Craft swap Sunday

 

Several months back I agreed in an enthusiastic manner to take part in a craft swap with some of the lovely talented people I know. Based on some kind of cookie swap that some chums had read about (in a cosy murder novel - who says reading has to be high brow to be worthwhile?), the idea was to make enough of something for everyone else to be able to take one home. So I arrived with 8 little parcels of vegan sloe gin chocolate and left with 8 different things.

Going in a clockwise direction from top right:

• Vegan cheesecake portion
• Italian spice mix
• Little chicken
• Button magnets
• Tea bag folded card
• Lavender heart
• Raspberry jam
• Embellished jar with cutters, ginger and gingerbread recipe

I tried to keep the descriptions above as straightforward as possible because otherwise there was a real chance that there would be massive over use of words like 'darling', 'cute', 'delicious', and so on.

 

The lovely Mrs J hosted and the nine of us had an excellent gossip and drank vast quantities of tea before the swap commenced. It was such a nice way to spend the first Sunday afternoon in January. Not only did it offer something to look forward to post new year but proved to be so inspiring. I got marvellous ideas for things to make from chatting to the others and have found so many things I now want to have a go at making. I suspect this may be a good way to ease into and test out a home made Christmas.

 

I'm already planning for next year and wondering if I should make snowman piñatas or mini gingerbread cottages.

And here's a close up of the saucy looking lady from my ginger jar - just to remind me not to take life too seriously or to always play by the rules.

 

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Say hello to Betty Blue eyes

Once again  I will be spending Friday night ironing and labelling. Then I'll rise early on Saturday to go and sell some stuff. There are 55 stalls so it should be an excellent. I've finished my Christmas shopping so I can focus on selling my handmade items (and a few vintage bits and pieces) and looking for presents for me. Do drop in and say hello if you are in the area.

My weekend - Discovery

A while back I signed up for the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap. It sounded like fun, a reason to do some textile design and stretch my creative muscles. Having signed up, I made a load of notes, drew a few sketches and then did absolutely nothing about it. Fortunately the organisers are excellent a sending timely reminder emails meaning that with ten days to go I was on the case again. The theme was 'discover' and I planned on including a quotation that would form the central theme of he part.

Alas it took me ages to find a quote that wasn't too long, too obscure or too dull. Then it was time rummage through my jars of trimmings and drawers of fabric to put together the design. Which brings us nicely to Friday night. We had guests but that didn't matter a bit when there was sewing to be done. I wasn't moving from my sewing machine until I got it finished and all ready to post to my swap partner in Florida on Saturday (so tied up with in a bundle with some tea bags). If you want see how other people interpreted the theme have a look at the group on Flickr.

I did manage some time away from my desk and out in the fresh air. It's always a pleasure to go out walking with visitors and show off the surrounding countryside.

I also managed to visit a car boot sale and score lots of great stuff for just over a fiver. Of course, I'm now recalling all the stuff I nearly bought but didn't and kicking myself for not getting it. However I an thrilled with my green hoodie, belt, scarf, fan (a spare for burlesque has got to useful), guitar chord book (learn to play a six string is on my 2012 to do list) and straw bag (I've ripped lining out to wash while I repair the straps).

Sunday afternoon has got to win the prize for most relaxing social event of the year or maybe it just seemed thy way after frantic cooking and food prep! A load of us meet up in a park to picnic, gossip and read the paper. Alas I failed to take any photographs of either the event (nicely organised by Carla of Ducking Fabulous) or the food I made (although some it is bound to end up in my lunch box).

As ever the week ahead is busy (and the festivals are getting closer) but I've be making progress with some projects. I opened my Etsy shop today and tomorrow night I have a meeting to discuss plans for an exciting new venture.

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My weekend - emotional brilliance, produce and the princess

Friday night started the weekend off nicely. I went to my local Lush store to get a preview of their new Emotional Brilliance range of make up. I was particularly keen to attend because (leaving my passion for Lush products) I'd been told all the products were vegan (and this was correct). Plus the staff are very lovely people who don't do hard sell. In fact they often seem delightfully surprised when you do want to buy something!

