Cold Snap

My sister and I laughed and laughed when I brought out this fabric.  I had been doing a show-and-tell of internet purchases that hadn't been quite as I expected.  This one was the last to come out, because it is all very well to admit a mistake, but who wants to admit to an expensive mistake...yes, the tell-tale zig-zags and divine colour combinations give this away as Missoni fabric.   The fabric is gorgeous and covetable, yes, but standing in the hot climate of Townsville, I felt like I was holding a horse blanket. 

A few weeks ago I was preparing to visit Brisbane for the christening of my nephew.    Two days before we left I decided that I needed to make up the fabric if I was ever going to wear it before the silverfish got to it.  I climbed out of my bed, where I had been languishing since having my wisdom teeth removed, and sewed the main peices together of a Twinkle pattern for a dropped shoulder minidress.  I looked in the mirror and was devastated at the result.  The weight of the wool and zig-zags across the shoulder made me look like a front-row forward.  The dress fell to the floor and I fell back in bed.

The next day I attended "nursery-rhyme day" at school, visited the dentist, ran around on errands and then found myself with half an hour to spare before school pick-up.  Could I salvage the dress in half an hour?  Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, and I pulled out my Ottobre t-shirt pattern and starting snipping away and stitching up.  The result was promising.

Late that night, halfway through packing, I added the cowl.  The Twinkle pattern had pleats around the neckline as well as the cowl, but I found I had only cut one length for the pleats instead of two, and short of time, I decided to do away with pleats.  I guess I could go back and add them in now?  I finished all the little handstitching bits when I got to Brisbane.

I got to wear this dress a-plenty during my holiday because it was so cold.  I was freezing whilst Peter snapped this photo, and went out and bought a singlet and thicker leggings to wear underneath.  Back here in Townsville, cold weather is so difficult to comprehend!  However, we do usually get one or two more cold days, so I just may get to wear this dress again before I pack it away for the summer.

I did have a little bit of fabric shopping success whilst in Brisbane.  I stumbled into a dress shop in Paddington to find a table of remnants left from seasons past.  Beautiful linens and silks at great prices.  I bought up most of the remnants for less than the price of a single garment in this shop!