Tap Dancing

How much water does your household use each day? Do you ever think about it? We checked our consumption for August and found we were up by about 35%. Which sounds a lot until you factor in all our house guests, and one neighbour without bath/shower facilities and another with serious washing machine issues...so lots of extra people using our water supply. 

I am not getting stressed about it, it was all justified extra usage. 

However it appears that Cornerstones' August consumption was still less than 50% of the average 2 person household in the UK, so we are not doing too badly. There is a helpful site here which explains the amount used by household appliances, and efficient practices. 

Since I did the Green Living Project back in Dorset 4½ years ago, and got a shower timer, it is rare for my showers to take longer than 4 minutes. Bob and I shower alternate days. [When I was growing up, I had a weekly bath, so 7 showers a fortnight feels more than adequate!]

Other bathroom savings - I'm pretty obsessive about teeth cleaning, but not with a running tap. Turning the tap off during brushing saves 10 litres a time. And we don't flush if we use the loo in the aptly named "wee small hours" - we're fortunate in having an efficient dual flush. 

I run the washing machine every 5 days or so, on an eco programme, and the dishwasher usually every other day. And we ensure  that both machines have a full load. And the garden and greenhouse are watered from the water butt. I've used the hose just once this summer.

In the kitchen, I boil just enough water to fill the teapot - not a full kettle. I use the vegetable cooking water to make gravy. Vegetables are scrubbed in a bowl of water, not under a running tap. 

Water is a precious resource, we need to use it wisely [more tips here] The water companies may have let us down badly, failing to fix leaks promptly and discharging effluent into rivers... But that does not a solve each one of us from  our responsibilities to use water thoughtfully and carefully. 

In some parts of the world, women and children walk miles every day to carry water to their families. And many children die from drinking contaminated water. 

Never let me take the clean water from my tap for granted! 

Decluttering By Date And Design

Bless, a blogfriend for many years, is doing a declutter-by-date this month. That is, on 1st of the month you declutter one thing, on the 2nd discard two...until the end of the month, when 465 items should have left the home

.She has given herself permission to stop when she reaches 300 items [that should be 24th Sept] unless she gets carried away, and manages 500 in the month. 

After Liz sorted out the kitchen for me the other week and said I did not need to keep every empty glass jar, so she'd put them in recycling, I decided I needed a concerted plan of action. I would attempt to declutter in categories.

one belt. I have a lovely leather belt for my jeans, using my M&S tokens. But it got mislaid when the jeans were washed. I grabbed this one [roiled up it the drawer behind my pjs. Why?] I wore it for one day, till best belt resurfaced...but it is cheap and old, and disintegrating. It has gone [ok I admit the buckle is in a tin with other fastenings]

two potato peelers. Both brand new [bizarrely they arrived with other online kitchen purchases] They will go to CS, and thus free up kitchen drawer space 

three cracked terracotta flower pots from the back garden. They were stacked up, waiting to be smashed and used for drainage in other pots. But I have plenty of shards in a bucket in the garage already. My Grandad used to refer to daft people as "crackpots" which always made me giggle when I was little. Binned

four brown cardboard boxes. Not flattened into recycling bin, as usual, but torn into small pieces and added to my compost as a layer of "brown waste" [recycled into garden]

five out of date make up items. I don't wear a lot of 'slap' - and I had a load of freebies which were old, half used, and not exactly healthy looking. They have gone. Since the Dundee fall, and my lip developing an interesting paler patch, I do wear lipstick more. But those will get used up quickly. Bin 

six plastic Huel bottles. We both have these protein drinks occasionally. But as I am not making any more Technicolor-Joseph-models at a Holiday Club, I don't need to hold on to all these bottles! recycled

seven magazines, all freebies, which were cluttering the coffee table, recycled

eight glass jars with lids. There are still some in the cupboard, because I will be making marmalade shortly- I'm down to my penultimate jar! recycled

nine split, cheap plastic flowerpots. Horrid thin things which had been in the greenhouse - with equally pathetic tomato plants inside.  No recycling triangles. Gone into regular bin.

ten cardboard egg boxes. Intended originally for seedlings. Unlike Carol Klein on Gardeners' World last week, I do not spend every other moment propagating new plants, I won't need 120 little cardboard 'eggcups' this autumn. Another layer of brown compost 

So that was 10 groups - 55 items gone up to Tuesday evening. 70% purposefully recycled. I have decided to start this again for the next ten days.Thank you again, Bless, for your inspiration!

