Washing on the line

Along with the first bunches of daffodils, the first few times each year that I hang the washing on the line outside tell me that spring has arrived.

Today is a gloriously light, bright sunny day and I was up early to hang washing on the line.  I wish I could say that the washing was pretty - Cath Kidston tea towels maybe, or vintage handkerchiefs, or delightful homemade floral dresses... but in fact it was a heap of 100% pure nylon sports kit belonging to G and C.

The very feel of it sets my teeth on edge, and I struggle to peg it - slippery and damp - onto the line.  It is all one of three colours - white (yet mudstained - you cannot get mud stains out of 100% pure dri-fit nylon), black or dark blue.  No pinks or reds, no Liberty-like florals, no faded chintzes.  Such disappointing washing to hang up on a beautiful spring day.

But my peg bag lifts my spirits, and in the sunny corner of the garden there are daffodils, beaming in the sunshine.

There are currently two peg bags similar to mine listed in my Etsy shop.  If you also find yourself with sad, black, nylon washing on a beautiful spring day, then consider buying one to inject a bit of femininity and floral, cotton charm back into the laundry.

I console myself with the thought that at least all this horrid functional sportswear will smell gorgeous after hanging on the line all morning.  Until it is taken out for a run in the forest and covered in mud and sweat once again....

Patchwork

I have done some spring cleaning over at my Etsy shop which has been sadly neglected over the past couple of months, as I was so poorly before Christmas and then became pre-occupied with G's birthday quilt.

I've just listed some great little patchwork lavender sachets like this one.

I raided my scrap basket for fabrics in my favourite sort of spring flower colours - pinks, lilacs, creams and the occasional dash of red.  The sachets measure 10cm square and are stuffed full of my Mum's homegrown French lavender, which smells gloriously pungent thanks to all that Mediterranean sunshine.  Just a little squeeze of the sachet fills the whole room with the smell of lavender.  Go and take a look at them here.

My mind has been on patchwork in more metaphorical ways too.  I am currently figuring out how I can get back into work over the next few months, and have been struggling with some conflicting claims:

• my accountancy training, which I would like to keep using in some way
• the need for flexible, local and part-time work which will fit around the rest of the family
• my creative life - sewing and writing - which perhaps should also be incorporated into my working life in some way

I've been tumbling over all these thoughts for a few months now and not reaching any useful conclusions.  I am also increasingly intimidated by the actual process of looking for part-time work in such a challenging economic climate - writing a good CV, filling in application forms and actually working out what jobs are out there.

In the New Year, help and support came in the form of a phone call from Women Like Us - a recruitment agency (currently, sadly, only based in London) that specialises in bringing employers and mothers who want part-time work together. 

At an hour long coaching session at Women Like Us earlier this week, my new career coach and I talked about patchwork, and she pointed out that taking a new direction in my working life may not be a bad thing.  My career overall may end up resembling a patchwork quilt - with some very different fabrics in there - but if there is a common thread holding them together, that's okay.  Not surprisingly I liked this analogy very much.  I came away from our session very motivated, with much food for thought, and also with a list of nicely practical things to do before our next meeting.  If you live in London and are looking for part time work, or a part time employee, I can't recommend Women Like Us highly enough.

In other news, excitement for G's 40th birthday on Valentine's Day is building rapidly.  I have a whopping great leg of lamb marinading in the fridge ready for a family party tomorrow, and this afternoon I am making a start on the first of two birthday cakes.  Pubs, fancy schmancy restaurants and top secret presents are also involved!

Happy weekending everybody!

10 things

• Graham's birthday quilt is finished.  A week ahead of schedule, which means that it took me five full-on weeks from start to finish.  I've been remarkably modest with photos of it so far (ahem...) so here are a few more.

