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Hi everyone

I am pleased to say I am now back home this afternoon and glad to be in my own surroundings, and certainly will not miss the very early morning cup of tea that all hospitals seem to think you want.

The surgery went well, however I have 4 bullet holes (keyhole surgery) and of course they are all in the most difficult place i.e zipping up your pants etc.   You would have laughed at me getting dressed this morning.  I made the mistake of removing my PJ's and dropping them and the clothes I was to go home in on the floor, I then realised I couldn't bend down to pick them up.  Its amazing how creative you get when needs must - I found the easiest way to deal with my problem was was to hold on to the support rail, and wiggle the clothes up my leg until they were within arms reach.  Movement number two was like a ballet dancer with one leg out back in the air and extending my reach to reach the floor.  Neither suitable for public display but I managed to do what I needed.

I doubt that I will do any sewing until I get back to the cottage at the weekend, and suspect my standing time will be limited so I guess I will only be able to do short bursts - little and often.  I think I still have loads of anaesthetic floating around my body because just dressing this morning wore me out.

Thanks to everyone who posted get well wishes on my blog and some who dropped me an e.mail - it so lovely to think that all around the world there are such thoughtful people out there - THANK YOU it really made me smile.

My return gift to all of you lovely people is to leave give you something so smile about too.  My daughter acquired a new member of her family on Sunday

His name is Bentley and he is an 8week old great dane puppy.  My children grew with two great danes when they were younger, and my daughter has been asking me for many years to get another one.  Sadly because of my extensive travel schedules it isn't the most sensible thing for me.  Lauren and her partner have their own home now, so I am sure under her persuasion she twisted his arm behind his back and persuaded him to get Bentley, and now have this young man and a cat that invited herself to stay on the day they moved in.

I haven't seen Bentley yet, but can't wait isn't he gorgeous isn't he.

Catch you later................

Sunday Horror

Last night I really didn't sleep  well at all, and in fact I woke at 4am and ended up sitting in the lounge looking at my blogs because I couldn't get back to sleep.  Mike came out around 5:30am and I did manage to sleep for about 2 hours before waking again.

I am booked into hospital for a procedure tomorrow so I had two problems - firstly yesterday I could only eat liquid food, soups etc, today I had to take a special preparation, and wasn't allowed to have anything but water and therefore no food until after my surgery (good for the diet I guess).  As I am writing this my D Mike is eating two lovely pieces of sourdough toast hmmmmmmmmmmmm I am starving right now.

I have had a constant headache for almost 2 days now, I guess because I haven't eaten very much, and the lack of food & sleep is making me feel dreadful.

I will probably be off line for a few days at least, and just want to get this over and done with now.

Look forward to catching up with you all at the end of the week.

bye for now

Saturday's sewing

close-up of Daisy

Today has been quite productive I used  Jalie 2805 to make my DGD Alana a little turtle/polo neck top.  I found a great website for free and reasonably priced embroidery designs here.  This lovely Daisy duck is one of Alana's favorite characters from the TV shows so of course I had to make it for her.  It actually took longer to embroider Daisy than it did to make the top.

I have also started some squares to convert into a quilt for my friend Anne's daughter who is expecting her baby in a couple of weeks.  Anne said she wanted Winnie the Pooh theme for the baby's room.  I found some nice Tigger fabric which I will use for the background and then use the squares like I did with Alana's quilt.

This is what I did today while I was working on another project - they look really sweet and they too were free fromt he same web site.

Last but not least, please don't yawn, but I used up some more of the blue, and blue and white stripe to make another version of McCalls 6435 - this time I used the stripe for the top and inserted a metal zip between the seam to make it a little different.  I will take one of these tops to London with me to keep there.  This is the problem living between two houses, so this way I have one at each.

McCalls 6435 - again

I wanted to run up something quick, and once again I went for a t-shirt and used McCalls 6435 again, but this time using a striped fabric with a plain contrast.

