Echoes of a Dream

the day after

Despite being a week earlier the school fair went really well. I had a constant stream of people stopping by and admiring my things and a lot of cash did pass hands I'm glad to say. So financially it was good but more than that I was really touched by all the compliments I got. Like many I am constantly comparing myself with others and thinking that my stuff isn't as good but after yesterday I should shoot myself everytime I think like that. One of the funniest things was that about a dozen or more people picked up this picture that I'd just knocked up to show off my plant dyed fibre:

I was bored one evening and embellished it with a few stitches as you can see but I've never valued it much. Yesterday a number of people asked if it was for sale and I was quite taken aback if I'm honest. I'm looking at it in a new light this morning though! I don't think I'll make any to sell because needlefelting doesn't really grab me but I'm thinking about maybe doing a plant dyeing workshop next year and then showing people how to make pictures with their fibre. I think that's the best way to go .......

Anyway, got back last night totally cream crackered (which you must know by now means knackered). Tom had supper in the oven - what a star. He stayed behind in the morning to cook and clean up and then came and helped me all afternoon. So we got back, I dived in the bath, read the papers after supper and had a well deserved early night.

This morning we woke to an emptly fridge:

well empty except for lots of bacon, goose fat and masses of double cream - what the heck are we going to do with all that? So I think it's cheese and bikkies for lunch and leftovers for supper:

I bet you can just imagine the arguing that's going to go on in our house tonight over who has what? Fish pie, beef in stout, chickpea something or other or out-of-date sausages with red cabbage. Don't they all sound and look delectable (not). I think I'm going to have to rustle up something for pudding to bribe the unsuspecting family (and to use up some of that cream).

Did I tell you that I have another fair next week? Well, although I should be saving my stuff for then I thought I'd list a few things here as I've had some enquiries from folks. Sooooo, here's what's on offer - I ought to list them on Etsy but can't be bothered with the faff.

I have six angels left:

This one is $42 or £20.  SOLD

This one is $31 or £15.

Another one at $31 or £15.  SOLD

and another on at $31 or £15.

This one is $42 or £15 and finally:

the last one at $42 or £20.

Amber has some brooches that are $12 each:

and a lovely i-pod case:

do you remember the one that she made for my birthday? Well, I liked it so much that I persuaded her to make two to sell. I think that they turned into a labour of love poor girl but they're so lovely. This one is finished - here's a close up:

and is $21 and she's still working on the other one:

I think they're a bit expensive for a school fair stall but I really wanted her to ask a good price as she spent so much time on them. I may list these on Etsy later.

I also have some bags left too:

these are made from felted jumpers and are fully lined.

Both cost $125 each and I can email more pics to you if you're interested.

I also have some large owls left at $30 each. They're made from vintage William Morris fabric and linen:

Anyway, I've got to go an rustle up a pudding. There was a nice recipe in the paper yesterday that I'm going to try. If it's good I'll show you next time.

By the way please email me for postage costs if you want to buy anything. I'm happy with UK cheques and paypal otherwise ......................

Christmas Fair

For about the first time ever I don't have masses to say today because I'm exhausted from getting ready for the school fair. I spent the whole morning (from about 7 o'clock) getting everything together and pricing and then a couple of hours setting up this afternoon. Then it was back here to cook supper as Tom was trying to lay paving slabs for our new shed and after supper I just have to put a few finishing touches on things.

So I'll save my energy for all that if you don't mind and just treat you to a few pics of some of the things I'm selling. I meant to take a photo of the table all set up - but guess what - I forgot. Instead here are some of the things on it.

I finally lined the bag and added straps:

here's the other side:

a couple of first dolls for little 'uns:

and just one baby bunting as I ran out of washed fleece for the stuffing:

some hearts filled with balsam fir from Maine. This stuff smells so nice and I'm ever gretaful to Melody who bought some for me and sent it over:

some plant dyed wool:

and some plant dyed and handspun wool:

some brooches and hairclips:

plant dyed silk squares:

and I thought I'd give you a close-up of the angels as I finally hung them up today:

please click on each pic for a bigger view:

There's lots of other stuff too and in the end I ran out of space so all that worrying for nothing eh? Mind you I have another fair the week after so I do need plenty of stock.

