Slow Pace

 How is it going where you are?  I hope everyone is enjoying the rest and not feeling too cut off from everything.  My husband popped down to the shop earlier and he said he has never seen it so quiet in our little town, I know it is Christmas but  there are usually people pottering about in the streets.  The little bit of snow here this morning may have put them off, but it did look pretty for about an hour before it all melted. 

I have been making a dress today using a magazine pattern that I have had for some time, the fabric is from Happy Hare in Chapeltown and the colours are lovely. I made a few adjustments as ever and also had to add a couple of tucks to the front as it hung on me in a non flattering way, I also took the side and back seams in a little.  I decided against full darts to shape it as I didn't want to interfere with the pattern, the tucks I added at the front bring it in a little without cutting through the pattern too much.

So I have had an enjoyable afternoon making this, it is actually finished now but the light went pretty quick so I will photograph it on over the next few days in daylight.  I did get one on the mannequin while I was still at the fitting stage.  There is a small opening at the back of the neck with a loop and button to fasten.  I faced the hem with a binding before hemming to make it a bit neater, other than the dress being a bit baggy for my liking it is a nice shape I think the fitting issue is just my preference because it fits really well on the arms, upper body and shoulders so it is clearly meant to be baggy.  has anyone else made this pattern and if so how did you find it?  

There are pins in the front there where I made my little tucks, the frill on the sleeves are also a bit shorter than the ones on the pattern piece as I felt they may get in the way if they were  any bigger.  It is a gorgeous quality fabric by Dee Hardwick who usually does knitting patterns I believe.  I used some of her fabric a while ago in the dragonfly handbag I made and that was really colourful too. 

Here is a look at a gift I made for a friend, it is a multi purpose scarf/wrap.  I thought it could be worn now as a scarf or later as a bikini wrap if we ever get to travel again! Then my friend could wear it on holiday.  I paired this with some posh soap I bought when we went to Chatsworth a couple of weeks ago for the lights. 

I have been nibbling on some lovely vegan chocolates that I received for Christmas, this will not become a habit as they are quite expensive for what they are but nice to have as a holiday treat.

Something tells me I am probably not the only one eating chocolate at the moment while watching the Worlds Strongest Man!  Right I am off now to do some Pilates and work it off, back soon. Have a good new year everyone. 

Days Indoors

 Hi, I just thought I would do a bit of a catch up while we have the extra time. I am keeping busy around the house and also I had time to get my car booked in and checked out this morning first thing, this is always easier when we don't have work to get to.  The way back was very wet and cold but I took advantage of the uphill walk through a farmers field by dashing up it and then I can count that as part of my daily exercise. I was a little breathless when I got to the top and the cold seams to add to that (or is that just me?)

When I got back I thought I would do my Pilates for the day and of course the dogs have to try and join in, this usually involves the little one trying to climb on my legs and then looking offended when I make him get off because he is so used to sitting on laps.

Yes I had to get off the mat to take the photo and they always look a bit alarmed when I point the phone at them!

There has been a bit of sewing today, I had in mind a pattern from one of my Burda magazines but I have changed it quite a bit, it was 114A from November issue but the neck was not for me and the bagginess a bit big so it has been changed.

There is some gathering into  straight band that you can't see, the printed fabric hides it too, if I had more fabric the bottom band would have had the stripe going vertical but I didn't have enough for that.

This afternoon I did some experimental baking and made mince pie buns, gf pastry is not great to make so I made my own with gram flour for the pie bases, then baked and filled them and then I made banana cake batter for the tops.  So they are a bit of a hybrid, but they do taste good and my husband who is not a fan of actual mince pies ate one and enjoyed it.

Just a bit of what I am up to at the moment, I am now off to make something else but it is my final gift to make so I won't say what it is I will share after the big day.  

That is all for now, back soon. 

  

Rainy Day Sewing

 A rainy day again! So time for a bit more sewing I have made up another Joni dress from the Tilly stretch book.  Of course I no longer have the book as it was a library book but I did trace off the pattern and I have used it a few times.  I like the shape at the top although it does look a bit weird when not being worn due to the twist.  My husband was not a fan of the fabric when it arrived as he says it looks like 70's curtains. How rude! ;)  I love it as the colours are incredible and I do love prints with wild colours and flowers.

