This forest is old. Very old. Old as balls.

I just returned from a lovely (and exhausting) weekend getaway with my mother's family, and even found the time to photograph my most recent make! We went for a long walk in the woods and I snuck away between the trees for a very quick photoshoot.

This Liberty fabric is actually Iceland themed (with a print depicting mountains and glaciers) but I had it in my stash even before I knew I was going to Iceland. Talk about foreshadowing!

The pattern is the Colette Hawthorn, and for once it fit me perfectly without any adjustments! It seems Colette Patterns are drafted for someone with a much wider back and shoulders than me, and I always end up removing loads of width from the back... Not this time!

I briefly considered making this for my Iceland trip but thought a cotton lawn shirtdress wouldn't really be suitable for that type of weather. I wore it with a cardigan and was fine all day long. Hooray for way too warm winters!

My family was passing by when this picture was taken. Photoshoots are awkward.

I didn't really change anything about the pattern, except for omitting the topstitching and shortening the skirt a bit. I felt like the print was busy enough without this extra detail and just understitched as much of the facing as I could. I also handstitched the inside of the cuffs closed.

I got the wooden buttons at the previous Blogger Meet in Brussels, thanks to Stephanie. I also added the (slightly too big) belt to break up the mass of print a bit. Up close you can really see what it is, it looks like birch bark or marble from a distance!

Look Ma, I can sew a cuff!

Sewing the entire thing went without any hiccups until I reached the sleeves, and even then the hiccup was entirely my fault. I had a nice piece left after cutting the dress out and gave it to Jo at the next blogger meet, only to find out that I had cut the cuffs two sizes too small. I didn't have a scrap left so I had to ask Jo for some extra... She was very sweet about it, and even added some extras! (thanks Jo!)

I wasn't entirely convinced by the Hawthorn when it came out, but it definitely won me over. The small collar and sleeve length give the dress a bit of understated femininity, and I feel very put together when I wear it. Taking these pictures at the start of the walk turned out to be a brilliant idea, since it was raining the entire time and after ten kilometres of walking up and down muddy hills I looked like a very dirty and red hobbit.

Apart from walking and stuffing my face I actually managed to get some more work done on That Big Thing I was talking about before. Here's my uncle giving me a hand!

This might be entirely TMI but I actually interrupted writing this blog post to go throw up after feeling sick all night, and came back to finish it before getting into bed! That's dedication. I'm going to sleep now.