The marketing for range links colours with words and emotions and makes nice use of dry ice and popular psychology. I was slightly surprised when I got to spin the wheel that I didn't choose any shades of green. I was also rather taken with the three emotions that I'd picked (ambition, success, confidence - photo further down of these colours on the wheel).

Anyway marketing aside the products are excellent. Nice packaging which is not excessive and largely recyclable. Limited nasties lurking in said products (including the mascara). Oh and did I mentions it's all vegan?

Based on my experience (leaving Lush, heading home via pub and curry with various friends and then falling into bed without removing make up) it stays on very well but comes off fine with a blob of Almond Oil. Expect to see me wearing very bright red lipstick for the foreseeable future.

Saturday I was on a mission. I needed to finish the Princess and the Pea set I was making for my niece. I obviously subconciously knew from the start that I was going to make loads of mattresses (I'd originally planned to do 6-8). The bag I'd made for it to go in seemed enormous initially but actually doesn't have much space left once you fill it with 1 mini pillow, 1 mini quilt and 14 mini mattresses.

Anyway I thrilled when I finished it right down to checking all the hems and snipping off all the threads.

And it would seem all those hours of toil on the land were worth it. This week from the allotment I bought home Rocket, raspberries, huge peas, rhubarb and a handful of potatoes and onions. I could of had Spinach too but wasn't sure I'd get round to eating it with so much other stuff on offer.

Continuing on a food theme I found some Samphire in a local shop on Saturday. I'd never tried it before (to my knowledge) but for a salt addict like myself it's a dream come true.

I also found time to finish off a couple of novels. I realised a few weeks ago that I'd never read any of the Tarzan novels. So I ordered Tarzan of Apes from the library. It was much better than I expected. Fast moving and quite funny in places. It did have some rather outdated ideas but wasn't as bad as I'd feared. What did annoy me was how Tarzan kept his knife sharp (through. Decade or so of use. It even gets left in the rain and goes rusty). I was willing to go with the plot that had Tarzan teaching himself to read (but not speak English) via an illustrated dictionary. However I couldn't work out how this would enable him to learn write his name. Anyway to will certainly be reading more of this series.

I absolutely devoured Replay by Ken Grimwood. It's the story of a man who dies only to find he is reliving his life over and over again. A really interesting exploration of what choices we would make if we could do things again, if it would make a differences and he restrictions we put on our lives.

So a slightly less packed weekend than usual but one that has left me feeling refreshed and ready for week of sunshine.

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Things I Love Thursday - embracing busy, blind stitching and time out

It's a rainy night, which would be cosy if this wasn't July. I'm seated in one of favourite spots on the basement stairs with a mug of tea reflecting on what makes life worth it this week.

Learning Blind Hem stitch - ages ago I came across this blog post http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/07/blind-hem-stitch-with-a-sewing-machine.html so long ago that I can't even recall how I got to it. So I left it open on a tab with plans to come back to it later. Tonight when I should have been doing something else like bass practice, or balancing bank statements or making more mini mattresses I decided it was the ideal time to try it out. After one false start I got it and actually unpicked the while of the hem I was repairing just because this was so cool.

I'm as ever super busy but I'm in the mood to embrace it this week. I'm coping with life's velocity by not looking down. Do bring on back to back commitments, squeezing the juice out of life and falling into bed exhausted by life.

And if I do pause for breath it'll be for tea (and soup and homemade bread if I'm lucky) at Mimi's. Her flat is an enchanting space that takes me away from the rest of the world. I always feel privileged to be allowed to take some time out for Sunshine Earl Grey and gossip with someone do glamorous and welcoming.

*Dreams of setian and cupcakes *burlesque performance to an audience *plotting with my sister *mango sorbet *the magical combination of tofu, rice and seaweed *a really good stretch

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My weekend - sewing, Chanel and the illusive muse

I don't know about retail therapy but Friday night I engaged in a little online shopping and bought the midorigreen.co.uk domain. I don't have a major plans for it at present. In fact all I've done it put a forward on it to this blog.

Saturday I enjoyed my usual walk. The stream that runs alongside part of th footpath was unsurpringly high and I made it back just before it started raining again.