• He loves it.  Phew
• I've given it to him a week before his birthday, but I'll still take it back off him on Birthday Eve and wrap it up!
• I made Baileys Choc Chip Scones this afternoon.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The recipe is from Ruth Clemens, a finalist in the Great British Bake Off last year, and goodness me, what a recipe!  They actually taste like Baileys.  So good.
• O and I went to see the Royal Ballet's production of Giselle yesterday.  It's only on for another couple of weeks, but if you can manage to get tickets then do.  It was incredible - so romantic that it actually left me in tears at one point.  And I have never seen or heard a standing ovation quite like it at the end. 
• Now the quilt is finished, I am in a frenzy of excitement about what to make next.  Pyjamas for the children are top of my list.  And then some shirts for me, some more cushions for the house, and some bits and pieces for my poor neglected Etsy shop.
• Maybe I should reverse that order and sort out the poor neglected Etsy shop first?
• I have been trying (really very hard) to read some Virginia Woolf.  But sadly it's proving unreadable.  So I may have to fall back on the Cal Patch book, which finally came through on my reservations at the library, and which is proving well worth the wait.
• I came back from the supermarket, and without being asked C unpacked and put away all the shopping, and then made me a cup of tea.  I thought back to those seemingly endless toddler years and wished I could go back in time and tell myself that this day of genuinely helpful children would come.  I don't think I would have believed myself though.
• We're all loving The Human Planet - genuinely some of the best television I've seen in years.  I do like a nice bit of quality tele in the evenings.

Continuing with colour

Silverpebble's Splash of Colour project has started something here I think.  All the sewing I've done this week has been saturated with colour.

I've made two brightly coloured treats for the shop. 

First came a notebook cover, using what may be my last piece of this gorgeous Phillip Jacobs floral fabric.  It holds a Muji or a Moleskine notebook and has a little pocket on the front for a couple of pens or pencils.  If I still worked in the City I would so LOVE to take this into meetings as a zingy counterpoint to all the standard-issue office stationery. 

I've also made a patchwork cushion in one of my all-time-favourite colour combinations of bright red and pastel blue.  It has a touch of pink ricrac too, because I never need much of an excuse to add ricrac.

I used a dark green polka dot cotton for the back of the cushion and added a little patch of the Cath Kidston strawberry fabric which I'd included on the front.  I really love the blanket stitch settings on my machine, which I've used here, because I always found appliqueing with a zigzag stitch a very knotty and messy business.

I have a real cushion obsession at the moment. 

Since finishing C's birthday Swiss cushion, I've finally got round to remaking the cushion covers that I sewed for O when I was pregnant with her, nearly nine years ago.  I hadn't learnt about the envelope back closure back then and they were fastened with a giant flap and some very unsatisfactory velcro.  I've been desperate to re-make them and O finally agreed but instructed me to "keep them saggy" because that's how she likes them.

Despite the small blow to my pride this caused, I did as instructed and kept them "saggy".  I unpicked the covers, tutted at the shoddy understanding of seam allowances I had nine years ago, and re-made them with a few small additions of other panels of matching fabric, and some ricrac.

The cushions originally had the red-and-blue gingham on one side and the red-and-blue paisley on the other (both Ikea fabrics).  Because I added in some extra panels, I had a little of both fabrics leftover after re-modelling the cushions.  I used some of the gingham on the (puffy, not saggy!) cushion for the shop and with the very last scraps of the leftovers I made O a small patchwork quilt for her Clothkits dolls.

This corner of her bedroom now has all the colour I could wish for on a grey November day.  The Clothkits gang are all tucked up under their quilts, O's strawberry quilt is folded up on the bed, and the cushions are all lined up against the wall.  It looks like a cosy pink, red and blue fabric nest!

A ballet bag for Bella

One of the nicest things that happened this week was being asked to make a ballet bag for a friend's little girl. 

Bella is four, loves her ballet lessons and all things girlie and pink.  The old plastic carrier bag she was carrying her tutu around in just didn't cut it any more, so her Mum asked me if I would make her a ballet bag.  It had to be roomy enough for her tutu and also girlie enough to satisfy Bella's style requirements.  What an excellent brief!

