Number Three...

Last year I picked this up in a Charity Shop. When Jess asked for a pink princess dress for her birthday, I sewed her this one.

She loved it, especially the pockets and the decorative buttons. So I made another, in a Pound Fabric safari print.

When I asked what she wanted for this year's birthday, she requested another princess dress. Her birthday is not for a fortnight, but I have already made her a summer dress, in the same pattern. 
This time, instead of binding the neck and armholes, I fully lined the top in plain blue fabric*. I did bind the neck and pocket tops though, and added some vintage blue buttons. The hem and pockets were sewn with a decorative stitch on the machine

I added 1.5cm to the side seams, to allow for growth. She's really thrilled with this one too - and last summer's frocks still fit. She twirls happily in them!

Such an easy pattern, using barely a metre of fabric. As the Pound Fabric cloth often comes in 'minimum 2 metre' lengths, I have leftovers. I hope to make a dress for my little great niece too. * Lesley asked the other day "Do Brides still have 'Going Away dresses?' Well I have kept mine for nearly 46 years. Until last week, when I dismantled it, and used the plain cotton lining to line this dress for Jess. How's that for creative recycling? I knew it would be useful eventually!

Edging Towards the Finishing Line

So all the patches are stitched on the CoverStory Panels [apart from the 'info panels' which will be completed shortly] This past month we have been embellishing the vertical seams, and now we have swapped pieces, and will work on the horizontal ones.

My panel with its seams stitched - I used stem stitch, feather stitch, couched running stitch and couched chain stitch.

And here is Kirsten's piece

We both used cotton perlé thread which works really well for this

She was much more adventurous than I was- using coral stitch, blanket stitch, french knots, and zigzag stitching. I found it quite hard to maintain a straight line as the area around the seams is quite thick, with three or four layers of fabric.

My parcel arrived on Thursday just before my SIL and BIL joined us for lunch. Denise said how much better it was to see and touch the stitching - so much more vivid than on the blog photographs. 

She is right, you cannot fully appreciate the colours and textures in a photograph.
I got the previous two pieces out of the drawer [Postcard Project and Cross Country Collaboration] to show her - and now I am thinking I must make an effort to get them into frames and displayed somewhere in the house. We are quite limited for wall space though...

At least the CoverStory pieces will be going onto notebooks and actually get "used"

K has already decided on her lining fabric. She is ahead of me there!

Easy As Pie

The weather has been mixed, Tuesday was very wet, and the BBQ to celebrate Liz' birthday was eaten inside her cottage. But Wednesday was wonderfully sunny. Julian had arrived Tuesday night, Adrian and Marion came over, so 15 of us enjoyed sitting outside for another BBQ [our joint 140th birthday!]

Bob cooked all the meats, I made salads, and we had a choice of puds. Eton Mess, Tiramisu, Ice Creams, Fruit - and this "Impossible Coconut Pie"

Really easy, and very tasty - the bottom sets to a creamy custard, the top is a coconutty crust.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• ½cup plain flour
• ½tsp baking powder 
• ¼tsp salt
• 1 cup desiccated coconut

METHOD

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat till well mixed. Pour into a greased baking dish 2" deep, 9" diameter [or approx 7" x 9"] Bake in preheated oven 170* for an hour. Serve chilled, hot or warm.

A good time had by all. I shall definitely nake this dessert again.

London Buses...

You know what they say, you wait ages for one, then two come along at once. [In Norfolk you wait ages then realise it has been cancelled and it will be an hour till the next one!] So it is with TV detective series

Last Sunday we had a choice of two... on "U" [formerly "Drama"] the next series of The Chelsea Detective, and on BBC1, a new show "Death Valley". The former with Adrian Scarborough, the latter with Timothy Spall. I like both these actors, and their stuff is usually very good.

AS has a great team - including the wonderful deaf pathologist played by the brilliant Sophie Stone, and despite his crazy aunt Olivia[the ubiquitous Frances Barber] and not-quite-ex-wife Astrid, he solves the crimes efficiently, against the backdrop of Chelsea and the Thames. I love it.

