The sun is shining, bulbs are bursting out, time to break out the bunting! Here's a little taster to put a spring in your step…
For the eagle-eyed of you, yes indeed, this is the bunting that features in my shiny new blog header.
And there's more where that came from…
But I'm having a go!
Due to a fabulous stroke of fortune I have been able to invest in a new camera. A proper one, with separate lenses and everything. Like grown-up photographers who don't take photos but shoot them, use. After much research and fiddling about in various camera shops (thank you, patient shop assistants) I plumped for the Nikon D3000 DSLR. And I've been snapping away (oh yes, I shoot and snap now) ever since.
I can instantly see how much better the quality of photos I'm taking with the DSLR is and, strangely, it makes me want to try harder to take better photos. Just the sturdiness of the thing helps – I managed to capture this piccie of my gorgeous dog by plonking the camera on a tissue box on the floor under my chair and hitting the button. My old point and shoot would have fallen over without me gripping on tightly.
While testing out the different settings I also managed (I say managed because it all feels a bit fluky at the mo, not like I really know what I'm doing. That will change. Or not.) to take a rather nice close-up of this bulb. I've got a bit of a thing for blurry backgrounds (or foregrounds, see next pic) too.
Sadly, the fancy pants camera came with a nasty-looking strap (the camera says Nikon, I don't feel the need to advertise them any more by wearing their name across the back of my neck too), which I had to cover up straight away with some cheerful fabric.
And finally, here's some camera loveliness.
So, that's how I've been spending my time since swearing off all new clothing purchases for the next 12 months.
On the subject of my NoNCY challenge, the first of which should really be to find a better title and acronym for it, thank you so much to everyone who's sent me messages of support and encouragement, and offers of sewing help! And to those of you who don't think I can do it, I love a bit of reverse psychology…
So, I've decided it's high time I set myself a new challenge. A proper one that will take a decent amount of effort and last a while.
When I was nine years old I gave up sweets for Lent without telling anyone. I wanted to see if I could go without for six weeks and by keeping it secret I didn't have the added help of my mum keeping a beady eye on me. After the allotted period I emerged on Easter Sunday brandishing a carrier bag half full of confectionery, having stored it under my bed. My family were suitably impressed and my mother insisted I took the bag into school to show and tell, and probably so that I'd have to share the stash and so not OD on sugar.
Three plus years ago I turned veggie. The main reasons being health and environmental benefits and animal welfare concerns, but a little part of me also wanted to see if I had the willpower to do it. After all, crispy duck pancakes and bacon sandwiches were two of my favourite meaty meals. But nearly four years on I'm as committed as I always have been and have every intention of staying meat-free forever.
So, I have will power and previous record directing it at abstaining from various foodstuffs. My latest challenge doesn't involve food but clothing instead.
For one year I will not buy a single new item of clothing. Starting today (although I could have got going a while ago as I haven't been stocking up on new threads) I won't buy a single new item of clothing. Instead I will make do and mend items I already own, buy secondhand or (I'm the most nervous about this one) make my own.
Some might say I could go further and eschew the purchase of all clothing for a year but I'm not about winning rosettes for extreme behaviour. To totally rule out taking ownership of a new or not-new item of clothing isn't particularly practical or realistic. After all, even cave folk made themselves a new loin cloth/toga/whatever you call their garb from leftover animal skin from time to time.
Plus, by boycotting all clothes I may turn off readers and be dismissed as too idealistic. I'd like to take this opportunity to show others, as well as myself, that buying £3 outfits from Primark, just because you can, or changing your wardrobe every season isn't needed to look and feel good about yourself. When it comes down to it, most of our purchases are suggested and decided by someone sitting in an office a long way away and their highly-skilled marketing company. And then there's the labour used to make the cheap clothes so many love. However much we might not want to believe it, no high street store is guilt-free of using cheap labour – people who work incredibly long hours in harsh conditions and don't even take home a decent enough wage to live on at the end of the day. We can't keep buying and binning clothes and not think there's a catch.
Over the next year I'm going to find out just how well I can be dressed without the use of virgin clothing. Hopefully it will benefit my wallet and the local charity shops I support, it will mean I don't contribute to the misery of many garment workers, plus improve my sewing skills and leave a few items out of landfill.
Now, where did I put that pattern for handmade knickers…
As you have gathered by now, I'm a bit partial to old stuff. The environmental benefits of using secondhand instead of buying new is an added bonus. My vintage tea cup collection has drawn an admiring glance or two and now I've got even more loveliness to share with you.