I am so pleased with this pattern.  I wore the lemon one today with a pair of black jeans and I received quite a few compliments and it just felt so comfortable.  I ran this one up in just over an hour using exactly the same technique as I used on the lemon one by topstitching the joining seam to make sure it didn't flip up.

One top tip for this pattern is make sure you mark which is the back or the front because its difficult to remember - I popped a pin in the back piece while I sewed the back to the front, and then once I attached the sleeves, I popped one of my little labels in the back.

If you want something different, quick, easy to make I can't recommend this pattern enough.

• Pattern - McCalls 6435 view D
• Fabric purchased from Walthamstow market - stretch jersey
• Babylock Evolution serger - construction.
• Bernina Aurora 440QE - topstitching.
• Time to make just over one hour.
• Total cost approximately £2.00

My D Mike is coming home from NYC in the morning and I have LOADS of housework to do because I go into hospital on Monday for my surgical procedure and I will not be able to lift anything, or do too much bending etc., and I want to do some more sewing this weekend if I can.

Hope you have a good evening, catch you later......................

Do you have problems with your bank?

As many of you know I travel a lot for work.  For the first time ever I had a problem with my credit card so I used my spare credit card "declined", so I used my debit card which I know I have money in "declined" - nightmare or what.

My work colleague dealt with the hire car issue and when I got to my hotel I called the credit card companies and my bank.  1st one sorted, then on to my bank.  Seems they sent me a new credit card, which I didn't replace in my purse, so I said hmmmm can't remember getting it but this is my spare card that I only use in an emergency, so I am 99% sure its in the draw at home.  Ok said the young lady on the phone, I can freeze your card until you get home to check it, and we can unfreeze it very quickly.  Sure I said, and went off to bed.

Next day (last night) I thought I must transfer some money over and went into my on-line banking - SHOCK HORROR.  The only 2 accounts I could see was my house mortgage and the retched credit card that I never use.  My savings and current accounts were nowhere to be found.

I called the bank, explained the problem and a young man said that they had frozen all of my accounts because non of their mail had been getting through (not true).  I explained the situation of the night before and suggested that rather than just freezing my credit card the young lady must have frozen ALL of my accounts.  He checked with his special team and came back and said "all done, you should be able to see your accounts in an hour".  I went for a dinner last night and at midnight still no accounts.

Another desperate phone call and this different person told me it will take 5 days to unfreeze my accounts, however he too has unfrozen my debit card, and it "should" be ok to use to pay for my hotel and car bill tomorrow.

I am furious to feel so powerless with my own money.  I have not experienced this problem before, which I guess over a 30 year period with this bank is not too bad, BUT, when it happens boy does it happen big.  I checked again today, still can't see my accounts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully the day can only get better............

Catch you later..........................................................

Weight Loss Monday's - OMG I have put on

Well I didn't expect it to be good, especially as I have been in Houston all week and didn't manage to weigh myself last Monday before I left, but I have put on 1.5 lbs boo hoo.

Well this is a minor set back and I just need to get back on track so instead of saying I have lost -9lbs its back to -7lbs.

I am away for business again this week, and next Monday go into hospital for surgery - lets hope I am so knocked out that I don't eat for a few days and manage to repair the damage.

Onwards and (hopefully not upwards, but downwards).

Catch you later.....................

McCalls 6435 - View C & D

Hi Readers

I didn't get home until early evening tonight so that meant that I had little time to do any sewing, but I really really wanted to do something.

When I made up Jalie 2921 I had a little of the fabric left over, but not enough to make a complete top, so I thought I would use it to create the contrast in McCalls 6435, but this time I would Make view D with the asymmetrical yoke front and back.

front

I used the cable knit for the yokes and the sleeves, but I didn't quite have enough for a full-length sleeve, so I made up the shortfall with the cotton knit jersey that I used for the body back and front, which I bought at the same time as the lemon cable knit because I thought they would match.

sleeve

front yoke

back view

I wore the Jalie 2921 while I was away and it was really comfortable to wear, and suitable for work, however this top I think is more casual looking and will be great with a pair of jeans.

