The Fabric Store – Plum Kitchen

An artist and her Paint…top

Hello friends, please excuse my absence, I’ve been moored in the snot filled world that is Sinusitis for the last 8 weeks or so and can I just say, DO NOT RECOMMEND.

Apologies for using the S word, but honestly, it’s been a ride. I managed my first fifty rotations of the sun with nothing more than the odd cold (touch wood, I’ve never even had Flu), then suddenly I’m waking up every morning feeling like I’d been punched in the face eating a freezing cold ice cream while my wisdom teeth come through. Miserable much. Especially when you cant even taste anything delicious to cheer yourself up, gah!

Anyhoo, I’m on my third round of antibiotics & while I don’t want to think about the state of my gut by now, at least I can smell and TASTE again, yeow! In between generally feeling rather sorry for myself I’ve not done as much sewing as I would like, BUT I have managed to finish something. Something I actually really love, so double win.

The Paint is a new pattern from The Fabric Store and friends, it’s a corker. So much on brand when I wore my new top into work a colleague immediately asked where my easel was? I’m an artist with spreadsheets kid…

I really love this top. It’s comfortable to wear, swishes in a pleasing manner, does not care if I’ve had a rather indulgent lunch, it just swings on down! I went down one size which I’m happy with, next time I would gather the neckline a wee bit more so it sits slightly higher too

The Fabric Store linen is Military Green , the rib knit I added ’cause I’m a crazy cat who doesn’t follow rules* is from Miss Maude , I loved the way the colours echoed the beautiful Walker & Bing scarf my bestie gave me for my birthday .

So in between wafting around channeling Monet and blowing my nose, what’s been occurring ?

I made a couple of cushions. Apparently Tuppence isn’t wildly impressed…

I’m quite pleased, the linen backing is offcuts from a dress, the buttons from a worn out blazer of Mr D’s. I do love nice cushions, but I’m also aware anything on our couch is subjected to extreme claw action from three cats, in which case spending $100 plus on a cushion feels rather silly…

Moving on from sewing, I’ve really enjoyed this book. Maybe it’s the sinus meds but I haven’t had my usual attention span lately, so when I spied this short story collection at the library I was tempted. I don’t normally read anything vaguely horror or short stories, so trust me when I say I love this book and was deeply surprised by that! I really enjoyed her novel The Drift too.

Hope your week is fab, perhaps lean into it like this little cutie…

Miss Lemon does not like being woken unnecessarily…

Have a good one, I’m just off to find another box of tissues

Kristina

* I think we all know I’m pretty much a rule follower…sigh

Silky Liberty…

Hello again, and a happy belated Easter if you celebrate. It’s actually a public holiday here in NZ for ANZAC day , so I thought it would be fun to sit down and catch up. Oh and stand around the garden smiling at hedges, obviously.

I would normally start with a sewing catch up, but in honour of the holiday I will first share my ANZAC biscuits. Oats, coconut, golden syrup , of course they taste good.

Mr D and I engaged in our annual “fruit no fruit” ~~argument~~ discussion. He is pro adding currents (the most boring of dried fruit surely?) and sultanas, I am against. If it has fruit it isn’t an Anzac biscuit babe!

This year I relented and added currents & dried apricot to half the mixture. As predicted the fruit burned but he insists that just “adds to the flavour”. Indeed. The recipe below, from my well thumbed Edmonds cookbook. My edition is pre fan-bake ovens, so I would reduce the temp to 160C if cooking on fan. So easy and so very tasty.

I made these the first year we lived in London, but the British Tate & Lyle Golden syrup seemed a lot lighter than the Chelsea variety I use here in NZ, so my biscuits were much paler and had a more mild flavour. They were perfectly delicious but not the ANZAC biscuits I remembered, I do recall there were (homesick) tears!

Fast forward twenty odd years and I can bang out a batch of biscuits and sew a new top just like that, go me.

To be fair the Cashmerette Montrose is a pretty quick easy sew, even for me. Or at least it would be if I didn’t insist on using gorgeous but slippery Liberty silk, and driving my overlocker through the fabric causing a big ole’ tear. Yes dear reader, there were indeed tears.

After a restorative glass of Chard/moan to my husband I took stock and decided , given how gloriously busy the fabric is, I could possibly get away with some machine embroidery. I could also end up with a hot mess, but worth a try yes?

Interfacing to stabilise the mess.

