This whole Google Friend Connect malarkey is a little confusing. My followers still appear on my blog so... who knows? Well, anyway, just in case it does shut down (apparently it will) please follow me on Bloglovin! You can import all the blogs you follow here (:

HI guys. Hi. Hello. Currently writing this in a window seat on a semi-sunny day w an iced americano and some popcorn. It's pretty good. Hope yer all well!

Past couple of weeks have been weird... but I'm recovering! Apparently I don't deal well with having nothing to do. It feels like I'm never resting because I was never actually active in the first place. Home has turned from a cosy nest into a kind of hell haha. I lost all motivation to make myself look nice which means I feel even less comfortable with myself and even more like 'what is my life'. Luckily, over the past couple of days I have had quite a few things to write on my to do list and now feel a lot better! Thank goodness! I got up early today, made myself look okay (I think), crossed a couple of things off my to do list, and am now outside, writing this blog post, listening to a disco playlist (thanks BBC) and feeling kind of like a real person!

Other than that, in general things are pretty fantastic! I feel more 'myself' than I have done in a very long time. Time really does heal all wounds. I mean, it's a kind of silly thing to say. It doesn't make you feel any better when you're wounded, and by the time you've healed it's simply irrelevant. But... it is true! It's a beautiful thing to know you went through something monumentally shitty and you were strong enough to come out the other side. And it's great to know that the whole experience made you an even better person. It's like in comparison to how low I know I can feel, feeling 'okay' doesn't just feel okay anymore, it feels awesome. I don't have to lie to myself about how I feel anymore. I don't have to tell myself 'don't think about it, stop thinking about it, think happy thoughts' because it just doesn't hurt me anymore. This is all compounded by the fact that I managed pretty damn good exam results considering how shitty this year has been for me! YEAH! So, life lesson for me - never stop working!

Alongside milling around and doing little bits and bobs here and there, I went to York the other day! My friend had been a million times so we could wander freely without worrying about getting lost or anything. Always a plus. It was really, really lovely. Definitely going back, especially because of how close it is to Durham.

First we went to the Railway Museum, because why not? It was actually pretty fun. Reminded me of being a kid. I remember going to a railway museum when my family lived in the UK the first time around (we moved to Australia when I was 6) and thinking they were magical. Something about those huge machines and the smell (is that weird) and idk. I tried to take photos of the royal coaches but they didn't turn out that well so... you'll just have to go check it out yourself.

York Minster was just gorgeous, of course. Love me a good cathedral hoho. Wikipedia tells me its Great East Window is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. Whaddayaknow? Because they're always restoring / cleaning the stained glass, they have a 'stained glass of the month' type thing where you can look at the designs up close and read about them etc. ...it's pretty kewl. I'd recommend. Is this starting to sound like a tourist website?

My friend had a sudden hankering for ice cream so we went on a quest to find the perfect parlour. We found this store. Isn't it cute? There seemed to be a lot of cute places to eat / sip in York. We had lunch at this other cafe I don't remember the name of, but it was really nice. Fond as I am of Durham, there are very few places to get good coffee here, so it was especially nice. Will definitely try to document where exactly I go next time I take a York trip. There seemed to be a bunch of places worth checking out next time. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!

So sad I didn't get good photos of this. It's the Shambles! Part of the two rows of houses have slumped so close together over time that two people leaning out of either window can shake hands, apparently. I've heard it's especially nice at Christmas.

The river! Unfortunately a little more impressive than Durham hoho.

What I wore hoho. 

Some other pictures from the past few days?

I love these little Edwardian arcades. There are a couple of them in the middle of Newcastle I think. They remind me of the ones in Leeds! The thing about Newcastle is that it has such incredibly gorgeous buildings (Grey St has the second highest number of listed buildings in the UK) but they are kind of ruined by what is put underneath them. I mean, the other day I was sitting in Savannah Cafe watching some guys paint part of a stone building navy blue. Perhaps repainting? I don't know. But at some point... it was painted navy blue  for William Hill haha. There are so many gambling shops in the UK, it's really unfortunate. BUT ANYWAY. The point is, the center of Newcastle has some really beautiful architecture. I'm a fan.

