Pearl's A Singer

Occasionally when I was a child, my Mum would make a stew and put pearl barley in it. Every time, my Dad would make a joke about Pearl Barley and Pearl Bailey. That gifted American singer was born in 1918 at the end of WW1, she died in 1990. She had a long and varied career - on Broadway, on TV, providing voices for Disney animations. She was a personal friend of many US Presidents and their wives. Gerald Ford made her a Special Ambassador to the UN, Richard Nixon appointed her as an "Ambassador of Love", Ronald Reagan gave her the Presidential medal of Freedom. She won many awards, and was friends with politicians and performers. 

Pearl Barley, on the other hand is processed barley which has been polished to remove its outer coating. It is also known as pot barley and Scotch Barley. It is hearty and filling, a good source of fibre. I bought a pack in the supermarket the other day. It takes an hour to cook on the hob, but only 30minutes in my rice cooker in the microwave. I sometimes put it in a casserole. We both enjoy this as an alternative to rice, it works out around 6p a serving - and it is produced in the UK. And it works well cooked and cold in a salad too. Healthy and thrifty and tasty!
I think few people remember Pearl Bailey now, but here's Elkie Brooks with her debut chart single from 1977,  about another singing Pearl. Elkie is 81 now, and currently doing her farewell tour this year!

Do you remember Pearl Bailey?
Do you ever cook with Pearl Barley?

To Coin A Word

The words “to coin” can be used as a verb with a literal meaning to mint a coin, but in 14th century Europe, the term “coining” was associated with inventing words. By the late 16th century, “coining a phrase” implied the invention of a series of words used to complete a sentence. There's also a Greek word koinē, meaning "common" or "shared".  It is used for common language or lingua franca used by speakers of different original dialects or languages. The New Testament was originally written in Koinē Greek, which was the common language, accessible to all, rather than the formal Classical Greek.
I love discovering the history of words, how and when they were first coined, and how their meaning has changed down the centuries. In the study, we have a little paper cup. It is full of the odd coins we find in pockets and bags at the end of the day, or when we are tidying up the table...

What do you call such a collection?

Is it small change? Or loose change? 
I remember that when we had that huge mortgage, I used to say "We do not have loose change here, only tight budgets"

Have you come across the word

shrapnel?

I was thinking about this, and wondered who coined this term. It is an eponym, for Henry Shrapnel [1761-1842] who invented an artillery shell filled with lead musket balls, and a bursting charge, so it exploded in mid air.

The debris from exploding shells and bombs generally was called shrapnel. In WW1, metal and paper shortages meant they had problems at the Monnaie de Paris [the French Mint] and made cheap coins, and there were locally produced banknotes on cheap paper called billets de necessité. Troops fighting in France referred to the tattered notes as shrapnel - . By WW2, shrapnel  had become the slang term among the forces for any small coins. However it was not recognised in British dictionaries till 1984. 

Bob and I were talking about this - I first remember coming across the term in the 90s when I met my friend John [ex Forces] 

Whatever you call such a pot of dosh**,  it is useful to have some around, for charity pots, car park machines, and grandchildren who would like to buy their own treats. Many older people, and people managing debt issues, prefer to pay with real cash they can manage, rather than the credit card, which is 'virtual' money and sometimes hard to keep track of.

I for one do not want a cashless society, for lots of reasons.
What do you call shrapnel?

Are you happy to go 100% cashless?

 [they can't agree on the origin of dosh- it may be doss, the price of a bed for the night, dash, the Colonial African word for a bribe, or the Russian-Jewish word dosh meaning nose, as in pay-on-the-nose, i.e. pay in cash]

Skirting The Issue

Two cotton skirts, one navy and white fishes,  the other  a pretty leafy print on a golden background. Except this is the same skirt, it is reversible!

I bought this in a CS recently. I thought it was a yellow skirt and the blue was the lining, and didn't realise it was reversible. If you look at the zip, you can see the 'pull' can flip over to the other side. And between the two layers, you can find a "White Stuff" label. The CS price tag said "large" and it was within my "Cup of Coffee" budget [£3.50 or less] I am afraid I was in a hurry and did not try it on. I figured the fabric was lovely and I could remake it if it didn't fit.
I was pleased when I got home to find it was two-for-one, and being White Stuff, very well made. However it is definitely not Large - the tag has been cut out, but I think it is a 10. Certainly too tight for my waistline. At the moment it is just hanging in the wardrobe waiting for some sort of alteration.