Machine embroidery for the win! So good it’s almost invisible, or at least very difficult to see. I’m surprised it worked so well.

I’ve made the Montrose several times times before, one of those patterns that is deceptively “basic” but actually great, I’m not sure why I’ve not made one for a while.

The silk is from The Fabric Store, with the most glorious sheen I haven’t captured in pictures. I must have had something in mind when I brought 1.5 metres, but I know not what. I did however managed to squeeze the top out of this amount. I didn’t use the larger bicep piece, and as you can see the arm is quite snug, but it’s fine to wear & works well under a cardigan or jacket

A perfect top for work or play , vive la Liberty 🙂

In between baking, sewing and a stinking cold , I did manage to read a book this month, highly recommend Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. What a blast , four female assassins reach retirement age and think the “company” they work for has shouted them a retirement cruise. The Company has more permanent retirement ideas.

I just loved this, great characters, pacey plot & honestly, woman of a certain age absolutely kicking ar8e. If a bit of swearing and violence isn’t your bag then avoid, but if not, I highly recommend.

Probably timely reading for me, as I approach with speed my big five oh. Actually turning 50 is pretty ok for me. It’s exponentially better than NOT getting to turn 50, and I guess I was already on the “old?” spectrum when I stopped dying my hair. Its something I’m thinking about a lot though , wont lie.

I’ve been married for almost 25 years (I’m honestly checking those figures as we speak) , my approach to aging must be coloured by that? I haven’t been on the pull in nearly 30 years . What does that even feel like now?

My husband is seven years older than me so he is mid 5o’s, we talked about what it would be like to even think about meeting someone new now (its ok kids, were not planning to kill each other, this is hypothetical! )

Aging is a gift. I’m watching the ceremony from Melbourne , the NZ Warriors rugby league team (yay!) in the annual Anzac day game vs Melbourne. We are blessed .So many young men and and woman who had no choices.

Living it large friends! Enjoy your week

Kristina xxx

Mimi and the cool cats…

Once again it’s raining cats and dogs here in Tamaki Makarau, but I do promise to stop torturing animal idioms long enough to tell you about my latest sewing project which as you can see…is a bit catty!

I brought this fabric from The Fabric Store a while back, it’s a light shirting fabric with a really nice, slightly crisp finish, perfect for giving some drama to my sleeve. Who doesn’t love a bit of sleeve drama? Well me actually. Don’t get me wrong, I love those massive sleeves , and if I ever fell out of a plane some of them look like they would probably keep me airborne for hours. But in a predominately computer desk based desk job , acres of fabric flapping around will quickly get on my last nerve. Ditto chunky bangles and bracelets.

Just the right amount of draaaaama darlings

The pattern is the Style Arc Mimi top, which as you can see I have altered somewhat, mainly because I seem incapable of buying sensibly coloured shirring elastic , I currently have fire engine red and nothing else. No idea what I brought that for either.

I really like the relaxed dropped shoulder and the volume in the sleeve, so I played around with the sleeve head, adding approx. 8 cm extra width either side for gathering , and instead of shirring I gathered and bound the sleeve hem. For me anyway, this is the Goldilocks’ sleeve, not too little, not too much, just right.

The construction is super simple, no darts , a bound neckline and a keyhole back opening, which I don’t actually need to open to get over my head so you could probably omit if required. The hemline is gently curved which I think looks cute over slim pants.

Of course what could accessorise feline fabric better than a bird brooch?

So what else has been happening around here besides terrible cat puns?

Some new reading material! I’m quite enjoying this, as a long time Christie fan I love all the references to her books the authors have used, it’s a little “aha” when you pick up a name. I especially enjoyed meeting the Vicar and Griselda again, Murder at the Vicarage is one of my favs. The quality is probably a tiny bit uneven for me (I truly struggled with the idea of Miss Marple in Manhattan) but I think that is a personal thing , aren’t all books to a degree? My BFF & I share VERY different taste in books, so I’m always careful with my criticism. If you enjoy Golden Age mysteries, you will enjoy this.

A very early birthday treat to myself, some fabulous new pans. I love to cook , and I’m quite hard on my equipment. I like to buy stuff that is built to last (I still have the Chefs knife my parents brought me for catering college 30 years ago) , and I find cast iron, unlike non stick coatings, can put up with the treatment. Also a good arm workout for my bingo wings!

