Deer and Doe... More New Pattern Goodness!

I have been following a cute little french blog for a while now written by Eleanor, She's just launched a new pattern line, Deer and Doe,
The patterns are so cute I had to blog them!

Airelle is a great pattern with fabulous shoulder gathers, I could totally use this in my wardrobe!

Belladone is a very simple but cute dress. But out of the dresses I adore bleuet, a lovely little shirt dress which would be perfect in a stable fabric for Fall

Next is the coat Pavot, which is so chic! The construction looks nice and simple for a coat but what a fabulous result you end up with!

last but certainly not least is Sureau which is a great everyday dress! I can see everything in this collection becoming fantastic additions to any wardrobe! I think I might have to get saving up!

(Apologies for the basic ness of this post, my laptop has decided to die on me and until I get a new hard drive I'm having to resort to using the ever patient Piemaker's IPad. Not as easy as I'd thought!)

Completed: Craftsy Lace Keyhole Scarf by Stefanie Japel

Yes I actually finished something! Granted I finished this a little while ago but I've just had time to get pictures.

As the title suggests this was the scarf Stefanie Japel teaches you to knit in the Knit Lab Craftsy Course. It was a beginner course and I loved it. Although not an absolutely base rate knitter I found it so helpful and it gave me confidence to do more lace knitting. 

 I used Artesano's Superwash Merino in Grape. The colour is somewhere in between what the photos show. Its a lovely yarn and this only took up one skein. I think they would make fantastic presents! It took me around two days to finish. As you can see I prefer it as a headband rather than a scarf, it keeps my ears warm and due to my uhmmm adequate bust, it looks a bit pathetic around my neck.

 I decided not to block it as I like the lettuce like frilliness when its worn as a headband. I can wholeheartedly recommend this class. Stefanie is a great teacher. I've now signed up to her "fit your knits" class and I'm learning to knit in the round. Something I never thought i'd be able to get!
Perfect timing for autumn!

Bought Without Breathing... Colette's New Patterns Anise and Juniper!

Oh my gosh the new Colette patterns accidentally dropped themselves into my shopping basket!
I love both the Juniper trousers and the Anise Jacket!

I needed a good kick up the butt sewing wise and both of these are perfect Autumn pieces I could get a lot of wear out of!
I also bought Sarai's cute little instruction book that goes with the Anise jacket its $5 for today!
I promise I will be back with vengeance soon. The house situation is that we are currently waiting for exchange and completion which should be done in the next week or so. We think it will be another fortnight before we move in.
I will be getting sewing once we get chance to unpack!
How are you enjoying Autumn? Its one of my favourite seasons!

Still Here But Knitting...

Hello Friends!
We are still here, just in a funny interim period and living with Piemakers family for a little while, this doesn't make for great sewing time but I've really gone great guns with my knitting.
I thought it might be nice to update you on how i've been getting on.
I've officially learnt to knit properly. Thanks to the lovely knit and natter group in Worthing
especially Caroline who runs The Wool Bar (fabulous yarn shop)
It took a good few months to start to feel comfortable knitting and after one frogged cardigan, I have started my beautiful Willow Pullover from Louisa Harding's Margurite book. I am really enjoying this knit! Such simple instructions can make such a lovely pattern. I'm making this up in a patons cotton 4ply.
I've learnt a huge amount using Stephanie Japel's Knit lab class on Craftsy and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking to start out. I just skipped the bits I knew already but there are some fabulous tips! I also finished her lace keyhole scarf and it makes a fab headband (Pics to come.)
Here is where I'm upto with my Willow pullover

I adore the lace edging! 

I have become a proper yarnie too which is no surprise and i'm getting a good stash together.
If you want to see any of the stuff in my stash or things I'd like to make pop over to my page on Ravelry . Who else has fallen in love with knitting?

Whole Lotta Planning...

I seem to spend my life planning all the stuff i'm going to do instead of actually doing it. 

But when it comes to sewing, in my defense I actually can't do a lot until the move is done and I can unpack my sewing machine and unbury my fabric.

I have done abysmally in my sewing goals so far this year, my target is 25 garments, so unless I get a move on I'm in grave danger of missing that one.

a little info on how were progressing housewise first, 

We give our little rented house over on Tuesday and are essentially living in a bed room in Piemaker's parents house. No room for sewing here, but were waiting for completion before making the second move to our new home.

Incidentally this has given me a lot of time to think about what I'd truly like in my wardrobe and how I would like it to be.

I've sold a whole bunch of stuff on ebay and I'm looking to cleanse my wardrobe big time.

I've even written a little mission statement:

"The Idea behind this plan is comfortable, wearable pieces that can transcend from one use to another seamlessly, Promoting the use of good quality lasting fabrics to create versatility when put into an everyday wardrobe and the inclusion of pieces that harmonise with each other to create a capsule like effect.

Clothing in this plan should be, primarily a mixture of separates with the exception of a few dresses that can be worn layered with tights and long sleeved tops.

Overall I would like to achieve a workhorse style wardrobe of useful clothing. As I complete the Seamless Pledge I made in May 2012 until May 2013. "

So I've been trying to address this and look logically at what I like wearing. For example, I mainly wear dresses in the winter with tights, but feel uncomfortable in dresses in summer. 

Weird but realistic. I need more winter dresses than thin summer frocks.

So stay tuned for more wardrobe musings!

Do you have any weird wardrobe requirements?

Guest Post: Sara from Road to the Heart...

Hello readers of Beebee's Vintage Dress!  I'm Sara of Road to the Heart. While I love sewing things from scratch, sometimes it's just as much fun to buy something from the thrift store and alter it to be wearable.  Here's my most recent project!

I found this dress at Goodwill, and it was huge.  I felt like a child when I put it on for this before photo:

Swimming in pink!

But I thought it had potential because of the pretty peach color and the pleated texture.  So I cut the skirt part off, folded over the top, and added a drawstring waist.  And suddenly, it was the perfect beach outfit!

Thanks Stevie for letting me guest post!  If you want to see more upcycled fashions or vintage musings, feel free to hop over to my blog to say hi.  Happy sewing!

No Sewing... Just Life Changing

Morning lovely people. I know its been ages since I showed you something new, but my sewing has been taken over recently. After posting a similar post to this one, Things went wrong and I had to take it down. But now hopefully the danger is passed and we can announce that we are in the process of buying our first home!

I'm so exited about it all. We put in an offer that was accepted, but then someone else put in a silly much higher bid therefore knocking us out. However they seemed to just be timewasters so it then passed back to us.
All the paperwork is being done now and we should be able to move in, in around 6 weeks!
Only problem with this? We managed to rent our little house much quicker than planned and they can only wait a month max to move in.
So very quickly our lives are full of frantic packing and getting ourselves ready. The house were moving to needs a LOT of work, the old lady who lived there still had original 1930/40s furniture. However this means there is some fab original features!
It doesn't look like much but the potential is great!

Sorry again for the scarceness of posts, I have been knitting a lot recently as its a good portable craft. I've nearly got something finished to show you.
In the mean time I was thinking of getting some guest posters together, if your interested please email me on beebeesvintagedress@hotmail.co.uk I'm off to fill more boxes!