“We want no proofs. We ask none to believe us! This boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care. Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.”

As the title says I just finished reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. I started reading it almost a year ago in August, I took a couple extended breaks from reading it to concentrate on other books and it feels so good to be finished. I fail so very, very hard at reviewing anything so I’ll just say this:

It dragged in parts, but was spooky and fast paced in others. It took me a while to get into it, but overall it was a very good book. Read it.

If you’re interested I’m also reading a Sherlock Holmes short story a day until I run out of short stories.

Remind me again why you people don’t have free healthcare for everyone? And don’t give me that “I don’t want my money to go towards helping x group of people because it would be wrong“ excuse.

(You can view the full image here.)

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(Sorry for the slight snafu, I hit publish before I should have!

Pattern Description: Sew Beautiful’s replication of a ready-too-wear top turns heirloom sewing for yourself into fashion sewing. From Issue 104& of Sew Beautiful magazine.

Pattern Sizing: XS-XL

*Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? * Not really. I didn’t do the insertions or embroidery and the tie hasn’t been added yet.

*Were the instructions easy to follow? * For the most part, yes. However, the instructions weren’t very clear at all in places, this isn’t for a novice sewer unless they have someone more experienced near-by who they can pepper with questions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the raglan sleeves and the easy construction, but I wasn’t impressed with the ruffle.

Disliked: The ruffle. I thought it was way too short, if I were to make it the same way next time I would definitely make it larger. I also think that the sleeves are a bit on the small side, they fit just fine, but they could be bigger. I prefer that look.

Fabric Used: Not entirely sure, but I think it’s either cotton or mostly cotton.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Instead of sewing an elastic casing made of bias tape for the waist band, we sewed the elastic directly to the skirt. Other than that, nothing.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I would sew it again and likely to recommend it to others, but with modifications.

Conclusion: I will definitely be making a few more shirts like this, but I’ll be making them longer, the sleeves bigger around and longer and fiddling with the gathering around the waist.

p.s. My mom helped me a lot with this shirt, so thanks so much to her. I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it without her help!

It’s called Craft, Crafty, Craftier and it revolves around crafts. Paper, sewing, knitting, embroidery and anything else I take an interest in. There could be the odd photography resource, some painting, drawing or whatever shows up in my email or feed reader.

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