Going through the huge box of family photos I came across this one of my Uncle Bernard Bailey - he was in the Sherwood Foresters in WW1 and died on the Somme in 1916 - his name is on the Thiepval memorial. I have been researching this branch of the family recently, along with my dad and also Gary, the webmaster of the Huthwaite website (where our family is from) . He came up with a cutting from the local paper about him, published when his death was announced. It makes very moving reading - Bernard seems like a chap I would have loved to have known :(
Spent the last 2 afternoons using up fabric stash by making 6 dresses for the charity 'Dress a girl around the world'. They are really simple pillowcase style dresses using cotton fabric. I handmade binding for the spotty dress, but used packet binding for the rest. The 2 on the right are from a recycled dress I bought from a charity shop - they were actually the most expensive as the dress cost £9.99 and was unworn. Must resist those charity shops - especially in Harpenden, which is always way overpriced :( (but often has Boden and designer labels..). The dress on the left is actually Boden fabric, courtesy of Fabrics Galore in London - a really designer fabric treasure trove.
The blog for the UK organiser for DAGATW is:
http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.com/
A few brave ducks
a rather depleted river...we need some rain!
you'd never believe we are so close to a town here.....and that this river (The Lea) is so long that by the time it gets to the other side of Hertfordshire it is big enough to be used for the Olympic games next year (the white water rapids bit near Broxbourne). It then flows through East London and then out into the Thames.
Lots to report from over the summer - but the main thing is that I finally had a design published! This guernsey started life as an idea in wool back in 1988 - it was one of my final year projects at uni - there are lots of other designs that relate to this, and I still really like them, so I will be gradually re-working them and writing up patterns.
This little fella is made from Twilleys Gorgeous 4ply - a bamboo mix that is just lovely to knit with - soft and smooth and shows of the stitchwork beautifully.
It is also very economical - this sweater only took 4 balls in the 3/4 year size!
Hopefully it should be appearing on the new Future publishing site soon - where you can download and pay for patterns individually that have appeared in The Knitter and Simply Knitting (plus their other craft magazines) - I will add a link when it does.
If you click on the photo it will take you to flickr, where you can view other bits of the pattern etc!
Ernest is the name of a special little boy in the life of Jeanette - you can check out her amazing blog in the list over there >>>>
(Lazy Seamstress).
so it appears you have to upload them all at once and then insert the text afterwards...
To help the #dressember movement along and in honour of 21 years selling frocks at www.katharinebird.co.uk, I'd like to impart some tips.
#dressember is about wearing dresses in December. Great idea. 1st thing 2 remember. Dresses r the hardest thing to fit. Both length & width
#dressember If a dress doesn't fit, blame the dress, not yourself. I fitted made to measure dresses 4 years. Learnt that we're all different
#dressember Having a short waist or narrow shoulders is NORMAL. Trying to buy a dress to fit from maybe 4 sizes if you're lucky is bonkers
#dressember Learn what suits you but don't discount all other shapes. Just find a good alteration service!
#dressember Prints are more flattering than plain. Small prints more than large. But if you fall in love with bold lillies etc, go for it
#dressember Everyone always asks for colour in Winter but always ends up buying BLACK! It's more flattering of course but remember underwear
#dressember Our parents and grandparents wore 'foundation' underwear for a reason. Smooth lines are more important than sucky in pants.
#dressember If u can't break away from the LBD, brighten it up with colourful jewellery or maybe a scarf. Or be brave & wear coloured tights
#dressember While we're on the subject of tights, Winter is great for dresses because we can all wear 'opaques'. Try to get high waisted.
#dressember Opaques means showing more leg than most of us would dare to in Summer. Best with high boots of course. Heels or flats
#dressember Finding high boots is a nightmare. www.duo.co.uk do all widths but are a bit pricey. Clarks have some great wide boots this year
#dressember If you have skinny legs, I don't have another suggestion but at least the thick socks look is in this year.
#dressember Yes you can show your knees. From experience most women think their legs are at least 10 times uglier than they are.
#dressember I have no idea where this ugly leg thing comes from - just like I despair over arm fixations. Whatever you think, you are wrong!