Just To Say...

I'm quite overwhelmed by so many of you who took the trouble to check the shop link in my sidebar. And sending helpful comments about browsers etc. It was so kind of you all. It appears that some people with Norton Security programs are being told it is a fake site. I have reported this to Norton and hope they correct the error. 

Now I feel I really must get on and make more stock for the autumn. [There are little bowls of mouse body parts on the coffee table]

I've almost finished the little sewing jobs I'm doing for other people. There is one other [non sewing] project to be completed by the weekend.

But today is family focused, as Julian's coming up for a flying visit.

I am so grateful to have so many friends and such a loving family. Thank you all

UPDATE Now FC has also contacted Norton, it looks like the problem is fixed. Yippee! 

Happy HODS

 This is the time of the year for HODS [Heritage Open Days] Docyeck out the national website for this fab, free, festival HERE. On Friday I got to attend something very special in Norwich - of which more later - and Saturday I went to some of the Dereham sites 

Bonnie the Mouse had been doing her bit. I popped into the Museum to give Katie a "spare" Bonnie, as I was concerned #1 might not stand up to so much travelling

I also visited the nearby Parish Church, and climbed the

Bell Tower. Dereham is unusual in having a separate tower. The church was 300 years old when there was a bequest to pay for bells. But the building was not deemed strong enough to bear their weight. The tower was built at the start of the 17C. French Prisoners were kept there during the Napoleonic Wars. One escaped and was shot in the churchyard - his grave is still there.

 I was delighted to go inside the Georgian Assembly Rooms and see the Regency Ballroom [lovely replica gowns on display]

Back at the Museum, the volunteers were enthusing about the number of families who had visited, and they'd listened to excited children following Katie's Mouse Trail, squealing with joy when they located the little felt characters.

I came home and started making mice to put in my 31:13 shop next month.

A small request... Two people have recently contacted me to say the shop's link on my sidebar would not work for them. I'd be very grateful if some of you good people could check it out and see if the link works for you [I'm NOT asking you to buy anything though]Please let me know if it does or doesn't work for you,. Thank you

A Night On The Tiles

 Actually not a night, just a morning. Last Monday our craft group had a visit from the wonderful Fehmi Göhkeş, a local mosaic artist who helped us to make our own mosaic tiles.He had some lovely blue tiles which he had made

He explained we were each going to make a 10cm square tile - beginning with a base of wood, we would use tile adhesive to fix a central smaller square 

tile, then add others around it. 
He had loads of plastic trays of different coloured stones, tiles, chips of glass and shards of seashells.

I chose a central blue tile, and 8 small mosaics to go round it. I filled in the gaps with tiny pebbles in blues, greys, lilacs, and a brown colour. My friends were making similar choices. Everything had to be filled and covered with grouting and taken home to dry, 24 hours later, we could sponge off the excess. Here is my finished tile..

The light makes that bottom tile look white, but it is the same gorgeous iridescent blue as the other three corner tiles. I am delighted with my first attempt.

The creations on Fehmi's website are beautiful. 

Fehmi is Turkish and lives near Norwich with his English wife, also an artist. 

A very happy Monday Morning!

My experience until now has been simple strips of tiles in bathrooms or kitchens - nothing this creative!

Have you ever done any mosaic or tiling ?