No time to try it on as I was straight on to my next make of the day which is a vintage style satin skirt for my son's girlfriend, she loves this style of clothing. I made the pattern myself using her  measurements and a bit of tweaking from another pattern.  Of course she can't be here so I hope it fits ok when she eventually gets to try it on.  Under normal circumstances I would have her here to try on before it was fully finished but I have just had to go for it and finish up.   I am also waiting on the arrival of some red fabric to make her a vintage dress for Christmas but that is not here yet. It may have to be a late gift, I know the post is a bit crazy at the moment with all that is going on.

A few more bags made up this week, one of them with a winter scene and one with dogs...

I finished my book The Shadow of the Wind, it was ok but I won't be dashing to buy the next one, the cover said it will change your life and I think it exaggerated just a bit. All the way through I had a mild interest to see what would happen but nothing more.  It did not leave me eager to read the next chapter at any point and I had no real attachment to any of the characters, so that says it all really.  I picked up a few books in the Charity shop on Saturday and a few for my mum too.  It is hard picking them up for her as I don't know what she has read and I have to think what she will like as our tastes are very different.

A few days ago I started making bows from the envelopes as they are opened, these are to go on gifts and I do try to keep paper waste at a minimum from the wrapping and so on at this time of year.  I have some re-usuable boxes that we get out every year for our boys presents and they have been going since they were small! Not everything fits in these but I also keep all the gift bags that come our way too and use brown paper and trimmings. The metallic paper is the worse to recycle, so if any that can be removed carefully and used again it is best to do that. 

          These are really easy to do it is just strips of paper, any paper, magazine pages work too.

We have watched a really fun series on Netflix this week called Home for Christmas, it is a Norwegian series and this was series two we watched series one last year.  It is funny and worth a look while having the bonus of being a bit festive so maybe put it on your watch list for the coming weeks.

That is all for now, enjoy the week.

December...ing

 As December is well under way I thought it was maybe time for an 'ing' post, just one more week for us in School but out of School I am busy as ever and the weekends just never seem long.  Here goes...

Loving the children's attitudes in School at the moment as they have all been so amazing!  They came back after the summer with everything different and weird after being off for so long, they have taken to constant hand washing, being escorted for every toilet trip and segregated from the rest of the School and still carried on without complaint and lovely smiling faces every day.  I just wanted to say that first of all as I am sure it is the same every where, children are just so adaptable and brilliant.

Reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, this is set in Barcelona and the story revolves around a discovered book and its mysterious author. I started it ten days ago so this is slow going for me but it is one of those books you can't rush.  I am fluctuating at the moment between loving it and wondering come on where is this going?   So I will let you know my final thoughts  later.

Also enjoying Imagine a Forest, this is a book on folk art that I treat myself to and it has been inspiring some of my latest handbags.  I am using tips from the book and then adding my own twist, of course it is a bit different as I am creating in fabric so anything I make cannot be too fussy or it would take forever to stitch. 

Making a few bags this past week, as I mentioned I am enjoying the folk theme so this is what I have been working on.  First of all I am trying to get back into writing down what I do each day in a creative way and adding any ideas or doodles to that.  If I get down things on paper as they come to me I find I have more ideas for what to make and in effect I do more. Here are the last two bags...

 

I have still been making my regular bags too, these more recent ones take me more time to complete as ponder what to put where and there is a lot more stitching.  Here are a few of my others...

The difficulty at this time of year is always when to take the photographs, I don't seem to be able to get good daylight in the house even at weekends and in the week it is impossible as you leave in the dark and come home in the dark. Speaking if which...

Walking in the dark and in the rain, there has been plenty of that. Wiping down dogs constantly and cleaning boots.  We went to Chatsworth to see it lit up the other evening as we really wanted to do something a bit Christmasy.  You have to book a slot and ours was 5.30, it was raining and very cold but we wrapped up and went in good spirits.  Now I have been to Chatsworth twice this past year and loved it both times but this did not do it for me.  It was £30 for the three of us and the part that was lit up maybe took twenty minutes to walk around (slowly) you could explore the rest of the gardens if you wished but in the pitch black nobody was doing that of course.  If you had an earlier slot you could have made the most of the rest of the gardens and then just enjoyed the lit part just before you left.  So without sounding like a party pooper please do that if you go and get your slot while it is light.  Other wise the only way you can stay for very long is if you stand around in the lit parts drinking over priced mulled wine.  Here are some very dark shot of it anyway...