I spent Saturday afternoon making a Princess and the pea playset as a birthday gift for my niece. I actually found it really hard going. I was originally inspired by various blog posts I'd read about such sets. I pinned a number earlier in the year. Then Mollie Makes put a version on their front cover and I thought I'd have a go at at that version.

What I realised, as I struggled through a mound of limbs, non- fitting doll garments and the feeling I was engaging in some form of voodoo, is that I'm not keen on anything requiring precision. I much prefer to take pieces of fabric and see where they take me. To let them 'talk' to me if that doesn't sound too pretentious. Interestingly there was a post about exactly this feeling on whipup.net. As the post says just because you capable of doing something doesn't mean you should or that it will be creatively satisfying.

The creation of the doll on the right inspired by the sewing in no man's land blog among others was creatively fulfilling.

Sunday morning I got up early in a bid to avoid the rain at my allotment. Alas I got soaked to the skin harvesting raspberries, strawberries and peas. I was surprised to find this hay bale lying the street. Not quite the debris of a Saturday night that one might expect.

I spent the afternoon at a Burlesque class. Early evening I settled down to watch Coco before Chanel. I'd planned to do some hand sewing while I watched but forgot that with subtitles you have to keep your eyes on the screen. It wasn't too much of a hardship though ad it was a great film - really elegant and visually pleasing. It did give me a major urge to sew. Like watching a cookery programme and getting an urge to cook and eat.

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My weekend - but I am a good girl

 

Monday morning greeted me with a headache, knotted stomach and feeling of nausea which is rather annoying as I was the very opposite of a party animal over the weekend.

Saturday the sun shone while I did 8km. Then it was down to some serious time with my sewing machine. I'm doing a stall with Carla from Ducking Fabulous at Barges and Bikes next weekend. Hence I had a load of half completed pieces that I needed to finish in order to sell.

I got more sun and fresh air at my allotment on Sunday morning. I was also really pleased to bring home a couple of boxes of strawberries.

Sunday saw me spend more time sewing. I like doing the construction of pieces like bags but I love doing embellishments and appliqués on them. I sorted the various beads, fabric scraps, ribbons and so on into jars by colour earlier in the year. It was well worth the time as I could easily find what I was looking for when I got creative.

I also found time for some cooking. I made a batch of sultana and carrot muffins for the freezer and adapted last week's beer bread to make a version of Stromboli. The Stromboli is for my lunch and the muffins are for the mornings I don't eat breakfast at home.

So note to self: next weekend party like it's 1999 and see if Monday dawns with that fresh-as-a-daisy feeling.

 

 

My weekend - it's (almost) all about food

After last week and the various things going on in my life I knew I would really appreciate my weekend.

I kicked things off by buying loads of good food on Friday. I think the guy on the market was a bit distracted as I only realised that I had no peppers when I was deciding on pizza toppings.

Saturday I went out first thing and got some fresh air while walking 8km. Then I popped into the library to return a book and came out with a load more. I love having a pile of free reading materials to dip into.

I was expecting to perform some burlesque pieces at a carnival late afternoon. First my lift dropped out and then, while I pondered if I should drive myself and where I should park, the whole thing was pulled due to the weather. So I took the opportunity to make another huge chunk of patchwork.

I got my burlesque dose on Saturday night, by watching some burlesque programmes I'd recorded on Sky, while I did some knitting.

Sunday I made a good start on the day by making a nut and bean loaf and beer bread. I'd hoped for lots of produce from my allotment but the weather seems to be taking it toll. I was sad to see lots of unripe strawberries knocked off the plants by heavy rain. The rocket and spinach are still doing well though and I'm hoping the beans will do ok.

The rest of the day was all about food and sewing.

I enjoyed a big brunch before going through the sewing projects that I could easily complete in the next week. Then I ordered some midorigreen mini cards from Moo. It'll be great to be able to give them to people when I tell them about my blogging and Twitter activities.

 

Then I enjoyed an awesome plate of food while watching some daft programme about aliens. I'm really inspired by some of the blogs I read that have fantastic looking food. At present I'm really enjoying Keeping healthy, getting stylish. She has some really tasty, healthy, fresh looking food for me to aspire to.

