The promised Christmas post

I really think that the only reason I am making this post is to do with the fact i have a new computer to do it from. Yes, that's right, my darling parents provided me with a Macbook Pro ("for studying") this fabulously hot Christmas morning. Shouts out to them!
All day I've been so hot I felt like I was going to burst into flames. At 28/29 degrees, it's, I think, the hottest Christmas day Wellington's had since the 1930s. It certainly felt as much. You can tell my passion merely by the fact that I am even talking about the weather to begin with.
Anyway, because the funnest part of christmas is about giving, I'm going to show some substandard photos of what I rustled up for my lovely sister. The great thing about Kate is that she's up for anything, style-wise. You don't have to worry about her never wearing what you make which is brill.

Onwards:

Okay so look at this cute as fuck pinafore thing, it's the greatest, if I do say so myself (which I do)
I traced the pattern off an old pair of overalls and generally just guessworked my way around the process. I'm pretty fucking pleased with it, it's better made than most of my usual stuff which is a super achievement if you factor in that I made most of it while waiting for a pizza delivery.

This is a dress. It has octopusses (what?) on it. Good stuff, let's move on.
Well, let's not just yet. I'm pretty sure that my rule of life is if in doubt, make a dress using this pattern. It's so fail safe and it's also pretty hard to fuck up in terms of what you wear it with, so everything about it is a-okay in my books.

so these are particularly shitty photos, but this is the "enchanted forest" fabric I got off spoonflower a while ago. Cute as hell, am I right? The only thing I would have maybe switched up is the kind of fabric I ordered, it's worth paying those few extra dollars for the not-cheapest fabric, I reckon. There's nothing outrageously wrong with this kind (I can't remember what it's called... it was about $16.50 a yard without designer discount though), but there's a couple of little niggly problems. First, it creases like nobody's business. Second, it you have to unpick anything (which I often do) the sewing machine needle tends to leave visible holes/dotted lines in the fabric which is a bit of a pain. Actually, just thinking about it, maybe it was the needle I was using, and the fabric isn't to blame. Ugh, I'm so unsure now.

And this is a half finished dress- the pink panels ended up being on both side seams to make the skirt flare out a lil bit more. No one likes a shift that clings to your bum. I'm super duper jealous of this one, I dare say a borrowing will be in order all too soon. Fun fact: The strip of fabric down the middle used to be a curtain. Frugality in action.

I'm really excited to call this bad boy the main event, but the photos are so shitty that I feel a bit disappointed. Imagine this all artfully oversized on an actual human body, please. Katiecat really liked this one, based on the sincerity of her "thank you"-- she mentioned that the sleeves were a little bit narrow, but tactfully shut up when I told her of the trials I had faced with trying to get all the pattern pieces to fit.  What a legend.

Slight gripe: no one ever tells you how much fucking hand sewing is involved in making a jacket. my least favourite part is sewing the lining and outside together at the inside fucking armpit. It's actually the most frustrating thing ever and I might go and cry about it.

Good day to you, and a very merry christmas to those of you behind me in the time-zone sense (everyone)xxxxxxxx