instaBLOG update - Minty Banana X Peter pan collar Colette moneta pictorial.

Lauralovespugs

Pattern  / Colette Moneta from Guthrie and Ghani 

Fabric   / Main dress:  banana fabric from sourced from Goldhawk road. 

             / Collar: Girl Charlee Uk solid cotton Knit collection in Aqua

If you're not already a Girl Charlee customer i'd really appreciate you using my referral link, which will earn me some rewards to spend on more glorious fabric. 

Styling / Green shoes from SeaSalt 

            / Geo Necklace made by Hannah Jane Fellows

            / Banana necklace from Punky pins

            / Jumper made by me: Seamworks Astoria in cosy solids cream from Guthrie and Ghani 

           

Makers notes - Current Body measurements / 36, 30, 39. Height 5'3''
                         Size made                              / M (8-10)
                         Adaptations                           / Graded waist to add 4 cms
                                                                       / Shortened by 2 inches in length.
                                                                       / Used the free collar download

Future Adaptations-                                       / Will shorten by another 2 inches

Thank you for Joining my mettre à jour

instaBLOG update - Desert bloom x Deer and Doe Blouse pictorial

LauraLovesPugs

Pattern  / Deer and Doe Datura Blouse from Guthrie and Ghani

Fabric   / Yoke front and lining : Rae Ritchie desert bloom available from M is for Make

             / Bodice, collar and yoke back: Pink crepe from Plush Addict 

Styling / Green shoes from SeaSalt 

            / Necklace made by Hannah Jane Fellows

           

Makers notes - Current Body measurements / 36, 30, 39
                         Size made                              / 40
                         Adaptations                           / 3 inch Length extension to back bodice at hemline                          

Thank you for Joining my mettre à jour

And the #internationalannaparty winner is......

I know it's been a little while since the party finished, you all went home and I managed to clean up the party left overs (by which I mean eat most of that three layer cake), but I wanted to wait until we were all fully recovered. Honestly I have only just come down from the excitement. Let's all give it up for the awesome Hannah Fellows who won in a landslide vote. She made the full length version with double (oh la la) side splits in a fantastic Ikat fabric, that I would steal in a moments notice. Hannah has a blog which you can find here, packed full of awesome stuff like sewing, and fabric and sewing!!! She also makes bow ties for her very lucky, dashing Husband. She has won a £20 credit for an independent haberdashery of her choice, and she assures me she will keep us updated via Instagram of her sewing plans  Also ByhandLondon provided not just one, but three PDF's for Hannah to get her style on in. I'm Jealous!

Thank you again to everyone who made a dress, voted, liked and even lurked over the party. I have been asked if I might do something similar again, and now I've recovered a bit I think the answer is HELL YEAH!!! 

Off to watch bake off, Elle xxx

International Anna Party final voting!

From Left to Right

Sasha_ffc  Charliewensley  HannahJanefellows

The By Hand London ladies votes are in and they have chosen these three fiercely talented ladies to go forward to the community vote! Just look at those fantastic creations. After getting what can only be described as an 'anna choosing hangover', I am very happy to be passing the job over to you guys.

How do I vote?

Voting is happening over on my Instagram - lauralovespugs.  Find the above picture on my feed and decide who you would most like to support. Vote by leaving a COMMENT under the picture. You can either tag the person by name or use the number they have been allocated. Just liking the post will not count as a vote.

How many times can I vote?

Only one vote for the whole of the voting period. The voting is open from now until July 25th Saturday 11.59 am (the early afternoon) BST.  No votes will be counted from either pip's or Ute's final picture post, so please consider that.

I didn't take part, can I still vote?

Yes of course! We're sad you didn't make it to the party, but happy your are involved behind the scenes. Look at you being all VIP!

I voted but I made a mistake, can I change my vote?

Votes will not be counted until after the voting time period is up on Saturday afternoon, so if you do make a mistake please rectify it before closing.

I've got a private account, can I vote?

I'm afraid to keep it as open and fair as possible all votes must be visible, and will be counted on a third party Instagram account that has nothing to do with the sewing community to ensure accuracy.

What are the prizes?

The three finalists will each receive their choice of By Hand London PDF pattern, which is being supplied by the awesome BHL themselves! The over all finalist will also win an evoucher/gift certificate/store credit to the equivalent of £20 to spend at your chosen Independent fabric shop, which is being supplied by Elle. 

I don't want people knowing whom I'm voting for, can I make a private vote?

The reason why were are doing open voting on Instagram is to keep the party:

A) On instagram where the party happened and not on a blog.
B) So you can all see that no favouritism or cheating is happening. There was always the chance that our friends would end up in the final, because the majority of you are friends. This way you can see that we are not taking any sides.
C) Doing it this way is easier than relying on blog voting systems.

I hope you all can support your favourite creation. We need a winner so I can get gifting!!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me here, but remember not to vote here. It will not be counted.

GO, GO, GO!

xxx  elle  xxx

A tidal wave of Anna's and Inspiration.

