Purl and Seam

handmade in Lancashire

Life in a northern town – July 2016

Today is the first day of the summer holidays.  We’ve had a slow start to the day. The kids are having a water fight in the garden.  We’re still alive at lunchtime.  It bodes well for the rest of the holidays.

Two weeks today, with a bit of luck and nobody playing silly buggers at the last minute, we will be moving house.  Even though we’re having the place professionally packed for us, there still seems so much to do.  I tidied away my sewing machine last night.  I’m not entirely sure if it will come out again in this house, and just how quickly I’ll get it unpacked in the new house.

Number 2 makes me ever so slightly anxious.

But I will have a lovely and spacious sewing room in the new house so it will be worth a little while without sewing.

Won’t it????

I will get some lovely photos of George soon and share them with you.  But till then, this little face will have to do!

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We weren’t planning on getting a new puppy until after the school holidays.

Sometimes it’s good just to throw the plan out of the window!

We had a dance competition for The Boy at the weekend.  Note to self, when travelling over an hour from home to the competition venue at 7am in the morning…it really helps to pack his dance shoes!

Number 9 is Reason 876 why I love The Husband. He drove back home to collect the dance shoes.

The Boy won.  Again.  First place for quickstep and for jive in the 6-7 year old age group.

With his lovely dance partner

With his lovely dance partner for the day.

I may be ever-so-slightly ridiculously proud of him.

His success may have prompted his sister (who is equally talented as a dancer but decidedly more work shy) to up her game.

I’ll leave you with my current favourite pictures of my wee man.  I’ll be beating the girls away with a stick in a few years!

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Mothering Sunday

It’s Mothering Sunday here in the UK, and I’m sitting here replete from a posh pub lunch with the family.

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Today, of all days, it’s easy to remember just how blessed I am.

My children are fit and healthy.  They attend an amazing school with fantastic teachers and wonderful friends.

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We are surrounded by family and friends and have time to spend with them.

Our home is warm and welcoming. We have good food and plenty of it.

They have a Daddy who loves them, is present in their lives, and works hard to provide for them.

We have books and toys and games and pens and paper.  We can walk in the park, ride our bikes and dance.

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So today, as I’m surrounded by the people I love most in the world, I’m counting my blessings.

But I’m sparing a thought for those not as fortunate as I am.

And raising a glass to mothers everywhere, and wishing them the best of times this Mothering Sunday.

Summertime

….and the living is busy!

So much going on here.  The kids are on holiday from school now for 7 weeks. Already we have a playdate with friends and sleepovers at grandparents planned. A week at playscheme will be a good break for all of us, as will spending the last week with friends in Bedford.  It’s hard to believe but when they go back in September Button will be in juniors.

Needless to say everyone is tired.  Boy threw the mother of all tantrums this morning and after 3 hours (I kid ye not) of yelling and stamping and tears and throwing toys around the place he’s finally asleep.  Button is enjoying the respite as much as I. Things will settle soon after a few days of chillin’.

Husband and I are shattered as, despite not completing the reno on this house, we’re thinking the best option might actually be to move!

I know….it was totally outta the blue for us too.  But our current home is teeny tiny with a garden the size of a postage stamp.  After a recent visit to our friends in Bedford and their half acre garden, Button would stand at our bedroom window wistfully wishing that we could knock the fence down between us and our neighbours.  Add in that we have need of a home office  and a dedicated sewing room and only one small room that could eventually be argued over and we decided it’s time.  Trying to sew, eat and run a business from the kitchen table is getting old! We’ve spent the last few weeks looking at everything on the market that remotely fitted the bill.  We think we may have found the ideal candidate. There’s another interested buyer so we may lose out…time will tell.  I’ll let you know as things develop.

So, as you’d expect, there’s not much creativity happening here.

A little knitting…..

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This is Brooklyn Tweed’s Longfellow by Michele Wang which I’m knitting in Drops Alpaca in Navy (colour 5575) for Hubby.

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There’s also a quilt to be layered ready for hand quilting:

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And a new bag kit that I received as a birthday gift from my in-laws:

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Mine will be red leather.

That should keep me occupied over the holidays.  I’m hoping to get a little time at the machine too.  I’ve two lots of fabric for shirts for Boy and the yellow blouse is going to be remade for Button.

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I’m planning a version of her Liberty blouse, this time with a pleated front as per her request.

I think it will suit her more than me!

I also have a couple of makes that need photographing.  Perhaps we’ll have a day of nice weather soon and we can get out and about with the camera.

Priority for the next 7 weeks, though, is picnics and playing in the park.  Reading and drawing.  Visits to the zoo and museums.  Playdates and pyjama days.  Pretty much taking the days as they come.  Hopefully without too many meltdowns!  Either theirs or mine!

So posting will sporadic…I’m sure you’ll understand.  In the meantime I’m off to do some colouring with a small girl.  I’ll see you soon.

 

Cardigan

We’re back from our Autumn half term holiday in Wales and much the better for it. It’s been 4 years nearly since our last holiday so it was well overdue.  After a delayed start for a day whilst we confirmed that the 100.4 temperature that Button was running wasn’t, in fact, scarlet fever (phew!) the week ran smoothly and we had a relaxed but still very lovely time doing pretty much nothing except walking, eating and watching movies.

Oh, I love these guys

Oh, I love these guys

Of course there was the minor incidents of small folk rampaging out of earshot and the neighbouring holiday makers knocking on our door at 6.30am begging for relief.