I gotta go - supper is beckoning. It's cassoulet with mashed potato incase you're interested and afterwards some of Nigella's brownies. A girl needs to gather all her energy for standing behind a stall all day:

Hope you all have a great weekend ..........................

Some things for the fair

Grrrr - I hate these blooming give-aways. How can I chose one person from all the lovely comments that you left me. Yes, I know I'm supposed to do it randomly but as I wrote everyones names down and re-read the comments I found myself going through each and everyone and saying "oh, I hope she gets it" until in the end I'd wished that all sixty two of you could have an angel each.

Anyway, strips of paper went into the hat and out came: Sue from this blog and you know what I just went over to copy her URL and noticed that she isn't having a great time of late so I hope this will cheer you up a bit Sue. Congratulations. I'll be popping everything in the post asap with a few English sweeties as well.

That bit of excitement over and I can tell you quickly about my week. I did have the most lovely birthday on Sunday. Friends came over for lunch and brought no less than three puddings with them. Of course, I had to try them all - there was the most delicious chocolate mousse which we had with single cream poured over (it cut the richness, honestly); portuguese custard tarts and then tarte tatin. I'm feeling full thinking about it all. The best bit is that it was all made by my girlfriend's husband. He's a whizz in the kitchen that bloke and it's a huge treat to be invited around there for dinner (but a headache when you invite him back). Anyway, we did walk it off afterwards at the St Martin's lantern walk and no we didn't eat a thing that night.

You know a couple of people have commented on my freedom at mentioning how old I am. I noticed that my sister and a friend made a couple of comments like " only 26 today" or "how do you feel about being 46" and as I said to them I am totally happy being 46. I might feel differently when I reach my fifties but I'm OK with my forties - still sounds young to me.

Anyway, I digress as usual. You need some pics to look at. I've sewn two sides of a felted (jumpers) bag:

which needs sewing up and lining yet:

I've done one side of another bag:

can't decide whether to leave it empty under the tree or to add something little. I don't want to make it too busy though.

Then I finally finished off the angels:

I should hang them on a branch for better effect but didn't have the time this morning. Here are a couple of close-ups though:

the ones above are made with cotton doilies.

Then I crocheted a couple of my regular brooches (pattern here) and I had some bits of handmade felt in my stash so I made a few more brooches:

and then inspired by these in the Cath Kidston catalogue I made this very quickly last night:

I'm not quite sure about it though. It needs improving in some way but it was late and as you can see from the thread hanging out at the back I abandoned the project in favour of going to bed. If you want to try something similar the how-to-make this flower is here. I made dandelions for the nature table this way. If you have any bright ideas on how to make this brooch better I'd love to hear them? Should I add a stem as well? Or should I just throw caution to the wind and just copy the whole corsage lock, stock and barrel? Hmmm, I'll need to make the flowers much smaller though. If anyone makes a corsage with the dandelion pattern I'd love to see what you come up with.

Well, I do have to get on now. I have three hours before the children come home and I MUST line that first bag. By the way thank you for the lovely compliments about my children. When it comes to presents and celebrations they do excel themselves. I guess I've instilled in them the importance of giving gifts as well as receiving them. Ever since they were little we've always made things for each other and close family at birthdays and Christmas so it's just what they do now.

Hope you all have a great weekend. It's blooming freezing here but the sky is blue ..................

Happy Birthday to Me

It's my turn now. I have the last birthday in the family but what a great birth date I have. 11.11.61 - it just rolls of the tongue doesn't it and in case you can't be bothered to do the calculation I'm forty-six today. Roll out the banners, lots of cheering and shouting, HOORAY.

