Purl and Seam

Fabric : Fibre : Family

Mooching on a Monday

June 25, 2012

The past few weeks have been hustle and bustle. It’s all good but I’m craving a slightly slower pace. Today was the first opportunity for a little simple domesticity.

Whilst the children were at nursery I made bias binding and did the machine sewing to attach it to my dress.

Tonight I can curl up on the sofa with The Husband and hand stitch whilst we watch a movie.  This dress is so nearly finished.

After nursery the children and I went to the park for a couple of hours to make the most of a dry day.  We met grandparents and friends from nursery, purely accidentally.  We played stick ball and football and had lunch in the cafe.

Then whilst they scootered up and down the street with the neighbours children I attacked (and beat into submission)the 3 foot high weeds in the garden, and cut the peony flowers that had been battered by the winds and rain over the weekend.

I need to plant more peonies!

And some of the lovely new peony roses from David Austin.

David Austin’s beautiful Royal Jubilee rose
Image courtesy of www.davidaustinroses.com

Doing all this gentle, domestic mooching,  I remembered what life was like before I started to finish my degree.

And what it will be like in just over 3 months when I am done.

And I’m excited for a future full of simple pleasures at home and with my family.

A pretty great start to the week, no?

I hope your Monday has been as wonderful.

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Ooh that man!

June 17, 2012

“Ooh that man is on my list
And ooh that man I wanna kiss
My only sin is I can’t win
Ooh I wanna love that man”

                                   Caro Emerald

My favourite photo of my guys.

And what’s not to love?

He’s an amazing guy.

And an amazing daddy.

And an amazing husband.

And an amazing son too.

Happy Father’s Day, my love.

::  ::  ::

And to Pa SIL too.

::  ::  ::

Pa Stitches is never far from us, but more so today.

::  ::  ::

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Little pink shoes

May 26, 2012

Button is gearing up for her first dance show.

Next week her and her fellow dancers will put on a show for two nights at a local theatre.

Last night I put her name in her costumes and sewed elastic straps into tiny pink and black ballet shoes.

Our little girl is growing up fast.

I’m one very proud mummy.

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3 years

May 6, 2012

3 years ago today we met Button for the first time.

At 1.30pm we finally found out that she would be our baby.

At 1.45pm we learned that Dad was making his final journey from this world.

A bittersweet day.

3 years on it’s all a bit easier to bear.  But we still miss Pa every. single. day.

Tonight Ma, Ma and Pa SIL, The Husband and I shared a lovely dinner and raised a glass to our beautiful daughter and my amazing father.

Pa wasn’t perfect…but he was a perfect dad.  And the thought that I return to over and over again is just how very thrilled he would be with his grandchildren.

He would have loved them beyond words.

And they would have loved him back in equal measure.

(I know he was immeasureably proud of Niece Stitches and her family.)

One of the things I think the kids will miss the most is the sense of adventure my Pa had.  I had such fun as a child spending holidays with him in his truck travelling across Europe. I have a store of tales of our travels.

My babies will never have that time with him, and I know they would have loved it.

As would Pa.

But recently The Husband and Pa SIL took the kids for an outing to the local transport museum.

They had a blast.

And I learned something about my babies…

…it seems that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!!!

I have a mental picture of Pa in Heaven with Charlie dog, his best friends, and a large glass of Jack Daniels, smiling approval on these small people whom he never met, but who know him as Granddad Angel and love him nevertheless.

As do we.

We miss you Pa. xxx

PS to Ma.
I know these pics will bring a tear to your eye.  But I also know you’ll understand why I saved them till today.
Love you xxx

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Husband…thy name is eejit!

May 2, 2012

The Husband is a clever man.

He’s also handy at DIY.  He’s built stud walls and decks, he’s rewired the house and done plumbing.  This is all OK because he’s a qualified electrical engineer.

So how come he’s sporting this today?

It turns out that when you work on a washing machine that needs a repair it’s very useful to isolate BOTH fuses, not just the one!

Because if you don’t isolate both fuses, you run the risk of electrocuting yourself and slicing the back of your hand open on the raw metal inside the machine.

And if you do that you spend the evening in A&E, have to have your heart checked and your hand glued back together again.

You also get the mickey taken out of you mercilessly by your father and your work colleagues.

You have been warned.

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Heidi and Finn cowl neck jumper dress – F/O 6/2012

February 21, 2012

I’ve got to tell you its a miracle anything is getting done here at the moment, but although I could do with more time and more sleep it’s nice knowing that this is a temporary thing as the end of my first module creeps nearer.

Last week was half-term holidays which I spent with the kids and The Husband and abandoned my study schedule.  It was lovely if rather foolish as it  means that this week I have one session of English and two sessions of French to catch up.  As this is approximately 36 hours of study and I don’t have 36 hours to spend on it, the word that springs to mind is “eeeep”!

I have to say that without hesitation I’ll make the same choice the next nursery holiday…it’s so worth it.

Little ice-creamy faces are a joy to behold.

Then, I spent 5 hours waiting to be towed home from Manchester on Saturday when I should have been at a tutorial for my French module. Fingers crossed his car will be mended soon. But how lucky are we to have one car, let alone two?

So, to maintain some semblance of sanity,  I’ve been sneaking the odd half hour here and there to do a bit of sewing and in the evenings I sit and knit. The laceweight Ella is knitted and blocked and currently being sewn up (which is tedious so only a bit is getting done every now and again when I’m feeling a bit perky).

I’ve also finished a cardigan for Button. I photographed it at the weekend but every picture was overexposed so I’ll do them again soon.

And today I’ve just finished the cowl neck jumper dress from Heidi and Finn, also for Button.

I cannot tell you how adorable this little dress is.  Button has a temperature today and is currently snoozing so I’ll get modelled pictures soon, but really wanted to share it with you.

I’ve used a Heidi and Finn pattern before for the refashioned jacket I made for Button and again I found the pattern well drafted and the instructions extremely comprehensive.  Even if you’re a complete beginner you could sew this dress. I sewed it on my normal machine as I didn’t have 4 spools of thread for the overlocker.  Simples!

The fabric was gifted to me by the lovely, lovely Himmelbjerget during her recent destash and is a beautifully soft and cosy velour.  You can see the fabric better in this close up shot:

Adorable.

This is such an amazing pattern.  I want to make it again and again.  In fact I think I very probably will do!  In this incarnation it’s perfect for play dates or for church, but you can make it more or less dressy dependent on your choice of fabric.

So thank you to Himmelbjerget for the fabric and thank you to Heidi and Finn for another splendid pattern.

If you have small ladies who like a dress I highly recommend you make this one for them.  At least once.

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Valentines dinner

February 15, 2012

For Valentines day the children went for a sleep over at Grandma’s and The Husband cooked us a romantic dinner.

We had home-made soda bread and home-made butter:

I can’t believe how simple butter is to make.  We’re converted.

We had this with the wild boar sausage and rabbit cassoulet:

Followed by Valentines chocolate cake:

All washed down with chilled fizz:

A beautiful evening with my handsome husband.

Thank you, sweetheart.

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Baptisms

February 12, 2012

One of the things you’re not allowed to do when you’re adopting your children is baptise them until the adoption is fully finalised.

Which was a while ago.

But with all the operations that folks had last year, baptisms have been pushed to one side a little.

Until today.

A very happy day.

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3

February 12, 2012

I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but The Boy was 3 on Friday.

The sad and quiet little boy we first met has grown into the feistiest, funniest, most loving little chap

My brave and handsome little man.

He’s such a charmer and is so kindhearted.

Happy birthday my beautiful little man.

We love you.

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4

January 13, 2012

Yesterday was Button’s 4th birthday.

As she’s now a big girl, the required birthday treat was a trip to Starbucks for smoothies and toasted teacakes.

As soon as Daddy got home from work we headed to the park to make the most of the last of a sunny day and try out the new scooter she received for her birthday.

After an understandably shaky start, and with a charming degree of determination

she cracked it

How did it happen that the quiet and developmentally delayed little girl who came home to us only 3 short years ago is now scooting round the park and preparing to go to school?

It’s shocking how much I love her (and her brother), how proud I am of them and how amazing I think they are.

This little miss is beautiful, yes, but also brave, funny, charming, cheeky, and loveable.  Oh and a million other good things too.

She astonishes me every day with small kindnesses, huge fearlessness, an insatiable curiosity about the world and a limitless capacity for mischief!

I am blessed to be her Mummy.  I’m thankful every day that she (and her brother) found us.

Happy birthday, my beautiful, darling girl.

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Welcome

Image of a woman in her fifties taken from the shoulders up. She has grey shoulder length hair, brown eyes and a soft smile.

Hi there,
I'm Evie and I knit, stitch, spin and sew.
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But always with my family around me in our little town in the North of England.
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