Father, Hear The Prayers We Offer

JPIT is a partnership between the Baptist Union, Methodist and URC churches and Church of Scotland.
They provide many helpful resources around issues of social justice, the environment, and peace. This prayer was recently posted on their website. I felt it was well thought out, and helpful.

We give thanks for the Paralympics, happening in Paris at the moment. God who delights in us, thank you for this opportunity to celebrate athletes and come together in sport.

We pray for peace in Myanmar. God of minorities and margins, we pray for the Rohingya people, and ask that you help them find safety, stability and comfort. We pray for the violence against the Rohingya people to end.

We pray for an asylum system that is fit for purpose. God of sanctuary, we pray that action is taken to reform policies so that people seeking safety are provided with what they need and treated with dignity and kindness.

We pray for people bracing themselves for a difficult winter. Compassionate God, we pray that vulnerable people are given the support they need in order to live in comfort.

We pray for all those affected by the extreme floods in Bangladesh. Loving God, we pray that all those who have lost homes and livelihoods find comfort and safety, and for aid and relief to reach those in need. We pray for greater action on the climate crisis, which has caused an increase in extreme weather.

With National Foodbank Day on 6 September, we pray for the day to come when nobody is in need of a foodbank. God of justice, we pray for action to end poverty while giving thanks for the commitment and care of foodbank volunteers and workers.

We offer these prayers in Jesus’s name, Amen.

Jolly Jollof

 Did you know that World Jollof Rice Day was celebrated on August 22nd? We missed it too! Jollof is a one pot dish, of rice, spices, meat and veg - it was first served in the Wolof Empire*, which covered modern day Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania - but now most countries in West Africa have their own version of the recipe. It is ten years since Jamie Oliver got into trouble demonstrating his own recipe on TV - despite the varied versions from the different countries, his was deemed definitely inauthentic!
In Norwich at the Summer Market the other week, Bob bought a jar of jollof paste from Shirley, an enthusiastic Londoner who is bringing her family's spice blend to the table, making it easy for everyone to put together a pot of jollof.

He cooked the rice with the paste, adding in onions, beans, carrots and some leftover chicken. It was very tasty [and not too hot for my sensitive taste buds] 

*Spelt Wolof, it is pronounced Jollof. The empire lasted from 14th-16th centuries. Maps below show the location then and now!

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

One answer is 'often from other blogfriends' In recent weeks I have been grateful for inspiration from all sorts of people.

Bless has started a September Decluttering Challenge- and I think maybe I should be picking that one up. Having done a great job tidying the kitchen for me last week, Liz pointed out that I do have rather a lot of empty containers - and maybe some of them ought to be recycled, as I am never going to make that much jam or chutney

Kirsten who has inspired me so much with stitching, mentioned how she made a quick soup when lunch was late, and needed to be prepared fast. I decided that I could produce some "Fridge Scrape" minestrone - and ended up with 3 days worth of delicious soup. 

Catriona - who reads blogs, but does not blog herself, sent a lovely handmade anniversary card - with a genius cutting technique which lifted it out of the ordinary into the 'classy' category. I shall definitely be copying this one. Sign of the times- we had oodles of messages online, on WhatsApp, on Facebook etc - and just three actual cards. I'm grateful for them all though, so reassuring to know that people care! [C's also married to a Shed Man, and our spouses have chatted on the phone about tools] 

Kezzie's Tardis Tuesdays have made me rethink the ways I can wear clothes in my wardrobe, in different layers, or tucking in, or combining tp make one garment serve various outfits . Ok, maybe this one [pictured left] is not quite what I mean!

Rachael, our lovely Vicar, shares my passion for sewing and crafting [and also for preaching] and in recent weeks she has introduced me to two new ideas.

At the Parish Church Coffee&Cakes this week, she had us making paper roses from old Psalters!

So whilst I get a fair bit of inspiration from books, and YouTube, I absolutely love it when my friends are the ones who inspire me. Thank you all!