And The Incident of the (toy) Dragon in the Nighttime, which included a beanie baby dragon, a table lamp, and a pesky small boy, that could have ended up very badly had Button not realised that the Rubicon had been crossed and come to wake me.

That said, here are a few pics that aptly capture the real essence of our break and the beauty of the Welsh coast and countryside around Cardigan bay.  They are phone photos because very early on I decided that I wanted to actually be in this holiday rather than spending time observing it from behind the lens.  I highly recommend this strategy…making memories is more fun than simply capturing the images.

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Cardigan

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Searching for shells for Grandad. A very serious endeavour!

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Llanerchaeron

Llanerchaeron

Llanerchaeron woodland walk

Geronimo!!!

As I came out of the shower this morning I heard an ominous thud from the playroom.

This is what I found.At least she had the good sense to install a crash mat!

Let sleeping babes lie

Today the babies were playing in their room.  As usual they were noisy and boisterous, stripping cushions off the sofa and tipping toys all over the room. Pretty much standard practice for small children.

Suddenly I realised that all was quiet.

Most peculiar.

Here’s the reason why:Asleep where they stopped.

Too cute!

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good:

::sneaking out for a swim today whilst the wee beasties were visiting grandparents

::making bread from the recipe by Richard Bertinet in his book “Dough”.  Seriously.  Go buy it now!  It’s amazing.

::It’s sunny.  In Lancashire.  Crazy but true.

::We start work on the garden this weekend.  The landscaping chappie comes in 6 weeks.

::The Boy shouting “Mama, Dada” at the top of his not inconsiderable voice.

::Button climbing on my lap just before bed just to tell me “I love you, Mummy”.

::Button telling me I have pretty hair.  Aaaaah, the innocence of children.

:: Mr S giving me a Sunday lie-in until 10am.  Bliss.

::Escaping for supper on Saturday to celebrate Himmelbjerget’s birthday and eating the most amazing food in the most wonderful company.

::Coffee and cake and sand pits and climbing frames at Lara Croft/Indiana Jones’ on Sunday.  Button learned to climb.  I never want her to lose the feeling of absolute joy in her achievements that she felt.

::The socks for Mr S are so nearly finished I can taste it!

The bad:

::Button deciding a new brother is the perfect segue into the terrible twos.  Who knew she’d be so good at it?

::The Boy deciding that 5.45am is the perfect time to get up.  Every day.  Bleugh!

::I’m too tired and too busy to sew.  Since my last post all I’ve managed to do is buy lining fabric (we’ll not mention the jersey I also bought for a top. Sssssssh!), wash and press the fabric, and draft a pattern for an a-line skirt.  Good grief.

::Still not studying.  Supposedly I’m working on an assignment tonight, but here I am, chatting to you.  Ooops!

The ugly:

::Hmmmmm. Nothing to tell.  What can I say…life is good.

What’s wrong with this photo?

Are you scratching your head?

Do you think maybe it’s that the sun is shining in Lancashire?

Perhaps you’re wondering what happened to the new fringe? (This photo was taken pre do!)

Still not getting it?

Ok. I’ll help you out.  If you look to the right of Button…just between her and her Daddy…do you see the gap?

No?

Really…that small gap the size of …ooooh, I don’t know….say…a 13 month old little boy.

Do you see it yet?

Ah…there it is….:-)

Well, that gap is soon to be filled.  The social worker meeting we had today was Panel for Button’s brother and they said yes! We’re just waiting for the ratification (and you’ll remember how long that took last time), but if all goes to plan he’ll be home in about 3 or 4 weeks.

We’d hoped to bring him home last year but there were paperwork issues that meant that couldn’t happen.  But he’ll be home soon and our family will be complete.

We are overjoyed.

What I’m working on now

With apologies for the fuzzy pictures…all were taken in artificial light and I don’t (yet) have an SLR camera.

First up is the blind for the hallway.

I really rather enjoy making Roman blinds.  These are an easy size to manage and even with the interlining and the trim, this is coming together rather quickly.  Hurrah. Especially as I have another one to make in the same fabric and trim for the window at the top of the stairs.

Next is the Lucy cardigan.Just a teeny bit more of the yoke and the band to do here.  It’s flying off the needles now I’m on the yoke.  And about time too as this has taken far to long.  My fault, not the pattern.  A bad attack of ennui that has now been shaken off.

And last but by no means least:The yarn is a lace-weight from Teeswater Wools in Clitheroe with two strands knit together.  It’s spun from rare breed sheep and is absolutely glorious. Whilst the photo above shows the cable pattern, Comfy Cables, free on Ravelry, it doesn’t show the colour.  This is more like it:Just lovely.  And a super easy pattern.

Two years

I’d always said that wild horses wouldn’t drag me North again.  Well, that’ll teach me to never say never.  Because here I am.  The love of a good man achieved what wild horses couldn’t.
The first year was, shall we say difficult.  If you hear hysterical laughter at this point it’s Mr S, who probably remembers it much differently than that.  But let’s ignore him and move on.
I thought I’d never settle here; never feel at home; never have a life.
How wrong can you be?  Whilst I’ll never love Euxton, I can live here for now.  Our house isn’t pretty on the outside, but on the inside we’ve a warm, cozy and loving home.  It’s always filled with laughter and often with family and friends.  Hot chocolate and Madelaines or tea and scones are always on offer.
But most importantly, I have Mr S.  I have no words for how wonderful he is. But he knows. And so do I.  Happy Anniversary Mr S.
THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS