Thursday 30 January 2014

costume change

blog redesign
Hi-di-hi readers. Just a little message to tell you I'm all fired up on the blog front again, pinning and reading blogging tutorials like crazy, taking beginner's courses on html and photoshop (hence the above!!) and even going old-school and buying a book. Please bear with me for a week or so while I do some redesigning!

I have to tell you I'm so fed up with the design of this blog and I feel like I'm writing for me, the writer, rather than you, the reader. It's time to take things up a gear.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Wandering: January walk by the reservoir

Just look at that:






We went for a walk along the reservoir with the boys. There are many reservoirs around here, pooling in the clefts of the Peaks, but this is our favourite for a little walk with little ones. There's a sailing club at its edge, which means we sometimes get to see races. It can be still as a millpond, like today, or choppy like the sea. A little path runs alongside it, on a wooded ridge between the reservoir and the stream, and next to that we occasionally pass beautiful waters edge houses that you would dream to live in. Sometimes, like today, we also walk along the reservoir dam, marvelling at the steep grassy slope to the other side and the fast rush of channeled water heading down to the natural river below. I tell you, Ratty and Moley would have the fright of their lives if their nonchalent river boat raced down those rapids.
The sun was not far off setting, but the birds and wildfowl did not seem ready for bed yet, and neither did the fishermen we passed. Neither did our boys for that matter. They consider this exploring territory. And there was the amazing skate ramps in the park at the other side. We had to drag the two-year-old away kicking and screaming, quite literally, as he just could not bear to leave the sight of the crazy Big Boys defying gravity on their BMX's. Something for everyone.

I should've taken a photo of them, but it didn't seem quite right to snap strangers and then stick them on the web, especially other peoples' children! Have a silhouette of a fisherman instead.


Sunday 26 January 2014

Wondering: The start of the day

These poorly focused phone photos are not from today. Today the rain lashed, the hailstones bounced, the wind whipped. And we three, then four, then five, all stayed at home. But a couple of days ago it was a glorious January day. The Tiny One and I took the Little One to school, and as we walked back home again - ah! just look at it!
I hate to be hierarchical about the weather, because a day like today - watching hailstones ping on the ground like they were dancing on a trampoline - well that has its own beauty too. But is there anything better than a cool, clear, crisp midwinter day with the sky the colour of a summer sea and the sun blinding you? I went right up to the top of the house with the Tiny One, who was rather perplexed at his view-drunk mother, opened the roof windows and took photos - one out the front, one out the back. Yes I knew they'd be grainy, just look at them. But those long shadows from the rising sun are there. The tinge of cold gold on the fields and houses. The start of something. The promise.

And it went on to be a good day. It lifted me up and sent me soaring onwards.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Sewing: the Cycle Lane Quilt

Hello! I've been looking forward to showing you the Cycle Lane Quilt I made in November, as a commission for a new baby. His parents are keen cyclists and climbers, hence the bikes and ropes, and you may also notice there are four magpies for a boy.
 
The quilt is cot-sized, modern in style and colour, and quilted in wonky lines. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. My lovely neighbour (who commissioned it) particularly wanted the magpies included, so after too many hours spent trawling UK online fabric shops, I ended up sourcing it from spoonflower in the US. The rest of the fabrics are a mixture of lines, including a couple from Julia Rothman's Ride, Michael Miller Ship Ahoy ropes, and my favourite Violet Craft from Michael Miller Waterfront 'flight'. The birds are just lovely, and the charcoal background... sigh. I bought those four key fabrics from Celtic Fusion Fabrics; they always have such a lovely selection.

Look at that, I managed to take a close-up picture of one of the few spots where my corners don't perfectly match. That's hurried photography for you!
A little shot of the back too. Just look at that blurred focus. It's clear why I usually get my husband to take my quilt photos! (By the way, I never used to be a fan of orange, but the slightly burnt tone of that pumpkin shade? It's totally won me over.)

Baby quilts are my favourite to make. All the joy of the fabrics and the quilting, and none of the stress and effort of getting two square metres of fabric rolled under the arm of my sewing machine! I'm starting my business this year and baby quilts are definitely going to be a key product.