I top-stitched the seams joining the contrasting fabrics to make sure the seam allowance didn't expose itself in the sheer cable knit fabrics.

This is a really quick and easy top to sew up, I would have completed it much quicker had I not managed to melt the fabric in the back cable knit with a hot blast of steam - I HATE UNPICKING SERGED SEAMS.  Thankfully I wasn't paying attention and cut out two front yokes and two back yokes so utilised one of the spares to replace the ruined piece.

I just have to hem sleeves, bottom and neck edge, but will change my serger over to the cover stitch in the morning now as its too late.

Well I think I had best make my way to bed, otherwise I will kick over into Houston time zone again.

Catch you later............

More sewing friends in Houston

I had the pleasure of meeting up with my good friend Anita here in Houston tonight.  We met via a sewing site a few years back and now whenever I visit Houston we always meet up and just chat non-stop all night about sewing, together with news about our own family and plans.

I now need to pack ready to leave for the airport tomorrow.  Its been a busy week for work, and sadly for some reason on this trip I haven't slept very well, so am looking forward to heading home and back to a sort of normal sleep pattern - well until I head off to Aberdeen next week.

Catch you later........................................

High Fashion and meeting friends

Hi everyone I am typing this post rather early because I have been awake since 4:30am because I am in nice warm Houston this week for a business trip - sadly the jet lag has set in and my body clock is all over the place.

I flew in on Monday afternoon and went straight to down town Houston to meet up with a fellow blogger Art Attack .  Its quite funny when you meet people that you only know from their blog, you usually have to give a description of what you will be wearing etc etc, but it is a little like meeting a pen friend, because you already know a little bit about that person from their blog.

Anyhow we met up outside the shop and I was introduced to High Fashion a HUGE store in Houston that sells fabrics, patterns and notions.  I don't think I have ever seen such a large shop selling this stuff before.  In the UK I would think the largest store I have seen was only 1/8th of it floor space.

Us girls had fun wandering up and down the isles of fabrics both of us with hands stroking the fabrics as we walked by.  I think this is a thing most people do if they sew, fabric is so tactile.  We chatted about sewing and our lives as we wandered around this large store.

As my regular readers know I have the best provider of good fabrics from my local markets and sadly there is little competition when I see prices of $19.99 per yard v £1 per metre, so while it is lovely to see so many gorgeous fabrics all in one place (with labels on them explaining exactly what they are, I have to guess) the price tag tends to put me off.  What I did find however, was a glue basting stick, something I saw David P Coffin using in his DVD on shirt making so  I was quick to grab a couple of sticks of this glue because I haven't really seen it back in the UK.  My bargain buy (you know how much I love a bargain) were a bunch of patterns all marked down to just $1 each so I grabbed a bunch of patterns, which I had been looking at previously but hadn't bought and I left High Fashion a happy bunny.

We finished the evening sharing a bowl of pasta, designed for one person, but enough to feed a family of five, chatting over our sewing wish list (we both want to make a pair of jeans, and the Jalie pattern is high on the list) we also looked at Sigrid's bra making tutorial she is such a talent and we both expressed a whish to try that out.

Thanks for meeting up I really enjoyed my evening.  I have met quite a few sewing cyber buddies now, and if you get the opportunity, do it, because we all have one thing in common SEWING and you will never find you are lacking in conversation.

Catch you later...............................................................

McCalls 6444 with Jalie 2805

Misses' Unlined Jackets and Vest: loose fitting jacket/vest have draped fronts where wrong side of fabric will show and stitched shaped hems.  A.B: fronts extends into shawl collar.  B: side opening patch pocket.  C,D: hood and top opening patch pockets.

Here I have used McCalls 6444 with Jalie 2805 to make a twinset.  I have used this baby blue soft cotton knit before because I bought quite a bit of it, and I wanted to try a different waterfall jacket and this is what I have come up with.

