When life gives you lemons, steal your grandma’s jewelry and go clubbin'

August.

Blue here is a shell for you Inside you'll hear a sigh A foggy lullaby

July.

A trip to Avebury.

July 2017. #2017

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Nov 27, 2017 at 3:06pm PST

And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe

June.

A month dominated by outdoor swimming, reports and ballet shows #2017 #june #haircut #balletshow #outdoorswimming

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Jul 1, 2017 at 12:38am PDT

The king's stinkin' son fired me, but thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it!

May.

I've been using my big camera more recently, so not many pictures. #hattie #mmm2017 #scotlandadventure #sewingrosa #hatsinyell #audreyinunst #ginstagram #springdress #fountain

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Jun 3, 2017 at 11:07am PDT

I want to roll my eyes right now, but the doctor says that if I keep doing it, my ocular muscles might spasm and eject my eyeballs.

April.

April in pictures. Long walks, #knitting, #bluebells, #sewing, #microadventures, #selfies and #knittedsocks #april #2017 #monthinreview

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on May 1, 2017 at 12:21pm PDT

Well, I tried to start a revolution, but didn't print enough pamphlets so hardly anyone turned up. Except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate.

March.

March in pictures #unicorncake #spring #2017 #sewing #daffodils #hampsteadheath #march

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Apr 2, 2017 at 6:19am PDT

Time is money, money is power, power is pizza, and pizza is knowledge

February.

#halfterm Lego and Lauren Child at the South Bank; cake in South Kensington, junk modelling/inventing at the V&A; Ryde Beach; Chinese lantern festival, hit chocolate to warm us up, and Lego Batman. Can I go back to work now? I need a day off. #february #2017 #lucy #hattie #microadventure

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Feb 19, 2017 at 9:00am PST

That was half term.

February in photos. #2017

A post shared by Julia (@sljuls) on Mar 5, 2017 at 6:26am PST

And that was February generally.

Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here, and it says you could have network connectivity problems.

Happy times.  There's no point in writing up the last 7 months, so I'm doing a photo round up over the next few days.

January.

 

Meitu apps, socks, oversized shawls, pussy hats and protests, Lego birds and posh Alphabetti spaghetti.

A pledge

Me-Made May.  The name still sticks in my throat a bit.

It's a fun thing to do though, and I'm going to make it a challenge this year by:

1. Not wearing the same outfit more than once

and

2. Taking a picture of me wearing my "me-made" outfit every day.  And posting it on Instagram.  And not hating the picture.

I will.  It's decided.

Well, excuse me for having enormous flaws that I don't work on

So it was the Vernal Equinox the other week, and although it is currently pissing with rain and about 5 degrees C, it is technically Spring, and what could be better than a brand new Spring dress.

It started as a dress made by Roisin aka DollyClackett, and a burning desire to have something similar.

I bought the fabric about 18 months ago.  It was one of the things that kept me going as I trudged through the SENCO course (remember those happy days?) and the godawful Nursery years (remember those? Only ever in the middle of the night, and then screaming) .  It's been in the storage unit and then the loft for ages, and I finally got brave enough to dig it out, and wash it.

As Roisin has said many times, there's no pattern for showing off a beautiful print like an Emery Dress, so an Emery Dress it became.  

There's some not quite echte pattern matching, but on a print that busy, I'm not sure it matters that much.

I wore the dress on Mothering Sunday to church and then to Spittalfields market, where I hoped that I would be able to get a few photos of it being worn, but I took it off to try a dress on in Collectif Clothing, and the bloody zip broke.  Fortunately, I was wearing a cardigan, so it didn't matter that much, but SO ANNOYING.  The zip tape got caught in the teeth, and it tore, so the zip then didn't work.  The dress is now in the naughty corner, and I'll mend it when I feel strong enough, maybe in time for the terrific weather we've been promised for the weekend.

Ah well, home sewing may be easy, but it's also frustrating and annoying.