Yuck, chicken!

It has become the stuff of legend in our house that, when the lovely boyf goes on his annual January trip to California (or, as is the case this year, Florida), those of us left behind fall foul to illness, accidents, irritations and general catastrophes ;o)

And so it is, not more than two days since he left, that I find that both the dogs have got upset stomachs.  The dobe's I can put down to the meds for her leg and, possibly also, the whole egg (shell and all) that she helped herself to from the coop yesterday morning.  The little one, who is suffering worse, I have no idea about... why, after all, would it be easy?

Switching out their usual food for a day of chicken and rice was a good first step; buying and cooking it in my now vegetarian kitchen wasn't!  The whole drive to the supermarket was spent trying to work out what type of chicken I was going to get - really, it was a major discussion point.  Luckily I tend to agree with myself and we went for diced, organic on the basis that there would be less touching required and, whilst it may seem a little daft for a pair of dogs, the quality of life of the chicken before it got diced was more important than the cost.  The meat aisle was horrible, I can do meat in small quantities but not longer en masse; the smell just gets right to me; and as for the deciding what to cook it in and with....  good lord, there has never been so much fussing!  Thanks mainly to Finn trying to climb my leg and Megs' endless anticipatory whining, I finally went for old non-stick, plastic implements and everything got washed right afterward.   What a palaver, I really am turning into a proper veggie ;o)  Lets hope it at least does the job!

In recompense, the rest of the day has been entirely vegan and dinner was a wonderful mix of HFW's leeks and cabbage in curried coconut milk; roasted cauliflower and rice.

The 11 yr old gasped when I put the plate down and said it was too beautiful to eat, I can't argue with that but went for seconds anyways :o)  We followed it up with sugared Russet apples, her invention, and an episode of Glee; perfect Sunday girls' night in.

Now, if we can have happy tums and I can think of something "just as good" for dinner tomorrow (chips and beans?!), and this is the full extent of the goings on before the boyf's return on Thursday, I will be a happy camper.  I wonder if it's going to snow, as predicted, tonight? 

Flowers from my Mum

I had a lovely surprise on Thursday, flowers for Christmas from my lovely mum; tulips and anemones, just beautiful.

Silhouette Christmas Cards

Now that they're delivered or on their way, I don't think I'm giving too much away.  In honour of our first Christmas Day in 5 years with the 11yr old, I wanted to play with the idea of the traditional "family grouping" picture; without the festive jumpers and fixed smiles!  In Photoshop I turned photos of my happy band (the 11yr old, Megs, Finn and Rascal) into silhouettes, each wearing a hint of festive and waiting on a present.  Printed on to white card stock and glued to shop-bought A6 cards with a paper trim and 12mm star brad.  I do love this card, it has four of my favourite souls on it.

More of the Gown... and other things

Well, I was wrong.  The bodice of the Elizabethan Gown is indeed lined.  Unfortunately the instructions don't tell you this until a good 15 or so pages after you've put the eyelets in. The fact that you are supposed to stitch in a lining which would cover, and thus render useless, the eyelet holes that lace the gown together is just another of the frustrations of this pattern... it's a darn good thing that a) I always save the eyelets till last and b) that I checked the instructions again.  I promptly cut out and sewed together the lining.

After that, my Sunday took an altogether more relaxed turn.  The lovely Mr & Mrs B and I popped over to K's house; she is recovering from surgery, so we spent a happy hour or two indulging in tea and sympathy and talking horses and dogs.  The 11yr old came home and we carved out the apples to make our shrunken heads for Halloween.  This is an American tradition that I recently discovered and promptly fell in love with.  They look rather cheerful now, but I'm hoping for wizened and wrinkly in a couple of weeks time.

Meanwhile, Finn relaxed on the sofa in his smart new jumper.

And the child showed off her new hat and mittens.

Eventually, it was time to settle back down to some serious sewing.  I promised that I would have the sleeves done today as well.  The lining is a fabulous burnt orange, it was nice to sew with a bit of colour after all the grey.

The sleeves are very simple; simpler to sew than to photograph!  Both the outer fabric and lining are sewn together... the 11yr old kept me company and I love the concentrating child/sleepy owl hat combination, they make a good pair :o)

Once each piece of the sleeve was sewn, they were pinned, then sewn, together along the bottom sleeve edge and turned the right way round.

I then tried the sleeves on.  Just over my t-shirt the sleeve felt tight, though I do love the colour of the lining as it's turned back.

