I loved it immediately.

Its our 11th wedding anniversay today, so I wore it for a meal out with JP on Saturday. It was a fairly bad hair day so I stuck a flower in it and off we went :)

He looks thrilled doesn't he. He hates having his photo taken!