 

Texture, Textile, Text

I love the fact that the word text has the same root as textile and texture - they all come from the Latin textus, 'to weave' . So books about fabric must be text-text

Last month I acquired three such books. One was passed on by a friend, one was 50p in a NT bookshop, and one was £6 from Greener books.

Reviews in reverse order

Having loved the Haberdashery shop Bob discovered for me in Paris, I was intrigued to find The Mason Sajou book in our library. [the Sajou shop is based in Versailles ]And I loved it so much, that I felt I would like my own copy. There is a lovely review here so I will not repeat what is said there - check out Kim's words and illustrations. It has 20 lovely projects, with excellent instructions for different techniques, and creative ways to use stitching. My first purchase from Greener Books, a company committed to recycling books. This was the cheapest 2nd hand online copy I could find, and I was pleased with the prompt delivery and excellent quality. Watch this space, as I plan to make up at least one of these ideas soon..*****

28 fresh designs influenced by ceramics, fabrics, and folk embroidery. Helen Turvey recreates designs of English ceramicist William DeMorgan,  French Toiles de Jouy textiles, and Scandinavian and Northern European folk art . Designs for decorative and useful items for the home, of for gifts.. Great instructions and charts – cleverly using different shades of red thread. It is a step further on than the Mueller samplers  that I used to inspire a section of last year's collaboration with Kirsten. But If I can find appropriate Toile, I may use it in this year's CoverStory. Another *****

Finally this one. Kirsten included it as a flat gift with the last parcel. Which was interesting as I had seen it mentioned online She and I have since discussed it, and found ourselves broadly in agreement. The principle is a good one - if you are dress making, be as efficient as you can when cutting the fabric, so avoid senseless waste. In practice, this is not so easy to implement. Advice like "avoid stripes, directional patterns, velvets" and "boiled wool is about the best" is somewhat limiting if you want a pretty summer dress, or a special evening gown.  Cutting 6 identical 'kangaroo' pockets which can be tessellate dinto one strip with no waste at all is fine - if you want 6 identical garments in the same size and fabric. But unless you are manufacturing for a shop or dressing the women from the workhouse, this is not helpful.Sadly although the book has lots of hand-drawn diagrams, there are no clear photographs or pictures of any finished garments on the wearers.

For proper patterns and projects you have to buy Liz's other book - but looking at the projects in that, I do not know I would want to wear many of them, however Z-W, earth friendly they were [I have a Moebius scarf] That book is £28. 

Having said all that - "A Year of ZWSewing" comprises 12 sections - each one with a concept [fastenings, gussets, historical clothes etc] a guest piece from another ZW designer [across the globe - Australia to USA, via Sweden, France, NZ etc] and an "Ask Lizzy" spot. I did like the little anecdotes - eg Did you know George Lucas specified that none of the Star Wars costumes should have zips or buttons ? Apparently they do not exist in his galaxy far, far away! 

For all my negative comments, I must say this book was the most challenging, and very thought provoking. Liz is not keen on people using the odd leftover bits for embellishing garments [thus ensuring nothing is wasted] - my approach would be I cannot avoid having this piece left if I cut a circular neckline - so in what other project can it be used? I am giving this ***. It might have had 4* but for one thing which Kirsten commented on and I completely agree - it has a really weird cover surface.Sort of ... waxy. We both found it genuinely unpleasant to hold! I could not read it in bed for that reason! If it is to stay, I shall have to make a cover for it!!

I have borrowed many sewing books from the library in the past week or so. When asked at church if Bob is resting properly, I said that he is spending most afternoons sitting in the lounge reading - and I keep him company, also reading [or sewing] "How good of you to give up your time to do that!" was the response. I had to explain it was not a chore. I love being together, and furthermore, will grab any excuse to avoid housework to stitch or to read!!

Crib Sheet

I have been doing a lot of sitting and stitching whilst Bob has been resting his leg. A good excuse to get out my friend's Nativity Set and refurbish it for her. 

