pandora pocket

Liberty

I knew it would be a good idea to meet Julie in Liberty. The plan was to hand over the newly stitched bedding set and cushion for Joseph over coffee and a bacon sandwich in the lovely tearoom there. I had neglected to mention that there was a sale on and within ten minutes of the doors opening one of us had a new pair of shoes and jacket and the other had a bundle of fabric wrestled from the old ladies frantically rummaging at the remnants table.

 

Julie even had time to point out a fantastic book that she thought I might need, which of course I did. Not only are the images in this book a fantastic inspiration but I have loved reading about the history of my favourite shop. Written by Anna Buruma who is the archivist at Liberty, Liberty & Co. in the Fifties and Sixties: A Taste for Design is definitely a new favourite.

 

I love this post by Nikalas Catlow about children's book illustrators; especially the envelopes by Satoshi Kitamura.

another weekend not sewing

  

Huts for the fishing nets in Hastings, delicious local seafood, Winchelsea beach, Camber sands and Bodium Castle - a haunt from my childhood days where Sir Edward Dalyngrigge was granted a license to crenellate after pillaging a fortune in the Hundred Years War. License to crenellate is a bit like planning permission. The crenel is the lowered part of a fortified wall for arrows to be fired from and the raised part of the wall is the merlon.

Weekend not sewing

 

Five delicious courses of rabbit, fish soup, kolrobie, mackerel and strawberry parfait at River Cottage.

 

Lemurs at Monkey World.

 

A stormy night giving way to a beautifully calm, sunny morning for DD to compete in the Weymouth half iron man.

We stayed here and it was lovely - I like a b&b you can only access via a clifftop dirt track with grass growing up the middle.

Good luck today Donny.

Weekend Sewing - part ii

A weekend of sewing turned into a whole week of sewing. Curtains, 3 quilts, a duvet set for Joseph, a matching birthday set for brother and sister and a black and white soft book for Merlin...

 

I am on fire (or maybe I just need to get out more).

 

Although despite having made a sizeable dent in the pile of things to do, there are still some big piles of stuff in the kitchen which need to disappear.

If you are inspired by other people's houses Design Sponge is doing a whole week of sneak peeks, although this one from a month ago is still one of my favourites.

Weekend Sewing

 

Inchmark blogged about the new book by Heather Ross a little while ago and it immediately found it's way to the top of my Amazon wishlist. Bizarrely, as I bought it and sent it to Josie for her birthday present she was buying it and sending it to me for mine. Weekend Sewing is styled so beautifully with such lovely pictures and easy to follow instructions; there is the odd recipe thrown in for good measure which look simple and delicious; and the opening chapter about how to set up a compact sewing area in a small flat could have been written specifically for me as I lose my sewing room to Merlin (sadly I couldn't convince DD to let me install a big cupboard in the living room full of fabrics and notions).

Time for a transatlantic craft off? I'm thinking of starting with the patchwork trimmed baby blanket, followed closely by a pair of guest room slippers. Although this weekend's sewing (at the kitchen table) mainly involves blackout lining, some polka dot corduroy and a pair of brown 1970s Miffy curtains I bought a while ago on ebay and just found again.

Le weekend

A crazy kids weekend, starting with Henry driving Poppa in the plastic tent car through the snowy Alps...

 

... and maybe taking those Alpine hairpin bends a little too fast whilst driving with Nana.

 

Following which I was invited to my fairy goddaughter's fifth birthday party, to face paint about 30 manic fairies, elves and Superman in their magical mushroom strewn dingly dell.

 

Sunday I rested, with a ball of Debbie Bliss cashmerino and the Spanish Grand Prix.

Energy: High

 

This morning was all about knitting, waxing and snack preparation: Delia's energy bars, Nigella's rainy day biscuits, Josie's granola and Donna Hay's spinach and feta parcels (I was hungry after all that knitting and waxing).

  

This afternoon was all about storage solutions (and a sugar rush). Drawers and changing table painted, shelves in Merlin's room painted, a necessary treat from Muji online and the shelves in the living room stacked - with favourite old books and a couple of brand new birthday books. I might post about those another day as the sugar has worn off and I need a lie down.

 

 

Yellow roses remind me of Wolfgang Tillmans - the first ever photographer to win the Turner prize and my personal favourite of the four that year (2000). Yellow roses are also a symbol of friendship, which is most appropriate as these were a gift from my dear friend Caroline as she leaves London for a new adventure in Birmingham. Yellow roses will now always remind me of both Wolfgang and Caroline.

 

My birthday weekend last weekend was lots of fun. Chez Bruce, pancakes and champagne in bed, chocolate cake and contractions (Lisette) in Richmond Park, London marathon (David), and a rat in the toilet.

Circus Violet and the Gang - new prints and ceramics by Camilla Engman.

To Do List

 

Sewing was not on my to do list for today, although these three inherited unfinished dresses, very elasticated skirt for me and new quilt were all in the general pile of sewing projects that I managed to unearth in the number one to do for today - clear out the craft room. Sewing in the sunshine is much more fun than moving stacks of fabric, painting the last wall of the living room or going to Sainsburys. It's far too late in the day to start any of those now; I might do some more sewing instead...

I can't decide between Coolicon, Battersea or Cafe lightshades.

Watergate Bay

 

I think the sandcastle building was more about the competitive dads and the paddling was definitely about the cold. Jamie Oliver's Fifteen was fantastic and delicious and the old school rave back at the Blue House afterwards was I'm sure a rare treat for the neighbours. All in all a fantastic weekend - Happy 40th Paul, Ru, John and Chris.

Josie is giving away prizes all week.