I've been feeling a bit queasy the last two days but thankfully I'm fine this morning. It was really strange. Amber and I both had mild stomach cramps and felt sick. She was sick on Friday night but I wasn't. None of the others had it. It was a strange sort of bug but I do feel fine now thank goodness because we're having friends over for lunch and I didn't want to cancel them. We've also got the lantern walk at school later this afternoon so it's going to be a great day.

But back to now. I didn't fancy having a lie in this morning having slept till nine yesterday so I came into my sewing room as Tom and the children scuttled around in the kitchen - the children getting more and more excited. It's so sweet how they make such a fuss of their parents. The last few weekends they've all been beavering away inside and out making things and shouting "don't come in here" or "close your eyes when you come outside". I've had to avert my gaze several times and look through things!

So whilst I waited patiently to be summoned I telephoned my Mum to tell her it was my birthday. That's what usually happens in our family. Your parents never phone you cos they don't know when your birthday is - they don't even know their own birthdays. So you phone and say "Hi, Mum it's my Birthday today" and she says "Oh is it today. Yes, I remember you were born before Christmas and it was snowing. Well, Happy Birthday then." It's so funny - and I only ever get a card if my sister remembers to send it on their behalf and I'll get £10 if I happen to be visiting near the day otherwise they forget again. I don't mind in the slightest by the way. That generation of Indians didn't celebrate birthdays and we grew up not celebrating so I'm just used to it. But guess what everyone in this family more than makes up for it.

So after a lovely breakfast I opened my pressies with eager eyes watching me and this is what I got:

three lovely birthday cards from the children.

a beautiful cotton reel holder made by Rohan (pattern from a Martha Stewart book).

a key holder made by Raj using an old oak floorboard. Boy he worked hard at keeping that secret and nearly blurted it out to me several times.

a gorgeous i-pod cover from Amber. Isn't it lovely? That girl is so creative.

I also got a lovely Moleskine notebook from Tom and a bunch of goodies from the Cath Kidston shop and this lovely book from my sister:

who wrote so aptly that this book was written for me (my collection of Ladybird books is nearing 200 now).

When I manage to prise this out of the children's hands I'll be snuggling up to devour it.

Oh, I do feel spoiled by everyone. So, whilst everyone is clearing up after brekkie I just have a few more moments to celebrate my birthday with you and in true blogging spirit here is my birthday gift to one of you:

it comprises one of my hand crafted angels, some lovely Angie Lewin note cards and a brooch. Here is a close up of the angel which is made from a vintage cotton doilly. It could go on the top of the Christmas tree, be hung over a child's bed or hang over the nativity as ours does:

Anyway, just leave a comment after this post if you want to be in the draw for these bunch of goodies and I'll pull one name out of the proverbial hat later in the week.

As my Dad says when you wish him Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you too (one of the very few English sentences he knows).  Bye guys I'm off to be spoilt a bit more ...................

Better late - thank goodness

I bet you're going to be really surprised to hear that I have a fair in less than three weeks time. Well, I was when Tom announced on Friday night that it really was in THREE weeks time. I guess I've been in denial because I haven't had any impetus to make things this year. I've been telling myself "oh you have plenty of time left" and I wanted Tom to tell me the same but he obviously lives in the world of reality and not 'kid yourself' because he just socked it to me.

I don't know why I haven't been motivated this year. Is it because I'm making the same old stuff or is there something deeper going on. I've been feeling like my feet are in treacle and I just can't move. I've also started feeling menopausal or pre with hot flushes at night, PMT which I never had before and periods that last only two days. I'm wondering if my mood is related to that - this awful 'can't be bothered to push myself'. Well, I've made an appointment to see my Doctor next week a) to find out more about the menopause and b) to see if my mental state is related to it.

Maybe Tom ought to have been a Doctor instead of a Journalist because his words and the amazing weather we had at the weekend actually got me out of my stupor this weekend. I packed some more bags of fibre and then started dyeing what was missing:

I did dome Weld which is the yellow (it was a bit insipid so I bunged in some turmeric). The brown is walnuts (plenty about at the moment). The pinky red is cochineal and the purple felt is logwood whilst the fibre is logwood/cochineal. I still have some indigo to do for some blue and to over dye the yellow. Then I'm pretty much done for this next batch of fibre, felt and blanket.