I also went to 9 Bar Coffee for the first time yesterday, despite living in the North East for almost two years now! I love it! I can't wait to go back and try the food because it looked seriously good. In fact, the whole place looked seriously good. It's a shame we've had no real summer this year because it seemed like a great place to people watch outside.

Also bought some new fabric. I have no idea what to make. Possibly could be used for a dress but may be a little heavy. I have to decide soon because I'm off to Brighton for a few days at the end of this week and then straight off to Sydney! Thought I might make a pinafore kinda thing but I'm worried that soon I'll have seen so many of them on other people that I'll be totally sick of them and not want to wear it. Dear oh dear.

Another outfit. Whenever I get bored of my wardrobe (like right now) I tend to revert back to outfits I've been wearing for literally years haha. Sometimes its good to wear tried and tested outfits. At least you know you feel like you.

Thankyou Will for photos! Do go check out his new blog. I know little about film but if you're a film person, you should follow him!

Thanks for reading guys (:

Bye!

A morning

Hello hello hello!

I would love to start updating more often now that I'm on uni break. However ... I live in a little student town, I don't go to fashion parties or hang out in trendy bars, I don't have the money to buy new fancy clothes all the time. I also don't have anything super exciting coming up. I'm just hanging out here for the next few weeks! So what can I share with you? My mornings now that I'm 90% stress free! (:

I didn't realise until now that my day kind of revolves around drinks.

I wake. Usually I try to wake up early but I stayed up late-ish last night. If I sleep in past 10, my day is ruined. Haha. So when I'm on the cusp of a ruined day, I try to get out of the house quickly. Here's my sleep cycle for last night. YEAH. I've been using it for ages haha. It felt like a major accomplishment to achieve 92% one night hoho.

Ikea clock + Aubrey Beardsley print = a slightly less gross student flat!

I feed. Breakfast is toasted bagel + vegemite + sunflower spread. My mum sent me this tube of vegemite. A very mum thing to do. In a good way. Thanks mum. I don't get people that don't like vegemite - its the tastiest. Dairy free spread 'cause I try not to eat too much dairy! I will eat meat or dairy if I'm really stressed (e.g. exam period cheese board ohohoh) or if it's a special occasion. I just try to keep the animal products at a minimum for health and sustainability reasons. Maybe I'll write a post about it one day!

I try to get through a glass of water right when I wake up... 'cause it's good for ya.

I then prepare myself for the outside world. Outfit, makeup, sunglasses, sunscreen tattoos, hat 'cause it's summery, tights 'cause it's not quite summery enough. Can't hang around for too long. Must leave the house!

Off for coffee and chats at my favourite cafe in Durham, Flat White. I love sitting outside now that its finally sunny. I grew up in a relatively sunny country so now that I live in the north of England, feels like I have to make the most of nice weather! The one problem is that I went out sans tights for the first time in months the other day and by the time the sun went down I was sunburnt from exactly my mid-thighs to my knees and a random patch on my right forearm. Very curious indeed. The next time I inflict my bare legs on the world will probably require strategic sunscreening.

Sippin'. Tranquil.

I migrate to another caf to be productive / a real person. I drink more coffee. So much coffee. This time it's iced. Variety! What can I say? I love me a coffee.

I just started reading America, Empire of Liberty by David Reynolds haha. My first bit of recreational reading (i.e. not law-related) in months. I didn't even read reviews. I didn't order from Amazon. I walked into a real bookstore and bought it. A real one. Good lord. So I'm going to spend the day reading and doing other bits n' bobs... I'll make dinner, then it's a ~movie night~. So nice to have time to relax without feeling guilty!

