Poppies, workshops and fabulous felting!

I love Autumn; its a time of nesting, gathering ripe blackberries to create jams and jellies, pickling onions and cucumbers: the anticipation of cosy nights by the fire crocheting or knitting while the cold nights stay outside the warm glow of the windows. The summer activities are winding down, my focus turns to creating a comfortable cosy home, and crafting.  

I have been speaking to Clothkits and Eternal Maker about running workshops, the first of which will be needle felting poppies for remembrance day in November. Its the centenary of the start of the first World War this year, the BBC have been running such interesting programmes about the lives of ordinary men and women a hundred years ago.  Yet in recent years, we are still seeing soldiers return home injured or worse, it has begun to feel less like history, and lamentable that we are still engaged in conflict today. I hope to give a donation to the Poppy appeal as it is such a great cause. 

I really enjoy needle felting, it is so satisfying to be able to replicate the beauty of flowers and leaves so easily, blending colours, shaping the wool; it's a pleasurable way to spend half an hour, the projects evolve very quickly and easily. (You just have to keep your fingers out of the way!) 

If you would like to try this yourself, I can recommend Gillian Harris's book Felting Fabulous flowers, the projects are delightful and the step by step instructions are easy to follow. You can purchase a copy on amazon.

Making Merry

Happy New Year!

What a a great Christmas break
!  Despite my earlier postings of my potential meltdown, I had a fab time, even though:
 My Christmas Puddings were an absolute disaster (consistency of stew rather than pudding)
We had our Christmas dinner on a lovely piece of fabric that I had not hemmed -it still looked lovely.
I did manage to enjoy all the decorations without my bunting, heart felt garlands, handmade stocking,  etc etc.

So... note to self, (when the magazines and shops are revving up their 'best ever Christmas') it doesn't matter! What matters is having fun with your nearest and dearest without throwing a wobbly over the handmade thingamy that is supposed to be the pinnacle of the celebrations but you feel you have to finish like a sweat shop sewing machinist on Christmas Eve. Everyone just wants a glass of wine and play a game or two! (Luckily I ditched all the ideas of the handmade thingamys way before Christmas eve and was happily playing a word game with my beloved over a glass or two snug as a bug).

January is nearly over; I  kept up a new year's resolution to take regular exercise - (I have managed wii fit plus now for 6 days running - (with the exception of Saturday)) so the plan to be fitter and healthier is on its way. Although the healthy eating is postponed until all the Christmas Chocolate is eaten.. (hopefully it will be Easter by then!)

My resolve was further enhanced by creating my body double for my dressmaking... oh la la.. all those curvy bits that have become even curvier!

Yoga is proving to be absolute bliss..

I had a fabulous birthday,  whisked off to a famous London store to spend a little credit card! Needless to say it was well and truly swiped clean of the credit in under half an hour in the fabric department! See photo above and try and guess which store... (I am the one in the middle) the shop is  famous for bodices, fabric, (did I mention fabric?) the arts and crafts movement.

Oh.. the shop itself is absolute bliss, little fireplaces tucked away with exquisite tiles! It looks like a tudor building but really isn't that old... Of course delightful Mr D, did recognise that I do have certain endearing qualities. The way I strolled through the jewellery department without a second glance, my eyes fixed on another one of my passions... stationery. Notebook (with cream pages) the latest edition to my growing collection.

cheerio
 (that used to be a way of saying goodbye before the breakfast cereal!)

Girlie Birthday Party - tea cake and crafting!

I bought this lovely basket last year and when it had finished flowering I put it in the garden, last week I discovered the bulbs had pushed through the snow so I brushed it off and put it on the kitchen window sill where I can enjoy it while I wash the dishes. It is a lovely reminder that spring is not that far away. 

I had a lovely weekend, after the gym on Saturday I just hung about the house enjoying having very little to do, and on Sunday I had my Girlie birthday party at Lulamaes in Arundel. Its ages since I had a Birthday party but this was a very grown up affair, with cream tea, cakes and crafting. There were ten of us in all and everyone went  home with a lovely felted brooch or pendant they had made. The cafe itself is beautiful, so delightfully decorated and the cakes are home made and sublime. Everything was provided for us and all we had to do was sit down, chat and enjoy ourselves. I went home feeling thoroughly spoilt with some beautiful gifts - definitely a birthday to treasure for a long time to come.  

Top of the Pots

I never used to understand why people would make pot holders until I bought a lovely cast iron skillet. After years of using tea towels, scrunched up or oven gloves that always seemed to be so padded I ended up nearly dropping things, these little pieces of cloth are perfect! 

The heart is embroidered with a fancy machine stitch, I created it as a practise piece when I was trying to get to grips with my sewing machine and never really knew what to do with it. It was also another fad of dyed wool blanket which came out a beautiful thick consistency and a lovely christmassy red. 

I love the cosiness of the red and the white and the bias binding was a great ebay purchase all the way from Poland. I think they will be my latest fad, there are so many variations and designs out there and it is a small simple project to play with, far more manageable than a huge double quilt! 

With time so limited these days, I often just want to make something quick in the afternoon in the short time I have available, and these are ideal, I am sure I shall be adding to the list of pictures over time. 

Perfect Christmas?

December is always busier than I realise, I get lulled into a false sense of security the shops start selling Christmas goods in September so I learn to ignore them until suddenly its the second week of December and Christmas cards drop through the letterbox which gives me a sense of alarm as I have not written any yet! 

I do enjoy Christmas it gives a tremendous focus for creativity, not just present making but decorating the house and cooking special food. It has taken me a number of years though to get the balance right. When I was first married with a young baby, I would try to create the 'perfect Christmas' which often left me worn out, stressed and not great fun to be around. I would put so much pressure on myself, mostly fuelled by the magazine articles of 'create the perfect Christmas' or 'The best Christmas dinner menu' or 'wonderful party food' that I somehow lost all the fun. 

Now I put on my filters remembering that Christmas is just one day and it is all about having fun with those you love and care about. I plan a menu of what we are going to eat, not because I want it to be the best turkey ever, but it means that I don't overbuy, in turn meaning I don't over eat. I have lost count of the number of times I have filled my trolley with Christmas essentials, nuts, chocolate, fruit, cakes etc, so that my home is a constant buffet. I eat chocolate thoughtlessly, fruit very often turns because I have overbought, and I don't enjoy the lovely meal because I am full of chocolate! 

I learnt to let go a little, the children got far more pleasure out of decorating the Christmas tree than I did with my careful arrangement, sometimes it was a case of balancing it up a little when they were asleep but I began to take pleasure in subverting the 'Christmas perfection'. It was revolutionary not to be perfect; less stressful and a whole lot more fun.

I am far more competitive than I realise, but the competing that is going on is not against anyone else it is against this 'illusion' that is created by magazines usually in August! The competitiveness is from my desire to reach that ideal, re-create the perfection for my family, and it begins to sound rather like a nasty critical taskmaster in my head, pointing out the faults in my home crafted imperfections against glossy illusion. I have taken part in a magazine shoot and seen behind the glossy images, now when I look at the stunning home 'set' I look for the practicalities, yes it may look beautiful but you cannot live that way. 

This taskmaster voice that suggests everything should be 'home made' so that I have very little energy to enjoy visits of friends and family. Now I just decide what is more important? To impress someone because it is made from scratch, or simply to relax and enjoy their company. 

I found the same was true for the rest of the year, I used to hide the cake that sunk in the middle, or the biscuits that had gone a little too 'caramelised' but now I laugh with my friends about these things;  it helps to shatter the perfection illusion and allows them too to be imperfect. I think that is the greatest gift of all.