Simplicity 3663

All my dressmaking to date has been from new modern patterns. Although I've bought several vintage patterns from eBay, I've never quite gotten up the courage to make any of them up. I don't want to ruin a pattern or indeed, face the risk of making a haymes of it.

Every so often I go browsing on eBay looking for vintage dress patterns. I love the models portrayed on the envelopes. They strike poses, while looking elegant and chic.

I love this Simplicity 3663 pattern. It's a nice length and the bodice has a flattering neckline. Ijust know that I'd look great in this. It's a pity that this one is for a 34" bust. If only I could find a 38" version. I'd be so there!! However, then I'd be left with the problem of deciding which fabric would suit this best. Do I make it for evening wear or instead something more suited to daytime wear?

Taekwon Do at the Olympics

Taekwon Do is a fractionated world. On one hand, you have the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and on the other there is the International Taekwondo Federation. Differences in technique and sparring styles distinguish the two, although, to be honest, taekwondo is still taekwondo.

I must admit that I've received weird looks from people when I tell them that I practice taekwondo. There is still this old perception that martial arts are for nutcases and overly-aggressive types. In my experience nothing could be further from the truth. Most TKD organisations are well run, well managed, responsible and actively encourage the participation of children in the sport. Some of the black belts I've met have been the most level-headed, calmest people I've ever met.

The variety of taekwondo featured at the Olympics is of the WTF-kind (Boo to that as I'm an ITF practioner myself). Still though, it's great to know that the sport you're passionate about is part of the of the most fantastic sporting event in the world. While I might not like the type of sparring used in the Olympics, I would be optimistic about the Olympics as a platform to promote the sport and get more people involved.

However, this year's Olympics was marred by several events. First, we had the overturning of a result in the women's +67 kg event between Sarah Stevenson of Great Britain and China's Chen Zhong. Following an unprecedented use of video footage after the result was declared, the Chinese victory was overturned and the British athlete went through to the next round, which she subsequently lost.


The prize for controversy has to go to Cuban 80+kg fighter Angel Matos, who kicked the referee Chakir Chelbat in the mouth following a decision to award the match to the Kazakhstani opponent, Arman Chilmanov. Matos was deemed to have exceeded the one minute injury time permitted to fighters and the bout was awarded to his oponent. Matos and his coach returned to the ring, protesting the decision, resulting in the awful incident shown in the picture above.

These events clearly go against both the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympics. It is an honour to represent your country at the highest level in your sport. Watching and reading about these events embarasses me, even though I'll never have the chance to compete at this level.

Oh, and by the way, if you're still interested in TKD following all this, check out the Irish National Taekwondo Association based in Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, with many clubs located around the country.

Blind hems - Hong Kong Finish

Hems are the bane of any dressmaking project. It's fun to sew the main panels and components together and see the article take shape, but hemming often seems so painful. However, we all know that a good hem or finish can make or break a garment.

As I have been a hand-sewer for years, I've always turned up hems by hand, but this isn't often the ideal solution being time consuming and hard to do on certain fabrics. Once I got my sewing machine, I spent a while wrestling with the settings perfecting my blind stitch in order to turn up those perfect hems.

I'd like to thank Burda Style for this useful guide on how to turn a blind hem, Hong Kong syle. Their website features many tips and guides, but this is definitely a tip to help you create professional looking garments. You might also like to check out their free downloadable patterns section.

Firmin - Sam Savage

I first took note of Firmin when I saw that a person with a similar library profile on LibraryThing.com had recently added the book. It caught my interest from the get go, seeing as how it is that interesting thing, a book about books.

Here's a word of warning before you even pick this book up in the shop. It is heartbreakingly sad. Firmin is the runt of his litter, born to a drunken rat mother in the basement of Pembroke Books. Fed on a diet of shredded James Joyce, he develops a taste for literature and dares to dream above his position in life. Firmin becomes human through his fascination with our books, but his attempts to communicate are dashed everytime. Firmin just wants to be loved and even dreams of the "Lovelies" - the beautiful women who star in burlesque shows.

We watch the demolition of a historic part of Boston through the eyes of the rat, and mourn with him as the burlesque shows and shabby businesses are removed in the name of progress. It's amazing how the story of a human rat shows up the lack of humanity in humans.

The Terror - Dan Simmons

I picked The Terror up ages ago in Waterstones, but didn't get around to reading it until recently. It was billed as a horror story in the store, which isn't a genre I normally read, but the premise sounded quite interesting and I am a fan of author Dan Simmons' other books including Hyperion.

