roman holiday

{Vatican guards}

The past two weeks have helped recharge the batteries, that's for sure, a fortnight in Italy being the perfect antidote to the last few months of rain. Much eating has been done, including numerous gelato tastings. Then there was lots of daily swimming, a little walking and a good dose of sleeping in order to recuperate from many late nights. We headed firstly to Rome, where we trod the pavements sight seeing and trying to escape the searing heat that we were so unused to. The children were sadly unimpressed with St Paul's and the Vatican City but the spectacle of the Colosseum made up for it.

And I can confirm the saltwater sandals were indeed the 'best thing since sliced bread' although one word of caution .. they are treacherous on slippery surfaces. Steep steps in front of the Colosseum, ancient, scorching hot and highly smoothed through centuries of use let me down badly when I treated the queueing tourists to an interesting display to relieve their boredom of waiting to get in.

{Casperia} 

{Casperia}

{Montasola}

{Casperia}

{Roccantica}

{Roccantica}

{Casperia}

A hilltop village called Montasola was our next port of call and a perfect-in-every-way villa nestled amongst olive trees with views over the Sabine Hills that practically knock your socks off. Our English/Italian owners were truly the most gracious hosts we have ever known, welcoming us warmly with fresh figs, olive oil from their own land, wine from a neighbour's vineyard and warm apricot and walnut crumble, it's ingredients picked from the garden only hours before. Then throughout the week gifts of plums, lettuce, courgettes were bestowed upon us. We helped christen their newly built pool which had stunning vistas over the mountains and really, I cannot recommend this place highly enough. 

Our day trips took us to Rieti, for the Sunday market, where I was able to stock up on lace. How I love that stuff! Rieti is famed for being the very centre of Italy but I think the crowning glory was Gelateria Napoleone, with its swoon worthy selection of gelato.

Another worthy visit is Viterbo, a lively and bustling city famed for its Papal Palace dating back to 1145. We indulged in our daily ritual of yet more gelato and then came paradise in the form of Francesco and his vast collection of vintage buttons in the Piazza dell'Erbe. Feast your eyes, ladies. Feast (and this is only half of it)!

{Viterbo} 

{Viterbo} 

But really, we were just as happy to take the children's lead and content ourselves by swimming, savouring the local produce and reading in the heat of the day. So happy in fact, we were sad to leave not just the villa but Carla and Michael too.

However, on we went and I shall tell you a little about that another time.

florals

Knowing that my time is limited before hanging up the tools and the materials for the school holidays, I've been focussing on simplicity. Actually, I've been working on a pattern which, when done, will be simple enough too but for now, I'm taking the time to get right.

So, in my window of opportunity, I got together vintage glass and vintage fabric. Greens, reds, blues.

And florals.

Talking of greens and reds, what do you think of these strawbs brought back from the farmers' market last weekend? We were told that spray free = insects walking over growing fruit = grooves. The mind boggles.

Has anyone got any decent weather out there? The radio presenter says the country will have a month's worth of rain over the course of this weekend, although probably not here in London. That's the best we can hope for, it is Summer after all!

Mind you, tomorrow afternoon we shall all be glued to the TV screen .. go Murray, go Murray ..

suzanne

Looking back over the last few posts I can see there's been a whole heap of sewing around here recently but, and I can't quite believe this, our schools break up next week for the Summer and experience tells me it's all about to come to an abrupt end. Just time to slot this one in and maybe one more, with luck.

I found some pretty cotton gauze in a local sewing shop recently and thought it would be ideal for the Model this Summer. But it's really quite lightweight and given the white background, not great for a dress so it's been sitting on the shelf. Also on that shelf has been a copy of Suzanne by French company Citronille. I bought it about 18 months ago but then read about Citronille's sizing being a little off, and it never came out of the packet. But time and time again I've wondered about this cute little pattern and when it suddenly occurred to me that, with these muggy nights, the Model could do with a light nightdress, I thought I'd give Suzanne a whirl and use that single gauze.

It was the quickest little dress I have ever made. And a joy to do as well because its construction is so different from the dresses I'm used to. Despite the instructions being in French, they are accompanied by very concise illustrations. In short, this beautifully drafted pattern works, it all slots together just like a well made jigsaw. The Model is a slender aged 9 and I made a size 8 which fits beautifully. I think a larger size would fall off the shoulders, however, when I make a dress version I'll add some length as this one is just overlocked at the bottom.

I'm quite fired up to make another actually, perhaps in linen with a floral panel at the yoke. Or vertical stripes for the body and sleeves, horizontal for the yoke? Ooh, the possibilities ..

Happy weekend everyone. See you next week!

italian job

As well as recently choosing the country for our summer holiday destination this year, I now have another reason to love Italy.

One of my Iona tunic dresses (here and here) is currently on its way over there after a lady found my website by searching Google for 'Irish linen dresses' and this blog post popped up.

She asked about alternative Irish linens and after a few suggestions, this one was chosen, which is quite possibly my favourite. I just love the purpley/beige colours; subtle, muted, earthy and precisely how I like it.