As you can see out camera was not up to the task of taking such dark images, the bits we saw were nice but with an hour trip there and back you can see my disappointment that it was such a short event.

We have seen some lovely lights in out local neighbourhood for free, and I would urge anyone with children to take them on a dark walk around your area at the moment to spot all the lovely house lights. These are in the local community garden near the park, they look lovely lit up but I thought I would show them in the daylight so you can actually see what I mean.

Baking chocolate cakes, I have got quite good at vegan gf chocolate cake now though it takes a slightly different theme every time I bake it.  This time it was Belgian dark chocolate, apple and coconut, I know it sounds odd but I just got all involved in it then realised I had no bananas!  So applesauce it was and of course there was coconut milk that needed using up, it all worked a treat and my son preferred it.

This evening I am making date, banana and cashew bars as I now have the bananas and these will keep in the fridge. No images as they are still baking.

Watching The crown still, we are on the final series now and only a few more episodes  to go it has really brought home just how little I know about the royal family.  I know it is a dramatization but all the facts at the end and who they are related to is just so interesting, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I have.

Wondering what to make with the dress fabric I have bought and also my extra piece from Minerva, I have not been very inspired by the last few Burda magazines and I have two very pretty pieces that Don't want to cut until I am sure what to do.  I have also ordered a piece today to make a vintage style dress for my son's girlfriend for Christmas, that one is from Burda from the vintage edition.  She chose the pattern herself so I will have that to crack on with too. 

Shopping for a few bits for our sons today, we don't go mad here with the whole presents thing but we like to get our children something (well they are grown men now) and then they have money to do as they wish. We ventured out today to get them something to wrap up. 

Feeling very blessed that we are all safe and well, take care everyone and have a good week.

Squirrel Bag

 We have the luxury of a long weekend at my school this week so there were lots of excited people ready to enjoy the free time and relax.  Not a lot doing with the miserable weather however, my husband did get off for a bike ride yesterday but as I have had a two day migraine I couldn't join him and it looks like being the only good day of the weekend too.  Oh well never mind, I managed to drag myself out to the supermarket today despite still feeling rubbish but the shopping had to be done.  My husband did offer to go alone but  I know I am being a control freak but either he would have come back without stuff I wanted or I would have had to sit and write a list.  To be honest trudging around the supermarket did seem like the easier option with my current brain fog so I did that and actually I do  feel a little better now.

I have had a couple of bag sales this week which is always nice and a few more requests for Christmas masks. We are all feeling a bit deflated around here with the latest restrictions in place, I can invite my mum for Christmas lunch but  then there is the balancing it  off with  the fact that I am with children all week long. It really is a worry with elderly relatives while at the same time needing to see them before they completely lose hope.

There was a fully intact tub of tofu in the fridge today that was out of date, I am really annoyed with myself over  that as I am usually really good at avoiding food waste, to the point of ensuring any black bananas go in cakes etc. My husband did try to hand me a perfectly good half of a cauliflower as he on the other hand tries to clean the fridge of food that is perfectly fine just because we have been shopping!   I promptly put it back as I only cut it in half a few days ago it will be fine for tomorrow. 

So here are a few things I have been up to this week, mainly mask making I have to say with  a new bag thrown in for good measure.

I do like this combination of red and navy I think it looks very stylish although I will probably never get my need to keep every bag I make.  See it here

This make up bag too to go with the little skirt that I made last week, I recycled some shiny faux leather my mum donated from a bag and a few other bits to bring it all together.  See it here

I made a lovely vegan stir fry meal for us today when we got back from shopping, well I say vegan my son had his own version in a separate pan with chicken in his.  It all went down very well any way even though I didn't think I fancied all that much. 

There were a few Christmas masks dropped off at my mums front door, we may as we well look the part even if we can't have much of a jolly time for the next month. 