Death Valley is a rather different kettle of fish. Spall is an actor playing a retired actor-who-played-a-detective, who is now playing detective in reality. 

Work out that weirdly symmetrical description if you can! I have watched one episode and I'm still trying to decide if I like it. TS is superb, but I don't quite believe his opposite number. DS Mallowan is just a bit OTT for me. 

Maybe subsequent episodes will settle into the Sunday night cosy crime formula. Im not giving up after one slightly disappointing episode!

Did you watch either? What did you think ?

Still Tracing Rainbows!

Thank you all for your kind comments about the kitchen - and for your encouragements as we worked through this mammoth project ! 

How was your Bank Holiday? I went out early to put up signs for a Yard Sale at the Vicarage [my good friend Rachael is leaving in three weeks for a Parish in Northumberland] The weather was fine.

The family all arrived around 11am for coffee. The four cousins were delighted to be together. Jess spotted the sun coming through the front door glass, making rainbow spots on the runner in the hall, and called the others to see. They had a lot of fun looking at the pretty spots, and tracing the rainbows with their little starfish fingers - then they all went off to the coast for a picnic and a paddle.

Bob suggested we had a little run out in the car, so we went to the pop-up craft shops at Dalegate Market. He bought a hat! [I have yet to take pictures] The Café was closed, so we picked up sandwiches  in the "garage shop" - which is a bit posher than average. Very upmarket yogurt, I must say!

"Nomadic" yogurt comes in an intriguing split pot. The top contains granola and a wooden spoon, the bottom, foil-covered section contains runny yogurt. You open and combine. Packaging is 100% recyclable. There's a splendid new mural at the Market! We came home, and I went round the village taking down the Sale signs.

 

I called on the vicar, who was very pleased with her sale takings!
All in all, a lovely day.
I hope your Monday was just as much fun.

It's All Done!

First Bob's video [I had expected him to put the Dalek away, and put the fruit bowl out...but never mind!] The door is missing [it was outside, having been freshly painted] but is now back in place. There is discreet , dimmable, undercounter lighting, and track lighting on the ceiling.

And a few photos with details...We have put a 'drinks station' next to the hob [easy for people to find what they need to make a cuppa]

On the opposite wall, above the toaster and breadbin, all the necessary for breakfast [cereals, spreads, the sauces for 'full English']

On the top shelf, least accessible, are Christmas Cookie Cutters, and cake decoration equipment, which gets used much less frequently.

Spike the Plant is keeping a watchful eye from the windowsill! Look how brilliantly Sean has done that Metro Tiling. Our French picture, and the Atora sign look good on the walls. IKEA have clever ideas for fitting things in, like corner carousels and pull out drawers. The appliances go away tidily.

I have put a box in the tray cupboard, to stop them all falling out. The top shelf contains a tiny box for pen, notebook etc, and behind is my folding cookbook rack, and 'kitchen file' Everyone is happy

Technical details

IKEA Metod Units with grey Lerhyttan doors.** Oak laminate worktops

Walls - English Sage [Wilko] 

Floor by LMH flooring

Ceiling by JD Plastering

Plumbing by GMC Plumbing

Tiling by Restyle Pro

Huge thanks to family and friends - Adrian, Julian, Alan and Ash for help with electrics, painting, worktops, and heavy lifting!
My thanks most of all to Bob for his hard work in project management and just keeping going. Teamwork makes the dream work!

We have a fabulous kitchen [better than the £30K+ design we were quoted in December] for just about £10K. And it is guaranteed by IKEA for 25 years. I think this project has had a significant impact - and I hope we are able to use this greatly improved space to prepare wonderful meals for the family, and use our home as a place of love and hospitality to bless others too. If you are passing, do call in, won't you?

**We wanted a little bit of grey paint for the cooker plinth, and the edge of the box round the pipework next to the microwave, and spare just in case of chips. The best match we found was a tester pot in Farrow&Ball "Pavilion Grey". So I can truthfully say that, like the National Trust, we have chosen Farrow and Ball paint in our new kitchen!

Hearing The Word

I'm definitely a Radio girl- the pictures are better! As well as quizzes, whodunits, dramas, science stuff and news bulletins, I particularly like listening to Christian Worship on the radio. For years I have tuned in to "Sunday Worship" on BBC Radio 4. It is broadcast just after the 8 am news. This is my special half hour after breakfast on a Sunday morning. Sometimes sitting on my bed, other times, standing at the sink preparing the lunchtime vegetables. But I appreciate the diversity of the programmes ranging from AngloCatholic traditions of liturgy and choral music through welsh nonconformity to happy clappy worshippers from Caribbean churches or the Greenbelt Festival and all points in between.
Some weeks the music and hymns are just up my street, and I sing along in my tuneless way, other times I listen carefully to a new song. The preaching and stories vary too, and the prayers may be formal liturgical responsive pieces, or a less structured extempore offering. I think it is good for me to worship 'alongside' other groups, and hear how God is blessing them and using them in their communities. And it puts me in the mood to go to chapel later and meet with my friends there to worship in person.

During the week there is a shorter 15 minute slot on Radio 4 extra at 9.45 am  "The Daily Service" This is usually two hymns, a reading, a thought and a prayer. 

There are often themes for the week [recently we had 5 days focussing on animals in the Bible]  Because it it shorter, it tends to be well planned, no wasted words - and perhaps a little less formal. I often hear this whilst I am in the car. So I can sing as loudly as I like, knowing I am not disturbing anyone! I don't there is one 'right' way to worship - some are blest by liturgy and formality, others prefer to come to God with loud enthusiasm and dancing, and Quakers meet in silence, 'waiting on God' - it is important to be yourself and honest before God. But I value this opportunity to experience the difference worship styles, and I have learned much from them. 

Today's service is from a Salvation Army Church in Scotland - some fantastic hymns, and I know the music will be good, and the joy of their faith will shine out, and be heard in their voices. And - as many of us learned in lockdown - whilst listening over the airwaves, or watching on screen is not quite the same as being there in person - we can still enjoy worshipping 'together' and have 'fellowship' through the marvels of science.

In 1897 Marconi spoke over the radio and said "Can you hear me?"
In 1876 Bell spoke over the telephone and said "Mr Watson come here"
I am rather pleased that the first Morse communication in 1844 was a verse from the Bible, Numbers 23: 23 "what hath God wrought!" [i.e. See what God has done!] 
Technology can be so useful - as Jesus said "Those who have ears to hear, let them hear"
If you are worshipping today, I pray you will be blessed and encouraged, wherever you are, whoever you are with. "If two or three gather in my name, I will be with them"

Great Dane

I have never watched "Friday Night Dinner", the Channel 4 sitcom from 2011, featuring the weekly gathering of a Jewish family. It is still available on various streaming platforms, maybe one of these days I will get round to it. I know the two leading characters are played by Tamsin Greig [I first encountered her on radio playing Debbie Aldridge in The Archers] and the late Paul Ritter  [I saw him live on stage in 2013, playing John Major, in "The Audience"] Both brilliant actors, with wonderful comedic timing, gifted at serious as well as humorous roles. 

This week I have enjoyed listening to them on the Radio. They played a Suffolk farmer's wife, and the curator of a Danish Museum - who become unlikely penpals. 

Fact - 75 years ago, the remains of an Iron Age man were found in a peat bog. He was named "Tollund Man" and is still on display in the Silkeborg Museum. I remember learning about him at school in the late 1960s.

Fiction - Tina, in Suffolk, also learned about him at school, and one day over 40 years later, decides to write to the Danish man who came and gave a talk, telling how she always dreamed of visiting the Museum and seeing Tollund Man.
Anders, the curator writes back, and explains that the Professor has died ["he would be 104 if he were still here..."] but he will answer her questions instead, if he can.