It just goes to show the importance of a title and wording of your post, especially in that opening paragraph. There is lots of advice out there about keeping SEO operating to maximum efficiency for online shops and this order reinforced the advice tenfold for me. But I've naively never really played the SEO game before .. is it something you ever think about?

Today I'm going to do a mini blitz on the garden where the interminable rain has strengthened those pesky weeds. Then I shall head off to the Model's sports day, which hopefully won't get rained off. Unlike the Boy's, whose school had four attempts before theirs finally happened! What are you up to?

playing shops .. and two winners

Thank you for all your kind words. It never ceases to amaze me that the crafting community is such a supportive place to be, whether it be online or offline.

Despite the fact I knew Saturday's fair was going to be quite small and low key, I was still nervous on the morning because I didn't know what to expect. I told the Husband that I wish I'd already done a mock-up of what my stall should look like but he helpfully said I'd have plenty of time to think about that when I got there. Ho hum ..

But taking someone's money in exchange for putting a handmade part of me into a paper bag is just the best feeling in the world. I know that everything I make I would willingly give a home to myself but, nevertheless, there are still some things that I feel loathe to let go. That day, it was all about cushions and they were flying away. Many of my favourite ones are now gone and I know it sounds dumb but I felt a little sad as I sent them on their way. I got over it pretty quickly, mind!!

My aim was to break even at minimum and take home a lot of experience. But I made quite a haul and when I came home, my tin filled with notes and a couple of cheques, I was positively euphoric. Oh, and I also traded a couple of cushions for a large framed panoramic photograph of the London skyline by this clever guy, who was also there.

I had such a great time, chatting away with other stall holders and the public, too, who showed a lot of interest. I've been cleaned out of business cards and feel that a few more people out there know about me now and that's what it's all about really, isn't it?

Ah, now I did mention a lack of organisation didn't I. I only managed a few little snaps and that was after the stall had been decimated somewhat, plus I had the council bins behind me (thankfully not smelly!) which obviously didn't add much to the visual beauty of the setting. And now that I've done it, I've started the research. Why the heck didn't I do that before? It didn't occur to me because I'm not organised enough!

This bit I did organise though and as promised, the giveaway draw took place over breakfast this morning. It was a joy having two names to find, simply because there was no fighting between the children. They each picked a name out of the breakfast bowl, which thankfully had no milk in, and congratulations go to Kylie and Ana. You, ladies, have just won a Hammam towel each, courtesy of Urbanara. Please let me have your address details and Urbanara will do the necessary.

Have a great week, everyone. I'm just finishing off another dress commission, so I shall tell you more about that next time. And guess what? It is sunny. Hurrah!!

making lists

Well, it has been all systems go here these last few days, I don't know where the time has gone. The Model has been off on a school jolly all week, the boy relishing his time as an only child and, even though the house is markedly quieter, my time has been taken up with several to-dos, some I could have done without quite frankly.

On top of that, my stall-holding initiation is tomorrow and, despite knowing about it for the last month or so, I'm feeling distinctly unprepared. I'm going to look upon this exercise as a learning curve I've decided, being a little unsure of where to set my expectations.

But thanks to your suggestions, I do have labels ready for pricing, tissue paper and stickers for wrapping, baskets at the ready for display purposes. Then there are fabrics to cover my table, some wooden wine cases for a bit of height and storage. Now I know why I was hoarding those! There are lists and lists of other unforgettable things to remember, things that funnily enough escape me just now. And bags. Yes, I nearly forgot about those. Nice brown, paper ones with twisted handles, all eco friendly and fancy they are. Perhaps I'm not so unprepared after all.

I just need some customers now .. and some sunshine to entice them all my way. Oh, and a note to self: Mustn't forget the camera!

Have a super weekend everyone.

Last chance for the giveaway? Click this way.

caitlin dress

Thanks so much for your lovely comments on my wintery purse making. However, despite feeling decidedly chilly and having a need for all things cosy, I'm still dressmaking with Summer in mind.

I've already made similar versions of this dress for the Model, here, here and here and all the while secretly longing for one for myself. It's never a good idea to want to wear your daughter's clothing but it was only a matter of time before I made one up in a 'big girl' size. It's a simple sleeveless shift dress in beautiful, drapey, Irish linen. That explains yet another Irish name, just like the others in my shop. And with its subtle pastel blue background and darker blue and beige stripes running down the length, I'm loving it.

I nearly called this the Napoli dress because I shall be holidaying not so far from Naples this Summer and you can betcha I'll be taking this dress along with me. But 'Caitlin' it is and so it remains true to its provenance. And on the subject of holidays, have you made any plans yet or do you tend to leave it till the last minute .. like we usually do?

Well folks, that's me done for this week, I'm off to get myself ready to meet up with a few bloggy gals. One I already know but the others I've not met before, so I shall let you have all the gossip next week. If you don't hear from me by Tuesday, please send a search party!

Happy weekend, everyone.

Don't forget, you can still enter the Urbanara giveaway, it's right here!