Distraction

...seems to be the word of the week. Or perhaps it should be procrastination. Despite my best intentions I'm still struggling to get up any momentum, and even get my good old homemaking routine back in action. I think I am waiting around for something to click, but perhaps something a bit more involved is needed. 

I did make a resolution to give away a lot of my houseplants and have begun with that. I haven't been keeping count, but have put at least 10-15 outside on the front wall, and then have almost all disappeared. I also left a note out saying more to come, and a planning to give away all but 2 or 3 per room. I have ended up with so many, and really all they are is clutter, and something else to care for. It isn't the same as caring for a garden, and I think that was all I wanted really. 

So that will be something, being able to get to the windowsills again and having a bit more light coming in might make a huge difference, especially in these darker months. 

I have been busying away working on Christmas presents. I have finished one, and have a couple of works in progress for the girls. I need to keep up momentum as I would like to make a jumper for all of my close family, with the exception perhaps of Will whose might need to wait until the new year, we'll see. 

While working on the girls' projects in the evenings after they go to bed, I have also got my swimmers jumper on the go to pick away at here and there. 

I have finished the front and back, and rather than go straight into the sleeves I decided to add the swiss darning to the front at this point, and then if it was awful I would have the option to redo the front with intarsia instead. 

I did the colourwork yesterday, and generally I am pleased. Nobody would be fooled into thinking the design is knitted, but the effect is quite fun, and I would definitely use it again for small designs. It was certainly more enjoyable to do than intarsia. 

Below is my design - I added in a few fish for fun, and then the image from the pattern for reference.

The only thing I particularly don't like about this method is that it slightly distorts the stitches around the design, but I'm hoping when the garden is worn it won't be too visible. 

I have a busy day today - I must at least do the washing up and hoover through in the morning, and then I have an opticians appointment. After not wearing glasses for several years, I feel that my eyesight has gotten to a point now where I will need to begin wearing them again, at least to drive. While in town I am also going to go charity shop hunting for white sheets - the plan is to be a family of ghosts this Halloween, and I've been tasked with making costumes. Could be worse!

 Plan to have a complete overhaul of our space and bring peace to the house: 

Get rid of houseplants. Almost all of them. 2-3 per room, maximum. I'm not sure how many I have but it's around the 50/60 mark and I'm bored of them. I loved houseplants when I was younger before I had children to look after, and I liked them a lot when we first moved here, I think because I was looking for something to replace the feeling of caring for a garden. But it's not the same, and I'm over them. I will ruthlessly go through them and put them outside for people to take, I'm sure they will go quickly. 

Go through board games/puzzles. If there aren't any to give away, put some away in cupboards and rotate.

Same for toys. 

Go through wardrobe. Clothes shouldn't be squished in there, I have more clothes than I can wear, and I basically wear the same 5 things on rotation anyway. 

Find a good storage solution for the winter blankets - shelves in bedroom alcove? Ask Will.

Sort out the girls' desks and find good, accessible homes for all of their craft things. Teach them the value of keeping their things tidy. 

Colder

 Colder and colder, that's this week. Is this it now, are we rolling into winter, or will there be a final snap of warmth? Whatever the weather is doing people say it's unseasonable, so I'm not even sure what to expect anymore!

Today I had a lovely swim in the sea, but it's been the first this year (since it started warming up in may, anyway) where getting in, I felt like actually this is rather cold and perhaps I'd rather sit inside and eat a biscuit instead. But I went in anyway, and as always felt better for it. 

It was made easier by having my crochet dress to change into after. I made this in the spring, and it was, oh, lots and lots of work. Unfortunately once it was finished I discovered that I handed accounted for the weight of the wool and the resulting drag, so rather than the waist sitting at my natural waistline, it was more of a dropped waist which wasn't what I was after. 

I wore it once or twice and then put it away in a wardrobe, feeling disappointed, and every now and then I have wondered if there is a way of picking out a section of it without having to completely unravel it, and not coming up with much. Anyway, as is often the way, I had my eureka moment the second I opened my eyes this morning and got to work on it, taking out the squares around the neckline. It was a bit dicey and I made a couple of wrong snips so here's hoping it doesn't unravel at any moment. I also made a cord for the waist, and now it fits me perfectly, I think I will live in it over winter, and am even desperate to make another now. I will resist the urge as I have plenty to get in with already.