Looking back on the weekend I want to make bread more often, keep eating lots of fresh stuff, get exercise and keep sewing. That's how to recharge my batteries and keep living life.

 

Things I love Thursday -friends and fabric

It's not been a very jolly week so it seemed even more vital that I take some time out on a Thursday evening to celebrate the things in my life that are good.

• Memories of sunny days without worries
• Lovely evenings at Mimi's eating, drinking tea and chatting before dashing to Burlesque class
  

• This glorious under bust corset in my favourite colour
  
• Making plans with friends
• Green dresses, especially my new lace one
• A belt that goes with everything
• Hours of patchwork creation
• A floor coveted with fabric scraps
• A pin board covered with sewing ideas
• Getting inspiration from Mollie Makes magazine -almost tempted into a subscription but happily I can't decide between print and virtual
• Cheery emails from chums
• booking tickets to see Alice Cooper in October
• crafting plans for the weekend

My weekend - Jubilee, patchwork and ladies of leisure

Who doesn't love the prospect of 4 days off work? The buzz surrounding the Jubilee has made it almost like having a second Christmas this year. Shoppers in the town centre on Friday were buying as if their lives depended on it. I've been getting a kick out of seeing red,white and blue decorations everywhere and have decided that bunting is the new tinsel.

It's particularly lovely to have 4 days to do my usual weekend stuff in. Particularly as I have suddenly become inspired by creating squares of patchwork using my sewing machine. It's still towards the crazy end. Let's face it I'm never going to be the quilting type who buys specific fabric and uses a rotary cutter for precision. However I was inspired by a blog post I read (can't recall where so let me know if you recognise it) where some made a patchwork quilt for their dad in blues because he likes the sea.

This far I'm liking the way different colours and textures sit together and how it allows me to use up bits of fabric too small for anything really useful. My piece has actually grown rather substantially since I took this photo.

Sunday I partook of some vegan Jubilee themed baking. I still can't seem to get buttercream icing to set when I use Pure margarine so had to resort to a ring of blue icing to keep the out of control buttercream in place.

Then I spend several delightful hours being worn out by my niece while her parents went to watch Jubilee celebrations on the Thames get soaked to the skin while attempting to enjoy themselves. I really don't know how parents and carers keep it up day after day. I actually took a book with me in case I had some spare time! I took home a lovely thank you from my niece (now displayed over my bass amp next to a picture of Nikki Sixx) and slept soundly.

 

Today I've been allotmenting, spending hours enjoying the calm state that patchwork brings and making a stick from the garden glittery. I'm taking part in a Jubilee show tomorrow with my burlesque troupe and one routine requires a hat and cane.

 

It's being busy great! Maybe the secret to a long and happy reign life is to keep busy or as my late grandmother would have put it - 'I wasn't meant to be a lady of leisure'. My cat would clearly disagree.

 

My weekend - higher heels, slower life

So as ever it was not the quietest of weekends for me. In fact I was on the go from Wednesday morning until Sunday afternoon with work, burlesque classes, London Vegan Drinks and a friend visiting.

Saturday afternoon I spent trawling charity shop. I offered to help a friend sort out a costume for an event later in the year and refashioning is easier than from scratch - especially when one is pressed for time! I did pick up a couple of pairs of high heels for me. Mainly for a burlesque but wondering if my life might slow down if my heels were higher.

Weekend antics *giving a 'how to make vegan pasta from scratch' demo * harvesting fresh spinach and rocket *walks in the fresh air *making caramel apple flapjacks *footsoaks *crazy patchwork progress

My weekend - stuffed to the seams

My weekend was a splendid thing. I stuffed it to the straining seams with activities.

Inspired by Zoe at Conversation Pieces I had a crack at a vegan version of her Aero tray bake. Basically I replaced the butter with maragarine, swapped white chocolate for dark and left out the aero bar. It turned our delicious and sugar passed enough to remind me that I do best with it in small quantities. I still need to work on this as the base is a little too firm and the toppings rather sticky. That said from the fridge to a plate it looks good and tastes great.