I quickly put my kirtle on and retried the sleeve.  I spent the next 30-40 minutes turning both sleeves back the wrong way, unpicking the seam and resewing it with less seam allowance to give myself a little more ease in the sleeves.  At a push, you could have left the sleeves, but it would have been uncomfortably tight; even with a little more room, once sewn to the bodice I think everything is going to feel good and snug!

You've got to love unpicking... especially black thread on dark grey fabric...

And here's a honest peak at the the realities of historical costuming (in my world at least!)... late nights (I work  better at night), in my pyjamas (comfy is best), half in or out of part of the costume (depending on what needs to be tried at any given time), clutter everywhere (who said a dining room is for eating...?), not exactly looking my best (please ignore the suitcases under my eyes) but  smiling and with my willing and happy assistant to hand... she does a damn fine job!

Finally, on a sadder note.  We said goodbye to Hammy, who is now in heaven charming the angels.  

He was a good hamster.

Hammy

winked at me today :o)  I think he rather likes having his picture taken!

Contour Carving

It's kinda like pumpkin carving... fiddly, frustrating and darn good fun!  The 11yr old and I have finally found a homework that we both like.  She cut and stuck and, having obtained some very thick cardboard at Mr S's wise suggestion, I wielded the scalpel without any loss of limb.   She had to pick somewhere local so our contour is of the valley west of us, with our house shown in the top right corner... she was very impressed that we could "contour mountain" our little patch, it's just a very small, low level mountain!

Dahab back...

I had planned a little "Dahab bound" post before we left, a little wishlist of sorts for the holiday to come.  As it was, in all the busy hustling before we left, it never got off the ground; and now we're back, our seven days of sundrenched peace quickly becoming the stuff of holiday snaps and fond memories.

It was a lovely holiday though.  People seem a little confused (some, I'd go so far as to say offended) by my lack of things to say about it, but we really didn't do anything much at all.  No one, however interested, wants to hear about my umpteenth fruit cocktail or how the Mocha Milkshake that we had on the last day was just "ahmazin!", or that the sunbeds nearest to our room where lovely, but possibly not as practical (unless you don't mind moving with the sun) as the more exposed ones by the road - not that you really noticed the road at all.  I read eight books and started another (kindle here we come) and the lovely boyf and I got ourselves a rep, being the only couple who were not family, Aussie backpackers, or doing our PADI Open Water course (a very popular past time at the Dahab Paradise), as the dedicated nose-in-book sunbathers.  We were surrounded by genuinely lovely, friendly people; wonderful, wonderful hotel staff; wildlife and stunning scenery.  It was a place that you could sit and look at day after day and still find something new to see; a place where the pace of life slowly winds you in and you learn to just sit back and enjoy; a place where you just let things happen as they do.  No doubt we could have done more, when we go back we may be persuaded to stretch our legs a little more, but for that week we did exactly what we should have done; sat back and let the warmth relax us.

Back home, it's all back to busy.  We have only a couple of days now until the 11yr old officially starts secondary school and all the last minute panic that comes with it.  Not that I am worried about her going to school (ok, I tell a small lie, the small mix up with the school bus application and the prospect of her having to travel alone on public buses for a couple of weeks has me nervous), on the contrary I am more than ready for her to enjoy the structure and responsibility that the change brings!  She seems to be ready for it too, I wouldn't have said as much at the start of the summer, but in the last six weeks she has grown into her new "grownupness", not entirely, but enough.  She's ready, I'm ready; now all I need to do is get to the end of the seemingly endless shopping and to do lists...

And on a final note, the samples were disappointing.  So disappointing!  The grey wool had a herringbone pattern in it that wasn't mentioned in the description and I would never have ordered if it had been.  The grey taffeta was a completely different shade to its photo on the website (a good reason for always ordering a sample).  The "sage" taffeta was also not what I expected; gone where the dark olive tones of the picture, instead it was an insipid mix of washed out lime and a watery blue (again, had I known, I would never have ordered a two-tone fabric).  The black taffeta was the only option, but "light" enough to be see-through if held up to the light.  I have sourced a medium weight alternative but am going to take a trip to the local fabric store first.  They only really stock upholstery fabrics, but I might get lucky; I really would like to find a dark grey...