 I cut out a M but to be honest I think I should have cut out a small for the top and graded to a M for the hips.

This is a great quick sew.  Only 4 pieces and all done on the serger, however when I attached the back to the front I did use a large stitch length on the sewing machine to make sure I lined it up correctly.

I had enough fabric left over to make Jalie 2805 polo/turtle neck to wear underneath.

This fabric is soft to wear and washes so well, so these will be great additions to the wardrobe.

I cut out and made both of these today, so lovely quick projects.

ISSEY Miyake - V1204 - completed

Last night I managed to finish my Issey Miyake tunic that I started a couple of weeks ago.

Misses' Tunic and Pants: Very loose fitting tunic has tuck details, large collar, full length sleeves with plackets and cuffs.  Fitted, below waist pants has front side slant pockets, back patch pockets, fly zipper closing, back yoke, waistband, carriers and topstitch tri

Here is the end product - ideally I think it would look better with a slim pant and heels like the photo above, but I just wanted you to see the finished product.

Below is a photo of the cuff and placket

the back detail.

Close up of the stitching detail on the front

This tunic incorporated quite a few techniques that I haven't done in a long while, flat felled seams, and the tuck details.  There are two small buttons holding the front pieces together one on the inside and one of the outside.

I think my fabric is a little thinner than the fabric on the pattern cover but what this project has done is given me the incentive to incorporate the tuck details in more shirts.  Bunny from the blog La Sewista

made up McCalls 6076,  She used pin tucks and totally transformed her blouse and I may have to copy her idea as I have this pattern in my stash too.

I have one more post to do today, but just need to press the cardigan and photograph it so watch out for my next blog today.

Catch you later.................

McCalls 6435 - Misses top

Yesterday I managed to be quite productive and sewed McCalls 6435 misses top in a nice textured knit.

Misses' Tops: Close fitting, pullover tops have neck and sleeve length variations.  A,B: Heart shaped yoke.  C,D: Asymmetrical shaped yoke.  Designed for light and medium weight moderate stretch knits only.

 I selected the heart shaped yoke, but because I used the same fabric throughout I joined the back yoke and back pieces together  omitting the seam.

I added some narrow pink ribbon to outline the heart shape too just to give some more definition.

One extra addition I made was to add a self bias trim to the neck edge.  The pattern called for the neck edge just to be folded over, but I wanted something more defined.  I simply cut a 1 1/2" bias strip,  measured the required length needed , joined the edges together folded it wrong sides together and then serged it to the neck edge.

Here is a close-up of the fabric which isn't quite so obvious in the full-length photo.

And here is your's truly modelling it complete with Ugg boots to keep my toes warm - it looks like I have the shortest legs in the world!!!!!.

I also finished my Issey tunic so I will post that separately in the next blog.

Catch you later...................... 

Feeding time in the garden

grey squirrel

One of the things I love about my cottage is the bird feeder that sits right outside my lounge doors giving us a constant source of entertainment.

My D Mike wanted a telephoto lens for Christmas and this morning he was playing with his new toy and I wanted to share some of these delightful photographs.

Here is the naughty squirrel that knocked the lid off the seed feeder and was quite happy putting his head right inside the tube to help himself to the seed.

male woodpecker

This is one of a pair of woodpeckers that are frequent visitors to our feeder, this is the male because he has the red spot on the back of his head, whereas the female doesn't.

male woodpecker

 The food they seem to love most is what you can see him hanging from now - the problem is that I can only buy them in one shop which is about a 30 minute drive from my home.  Normally I stock up on these, and just because we have all the snow at the moment, of course I have run out and need to replenish my stocks.

Long tail tit

Last but not least the delightful little long tail tits.  These beautiful little birds look like little fluff balls flying around, and I always know when they are around because they have their own distinctive call, and the same can be said of the woodpeckers I can often hear them even if I can't see them.