Thus begins the correspondence - it is an epistolary novel, alternate chapters are the letters read by one or the other. It works incredibly well on Radio. I found this story charming, moving, and generally utterly enthralling. I was listening as I worked at my sewing machine, and loved every minute.
Somebody mentioned last week that all my recent book reviews were non-fiction. I've been too tired at bedtime to cope with anything complicated. But here's a fiction review of an audio-book. It is in the same vein as Helene Hanff "84 Charing Cross Road" [although that was wholly fact based] and equally delightful. 
If you can find it on BBC Sounds, do listen to it, otherwise find the book in the library. 

This is definitely  *****

The End Is In Sight!

We have been working ridiculously hard to get the Kitchen finished by the weekend. And if all goes to plan, things should be tickety-boo by this evening!
Just a few teaser pictures for you.
We realised while using the Futility Room as a temporary kitchen, that it was so much easier having our plates and bowls etc stored there, right beside the dishwasher.

So Bob has rebuilt some of the older cabinets and put them up in the FR, and now my plates and glassware is accessible, and it is just a step to get them out and set the table for meals, and afterwards they go through the d/w and into the cupboard above. Much more convenient for me.

I spent Thursday unloading all those boxes which were cluttering up the back bedroom, and rearranging things in the new cupboards. It was so satisfying to keep adding another empty box to the pile.

I found all sorts of random things in the boxes. Including a very warped and scratched chopping board. Why did I keep that. It has gone! on it was a post-it note, with one word [In Rosie's handwriting] working. What did that mean? Was she working, had she found a gadget which was working? Bob and I have certainly been working...The first things into a wall cupboard were my Marmalade Jars.

 As I continued putting tins and packets away I was very grateful for God's continued provision.

There will be a load of proper photos next wee. Watch this space. 

Would You Believe It?

Isn't it a small world? A blogfriend of mine went on holiday [abroad] and on the last night of her holiday found herself sharing a meal table with another Englishwoman. They had quite a few things in common. Then the other lady mentioned she lived in Norfolk. My friend said she knew a retired minister and his wife who lived in Norfolk - but for the moment, she just couldn't remember our village. "It's Bob...erm..." "Not Bob and Angela Almond?"  We first met the second lady in London in 1987, and since retiring here we've reconnected because she lives in a nearby town and belongs to the Baptist church there. So two of my good friends have now met each other, hundreds of miles from home.
Somebody recently said that if my readership is that wide, perhaps I ought to Monetise my blog*. I am not sure I want to do that, but anyway here are some waterlilies for you to enjoy...

*that might help pay for the kitchen!

May Books - Some Maybe, Others Maybe Not

 

My first stash of library books for May - 

200 recipes, reviewed on Saturday 3*

The Folding Lady, reviewed Friday 2*

Stunning Stitches,see May 5th fun read, very detailed, but too complex to be of practical use to me. 4*

Nordic Knits for Children- again, a good read, excellent patterns, I can see Ro in that cover dress - but the patterns would take hours to knit, and I think the cost of wool would be prohibitive, so not for me. Still 4*

Upcycle - by Annie Phillips,  Sewing Bee winner. Some good patterns and instructions about technique. But you have to have the right things in the wardrobe to remake, and a desire to wear the new garment.
Do I want a balaclava made of crocheted granny squares? Or horrid orange fluffy cuffs on a pink blazer [I would dye it, and change the buttons!] The jeans skirt looks slightly strange. The floaty tablecloth dress is ok - but there are no quantities given just "adjust it to fit the tablecloth you have" 2*

Finally the OTK Extra Good Things. I admit to bias. I really like the stuff produced by Yotam and his team. I have two books already [here and here] I bought the first OTK book 2nd hand, and Julian gave me Simple for my birthday [thanks, I love it!]. This is an 'inspiration' book - every recipe includes the 'extra takeaway' - a sauce, sprinkle, topping or rub which you can make up and keep half in the fridge for a couple of days the use to "zhuzh up" a completely different recipe. It is big on adding flavour to your dish.  Ways to incorporate all the spices in my new kitchen drawer into exciting 'Ottolenghi-style' recipes. 5*

Ordem y Progresso

The national motto of Brazil, emblazoned across their flag is "Ordem y Progresso" which means "Order and Progress" which is my motto for this week, I think.