I rummaged through my piles of fabric, and came across a piece of this wonderful Alexander Henry apples and pears fabric that was just big enough.  I have used it in so many projects over the past few years that I can't remember them all.  I was amazed to find this last piece lurking at the back of a shelf, just big enough for bag making.

I made a large tote bag, and boxed the corners to make a wide, flat base.  I embroidered Bella's name on one side of the bag and sewed some suffolk puffs on the other side.

I made straps long enough for Bella or her Mum to sling the bag over a shoulder, and lined it with the last remnant of the thick white sheeting I acquired from my Grandmother and used here and here.

Then I really wanted to add a pocket too, because I know from years of O's ballet lessons that there are so many little extras required for ballet that would get lost at the bottom of a big bag - the hairpins, hairbands, little pink socks, a hairbrush and so much more.  I didn't have quite enough of the apples and pears fabric left, so I made a pocket out of this green Tanya Whelan fabric instead.  I love the way it contrasts so well with the white lining, and picks up the green in the apples and pears.

Cutting up the green pocket fabric made me think what an excellent fabric it would make for an apron, so today I made the rest of it into another reversible apron for the shop.

And it looked exactly as I had imagined it would - always so gratifying!  The reverse side is made from a vintage French cotton that I bought this summer in France.

Then, because I was on a roll I made another apron for the shop - this time in pastel pinks and oranges, on one side using some more French vintage fabric bought this summer, and on the other side a really lovely, bold print from Ikea.

And now I have to stop sewing for other people and turn my attentions closer to home. Next week both the children have their birthdays and C has asked me to make him a cushion.  Here is the one I made for O's birthday this time last year.  C wants a Swiss themed one, and happily I did go mad in two fabric shops in Interlaken and Brienz when we were on holiday so I think I may have just the right sort of fabrics...watch out though, there may be edelweiss and fondue sets involved!

Grey, colour and curry

The weather has been so miserable here for the last week or more.  I love cold weather, I like the rain, I really love a good, sharp wind, and can even appreciate sunshine because it makes for great photos, but mild, dreary, grey and a bit drizzly?  Rubbish.

This was the grey sky seen from South Woodford tube platform at 9 o'clock this morning.

Someone once described living under these blank white skies as like living inside a Tupperware box.  I think it was either Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux - I wish I could remember who, because that describes it perfectly.

So I have been adding colour where I can.

I made this rainbow apron for the shop.

I really love the tea towel that makes this simple apron.  I bought it as part of a set when I was in France last year, and the lovely old lady who sold them to me explained that they used to belong to her Grandmother (which must make them at least a hundred years old?)  The linen is still really thick and sumptuous all these years later.

I wanted to keep the apron as simple as possible, to let the tea towel have the glory.  So I just added some straps and a pocket made from calico and ribbon.

And then I made another apron - in the same reversible style as the purple one in my last post - with some sunny Cath Kidston fabric and this pretty, vintage crinoline lady as a pocket.

And now I need to crack on and sew some more of these reversible aprons, because both the crinoline lady apron and the purple apron were snapped up within minutes of me listing them - woohoo!  This is very exciting, not least because I now need to buy more fabric.  Yup.  Amazing.  G doesn't belive me, but it's true.  I still have shelves and shelves of the lovely stuff, but very little of it is solid.  Too much patterned fabric in an apron can be too much of a good thing, so I'm off to the fabric shop tomorrow.

The final injection of colour into my week has come from this magnificent new book that arrived today.

The cover is eye-popping, and my photo above (taken in the grey afternoon light today) does not do it justice.  I love these beautiful, swirling, Indian designs, and always wish I could draw them myself.  Inside, there are more delights to brighten up the day.  This recipe is first on my list to make.