Just this morning we have seen, woodpeckers, long tail tits, blue tits, great tits, robins, blackbirds, I also have a little Jenny wren but they are extremely shy and I don't see him/her very often.  I also have another little bird which I think is a bunting, which my D Mike has just confirmed.  

Bunting

As I am typing this we have two wood pigeons who have just arrived, and one of the pair of resident doves that are in the garden.

Despite it being very cold today, the sun is out giving a winter wonderland look to the whole garden.

Catch you later..........................

I found my mojo -Jalie 2921

Well I am not sure where I found it, but I did, I wandered up the stairs to my sewing room, and thought I need a quick fix.  Something that I can run up in a couple of hours - start to finish and out jumped my good old TNT Jalie pattern 2921 together with my mojo.  I won't repeat how to do the collar as the link to my original post describes how this is done - but its really clever and gives as neat a finish on the inside as it is on the outside.

This was some lovely delicate lemon cable knit which I thought would look great with my Navy or my black trousers, it also looks nice with green and brown too, so very versatile, so I decided this was the fabric to use.

This was another way of tying the scarf  using the black buckle which was in my stash, and gives another look.

On this top I raised the neck edge because the other two tops I made were just a little bit too low and by raising the neck by 1.5" has made this more comfortable and provides more modesty.

I may wear a camisole top under this, because its not a particularly thick knit, but when I tried it on, it wasn't as see-through as it looks in the photograph, but I guess better to be safe than embarrassed.

So just to give some of the stats:-

Fabric: Walthamstow market £1.50 per metre giving a total cost of approximately £2.50.

Pattern: Jalie 2921

Alterations to pattern: raise neck line by 1.5"

Time to make: 2 hours

Equipment used: Babylock serger/overlocker
                           Bernina sewing machine  
                           Sewing needle and thread to close small scarf collar opening.

I can go to bed satisfied I completed something.

Catch you later.................

lack of motivation/energy

Normally I would still be in London tonight, but I came home early with the express desire to do some sewing,  to get an extra few hours in before I fly to Houston on Monday, but I have been sitting at my desk all day working on my computer, got a stiff neck and just feel like falling asleep and its only 19:28 hours.

There are days when I go upstairs and can sit up there for hours on end, blissfully unaware of the time, only to realise its the early hours of the morning and a couple of hours past my normal bed time.  I bet there are quite a few of you out there that know exactly what I mean.

Why is it that the days when I can't sew because I have to work or be somewhere else really irritate me, but when I specifically go home earlier to do some sewing find I have run out of steam.

Sometimes life just isn't fair.........

Perhaps if I rest on the sofa for half an hour or so I will recharge my batteries and wander upstairs and get inspired.

Catch you later.........................

With all the cold weather we are having at the moment, its nice to start thinking about what the pattern companies are offering for spring.

I have found the following pages which you may enjoy showing what's new for Vogue, McCalls and Butterick Patterns spring 2012.  Of course I do buy from other pattern companies too, but this is just the site I found.

Vogue Patterns spring 2012 and here are some of the ones I love

    

Mccalls Patterns spring 2012
  


Butterick Patterns spring 2012

 

enjoy.

Catch you later...............................................

Its cold on the bike today

I cycled home from the office tonight and oh boy was it cold and as the chart says despite the temperature being -2c it felt much colder on the bike and made me think that I need to get something to put around my face and ears if I am to brave my bike in this weather and as such have just ordered myself a skull cap to wear under my cycle helmet, and some more gloves to replace the one that I lost ............how annoying.

I should be at a work dinner this evening, but I decided to give it a miss and just make my way home ASAP and I am certainly glad that I did.  The thought of cycling at 10:00 or 11:00pm tonight when it will most likely be even colder is too heavy a price just for a nice meal out.

I can't wait for the spring to come, I really hate this weather.

Catch you later.............................................