Along with this one - a very pretty vintage Orvis brand ankle length skirt. This too is beautifully made, but rather too long for me. The waistband is elasticated, and again a bit tight. I shall probably undo the seam in the elastic and simply turn it to the inside. A quick and easy fix.
When you were at school, did you ever turn over the waistband of your school skirt to turn from prim uniform knee length, to a miniskirt?  I notice the teenagers round here still seem to do that!

In The Pink

Back in the 80s my friend invited me to go with her on a shopping trip to Bromley. Having dropped our daughters off at Primary School, we went in her car for what she described as a day of Retail Therapy. By lunchtime she had a few carrier bags, and I'd bought some new pants for the children. 

"You must get yourself something, Ang" she insisted. So we went into Laura Ashley, and at her suggestion I spent £5 on a lacy pink knitted scarf. She assured me I'd wear it a lot. 

Every so often I pull it out to finish off an outfit, perhaps half a dozen times a year. As I did a couple of weeks ago. Then I decided it should have a wash, so I put in a bowl of warm soapy water and swished it about a bit. I couldn't believe how much colour came out in the water! I felt like Macbeth with "the multitudinous seas incarnadine" I was so glad I'd not put it in the general wash inside a 'lingerie' bag. 

It dried quickly in the warm sunshine. Back in the day, I was quite unsure about the purchase, it seemed rather frivolous on our limited income . But when I look back and think about it in terms of cost-per-wear, at about tuppence a time, I have definitely had my money's worth. I see they are currently being advertised online at £25+. Good gracious!! 

Cockles And Mussels, Alive, Alive Oh!

We used to sing "Molly Malone" at school in music lessons. Did you?

When I was a child, we would visit the family in Leigh On Sea, and my Mum would treat herself to a pint cup of cockles down at the sea front. They were dressed in vinegar - and she loved them. I found the whole idea awful, and refused to taste them.

I never wanted to eat mussels either. Then I married Bob, and he is half Belgian. He loves "moules et frites" - somewhere in the last 40 years I finally tried them, and now I too really enjoy a bowl of mussels [with chips, and mayo, and a hunk of baguette to mop up the broth] 

I read that the Essex cockle fishers are trying to revive our interest in their shellfish. About 45% of their catch is exported to Spain - and the UK cockle industry is valued at about £10M annually, half of which comes from the Thames Estuary. Should we all be eating more of these? 80% of the fish we eat is from the "Big Five" - cod, haddock, tuna, prawns and salmon, says the Marine Stewardship Council. They want  to prioritise 'locally sourced' fish. They're putting blue 'ecolabels' on sustainably sourced products and running a campaign called "Buy Blue, Protect Dinner" This started last September apparently, and promoted Norfolk Brown Shrimps [sorry, MSC that one completely passed me by!] and other fishy dishes

Maybe I should ask the Bunnings Man on Dereham Market. They sell cockles caught off the Norfolk Coast. Mind you, this fish doesn't come cheap - cockles are £18 per kilo, twice the price of Scottish Mussels. 

If I stick to the Flemish speciality, which we both enjoy, am I being shelfish?

I've Got Some Nice Legs!

Said Bob. It was during the great pre-retirement downsize, I realised that one thing I did need at Cornerstones was a small table in the back bedroom. I had hoped it would be a worktable for my craft activities, and a place for visitors to put their stuff. That was why Bob mentioned his nice legs [!] and that he had a piece of wood, a short length of kitchen worktop retrieved from our neighbour's skip in Dorset when they had a refit. The legs were red metal [IKEA bargain basement, £5, years ago] and had remained in his stash, stuck together with parcel tape. He promptly screwed the legs to the wood and there was my table. It has been in use ever since. But he never actually finished it properly. I put a tablecloth on it when we had overnight guests.