Definitely progress. Sean the tiler arrived at 7.45 and got straight to work on Monday morning. He is efficient, and careful. Everything was covered in plastic sheets and taped down, to prevent damage to the new cabinets. A dust sheet went onto the floor to catch the mess from his tile cutter. And he was meticulous about measuring and accuracy. Only one glitch - Julian had helped carrying the heavy boxes of tiles in from the garage before he left on Saturday. Only after lunch on Monday did Sean discover one box had different tiles in it! Fortunately B&Q said if Bob took it into the Norwich store, they would swap it for the correct ones. Fortunately he was able to do that. 

As well as the burgeoning fig tree, there are other good signs in the garden. 3 rose bushes currently without blooms, but the Absolutely Fabulous is living up to its name. That has been there 10 years
In one corner of my little raised bed, the strawberry plant has survived the winter and has flowers - there may be fruit later 🍓🍓🍓
And my alliums, bought in RHS Bridgwater  in Manchester in 2023 have bloomed - but they are only half the size of the previous year's flowerheads. Things are coming up in the main raised bed, the tomato plants in the mini greenhouse are thriving, and the potatoes are producing foliage. 

So all that is definitely progress. As for order - well. we are getting there slowly. Since Bob and Julian took our DIY waste to the tip, the remaining wood on the patio has been reorganised in the workshop. The tidier boxes in the back bedroom make sorting things out a little easier - and by Friday I should be loading my  wall cupboards in an orderly fashion.
I have been able to get out my sewing machine and have a day working on a birthday present, for a special little girl, and that has been lovely. And my knee is no longer painful, nor is it the size of a football - I can wear my jeans again! I have had my Shingles Jab too. Much to be grateful for.

Here A Dodo, There A Dodo...

 Whilst looking for something else last week, I discovered my 2006 DodoPad. This amazing "memo-doodle-engage-diary-message-ment book" was first devised in 1965 by Sir John Verney [an eccentric bayonet, soldier, writer and illustrator]
I used mine as a calendar and to-do list through the year, then as a scrapbook for clippings and cards and recipes. "I'd forgotten this, **I wonder if they still make them?" I mused, as I read again instructions for making play dough in the microwave, a thank you card from an old friend, a list of "What to pack for a weekend away" and a brilliant article by Rabbi Jonathan Sachs on Assisted Dying. Wildly eclectic ephemera. I will keep the Rabbi's wise words, but much can go into recycling. Here are a few of the pages, with my scribbles and clippings, and the Dodo's doodles...

At the Museum on Friday we saw this fabulous automaton "The Last Dodo". A crew of sailors banging their knives and forks as the captain prepares to carve the roast bird. "I have a notebook called a DodoPad" I told Julian. "It was my diary in 2006 - and I found it again only last week..." 

Then in a charity shop in Lowestoft, there was a sign "10 books for £1 unless otherwise priced" - and on the bottom shelf was a Dodo book [labelled £1] Would you believe it! Unlike the regular ringbound diaries, this was a looseleaf folder dated 2011 - and unused. I suspect it was a gift, which had finally been decluttered. 
It is a Women's Wellness Logbook, with sections on health, exercise, weight, relaxation, etc. Each section has a pocket for cards etc, and there are charts to fill in [food diary, weight loss tracker etc] as well as lots of blank pages with a dodo logo in the corner. I may not use this specifically as a wellness tracker, more as a general notebook.

I have almost filled up the notes and scribbles book I have been using for the last 6 months - a French school timetable. [**yes, they do still make DodoPads. and more besides]
Have you ever used a DodoPad?
Did you enjoy it?