Weight Loss Mondays -half a pound loss

I am not going to be breaking any records this week with my weight loss, but it is half a pound giving a total of 9lbs now which I am delighted with - another 5lbs and I will have lost my first stone.

I have my list of excuses why I haven't lost more:-

1. Was in hospital Monday and couldn't exercise for the rest of the week.
2. We have a blanket of snow and can't get out on my bike today and probably the rest of the week.
3. Was trying to perfect my technique for making my sourdough bread and had to try them.
4. blah blah blah.....................

I have 16 months to my wedding and I want to lose another 24lbs which is only 1.5lbs per month so should be doable.

Catch you later.................................

Scarf that you can knit in an evening

Yesterday when we were at the show, I picked up one ball of wool that looks like netting and a pair of needles to make a scarf.  £5.99 for the whole thing and look here at what I made.

Its really weird that by doing a simple garter stitch into the edge of the netted wool that it creates this funky pattern.

I am definitely going to look for some more wool, perhaps in my local shop to make another one in a different colour.

Still haven't wandered upstairs to finish my Issey tunic - my cold is getting the better of me and I am struggling to get off the sofa, still at least I was productive.

Catch you later........................

Sleep suit model - Alana

I braved the snow and popped round to deliver my DGD's sleep suit and a pair of enclosed PJ bottoms for her too.

And here she is modelling the outfit - she had only just got out of bed, from her afternoon nap, so still has her "bed-head" look on.

I used up some of the left over fabric to make these PJ pants with enclosed feet.

Here she is modelling them.

And here is the little sleep suit, no fear of her getting cold in the night now.

I still have a little bit of fabric left over and I am going to see if I can make a little hooded top for her out of it - I have some of bits of fleece that I can use to make up any shortfall.

Catch you later.....................

The Sourdough story continues

On Friday I took delivery of two proving baskets and some San Francisco Sourdough starter, so I have been baking LOADS of bread all weekend.

One of the big tips I can tell you is to use semolina in the proving baskets and on the bottom of the bread for one of the best crusts you will ever tast yummmmmmmmmy.

Suzie is my original sourdough starter that I made a few weeks back.  Because we are not here in the cottage during the week, she has to sit quietly in the cupboard next to the boiler doing her own thing until I get back and feed her and bring her back to life.  This seems to work fine and with almost minutes of feeding her she is bubbling away.

The San Francisco starter wasn't started until Friday - I found a large jar, put in the amount of water, and flour and the little packet and wait for a miracle to happen.  By the end of the day Friday there were some tiny bubbles, but nothing compared to Suzie, so I decided I just needed to be patient.  Saturday there was a brown layer of water sitting on the top of the starter (this is to be expected) but no bubbles.  I gave it another feed of flour and water (I am using a rye flour) along with a feed for Suzie and popped them both back in the cupboard.

Last night I wanted to try the sourdough bread again.  I have been trying different techniques, but none seem to have the same height and lift that our local Artisen bakery has with their loaves in London.  For this one, I used 300ml of sourdough starter, 200ml of water and  250 g of a mix of white and rye flour with some salt.

I popped the whole lot into my food mixer with a dough hook and kneaded it for almost 15 minutes before popping it in a bowl and letting it prove for about 3 hours.  I knocked back the dough, shaped it into a boule (round ball to you and I) and dropped it with the smooth side down into my proving basket that had been coated with semolina.  I covered this with a damp tea towel and then popped a plastic bag over the top of that to stop the tea towel from drying out  and left it on the kitchen table all night.

When I got up this morning (early) the dough had reached the top of the basket (a first for me) and I could see lots of little air bubbles in the dough.  I preheated my oven to around 250c and after about 5 minutes popped the dough onto a a baking tray lined with silicon paper, made some cross hatched slashes into the top of the bread and popped it into the oven.  I keep a tray at the bottom of the oven which I pour cold water into - this creates a steamed environment and helps to give that wonderful crust and here is my end result:

I also took my starters out to feed them this morning and I am pleased to say both of them are very happy and bubbly today.