Here it is, this time last year, stacked with food and jars during the kitchen refit. The top is grubby, it had sharp edges and corners, and the base of every leg [hidden in this shot] is a mess of half removed brown parcel tape. More recently my worklamp has been clamped to the edge, and the table has been covered with sewing projects.

On Thursday, I had been tidying the bedroom, the tabletop was clear. Bob leapt into action, and took the table outside. He removed the legs, and while I set to work with solvent to clean off the sticky tape and goo, he rounded the edges of the top. He sanded everything and finished it off with a coat of Osmo. It looks so much better now

Clean, shiny and no sharp corners! This will count as a restoration project, another of my #word365 activities. Thank you Bob. I shall refix  my lamp and I'm 'good to go' again

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 Lidl Of What You Fancy...

A new Lidl opened in Dereham last month. Excited shoppers queued in the rain [not me, I was in Manchester that week] It's a lovely big store, with good car parking, an instore bakery and lots of extra features [like a self scan checkout area]

I've been in there two or three times, and I like it. There's more space in the aisles, and a wider variety of products. Early on Monday I was in there getting eggs and milk, and also picked up one of the Too Good To Waste boxes. It cost me £2 and I am really pleased with what I got for my money.  I do not often post 'shopping basket' pictures on the blog, but decided this was worth sharing. I separated out the items and priced them up

These are the contents - 2kg potatoes, 500g leeks, 1kg carrots, 9 bananas, 6 easy peelers, 1 grapefruit and an apple. Bought individually in store, I would have paid nearly £5 more.

The bananas will need to be eaten up fairly promptly [or used in banana bread, smoothies or a pudding] but everything else will keep OK in the fridge for a few days,
🍌🍊🥔🥕🍎🍌🍊🥔🥕🍎🍌🍊
This strikes me as very good value.
The boxes are kept on the far side of the tills - so you inform the assistant that you would like one, she adds £2 to your bill, then you collect it as you leave the store. This is a good system. It stops people handling the produce or swapping out the contents of their boxes, exchanging leeks for more easy peelers!

Do you ever buy these bargain boxes?
What is the best thing you ever discovered in one?

🥔🥕🍎🍌🍊🥔🥕🍎🍌🍊🥔🥕

Noël Ou Pâques?

I found a mini kit to make a French Hen in the CS. Is it for Christmas or Easter? Corine Lapierre is a Frenchwoman living in Yorkshire, who produces fabulous felt kits [Liz gave me her Advent Picture which I completed for Christmas 2024] The label said "Has Been Started, 80p" I gave the guy £1 and came home and opened my little box. And checked the website [discovered the kit retails at £12.95]

The felt bits were all there [the stuffing is inside the box], and someone had made a start. Perhaps they realised that there was quite a lot of stitching involved and maybe they were not up to it. They'd marked out the pieces with black pen, and forgotten to turn the inked side to the inside. The paper patterns from the rhs of the instruction sheet were absent.

I carefully unpicked the stitching and sorted the pieces out [ink side underneath] The website  suggests buying felt and using the paper templates to make more hens. My plan is to use these pieces to recreate the templates before I sew up this hen, then maybe make some more in other colours. Aiming for Christmas, but maybe I'll get it done by Easter 

Fortunately I can zoom in on the website picture to get a clearer idea of the stitching. The body has detached brown chain stitches each filled with 2 blue straight stitches. 

Ooh La La! Watch this space...
I am wondering what other colourways would work for this Petite Poule
Maybe grey, black, red with vivid green stitching...

Monday Merriment

Three things which made me smile over the weekend
First, in a toyshop in Holt, Steven Seagull/Seagal. Seems quite appropriate really, one appears in films, and acts violently, grabbing people's possessions. The other appears on Cromer promenade, acts violently, dives in and grabs people's crisps and chips!

Second, Saturday afternoon, Jess decided she wanted to do crafting with Grandma. I insisted we went through the arts and crafts book and made a list of which activities she thought she might like to do in future [to save time later] Then she opted for making a dino "Keep Out!" sign for her bedroom door "for when I want to be private, Grandma" ... enter at your own risk!