There's something about a piece of fabric, a book or furniture which is a few decades old that is so intriguing. I think it's the idea that it's been used and loved by other people that attracts me. I try to imagine who the previous owners were, what they wore, where they lived, just what their life was like. The first flat my husband and I owned was in a mansion block built in the 1920s and still had the original fireplace. When we were getting ready for a night out I liked to imagine the couples who had lived there before us, what gladrags did they dress in, where would they go for an evening's entertainment, had they checked their appearance in a mirror above the fireplace before leaving, just as we did?
So, following a trip down memory lane with my mum last weekend, I have photographed some more beautiful items full of stories and history, if only they could tell…
These well travelled suitcases belonged to my mum (and I think her sister). The camera is a 1930s Brownie which I picked up while visiting the antiques market at Blakemere Craft Centre in Cheshire. I couldn't resist taking another close-up of the camera, it's too gorgeous.
The linen you can just see in the above shot is another treasure given to me by my mum, thank you for being a hoarder, Ma!
These pieces are a mixture of linen from the 1920s to 1950s which belonged to my grandmother, great-grandmother and aunty, some embroidered by their clever, talented hands. Not sure I'll ever quite get to their standard…
…and lastly, I've recently been thinking about my favourite childhood book series, and I think probably my favourite book outright – Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery.
This copy dates back to 1935, the entire Anne book set belonged to one of my mum's aunts and now belongs to me. When I was younger, any time I felt poorly or in need of comfort I always reached for the Anne books. If you haven't read it, I urge you to, and if you have daughters, buy them a copy. Anne is a spirited, dreamy, lovable girl you can't help but be enchanted by. Plus a brilliant TV series was made which is sure to get you hooked.
It's about time for a reread I think…
Well, in between working, digging myself out of the snow, crocheting on a train, watching Glee and My Dream Farm, and making my nephew's apron, I've made a few things and found some marvellous bargains:
I embroidered a birthday card for a dear friend…
…found this gorgeous clock hanging in a charity shop, and they sold it to me for a couple of quid…
…then I found this gorgeous bowl in my favourite colour in yet another charity shop and it was even more of a bargain. Can't quite decide whether to use it to store things or to plant some spring bulbs in it…
…made some more bunting from old shirts and lovely fabric my mum gave me…
…found a funny website about making your life greener – Do The Green Thing, plus the easiest recipe in the world to make banana ice cream at Love Food Hate Waste, and tried this tasty recipe for Sausages and Mustard (veggie sausages of course) by Nigel Slater straight after watching him cook it on TV…
…used an old map to make a few envelopes and cover a peg (why a peg? no reason, just fancied using my new pot of decopatch glue and thought I'd pretty up a peg)…
…after spotting a few tulip bulbs shoots emerging from the soil in the garden I've been poring over seed catalogues trying to decide what to plant. Trouble is, even though last year I managed to squeeze two raised beds, two towers of tyres for potato growing, a window box for tomatoes, a hanging basket for strawberries and various pots for garlic and herbs into our little garden, I still want to grow more, and rescue a couple of chickens (hah!)…
… and that was how my first month of 2010 ended, wonder what's in store for us all in the next 11 months…!
This is my nephew, Rory. Isn't he a cutie? Indeed he is. But what is that he's wearing? Is it an apron made by none other than his auntie? Indeed it is!
My favourite thing to make seems to change every time I make something new. And this is no exception. Sewing mini pinnies for mini people was more fun that I thought pinny sewing could be. (Say that several times fast after a stiff drink.) In case you're interested, I used a fat quarter for the apron and some grosgrain ribbon for the straps.
Watch this space for more mini pinnies…
As you know, I like bunting. I don't know why. I don't have childhood memories of village fetes adorned with bunting to reminisce about but for some reason I can't get enough of it!
Last autumn I collected fallen leaves, pegged them to a length of string and hey presto, leaf bunting! This was part of an article for Daisy Green Magazine on bringing autumn inside.
For Hallowe'en I made this little length of felt bunting for the The Copy and Paste Project's Trick or Treat blog party.
At Christmas, I made this paper bunting inspired by Kirsty's fabulous tutorial as part of her and Julie's 12 Days of Christmas workshop.
And today I have made more! Yesterday I found swatch books in the remnant pile at my local fabric shop and snapped them up, each swatch is big enough to make one 'bunt'. (I do believe in a previous blog conversation it was decided 'bunt' is the singular for one flag of bunting. I refuse to use the word flag or pennant, they don't do justice to the loveliness of bunting.)