This will only be a thing for about another week I think and then everyone will have the ones they need, after Christmas these will be quite redundant!  My friend did suggest valentines and all sorts but I| am rather hoping there will be  an end to it all.

Well have a good weekend with your families and I will be back soon. 

Simple Sew Sophia Top Sew Along

 This week I took a few photographs of this project that I made some months ago, the  skirt was the first thing I made and initially I wasn't sure about it because the fabric is heavy and the pattern required a lighter fabric I think.  Now that it is cold, I have changed my mind and it is just right with tights so it was not so much the wrong fabric choice at the time but rather the wrong weather when I first tried it on.   It is another simple sew pattern, The Sophia top and skirt  and I have made the top as well. 

 I actually made a video on how to make the top and it was my first ever attempt, I felt a bit awkward and as it turned out I have filmed it with the phone the wrong way so there are lines down each side!  I tried to remedy that by putting tips and comments in the black parts down the side.  So please excuse this novice production and with the making of the garment also I like to just do things my way and if this helps then wonderful just take from it what is helpful.  I felt very odd talking to myself and I think my dogs were a little confused too!  

 Here is the link to the video  I have put it on as private but you can view from this link.   Here it is being worn on a sunnier day. I thought adding a video was going to be a quick job but it wasn't and I also didn't realise I couldn't just add it directly until I tried because the file is too big then I had to do it through youtube.  So the sew along video is about half an hour long so you can either skip and just watch bits or make the top along with me for the whole thing.   

  

In the video I do state how the skirt came it a bit heavy and I'm not sure about it, as you can see I have changed my mind. 

There are still gaps in my wardrobe in the form of sweaters to wear with jeans, these have never been a thing that I have chosen to make as I am always drawn to the printed cottons.  That said they would be much more practical for this time of year so maybe there needs to be a plan of action on that front.

I hope you are all ready for the weekend and staying safe wherever you are. 

November...ing

 November and  already part the way through, that came around fast so it is an 'ing post .

Making a skirt with little bird houses all over it, I have a bit of a thing for fabric with birds on so this is another one for my collection.  It was completed in the week but I am moving tow of the pleats ever  so slightly as I feel it will hang better, it is lined with white lining as that is all I had and has a zip and button at the side.   I don't know how it happened but  cut the lining pieces out of the good fabric!  I was laughing away listening to a ted talk and thought oh no!  I only just had enough fabric to cut out the main skirt then, luckily it is a short version, I have never done that before.

I like the shape of this, it is cotton though so we will see how it holds up to being worn all day, it may get a little crumpled.

I have also bought some Christmas fabric to make some festive masks, just a bit and I've not started yet as it has only just arrived.

The snowmen are quite a bit bigger than I thought so I may rethink that one.

Reading 'When God was a Rabbit' by Sarah Winman, I have enjoyed this book it is an entertaining read,  one of those books that makes you reminisce on your own childhood.  Still nothing is living up to the Elena Ferrante novels but I'm sure there will be something in time.  I have just a few pages to go then I will be on to something new.   I feel a  bit guilty that I haven't read much non fiction lately but I know that is foolish as there  are no rules as to what we should be reading!

Riding our bikes, we managed to get out twice last week and this week we did a good ride of twenty miles yesterday with some big hills.  We did use our motors on those, one bit in particular was Jawbone hill in Oughtibridge and it is really steep you can read about it over here Jawbone hill so we were glad of the motors at that point, I only use it on the hills I struggle with and I think we are out exercising and there is no way we would be able to do some of the routes we do without them.  So that said I am not feeling guilty about that, I am not an experienced cyclist so this is getting us out and I am sure I am getting better.  At first I went really slow down hill on the roads as I was nervous but I feel more confident now. 

 Watching Undercover, the drama series, well I say watching rather watched now as we viewed the last episode of series two last night.  I really enjoyed this and they managed to do a second series that was completely different from the first but still followed the story on from the last one, it was well done and worth watching.   It is a Belgian, Dutch-language crime drama and is on Netflix, you need to watch series one if you are going to give it a go so you understand the plot. 

