Introducing EllaBella Mark 1&2

So I've noticed round the tinterwebs a lot of people naming their dresses.  So I decided to name mine - introducing EllaBella.

I really liked various versions of the Deer and Doe Belladone, but looking more closely at it I thought I might have some issues and also the pattern is £14 and it has to be said I'm cheap. So I looked through the many many patterns I already have, found Simplicity 2473 (now OOP I think) and new I could hack it to what I wanted.

The first problem I had with the original Belladone was, I didn't think I would get it over my head (yes, I have a big head).  The second issue was that it was sleeveless, I didn't have bingo wings as such, but I am happier if I have some sort of sleeve.  So I thought I should make a muslin (not a usual habit of mine) just to make sure the fit was right with my alterations.  So I used this fabric from Ikea that has been hanging around in my stash for several years, it was 1.9m for the princely sum of £3.98.  I added 4cm to the length of the bodice (as well as a big head, I also have a long back), I lowered the front neckline by 5cm, took a huge scoop out of the back and drafted a separate back neck piece, which is in two parts and fastened with a button.  The back aperture is probably a little too deep and a fraction too wide, but as long as I can manoeuvre by bra strap so that it doesn't show, I'm ok.  Here it is from the back:

I made some bias binding from some of the left over fabric to bind the bodice back and the sleeve hems.  I also added pockets to the side front of the skirt (I've got to have pockets).  I have also finally mastered the invisible zip.  It has been my bete noire for ages, but I recently undertook pattern testing for By My Goth Patterns (I hope to be able to blog about this soon, once the pattern is released) and Parnuuna's instructions for inserting an invisible zip were so good I have overcome my fear of the invisible zip.

This is who the EllaBella is named after, our beautiful girl Ella, who would have been 14 years old the day I made Mark 1 of this dress.  Sadly Ella died at the end of March, we now have another dog to keep Hagrid company, her nickname if Pocket Rocket and she will feature in this blog if we can get her to stand still long enough to be photographed.

So on to Mark 2: 

The dotty fabric I got at John Lewis (I do not need any more fabric and I really shouldn't go anywhere near the fabric department, but I never learn) it was a remnant 1.5m of 1.15 wide, half price because it has a very small flaw. I did just want to use the dotty fabric, but no pattern how I tried the pattern pieces I just did not have enough material.  So I then had to go out and find a coordinating fabric (easier said than done) and bought another half metre of fabric.  I then decide which pattern pieces I wanted to cut from each fabric.  I eventually decided to go with a contrasting waistband, sleeve and back neck facing.

I didn't have a coordinating invisible zip in my stash, so rather than spend any more money, I used a vintage metal zip I already had and a lovely big bright button at the neck.

Here is a close up of this very grown up fabric, I think it's called Hoppy Dot, who wouldn't love giant polka dots with bunny rabbits.

Someone Loves His Duckie

We had a meeting with a dog trainer last week, we're referring to it as Hagrid's Gentleman Training.  He definitely is not the most social of dogs, but we hope that with some training we can make him a happier boy.  One suggestion the trainer gave us to improve our bond with the Big Lad was to play with him more.  The trainer had several different toys to play with and the one Hagrid loved the most was a pink squishy octopus; sadly we have not been able to locate the same toy, but Duckie has been a more than adequate alternative.


A few times today we have a mad five minutes playing with Duckie and jumping around the living room.  I have made Hagrid another tuggy toy, but nothing matched up to his Duckie.  We are also hoping to reduce Hagrid's pulling on walks and so for the first time today we walked him with a Halti and for the first time we actually took him for a walk rather than him taking us.


He really is a lovely lad, but as we know next to nothing about his history before he came to live with us, we will probably never know why he reacts so much to other dogs. But it just makes us love him and want to help him all the more.

I can't help but like this time of year

I can't help but like this time of year, I know it's cold and frequently wet and the snow the other week wasn't at all fun, but none of that dampens my spirits. I couldn't have said the same last year, but that is a whole other story, that I never plan on blogging about.

The best thing about this time of year is my Darling, our wedding anniversary is on the 11th of January. So I get to start every year, by remembering just how much I love him, it's been seven years now and we are still as daft as newly weds.

Then of course I'm off on holiday next week to the lovely Isle of Arran. Scotland in February may seem mad, but we love it. Bonnie running in the waves on Blackwaterfoot beach its just a joy to behold.

I don't even mind the weather, me and the hot weather don't get on. I like being able to wear my boots and my long coat and my leather gloves. And I know I'm going to be sad, when I have to hang up Bonnie's coat for the summer.

Stylish Puppy About Town

Bonnie went out in her new coat yesterday and was the most stylist puppy in the park if I do say so myself. The coat isn't quite finished, the strap that goes around her tummy was held on by safety pins; but boy was it cold yesterday, so I really wanted her to have the extra layer.

Instant Gratification

I've just bought a downloaded pattern for the first time, talk about instant gratification. The only downside is you can't save the PDF provided, you just have to print it straight off, instant might be a slight overstatement when you are printing off 40 odd pages on a little inkjet printer.

Yes, the picture above is of the pattern I bought. I've been meaning a make a coat for Bonnie for about a year now. I'm not one of those scary people that usually dresses up their dog (the pink aisle at "Pets at Home" truely disturbs me), but Bonnie is camoflage dog. She blends in so well with the leaves at this time of year that it very difficult to see her. So I am going to make her a nice blue coat that is easy to spot and will keep her warm. I am predicting she will try to shake it off within two seconds flat, but what is a Doggy Mummy to do.

An update...

Things have been quiet on Rolling Eyeballs, of late.  A sad state of affairs, to be sure, and one that I attribute entirely to those unexpected Outside Factors.

Outside Factor Part The First?

Bonnie, our new dog.  She needs the attention, you know.

Outside Factor Part The Second?

Our new Playstation 3.  Which is a fully kick-bottom BD player, has a clutch of games worth looking at and multimedia functionality which makes it a real competitor to the 360 (is it just snide elitism on my part to infer that I don't really regard the Wii as being next gen?).

Outside Factor Part The Third?

That new college course I began last week - thinking about contemporary English novels doesn't leave much time for pottering around the Interwebs and sharing a grab-bag of content for you to behold.

Normal service hopefully resumed?