Excuse the ropey photos, it has rained heavily all day so I couldn't shoot them outside.
Do you like my attempt at arty photography? Also known as shooting at an angle to try to do justice to the bunting.
And just to finish off my bunting bonanza, here is a mosaic devoted to the lovely stuff.
There will be more to come, watch this space!
Technically a pinny is more of a sleeveless dress than an apron but it sounds so such more of a homely word than apron, doesn't it? And my mum calls her apron a pinny so it must be right.
So, I've made a pinny! I took a break from making Christmas presents for my nearest and dearest and decided to try making something new. I looked at how the apron I already own was made and copied it. Joining the straps to the main body was a bit tricky as I had seams on top of seams which gets a bit bulky. But otherwise, not as difficult to make as I thought it would be. I recommend you have a go!
The fabric was an remnant from a local shop. Fabric remnant bin diving is rapidly become my favourite pastime. You can find some gorgeous pieces at bargain prices, that's another recommendation from me!
Back to Christmas, I made my first stocking too. Didn't go exactly to plan but you can't tell so I won't point it out. Still, you live and learn and with sewing I'm on a steep learning curve! For the stocking I used fat quarters (fabric measuring a quarter of a metre by a quarter of a metre). There's a fantastic quilting shop near me which sells copious amounts of beautiful fabric, and by buying quarters rather than metres of fabric, it keeps the costs down and means I can have more variety of pattern and weight.
So there, you go, two recommendations and a top tip from me. Not bad for a chilly Sunday afternoon! I'm off to watch It's a Wonderful Life and feel a warm glow inside.
I know you don't want to think about it, it's only November for goodness' sake! There's no stopping it, Christmas is coming and, as I have recently discovered, in the land of homemade craftiness it comes early.
I decided to make as many gifts this year as possible. I won't be forcing my handmade efforts on people that I don't think will benefit from them (the men in my life can breathe a sigh of relief) but there is always the worry that handmade is seen as second rate to shop bought. Most people I mention this concern to say what I personally think, that homemade takes effort and thought and is more personal than something bought from a shop. Here's hoping my gift recipients feel that way too!
Plus I'm trying to make use of fabric, paper, just stuff I already have or buying secondhand, to make my gifts a little more eco-friendly. It's not bad for my wallet either.
Providing me with inspiration this season are the super creative Kirsty Neale and Julie Kirk and their 12 Days: a Copy and Paste Christmas workshop which I've blogged about before.They have been providing loads of ideas for a variety of projects with really clear tutorials and if you're not signed up yet, it's not too late! If you're in any way feeling crafty and want a bit of Christmas pizazz in your life, do check it out.
I won't post here any piccies of the gifts I've made as I don't want to spoil it for the folks who'll be unwrapping them in less than six weeks! Yes, that's right, you've got just over five weeks till C-Day. However, those who don't know me, and therefore are unlikely to expect a present to come their way, can look at my Flickr account, if they fancy it.
One pic I can show you is a rather nifty gift bag made from leftover wallpaper (believe me, it's a big print and makes a fine feature wall, honest), courtesy of the 12 Days ladies.
And, to add to my excitement this week I received in the post a prize! Yes, I won something. It wasn't a cheque from the lottery sadly, but almost next best, is a prize from the fab Asking for Trouble folks! They make super cool kitsch designed stationery and gifts and I won this gorgeous notebook (and was sent a bunch of postcards and a calender too) in a little competition they recently ran. Only trouble now is that I never want to deface the virgin paper by writing on it...
Happy Christmas preparing!
The trick is to figure out how this make has anything to do with Hallowe'en!
Having signed up to the very exciting 12 Days: A Copy + Paste Project created and masterminded by the lovely Julie and Kirsty, my first assignment was to make a Trick. It's all part of their Copy + Paste Hallowe'en blog party taking place on Sat 31 Oct, obviously!
So, I've made Hallowe'en bunting. I've never been very into spookiness but I am very into bunting. And making use of what I already have where possible. So, I cut triangles from orange, purple and black felt using pinking shears, stamped on them with a pretty (I know, not a word usually associated with this dark festival) paisley stamp from Papermania, and sewed them together with a piece of purple gingham ribbon. It's tricky (gettit?!) to see but the black bunt (is that the singular for a piece of bunting?) is stamped with red ink. I used black on the others.
I hope it pretties up the Blog Party and I won't be offended if you hang it in the loo, ladies!