Anyway, this has been my morning and IT'S NOW 5PM. WHAT.

GOODBYE!

omg hi

It's been a while. A longer while than usual. I've had exams for the past month, you see. My last one was three or four days ago now, so I am now free of uni work until September! Yeah! Funny though, I still feel really busy. The thing is, when I have exams or a lot of assignments, I pretty much push all my other responsibilities to the side. I definitely bury my head in the sand a bit. So now I've been confronted with all the other shit I need to do. I do have more time to relax and do other things now though, so it's all good! I have a couple more sewing projects lined up. I've had fabric and other bits hanging around my house for ages and ages. Finally I have time to use them! I just hope to use the next few months as productively as I possibly can.

So I finally took some photos of this great dress sent to me from Choies. I love it. It reminds me of Moonrise Kingdom for obvious reasons hoho. And yeah, just having a bit of fun clothes-wise. I wear so much black (e.g. right now I look a bit like I'm going to a funeral) it always feels like a bit of an event when I wear other colours haha. In fact, it is such a rarity that until I wore this dress, I didn't even realise I have no light coloured bras. Damn. I had to wear my one yellow sports bra. What can ya do?

The only thing is that I had to alter it because it was way too big for me + the skirt was too long, so it won't look exactly like this on you if you buy it. I potentially made it a bit too small. But what's done is done hoho.

Dress: Choies // Tights: Primark // Socks: Topshop // Shoes: Vintage

As per usual, Charlie provides a man outfit.

He is a lot better at looking casual than me hoho.

Funny, I always feel so strange when I update this blog. I feel like if I met blog-Kate in person, I would probably not get on with her.

But anyway! Some Cambridgey pictures. I think this is the third blog post with pictures from Cambridge in it haha BUT, yknow, I visit sometimes. This time I went to study, pretty much. Funny, it's been so long since I posted that it was actually snowing when I took these!

HOKAY. I'm gonna make some dinner. I'm having a salad for dinner every night! Not as in a bad iceberg lettuce salad but a big nutritious one haha. It's nice. Feels summery. I probably have other news but... I can think of nothing.

Okay. Goodbye!

Tutorial: collar dress

Oh my god, this is my first creation in ages and ages. I've had serious sewing inspiration over the past few months but it has come to nothing due to lack of time. Finally, I'm on break and don't have many plans! I didn't really intend this to be a tutorial, mainly because I didn't know what I wanted to make (kinda made it up as I went along) but I photographed everything I did anyway so... a tutorial it has become! Hope you like it!

NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS:

• They don't even matter that much. They're just there to help you / so you can see exactly what I did. The only thing I measured before cutting / sewing was the collar. Everything else was just estimation. 
• Basically, all you need is the general shape and a general idea of what size you are.  If you think you're around my size, follow my measurements! If you're not sure you can use a shirt / dress you own for reference.
• This dress is not super fitted! There's a bit o waist going on but it's not tight, there are no darts or princess seams or whatever. You'll have to make the waist area smaller / pleats deeper if you want something more fitted.

What you will need...

• About 3m of fabric (mine is from FabricTreasury on Etsy)
• Iron on interfacing. Whatever weight, depending on how stiff you want your collar to be. My local fabric store only had one kind so I just used it on both sides of the fabric. I got 1m and had tonnes left over. May as well get 1m though. Interfacing is useful haha.
• Invisible zipper
• Two buttons. There are more in that photo because I wasn't sure what I was gonna make at that point, but in this tutorial I'm only using them on the sleeves.
• Sewing machine!

What to do...

1. COLLAR

Collar Piece (1)

a. 19.5cm

b. 5.5cm

c. 24.5cm

d. 9cm

Cut four of these shapes from your fabric and interfacing. Make sure you have two pieces for each side! Iron on the interfacing.

Optional: add a border at this point so it gets properly sewn in. I used the border on the fabric I had, but you could do anything really. Etsy has tonnes of great lace / trim-y things. I think it makes it look more interesting. But yeah, up to you!