The Ironclad Pan Co is a local company who were hit pretty hard by the recent flooding here in Auckland. A colleague received a couple of pans for Christmas and was raving about them so I was already thinking over a purchase, making an order to help them with the rebuild seemed like a no brainer…when the universe talks, I spend money. Now , rare or medium rare?

When not hoofing around heavy cookware I decided, in a moment of I Don’t Even Know What that hand rolling the hem of a metre square scarf would be a grand idea for my Mum’s birthday. The silk is a Liberty print , isn’t it glorious, a bit Hermes I thought? The colours will go with so much in her wardrobe, and silk is light but warm, prefect for a spunky 87 year old.

But handrolloing a hem is …long. Even with wine. I used this tutorial and it is a bit of magic when the hems “rolls itself up” won’t lie. But it’s still long.

Its Feijoa season here in NZ, and look at that for a first haul. A rather unusual fruit, native to Brazil, I can’t even describe the flavour, tropical yet slightly musky? A friend from the UK trying them, for the first time described it as “disgusting, like eating perfume” so not to everyone’s taste, but I love them. Which is good as growing up, every garden I knew had at least one tree. We haven’t yet reached “you’re not allowed to leave until you take some Feijoas” part of the season yet.

I have to leave you with this , Tommy couldn’t bear not to be the star cat in the pic, so decided some gymnastics was in order. At least I think that’s what he was doing?

Tommy busting some moves, such a show off…

Have a fabulous week friends.

Kristina xxx

A top for any Factory

Well its been quite the weekend here in Tamaki Makaurau, a summers worth of rain fell in approx. 15 hours on Friday, roads were flooded, houses inundated and my husband and sister still thought it would be a grand idea to attend the Elton John concert. Seriously.

I dropped them off as close as possible to Mt Smart stadium , complete with plastic ponchos* and already wet feet in rain I would describe as biblical. The three km ride home was hair raising to say the least , only to discover five minutes after walking in the door the concert was cancelled. Gah! In hindsight it was a blessing, walking home after several more hours of deluge would have been a disaster, and emergency services were already well pushed. Tragically four people have lost their lives, which rather puts things into perspective.

I’ll admit I moaned like a champ when we put the fence in down the side of the section and the volcanic rock our part of Auckland sits on meant a digger we booked for half a day took three (at eye watering expense) But what may be hard is also porous and we have been very lucky not to experience any flooding. So what to do when it just won’t stop raining? Sew of course.

I made the Factory dress a few years back, and have worn it to bits, so was very keen when Merchant & Mills released a digital addition to the pattern, a top version I knew would get plenty of wear.

Hurry up before it starts raining again…

It’s a simple shape, but Merchant & Mills patterns are all in the detail. The front split hem, rolled sleeves and lovely collar all make it feel a bit more special.

It’s a fairly simple sew, I only come a cropper slightly when I realised Lazy Kristina had not changed the thread on her overlocker and it was not a great look on the turned back sleeve!

So instead, I turned the hem inwards and then folded it back on itself, stiching around the cuff to secure.

I don’t think it looks quite as good as the original cuff, but does have the benefit of a) not unfolding, b) not requiring me to unpick overlocking, which is always a good thing for my blood pressure and marriage.

Can you tell from my hair its rather humid?

I’m really pleased with the finished top, I really like the utility look with pants and sneakers or jeans. The linen is Sea Green from The Fabric Store and yes I do look a tad crumpled. We went out for a family lunch to celebrate my sister & Mr PK’s birthdays, a long leisurely Sunday lunch is so much fun, and not something we tend to do at a restaurant, so this was a treat.

I also got to wear a Xmas pressy, a new brooch from Erstwilder !

This is an Ibis, part of the Egyptian revival range, resin with lovely gold detailing. Ibis were under the protection of the deity Thoth, responsible for among other things writing, mathematics, measurement and time. Rather appropriate for a sewist accountant who likes to blog yes? I love wearing brooches, and have a collection, including some fabulous Erstwilder numbers I shall post in coming weeks. Old skool, like watching an episode of your favorite show then wait a whole week for the next one. Does anyone remember that?

