Purl and Seam

handmade in Lancashire

School

September 3, 2013

The house is quiet.

IMG_9039_edited-1Both of them are at school.

Button was a little fazed this morning, but as soon as she bumped into her friend at the gates, she was fine and off like a rocket!

IMG_9040_edited-1Boy has been wired all day waiting to go…he’s only in for half afternoons all this week.

IMG_3173_edited-1It feels like only the blink of an eye since they were these two tiny people at nursery.

Now they are both school children.

I’m a little bit sad that we don’t have babies in the house any more. But much more proud of the amazing people they are growing up to be.

We are entering a new era, and I have no idea what it will bring.  I’m looking forward to finding out.

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Boy meets pavement

August 29, 2013

He used the brakes on his scooter a tad too enthusiastically.  Thankfully he’s fine. And we didn’t need A&E!

IMG_8977_edited-1I’m also pretty glad that the black eye he got the other week at the play centre has faded.

PS…the uber sad face is purely for effect.  He’s currently bouncing around the garden like a little boy should.

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Dance relief

July 31, 2013

Wow these holidays are flying by.

2013-07-23 12.33.11_edited-1We are managing not to completely murder each other, although my two are full of beans and yummy treats!

2013-07-19 16.11.23_edited-1Yesterday they spent the day at their dance class summer school.  2 whole days of activities and dancing. Yay! I think they were as relived as I was for the break!  They certainly came home very tired and, after a bit of grumping, they zonked out in bed nice and early.

So, after catching up with necessary chores (apparently they insist on me having food in the house) I got some time in the sewing loft and set to finishing the quilting of Gardener’s Journal.

GJ quilt_edited-1Of course, as is the way, with only 4 lines of quilting and the binding to sew, I ran out of thread. So I took the time to cut out a toile for a top I’m making as part of the current wave of Simplicity pattern reviews.

2013-07-30 19.04.41_edited-1Which means that soon I’ll have a new top to share with you and a lovely giveaway too!

And, if I get some thread today, I’ll also have a quilt finished.

Finally!

 

 

 

 

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Pillar of the community tee – FO 12/2013

June 10, 2013

I’ve mentioned before how much I use my local library to access sewing, knitting and cookery books. It’s a win-win situation.  I get my grubby little mitts on all the latest books for 60p a go.  They have another regular customer, which can only help to keep the library open for the whole community. Use it or lose it, no?

I find the fact of my community spirit faintly hilarious.  Before I met The Husband I worked in Soho in London and between commuting, working and spending far too much time in bars with colleagues and the odd glass of Jack Daniels or several!  I wouldn’t have given two hoots for keeping the library open for the community.

Now…I’m an active member of the PTFA at Button and The Boy’s school and I sit on Adoption Panel every month.  So when I was recently by our village library to put together a little display about sewing I was happy to oblige. After much thinking I decided to talk a little bit about how simple it is to start sewing, using the Beachy Boat Neck Tee as an example, and upcycling a t-shirt donated by Ma SIL. Three birds with one stone…or t-shirt!

beachy boatneckOf course I left it rather to the last minute.  I suspect no one is surprised by this.

IMG_8111_edited-1Thankfully the Beachy Boat Neck comes together in no time whatsoever.

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He looks like he’s about to board a clipper for adventures on the high seas!

I used Photoshop to make a load of speech bubbles which lead the reader through a simple “how to” upcycle a shirt.  That was the hardest part as I’m not particularly technically minded and have never done anything remotely graphical. On Monday I pinned everything in place, added a selection of available and relevant library books to complete the display, et voila!

IMG_8167_edited-2I don’t think it turned out to badly and the ladies at the library were pleased. I suppose if just one person decides to have a go at sewing, or to come back to it, or even to try something new, like upcycling, then I’ll be able to consider this a real achievement.

That The Boy got a new t-shirt is not to be sniffed at, either!

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l’ecole

May 13, 2013

The Boy starts school in September.  He’s so very excited.

We’ve secured his place at the same school Button attends.  It’s a very, very good school.

We are thrilled!

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Home

April 5, 2013

Well, I’m home after our visit to Alice-who-isn’t-a-cat, but note to self…next time I do a long journey with the kids…put one in the front and one in the back.  Divide and conquer.  I’m far too traumatised to tell you all the details, but flying shoes were endured at one time, and I’m hoarse from bellowing at them to behave! 😉

It was worth it, though!

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We had a lovely break.

