Licensed To Kill?

I suspect that if Daniel Craig had swapped his dj, bow-tie and buttonhole for an old fleece, jogging bottoms, and slippers, the Bond films wouldn't have made quite so much at the box office...
Exactly what is Bob doing out there on the patio?
Answer - he is pumping expanding foam into the crevices round the dishwasher drainpipe.

 Why? well, we have found some unwelcome nocturnal visitors on the kitchen floor

Slugs! You wander out into the kitchen, to put on the kettle for an evening cuppa- and there they are, one, sometimes two, cavorting in the middle of the room [maybe 'cavorting' is too strong a word - more like 'lurking in a sinister manner'] 

It took us quite a while to work out where they were coming from - then we shone a torch in the evening, and saw the sparkling slimy trail, leading to the gap beside the dishwasher

Pulling the d/w out, we found there is a large gap at the edge of the flooring - and lots of sliminess shining on the wall behind. 

Bob has put a new strip of skirting board down to cover the hole [the flat iron is there to hold it in place whilst the glue dries]

We hope these efforts will keep the terrestrial gastropod molluscs out! We don't particularly want to kill them - but we definitely don't want them in our kitchen.

Back In Time For the Factory

I am loving this programme. Yes, it has the ubiquitous, but charming, Alex Jones leading the team [honestly, I think that either she, or Fiona Bruce, appears on at least 50% of the programmes I watch lately]
I'm thinking of applying for a job in the Textile Firm.

It is only September, but already the machines are out and I am busy sewing Nativity Costumes.
On Friday I spent an hour in the loft, going through the boxes of the Great Stash, and came down with armfuls of fabric [should that be armsful?]
I spent another hour on Saturday sorting and ironing, and again on Sunday afternoon, cutting out robes and tunics.

Monday I began the process of sewing -  and had completed 30 basic garments by the time I stopped to watch Monkman and Seagull [no Alex or Fiona on that show!] M&S are very enthusiastic and entertaining 

The Dining Room is now my little factory, with the dress rail receiving items as they are completed. More pictures will follow... 

 I'm leaving all the angel robes till last...

Simply Red?

Nothing to do with the Manchester group- but I recently got this book- Simply RedWORK from the Library. The author, Mandy Shaw, has done sewing for Kirstie Allsopp, appearing on her programmes and also on the 'Create and Craft' channel. It is a fun book, beginning with a brief history of the redwork technique. It goes on to give 9 basic motifs- and ideas for using them in 17 projects. 

Techniques are explained well- for left and right handed stitchers. I am not sure I have the motivation to make a large quilt, but I like some of the smaller pieces. The section on designing your own motifs is good - Mandy shows how she translated the cover of a 1930s book into a design for stitching. I may have a go at making some of these ideas - they're ideal for small gifts. *****

Creative Machine Embroidery by Linda Miller is a much more complex volume - it rightly deserves a place in the 'textiles handbook series' published by ACBlack. Beautifully photographed, the intricate techniques are explained in great detail - and I am in awe of this woman's skill. 
To completely cover a piece of cloth with stitchery is one thing- when you are doing it with an electric sewing machine- wow!
I couldn't even manage the basic heart shape

Linda used to write a blog - but not recently. However you can still check out pictures of her lovely pieces.
I did get a machine embroidery foot in the box of feet I bought last autumn. Maybe it is time to dig it out and practice?*****

My third craft book [also borrowed from West Moors Library] was Kanzashi in Bloom.
These folded fabric flowers are traditionally used to adorn the elaborate coiffures of the Japanese Geishas. Their full name is Hana Tsumami Kanzashi [hana = flower, tsumami = folded, kanzashi = hair ornament]
Unlike Mandy [Sussex] and Linda [Devon] this textile artist, Diane Gilleland comes from Oregon.

She too has excellent instructions and step by step photo guides.
One simple method, and interpreted in many ways, to produce a great variety of blooms.