I have to share the most amazing cocktail I had at lunch today. We went to Oyster & Chop , after a Crayfish Bisque and some banging steak I was rather too full for pud (I don’t have much of a sweet tooth anyway) but on tasting my sisters Porn Star Martini (yes…) I had to have one. Vanilla Vodka, Passionfruit liquor, sugar syrup , lime and a little shot of sparkling wine, OMG seriously yummy. I shall be making these at home, although I will be changing the name…

I received a lovely Xmas gift from my sister in law, a subscription to Dish magazine. I’ve tried to limit my magazine purchasing in the last few years, they had built up and I realised I would never look through all of them , let along read/cook everything. But Dish is so beautifully photographed, and I never fail to find several, if not many recipes in every issue I want to make. The food is a good mix of quick and easy and more complicated dishes, plus drinks and places to visit. Its also bi monthly, so each issue feels like a real treat.

Helpfully the new issue has several yummy tomato recipes, look at that haul, not bad for one plant I put in myself (called Tommy Toe because how could I resist??) , and one which self seeded from last year.

I picked this up from the Library during the week, you know when a book just speaks to you. I’ve only just delved in but already it’s just glorious, wonderful writing and delicious recipes. Chicken Kiev oozing garlic butter, Creamy Mashed Potato ( I had a fairly frank exchange of views with a colleague on this one, unless vegan of course, why would you add olive oil to mash when you could add butter???) , Cacio e pepe with butter, heck yes please!

In other news I shall be starting back on my exercise routine next week. I promise.

I hope wherever you are it’s safe, warm and dry, take care friends

Kristina x

* My sister Dette & I were stuck in a mighty rainstorm in Venice, we swallowed our inner fashionista and brought plastic ponchos, which was great until Dette discovered hers had a hood…it was filled with water which she promptly tipped all over herself. I would have helped with the dry off but I was laughing to hard too stand upright..

New clothes for the new year

Well hello again, thought I’d start the new year with an actual honest to goodness no frills proper blog post. Apparently Instagram is dead, Twitter has sh*t itself & blogs are coming back.* While I’m not sure this is quite the case (although the Instagram algorithms are enough to make a girl drink) I do miss the more detailed form of a blog post. I’m long winded that way…

So what’s been occurring here at Plum Towers ? Rain. Lotta rain. Almost Biblical rain. I may or may not be sending the cats for swimming lessons. But since the weather is rather a tedious topic of conversation (have I mentioned it’s wet?) lets talk sewing instead .

First up is an Assembly Line Cuff Dress. Since I made this Easter off the Cuff top I’ve wanted to make the longer dress version. The key is to use the correct elastic for the cuff (soft) and a firmer elastic for the waistband. I also made sure the elastic sat at the correct spot on my waist. I have a short waist, so I raised the bodice approx. 5 cm, which looks way less frumpy than having it lower down. Despite my measurements putting me in the XL range I actually made a Large (nothing to do with me being a tit & buying the wrong size pattern of course…) I’m actually really happy with the fit, comfortable without being ridiculously oversized.

The fabric is a soft yet slightly structured Japanese seersucker from Miss Maude, I love it and willfully made absolutely no attempt to pattern match the squares.

My next project is a combo of sale finds and reusing fabric from a doomed make. It pains me to discuss but suffice to say if you spend ages hand sewing the neck & sleeve binding of an (expensive) linen top, don’t then machine embroider the front and back together. Also don’t compound the issue by attempting to unpick it. Instead have a nice comforting swear, pour a bucket of Chardonnay and put the offending item in the corner. A few months later pull out said item & cut it up!

Ok it was starting to rain at this point…

This is the College Gather Top by the Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. Terrible name, great pattern. I’d seen some lovely versions on Dead Insta, and thought it a perfect pattern to use fabric leftovers (which I always seem to have) . The combo here is linen from The Fabric Store in Maple, Sea Green and from the Top of Doom mentioned above, Antique Cream, which I’m not sure they do anymore.

The pattern comes with a cute little drawing to use deciding which fabrics to place where (and individual cut out labels for each piece which is actually super helpful when dealing with different front and back pieces)

As you can see from above I also added length to the pattern, as I found the front quite short. Fair cop to Millennials but this Gen X gals crop top days have well sailed.

I did manage to spend a sunny (yes!) morning out on the deck planning my year. Well, drinking coffee & thinking about planning my year. Mostly just drinking coffee and reminding Mr D he needs to stain the outdoor furniture.

Sixth member of the Band, Organised Spice!

I like to spend at least one day of the Twilight Zone between Xmas & New Year organising my kitchen. Cleaning out the pantry, throwing out anything out of date, reorganising. It sounds terribly Rock n Roll (not!) , but I love heading into a new year with a tidy inspiring space. I can’t control much in life but hell yes I know where the Chai Masala is when I need it!