I finally got round to downloading a timer app to iPad which means with some pillows for propping and a bit of practice I can do outfit photos without having to involve either another person or a mirror. The rather unflattering photo above is intended to show of a dress I'd been hard at work on rather than showcase my huge calves!

The history of this dress is that it started life as a curtain in my Grandmother's house. When we cleared it out I snaffled it. At the time I was a bit obsessed with wrap dresses and tops and clothing made without patterns. So I cobbled together a long sleeveless wrap top and wore it the pub an hour later. That was about 5 years ago and in the intervening period I've worn the top, unfinished seams and all to a whole number of places including a retirement party and a Japanese embassy reception. This Saturday I got the urge to finally sort all the things that had been bugging me about it (wrong length, one tie scratchy hat ribbon, hems unfinished). So I practiced doing French hems on a couple of inserts to add length, hemmed every raw edge in sight and swapped the scratchy ribbon. I thinks it's glinting to look great with green sequin shoes this summer.

Other weekend antics *starting a new dance class and being so inspired and excited I had to practice when I got home *spotting the first signs of new crops on my allotment *reading a combination of The Music Instinct (heavy going), H.P. Lovecraft (very odd dreams) and My Last Duchess (surprisingly compelling) *early starts to get the most out of the day

My weekend - and more

I lead a very full life. In other words I'm a busy person. In an average week I need to fit in two nights of band practice, a night at Burlesque class, an allotment session, a five mile walk, Bass practice, Codecademy and dinner and sleeping are kind of fun.

Once a month I like to make my more difficult by adding London Vegan Drinks into the mix! And since I was going to London I decided it was about time I visited Vx. Wow talk about junk food heaven! I indulged in a hot dog, ice cream and a slice of cake AND took a bag of goodies away. Then I headed to LVD for vegan chatter (favourite tv shows, why everyone famous lives in Clapham and how listening to audiobooks improves verbal communication) and a plate of good as ever Tibits food.

The rest of my weekend didn't slow down much!

Weekend antics -*lunch with parents with lots of tea *getting to grips with zips, linings and my sewing machine *a mini wardrobe clear out *digging in the fresh air *a hilarious and liberating Burlesque workshop *my first attempt at no bake peanut butter balls *finally solving a Codecademy exercise that has perplexed me for days * the parking gods smiling on me *finally starting to watch The Walking Dead -awesome!

My weekend - one eye on the muse

I had a very busy and exhausting week so I was really looking forward to the weekend to get my head back together and catch up on sleep, household affairs and emails.

I made a really early start on Saturday so I was awesomely ahead of schedule all day. It was great to get some more work done on my sewing pile and feel relaxed enough to stop when the muse began to get a bit weary! Always quit when your muse is tired, if you're lucky she might get a second wind following a cup of tea! If not life is just full of things to be done.

Weekend antics - *sleeping with a hot water bottle; the ultimate cheap luxury *a Phil Rickman novel just begging to be read *clean bed linen *really hot tea *my allotment being almost ready for spring

My weekend - the end of sobriety?

 The quality of this photo isn't great but I like that it has lots of green in it. Additionally my home desk is a place I spent a chunk of the weekend partly because the weather reduced outdoor activities but also because I really wanted to get up to date with the codecademy courses and projects.

 

This weekend was also my first after sobriety January. I really enjoyed a month of sobriety. My energy levels were consistently good and I felt cheerful. In fact I think it might have been my least blue January ever! And how was my return to the demon drink? Well Friday night I had no urge to have a drink. So I didn't. Saturday I had a glass of wine and felt sleepy so I switched to water. Who knows where things will go from here?

 

Other weekend fun: walking in the frozen world *buttercream icing that just keep consuming icing sugar and wouldn't set *reading The faith instinct by Nicholas Wade - the concept of religion is fascinating as is this book *facepack Friday *homemade vegan pizza with mushrooms, sweetcorn, cheese, chillies, pineapple and basil leaves *completion of 3 items on my sewing pile *that cool programme about vegetable based food on Radio 4 (plus the heads up from a friend and iPad app that allowed me to listen to it) *mushrooms, tofu and potatoes in miso gravy -mmmm! *bass practice 6 minutes a a time *the joys of long thermals as loungewear *more cupboard clear outs - anyone for some decaying swim hats?

