Treat Yourself

 Hello week two of the new year and all is going well so far, I am keeping an eye out for objects to declutter and sticking to my daily lists they are really helping me.  I hope you are all keeping up with your good intentions.  I did  hear someone say the other day that January is the worst for motivation due to the gloom but we can only try to do what we can.

The meals have been looking a bit more intersting as I try new things from my books, also a few made up side dishes with potatoes.  We are having something I know we all like this evening and that is jackfruit with wraps and my special rice. I do have to add a bit of meat for my son as he is not meat free so I just cook him a portion in the oven and add it at the table.

Looking for little ways to reward yourself on a dark day is the wasy to go I think, there was this little chocolate bar in the cupboard that a friend bought me so I had that yesterday with a cup of Christmas tea ( I know it is not Christmas anymore but I can drink the tea!)  How do you treat yourself during the dark winter days?

I finished The Mercies, a few days ago and I have to say I loved this book, I do have another by the same author that I picked up in a charity shop but then realised it is a childrens book I will read that one now anyway as she writes very well. 

  So The Mercies is set in Vardo, a Norwegian Island in 1617 and during a storm forty fishermen drown during a terrible storm.  The book is about the women left behind and the actual event did happen, the  focus is on relationships, how they coped and the consequences of being strong women in a time when women were seen as something to be feared if they did not fit a certain mould or ideal of what a woman should be or do.  I love anything that has basis of truth to it and it always inspires me to look further into that part of history, the location and so on.  The author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, did a beautiful job of capturing the characters in the story, I hope you will  give this one a try if you are a reader.

Here is another little bag with various bits and think they go very well together if a little quirky ,but then I do like quirky.

Well enjoy the rest of the week and be well. 

Weekend Charity Shop Find

 I hope you have all had a good week, it is dark and wet here at the moment like a proper winters day. Yesterday we had a trip to the charity shop I took some of my decluttering, five books, a top, a jacket and some bits and bobs.  Still on track with the declutter but I don't want to overwhelm the shops so I will do this weekly.  

I did come back with one thing, so exciting well I think so!  The Tilly Walnes Stretch book that I ordered from the libaray over a year ago and made some lovely things from.  It was just sitting on a shelf for £1 and in brand new condition.  Well rushing over to my husband he didn't know what all the fuss was about but this is an expensive book that is why I ordered it from the library and I did love it so to pick it up at this price was just fabulous.  Today I am wearing a sweater that I made from it.

The pattern piece sheet in the back doesn't even look like it has been unfolded, someone must have bought this on a whim and never done anything with it.  So I am thinking of working my way through this again and possibly doing some youtube on it, I can't decide if that will be a good use of my time as I already make vidoes for Minerva.  I also don't get that many views on youtube, if you think this is something that will be useful to you please let me know in the comments or I will be just talking to myself in the videos;)  Either way the book will used and loved.  Feeling very pleased with my bargain today.   My husband had strict instructions to not let me come back with lots of books but as this is non fiction and so useful it slipped through the net. 

Yesterday I added a trim to the neck of a dress I had made, I found the nekline on the pattern low for me.  It is just me personally but as I am petite I felt it was just showing a large expanse of chest despite  being a really good fit.  I think if you are larger up top this can be ok as you push the garment out and it gives a different appearance.  There is the option to add trim on the pattern but I didn't have any so I pleated a long folded piece of the same fabric to create my own trim...

It just gives me an extra 2cm and I will feel a little more covered that little bit can make all the difference.  If it was just a pattern I had created myself I would have changed the neckline but as I was showing a pattern here I have to make it true to the pattern, and just resist my urge to modify everything.

We watched a good film last night called the Last Duel, it had Matt Damon, Ben Alfleck and a few other big names in it and was based on true events.  If you get the chance give it a go, I do like films that have a bit of history to them and it is always astounding what women had to put up with and also the ridiculous ideas of the past that saw women burned based on the ideas and whims of men!  That is also a theme of the book I am currently close to finishing The Mercies, I know women in some parts of the world still suffer horribly due to superstition and religion. 

Anyway I will leave on an upbeat note, I have enjoyed my week of sewing from home and there is plenty planned for next week.  I hope you are having a super new start the year, back soon, Take care. 

Middle of the Week

 The middle of the week already, time passes so quickly I walked my dogs earlier and got caught in the school rush coming out.  We have a large secondary school near us and if you don't time it right you are faced with hundreds of teenagers walking towards you at once, somehow they don't know how to step to the side like we grown ups do  but remain in a block shoulder to shoulder.  It was a quick get out while my stomach is settled I will have to have a week on the FODMAP to get me back to normal as it feels like everything I eat I am at war with at the moment!

Here are  a few pics from my walk, as the sky was looking so lovely...

The dogs are  there charging ahead they have this little contest about how can be just a tad in front of the others at all times.  Still a very lovely winters day again today, I am making the most of every day despite my stomach trying sabotage things.

Here is the bag that I made up last night, Jo if you are reading you may recognise a couple of fabric bits.

The combination of offcuts worked well here again and the black fabric used to be a skirt. 

Every now and then I have the thought that I can't keep making all the bags different as I will not have enough variations but it has not happened so far and there are lots of different ways you can put fabric together.  My hudband said well they are the same shape and yes they are but I like to keep that bit simple and just play around with the fabrics I use or put on them.  The main thing is |I have fun doing it and hope the people who receive them enjoy them and appreciate that they are all different.

I will end with sharing this crepe top with you, very nice fabric to work with this one.  Ripple crepe from Minerva and burda pattern 6225. It hangs very well and was a pleasure to sew.

Have a super end to the week, and look after yourselves.