Yes, obviously, you can put your flower on a hair clip - but there are many other suggestions, and plenty of ideas
Wear them as part of a headband, pendant, tiny ear-rings. 
Dress up a skirt, tote bag or belt buckle. Make a jar topper, drawer pull or gift embellishment. Diane suggests that whilst the trad fabric is silk, it makes sense to begin with cotton/polycotton when you are learning the folding, and stitching. One project in the book is making a wallet [adorned with a bloom] using two old silk neckties. Bob has donated two from the back of his wardrobe in case I want to try!
I liked this book because it is about quite a niche craft - Diane says there are only fifteen acknowledged Tsunami Kanzashi masters in the world. Many of these are elderly, and no longer training apprentices. However Kuniko Kanawa, a Japanese woman living in Washington , is working to keep this tradition alive [it dates back to 1600] Many Japanese girls choose to wear a kanzashi in their hair on their wedding day.
I will try and make a bloom as a brooch - and if the bug bites, Bob better watch out, or I may be recycling his silk ties... Another *****

How satisfying, to borrow three very different craft books and find myself dreaming about trying them all out. Sadly, it is just dreaming at the moment, there are other things written on the project board which must be done first!

Moving On...

Recently Rosie enjoyed a very long ride in the bike-trailer along the Marriott's Way Heritage trail [website here] She absolutely loved it! The family did a 20 mile round trip on a sunny afternoon. Following the path of two disused railway lines, this 26 mile route goes from Aylsham to Norwich. 
When this picture was posted online, my dear friend Elisabeth in Leicester [also a cycling fanatic] asked if that was the bridge with the graffiti.

This is the Drayton railway bridge.
And here is the graffiti.

It seems like good advice - harbouring resentment never helped anyone to move on...

Waitrose /Wiltrose

It was my task to arrange the flowers in church. The donor had requested orange flowers. I found orange gerberas on Wimborne Market, and orange roses in Wimborne Waitrose.

 

I am not a great florist, but I thought they looked OK. 

Next morning however... 

I emailed Waitrose a picture of the drooping blooms, along with a picture of the label [guaranteeing at least 5 days of quality display] Happy to report an instant response, and by Wednesday, a full refund of the cost. 
I shall give our Church Treasurer the cash value, to go back into the Flower Fund, and spend the gift card on groceries! Well done Waitrose & Partners, thank you. 

I 

Bide A Wee, Bless You!

As a child, I used to go with Mum to visit an old lady from church who lived in a little old house with the name 'Bide A Wee'. I assumed this must be some euphemism regarding her outside loo. Mum [who had lived in Glasgow whilst at theological college] explained it was Scottish for "Stop for a while". VisitScotland [aka the Scottish Tourist Board] are keen to get more people up there, and last year commissioned an Insights Team to suggest strategies. 

They came up with the Gaelic word còsagach, which they defined as snug, warm, cosy. Their version of the Scandi hygge. But I have two problems with this word. Firstly, pronunciation - hygge was bad enough, but when I try to say còsagach it sounds like I have flu. People respond with "bless you!" and second - the Gaelic speakers say the main definition of còsagach is full of holes and crevices!
However, the idea is that there are lots of good Scottish habits we can adopt in the winter months to improve our mood. 
They've modified things a little, and now talk of coorie [verb, meaning either to stoop, cringe crouch down or to snuggle up. Clearly they are taking the 2nd definition again!] Let's face it, the Romans called Scotland Hibernia - the Land of Winter. So this place should have some well established 'coping mechanisms' A new book has come out to help us manage the approaching season, just as we pass the Autumnal Equinox. Or maybe as we enter the 'heres-a-good-Christmas-gift-for-you-to-buy' season.
Let me save you fifteen quid, by telling you all the things you allegedly need to do to be as happy as a Scotsman in Winter...

1- drink whisky and hot toddies [I'll have honey and hot lemon or cocoa]

2- ambience [candles, blankets, socks....cf hygge]

3- soup [comforting broths, not vichysoisse or gazpacho]
4- fresh air- get outside and stride along the beach, tramp through the forest [or even swim, kayak, cycle]
5- radio - curl up under a blanket and bond with your nearest and dearest as you Listen With Other. Try Radio4 Extra, or even the Shipping Forecast [Dogger, Fisher, German Bight...]

 6- rediscover classic Scottish Novels - Treasure Island, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Thirty Nine Steps.
7-Woollens [see also hygge] My favourite knitwear designer is definitely Kate Davies [click here]
8- Nightlife - that's natural nightlife, not clubbing. Stargazing, owl/fox/badger watching etc

9- Watch some Scottish TV programmes as you snuggle up on the sofa. Rosie is fond of that feisty redhead Katie Morag, which is not surprising. Personally, I think it is time for a revival of Supergran.

So now you know. Enjoy the winter, keep calm, and coorie on with the còsagach!

If I Had A Hammer...

