Blog Name Change

I don't know how much it affects things but I am now Polkadots and Petticoats in honour of the my new red dress!!!!!

New Year, New Start and New Dress

So things have been changing...or rather things haven't changed so much as my attitude has. Must be all the positive thinking coming from blogland! It's probably not breaking news but the concept that things are not naturally happy and shiny but must be made so has taken quite some time to filter through to me. I am determined to work towards what I want to get out of life and that I get to decide that, not the words or opinions of other people.

In other news here is a picture of the dress I will be wearing to a wedding tomorrow:-
Anyway apologies for the long silence, I'll make no vows since I broke the last one but have missed my little spec of the internet xxx

Because Seven Is A Good Number

I found this on Amore and Chocolate's very lovely blog and gave it some thought.

• Seven Things That Scare You:

1. spiders
2. lifts/elevators
3. social interaction
4. blood and gore (am very squemish)
5. talking to people on the phone
6. getting sick again
7. bugs

• Seven Things You Like The Most:

1. being with my friends, especially Violet
2. watching my favourite tv shows
3. curling up and reading
4. sunshine/the summer/the beach
5. weekends with my family
6. walks in the park
7. seeing new movies

• Seven Important Things In Your Room:

1. computer
2. sewing machine
3. my books and notebooks
4. dvd collection
5. polaroids of friends and family
6. scrapbook from summer abroad
7. bed - it's creaky and old but I love my sleep!

• Seven Random Facts About You:

1. I like noticing actors in random roles and enjoy seeing their careers progress.
2. I think this ^^^^ is a fun useless thing to do but useless unless I become a casting agent.
3. I think I should have been born in America, I worked there for two summers and felt more at home than this country.
4. I went on a really good night out at a rock club on thursday with two of my best mates .
5. When I get nervous I speak (unconciously) with an American accent.
6. I'm a big big doctor who fan, also criminal minds, supernatural, freaks and geeks, carnivale, and many more.
   
7. I hate driving on motorways.

• Seven Things You Plan To Do Before You Die:

1. become more accomplished at dressmaking
2. go on a road trip around America
3. read all the books I can
4. have a really pretty and productive garden
5. have an outlet for my wish to dance
6. go to Paris with Violet
7. live up to Emerson's definition of sucess

• Seven Things That Attract You To Someone:

(not sure if this means attract as a crush or attracts as a 'ooh that person seems nice I want to go and talk to him/her' so I'm going with the latter!)

1. geekiness - if you are enthusiastic about something I'm curious
2. reading or more broadly the whole shared interest thing
3. kindness and consideration for others
   
4. nice hips, not a requirement but some men just have great hips!
5. a self-awareness and acceptance with a wish to challenge themselves
6. an interesting laugh, it's the first thing I noticed about Miss V
7. an open mind

• Seven Attractive Celebrities:

1. Matthew Gray Gubler
2. Zooey Deschanel
3. Tim Roth
4. Kat Dennings
5. Bryan Dick
6. Joe Anderson
7. Lee Pace

Projects

I mentioned in my last post that I was making a shirt, this is the shirt

I have cut out the pieces to make the the long sleeved version in black poplin with a white poplin collar but it's creation has been put on hold because I've found that my work clothes are too hot and restricting for my dance classes but normal exercise clothes (which I've never been a fan of) are not particularly suitable either. So I am making this (the shorter version of the black dress)
in very dark teal/green cotton, which is very light and very thin so petticoat required!

I'm posting this here for two reasons. One as an explanation as to why I have been not posting more. I've even been watching fewer movies...gasp! Two because this is an promise to which I must hold to post the finished items which will require me to actually appear in a public forum photograph (a big deal for me) and for me to actually get my camera and my computer talking to each other!

1 http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/patterns/sewingpatterns.pl?patternid=18336
2 http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/patterns/sewingpatterns.pl?patternid=29782

New Things

I'm shocked that it was over two weeks ago that I last posted. I'd like to say I've a decent reason but the truth is something else. Something broke in a friendship that has been very important to me over the past two years and although there is a lot of bad involved in that there is some good coming out of it. I have realised the goals I set for myself when moving to Manchester are still way too far from achieved, and this breaking has spurred me on to get busy and push myself. So I put together a list of things I want to do and starting thinking about all the things that previous habits formed by the friendship pushed from my mind.

Maybe because I am more open to things but good things have been happening, an old friend sought me out on facebook which encouraged me to seek out two friends who were a part of the happiest time of my life, one of whom has very enthusiastically replied; I have started taking a Swing Dancing class which I have been wanting to do try for a while now and I am really enjoying it. I am trying veganism for Lent and am finding it easier than previously thought to make the change. I've starting learning to sew clothes, so far I've made a dress, a night-gown and am currently taking on a shirt. I drove to see Violet's new place down South and had a lovely weekend with her, just shopping and hanging out. The weather has been good, the sky bluer and signs of Spring are creeping in. Tonight I'm meeting up with some family for a meal, a situation of lucky circumstance and proximity. I'm not ready to give up on the friendship that broke, but it is nice that when I looked I saw many reminders that there are possibilities there if I am willing to push for it.
Also I bought a tube of MAC Russian Red which is as good as an excuse to hold your head up and smile as any other I've found! Anyway, I have plenty of things I want to post and babble about but for now I just want to say thank you to and for everything, especially those who have so kindly commented here.

xxx

1 http://www.ansanctoir.ie/Images/swing.gif
2 http://tiarasquemamaeodeia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/russian-red.jpg