Lengthening  my bedroom curtains, now I have a large and rather cold bay window in my bedroom despite being double glazed, it also has a cold wall below it I think the cavity wall insulation does not go in that bit for some reason.  Anyway I have two pairs of curtains up there as it it wide and last year I double lined them with thermal backing.  The wall below is still cool though, and liking the curtains I thought of a solution.  I bought a heavily discounted pair of curtains in a solid colour and I have added a colour block to the bottom of my existing ones.  I am happy with it, my husband thought  it was odd but I think it's a design feature and from what I have seen you can get some curtains with colour blocked bands at the bottom.  It has saved me buying two very large new pairs and wasting the ones I like.

  I know some people just have a flat pole going across the wall in front of it but you lose part of the room when it is closed that way.  There was a piece left of the curtain fabric that has also covered a foam base cushion for the caravan, a piece that extends the bed, so that was another little job done.

Baking homemade GF crumpets form the Jack Monroe site, these were very time consuming so I am not sure I would make them again in a hurry.  What with the rising and then waiting for them to cook and turn over, as you can only do a few at a time in a pan.  They tasted good but as I say too lengthy a process.  The recipe is for regular ones on the site, I decided to make both kinds so I could eat them as well so that did also add to the time. 

Feeling thankful for all that I have at this time when so many are struggling, health, family and everything else. Remembering to stop and appreciate things and not let the little day to day events steal my joy.

Thank you for stopping by and have a lovely week. 

Kitchen Make-over

 Well I have achieved my main goal for this week so even if we didn't get to go any where at least my kitchen looks a bit fresher.  I bought this paint a while ago after much searching online for just the right one, it was difficult because people seem to have varied results with all of the cupboard paints.  I have used Wilko furniture in the past for my other projects but a lot of people were not happy with that on actual kitchen units.  I eventually decided on the Johnstone's cupboard paint as it had a lot of good reviews and people had also posted pictures to go with them.

I opted for just painting the doors and leaving all the frames in the wood effect, I thought this would  not only make it look a bit different from all the many grey kitchens that I am sure are out there but also give us options.  The first option being that if the paint does not hold up too well then we can still just change the doors without having to go for a complete new kitchen or even if just our tastes change in a few years we could just redo the doors again in another shade.

That was the first one I took last night when just finished, I changed the handles a little while ago and I have to say they look much better now with the grey.

A daylight shot of the grey, I am wondering whether I should go for a lighter flooring now or is that just a bad idea in winter with three dogs?

I may now make a blind for the window just to finish it off, we don't usually have anything up there as I took the last one down and it was never closed.  It could just finish off the room though.

I did two coats with a good  four hours in between, you wash the cupboards down with sugar soap then paint, no other prep.  So time will tell if that was enough, some people have suggested you can give the whole lot a coat of clear matt varnish over the top for extra protection while others say that slightly alters the shade.  I am very happy with the shade so I think I will leave it alone for now.

We have been optimistic and booked a holiday in the caravan for next summer, we enjoyed Anglesey so much last year we thought we would go there again.  That is when they eventually let us northerners out!  There were quite a few nice sites dotted around that looked interesting so when things are looking up we will have to try a few.

So that's all for now, take care.

Jersey Dresses

 I have finally got a few shots of my new dress makes, one of them was only completed yesterday but the grey one was finished a few weeks ago.  I decided if I waited for a bright day now I would probably be in for a long wait so we took a few while out on our walk yesterday then a couple of the latest make today.

The grey dress is a lovely soft jersey from minerva and the code is Cotswald11-C should you wish to have a look for that.  It is lovely and warm so just the right kind of thing for this time of year.   I used a patteren I traced off from the tilly stretch book when I had it from the library.  The dress is the Freya, I also made the top version of this a while ago in red and the fit is very good.

It is a high neck and long sleeves on my version but in the book version you can do a-line and also a frill detail to the front.  I didn't think that this pattern fabric required that frill detail so I chose to leave that part out. Also wow I look pale in that photograph!

 Coat back on here because it was too  cold to stand around without it!

The next dress is made from an Art gallery fabrics jersey, again from minerva code K-17403,  I have decided it might be nice to start and add these numbers in as I have found I sometimes see a fabric and then when I go back and look for it I can't find it as there are just so many.  That happens even when I know exactly what I am looking for.   I chose to use a simple sew pattern and this was passed on to me from Jo at Three stories High, thank you very much. It is the Alexa midi dress.   We went out for a meal today to soothe ourselves as we lost out on our holiday, I intended to get some nice shots in the gardens near the restaurant but the rain had other plans so more indoor shots today of the cherry dress as I am calling it.