This is Suzie who is now around 3 weeks old

This is the San Francisco Sourdough starter which now has lots of bubble.

Right I really do need to get on with some other stuff Catch you later.....................

And then the Snow Arrived

They had threatened snow yesterday, but because it was cold, and very dry outside yesterday I didn't think it would happen, but  during the night, the snow queen did her magic and we are looking like a winter wonderland this morning.  This photograph was taken around 6:50am brrrrrrrrrrrr.

I hope this clears up soon, I hate this weather.

Catch you later....................................

Fleece sleep suit for my DGD

My beautiful little granddaughter needed a new sleep suit to wear in bed over her PJ's.  My son and daughter-in-law inform me that all the ones they have seen in the shops are without the feet, and they wanted one with feet.  They had one which was a hand-me-down from my niece's little boy, but it was too long for little Alana, so I took it to use it as a pattern.

Original sleep suit

I unpicked the foot part so that I could trace around the pattern pieces, but the rest of the suit I just laid out on my tracing paper and made a paper pattern, and here is the end result.

There is a nice placket covering the zip.

Here is the crotch area

Here are the little feet.

This is how I made the little suit:

With right sides together and using a serger/overlocker if  you have one, sew the front pieces to the back piece at the shoulder seams.  Clip the centre point of the sleeve heads, and right sides together, place the clipped point at the shoulder seam and then serge the sleeves to the body.

TOP TIP: I kept the suit laid out on my cutting table as my guide to put all the pieces together.

Next I sewed the crotch piece to the back of the body and then sewed the front part of the foot to the front leg pieces.  Now you can sew the inside leg which extends into the crotch piece. followed by the outside leg seam and sleeves (all in one go).

I now had what resembled a sleep suit.  The soles of the feet went on next again using the serger.

I dug into my stash of zips and found one slightly longer than required (not a problem) and just finger-folded a small edge and pined the edge to the  right-edge of the zip and using a zipper foot stitched it in place.

Now for the front placket - which I love, I realised at the end I had made a bit of a mistake.  Because I traced out the pattern with the RTW suit inside out - my sniffly head must have been muddled because I sewed this to the front of the suit right-sides together with the intention of covering the zip, and didn't realise until I finished the suit that the original never had anything covering the zip on the outside, but I like my version better. 

To make the placket, right-sides together, I folded the fabric in half and stitched the bottom seam and turned it right-sides out.  Next, right sides together, I serged the placket to the right front piece.  Once the placket was sewn, I then made sure the seam allowance was laying flat, and laid the line of the seam against the left side of the zip and pinned and stitched it in place along the length of the zip and then secured the bottom of the placket in place by sewing across the bottom edge.  

The neck edge was just a straight piece of fabric (yes I guess I could have cut it on the bias), first folded right sides together to sew the ends, and then turned right-sides out and serged to the neck edge and top-stitched down.

The whole suit was finished off with a little popper to keep the neck closed.

As mentioned earlier, it was only when I finished that I realised the zip placket should have been on the inside not the outside, so I simply cut a strip of cotton fabric  using the selvage edge for the exposed part and serged it to the zipper, thus creating a zip guard on the inside of the suit too.

Now the only thing that I haven't got is the rubbery bottom to the foot parts to stop her slipping and sliding on the floor.  I tried putting some blobs of PVA glue on the under sole to see if this would do the trick on some scrap fabric, but when I went up to look this morning, it just seemed like hard blobs so not a great result, will try also to paint it so its flat and see what happens. 

Can't wait to try it on her, but I suspect we will have a few tantrums as she will think that she has to go to bed.....(see here for a photo of her modelling it)

Job done, just hope the kids can get here after our 6" snow fall last night.  I can now concentrate on finishing my Issey tunic and start thinking about some other items to make.  I have enough of the fleece left over to make Alana a little top and perhaps a hat too, we will see where my creative juices take me.

Catch you later...................