As I said the weather was so nice and the sky was a clear blue. It was great being outside in the sun and we were kept company by Arthur who decided to explore the cement mixer:

Isn't he a cutie - and pretty huge for six months. By the way do you like my jumper? The children say they can spot me a mile in town or in the playground!

Thankfully the motivation (or panic) continued yesterday and today because I set to work on this lovely lot:

I don't know if you remember them from last year (pic here)? I collect vintage tray cloths or napkins over the year and turn them into little angels. They always do really well at the fair and it's fun making them.

Well, if I carry on at this rate I'll be fine for the next two and a half weeks. Actually I'm not that worried because I do have stock left over from the summer so I know that I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about my general malaise. I would love to hear if anyone is going through something similar? Is it normal? Also does anyone have any tips or advice. Should I cut down on certain foods or take supplements AND tell me how long does this go on for? I didn't think it would happen to me just yet.

I guess you must be wondering how old I am? Well, I'm going to hold off telling you till the weekend because that's when I'll be celebrating. Do come and join my birthday celebrations because I'll have a little birthday treat for you that I'm working on at the moment.

Well, better get on I suppose. The children have just walked in from school and we have thirty minutes before we go off to a piano lesson. Just time to tuck into Amber's hot cross bun loaf - toasted and spread with butter. Recipe here if you want to try it.

Sainsbury's Mag saves the day ............

Boy did I feel like a BIG party pooper yesterday morning. Yep, I really did. You see up till now I've escaped trick or treating - Amber never asked, children never came up to this bit of the village and close friends didn't seem to do it either.

That is until Tuesday night when Rohan came back from school and said the two girls who were visiting their grandmother up the lane had asked if he would do it with them. I guess I wasn't really waiting for this moment cos I wasn't exactly prepared. But I did discover when asked, that I really hate trick or treating. I've only ever opened my door to trick or treaters once when we lived in Letchworth and they were so scarey looking that Amber was terrified for ages. Maybe that's what put me off. Or maybe I'm just a boring old fart.

Anyway, back to Tuesday night and I explained why I didn't like it and poor Rohan just kept saying "it's just a bit of fun Mum, no-one else sees it like you do" and I really felt sorry for him but I just didn't want to say yes. I just don't like the idea of saying to someone give me a sweet or I'll pay a trick on you. So he finally accepted the No and went to bed a sad bunny and I did too.

Next morning I was flicking through the Sainsbury's Magazine that I'd got on impulse on Tuesday and lo and behold there was a big spread on Halloween food. So methinks how do I make it up to the boy and Halloween party came to mind. So I run round town like a headless chicken gathering supplies and wishing that I lived in a bigger town sometimes. But I do buy a pumpkin, some sweets, sausages, apples and other bits and bobs and we have the makings of a small, impromptu party.

I told the children when they came home from school and we went for it. We made toffee apples:

ginger biscuits and iced them:

put up the witch as we do each year and carved our pumpkin:

we roasted the seeds and set the table:

invited some friends over at the last minute and prepared a few games like this one:

and WE HAD SUCH FUN. Especially Rohan who ended up looking like this (one of the so-called friends pushed his face down hard into the flour as he tried to retrieve the walnut):

He looks like he's got a mask on doesn't he? Face went straight into a bucket of water afterwards for apple bobbing and that was a worse sight I can assure you.

Well, the boys went to bed exhausted at 8.30 and I'm pleased to say that Rohan said he'd loved the party. I was knackered but it was a nice sort of knackered and I certainly did not go to bed feeling like a party pooper as I had done the night before. I also thought once again that it's spontaneous things like this that are remembered later and cherished.

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By the way I do not mean to offend anyone who likes trick or treat and happily lets their children do it. Please don't feel you have to justify anything. I'm just sharing what an inflexible old so and so I can be ...........