Life Is Not A Sprint...

 ...it is a marathon

Thinking especially of Steph and Gaz as they run the Manchester Marathon today. 

I Brought My Own Bag...

Usually when I go out to do a proper supermarket trip, it is planned in advance so I have the bags. But sometimes I am out, and buy something unexpectedly. More than 30 years ago, my SIL went to Oz to visit her family, and brought me back a nylon folding tote bag.

It packs up very small [credit card size] and so I carry it around in my handbag. But last week I realised it is really wearing out - all the seams are on the point of giving way. I have a couple of other folding bags, but they are nowhere near as compact as this one.
Barbara's son and his family are now living in Australia. She sent me this birthday gift

This cheerful kookaburra print bag is a few inches square when folded into itself, but opens up into a full size tote bag.

What perfect timing! I can discard the dodgy old one, and tuck the new one in my handbag for my Manchester trip today

And that means fewer plastic bags or bags-for-life being purchased. Good for my wallet, good for the planet. Thank you Barbara!

When you were at school, did you sing the song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" as a round in your music lessons? We did, but I don't think I had the faintest notion as to what a kookaburra looked like

SORRY ABOUT LATE PUBLISHING. Just realised it didn't post.  currently catching up whilst sat on a train which is held up outside Grantham!

A Week Of April Anniversaries

If you read Sue's post yesterday, or Mary's, you will know there are some great poems out there celebrating April. I cannot agree with TS Eliot's assertion that April is 'the cruellest month'. For me, this past week - April 10th- 17th is one of joyful celebration and gratitude for so many good things in my life.

1955  April 10th
Easter Sunday
The year I was born. Back then, the fathers had to wait outside the delivery room. They told Dad I'd got the cord wrapped round my neck and was unlikely to survive the birth. But I was ok [and he was late for church!] 

2009 April 15th, Wednesday
54 years later, we took possession of Cornerstones - our wonderful bungalow in the heart of rural Norfolk

We still wake up every morning marvelling at God's grace in providing us with this lovely home.  When we first bought it, we were living in Leicestershire - our daughters were both in London.

2018 April 14th, Saturday
Off to Manchester for the wedding of daughter Steph to her beloved Gaz. In the past eight years they have achieved so much, moving house, both succeeding in their careers, and best of all, becoming parents to two gorgeous little boys.

2021 April 12th, Monday
A week after Easter, Bob retired from being minister in Ferndown. With the help of masked friends [lockdown rules!] we packed our belongings in to a van and drove the long road up to Norfolk. Next day I left a message on the fridge.

Retiring in Lockdown was difficult. I really felt for Bob who didn't get the razzamataz his college buddies did when they retired in 2019 or 2022. 
But here we are - five years on from retirement. I'm grandma to four lovely children, and 'auntie-mum' to Julian in Romford.
We are happily involved in our church, and our community.  

The family are thriving, and we have lots of good neighbours - although since 2009, many of the residents have moved on and we've made more new friends . Cornerstones has become a place of love, peace and joy. The new kitchen is fabulous, the solar panels keep us warm and the garden is growing. He's Shedding and I'm still Sewing [and blogging]

So this week in April will always be a special one for me, full of happy memories. There's a lovely old song that begins "Oh how good is the Lord, I never will forget what He has done for me"
I hope I never do

A Watched Pot

... never boils.

First thing every morning I make a cup of tea. But I find it hard to stand in the kitchen doing nothing waiting for it to boil. So I use those minutes to do something useful

 

1. I might pop to the bathroom and clean my teeth
2. Write a shopping list
3. Match up the unpaired socks in the laundry bin
4. Rip up yesterday's teabags - leaves into compost, bags into bin
5. Empty the dishwasher

How do you fill those minutes? 

That's Torn It!

I took Bob a cup of tea, as it was 11am. He turned round from his computer and stared at me, raising one eyebrow quizzically "Why are you dressed like that?" . I was wearing a crop top bra and a pair of ancient capri-length lycra running shorts. I explained it was the winter/summer wardrobe swap. I try on everything.  If something is too tight over these undergarments, then it goes. The thickness of the shorts guarantees I have 'breathing space' at the waist - and avoid anything too tight in hot, sticky weather. Three garments, all made around 2014 didn't make the cut. 

