Outfit 1 - The Big Reveal
Phew! Outfit 1 is done and I'm super pleased with how it turned out. Cambridge provided the perfect backdrop for the photos - we wandered through some of the colleges and I felt like I'd just leapt out of a wartime spy film :)
Shall we have a quick run through of the pieces?
My cardigan is the very lovely pattern Audrey in Unst and I am totally thrilled with how it turned out. The yarn is a delicious blend of hand-dyed baby alpaca, silk and cashmere and it is surprisingly warm :) It's finished with pretty wee shell buttons.
The beret is a vogue pattern sensibly named #13 Lace Beret and I adore the lace pattern and the teal blue alpaca/wool fuzzy yarn.
My dress is the Washi dress pattern in cotton Liberty print that I don't think is available any more. I picked mine up on Ebay. It was just too chilly to show my dress off properly, but I'm making a tunic version too (can't resist) so I'll show you that one in more detail soon. My Liberty Washi has capped sleeves, pockets and a keyhole neckline.
My stole is faux fur and I based it on my grandmother's real one :) It's lined with a silky paisley fabric and fastens at the neck by slipping one end through a loop on the underside of the other end.
('scuse the legs. Mr Myrtle said it was "great action". The tights are from H&M.)
My ring and my earrings are glass. I've never tried making anything with glass before and I loved it. A couple of friends showed me what to do, then fired my little chunks in their little glass kiln. Alison helped me turn the caramel & cream chunks into earrings by shaping and hammering some stirling silver wire into earring hooks. Aren't they gorgeous!
So there you have it! Outfit 1 is officially in use. I'd put off wearing any individual items until I'd taken the photos and now, looking at it all together, I'm slightly stunned I managed to get it all done. Although it took a while for the look to evolve, once I figured it out, it flowed pretty well. I loved working on a whole outfit - it gave me a great focus and I'm so glad I decided to make the jewellery too because it was so much fun trying something new on a small scale.
You'll be pleased to hear that Outfit 2 is underway. It's totally different and I'll pop back to give you a run down of my plans soon. All I can say at this stage is, I've discovered Malabrigo.
(If you're interested, the photos were shot in Clare College, Cambridge. The rather majestic gothic building behind me in some photos is King's College Chapel. Everybody in Cambridge cycles, so there are bikes everywhere. And yes, most of the tourists about had umbrellas. It wasn't really raining, just English drizzle.)