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The weather was cold but dry and perfect for a walk on the beach.

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Extreme Toddler Sports were resurrected.

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Huge hints about an addition to the family were dropped. Button would love a baby brother or sister…

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The Boy…not so much!)

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I suspect The Boy will win that particular vote!

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We are having a quiet day at home today. And missing Alice and Huggy immensely.

However, tomorrow is the Cake and Bake show.  I’m beyond excited!

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Mother’s Day

March 11, 2013

I have to tell you that I had the most splendid Mother’s day.

Tulip from Button

Tulip from Button

A lie in was followed by breakfast in bed…bacon sandwich, tea and the time to watch the news in peace.

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Uninterrupted time in the shower and to blow dry my hair.

Daffodils grown by The Boy

Daffodils grown by The Boy

Lunch with Ma and Ma and Pa SIL, cooked by The Husband, with delightfully behaved children.

Roses from The Husband

Roses from The Husband

The last hour before bedtime curled up on the sofa with small peeps and a movie.

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Red Velvet cake by The Husband…because we had Red Velvet cupcakes at our wedding.

A quiet evening with a chilled glass of wine all resulting in an equally chilled Mummy.

158-RomaNavy

4m of this a.maz.ing navy Roma jersey from Fabric Godmother

And, most importantly of all, these two little munchkins, without whom my life would be incomplete.

My beautiful and amazing babies

My beautiful and amazing babies

I am incredibly blessed with my wonderful family.

I do hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day too.

 

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A reminder

January 27, 2013

don't forget

If you find that you need to alter a pattern, say by adding 3 cms of width to a shirt back and yoke to accommodate ridiculously broad shoulders, can I suggest that you remember to also alter any adjoining pattern pieces.  Maybe add 3 cms to the collar stand and collar too.

Otherwise you might find yourself waking at 4am in a cold sweat having realised what you’ve done.  Or not done, as the case may be.

And then spending some time that would be better spent sleeping wondering if you have enough scrap fabric to recut the adjusted collar and collar stand. And if the light sleepers in your house will be disturbed if you sneak up to the sewing loft to find out the answer to your fabric dilemma.  And if you can actually be bothered to get out from underneath the super cosy duvet and quilt to shiver your way up there anyway.

I’m not saying I actually made this mistake, but if I had I’d be awfully glad that I had enough waste fabric to cut new collar and stands, and only need to buy a bit of extra interfacing tomorrow to get myself to the point where I can actually start sewing.

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One down…

January 17, 2013

The wee small boy was in hospital for his first operation today.  All went well and he was done and home again by lunch time.

Thankfully cannulas were not required.  I am beyond grateful for this.

photo (2)

fake sleeping…note the half-scoffed biscuit!

He was brave and funny during the whole adventure…teasing the nurses by pretending still to be asleep.  Promise of a Cadbury’s Fudge at home soon put paid to those shennagins.

We are now waiting for his next hospital date which will be to have his squints corrected.  I think I’m going to be a whole lot more sanguine about that now I know he’s fine with anaesthetic.

And whilst he’s had a little snooze this afternoon I’ve finally made it into the sewing loft and have made a start on paper fitting the pattern for The Husband’s shirt.

Next stop…the toile!  See….slow sewing…doing it right.  It won’t last! 😉

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December

December 3, 2012

Good grief…21 days to go?  How did that happen?

Fortunately, whilst there isn’t a great deal of needlework going on here, the Christmas gift list is slowly being ticked off.

Last weekend we stirred up cake and pudding.

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On Wednesday I filled the house with the scent of spices as I gave the pudding its first steaming.

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Yesterday we surprised the kids with a visit to see Father Christmas in the Hall at our local park.

Whilst The Boy wasn’t having any of it (except the proffered chocolate…he’s not daft), Button marched up to FC, bold as brass.

IMG_6742_edited-1The conversation went something like this:

FC:      Hello little girl.  Have you been good? What would you like for Christmas?

B:            A Barbie, please.

FC:          (In an incredulous tone) Is that all?

B:            Yes, thank you.

FC:          Speechless!

Having snaffled her chocolate as well, we went off to explore the Hall, and in the kitchens found two lovely ladies set up to make pomanders from oranges and cloves.

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A quick turn around a little craft fair garnered so many compliments about the little jacket that Button commented “why are all these ladies looking at my coat?”.  I, on the other hand, was really rather pleased with myself.

We all had a pretty lovely day.

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