They were all made from the same Lisette pattern. The first, a tunic which I previously wore a lot with leggings, was a genuine 1960s vintage print  given to me by a neighbour. My splashy Lily Pulitzer dress. The second, was a lovely Javanese cotton sarong from Kezzie which I turned into a summer dress. The third a pretty cotton dress made from a cheap 'Poundland fabric' down in Dorset - I added useful patch pockets.

In this week's trials, I discovered that the Java dress fitted beautifully, except for the cuffs on the sleeves. A teeny bit tight on my 'bingo wings'. I love this one, so I have removed the cuffs, and will bind the edges, so it fits comfortably.

The third is just too tight - but is a cute teddy bear print. This may make something for Jess.

But the first? Ooops! This shift has no fastenings, which is why I like the pattern! I got into it ok, but when I tried to wriggle out it completely disintegrated under the left arm and across the bust.  Absolutely no possibility of salvaging this one. Let's face it, the fabric is 60 years old - and at that age most things have either worn thin [like this] or run to fat [like me]

The final casualty was that £1 Patra dress from the CS shop last summer. When I got it, it was reduced because the sleeves had ripped. I wore it quite a lot at the end of the summer - but like the Pulitzer frock, the fabric had definitely reached the end of its life, and as I shook it out, I could see it was worn through in places, and ripped even before I out it on. I removed all the lovely Mother of Pearl buttons, and cut out and salvaged the best parts of the pretty print.  And rolled up the blue fabrics to go into the loft.

The Pulitzer will make a good lining for a bag, the Petra will perhaps be used in machine embroidery, and the teddy bears may make a skirt for Jess.

A few 'wearable' garments have gone into the donate bag, A  satisfactory swap-around

Do you do a seasonal wardrobe swap?

They Never Expected That!

In the old days, my parents went into the shop, selected their purchase and handed over the cash. They could see the size. and weight , and quality. Now we order online, and pay with a card, and within a few days, the product we have chosen is delivered to our door. Or is it?

Years ago I had to alter a fancy dress costume for a slim young friend. She had ordered 32/34 thinking it was the bust size. It wasn't, it was the American dress size [bust 60"+]! It could have been a 2-man tent. I altered it for her, and had an awful lot of spare camo fabric left over.

Then there are those people whose supermarket online orders come with very bizarre substitutions. "a birthday cake candle, number 5" being replaced by 2 and 3 [because 2+3 = 5!]  

And others who order patio furniture or cupboards, only to discover they are sized to fit a doll's house. One of my loveliest birthday gifts this last week was a cross stitch kit. At least, that's what my friend thought she was ordering. When it arrived, it was simply the pattern chart, printed out on three sheets of paper. She was, understandably, concerned - she had expected fabric and threads to be included. 

Was it of any use? Fortunately I have some evenweave fabric left over from the 2024 project with Kirsten. And lots of threads- all recently sorted, I can line them up with my DMC shade chart and sort out the exact threads I need. What might have been a disappointment has actually turned out to be an excellent Stash Buster. Thanks C.

Have you ever received a delivery which was not what you expected?

Wool Gathering

If you buy yarn from The Wool Warehouse it will be delivered* in a tulle drawstring bag. This is useful for keeping knitting clean and tidy, containing the balls of yarn and the knitted pieces. I have just started a new project. It is rather complex so I'm not revealing anything yet.

But I did want to mention that this is the second time I've used WW and I am very pleased with their stuff, and there is lots to check out on the website. As well as knitting yarns, patterns and accessories, they have sewing stuff too. [*WW give you the eco-option of 'no bag' if you want to avoid unnecessary packaging.]

The dictionary defines wool-gathering as "indulgence in idle daydreaming, or aimless wandering of the mind" I will just say that the latest pattern I am working on requires 100% concentration so I am doing just a dozen rows each day. 

Do you have anything on your needles right now?