Oh, final, final note.... the Halloween invitations have (finally!) been started... I am so behind schedule this year it's almost scary; I am even secretly pleased that the 11yr old wants to go shop bought as opposed to home made, as I have a feeling I'll have enough to do to get myself sorted out in time.  The big question though (hopefully, not giving too much away) is by what method (one that keeps a years worth of sewing intact!) will I fake my demise?  All suggestions welcome :o)

The 10yr old's bedroom.. it's Parfait!

Call me a control freak or, as the 10yr old would say, “a meanie”, I don’t mind…  I will happily admit to having the sort of Decorator’s OCD that means that only I can do the job properly! 

In my funny little world, there is nothing worse than a badly decorated room and in particular a badly painted room.  Moreover, try as I might, I am not a fan of masking tape and rollers etc. I paint with a 2” brush and a 1cm wide artists brush for tricky sections and edges.  Time consuming it may be, but it requires nothing more than patience, a steady hand and a keen eye.  I’m also a temperamental decorator, leaving projects for months and then trying to finish them in a day, but on the days when the mood strikes, I’m a very happy painting bunny. 

And I really am best left to my own decorating devices; that and, on the occasions when I forget that he’s not that fond of a paintbrush, the boyf’s kind and valiant painting attempts generally end in emergency trips to the washing machine for whatever anyone in the vicinity is wearing and me “just touching up” whatever he's painted afterwards!  As for the 10yr old, she is still only 10 and I will happily admit that I do not have the time or the patience to share the experience.  I would love to be one of those laid back Mums who let their children help paint their room and live with the results but, in all honesty, it would drive me mad.  The child will learn to paint when she buys her first flat...

And so it was that I found myself painting the 10yrs old’s room last Sunday.  It was a lovely day to be painting, the sun streaming through the window and the birds singing up a storm.  The colour she chose is a beautiful soft blue-based pink rather appropriately named “Parfait” – its name alone was a very neat way of ending an otherwise long debate!    

It was such a joy to get it finished.  I didn’t like the colour of her room before, but I hadn’t realised just how much I didn’t like it until it slowly started to disappear.  Painting done, we rehung her pictures and stuck on a gorgeous “Family Tree” wall sticker from Cox & Cox.   A great deal of her pictures were framed family photographs and this is a far neater alternative to them.  A quick shuffle of furniture and a “new” shelf unit from the antiques market (to house the teddy/unicorn collection that she’s inherited from her Nana Nicie) and the transformation is complete.

I love the 10yr old’s room.  It is a mad clash of fabrics and colours and collections.  Full of books and bits to look at, a wall of stars and a fantastic view and soundtrack outside.  I know that she would have liked to have helped paint, I hope that the “Surprise!” was enough to sway her… and there’s always her playroom next door, you never know, I might need a hand with that?

Christmas comes to Churchways

It has been (secretly, as I'd never show it!) one of my favourite weekends of the year; decorating the house for Christmas.  We don't have huge amounts of decorations but everything that we have has meaning, a memory and a story.  I particularly love my tree, each year we add just a couple of new things, and it is becoming the story of our life.

One of the joys of this house is the fireplace and the chance to finally properly hang some stockings!  The 10yr old was given one as a baby by her Nantie, a couple of years ago I modified a shop-bought one for the boyf (may need to rectify that some day) and so we had a pair.  But, as the 10yr old rightly pointed out this weekend, we were missing a couple, or three, and so I spent the afternoon filling the gap.  Megs, I and Rascal the Cat now have our spot on the mantelpiece; fabulously easy, I made all three in an hour.  I'll post a quick tutorial tomorrow, but for now here are a couple of pictures.

My new stocking is faux green silk and ribbon details, Megs has red spots and the 10yr old's is the needlepoint .

The boyf's stocking is the great big red one... Rascal's is a manly blue.

I love the top of my stocking!

I followed thorough with the polka dots on Megs stocking.

And Rascal's is a lovely spot of citrus colour at the end of the row.

 Now back to wrapping those presents... Happy, nearly, Christmas everyone!

RIP Chook

I buried the fabulously named Randy today.  She was our adopted girl and had a special place in my heart.

Six months just wasn't long enough but I hope she was happy here.

I am also, most definitely, done with burying any more of my animals this year.

And today... we made a roof!

It's been making and doing of a whole different nature the last two weekends; our kitchen needed it's roof repaired and relaid.  As with all things in this house, normal doesn't cut it.  The tiles (dutch double romans pantiles, with the cutout bit, for those of you interested!) are so hard to find having originally come from the Netherlands in the early 17th C having been used as ballast in trading barges.  They were then traded here as the barges stocked up with goods to take back home and so supply is specific and limited... trust the old owners to pick them for our extension!  They are old and can be brittle, so prone to breaking and buying in replacements involves treks to the middle of nowhere.  Having already run minor repairs on the roof, the boyf has now taken it all personally and so, as the pics show, is the one responsible for all the good stuff... anyways heights and I do not mix.  