Speaking of inspiring, check out my Xmas book swag! We have a family tradition started by my English teacher sister of giving each other a book on Xmas Eve (some interesting info on the inspiration for this here ) But of course one is never enough, so I always have a book or five on my Xmas list also.

The Language of Food is right up my alley, history, food , recipes, ELIZA ACTON, what is not to love? Review to come.

I’m aiming to up my hand sewing skills this year , so Make Sew and Mend is the perfect choice to help with that.

I will admit I didn’t get into the Seven Sisters series, but Lucinda Riley’s first and only murder mystery, The Murder at Fleet House certainly has me intrigued. I’m a sucker for anything set in Norfolk, see also the wonderful Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffith.

Ottolenghi needs no introduction, this book is another corker, I’ve already cooked several recipes, and there will be more. Over the last six months or so we’ve slowly changed our eating habits to include a bit less meat and a bit more vege, having inspiring recipes really makes that easier. I just wish eating more beans and cauliflower were easier on the digestion, Wind from the South ain’t just for Mahjong kids…

Regula Ysewijn (aka Miss Foodwise) first came on my radar years ago when I was blogging about food, she takes wonderful photos and really enjoys talking all things food and history. Her book about British puddings , both sweet and savoury is a joy, I may well make every single one. Ok maybe not the kidney one but everything else…

Simple Fancy is the latest from The Two Raw Sisters, to be honest I think the name does them a slight disservice, this is a not a “raw” cookbook, but another lovely collection of delicious fresh recipes that are heavy on the plants. I have made loads from their earlier book Salad, so anticipate lots of lovely goodness from this one too.

A long way from a café in Paris but rather lovely just the same…

After all this talk of vege and salad virtuousness of course there must be cake. Or in this case sweet little madeleines. In the great Kitchen Clean of 2022 I went through all my baking drawers and rediscovered my darling madeleine tins. For a not very sweet tooth like me these are such a prefect delicate little treat. Brown butter and Sea Salt madeleines, perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon or a dollop of cream and some berries after supper. Or contemplating life and memories in a Paris café obviously.

I hope wherever you are, 2023 is easing in with appropriate fabulousness. If not, I certainly hope things improve . Between work, personal stuff (for those of you approaching/in the trenches of Menopause I can’t recommend this book highly enough ) and just THE WORLD FFS I’ve found 2022 to be a bit of a slog at times, so here’s to an improved 2023. And lots more blog posts.

Kristina xxx

PS. Given I have four sisters and many misdemeanours against all I REALLY hope none of them are writing a book in 2023… 🙂

* I actually do hope blogs make a comeback. Long winded is good . Unless you’re a Prince maybe?

Let’s Partee with Tarlee…

20220710_130758 — Business at the front…

Hello friends! Hello little blog, I’ve missed you. It’s been Covid (both of us, boo!), several colds, a dodgy haircut , zero overseas adventures and many sewing fails long, and here we are. Nice to be back.

So to celebrate, a new top that is all business at the front…but lots of fun at the back. After seemingly endless rain and cold any party attitude is most welcome.

The pattern I started with is the Tarlee tee by Muna and Broad , a great versatile pattern I have made before . I really like the fit of this pattern, especially the curve over the back into the neckline, perfect for my terrible posture (I blame years of desk/computer work and an aversion to yoga)

The fabric is a gorgeous merino from The Fabric Store , the back fabric is a lovely swishy Liberty print, the drape is perfect for the style and feels really nice to wear.

I made View A with long sleeves in size E, cutting across the back piece of the pattern approx. 3.5cm/1.5 inches below the armhole. I then cut the piece of Liberty the same length as the remaining length on the pattern, adding a seam allowance for adding to the top. The fabric is very soft and I knew it would gather well. I also knew I wanted plenty of volume at the back so the piece of fabric I cut and gathered was around 120 cm/47 inches wide. It felt way too much but once gathered up it is just right.

Great with jeans and sneakers but I have worn this one to work with slim navy pants and my navy velvet ballet flats (only one person asked if I was wearing my slippers so that’s a win I guess…?)

So what else has been occurring at Plum Towers ? My lovely neighbour turned up with a large bag of oranges from her tree. Obviously when life gives you citrus you pour a gin. But AFTER that, you make Marmalade .

