Sunday 31 July 2011

July

I feel like I have been really out of touch with my blog for the past few weeks, the pending teacher training course has had me focusing much of my time on reading, making notes, making textile samples etc.  I have had a to do list as long as my arm (or quite possibly, my leg) for what seems like forever.  However, I have dedicated a little bit of time this Sunday afternoon to share with you some of the things I have been up to, in between all of the work I've been doing!
I left my job as a teaching assistant in a primary school, and was given these beautiful flowers during the assembly on the last day of term.  I was also very lucky to receive these two utterly amazing cards made by the children in the classes I supported in, how cute?
On the same day as the last day of term, we drove for three hours to the wonderful Latitude festival!  As you can see, it was rather wet and muddy, but meant that we could release our inner child and splash in some puddles!  There was a Mr Scruff tea tent (LOVE), and we came away with a box of the mint and chilli variety - I thoroughly recommend you get your hands on some.  I must be getting old now though, because my back was aching sooo much!  All future camping trips must first and foremost revolve around comfort.
We went to stay with our friends in Kent for a few days last week, and spent a day in London.  I had some tickets for the London Eye for my birthday, so that was our first destination.  There were fantastic views, but it was a very, very warm day, and oh my, those glass pods get humid!  We also went to the Festival of Britain exhibition on the South Bank, full of 1950s memorabilia, textiles work, vintage advertising and bunting, how could I not have loved it?
If I had it my way, every single summer day would consist of a picnic for lunch, and a BBQ for dinner.  We went for a picnic today at Bradgate Park in North Leicestershire.  There were so many ladybirds, one of which decided to crawl along my toes like a staircase for rather a long time, as I lay down reading my book.  The pudding above is my new favourite thing - berries (of any variety!), meringue and cream.  Although in this case, I decided to try out some soya cream.  It was ok, but I thought it had that lingering 'beany' taste like the milk, bleugh. 
Talking of my book, here it is.  I can't remember the last time that I read a novel.  Usually I find something else that I should be doing or I can't just sit, relax and read.  I had heard good things about One Day, so thought I would give it a try.  I'm really picky about what I read, I don't really have the patience to carry on reading something that I have no interest in, but I must say, so far, this is being enjoyed very much!  It's really nice to retreat to a book when you have so much going on at once.
I love my new flip flops!  There were in the sale in Accessorize and I just couldn't resist.  I have also been attempting to make more clothes - this top is almost complete, but I need to make/buy bias binding to finish it. 

Phew.  

Now I can attempt to get back into the routine of regular blog posts! :)

Monday 25 July 2011

next stop, paperclip castle

Sorry, couldn't resist yet another Boosh quote, and this one is a particular favourite of mine and my friend Tates!

You may remember me telling you how I will be starting a teaching training course in September?  Well, today I began my search for stationary!  I hear that folders are really quite important, and after asking Facebook approximately how many I would need for the duration, the response was 'tonnes', in one case, a friend told me she used twenty *gulp*.

But off I went into Leicester city centre today eyes wide and optimistic, to start the overwhelming search while taking in the factors of my purchases being a) good value for money and b) totally awesome.  I am a nerd, I know, but I got all excited about buying stationary, it reminded me of the 'back to school' trip to town with my Mum at the end of every summer holiday, and how the main objective was to come away with the best pencil sharpener - one year I had one that was also a tiny fan in the shape of a flower!

the perfect pencil for a textiles teacher, I think it might just be!
and to think, I was going to buy boring old post it notes.
So this was probably the least exciting and most geeky blog post I have written to date, sorry about that! 

Have you got any big changes happening in your life at the moment?

Saturday 23 July 2011

a wonderful wedding

Yesterday we went to the most wonderful wedding!  It was such a beautiful day and I had so much fun - lots of talking, drinking, eating and dancing :)  And I finally wore my handmade dress.  Steve was the official photographer for the day, so once the posed photographs had been taken, I pinched him to take a few snaps of me in my dress!
These were taken at the Botanical Gardens in Oadby, Leicester, such a pretty place and a fantastic location for a photographer to shoot!

Are you off to any weddings this summer?

PS Have you seen the vintage greetings cards in my shop? Only £2.00 inc P&P if you're in the UK :)

Thursday 21 July 2011

deer little fawn giveaway winner

Congratulations Sophie!

Thank you so much to all of you that entered the giveaway, keep your eyes peeled for another once I reach 400 followers :)

Wednesday 20 July 2011

a mess of a dress







So I started to make a second dress, this time entirely by myself.  I began the bodice section a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday afternoon I sat and managed to get through quite a bit of the process.  This dress is rather more messy than the beautiful floral one that I am oh so proud of.  I unfortunately don't own an over locker so there are untidy edges, and seams aren't really pressed to perfection (I am the owner of quite a dodgy iron at the moment) and the zip is also very badly inserted...
I am seeing the making of this dress as a chance to try out a different pattern though, and to be honest, I think that it could look a lot worse!  I had pattern pieces cut in all different sizes too (from a 12-18!), so a lot of problem solving had to take place when arm hole fastenings didn't fit like in the diagram and seams didn't match up at the sides!  
This morning I added the elastic to the waistband, so now I need to hem the bottom and make a belt, and voila - it shall be complete!  I would definitely use this pattern again, but would need to make some alterations to the arm holes as they are a bit tight. 

Costs once again is well under £10.  I can really see how making your own clothes can become quite addictive...

Tuesday 19 July 2011

a little rag doll for a little girl



I made this rag doll for the little girl that I supported for the whole of last year, I think it was well received :)  I am getting the hang of this pattern after making two for my nieces last Christmas, I would like to produce a few more of these to sell in my shop, but always feel a bit worried about making things for children - are they any regulations you must follow to ensure that they are safe?  Any information would be greatly appreciated!
 I discovered free hand machine embroidery.

I'm still here, although it feels like I haven't blogged for ages.

I have so much to show you, thrifty finds, an amazing giveaway that I won, photographs from my weekend at a festival, my latest dress making antics to name a few.  
The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic, but now I have eight weeks ahead of me where I can finally get stuck into all of the things that I want/need to do, so What Katie Found will be back in full swing this week hooray!

Before I forget , have you entered my wonderful Deer Little Fawn giveaway yet?  Entry closes tomorrow evening :)

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Katies final adventures in dress making land

So I have finally finished my dress making course, the past nine weeks have flown by!  Tonight I started sewing together dress number two, which I will continue to blog the progress of over the next few weeks.

Dress number one however, is complete hooray!  Lined, zip inserted, invisible hem, over locked, facings attached, belt made - the whole lot!  I am really so proud of myself for making it so well, I absolutely adore it.  I can't wait to wear it out of the house (it will be worn to a wedding next week, where I shall be feeling rather pleased to be wearing a handmade dress instead of something from the high street!)  And to think, this dress cost me less than £10 to make (not including all the hours of labour though!)

I really hope that I can continue to get better and better at making garments now.  I would love to hear what you all think of it!

Here come the photographs...


I will also take this opportunity to share my latest news with you.  In September, I will be embarking on a teacher training course and will be specialising in Textiles :)  I am really excited/scared/nervous all at the same time!  It's going to be a very tough year ahead, but it's time for a new challenge!

Bring it on.

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