Third, I have a lovely teardrop shaped soap dispenser in the bathroom. The grapefruit scented liquid was used up long ago. Steph sent me the picture below. She knows me too well!
It's always a good idea to start the week with a smile, if you can!😃

Invaluable Threads

When machine sewing, my thread of choice is Gütermann - a family owned company, founded in Vienna in 1864 who continue to produce excellent products for home stitchers., and industrial purposes. So I was really excited when we went over to our local "Scrapbox" Sale last Saturday morning. 

There was a pile of small pink stripy paper bags [12 x15cm - a bit bigger than a postcard]  beside a basket with a sign. I did not need telling twice. I rummaged through the basket and took out all the Gütermann threads, and ignored the old, half used, non-G cottons, many of which were snapping and beyond use. And packed eleven of them neatly into the bag.

~two as new 1000m reels of cream sew-all thread @£10 each ~unstarted 200m pink machine embroidery usually £2.50~200m red quilting cotton, £3.50~some multicoloured threads,~ various other sew-all spools. I estimate around £40 of threads. Well, everybody tells me that free motion embroidery 'eats up the threads' so this will be useful. And the basic black, white and cream, are invaluable in the workbox.

I was also looking for a 4mm 80cm long circular knitting needle. I got a bag containing three of these, plus a 5mm needle for 20p! Just one would normally be £3.  Bob found some tools and also materials for picture framing which he specifically wanted.  

Do you use Community Scrap Schemes?  
What bargains have you found?

More free motion practice.

I used some random thread and "scribbled" Also did some zigzag stitching.

It really does use a lot of thread !

What I Brought Back From Newmarket

We looked long and hard at many items, particularly the Fabric Tube Maker. It works on the same principle as my bias binding maker. And you can make baskets, bowls and bags from 2½" wide strips [aka Jelly Rolls] The guy who demonstrated was very persuasive. To be fair, his special show price" was a couple of quid cheaper than online. But I'm not sure I'd use it. I can see that if you make a lot of Jelly Roll Quilts,it is a good way to use up leftovers. 

Elisabeth and I both walked away from the fancy fabric displays, but upstairs found a huge basket of Fat Quarters at £1 each. She bought one piece specifically to recover a favourite zip pouch

I went right through the scraps and found 4 which were all part of the Natural History Maritime Collection. "You did well to find a set" said the sales girl.I'm Very Determined" I replied. A number of bloggers have been buying up linen sampler panels and books to embroider. With varied success. At 3pm I noticed some people reducing their goods. I picked up a beautiful piece of Moda fabric, designed by French General [a husband and wife partnership in New York, not Charles DeGaulle] It was £6 per metre. 

Here's part of it, there are letters, flowers, border patterns... On Pinterest there are many examples of how people have stitched the panels

We thought we had been to all the stands, then we went round a corner and found a big area with lots of machines and accessories. It was Sewing Machine World from King's Lynn [Many people I know have bought machines there. It's highly recommended] And here Elisabeth and I found exactly what we'd both been looking for. But that is a whole other blogpost...

A Riot Of Colour!

Elisabeth was outside the station as I drove up, and within 10 minutes we were parked at the Racecourse. Check-in was quick [we had prebooked tickets] and we'd walked 75% of the way round the ground floor in the first hour. Then at 11.30 the loudspeaker went bing-bong! and a cheerful voice welcomed us and reminded us the three eating venues were all now fully open. 

I fully expected the voice to say "Hello Campers, Hi-de-Hi!" but she didn't. We looked out at the race track - all very green, but deserted. Not a horse in sight... and decided we were ready for coffee. E&I are old hands at this, we checked the three places, and discovered the cheapest coffee was inside in The Runners' Bistro - and it was fairtrade and served in proper mugs. E has a very strong social conscience and we were happy with this choice. We chatted and then it was noon, and people were coming in for lunches [which smelled delicious] We decamped to a sheltered spot outside and ate our packed lunch [prepared by E] Then back inside for more meandering. Stallholders were saying that people had been slow in arriving, and there were fewer than expected. We were 99% white women in the 40-80 age bracket. Most stallholders were women too, but there were some blokes.

You can see that it doesn't look that crowded! E had never been to a Quilt Show before and loved looking at stuff [and deciding not to buy it] There was one knitting/wool stand upstairs. 