I, instead, ran errands, moved tiles from roof to ground and back up to roof again, cleaned them, tidied up, cleared leaves, make snacks and drinks, offered moral support and took the photos!  In the process we found out that the back wall is red brick (and in pretty good nick, always good to know in a 600yr old property!) and also discovered, in the roof, the old porch roof, which had just been built around... always nice to find another piece of the house's history.  

Today we rendered in the sides and cleared yet more leaves...  the roof should now be good and watertight for the winter - fingers crossed!  As the boyf mortered, the 10yr old and I cleaned the chooks out, mixed mortar, and cleared more leaves.  I look at how our life has changed since we moved to our little house in the country, and the positives it's had for all of us, but particularly the 10yr old, and I am so very grateful for our life here.  But, as I was having my little moment, I couldn't help but notice that the dobe has focused on the really important stuff and found a good spot to relax ;o)

In the meantime, I have also finished my little project, so pictures up next week, the 10yr old and I snuck out and browsed my favourite shop for some special Christmas presents and I'm now indulging in an marathon night of Aussie Masterchef on TV whilst doing some more Christmas shopping online; beats the crowds anyday!

Emergency Surgery

has been performed on Legs thanks to some serious lovin from Megs!

What I loved was the head on lap, pitiful look on her face as she did her best to patiently wait for his antler, ear, leg, arm and tail to be sewn back on...

Best dobe face!  Look at all the stuffing everywhere...

Poor Legs, he's a little hollow now, but hanging on in there.  Literally!

A chance to stretch my legs

Of all the things I love to watch the 10yr old do; running and swimming are near top of the list.  It’s not just an appreciation of her talent (or those gazelle-like legs!) but also a chance to wallow in some good memories.  At school, I loved to swim and sprint.  Precious little else about sport interested me, but swimming and sprinting gave me a sense of freedom that I relished.  That freedom was cut short and proper exercise and I parted ways. 

Now particularly, I am more used to my body feeling like it is clad in an old deep sea diver’s suit as the thyroid can make everything feel achy, heavy and listless.  Added to other delights, such as dizziness and palpitations, and I have long stopped thinking of myself and sport in the same sentence.  My only regular exercise is my morning walk with the dobe.  It is more a determination to shake my body out of its lethargy than an appreciation of the time itself and most days leaves me exhausted rather than invigorated.

So, it was with some trepidation that I looked at the programme for Sports’ Day yesterday and saw the “Mum’s Race”.  I have been long overdue a visit to Sports’ Day, but as this was the 10yr old’s first at the new school some hollering and photographs was in order.  It was a lovely sunny day, I was dressed appropriately and could run barefoot, and the 10yr old was frantically waving at me to stand up and volunteer; so I did. 

A 50m flat race dash: I would have been happy just to finish, placing 4^th (or thereabouts) out of 7 would have made me very pleased.  As it was, following a small stumble in which I managed a cartoon-like cartwheel of my feet to keep my balance, I found a speed and dexterity that I didn’t know I possessed any longer.  The realisation came with such an intense delight that from then on it was a race I wanted to win: head down, arms pumping, legs stretching… for a few seconds I regained a measure of the girl I was 20 something years ago.  I won with a whoop and a skip that does not go down so well in a tiny village that typifies our fabulous English reserve; but, sorry folks, I could not help myself.  If it’s any consolation, I can barely move my legs this morning; but even that’s an experience I am enjoying… if it is through gritted teeth!

The stronger pull... part two

I kept to my promise of "the stronger pull" this weekend, with surprising but wonderful results.  Yesterday was spent pottering and cleaning, readying my mind and my space.  Highlights include:

a tidy, under-sink, cupboard... with folded cloths (I wonder how long they'll last!)

a very shiny silver teapot (my Nan's, I love it) and a newly repaired Legs (he's Megs' favourite toy, sadly showing his age and now with a distinctive "Gimme a hug" arm thanks to Uncle G's emergency surgery!)

and matching pots for the olive trees out the front (yes, you have to look closely, I was distracted by the boyf and the dobe!)... the green crab I found behind the old pot is a bit of a mystery, especially as he disappeared, we think, up the downpipe!

