Oxford...

Just when I had been craving cultural input we get the chance to go to two venues in one week. Yesterday all four of us, plus E's friend, went to Salts Mill near Bradford. It was a treat to see some Hockney work even if it was mainly iPad portraits (and despite the fact that he's not one of my favourite artists).

Today I visited Oxford. it was a tag along arrangement. M was working in the magistrates court all morning and I had three glorious hours to wander. I know all the nooks and crannies, I know all the parks like the back of my hand. I know how to avoid tourists, and boy, there were hundreds there today. I've been to the museums many times over. Today I pretended I was a tourist. It was great. I obviously didn't convince anyone though and got stopped four times for directions. It was just like the good old days when I lived there.

Nothing much has changed. The Covered Market is pretty much the same. It was the right day for the Gloucester Green market. The little side streets with interesting shops haven't changed much either, and thankfully the Natural History Museum hasn't changed. It's still fabulous. There were quite a lot of small children clutching Easter Egg Hunt sheets today and the older children were concentrating on a Dinosaur trail. It took me right back. E loved the place when she was small but wasn't so keen on the Pitt Rivers, which is the bit I was most interested in today. Having had a recent binge on Westerns it got me thinking about all the fabulous beadwork, textiles, clothing and so on associated with Native American Indians. It was hard to take photographs because it has to be fairly dark in there to preserve the artifacts.

M finished a bit early and we had time to sit in an outdoor cafe and watch the world go by. It was so warm I've even caught the sun! There will be further work at this court on the same case. I'll be tagging along again.

A quilted mat...

Phew. Finished! Very glad I stuck with it too. I learnt a lot. The trickiest part was as I feared; the edging. It required creating a long strip with folded down sides and it was a bit of a nightmare. It wasn't difficult doing the hem stitch on the back but the corners are a bit dodgy. The next time I do something like this I think I'll try a different method of edging or a pre creased bias binding.

I learnt that pre printed triangles are a faff. I think I will stick to squares next time. I learnt that sewing through two layers of cotton and some wadding wasn't as difficult as it sounded. I learnt that hand sewing isn't too tough on my hands and I can't work out why knitting causes pain after a few rows. I learnt that I have more patience now that the children are older. I'm no longer afraid to start something while they are in the house in case I'm needed to entertain them. It's a milestone.

I'm feeling quite enthusiastic about using up some of my fabric supplies now. I know it will feel so much better having the fabric turned into useful things rather than folded up in a cupboard for a rainy day.

Patchwork...

It's a soggy day here in Lincolnshire. The dogs and I have been for a very muddy walk across the fields, followed by a quick dip in the stream. The dogs are literally steaming next to the radiator in the kitchen and the aroma is less than fragrant.

With everyone else out of the house I decided to bite the bullet and pull open the doors to my fabric cupboard. It isn't as plentiful as my wool stash but it's probably got everything I need to try a little patchwork.

I pulled out a few blues, plenty of denim and some linen coloured remnants. I must admit that the sight of material that Nan passed on to me is always emotional. I've Nan to thank for the florals in this selection which will contrast nicely with the denim and stripes.

So... I looked at this pile for a little while and then I realised that I really need to ease myself gently into this 'new to me' craft. I dont want to use the good stuff until I know what I'm doing. I dug a bit further into this narrow but deep cupboard and located the box containing the Klutz book; Quilting. Klutz is how I learnt to knit and also provided the simple projects when I was learning to crochet.

As you can see in the top picture this book comes with lots of bits and pieces; fabric for three projects or more if you choose the smaller items. Cotton, pins, thimble, scoring tool, needles, templates, binding and wadding.

As well as some half finished patchwork panels I also found these leftover or sample hexagons cut out and paper pieced by Nan. I've put a thimble in this picture to show how small they are. Tiny! I definitely will not have the patience or the skill to sew pieces that small. I will, however, try to incorporate them all into a small panel for a pincushion or hotpad or something.

Just look at these 'cathedral window' panels Nan made. Wow. Looks extremely complicated and fiddly. The square one I can make into a small cushion.

I'm starting at the very beginning using squares and hand sewing them into strips and so on. I'm loving this scoring tool (more familiar to me through use with paper) it flattens the seams which means I don't have to get the iron out. Genius.

The colours are a bit bright for my taste and whatever I make this square panel into it will need to be hidden in a drawer when not in use but it will be a good introduction to the parts I'm most unsure of, namely wadding, quilting and edging.

Modern Rustic...

Another school holiday has crept up on me. I could have sworn I had another week of peace and quiet. Oh well. There was only one thing for it... stock up on inspirational reading matter. I just love this latest offering from Country Living. Modern Rustic. I think I've always been a fan but never realised it had a name. 

It's a thick publication and costs a little over twice what the magazine costs but it's jam packed with photographs to inspire. M has already spotted a rustic chandelier (of all things) that looks like it's made out of old chair legs. Perfect project for our mountain of odd chairs in his workshop.

Plenty of kitchen ideas. Not that we need ideas (no, we need action!). On the spur of the moment last week I got a bit fed up with having four cupboard doors cluttering up the place and decided to fit them myself. How complicated can it be I thought...a little as it turns out. I was pretty chuffed when I worked out how to use M's complicated looking drill. So much quicker after that, though Riley was not very impressed with the noise.

Bit of a dark photo because it's rather overcast today but you can just about see the almost finished cupboard. The handles were salvaged from our old kitchen, the hinges were a bulk buy on the internet (very cheap). The wood was completely free except for the worktop timbers which are hundred year old roofing timbers from an old theatre. It all needs more sanding down and several coats of wax, but in the meantime it feels rather civilised. Doors that open and close! What a novelty!