Thursday 9 January 2014

Sewing: looking back at Christmas: home-made advent calendar

I sewed a few gifts for Christmas but didn't take any photos. No idea why. I guess I was focused on the giving rather than recording. But I did photograph the new advent calendar I made for the boys. I used a beautiful, Scandinavian-style reindeer decor-weight fabric made by Tiviot Mill. After hemming it and adding a long pocket for the dowel at the top, I cut 24 red felt rectangles and set to work on the pockets.
 
Oh the pockets! This is what I should've done, to spare a lot of time: cut white felt numbers, glue on white felt numbers, done. But I sewed them all on with a zig-zag stitch, used a needle to send all the thread ends to the back, tied and trimmed them. I really like the rustic look of it but, goodness, it was a faff! Each pocket had a Smartie for each boy and a card with a fun 'to do' for the day, such as drink hot chocolate, make a Christmas decoration, visit the Christmas lights, or put up the tree. I'll put up a full list at the end of November 2014 if I remember! The Tiny One, who ought to be called the cheeky one, managed on several occasions to find a chair, drag it to the calendar, and stuff his face with the bottom row of pocket's Smarties. Like mother like son!

Saturday 4 January 2014

Sewing: half-square triangle ice cream quilt

I sewed an ice-cream coloured quilt. It is 2m x 2m. That's 6.7ft x 6.7ft. That's big. That's a lot of complicated work. And that, readers, is me allowing myself a bit of pride.
Each half-square triangle includes a white and an ice-cream colour. I cut out 12.5in squares from each colour, sewed them together around the edges then across on the diagonals, then cut them into four squares. I used this tutorial on making quicker HST's.
I quilted it along the diagonals in alternating ice-cream thread colours. With pink being the predominant colour, I quilted pink, yellow, green; pink, blue, purple. That's a lot of changing threads and bobbins and re-threading needles. There were several occasions when I decided I must be mad. One colour quilting thread from now on! The above picture also shows my corners/points all (or mostly all) matching up. Bit of an effort but worth it.
See that? That's the binding for you. It's scrappy, so there are different bits of pink fabric along the 8m perimeter.You can see one type of binding change for another in the picture below.
And there's the back: just white sheeting to show off the different colours of the quilting

I made this quilt as a commission for my auntie. I'm really pleased with it (can you tell?!) but I started it at Easter and sporadically sewed it right through to Christmas. With such a large quilt, I constantly needed to lay it on the floor to re-smooth, roll, or re-position it. That's not something that can be done with two small boys around who like walking on quilts! I'm glad it's done now. I have one last king-size quilt to make (my brother's), and I think I'm going to make it using a quilt-as-you-go method in order to avoid all the lay-on-the-floor logistical problems.

Thursday 2 January 2014

2013 into 2014: winding the bobbin up

We've wound up another year, and the empty spool of 2014 lies ahead of us.
 
I love this feeling. I love a new year. I know it's an arbitrary cut-off and resolutions are often considered childish, but they're just right for me. I need an end, no matter how artificial, and I need to turn a page over ready to start again. I am a keen little brewer of plans and dreams.
 
2013 was a good year. We made progress on our house. I progressed a lot with my sewing skills. The little boys have been (mostly) lovely, the big boy has left Kevin the Teenager (mostly) behind. From the roots we set down in the Peaks five years ago, a tree has grown. We have good, deep friendships up here now, all of us. The Little One is at primary school. My lovely husband's job has changed to a (mostly) weekday, daytime affair, and our family life has settled into a much more regular shape. Our further-afield friends and family were missed, but we had such lovely times when we did see them. It was the kind of year of which the worse bits will fade from our memories, leaving the many good parts behind.
 
I have a good feeling about 2014. Our family moving on, growing up. And most of all starting my sewing business. That is the big goal for this year. It feels so, so good to be this close to it now.
 
After quite a long blog sabbatical, in which I lost my verve and impulse for it, I thought I'd come back and try again. To again be writing and recording our countryside life, my sewing and home-making (gosh, I wish that wasn't such a trite term), and all the simple, beautiful things we make, appreciate and do in the life we've built here. 2014, here we go.