I use Ina Garten’s recipe , instead of lemons I used three limes from our garden, so it’s a totally homegrown fruit situation. I didn’t have quite enough white sugar so I added some demuera sugar , its made the marmalade slightly darker, but I still think it looks delicious. It certainly tastes good, even if my peel is slightly thicker than some (my mother) might prefer!

Good enough for a royal sandwich , just sayin…

Given the season in Tamaki Makaurau, July often feels like a bit of a grind and this one is no different. But it IS perfect weather for TV/Movie/Books.

I’ve recently enjoyed two quite different reads. The first is The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand. It’s the first of her books I’ve read, I LOVE the Nantucket setting, plus a good mystery is right up my alley. Mr PK & I visited Nantucket a few years back, honestly, its like a film set! FYI they make amazing Bloody Mary’s on the ferry over from Hyannis 🙂

Completely different is The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan, set in Mumbai. This is a charming mystery, with a lovely protagonist, the setting is so well described and who wouldn’t want a baby elephant as a side kick?

For viewing, we’ve also gone a bit eclectic…

I came to Stranger Things late, but oh my goodness, what a cracking show. The characters, the brilliant story, the CLOTHES, the MUSIC! the latest series is set in 1986, and some of the characters are exactly the same age I was in 1986, I’m certainly feeling the vibe. Also, Kate Bush people (I have a very soft spot for Wuthering Heights, won’t lie)

I was so excited to find A Stitch in Time on Amazon Prime, I’ve been wanting to watch this for ages. Amber Butchart is often quoted on The Great British Sewing Bee so I was keen to see her own show. It’s a brilliant look at historic costuming and art history, plus Ambers fab outfits each week are worth a watch by themselves.

I think of mentioned this before but a new season of the Haptic & Hue podcast dropped in April, I so enjoy this one, Jo Andrews’ research is fantastic, and I always finish listening wanting to find out more.

Now before I go I must introduce you to the latest member of our whanau, friends meet Miss Lemon. She is a delicate old lady whose owners cannot take care of her anymore. So she will live out her days in some comfort with Tommy, Tuppence, and as many cuddles as she can handle. As you can see, its highly exciting…

Right, off to make Butter Chicken for dinner, Sunday night curry night, get in!

Have a fabulous week

Kristina x

Easter off the Cuff

Wondering how much chocolate we have left…

And just like that its autumn. The clocks went back over the weekend and I now have the correct time on my oven for the first time in six months, yay! Sadly we’ve just brought a new car, never mind the clock, I’ve only just located the handbrake , a button for goodness sake? We had our previous car 16 years, so technology has moved on quite a bit (goodbye CD player…) My husband picked it up from the dealership with the aircon on full, couldn’t work out how to turn it off & was slightly hypothermic by the time he got home so apparently we’re a family of Luddites. I am however hanging out for cold weather so I can turn on the heated seats (yes it’s a thing, I have located that button!)

It’s been a lovely relaxing Easter weekend here, we were in Level 4 lockdown for Easter last year, its been great to celebrate freely once again. I hope where ever you are if you celebrate the holiday you’ve managed to do so with some normality. We had our traditional whanau Good Friday lunch , my husband won the poker , not sure Mum was totally impressed…

Can’t choose your Son in Law’s Mum, sorry…

I had intended to make myself a new top for the day, but of course I wasn’t organized. My sew-jo has been a bit hit & miss lately, ridiculous as it sounds I have so many patterns & so much fabric I end up paralyzed with choice. Yes that is ENTIRELY a first world problem, I am making a conscious effort to use what I have.

Enter the Assembly Line Cuff Top. In beautiful Merchant & Mills linen from Miss Maude which I had in my stash.

CUFF TOP PATTERN - The Assembly Line shop

I’ve admired so many of these popping up on social media, then my bestie made a version and obviously I had to have that pattern too. Happily The Assembly Line have extended their size range so you can now get this wee gem up to a 4XL. The curvier range has a dart added, which I actually really like, added fabric through the bust without being swamped in fabric around the waist & hips.

Admiring my first Feijoa tree, I feel so grown up! (it’s a NZ thing…)

Having said that I think next time I’ll add a couple of cm length, and grade out the same at the hips. The neckline is the boat neck variation, I’m all over boat necks at the moment, for some reason they feel dressier to me than a crew neck. Using the boat neck also meant I didn’t need to make the button loop or attach a button, the neckline is sufficiently roomy to just slide overhead. I whipped this top up in a day, which for a slow sewer like me is pretty good. Just bear in mind the instructions for the facing will change, and you need to fully sew up the back seam.

