>Wish list
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In preparation for our impending move, we have adopted a “10% out” policy to try and avoid shifting a lot of stuff we don’t need to our new home. The idea is that rather than taking on whole rooms with a vague ‘we need to get rid of stuff’ idea, we look at categories of stuff, e.g. fiction books, clothes, cooking equipment etc. and try to find 10% of each category that we can sell, give away, donate to charity, recycle or otherwise shed from our lives. It’s amazing how easily this can be done once you get going, and often we’ve found ourselves ditching a lot more than 10%.
Obviously, while we’re going through this, the idea isn’t really to acquire more stuff, however desirable. That said, just wanted to share a couple of bookshelf treasures I very much covet at the moment.
I love Anna Maria Horner’s fabrics, although I’ve yet to find a project to justify getting some (maybe if baby #2 is a girl?). Her new book Handmade Beginnings looks heavenly though, and could be just the thing to tempt me into more sewing adventures to build on my limited experience. Read a really interesting interview with Anna Maria on the Sew Liberated blog.
I saw the author of The Italian Cookery Course on a TV cooking programme recently and my ears pricked up. It seems that this hefty tome is meant to be a step-by-step guide to authentic Italian cooking. I love Italian food, for its flavours and the way recipes tend to use a relatively small number of high quality ingredients. However, beyond tomato sauce, pizza and pesto I don’t really have a repetoire of dishes I can make. I bought book of Italian recipes with vouchers earlier this year, but it was a bit of a let down to be honest. This one looks far more promising, and having recently watched Julie and Julia on DVD I’m rather taken with the idea of working my way through the fundamentals of Italian cuisine. And yes, I know this sounds a bit crazy coming from a very pregnant mother of a toddler, but what could be more authentic than filling my kitchen with the scent of basil, tomatoes, garlic etc. with two bambinos running around my feet?!?
>Eating yarn
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It has to be said that 3rd trimester fatigue, completing the final essay of a qualification I’ve been working towards forever it seems, house move preparation and so on and so on, I haven’t been doing so much crafting recently. Writing this I realise how much I’m missing it, so maybe I need to get a proper project on the go soon. However, I am creating at the moment, and somewhat against the clock as it’s a gift for someone. I made my first ‘granny’ blanket a few years ago and even though this is my fourth, I’m always amazed all over again at just how much yarn crochet blankets eat! Having exhausted all the suitable colours in my stash, I bought in some King Cole DK, mainly because I liked the colour choice. It’s super cheap, especially for pure wool, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and feel of it. I might even try it for one of the cardigans I want to make, as being superwash it would have a fighting chance of surviving my haphazard washing habits, unlike some past projects!
>Sunshine
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According to the weather forecast, it’s not going to last much beyond the weekend, but the last couple of days we’ve seen, and felt, some proper sunshine. Yesterday we headed down to visit Great-grandparents by the seaside, the long and rather hot car journey giving the boy a chance to develop his own unique brand of summer style.
Today we stayed closer to home, with ‘him indoors’ chipping away at the heap of packing we need to do over the next few weeks. As the cloudless skies carried on into the afternoon we all decamped to a sun soaked garden and Penelope the chicken got a thorough house clean. Above is the view from my deckchair- yes, the small hillock my hand is resting on is in fact the ever expanding bump, which goes some way to explain why I was in the deckchair doing crochet, instead of helping out!
>On our doorstep
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Our family has been on quite a long journey this year, both literally and metaphorically. The road has been pretty rocky for one reason or another, and we still have just a few more steps before we feel like we’re really settled again. In a lot of ways I’m grateful for the fact that we’ve just made it through some testing times, and as previous entries will testify, we are now privileged to live within reach of some fantastic places. However, I can’t say I’m always very fair to the immediate area around where we live. It is a looooong way from pretty much anywhere, which means its an even longer way from family and friends. It’s also somewhat less attractive than the natural splendour of the scenery up the road. But lately I’ve realised that I’m not really being fair to the place, not giving it a chance to be lovely because I’m too busy thinking of what it isn’t. Here’s an example- a Sunday afternoon full of sunshine, and with a ten minute car journey we can fill the hour before tea time playing on a huge clean stretch of sand, surrounded by dunes and overlooked by those magnificent hills. Sometimes you just have to appreciate what’s right under your nose.
>Learning at all ages
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Note the label on the jar of Rhubarb and Ginger jam we were given today. How did my sister know it had 55 airmiles on it? Because she actually flew those 55 miles across the county to give it to us. Okay, not just to give us jam, but because her other half has learned to fly small planes as a hobby. And he’s already a train driver- what a ‘Boys Own’ dream eh? I think a certain little man who seems intent on fulfilling the cliche that boys love all types of transport will be a bit of a fan when he’s older!
Speaking of that little man, I am revelling in being a proud mummy today. We knew he was very dextrous, but given that he loves to be on the move all the time, it can be surprising how he can be still, concentrate and persevere. At a bit of a loss this afternoon, after our trip to the airfield, I grabbed these beads, sat with him on the sofa and showed him how to thread them. He watched, he attempted to copy but kept pulling the cord back out, tried a few more times and boom! after about ten minutes he had it! Lots of cheers and kisses followed, and soon he was threading up bead after bead, demanding a kiss for each one. Even when he struggled, he kept trying, working out which hand was best to use, adjusting his grip on the cord or the bead. Sorry to gush- I’ve no idea whether this is impressive or not for his age, but I’m very proud all the same!
>This Moment
>{this moment}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
inspired by Amanda Blake Soule
>Hatched #2
>More happy news, as my pal Kate (friend since I was three! That’s a lot more years than I care to mention!) has had her second little girl. All is safe and well and I got to send off another project I’d been working on. For the new arrival I was a bit uninspired about making something, so I got this instead, because I’ve always thought they were kind of cool. However, I also thought the newly minted ‘big sister’ needed a treat, so I got a t-shirt, also from Green Baby, then cut out some letters from scrap fabric and ironed them onto interfacing:
I pinned them in place (ooh, fiddly! Many pricked fingers!):
I over-stitched the letters by hand, et voila!, personalised ‘Ra-Ra! Big Sister!’ t-shirt.
Excuse the mood lighting in the photos- cutting, ironing, pinning and stitching just don’t mix with a nearly-two year old, so it was all done in a couple of evenings.