Right sides together, sew two pieces together along the yellow line (about 1cm from the edge).

Clip the corners and turn both sides inside out. Using your closed scissors (or something) to make sure the corners are pushed out all the way. Iron flat.

Collar Piece 2.

a. 6cm

b. 46cm

Cut two of these pieces out and iron interfacing onto both. This is what will make your collar stand up. On the inside of both pieces, use a pencil to mark where your fold will be on both sides (the yellow line). 1.5cm from the edge, I guess? Iron the fold along the line. Both sides should be exactly the same size.

Pin one of the pieces to the collar, folded edge against the unsewn part of the collar, like in the picture above. Make sure you get that curve in. Sew through all layers of fabric, like 1mm in from the folded edge. Repeat with the other piece. Make sure the two sides line up exactly!

Now that you're done, your collar should be able to stand up like this! If you pin it together, obviously haha. I actually closed up the bottom on sewing autopilot but... don't do that. Leave it open. I unpicked it. Aaanyway. This is the point I start to get excited because it's starting to look like an actual item of clothing hoho.

2. TOP

a. 17.5cm

b. 46cm

c. 33cm

d. 7cm

e. 17cm

f. 10cm

g. 17.5cm

Cut out one piece following the outside (solid) line only, with the curved neckline. Then cut two pieces - essentially the same as the first piece except cut in half and straight across at the top (the dotted line).

Right sides together, sew the back pieces to the front piece along the sides ('a' on the diagram) and the shoulders ('f').

Sew the collar to the top! Essentially do the same as when you were sewing your collar piece 1 to 2 - make sure both folded edges meet up perfectly when you sew through all layers of fabric. The neck edge of the top should now be enclosed in the collar. You will probably have a couple of cm extra at the back of the shirt. Just trim it. The end bits of Collar Piece 2 should stay open for the time being (you'll sew them up when you put the zipper in).

Do a couple of pleats on the waistline of the front piece. No need to be super specific, as long as they're in the same place / the same size. Make 'em as deep as you want. It's not a big deal.

a. 22cm

b. 51.5cm

c. 32cm

Cut two sleeve pieces. Fold each piece in half lengthways (right sides together) and sew along the side edge until you reach the yellow dotted line. At that point, separate the edges and hem them by rolling them over once (only a little) and sewing.

Because I used a border on my collar, I added another little bit to the bottom of the sleeves. Whether you do this or not, you should add interfacing because you'll be putting a button + buttonhole in. So yeah. Just hem.

Sew the sleeves into the armholes. Basically just line up the seam on the sleeve with the side seam of the top and sew all around the armhole, right sides together. If you have a little extra fabric at the shoulders, like I did, just do one or two little pleats at the top. It'll look like you planned it haha. Once again, to add a little more of my border, I sewed it all around the bottom. Up to you if you want to do that. You should now have something which looks like a nice, wearable shirt. I mean, if you wanted to you could just add a shorter zipper or some buttons up the back and make it a shirt. BUT I'm making a dress, so on we go.

3. TURNING IT INTO A DRESS

Get yerself some more fabric for a skirt. It doesn't matter how much fabric you use as long as it's enough to reach around the whole of the bodice. But I used about 2m and gathered it. I do that by setting my machine to the longest possible stitch, sewing all along the edge, taking hold of the bottom thread and pushing the fabric along it gently. Kinda like a draw string. Once you've gathered it all (or not), sew that edge of the skirt all the way along the bottom edge of the top, right sides together. 

Then you'll need to install your zipper. I am terrible at putting zippers in, so I used this page. Make sure the zip goes right up to the very top. At this point you can fold over the raw edges at the back of the collar, and just fold the top of the zip over. Make sure everything is all nice n' neat.

Finally, sew up the back of the skirt up to the bottom of the zipper, and hem. And you're done!

Hat, collar and shoes: vintage