Animal print & gold as a look? Why yes please

I first met my husband back in the 90’s, he still refers to my “dressing as a tree” phase. I had a much loved (meaning flippin expensive so I wore it everywhere) Working Style linen shirt in the most fabulous deep forest green. I was also deeply wedded to my brown straight leg cords (corduroy is so much more comfortable than denim, seriously) , so the two combined were a fav outfit. I’m happy to recreate the glory here . The pants are the Muna & Broad Sculthorpe, in heavy linen from The Fabric Store , that top stitching brings me joy.

So what else has been occurring at Plum Towers?

Mum stayed for a couple of days over Easter so we hit the garden center on Saturday. There isn’t a plant, garden or nursery my Mother doesn’t appreciate, so after I picked various winter vege & herbs for my raised beds & plants for my hanging baskets she lasted all of 24 hours before suggesting she could plant them out . I bow down to both superior knowledge & enthusiasm! I wont pretend to be any kind of botanist, but there is something really soothing about being in a garden. And I wont lie, watching someone else make that garden is pretty satisfyingly lazy. I know, I’m terrible.

My youngest sister has fully embraced the Jellyologist, we had the most marvelous Xmas trees in December, but she brought it next level for Easter. That’s layers of different flavors of jelly in real egg shells, the eggs themselves made their way into chocolate pavlova with crème patisserie filling. Spoilt yes?

Ok one thing I am excited about with a new car is the ease of listening to podcasts. Years after everyone else discovered them of course, but the glory of not wrestling with cords is really quite thrilling. My current fav is Shedunnit by Caroline Crampton. As an avowed aficionado of Golden Age detective fiction this is such a great listen. If you don’t like Agatha Christie, Ngaio March & the rest of the band…give yourself a talking too & have a listen. You might learn something.

Lastly, super cute pencils from Miss Maude , I have been a stationery fiend from way back, the beginning of the school year was such a thrill, a new pencil case is still a thing of joy. What plans I shall make with these beauties…

Have a lovely week team, hopefully next time we meet I’ve sorted the clock in the car…wish me luck

Kristina x

You silky minx Waikerie…

Well, back into Level 3 lockdown here is Auckland. Three cases in the community, a family including a border worker who thankfully, as soon as she felt unwell, got tested. Fingers crossed with some pretty epic test & tracing going on it will be nipped in the bud. I spent today working at home in my “lounge wear” under the supervision of Tommy & Tuppence. Many treats & cuddles were administered, cats love lockdown!

Sadly however, I did not get the chance to wear my swanky new SILK shirt to work. Boo! Yes, you heard me, I tackled silk. There were no tears, barely any swearing (honest), I only used my unpicker twice. I know, these are indeed crazy times.

The Waikerie shirt from Muna & Broad. I made View B with short sleeves, I would probably never wear a long sleeve shirt without rolling the sleeves up, I thought the soft fabric would not stay rolled for long.

Because I have previously made this Waikerie dress (an extension of the original pattern), I already had some pattern pieces cut out, and I knew the yoke and collar was the right size for me. The fabric I picked up on sale from The Fabric Store a wee while ago, I LOVE the sequin print , but was always a little hesitant to use it, a) not being experienced sewing silk (not sure how I thought that would change NOT sewing with it?) and b) I was never sure the colour worked for me. Now I’m a foxy silver its practically camouflage yes?

The only thing I did to compensate for sewing silk was use a finer gauge needle, and as far as I could, use French seams. The sleeve band method is the same as the Torrens top, I really like it but wish I’d finished the seams on this one with binding rather than overlocking , I can feel it slightly rubbing on my skin (Five minutes sewing silk & suddenly a delicate wee thing I am…)

I really like the slightly sporty style of the shirt, with a slightly boxy fit, dropped back hem & shorter sleeves, combined with a really luxe fabric. I love it with my jeans & sneakers for the weekend, but it works equally well with pants & heels for the day job (well, when I’m in the office and not sitting at the dining table in my slippers covered in cat fur hey…)

As with other Muna & Broad patterns, the instructions are nice & clear and the drafting is great, I’m already planning a cute linen version. Or silk satin, now I’m a bit of an expert…? Yeah, nah.

Contemplating life…or trying not to put dents in the wooden floor?

So what else has been happening around these parts?