My weekend - changing the world one shelf at a time

Before - what was my obsession with Clinique boxes?

 After - a slimmed down shelf but I bet there's more here to ditch!

 I had a real clear out thing going on over the weekend. I'd been rearranging a shelf and then wonder why I was even keeping the stuff I was rearranging. So a busy weekend even if things didn't turn out quite the way I expected. You live and learn.

 

*made chilli chocolate cupcakes* put a Supernatural poster* did a lovely 8km walk in the fresh, cold air*watched Sherlock and speculated on how he survived* caught up with various bank statements* worked on codecademy lessons* played Angry Birds* spent a morning weeding and digging my allotment * finished Case studies by Kate Atkinson - loved the ending - so happy, so unexpected, so right* worked on learning the main riff from Living' on a prayer - I've still got a long way to go* watched The King's Speech and enjoyed it Erne than I expected* finished knitting a dishcloth I started about 5 years a go - something else that needs some practice*cleared out various cupboards but there always seem to be more to do

My weekends currently leave me ready to face the week ahead and ready for another weekend of shelf clearing

 

Things I Love Thursday - good health, a stitch in time and London vegan drinks

It's that time of the week again. Time to carry on with what Gala Darling started and be thankful for all the good stuff that's in my world. I am, of course, capable of being grateful by myself but a little inspiration never went amiss.


First up has to be my health. After last week's cold I'm so happy to be feeling myself again. It's so true that you don't miss what you had until it's gone so I'm making an extra effort not to put to much strain on my body and to be good it. I've clearly been doing soemthing right as during a check up the other day I discovered that not only is my blood pressure about the best it's ever been but apparently I've lost a stone since last December. I did my clothes were getting a bit loose, however I think this is the result of swapping cups of tea for glasses of wine on a regular basis giving me a clearer head, more energy and less drunken junk food nibbling. Let's here it for tea and health.


I usually like to set aside Saturday afternoon's to indulge in a spot of sewing  but mine have all been so busy of late. However the urge to get some stuff moving through my sewing pile just wouldn't shift. Happily I've discovered that if I do a tiny bit of preparation in advance and leave the sewing machine out  and threaded that I can easily manage 20 minutes when  I get home from work. I've just got squeeze all the clothes I've altered or repaired back in my wardrobe now.


Thirdly I've very excited at the London Vegan Drinks meet up taking place next Thursday. I don't think anyone else I know is a vegan and I've been thinking it would be cool to meet some people who share my lifestyle choices. Plus Tibits is on my list of places I want to visit (but am unlikely to).


Other stuff - tea made in a proper tea pot, the heating going on at work, weekend plans, unbroken nights, making music, @markdavidson, 93 days to Christmas, wonderful friends.

But do I actually wear it?

I was rather taken with the post over at House of Mirth asking sewers if they wore what they made.

It’s unusual for me not to be wearing something that I either made or altered in some way. However I must confess things don’t’ always go according to plan.

I make from fabric I have in my stash or buy up roll ends. Consequently I tend to think what a piece of fabric could become rather than what gaps I have in my wardrobe that need filling. So it was only as I began to turn a long pink skirt into a short wrap skirt with frills that I stopped to think that I rarely wear pink or frills and consequently a great deal of future wear seemed unlikely.

I get carried away. I don’t very often follow patterns. I think I’ve been influenced by the punk school of clothing construction and refashioning. After all if it doesn’t work out I can always make it into something else. Even if I start off following a pattern I’ll add some twist to it. Which is great. When it works out. Otherwise it goes back in the stash until I can face solving whatever problems my embellishments have created.

I can’t wait to wear my creation. So rather than do the prep and then leave it until I have time to work on it more I rush through bodging bits right, left and centre and then having to find a way to cover them up. So lots of unpicking, refitting and extra work.

Looking on the bright side:

No piece of fabric is wasted. Really ugly stuff lines bags. Scraps join crazy patchwork or get plaited.

If I find something that works I’ll make it again and again.

I’ve started to see that less is more when it comes to alterations.

I’m intending to work through my stash and unfinished projects this year doing a little every weekend.