Foxgloves and thimbles: Slovakia

Peaceful, quiet setting for a photo shoot, right? Not exactly. The minute I brought out the tripod all hell broke loose in paradise. Here I'm standing under a walnut tree with a noisy squirrel above my head, and an over excited dog in hunting mode running in circles around me. The squirrel was firing nuts like canon balls, the dog pumped up the barking volume to deafening heights. My options were either accessorize the outfit with a helmet and hearing protection or call it a day. Guess what. The outfit wasn't that special to begin with!

The shirt is a Deer and Doe Plantain, my first short sleeved version. I recently bought a piece of digital printed fabric with a print with a large repeat. Before cutting it I wanted to make sure the pattern placement would work, with a nice line of flowers around the hem, the best colours near my face and a smaller print at the sleeves.

Did you ever pick up a piece of fabric from the leftover bin to do some tests and unexpectly ended up with what became your most worn garment of the season? Although my test garment needed some tweaks before cutting the pansies, it was a wearable muslin. What's more, it was in my suitcase all summer when I was travelling around Europe!

Here it is in Scotland, perfectly matching the floral decor. I'm not sure what special effect makes it look like a rodent had a go at my neckband? Errr, rodents becoming a theme in this post ;)
Speaking of the neckband, I shortened it a little compared to my previous Plantain. Bad move, cause I don't like the U-shape, and it's even pulling the shoulders inwards.
In Scotland the shirt was used a layering piece, worked fine with a black cardigan.

Later this summer we went on a roadtrip to Prague and Slovakia. Sadly, or not, there are no pictures available of me cycling through the Slovakian countryside on days with temperatures rising as high as 38 Celsius, but I did and I wore this shirt.

More proof of the cosmopolitan allure of this shirt: the German edition, with Schnitzel und Bier!

As this was my last of summer sewing, the pansies will have to wait. I cleared out my sewing room, went on a autumn fabric shopping spree and am so ready for the new season!

I'll end with some pictures of Slovakia, a beautiful country well worth a visit!