In addition, we have food, a new hoover (loving the new hoover), took a rainy walk in the woods and relaxed.... perfect!

Another new look...

I have been busy at work (and at home, it gets addictive...) building a new website and writing the code for some applications in it.   I like websites, I like code.  I like how lines of text come alive with images and movement and colour; I am a true geek, I know!  And, as the creative IT juices flowed, I couldn't resist a little sideline project for my blog and a new, lighter background; I hope you like it, thoughts appreciated.

It's based on a couple of pictures that I made when the boyf was travelling on business a few months back.  The first was a little ode to our family:

The second was based on the Keep Calm and Carry On posters that are becoming so popular again... and was a small hint, following a week of lots of dog walking on my part, that he may like to catch up a bit once he was back!

The arrival, and now successful integration of the new chook, has had me thinking that I need to update our family snap; I love the image from the Keep Calm poster and wanted that feel of  sheer joy incorporated into the background.  And I was walking megs through the fields one morning I started looking at all the Cow Parsley.  It is such a beautiful plant, I often take photographs of it.  Last autumn, I took a series of shots of some seed heads in front of a pylon. I love pylons, in and of themselves, and particularly liked the juxtaposition of two very different, structural qualities. 

So, there is was, all the elements that I wanted to bring together to create a new background.  My thanks to Susan Libertiny (http://www.brushportfolio.com) for the beautiful free brushes; work like hers makes beautiful possible.

Another year older...

well not just yet; I have 2 more hours before it becomes official!  But the 9 yr old is now the 10 yr old and I can hardly believe it; who would have thought 10 years would fly by so quickly, or that I would feel as muddled now by motherhood as I did then!  Certainty, in motherhood, I have decided is not an option; but hope is.  I hope the 10 yr old is as happy with her mother as her mother is with her.  She can have her moments, and there's work still to be done, but looking at her this weekend I could just burst with pride - not a bad birthday present at all!

Megs sews...

The Dobe decided to help me with my sewing today; "stupid dog!" was the least accurate thing I could have shouted as she had worked out that if my paw on the foot pedal made it work, then her paw would too!  I'm just not very good with runaway sewing machines, especially when finishing a seam.  Once we'd sorted whose paw was going to run the machine, Megs decided to first sit on my foot, before settling with her head on it instead.  It's lovely to have company when I'm sewing...!


I have been trying not to do any more work on my skirt until my undergarments have arrived so that I can check the fit and hem.  That said, today I really wanted to do some work on it, so I finished the last two seams and started the waistband.  I have sewn the first side of the waistband on, the gather at the back is very tight so I wanted to take my time and get it right.  I couldn't resist a quick fitting with my corset on and got a quick taste of what a Victorian woman would have felt like... I now know why they needed a ladies' maid; the corset was on quite loose, but between its restriction and the amount of fabric in the skirt, it was near impossible to get the skirt on, with petticoats and all the rest, you would need help!  I do love how different it feels though.

I love it when a plan comes together!

My old house was old, but the interior was sleek, cream and modern.  I've built up a collection antiques, particularly Oriental ones, over the years and in the old house we enjoyed the juxtaposition of old and new. Moving to a 600 year old timber-beamed cottage required a rethink as we had to honour the beauty of the building.  Modern would not work, so we replaced our sleek cream fabric sofa for a leather Chesterfield; our maple dining table for a dark Oak Rectory table and mixed my existing antiques with a wonderful collection of what the boyf fondly refers to as "very nice toot"!  Almost everything we own is now stored in a vintage suitcase, hat box or trunk and pride of place goes to a matching pair of antique Chinese wedding baskets (right of picture) which are the most interesting bookshelves I've ever owned, and double as coffee tables in the process.  One thing we could not find was a magazine rack, and then I found on a 1950s Atomic on eBay... I love these racks!  They are everything I love about 50s vintage: quirky but elegant; able to stand their ground, but subtle enough to mix well with other styles.  It was a small risk, but one I'm glad I took; I am so pleased with little Joan.  And no, I don't often name my accessories... but Joan Jetson would be proud!

A culinary diversion!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to cook, but not only that, I am passionate about the food that we eat.  I buy organic, fairtrade, ethical, local, I want to know where my food has come from and how it got to my plate; not always possible, or easy, but I care to try to find out.