When she acquired it, there were a number of things which needed fixing. She had kindly given me some felt to use

1. The ox and the wee donkey had very weak, splayed legs
2. Wise Man #3 was distinctly lacking in both a gift and a blingy crown
3. There was NO Mary, Joseph or Baby Jesus

So first up I strengthened the legs of the animals by couching lengths of green garden wire on the inside - here's a strong ox with a weak ass!

Then I rolled up some blue felt, put a shirt button and two beads on top to make a girt, and added sequins to the crown.

I looked at the figures in detail - each had a cylindrical cotton body, with a pink felt head attached. So I prepared Mary and Joseph and a tiny 'sausage' for Jesus'

Bob offered to make a simple manger from two interlocking rectangles of wood.

A coffee stirrer provided a staff for Joseph. My friend was delighted when I took the completed set to church with me on Sunday. All set for December!!

Zog And The Flying Doctors

Jess absolutely adores this Julia Donaldson story, about a Princess who is kept in a tower, sewing cushions when she wants to be out there practising medicine. And Liz got tickets for the theatre production as a special treat

Everybody thought Jess ought to go in costume as Princess Pearl - but the doctor's coat I made for Rosie six years ago has gone AWOL. Fortunately the crown was still in the Dressing Up Box

So last week, I made another coat - using two old pillowcases, and a shirt pattern from my Pebble Mill Set bought 40 years ago.

A stethoscope was borrowed from the Manchester cousins.

The beloved pink  " Grandma Dress" would definitely fit the bill. My machine embroidered two name tags [Dr Jessica and Princess Pearl] with velcro backs

Happy to report that the costume, and the production were both very well received! 

Cover Story - Love is Blue

A lovely treat at the end of a busy week was my stitching from Sussex. I have a very strict order for 'unboxing' Kirsten's parcels.

1. read the accompanying postcard, which is general chitchat and news
2. check out the flat gifts, which are always so ingenious and apposite
3. open out the stitching panel [ with many oohs and ahhs]
4. reading the notebook to learn more about the latest needlework.

The card was from PenTo Paper, K says it's a favourite store in Brighton. They are now online, and the website is a delight!

The flat gifts - a book [to be read and reviewed later] and from K's recent visit to the Indian Bazaar in the Paradise Gardens, a bag made from sari silk, and a leaf woodblock. The bag brings back happy memories of Leicester's Golden Mile - and the woodblock is lovely.

And then there is the stitching...
Half a dozen blue prints, combined in a lovely random patchwork. This is adjacent to my blue sashiko stitching. It looks fabulous. Various shapes and sizes of irregular polygons, the tiniest one less than half the size of a postage stamp. 

All this inky blue-ness! Summer skies, summer seas, and sapphire anniversaries. Glorious! Thanks K

No Further Comment Needed!

September's Calendar picture. I'm hanging on to the words of Isaiah 43, and Romans 8:38&39

Cover Story - Umbel Pie

Two definitions
UMBEL a cluster of small flowers on short spreading stems that come from the same point and form a shape similar to an open umbrella:.
PIE a confused mass of printers' type; leading to pie – a food dish with miscellaneous contents

I'm fascinated by umbelliferous flowers - on fabric, in the fields...I have a favourite teatowel and a skirt  decorated with these blossoms.

And recently I picked up an Indian Woodblock in a CS. 

It became my inspiration for the July stitching, although I did not want to get ink on it!

So I traced the design, then found some sky blue polycotton. I taped the tracing paper to the window, with the fabric on top, then copied the umbel with a vanishing pen. 
Firsty I stitched horizontal running stitch lines in a variegated blue/white perlé thread. Then the sun in a golden shade. Next, two shades of green for the grass - lightest at the foreground, and darkest at the horizon, and alternating rows of running stitch in between. Finally black backstitched stems, and each ended with a French knot.

A Norfolk summer skyline...