Banksia top from Handmade Jane and knitwear giveaway teaser...

Months ago, I won a giveaway hosted by the lovely Handmade Jane. She writes a blog about sewing clothes for herself (and occasionally her son) and has adorable style, think polka dots and vintage and chintz.  She dreamed up the giveaway as a way of clearing out some of her unloved, unworn handmade items of clothing, in a bid to spring clean her wardrobe.  You can check out the other items up for grabs over here, as you can see there were some delights looking for new homes!



I entered for the Banksia top, I loved the floral pattern and the fact that it started life as a pair of curtains (we're all about refashioning over here!).  To my surprise, I won!  I've never won an internet giveaway before so I was delighted!  You can see Jane's original post about the top over here, she claims it to be inspired by the Von Trapp family in it's recycling roots but I reckon it's way more stylish than that. So stylish in fact, I wore it to our recent engagament photoshoot!



See anything you recognise...? 

It fits really nicely, it's slightly too big all over but I quite like it that way, I don't normally go for 'boyfriend' type fit since it can drown what little figure I own, but there's something comfortable yet still flattering about the fit of this little number.



Jane is definitely leagues ahead of me in the sewing stakes, this baby has a button down front and a placket (WTF is a placket already?!) and facings and all kinds of technical words that make me reach for the gin.  It certainly doesn't look handmade until you look closely.



I thought the spring clean idea was a such a lovely one, what better way to honour your unloved handmade clothes than by giving them away to other craftsters?  People who will admire the smallest details and appreciate the time and effort that went into every stitch.  I was so inspired that I thought I would pay it forward and host my own little giveaway, this time of knitwear!



Just a little teaser

I've knit so many hats and gloves over the years, there's really no way one person could ever wear them all and so I've had a sort out and come up with 5 warm woolies that will be looking for a new home in the coming weeks.  Watch this space if you need a new hat or gloves this winter!