And so I have watched with interest a good friend's near instant conversion to a vegan diet (see  http.cookingwithleyla.blogspot.com) and the recipes that she has posted.  As part of her process she watched Earthlings, a profound movie that I am still struggling my way through.  As with all arguments made to have the strongest impact some of the detail is truly horrifying, but it was in some of the "quieter" details that I think I found myself most shocked by.  It has left me greatly ashamed of the cruelty that we humans are capable of and mindful of the fact that the vast majority of people have no idea of the cruelty being perpetuated in their name; for their much-loved pets, food, clothing, medicine and entertainment.  We may know the odd detail, hear the odd story, see the odd picture, but we do not have the full transparency that allows us to make truly informed and conscious choices.  I can only hope that we would choose differently we truly knew.

Added to that the information that I learnt about how meat production impacts global hunger and I came away determined to set myself a culinary challenge, for just a week to start with, and eat even more consciously that I have done before.  So I made a deal with the boyf and the 9 yr old; if I could, at our local supermarket, stock our larder to live predominantly vegan/vegetarian for a week, they would be up to the challenge of trying some meat free eating.  I was going to go predominantly vegan for the week and only vegetarian if I had to.

If I am brutally honest, I can not imagine a meat-free future for myself.  This was more an intellectual challenge and a chance to cook differently again and expand my culinary horizons.  I was also very interested by people's reactions; vegetarian... a slight mutter; VEGAN... well, I think a good majority of the folk I know think that I have gone just plain crazy!

But it has been extremely easy, I don't miss meat, I have loved the cooking - which is quite a different experience - and the experimenting.  I feel far more in tune with what I am making, willing to try flavours and marry new ideas together.  And, most amazingly of all, I feel at peace with what I eat.  I don't think about what I'm making or eating in the same way that I did, I don't worry about the fat-salt-blah-blah-blah content, I don't wonder where is came from and if it really is local, free-range, ethical as it says it is (don't get me started on packaging and labelling!)  I just cook, eat, and enjoy!

And to those of you that would argue that I think too much... I say that you don't think enough!  We all have the choice to make our own path, but we have the responsibility to do it in the best way that we can, not only for ourselves but for our health and our children and our place on this planet.  If we all truly believed that we should leave this planet in some way better than we found it, we would all be living in a far better state right now.  So we can start with what we put in our bodies, the sustenance that enables everything else we do... go learn, go think, go experiment and I dare you not to, in just the teeny tiniest way, like it!

My Grandmothers' Apron... Inspiration

Both, in their own way, have had a great influence on my desire to make things and sew. 

My maternal Nan lived with us for many years and I was utterly devoted to her.  I need no pictures of her as, 23-odd years after her death, I can still see her in my mind with complete clarity.  She was a wonderful woman, who was instrumental in teaching me to stitch and sew, and who inspired me with her impeccable dress.  Even in the heat of a Hong Kong summer, she always wore skirts and stockings, a slip and camisole, sleeved, button up shirts with a kitted cardigan or vest and everything was clean, pressed and very well cared for.  She also always wrapped her work in a teatowel, a habit I continue today with her teatowels; and always wore an apron.  I won't cook without one but until recently had not had any aprons that were not purely utilitarian; then last year I saw the beautiful Obi Apron on BurdaStyle and remembered that, thanks to that one image of my Nan (stood in the hall in her apron) that still makes me smile with memories today, I love a good apron!  I now have my own Temptapron and wear it every good chance I get, quite delighted when the boyf comments that I look like a 50s housewife.

My paternal Grandma Edith, had it less easy I'm afraid.  As she lived in Gloucestershire, and we in HK, she saw us rarely and never for long enough.  My abiding memories of her are of satin sheets that were washed in TCP and that she made her own clothes.  I say clothes, but she designed and wore the same dress pattern for as long as I knew her.  I cannot remember ever seeing her in anything else than that dress, a cardigan as required and lace up, low heeled shoes.  At the time I didn't appreciate the fact that the dresses were handmade; nor that, with just a change of fabric, she made something completely new each time from the same pattern; which was edited to suit as the years went by.  Older, and a little wiser, I appreciate her certainty in what suited her, her contentment in how she looked, her ingenuity, and her skill (because they were beautifully made dresses) and I wish I'd had a chance to tell her that.

I was hanging out the washing as I was thinking about them both and it suddenly stuck me that my pegs in an apron would be a great idea... one that honours both women.  My own pattern, made with as much skill and care as I can muster, in honour of Edith, and inspired by Nan's aprons... and her habit of tucking the hem into the waistband... more later.