Made the dress, wore the dress

I’d had this dress earmarked as my next project for a while, and while I’d cut out the paper pattern the fabric sat on the side almost taunting me. On mum’s recent visit she looked at the pattern and declared I could do it, but pointed it out it had a facing. I think that’s because I’m not really a fan of facings which flap about and get in the way, not because a facing was tricky to sew, well I think so anyway.

But anyway with a family outing planned with a meal on the Bluebell Railway, I thought to myself that it’d be quite nice to have something new to wear the following weekend. That’s when my brain said, well you can make that sundress, can’t you? And when your brain challenges you like that, sometimes you just have to prove it right. Or wrong.

So that’s what I did.

On the Monday I took the fabric and the pattern to my sewing group, and pondered pattern placement. I took my scissors but didn’t really expect to cut it out there as I hadn’t measured myself against the pattern sizes, so after a fair bit of faffing, I folded the pattern pieces up in the fabric and got on with something else.

I don’t think anyone at that Monday night group thought I’d really make it in a week, and at this point I wasn’t sure either, but hey ho!

Overnight my brain percolated more thoughts: the pattern pieces I’d been struggling to fit into one half of the fold was solved when I realised the fold didn’t need to produce equal parts, simple really but I worked it out.

And my brain decided to add a further condition, when it remembered that I’d bought some fab labels at the Festival of Quilts, and that it’d be great to include one on this dress. My awake brain remembered that I’m not a big fan of labels in clothes as often they can be scratchy, and then wondered why on earth I’d bought myself some labels anyway (in my defence they are very cute!).

Then I realised the label could be on the outside of the garment, just because they’re traditionally inside a garment didn’t mean that that’s where I needed to place it. So sorted, it was going on the pocket.

On the Tuesday afternoon I commandeered our oversized kitchen island to check if my overnight revelations were good. They were, and so the dress was cut out completely that afternoon.

It was just as well that the shop had mis-measured the material when I bought it in the sale back in May, as I needed that extra 60cms. Well I needed some of it, as this was my first time using this pattern I decided to cut it to the full length even though I knew it would be too long for me, but I was unsure how much shorter I wanted it but I knew I could sort that out later. If I didn’t have enough then I’d have needed to work it out, but I was about 25 cms away from doing that.

On Wednesday I started to sew, and the pattern started with assembling the pockets, so I got to check to see if my plan for the label would work out. It did, and remarkably well, though if I was doing this again now I’d add interfacing to the pink contrast pocket top as it’s a more lightweight fabric.

And doesn’t it look as if it was made for this dress?

I also discovered the benefits of a well-stocked craft room, as not only did I manage to locate the exact size zip the pattern suggested, I also had one in a toning pink. Then I found some cotton that matched the green background, so I was sorted, and maybe, just maybe making the dress to wear at the weekend was actually a go-er.

Thursday there was more sewing, and the zip went in. It’s in, it zips and hasn’t fallen out yet so that’s all good, but I think it could be neater though I guess with practice that will come. There was a slight mishap to the sewing schedule as while I was putting the zip in the tape I’d used to secure it decided to stick itself to my sewing machine leaving a sticky gluey mark, not the best. So MOH was called in with some rubbing alcohol to resolve the sticky situation successfully.

By the end of Thursday most of the sewing was done, there was just the top of the bodice to finish and the hem, but I sensibly decided to leave that for another day.

So after a very hot day at this year’s Rutland Flower Show I decided I wasn’t going to be beaten by my own rather daft challenge, and so it was time to work out how long I wanted the straps, and what length I wanted the dress to be.

MOH was called into operation again, to check that the straps covered my bra straps and to mark the hem. He was ok with the first task, but unsure on the second - but we got there. In the end I cut about an inch off the straps, and six inches off the bottom of the dress, so that’s an adjustment I can make from the off next time I use this pattern.

And so Friday night it was finished. I didn’t quite get the instructions for finishing the bodice so decided to wing it a bit, and added a row of topstitch around the armholes and neckline, and if I’m honest I like this kind of finish. It did mean that the contrasting rosebud facing was a bit flappy, which I’m not a fan of, so I sat there and hand sewed it into place.

Then after whizzing round the bottom a couple of times for the hem, and a really good press, it was actually finished.

So on Saturday night I wore the dress, and what’s more it looked and felt great - and not one single person asked if I’d made it, which I’m taking as a sign of success rather than everyone thought it was awful!

And while I’ll probably make another one, it probably won’t be in a week!

Looking back to the first Rutland Flower Show

We’re heading back to the Rutland Flower Show again this year, so ahead of that I thought I’d take a look back at our visit to the first Rutland Flower Show last year. Like this year the weather was very warm, and I’m hoping that this year there will be more shade as with it being a showground, there wasn’t much natural shade.

There were a mix of show gardens and plant stalls, but also there was a homeware section and what appealed to me more was the garden sculptures and vintage garden additions, so I’m hoping there’s a similar mix this year.

What I especially liked about this show garden, along with the obvious inspiration, was the detail on the information board which listed which plants had been used. Not just the plant names, but grouped by type so the trees were listed together, as were shrubs, perennials and the climber - this made it easy to identify which plant was which, which was great for those of us that don’t always know the plant names, and for those of us keen to learn.

GATES SHOW GARDEN

GATES SHOW GARDEN

Surprising myself I managed to not buy my all time favourites, and while our current multiple heatwave summer isn’t the ideal time to be buying plants, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to resist such beauties this year.

I might be better off buying succulents, which really wouldn’t be a hardship at all!

The ‘Turmeric Plants’ are on my wish list though, for the leaf shape as well as the vibrant pink.

And a rusty allium, yes please - this would be great to add interest into a winter border wouldn’t it?