I also got around to making the dress from the duvet fabric I bought last week. I just used the pink side, and only about two thirds of it at that, so this is one of the least expensive garments I have ever made at about £1.50, not including the pattern. 

I decided not to have a contrast collar this time as I thought it would be too twee with the pink, and I left the pleats open for a poofier skirt. My greatest triumph came after I begun sewing, I realised I would need another zip. Rather than ordering one online, which I am trying not to do, I thought I would try my local charity shop which I knew had a few zips last time I went. In the even they only have one in the right length and rather than white it was creamy yellow. I bought it anyway, I think for 40p, and came home and put it in a jar of bleachy water for an hour, and thankfully it turned perfectly white and I was able to complete the dress in a day. 

We had, not our first, but our first fire that was properly justified this week. We all enjoyed, especially the cats. Over the weekend the girls and I put up the window halloween decorations, better late than never. 

At the weekend we went to the National Botanic Gardens and saw a small, but exquisite display of costumes inspired my stories in the Mabinogion. One if the things that was so fascinating and wonderful about these costumes, the stories aside, was that for many of them the materials and techniques were detailed on an information board, and almost all of the materials were old curtains, things from car boot sales, bits and bobs from the button box. Inspiring stuff. 

I have a jacket pattern I'm keen to make, and I'm thinking if I can find a pair of velvet curtains they could be just the boy. 

Now I'm off for a run in the cold, and then have housework to catch up on, as always, so time to go!

Improvements

 I came by this picture in a memory on my phone last week of our old dining room. It took a couple of different colours before I fixed on one that I liked, and once I painted it this pale pink, oh I loved it so much. 

I keep coming back to the back room in our current house and thinking there must be something I can do with it. The damp man is coming today to have a look, hopefully he'll do some work for us and sort out a couple of places in the house that are letting water in. Then I want to have a look at this room and see what I can do, but I think recreating the vibe of the old place is a good way to start. 

I don't have a lot of time to write this as I have the school run, but I've made a real effort today to get some good energy going and stop moping around. I baked a decent sourdough, roasted the last of our tomatoes, baked a loaf of sandwich bread, and have done a bunch of tidying. 

I got around to making the bug skirts for the girls, and we're all pleased with them, although Ivy's sadly already has minestrone soup stains. I am going to buy some white vinegar and see what I can do. 

I picked up this all cotton superking duvet cover from a charity shop today for £5, which feels like a bit of a bargain. I will probably make another of the mushroom dress with one side of it. 

I must go, I thought I'd have more time to write, so will have to revisit another day. 

Mushroom

 It's been a fun and busy few days, and today is the day, despite being a Sunday, that I must get things a bit straight in the house again as it's all been sorely neglected. 

This week is the week that I got around to making my mushroom dress, and oh, I really love it. the only thing is the fabric is quite thing, and though I lined the skirt with cotton, I didn't line the bodice as I thought I might make it a bit stiff and heavy. So there are a couple of seams I'm a little nervous about which I'm planning to reinforce on the inside with strips of bias. I've worn it once but won't wear it again until I've done that now. 

The pattern was a dream (lisette simplicity 1419) and I am already planning to make it again with some cotton bed linen that I had actually been saving for something else. I made a few alterations - I lengthened the sleeves a little, the bodice a little (probably didn't need to, I won't next time) and the skirt a whole lot, and I really like the fit. The waist is really nipped in and there is a lot of room in the back and around the arms for movement. 

I also have the contrast side of the mushroom duvet which I am planning to make into another dress, but which I will fully line. 

I had my knitting group on Thursday. It was quiet this time, but it's a nice fixture in the week. Friday was an inset day and me and the girls had a great day, we had breakfast on the beach, went to softplay, and in the afternoon I taught Ivy to crochet a granny square. In the evening we went to the yacht club for bingo with the girls and all slept on the boat. 

