Here comes the sun...

There's something about the Cath Kidston shop that I fall for every time. As soon as I step inside I completely believe in the CK world of eternal summertime, with strawberries for tea and boating on the river - never mind that I'm wearing woolly gloves and boots, and the nearest river is miles away. And then I start buying fabric...

Maybe this print would be better suited to an apron, but even back at home it still has a hint of sunshine about it!  This is my muslin for the lovely meringue skirt from the new Colette pattern book. If you know the pattern you'll see that it's been extensively tweaked: the scalloped hem on the original might have been a bit much with this floral print; and the stiff canvas fabric holds its shape so firmly that I chose to trim a bit from the side-seams to straighten it.

The biggest triumph? An invisible zipper! The book's instructions are so good I didn't even feel afraid, and I'm delighted by its invisibility. Somehow I managed to set the zip too low and had to add a button at the waist, but luckily it was one of those happy accidents that end up looking almost intentional.

Don't look too closely, though! It's still a bit scrappy.

So now I just need to wait for the weather to catch up with my wardrobe...

Happy New Year, everyone!

Herman the cake #2 (and #3, and #4)

It's been a measure of Herman's popularity that since I last wrote about him here he's been baked and eaten three times without ever having his photo taken. This last time, though I was prepared, and had my camera ready as soon as he came out of the oven, still in his baking tin.

This, of course, is Herman #4. In his previous incarnations he's been out for tea with friends, sold well at the school fair, and been the highlight of several lunchboxes. He's also lived up to his billing as a 'friendship' cake: delivering jars of sourdough gloop offers the perfect excuse for an impromptu coffee and catch-up.

In keeping with previous pets, Herman has grown smellier over time and the children have lost interest in maintaining him - whilst expecting him to remain part of the family forever. Luckily, Herman-talk on the internet says it's ok to freeze him in his uncooked form, and that he should recover when he's thawed (not something I'd try with the goldfish). So, we'll cook him one more time, Santa will get a jar of sourdough mix on Christmas eve, and then it's time for hibernation.