Last year when I saw these I’d recently bought myself some new herb labels, I haven’t yet leapt back into seed sowing, but I’d be very tempted by these this year in readiness - I do like to be prepared.

STAMFORD LANDSCAPES SHOW GARDEN

STAMFORD LANDSCAPES SHOW GARDEN

We had an enjoyable chat with the people on the Stamford Landscapes stall and I liked the feel of their show garden - it always amazes me how show gardens come together so quickly, and can look so established, that’s a real skill.

GARDEN ELEMENTS SHOW GARDEN

I really need to add chives like this to my plant list don’t I?

THE GATHERER FLORIST DISPLAY

As well as the Show Gardens there were also smaller borders to admire and also take inspiration from. I’ve included a couple of my favourite shots here.

THE GRANGE DISPLAY

So after looking back at my photos from last year, I’m ready for this year’s show so watch out for some more photos from there soon.

Two bouillons and some extra glamour

Having two nights in Paris on our trip gave us the perfect opportunity to revisit our favourite restaurant in the city, although we saw from our pre-trip research that the restaurant in Montparnasse had changed hands. We could also see that it had lost none of its charm, in fact its story had taken a remarkable turn and so it was definitely somewhere we planned to eat.

As our onward train left from Montparnasse we stayed close to the station that evening, which gave us the perfect opportunity to head along to the Bouillon Chartier and once again embrace the beautiful interiors, and hopefully some really good food.

A bouillon, we learnt, is more than just a name and stands for traditional, simple and hearty cuisine that’s affordable, generous and unpretentious - and yes, it was good. And the surroundings were just as we remembered them, though in previous visits I’m sure we’ve spent a pretty Franc and a pretty Euro more!

This bouillon opened it’s Art Nouveau decor doors in 1903, with ceramic wall tiles by Louise Trézel which were added to France’s cultural heritage registry in 1984. Remarkably these, and many other features including the ornate carved wood mirrors, had been kept in place and preserved over the years, and so when this restaurant reopened under its original name in 2019 it was able to have its same splendour once again.

While admiring the surroundings we feasted on really good food with MOH opted to start with snails which are definitely not for me, the celeriac remoulade was much more my thing, followed by the roasted chicken and fries and finishing with a Rum Baba - they’re classic menu choices and I’m happy with them, even if MOH can predict what I’ll choose!

But I promised you two bouillons, and here’s the second. We had another night in Paris before our return journey to the UK and similarly stayed close to our departing station - I reckoned that no one needed the stress of crossing Paris with a deadline, and so by staying within walking distance to our departing stations we would have a less stressful start to our travel day.

Following the success of our visit to the Bouillon Chartier at Montparnasse MOH, my long term restaurant finder came up trumps and found another one close to our hotel between Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Ouest. Like last time we hadn’t got a booking, but we weren’t as lucky with our timing, and so needed to queue for a table. We queued less than half an hour, and were soon ushered into the restaurant when I suspect as people who’d booked didn’t show up in their timeslot. Their loss, our gain!

As you can see from the mosaic doorstep Bouillon Julien was founded in 1906, and its founder Edouard Fournier proclaimed that ‘here, everything is beautiful, good, inexpensive’ - and it was.

That chap Louis Trezel appears in this building’s history too creating nymphs symbolising the four seasons represented in four glass panels. It seems this bouillon wasn’t quite so lucky in keeping its original features as in 2018 the restoration started with the sole aim of seeking authenticity. An early discovery revealed that the walls weren’t beige as everyone though, but instead a ‘Céladon’ green and it’s a beautiful pale and calming colour that works really well here.

As we were sitting almost in the window at the front of the restaurant, on the ruse of ‘popping to the loo’ I went to see more - I did find the loos, but unusually it was the restaurant’s decor that I photographed.

Here MOH didn’t have snails, but instead the terrine and I veered away from my usual choices by opting for the leek vinaigrette with hazelnuts, which was so good that I’ve been looking at recipes to recreate this at home. It looks easy enough, I just haven’t got around to it yet.

The food here was equally as good, and the wine glasses were as equally as small - and the surroundings, well you can see for yourself they are equally as stunning.

And the glamour?

We stumbled upon this shimmer of extra glamour in Angers completely by chance. We’d visited the Jardin des Plantes and was meandering back towards the centre of town, without following stringent directions, as you do when you’re on holiday (but not when you’re on a walking holiday!)

It looked like a shower might be on its way, and sure enough it was. Rather than dig out our waterproofs as it didn’t look like the shower would last long, we ducked into a department store. It turned out to be the old Galeries Lafayette department store, now renamed BHV Angers.

It’s safe to say we didn’t expect to see this.

We’d wandered up to the home department to prolong our visit, and because I like to see shops in other countries and found ourselves staring and admiring the glass ceiling above us. It was here that I found some bedding by Le Redoute, which I hadn’t realised was part of this chain, and which was 35% off.

But there was no way I was carrying that home if I didn’t have to, so later that evening I checked out what they had online - it was there, and with the same reduction and no restrictions on shipping to the UK, so it was a matter of biding my time to place my order. I got that just about right, it was delivered the day we got home, but a few hours before we arrived, and I love it just as much. It no longer appears to be on their site, and I hadn’t shopped with Le Redoute for a very long time, but they have some lovely bedding so they’re back on my radar.

Originally the site was the Grand Hotel, and then in 1901 the hotel was transformed into a department store designed by architect Auguste Martin to emulate high-end Parisian shops, so my bet is that they were even more amazing.

So there you have two bouillons and some extra glamour, which we discovered in the most surprising way. If you’re in Paris, they’re specifically a Parisian thing, then do consider trying out a bouillon (or two!)