It is quite hard to see on here but there is darting to the front and back and also under bust, the only thing I omitted was the back zip  as it was jersey it didn't need one Oh and also I did away with the back v as I thought it was impractical for a day dress but for evening it would look great.

There is also  a small vent to the back it would have been longer on the  longer version of course but I  did take quite a bit off the length as originally it was too long for me. 

So I have managed to document a bit of my sewing this week and I will try to keep that up at least this week as I am sure a s soon as we go back to school things will get busy really quickly again.   I have another project to make up but I am still in the deciding process with that one, there a some curtains that need altering for someone, a couple of my own mending jobs and of course the kitchen revamp.   hopefully some of this will be completed!

I am still enjoying Spinning Silver and think everyone should go off and read some grown up fairy tale style fiction for the season.  Also watching a good drama series at the moment called The Alienist, (that being about a psychologist and a murder case not aliens)  set in New York in the late 19th century. 

There are still some winter flowers growing in  my greenhouse and they really need to go out but to be honest my gardening enthusiasm feels like it has gone into hibernation now until next spring.  I will go and rescue what is in there, have a tidy up and let things wait now. I know all you hardy gardeners will be growing right through the winter but I like to garden in the sunshine myself. 

Well that's all for now, keep busy. 

Let's all Stay Home

 Well here we go, another half term of staying put.  We had just booked  little weekend on a site at Whitby to try out the new caravan before winter kicks in but of course we have had to cancel that.  I am disappointed but it can't be helped, my colleagues all had  late holidays planned too.  It has been a long half term  and I know the children were really ready for this rest.  We have just been sat outside in the caravan with the heater on!  The weather is pretty bleak today but tomorrow it is supposed to be a little brighter so maybe we can have a better walk at least then, we got caught in the rain coming back today.

My outing of the day was a walk in the park and a trip to the charity shop down the road which is now open finally.  I bought two books and a top from the pound rail, I have no idea why it was only a pound and can't understand why no  one else wanted it.   One of the books I have already read twice, but don't own a copy as it was a library book and that is The Handmaids Tale and at 75p for a like new copy I couldn't pass it up.  The other is When God was a Rabbit, an intriguing title so I thought I would give it a go.

It feels really good quality and was originally from White Stuff.

So that is about as much shopping as you will find me doing! I won't be starting the book just yet as I am currently reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and I also have a couple more on my shelf that I have collected while the libraries have been closed.  Our local one is now open to collect or drop off, so you have to have ordered over the phone and only from their stock.  It is a bit hard to know what to ask for when you can't go in  and look, you could be asking for book after book and them saying no we haven't got that.

I have a few more dress makes that need I need images of, I have worn a few of them but not got around to taking the pictures.  If it is dry tomorrow my husband is going to take a few for me while we are out, I get a bit fed up of taking them in the same place in the garden or house.  I'm after a few autumn leaves to show off the autumn makes.

Here is a bag I made last week, there is another with the same girl fabric but not the same bag and that one is for my sister in law, it was on the shop briefly but she admired it so it is going in the post as a gift for her.  This one has red faux leather, the other has a wool mix background.

The other one I made was this...

 

This week has seen a bit of baking, first a very successful gf vegan chocolate cake but alas no image again, it was cut into rather sharpish.  I used the basis of my banana loaf to make it but added lots of cocoa and adjusted the flour, it worked well.   Then some oat cookies that I did remember to photograph

Now I didn't even wait for these to cool down and as you can see there is one missing already.  The recipe was again modified but this time from the BBC food website.  I changed the flour to GF, only used half the sugar, added a tablespoon of applesauce and added extra oil and soya milk as the mixture looked far too dry and would never have held otherwise.

Lots of leftover bits from the fridge have been used up to make this lentil and veg soup 3 servings.

Then today a Shepherdess pie four servings.

So I have lots of things to keep me busy over the coming week even if we can't go far including the kitchen cupboards to paint.  Take care everyone, bye for now.