OOTD

                    

It was a glorious sunny day so we went to the park. My daughter was learning to ride her bike and we ended up picking loads of delicious blackberries! My daughter is only four years old but loves to take pictures so I asked her to take some of me. I'm actually really impressed with this first one. Can't believe she managed to take such a good shot! Will definitely be requesting her photography skills more often in future!

Anyway, back to the outfit. I am wearing some salwar, also know as harem pants, which are from Delal Designs. I literally live in salwar at the moment. They are just so comfortable and easy to wear. Perfect for lounging around at home or dressing up a bit to go out in. These ones are made of a soft jersey material which only adds to their comfort. I love how baggy they are, allowing for both modesty and ease of movement. They become tighter at the ankle which is great as it stops them dragging on the floor. This makes them a particularly good thing to wear in the rain. I just hate it when the bottoms of garments get wet in the rain. These salwar definitely don't. They also have a handy pocket on each side which is perfect for storing small items. So useful to have pockets.

Moving up, I'm wearing a long sleeved black cross-over top from La redoute. It's not a shop I normally buy from but this top is great. I love how it crosses over at the front like a wrap. It has ruching on either side which is amazing at giving the illusion of a flat stomach. Really very flattering.

To finish off the outfit, I am wearing a kimono jacket from New look. I discovered these jackets a few months ago and this one has been a life saver for me in the summers heat. I don't know about you, but every time the weather heats up, I panic about what to wear. I found it really difficult the first couple of years I started dressing modestly, how could I possibly cover my body and survive in the heat? Everything seemed too hot. To be honest, I still get this problem now, but this kimono jacket has certainly helped the situation. It is made of a light, cotton fabric which is perfect for summertime. Not only is it modest, it's bagginess also allows the air to circulate through it to help keep you cool. I hope they have these in the shops again next summer! 

Scarf: stall at Eid fayre

Kimono jacket: New look

Black top: La Redoute

Salwar: Delal Designs

                           

The wind was blowing my salwar around, making them wrap around my leg at one point!

                      

                           Here you can see the salwar better.

                   

                                       Here is the back view.

Knitting

As you may know, I already blog over at Multicultural Motherhood where I write about my life and family. However, as I now have this blog too which focuses mainly on fashion and my craft projects, I will be transferring some of my posts from there over to here as they fit in more with this blog now. Here is the first post I am transferring; a post about my love of knitting.

I learnt to knit as a child. I was always into creative things; knitting, sewing, drawing, painting. I remember my mother teaching me to knit the continental way where you don't need to wind the wool round the needle using your hand, you just hook it and pull it through with the needle (not sure if that makes any sense!). I remember knitting patchwork squares in the hope of making a blanket, as well as knitting scarves.

                   

For many years I didn't knit. Then when I became pregnant with my first child I took it up again. My first project was baby bootees. I managed to finish them quickly and soon went onto knitting baby cardigans. I liked the baby projects as they were small and quick to knit. I felt a sense of accomplishment. I loved to put my hand knitted items on my baby. There's just something lovely about seeing a baby in a soft, fluffy knitted cardigan, especially one you have made yourself.

I started to knit more and more, made a few things for myself and family members. I spent ages searching for patterns and looking at wool. And then i stopped. I got busy, didn't have the time. But I miss the hand-knitted things. I need to get back into it. I'm starting early as before I know it it will be winter, I'm sure. So, I'm going through my patterns and choosing which to make for the kids this winter. I definitely won't have time to make anything for myself unfortunately. I put all my own patterns in a file; I will get round to them one day.

                   

Here is my current project; a pink cardigan for D. She requested pink, she always request pink!

                   

As you can see, although I am following the pattern, I changed the stitch. I have an amazing book that I bought from a charity shop for £1 which tells you how to do so many different stitches. I love to customise patterns by changing the stitches. I normally do this if they have quite a plain stitch pattern. I like to make them more interesting to look at as well as knit.

I really hope I can get the time to finish it!

OOTD (Outfit of the Day)

                         
































Here is my first outfit of the day! I only recently discovered the wonders of denim maxi skirts. Denim is such a versatile fabric. You can wear it with practically everything and this makes it very appealing. This particular skirt is available from Delal Designs right now! I love the light blue colour. I have paired it with a yellow top, one of my favourite colours at the moment. I just love yellow and blue together. Any shade of yellow with any shade of blue, love it! 

The blue vest top has a sort of waterfall cut, something which is very flattering and modest. It falls nicely without being tight and clingy. It has a lovely crochet trim around the bottom edge. I actually got this vest top from ASDA! Yes, I got it from a supermarket! Being a busy mum, I don't have much time to shop so when I'm doing my weekly food shopping I sometimes go to have a look at the clothes as well and sometimes find some surprisingly good items! 

To top off the look, I am wearing a burgundy pom pom scarf. Pom pom scarves are my favourite at the moment, I like how the pom poms add an interesting detail to an otherwise plain scarf. I have recently become a bit bolder with mixing colours in my outfits. I don't want to wear the same colour all over. Mixing it up is more interesting and trying out different colour combinations is great fun!

                                                 
                                                 Scarf: Stall at a fayre

                                                 Yellow top: Bazaar in Turkey
                                                 Blue vest top: ASDA!
                                                 Denim maxi skirt: Delal Designs

                            

                                         Front view


                           

                                     Back view.

Hello!

My name is Weronika (pronouned Veronica) and I am a twenty something mother of two from the South West of England. I already blog over at Multicultural Motherhood where I blog about my life and the things I do with my kids. I have decided to make a separate blog to write about my passion for fashion and crafts. It will be an outlet for my creative side, a way for me to document my craft projects and share ideas and fashion tips.

Since I was a child I have always been a creative spirit spending my spare time doing crafts such as cross stitch, sewing, knitting, painting and drawing. As I became older, I began to make some of my own clothes. I don't make nearly as much as I'd like to purely because of lack of time. I have stashes of patterns and fabric just waiting to be made into something special. Knitting is a particularly favourite hobby of mine, I just love to knit cosy clothing for my family. Again, I don't have much time to knit for myself but I adore to knit little jumpers and cardigans for my kids.
  
As a convert muslimah I found it hard transitioning from western fashion to muslimah clothing. I spent a few years not really knowing what to wear or feeling comfortable and confident about what I was wearing. Then I discovered hijabi fashion and realised that I could wear stylish clothing and still express myself through fashion. I hope to share some tips and inspire other women who would like to dress modestly but still look stylish.

I have recently started a new business, Delal Designs, selling modest clothing which came about from my own desire to be able to purchase stylish, modest clothing at affordable prices. I will also be sharing information about my business on this blog .

I hope you enjoy reading :)