Leaden Skies and Sunny Music

Awake rather too early today, and disappointed to see steely grey skies and big raindrops plopping into puddles (yes, puddles!) outside!   

I ought to be pleased - we've had practically no rain for weeks on end and things at the allotment are getting a bit trying.  

But I was looking forward to a mooch around the big 
Car Boot Sale near Guildford 

(Miss U-t-B is at a friend's and Mr U-t-B sleeps his way through most of the morning these days, so I thought I'd go and find some entertainment) 

but if it's wet, I'm not sure how it will be. 

Anyway, I have plenty to keep me busy here at home, as yesterday I wended my way up the A3 to Kingston-upon-Thames (makes me sound like some crazed, erratic driver) to visit John Lewis in search of some dressmaking fabric. It's nearly two months since I bought a little pile of patterns (see this post) but so far all I'd made was a little baby sundress (which you can find here - nothing like a bit of blatant self-promotion!)

The journey to and from John Lewis was made much better by the recent arrival of this...

Oh, yipee!  This was a great purchase!  

It's the kind of music that puts pictures (mostly of the grainy, 
black-and-white variety) in my head - which I guess from the title and the little intro to each track in the lyrics booklet, is exactly what it was meant to do.

Listen to this and I'm sure you too will find yourself imagining sitting in the darkly atmospheric, smoky bars of the 1930s; driving something red, sporty and typically 1950s down precipitous mountain roads leading to the shimmering Mediterranean; standing on an ornate balcony in New Orleans, watching the jazz band inside through the louvred shutters...

There's even a homage to the hero of Saturday evening television...

'Dr Wanna Do'.

It seems I am not the only one whose thoughts immediately turned to David Tennant when I heard this immensely catchy song - I 'YouTubed' the song title and look what popped up...

(Prepare yourselves ladies!)

Oh my!


ANYWAY...I digress.  And the sky is now blue and car-booting looks on the cards again, so I'd better hurry up with this!


So to John Lewis I went, and after a while of difficult decision-making I came away with these...

 This yummy one is to make the cap-sleeved top, middle row on the left. The colours are gorgeous.

The paisley was bought on ebay over a year ago - I bought the blue for the contrasting band to make the right hand skirt.

This one looks a bit boring here, but it's nicer in reality.  And it was only £4 the metre!!!
I already had this pattern - bottom left version is the one I intend doing.


I cut out the top last night and nearly finished it, so there will be a reveal sometime soon.


7.20!  Better get my skates on!