First of all a massive massive thank you has to be said to every single one of you awesome awesome people. To the countless ladies who turned up in dresses, that have caused me to plan at least 30+ new Anna creations. The supporting bunch who commented and watched the Anna's flood in from all corners of the globe and to all my Instagram friends for not leaving me standing alone at the party. I'm utterly speechless at the amount of positivity and effort you all put in, and it made my Birthday the BEST i've ever had. (sorry mom, I still loved that 'wizardy woo' kids party where the real live white rabbit tried to escape during the performance)

Above are the 9 ladies who Ute, Pips and myself put forward to By Hand London for the semi final. Congratulations ladies!!! They are from top left to bottom right : 

@Sasha_ffc (blog)  @Sewhappyshop (blog)  @Hannahjanefellows (blog) 

 @alcreates (blog)  @Sewvee (blog) @Charliewensley (blog)

@Veronicadarling (blog) @groovybabyandmama (blog) @wethesewing (blog)

We all chose 3 Anna's that sang to us for various reasons, but believe me when I say that we found this part of the party the hardest thing ever. If I thought making friends as an adult was hard, this was like accurately cutting velvet with nail clippers. I apologise with all my heart that we couldn't fund everyone of you with a goodie bag, and if I could I would forward cake to you all. Actually I may have eaten all the cake, but lets not dwell on that.

Of course, it goes without saying that none of this could of happened without the whole team here at #internationalannaparty HQ. I love you guys.  I'd like you all to take a moment to gaze at this majestic piece of photoshop and join me in hoping that one day, we can unite our team and recreate this moment. Dreamzzzz.

Although the party gift giving is drawing to a close, the final voting is yet to happen. I hope you will all support the final 3, who will be announced on Thursday over on Instagram. How to vote has changed from the original plan, because so may of you joined in. I foresee spending ages cross referencing votes for days if we remained with voting across 3 accounts. More on that later. But now, let us bask in the post glow party happy feels and be inspired to make lovely and wearable clothing. 

Just before the party ends

Well, i'm blown away. Almost literally with those balloons in my hands. I knew you guys wouldn't leave me standing alone at the party. I really appreciate every single one of you.

With the party drawing to a close I thought i'd just remind some of you of the main rules in case you've not read them. It's a very TLDR post (to long didn't read) so I'll keep this brief.

1) All entrants must have public accounts to be put forward for the prize draws.

2) Your First post AFTER 6pm BST July 17th 2015 is your official entry to the party. That time was kicked off by Ute's photo and my little 'party open' post. Any posts before this time will not be considered as entries. If you have uploaded more than one picture during the party that's cool, but I repeat YOUR FIRST PICTURE WILL BE CONSIDERED YOUR ENTRY.

3) The party finished at 11.59 BST 18th July 2015 and will be officially marked by a 'party over' picture by the hosts. Any pictures after this time will not be considered entries, but feel free to party on dudes.

For a fuller list of rules you can head here, but these are the main ones I think we need to know. None of these are new rules, just repeated info.


Big love, off to eat cake. xxx

The reason why #Internationalannaparty became a thing.

I don't know about you, but the biggest upset i've had about growing older isn't my grey hairs (which I love) or finding myself hoarding little packets of tissues in by bag. I'm not even surprised to hear myself repeating 'mum' lines such as 'as the crow flies'  or describing an outing as 'popping' somewhere. These things don't make warning peeps on my sadness radar. No No, the biggest upset i've become brutally aware of, is how hard it has become to make friends. 

Gone are the carefree days of childhood where i'd lurk at the holiday poolside, edging closer and closer to the child of about my own age waiting like a little child shark for a topic of conversation I could bite on to. No longer can I expect to sit next to someone in class with my surname initials, whom I might share gossip with until I get invited to a Birthday party or invite someone else to a party. Working from home has massive positives. For instance I could be typing this whilst wearing pug Pj's and unwashed 'up hair of knotted doom', but meeting new people (other than my poor abused postal service) isn't likely to happen.

I lived a very sewing solitary life in my own little English habitat. Sharing my makes was a little bit dry. I'm sure you know what I mean. There are only so many times our family, partners, pets and milkman can deal with us proclaiming 'BUT I MADE THIS'. Instagram has totally changed that. Now I post a simple picture of a make and I get real people, leaving real comments, making me feel really happy and positive. I've been inspired by so many people. Individual people, just like me. Sharing their makes from their little areas of the world.

I've now got a lovely amount of real humans who I talk to on a regular basis, and I can still wear pug Pj's and look like I'm auditioning for an adult Hermione. Life could not be better..... but then these two went and did just that. Made my life infinitely better. Ute and Pips are nothing less than awesome and I'm so so lucky to have met them.

I could gush on.... but you know, i'm not getting an oscar or anything. So i'll just leave it here and say that without them #internationalannaparty would be more like #elle wearing an anna in a room with pug. Actually, i'd just be wearing pug pjs in a room with a pug. 

Our Anna dress party starts tomorrow Friday 17th July at 6pm BST and I hope you can come join us with all your beautiful By hand london Anna dress creations. I will cry, but you won't see it. So all is good and everything is in it's proper place.