The Terror is based on the true story of the ill-fasted Franklin expedition to the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. Two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, set sail to find the passage and their fates were never known. Graves and artefacts were found by other explorers but the story of the hundred plus men will never be fully known.

Simmons cleverly uses this true story as the base for this fantastically thrilling novel. The dark nature of the human psyche is the true monster in this tale, not the huge beast that is methodically slaughtering crew members. The decline of the human body and the human mind is brilliantly explored and proves to be more chilling than the brutal attacks of the white beast. The story is well researched and it's all too easy to imagine yourself there in the dark and the cold, wrapped in clothes that never fully dry out. The invasion of the white Europeans into the lands of the native Inuit is also introduced in this book through the use of Inuit mythology.

This is a large book and the pace is somewhat glacial, if you'll pardon the pun. However, it's well worth the read. Just wrap up warm as you read.

Mangetu and Carluccio's

There's one good thing about being at home recovering from surgery. I'm getting to eat out a lot. Probably too much in fact, considering my lack of physical activity. So even though I'm feeling guilty about all those calories, I'm also quite enjoying them.


Yesterday, we were driving home in rush hour, when we encountered a busier than usual street. Sod it, we said, and parked the car and went for an early dinner. I'd been watching Mangetu on Haddington Road while it was being fitted out and I was glad of the chance to finally eat there. It's billed as Asian fusion and Thai, and is one of that new breed of restaurant with a fancy cocktail list and smooth surroundings. The interior is beautifully decorated in shades of cream and white and invites you to relax. We chose to go for the Early Bird menu which offers two courses for approx 19 Euro or three courses for 25 Euro.

Our starters of Larb Ped (minced duck salad served on baby gem leaves) and chicken and coconut soup were excellent. The duck was dressed in lime juice but featured too many slices of lemon grass and large chunks of red onion. The soup was creamy and punchy and full of chicken, tomato and mushroom. The mains of red duck curry and chicken with basil and chili came with portions of glutinous rice. The red curry was creamy, spicy and featured pieces of fruit to break up the spiciness. The chicken was a little bland considering it was advertised on the menu as being spicy, but was still a good dish.

Overall I liked Mangetu. I thought that the food was good, and if I hadn't been driving I would definitely have been tempted by the cocktail menu. Service was little slow, with one hostess hanging around and not performing table clearing duties, instead leaving it to the one waitress. Total cost including two large bottles of sparkling water came to 45 Euro. Definitely one to try again.

Today I went to see my surgeon for a check-up following my surgery, so I decided to visit some bookshops and have lunch in town before hand. After visiting Waterstones and Hogges & Figgis, I went to Carluccio's on Dawson Street for a light lunch.


I've been there before and wasn't overly impressed. I did want to return however for their Bicerin, a chocolate coffee drink where you get three small jugs of espresso, cream and thick drinking chocolate, and a cup for you to mix them in. What a delicious idea. As well as this decadent drink, I also had an Insalata di Mozzarella, which the menu claimed to feature oven roasted tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. When it came, it was delicious, but the tomatoes were fresh, not the afore-mentioned oven-roasted. Pity. The mozzarella was fresh, and the whole thing was seasoned and drizzled in olive oil. I liked the salad, but I didn't like the price. 10 Euro for a tomato and lump of mozzarella is a little much to be asking. Total bill was approx 13.50 Euro which is fine, but the bizarre serving staff in Carluccio's still need some work. Despite the plethora of staff, it's hard to get their attention.

Swimming Hamsters

Meet Mojito and Zorro, my pair of Winter White dwarf hamsters. Mojito (male) and Zorro (female) originally came to me as pups and are now about a year old. Mojito was originally blond and Zorro was pitch black, but over the course of last year's winter, their fur gradually changed to white. The funny thing is that their fur did not return to it's normal colour over the course of this summer.

They're a funny pair. Mojito is constantly trying to get his leg over on Zorro, who as a typical female, is having none of him. On the other hand, she has him well henpecked. A microcosm of a marriage. It is a pity that she's not more receptive as I bought this pair with the intention of breeding, but the comedy value I get from watching Mojito try it on with Zorro more than makes up for the lack of offspring.

Yesterday, Mojito, who is normally a lazy sort of dude unless it comes to trying to shag Zorro, spent a solid hour swimming in the sawdust at the bottom of the cage. I spent a while watching him trying to figure out what he was looking for. I though it might be food, but he ignored the food bowl and the hidden caches he found. He would disappear beneath the sawdust for several minutes at a go and resurface, covered in little bits of sawdust. Daft eejit!