#dressember Also don't worry too much about sleeveless dresses in Winter. Put a cardi over or a long sleeved vest under.
#dressember If you go for the l/s vest, try to find a long one so you don't have fabric crinkling up round your waist.
#dressember If you like a dress but you think it's a bit shapeless, you can do wonders with belts. Thin ones round hips, thick under bust
#dressember Maxis are still around this Winter but only ever wear them with short cardis/jackets or you'll look like a sack!
#dressember OK, shapes. It's true V necks suit a bigger bust but you can also create a V with a nice, long necklace tied in a knot.
#dressember Everyone wants to show off their 'tiny' waists if they have them but don't nip in too tight if things go out again too much!
#dressember A gather on the front of a dress you wear doesn't mean you're pregnant. It just means the dress is comfortable!
#dressember Ruching is VERY flattering. Ruching is horizontal gathers. Looks rubbish off but fantastic on the body.
#dressember I love bias cut. Trinny & Susanna are wrong. But if u find something u like, make sure it is cut generously, with lots of fabric
#dressember Also, bias cut dresses also look super long without a body in them. Don't judge a dress by it's hanger appeal. Put it on.
#dressember In fact if a bias cut dress looks extra long, that's probably a good sign that the manufacturers haven't skimped on the fabric
#dressember I work in a lovely dress shop that has expensive and cheap dresses. Libelula is a great label. But so is InWear.
#dressember And the place I love for really pretty fabrics and great shapes at an affordable price.... Wallis. Good size range too!
#dressember If anyone's read this splurge and has a question, feel free. Otherwise, check the details at www.katharinebird.co.uk & call me!
#dressember I work Sat - Tues but the lovely Tina is also great. She's a totally different shape to me so our own experience is extensive!
#dressember When buying dresses (any clothes really), be aware of the dressing rooms particularly mirrors and lighting.
#dressember Seriously, why should we have to look at ourselves in something that approximates those mirrors that help you see round corners?
#dressember And a harsh white overhead bulb might be good for Dracula but not good enough for us. Remember good lighting is your friend.
#dressember & when u look in a nice flattering mirror, use a hand mirror 2 look at your rear. Twisting only makes shoulders narrow & bum big
#dressember Your shoulders are very important. They balance nearly every figure shape & are more important than your bum. Give them a chance!
body con dresses? #dressember Aren't we all body conscious enough already? Wudn't say no to a Herve Leger tho. Original and best.
An opportunity to light candles in memory of angel babies everywhere. I am particularly thinking of Florence and Lauren who were both born awake but left their families far too soon xxx
Back in August we took a trip OOOOp North to see our friend in Northumberland - and took a little detour off the A1 to see the Angel close up. I was a little disappointed to be honest, as it was smaller than I expected - but it does make for some good photo- ops. I am still amazed at how good the iphone is at taking pictures - all it needs is a flash and a zoom and I'd be able to use it all the time.
Bought a long handled fruit tree picker today - it makes picking our Bramley Apple tree so much fun! It has a gravel path underneath it so any windfalls are unusable (unless you spend ages picking all the grit out!) - so large basket full picked this afternoon.
I've gone through my recipe books and the Popina cookbook has lots of savoury muffins recipes - so made Spinach,Garlic and Nutmeg ones and then Feta and Tomato..yum! They've gone in the freezer. Had 'use it up omelette' at lunchtime which used all the boiled new potatoes lurking in the fridge from Sunday and remembered to freeze the cooked beetroot before it went off! All my peelings are in the compost bin - and cooked food scraps are collected by the council anyway - so nothing really gets binned here.
As you can see by the button on the right it is 'Zero Waste Week'. I've signed up as I really need to declutter the baking cupboard! Some of it's shameful contents are pictured here! I have actually listed everything in there and am attempting to buy as little food as possible this week and use up as much in the larder/fridge and freezer as I can,
So far I've made 4 cakes and frozen all the runner and french beans lurking in the fridge. I even whizzed up the end crusts of bread from the bread bin and froze them too.
So that is day one - more reporting tomorrow!
