Linking and thinking - a small post about the O&S puppet show dress

I've just bought the Oliver+S puppet show pattern - now available as a PDF, and taking instant pattern gratification to new levels. I would probably have bought any pattern which O+S chose to make available digitally, just to encourage them to produce more, but I was especially excited that they chose to start with this one because I've been wanting for ages to copy Janimal's amazing Snow White version.

But, while I wait for my little girl to learn to recognise the Disney princesses (and it might be a long wait, with my husband hard at work protecting her from their dubious influences) I've found another puppet-show-a-like to keep me going. Teal, from the wonderful 'Abney and Teal' wears a long-sleeved version with patch pockets and a gingham trim. Off to look for fabric at once...

Knock knock...

Who's there?

It's my friend Justine at the door, with a bowl of gloop...

... and some (well-used) instructions...

... for a sourdough cake called Herman.

I'm very excited about having Herman in our family, having been wanting to try a sourdough recipe for ages. The children were dubious at first, but have started to enjoy him now: they come downstairs in the morning and ask 'is Herman still alive?', and they enjoyed feeding him his first top-up of flour, milk and sugar. It's like having a very quiet and undemanding pet. He does smell a bit - somewhere between 'delicious' and 'odd' depending on your perspective - and needs less maintenance than the cat, but slightly more than the goldfish.

Someone once told me that pets are very important to children because they teach them about death - she was a child psychologist, and she recommended hamsters for their short life-span. 

Back to the cake - as I'm not sure where that last sentence was leading - we're now on day 6, Herman is bubbling away happily, and we're still planning to eat him at the end of the process.

Photos to follow...

Buttonhole bliss

The new sewing machine has made the whole process of creating buttonholes so easy that it almost feels like cheating.

No more press-on snaps.

No worrying that the machine might suddenly decide to eat my nice new creation.

Buttonhole bliss!