Actually, I do have a hammer. When I went to Uni, my Dad gave me a small tool kit. It contained a hammer, screwdrivers, a Stanley knife and more. I always have a small Swiss Army knife on my keyring. When a work colleague asked in the office recently "has anyone got a screwdriver with them?" I am very proud that my daughter replied "Flat or cross head?" 

The late, great Heinz Wolff once said "We must bring our children up to be literate, numerate and manipulate" I don't know if you can use that word as an adjective, but I know exactly what he meant. We must teach them to use their hands, and not just for operating keypads and touch screens.
I checked out some more of Mr & Mrs Horth's "101" books and was not altogether surprised by the contents.

"101 things for a boy to make" shows a lad with a crane on the front cover - and a battleship and a lorry on the back. The 21st century re-issue says "More dangerous than 'The Dangerous Book For Boys'" You notice that MRS Horth is not credited with writing any of this volume.
Practical directions for the young craftsman- carving and cutting, sawing and sticking, nailing and knocking...
The parallel one is "101 things for a girl to DO" [no idea why she cannot make as well] And that is full of pages of sewing and knitting and crochet and lace. 
And I am irritated - but not surprised- that in the late 1940s girls were expect to find pretty, quiet little 'indoor' hobbies, whilst boys could climb and cut and set fire to things. I'm irritated because WW2 had just ended when women had worked machinery in munitions factories, flown planes, been lumberjacks  [sorry, -jills] They had cracked codes alongside Alan Turing, and been parachuted behind enemy lines to help the French Resistance. And now they can sit down by the fireside and stitch lace on a cushion. Huh!
What's out there now? I wondered. Here in the 21st century, when women are liberated and have had the vote for 100 years, can I find some good craft books? I discovered things to make and do for boys- and for girls- published by Usborne.

But would you believe it? - the boys' one has things like Egyptian Mummies, Stained Glass Windows, Dragon Pencils, Treasure Maps, Monster Masks, Cattle, Skeletons and Bats
All primary colours
And the girls' book has Mermaids, Unicorns, Fairy wings, Ice Cream, Flowers and Butterflies
Pastel Pinks and Turquoise

Surely they do not have to be like this?
I actually purchased a book of "Pirate things to make and do" a while ago, for a school activity.
I got it down from the shelf. Yes there are girl-pirates in there. I counted - 20%, 1 in 5 pirates is pictured as female. I suppose, historically speaking, the majority of pirate were blokes [but not all - Anne Bonny, Mary Read...] but this is a small yo-ho-ho in the right direction, I suppose.

Rosie is learning to use tools, ride a bike, build things...and to help her parents and grandparents in the kitchen and the garage. I'm glad she will grow up in a family where being a girl does not prevent her from exploring and discovering. She can be a scientist, a needleworker, a chef, a writer, a preacher*, an athlete....whatever 






- and we will support and encourage her decisions, I hope.
Well done Jocelyn Bell Burnell - who has at last been recognised for her contribution to astrophysics- and is generously giving away the £2.3million prize money to help fund PhD students underrated in STEM subjects [science, technology, engineering, maths]
**I have almost finished ranting, but to the elderly gentleman who asked me recently - NO, my husband does not write my sermons for me.
If I had an appropriate hammer, I would probably be using it to smash more glass ceilings.

Window Dressing

Years ago, I made myself a little pincushion using the Cathedral Windows technique.[information here] It was fun, but quite fiddly. I decided that I didn't want to embark on a whole quilt.
This pattern was particularly popular in the USA in the 1930s. 

Some purists used all the same, plain, fabric for their backing pieces, and a multitude of colours for the inner squares- whilst others used random fabrics and made a less ordered pattern.
Last weekend, I was chatting with a friend, who mentioned his quilt. He had inherited it from his Mum 
He wasn't sure of the whole story, but when they cleared her house, it was in the attic and smelt a little musty. He knew that it had been hung on display in her church for some reason.
I offered to check it out for him.
"It's clean, but it doesn't smell very fresh" he said.
I have to tell you that it has been an utter delight to work on it over the past few days. But forget the bit about being clean- it took a gentle soak in the bath, and seven rinses to get all the dust out!

It looked like the bath was full of tea!
It was sunny so I gently squeezed out as much water as I could, then hung it to dry  - supporting it on two sides.

The reverse side looked bright and fresh - but the 'window' side had clearly faded over the years.
Also, a number of holes, where squares joined, became more obvious.
Once it was completely dry, I brought it in, and it spent a day in the airing cupboard. Then I spread it over the dining table. Using pins with large bright heads, I marked every place where a repair was needed. And stitched it up...

