I’m getting rather excited about the dress now! I’ve almost finished the mock-up, just got the sleeves remaining. So far I’ve established that clothing sizes really really do not work for me. I need a size 10 for the top part, a size 12 across the bust and a size 14 for the hips… But aside from that the style of the dress looks good! And it’s really just a case of adding a couple of inches to a few seams which is fine. Just need to wait till the end of the month so I can buy the fabric – I found some nice purple fabric yesterday which I think would work well although I didn’t suss out the price… But I remain excited! It was so easy to make and I think it could be a really flexible pattern as well – the neckline could be varied as could the sleeves without any trouble 
Last nights Herby Polenta was a hit! We’ve been working from this recipe but have found ourselves a comfortable adaptation:
Serves 3-4
The night before make the herby polenta; add 1 cup of polenta and 4 cups of boiling water to a saucepan and keep on the heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic, a tablespoon of dried herbs and season. Turn the heat down, add a lid and leave for 10-15 mins. Then pour into a 12″ square tray and leave to cool the keep in the fridge.
When you get hungry; cut the polenta into cubes, chop up some mushrooms (I use a mix of normal and chestnut mushrooms), chop up a pepper and drain some beans (I used haricot which was nice). Fry the polenta, when it starts to go golden add the remaining ingredients and fry until they’re cooked. Serve with grated cheese sprinkled on top.
Alternatively used bits of chopped up bacon instead of beans.
The joy of this recipe is that we have everything in the cupboard for it!
Looking forward to seeing the finished dress! Sounds like it’s going well. I’m sure I have that copy of Sew Hip somewhere (or at least I did have) – must search it out!
Teresa x