I was talking to Anna about curry recipes earlier this week.  The only other two curry cookbooks I have are The Ultimate Curry Bible, also by Madhur Jaffrey, and Cooking Like Mummyji by Vicky Bhogal.  The big curry bible I do use from time to time, although it does intimidate me somewhat.  Vicky Bhogal's book is one of my top cookbooks of all time, and I have made so many dishes from it, as well as learning some good techniques.  I really love her modern, light, quick take on authentic British Asian food.  And this is what the new Curry Easy book does so well too.  What Asian recipe books do you love?

It's time to get out the turmeric, chillies, aubergines, peppers and ginger and create some bright colours in the kitchen I think.

Nancy's Home Shop

So in an effort to postpone returning to regular employment any time soon, I have set up an Etsy shop!  You can find it here - it is called Nancy's Home Shop and is full of lovely fabric things for your home.

I've been sewing everything for the past couple of weeks, and am so pleased to have it all set up and working now.

My favourite thing - and top of my list to make more of - is this reversible apron.  The blue floral fabric is cut from a long, thick, piece of vintage linen that I snaffled up at a vide grenier in France this summer.  It is embellished with more vintage loveliness - an embroidered doily that I found at our local antiques fair a few weeks ago.

And because it is a reversible apron, you can flip it over for a bit of Kaffe Fassett mad colour if the mood takes you!  I've put a towel loop and some buttons on this side.

You can also find some really lovely peg bags for washing day.

I am so pleased with the design of these.  I was getting really aggravated at fishing around in a too-small, too-tight, too-old peg bag that I decided to make something that I could just hang on a hook and grab pegs from.  I put just one wide handle on, and then boxed the corners at the bottom of the bag so that it would stand up by itself.

There are also bread bags, face cloths and long, bright strings of bunting.  Go and have a look.  I'm heading back to the sewing machine now!

How to feel better

What to do with your weekend when one member of the family is hungover and the other three have streaming colds?


Here's what we did:

• Pottered over to We Make London and got a free goodie bag for being one of the first 10 people through the door - thank you! Got to gaze at many beautiful things and spend some money.
• Popped in to the British Museum, admired the wonderful roof and then found some Ancient Greek wall friezes with chickens on them.

• Had a restorative lunch of noodles, green tea and gyoza at Wagamama's

• Came home, ate strawberries and took paracetamol before crawling off for naps, exhausted but happy.

Oh, and just in case there was any doubt, I was one of the streaming colds posse, not the hungover one.

Ponchos

No matter how lovely it may be, by this time of the year I am always thoroughly sick of my winter coat, and I long to be able to put it away until the autumn. But what to wear during these 'in between' seasons when it is too warm for a thick coat and scarf, but too chilly for just a t-shirt? What you need is a poncho!


Now I just LOVE ponchos. I remember even as a small child thinking that they were surely one of the best and weirdest items of clothing ever. Other than a brief few weeks about five years ago I don't think they've ever been fashionable, and once Ugly Betty started wearing a particularly hideous one to work I think even more people went off them. But I don't mind - they are great!
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When I wear mine I feel as though I am wrapped up in a blanket. They are cosy and comforting. They're easy to wear. Throw them over your head and go. They have a slightly dashing air about them. They twirl out when you turn a corner. Small children like to stroke the fringes. At the bank where I work, my poncho makes quite a startling change from the more sedate suits and belted macs that people are used to seeing.



I have two ponchos now. The black one is crocheted cotton, bought a few years ago from Topshop. It is very light, and drapes beautifully. The pink one is a recent purchase from Sweetbrier's Etsy shop and is much thicker and warmer. Perfect for the weather right now. I love how something so beautiful and handmade, all the way from Kentucky, now travels on the Tube and hangs around the school playground!
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The only downside of wearing my poncho is perhaps an inevitable one. I love them, so O loves them too. I bought her one last year that is still much loved. When she saw me putting on mine this morning, then she decided to wear hers too. We were having a twee 'Mini me' moment in the playground that did make me squirm slightly.
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But it was worth it, because after I'd dropped her off I got to travel into work, wrapped in my own blanket of cosiness.