{quilt} while you're ahead

scary or what?

It's almost Halloween, and although I haven't the foggiest idea of what it means/why it came about and what pumpkins have got to do with it... I bowed to popular pressure and bought a pumpkin.

We live in England and we don't go around trick or treating, don't get dressed up in scary costumes and our house it's not decorated with fake cobwebs - those are natural all-year round things!

Anyway, after the 'carving/butchering/annihilating' of the pumpkin the boys wanted to make ginger bread men.  Now, I've got a problem with ginger bread men.  I think the story is cruel and violent.  I hate the taste of ginger.  And their fixed smile is totally creepy.

Things started out ok, I didn't put any ginger in but the boys won't know.  At this stage they even seemed kind of cute...

but look closer... a bit creepy, right?

the glisten... they're almost alive... look even closer...

THAT is NOT a smile.  It's some sort of 'I'm coming to get you' grin...

Am I right or am I right?

In the went into the oven and that is when things went horribly wrong.  I don't know if it was the recipe (the lack of ginger?), the temperature? but this is what happened next.  Please don't look if you're easily scared, under medication for your heart etc. etc.

Ready? Go...

They're aliens!  Mutants!

No 2 took one look and said... mummy, they don't really look like ginger bread men.

No kidding!  Do you think they'll come alive tonight and take over the world?

friends and music

On Friday night I took my mum out for her birthday treat.  She'd hit a very young sixty at the end of last summer so I bought her a couple of tickets for the 'Once in a lifetime country tour - Rita Coolidge, Don Williams and Kenny Rogers'.  Kenny has been a favourite of her for the past 20 years and she was very excited.

You know what?  the concert was good.  I enjoyed it too and it was great doing something together.

Rita.

Don.

And Kenny.

I'm not sure if I'm infringing some copyright law in showing these photos, but we were allowed to take them and I'm sure I'm not making money out of them!  If anybody knows otherwise, please let me know and they'll disappear in a flash!

Yesterday I met up with the lovely Ali.  We had brunch, we bought fabrics and buttons, we shopped some more, we had coffee and cakes.  But most of all we talked and we laughed and it was so wonderful to meet somebody in real life and realising they're just as nice and interesting and funny as their 'written' voice and craftiness did suggest.

She kindly brought me a copy of Blueprint magazine and some funky bats for the boys to make.  Needless to say the bats are up already!!

corners of my home #2

I love my house.  I moved around a lot throughout my whole life, I lived in small houses and big ones.  In really old ones and brand new ones.  I rented and owned.  I shared rooms and lived in army compounds.  I lived in cities and out in the country.  Never before I felt 'at home'.  I've had this feeling about places, sometimes even about whole countries, never about houses though.

Me and this house have a thing going on though.  Don't ask what it is.  I love its tall ceilings, the big rooms and its vast Victorian windows.  I'm in love with the red of the bricks, with their irregularities.  I love that the door has had hundreds coats of paint, but it's never been replaced.  It is glorious at Christmas time.  It welcomes friends and family and finds places and spaces for everybody.  It's cool in the summer and cosy in winter.  It's full of old fireplaces, and cornices and wonky walls.  My children have cycled along the corridor, learnt to walk leaning against the walls. 

And I totally love this:

and this:

(Forgive the wonkiness of the picture but I had to keep an eye on No 3 who wanted to base jump onto the pavement.  Crazy child.)

I'll miss it.  I'm hoping the next owner will take good care of it.  In the meantime I'm enjoying the last few weeks, there's a pumpkin on the doorstep, some winter flowers in the box on the windowsill. 

It's still my home.

scarf?

I learnt to crochet when I was 8.  I attended a convent school in Italy (how cliche is that) and the teachers/nuns were very keen for us to learn that skill.  I remember doing a wooly, grey scarf for my granddad and getting very frustrated because the edges were all wonky.  It must have looked terrible.

I can honestly say I didn't pick up a crochet hook till the past summer.  28 years later.  Scary eh?  But this time I read books, learnt the right symbols and fallen in love with it again.  It's so much more portable than knitting, especially because I knit the Italian way with the needles under my arms (don't ask... don't know why we do it like that!).

As a consequence when I spotted on ebay a Japanese crochet book called 'bag and small item' (don't you love their titles?) I had to buy it.  And then when browsing through it I had to do this:

I used what cotton I had in the house - who knows what they recommended... does anybody out there speak Japanese?  And this is the result:

I love it and I've got just the right jumper for the job... I might have to model it this Saturday when I meet up with the awesome Ali for lunch. 

things change

Have you ever started a project and ended up with something totally different?  It happens to me quite a lot.  Ideas, thoughts evolve constantly in my head.

I'm not always sure this is a good thing.  On one side I've learnt to do lots of different things, on the other I've got many projects on the go at the same time...  For example, remember the blue/green fabric ready to be sewn into an oven mitt?

Well, I didn't like it.  I half made it and it kind of look funny - I probably cut/enlarge the pattern wrongly - so I started again and this is what came out: coasters.

Not quite the same thing... but still a little 'good luck in your new home' type of thing.

And talking of how things change, Mr M and I have this lovely tree outside our window.  I don't know what it is but it's beautiful in every season.  In spring it has gorgeous little white flowers, then fantastic gentle little green leaves and it the autumn it becomes all shades of orange:

 

and then it's all gone.  Things constantly change.

WIP Friday

Busy busy busy

a) pocket for a 'man' apron.

b) a couple of oven mitts

Mr M is away tonight so this should keep me busy.

a year of colour

When Mr M and I got married we were given lots of wonderful presents.  One of my favourite is a rocking chair made by a local craftsman.  Beautifully built, it's made even more special by the fact that it is unique.  My sister in law and Mr M's parents chose the wood, the style, the finishing... it will always be treasured. 

When we first had it the seat was still green and had a wonderful 'grass' smell.  Now it has aged  a golden tan  shade.

It reminds me a little of  old Shaker furniture.  Simple lines, only the pure essential.

And on the back there's our wedding date.  Just in case Mr M were ever to forget!!

Sweet.

cute hat

that my son won't keep on his head for more than 3 seconds.

I love hats.  I don't look  particularly good in them (I look better under them... ha ha ha), but I love them.  And I really love children's knitted hats.  I've seen so many in so many blogs that I finally took the plunge and knitted one myself.  I was totally amazed how quick the thing came together, just a couple of nights...

and voila.   No 3 looks totally gorgeous when he wears it.  The whole 3 seconds of it.

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 1 ball, needles 3.5 (UK size).

I'm very excited about this and I'm already threatening my husband to knit one for him too. 

grown up bib

My goddaughter has started to walk.  Great achievement, huge milestone and one which I wanted to celebrate with her.  So I made her something.  A little something she can use everyday.  Now I'm not sure about it anymore. 

Too grown-up?  Too funky?

I wanted to stay away from pink.  Make it a bit edgy.

An edgy bib? I hear you ask. Or was it a gasp?

Should I send it?

Personally I like it.  It's fun and a bit different, I wanted to stay away from pinks and flowers and too cutesy fabric (which I like, by the way, c'mon, remember the quilt I made for her? ... but is it too different?  Would you be horrified if somebody gave you something like this for your daughter?

Help.

Update:  I've sent it.  Thank you for all your kind comments, it means a lot to me.

it's that time of the year again

There's a chill in the air.

But my neck will stay warm.

I love scarves.

(This was knitted with 3 skeins of Classic Yarn, Cashsoft DK, shade 513, using 4.5mm needles.)

(The small flowers are made of fabric cut from an old skirt and vintage buttons.)