An urge to quilt...

I do declare that twenty five pence is my new favourite sum of money to part with for a novel. I shudder to think of the amounts wasted even when purchasing books at three for £7 or three for £5. It seems I'm getting more thrifty with time.

There is little danger of running out of reading matter. Let's just say I have a few put by for a rainy day. I rarely even notice a new release by an author since I do all my browsing in charity shops. I did, however, notice this new book; The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier having read quite a few by her and catching the end of a TV interview with her a little while ago. I waited patiently for the new release to start appearing in charity shops and I didn't have to wait very long. I've just finished it and it was a nice light read filled with references to quilt making. The author herself decided to learn how to make quilts as part of her research for the book. I think it might just be the push I need to start turning all of M's old shirts into small hexagons.

I've done a bit of research on paper piecing type patchwork and it doesn't look too complicated. I'm pretty sure I could do all the patchwork parts but I don't think I would be very skilled at turning it into a quilt afterwards, that's backing, wadding and binding. Yikes. I could always enlist some help I guess.

I love the quilt pictured on the inside front cover. Not a flower in sight and my kind of colour scheme. As far as I understand this quilt can be seen in The American Museum in Bath. Bit of a long way to go for a day trip for us but it's on my wish list.

I'm sitting here smelling absolutely divine and with a large scented candle to light this evening too. The best Mother's Day present however, was the huge hug J gave me this morning when it had actually escaped my memory what day it was. Naturally cricket features somewhere every weekend and today is no exception. J is attending a county training session. Later E and a friend will be taken to Manchester for a YM@6 concert. I will light my candle and watch the Western I have saved for the occasion.

In the middle of all this we will be visiting my Mother for a Mother's Day dinner. Home cooking is a big treat, unless you are a Mother like me, who loathes cooking, your Mother's cooking is like no other. My earliest memories include the little bags of homemade fudge Mum used to make, which were far too precious and tasty to share with anyone. My brother and I would grab them and run, finding a hidey hole somewhere where we could watch each other's faces as we tried to eat slowly so as to make it last longer. We laugh about the time Mum boiled dry a tinned chocolate pudding which exploded all over the kitchen ceiling and we occasionally dare to mention the fact that Dad was never very keen on fish with sauce, but those occasions aside, we were very lucky indeed.

Not a day goes by without thinking of my Grandmother. I cry as easily as I did when she died and I guess that's because she was incredibly special. Nan, wherever you are, Happy Mother's Day xxx

Peaceful Friday...

Funnily enough this hexagon blanket project is my fall back plan for when I don't really feel like crochet. Doesn't make much sense that does it? Today is one of those days. At 100 hexagons I reckon I'm about half way.

It seems to be all go here at the moment. Winter cricket training is gradually merging into the start of the cricket season and this year looks set to be pretty complicated. Two children playing for their county teams, who are also playing for local clubs and this year J has been invited to play men's cricket at a different club, and E has also been invited to play for a ladies team. There are bound to be clashes of course and I probably need something like a spreadsheet to work it all out. County matches will take priority and we'll take it from there.

We will of course need to buy a whole load more equipment for outdoor cricket. J has gone up a shoe size and a half, so that's new spikes on the list. He's grown a few inches too so his pads don't fit anymore, nor his trousers. His training shirt is barely covering his belly button which means his match shirt will probably be the same. April could be an expensive month.

Meanwhile, I am trying to lengthen my dog walking distance every day in the hope that I will be fairly fit for the cricket season myself. I finally plucked up the courage last year to play a couple of matches and didn't make a prat of myself so this year I'm playing the whole season.

The dogs are benefitting enormously...I wear them out and they spend the afternoon snoring away!

Kendal and Kipling...

One of the perks of M's job (and also the downside according to him) is working all over the country. This week he was called to a police job in Kendal and I decided to go along for the ride; the 'Gateway to the Lake District' according to signs on the way. It was also the cliff-side ride of a lifetime. There was just a low dry stone wall between us and a sheer one hundred foot drop the way M decided to approach Kendal. I leaned in, because as we all know that makes a lot of difference!

I had a pleasant half a day wandering round Kendal. I think most towns in Cumbria are dog friendly and I knew that already but it was the first thing I noticed; lots of dogs welcome inside shops, drinking bowls outside for them.

I took these snaps from a moving car. It was a business trip so we didn't have time to pull over just for blog pics! I'm quite surprised they worked at all.

Thos storm clouds soon passed. Sights like this please me a great deal. I really do miss hills now that I live in Lincolnshire.

Kendal had more than its fair share of shops for walkers but it was also well served with charity shops. I didn't buy much but I was obviously in the mood for a bit of Kipling. I read the poem 'If' to M on the way home and managed to get choked up over the last line. I'm sure it's just because J has now overtaken me height-wise and it really feels like my boy is rapidly turning into a man. Pretty good poetry though and there was a bit of my home county of Sussex in there too.

I couldn't leave Kendal without the famous Mint Cake.

My other charity shop purchases matched the mint cake wrapper...

Must be a hippy at heart, I've always loved tie dye.

Marks and Spencer's cotton jumper. Very soft. Think this will get a lot of use... And finally...another mug for the collection (M wasn't very impressed with this one but E has a soft spot for elephants)...

I had change from a tenner and that included four small slabs of mint cake.

If

By Rudyard Kipling

(‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)