I concluded the quilt had been made by a group - not just Dave's Mum, because there were inconsistencies in the stitching, and the edges. But this was a real labour of love by these women. It must have taken them hours to create. There were fun 50s prints [penguins on a turquoise sea and grey polka dots] and bright pink and orange 1960's psychedelic patterns

The front is much more faded than the back

But now the quilt is spread out on the spare bed at my friend's house- and it looks lovely there. Happy memories of a lovely lady.

What a privilege to be involved in such a lovely project. 

Girl, Sister, Wife - Relatively Random Reading

"Three books for £1" said the sign in Barnardo's, Salisbury the other week. And I sawe one I had been recommended to read, and a second which looked...worthy, and a third which looked fun . So, all in a good cause, I handed over my pound.

GIRL - "The Girl on the Train" which somebody or other [Steph? Liz?] mentioned months ago. It came out in 2015 and was made into a film with Emily Blunt [pictured on the cover] a year later.
I have not seen the film*
Basic plot - the girl [Rachel] goes to London every day on the train, passing the house where she once lived. Her ex-husband and new wife live there now. She watches them, and their neighbours, and creates stories about their lives. Then one day she witnesses something shocking... 
I wasn't 100% convinced - although I enjoyed it more than 'Gone Girl' which has many similar themes. Too many of the usual missing girl/angry divorcee/depressed alcoholic tropes. But it would be a good book to while away a train journey. ***
*The film has not had good reviews-Emily Blunt, the only Brit actor, is allegedly the one who holds the movie together. I cannot see [a] how it would translate well into a Stateside setting [b] how they manage to cast Emily [slim, attractive etc] in the part described [frequently] as overweight, and looking the worse for drink.
SISTER - Mrs Luther and her sisters- Women in the Reformation. At school we had to do a project on a historical character. I chose Martin Luther - but struggled to find out much about his wife Catherine [no internet back in the 60's, and our little library in town wasn't much help] So this looked like a useful tome to find out more about his 'Kate'. Despite the title of the book, the dear lady barely manages twelve pages. 

"Women have made crucial contributions to the life of the Church from New Testament times onwards, but the Reformation saw an explosion in their involvement. Having benefited alongside their brothers from the Renaissance's emphasis on learning, and with the increasing casting aside of the belief that they were intellectually inferior, women learned to read in ever increasing numbers - and many wanted to read the Bible. They started to interpret Scripture for themselves - which put them on a collision course with the Church." says one reviewer. I found this book a little disappointing. I will attempt to read it again in the depths of winter, and see if it has improved with keeping! I rate it just ** [I should say that this book gave no indication of ever having been opened and read right through. It was utterly pristine. Maybe that was why it was in the CS...]

WIFE -101 Things for the housewife to do, 1949  This is a reprint of a book which came out almost 70 years ago, written by a married couple,  Lillie B and Arther C Horth. Intriguing ideas and activities for the housewife in the aftermath of WW2. Many practical [but now totally outdated] tips about laundry, housecleaning, furniture, and leisure activities. A surprising number of manufacturers sent contributions to this useful 'vade mecum'. In the authors' preface, many of these are acknowledged- Heals, Liberty's, Electrolux, Hoover, Brillo...plus the Women's League of Health and Beauty and Harbutt's Plasticene!

Not much about cookery- food was still on ration- but practical advice for mending saucepans [presumably the ones you hadn't sent off to be melted down to make Spitfire!] An alarmingly overstocked refrigerator is pictured on p65 "economical to run, it requires a tiny gas flame, there are no moving parts, and therefore permanent silence, and no radio interference" Perhaps I should follow the advice about massages to prevent a double chin. This book is indeed great fun to read. The foreword says it is part of a series which began in the 1920s. I'd love to find a copy of '101 things for a boy to make'.

For the sheer enjoyment, fascinating illustrations and wonderfully archaic terms ["fomentations and poultices" sounds like a Terry Pratchett curse] I give this *****.

If you can learn to lift your ribs right out of your waist, and to let them expand outwards and inwards when breathing, you will soon develop that "upward buoyant poise" which is the secret of grace and which would bring less drudgery and more joy to the daily dusting, bedmaking, picture straightening, and all the dozens of things which go towards making your home beautiful'.

With such wonderful advice as this, who needs Mrs Hinch on Instagram?