Watched a fab movie on Netflix The Dig recently, not only a lovely film (based on a true story) but some really fabulous costumes too! I received the The Foldline newsletter last week, which did a wee rundown of patterns if you wanted to recreate the look. I personally adore the whole 40’s Industrial Land Girl aesthetic so this was right up my alley. I also wear silver shoes & animal print so I’m clearly also slightly confused on this point…

Actually if this is your vibe too, check out Old Town clothing and of course one of my favorite pattern designers Merchant & Mills

On a completely different tangent, Series 2 of Blown Away has just dropped on Netflix & I’m very excited. Mr D & I loved series one, a show about glassblowing doesn’t sound like everyone’s bag but trust me, it’s fab. So much artistry, so many different personalities, by the final we were really invested!

On the bedside table, The Marlow Murder Club, really enjoying this one, in the vein of The Thursday Murder Club, it’s a fun whodunnit in the classic Golden Age style, with a spunky older sleuth, lots of fun

I hope where ever you are it’s been a good start to the week, I’m currently having a G & T because from memory that’s what ones does in lockdown on a Monday night, or is that just me?

Kristina x

A new skirt for the new year…

Ok, I was going to start with a hearty Happy New Year, but honestly, how about We Made It, Go Us instead? Crawling into 2021, doom scrolling Twitter, and wondering, between the shocking events unfolding in the US and the terrible Covid situation what the heck is next. If this were a Gerard Butler film I’d be yelling at the TV “no, its too much, so unbelievable”!

Retreating to my sewing room, I spent an inordinate amount of time rearranging fabric (almost like a completely separate hobby from actual sewing, and so relaxing ), finding a lovely piece of Spotlight rayon left over from a previous project. I had just on one meter, enough for another Muna & Broad Nullarbor camisole, I think my fourth now?

I love the colour combination on this fabric, and realized it would work really well with this linen I also found in my stash. I clearly had something in mind when I brought over FOUR meters of it…but have no idea what. I know, ridiculous…and gosh I hope it was on sale. Anyway it turns out it is perfect for the Peppermint Pocket Skirt , a collaboration between Peppermint Magazine & Paper Theory pattern.

While I love the shape of the skirt, I wont lie, I was a tiny bit concerned about pockets you could fit a small child in. But given the way the year is shaping up we could get hit by a zombie invasion next week, so it seemed like a good time to try something new! This is a really quick & easy sew, the pocket construction is clever, I was quite intrigued to see how it looked on.

Hmmmm.

I tried it on for Mr PK, his face was a picture. “those are some big pockets…they sort of sit on a wide bit” *makes hand motions indicating the not ungenerous width of his loving wife’s hips* Then in a moment of clarity regarding just how terrible his 2021 was about to get, he followed up with the immortal “if you like it, that’s what counts”. Indeed.

I think in a softer fabric the pocket would have a softer drape but in the heavyweight linen the effect is a bit exaggerated for me. Because of the way the skirt is constructed taking the pocket off wasn’t really an option, but a wee pleat? Now were talking.

I ended up doing an inverted pleat, then embellished with a simple embroidery cross in green thread as a wee detail. I think the effect is charming, and I’m aerodynamically safe to go out in strong winds. The skirt as per the pattern is very long, I took a good 7″/15 cm off , I would probably leave the hem a little longer next time.

I had actually intended the skirt to be a new years day lunch outfit with this top, a new pattern from The Fabric Store

I love that neckline! It’s a quick make, I made the 3/4 sleeve but took about 2″/5 cm off to make it more elbow length. I like the fit, not to tight, but not baggy. The cotton is from Spotlight, it it probably slightly thick for this time of year but I couldn’t resist that print.

Apparently I can only look one way in a photo…

The elastic waistband is comfortable, I would not wear it sitting as high as the pattern pics, I’ve tried but it feels very odd to me!

So how about a few other fun distractions to stop, or at least reduce, daytime drinking?

On Netflix, the brilliant Bridgerton, this is so much fun! Romance, gorgeous costumes, wit, charm, did I mention gorgeous costumes? You can read all about them here.

I went to the cinema last week with a pal & saw The Dry, so good! I really enjoyed the book, the movie adaptation is very true to the novel. Eric Bana is brilliant in the lead and lets be honest, brilliantly attractive also!

Speaking of daytime drinking, water definitely tastes better off a hydrangea leaf…

Why use the three water bowls you already have…

I hope where ever you are you’re safe and able to squeeze some joy out of the coming year, we deserve it!

Kristina x