I did like the award-winning Thimblewood stand, with their lovely felt nativity set, and beach hut etui. But came away with just the business card! 
I did not think much of the man in the corner selling marbling kits for £40, nor the guy with all sorts of overpriced perspex gizmos to make your quilting and patchwork easier. "I know a lot of ladies struggle with maths so this ruler has zero in the middle and measures out left and right, so you can find the centre of your work more easily" This "lady" took an exception to that, and moved on swiftly. Going with a friend is always a good move. You can ask each other "Would I really get much use out of this?" and if salesperson is too pushy, one of you can say "Let's so for coffee and think about this" I watched quite a few women waving their credit cards and buying things with apparently very little consideration about their purchases.

Special mention for AitchBee. This stand looked familiar, as did the one beside it Helen Howe's quilts- I visited their shop on the Norfolk/Suffolk border the year before the pandemic and blogged about them. I showed them the post I had written then, and Helen filled me in on the story since that summer. Two lovely ladies- who were generously giving away postcards with notes on how to replicate some of their quilt patterns!

There were many large quilts hanging around the venue featuring Kaffe Fassett prints, and more of those Highland cows [complete kits available to buy], and also a display of ones which had won prizes in the pre-show competition.

We looked at three quilts by Gillian Travis. They all followed the same format; she collected photographs whilst on holiday [Shetlands, India and Mexico] then reproduced details as paintings on postcard size pieces of ecru cotton. Each piece was then embellished with stitching [hand and machine] The scottish one had letters, and small items [jumpers and bobble hats] as well as scenery and building. India was vehicles, Mexico was doors.

These were on the top floor of the show. It was almost 3pm. And I made my Big Purchase of the day. Then we went for more coffee [and shared a slice of cake] and returned, as Elisabeth had decided she wanted to splash the cash too. As we left, at 4, the bingbong! lady was wishing us all a safe journey home. Next week I will post pictures of what I bought! Thanks Elisabeth for being a great friend and a good companion. A pleasant day out - lots of inspiration for further projects. 

A Short Post

Last month, Jess found some cute fabric in a charity shop, and asked Grandma to make her a dress or something. I explained there wasn't enough material for a dress. Liz suggested for a cushion for her bed. I had a small cushion pad in the stash, so whipped up a simple cover. Last week, the machine was out, and I decided I had just enough fabric left for a little pair of shorts. I used my M&S reward voucher to get a plain white teeshirt. Adding a tiny puppy motif on the sleeve produced a sweet pyjama set. I'm so pleased that Jess is already a keen supporter of CS, happily putting outgrown toys and clothes in the Donate Bag, and looking for books and bargains in the stores. 

B

Eye! Eye!

Well, that will teach me! Having joked about SpecSavers and Double Vision, I ended up back at the opticians just after I posted yesterday. The left lens fell out of my glasses. It happened on Monday, then again Wednesday morning. I took them back and the manager agreed that they were rather loose in the new frames. They have gone off to be fixed. Leaving me acting like Steve Fletcher again, alternating between two pairs of specs. 
A bit frustrating as I'd set aside Wednesday as a sewing day. I got on with it as best I could.
The half duvet cover was hemmed properly to make a tablecloth. I used part of the remainder to recover the ironing board. 

Originally there were seven "Ports Of Call" in Jeff Banks' bedlinen range. But that was 30 years ago - now there are just two patterns [but not this one]
Quick tip for making a new cover for your board. Measure length, and width. Add 25 cm to each of those, and cut a rectangle that size. Fold all edges over to make a double hem approx 2 cm deep. Press firmly.  Mitre the corners as shown. Then stitch the hem all round. Close to the edge  leave the mitres unstitched. This makes it easier to thread your elastic. 

Take a length of elastic, feed it through the casing and pull it tight on the board. Those unstitched gaps at the corners will make it easier to thread. Fasten with a knot and tuck loose ends inside. My elastic is repurposed from an old anorak, and still has the retaining bobble!

I am very pleased with today's endeavours. I have also been working on two secret projects for Ro and Jess, and working on the 2x2 [ but gave up because I coulndn't handstitch as neatly as I wanted without my proper glasses.
I did at least manage to do the ironing!