Yesterday was another packed one - library in the morning, I didn't take out any books this week, a birthday party after lunch, and then in the afternoon we didn't some work in some maths and english books I bought for the girls. I'm having some concerns about the school as the girls seem to come home every day saying they have just been sat watching T.V, or playing games on ipads. I need to find out more about the current curriculum and current style of teaching before I judge too quickly, but it all sounds pretty disheartening to me. Not that I'm worried about the girls getting into cambridge or anything, but you would hope they would be being taught in an involved, social way, where they can ask questions and talk about things rather than being stuck on devices. 

Yesterday I crocheted another beret because I am insane. 

That's all for now, I have a cold and am feeling rough, again. 

Green

 Here I am picking myself, dusting myself off, and getting on with it. 
Yesterday I went for a fab swim with my friend. I really wasn't in the mood, which is rare, but I never say no to a swim so along we went. The sea was wonderful and bouncy and there was even a bit of sun. Although the weather is cooling the sea is also still almost at its warmest, and it's great to be making the most if it. We probably stayed in for the best part of an hour and I came out feeling better than I went in. 
I got home and was so hungry I had to immediately eat two pieces of date and orange cake and sit in a sun beam to warm up. 

While doing that, I noticed one of the cones of angora, or angora type yarn that we picked up from the charity shop at the weekend and thought that it looked like the exact sort of thing a beret would suit. An hour and half later I have a lovely, and very warm, fluffy beret. 

I was reminded of years ago when I was about 19, I was in America and got quite into knitting, just very simple things, and had bought a bag of mixed yarn from my Dad's thrift store, and in this bag was a knitted beret, complete except for the ends being tucked in. I wore it for years and I remember thinking wistfully, if only I could make something like that. It all seemed such a mystery. I so look forward to teaching the girls every skill I know how to, it makes you feel so powerful. I have begun now on a Christmas present for my Mum and hope to keep the momentum up and give people some really nice handmade gifts this year. I have no money, and no desire to buy anything anyway.

I painted our hallway floor the night before last and gave it its first coat of varnish last night, so just one more to do this evening. All of the paint was in our shed already, so I'm so pleased to have done this job without having to buy anything, just a little bit of elbow grease required. With a couple of coats of varnish I'm hoping this paint job will last, and it has inspired me to keep working on the many, many other areas of the house that need attention. 

Stuffed

These last few months I have felt 'stuffed out' in a way that I never have before. Although there have been many, many times in the past where I have felt that my life is too cluttered, or my house is too cluttered, and I need to have a clear-out, this is something subtly different. When I think about stuff I feel quite unwell, and when I think about the production and consumption of more stuff that is going on around me all the time I get the sweats. 

It is upsetting me so much and bringing about such a feeling of existential threat that I don't want to even dwell on it and write about it at length here. Fair enough to say it is a very real, very visceral and instinctive feeling and one that I cannot ignore. 

I know that the only possible answer can be to throw myself into the life that I am living right now, and to be present in the love and life and joy that surround me every day. In many ways the last few months have been like a living death, and time passes on anyway. 

I would like, instead of ruminating and spending sleepless nights, to return to my former way of living where I accepted all of this badness going on around me, and did my best to live a good life amidst it. That is how this blog began in the first place. 

Moving on from that, I'm trying to keep myself out of trouble and have been sorting out my home in bits and bobs. Today I spent the afternoon going through a couple of drawers in my bedroom which have just become dumps, and have found a few missing things, a few forgotten things, and a fair bit of rubbish too. 

A couple of days ago we went to a big charity shop in town, looking for an iron actually, though we didn't find one, and picked up a number of cones of mohair type yarn, and the below double bedsheet. Checking the label, it was originally from matalan, and the fabric is pretty cheap and nasty, but I love the prints and I think if I line it it will be perfectly usable. I have even ordered a dress pattern with some birthday money from my Dad and am looking forward to taking my time on it. Just need that iron now.. 
I generally wear more oversized tenty-type dresses, so have ordered a pattern that is a little more fitted and smart for a change. 

Now it's time I was off to get the girls. 

This evening I am repainting the hall floor, as you see in the picture above that's a job long overdue. I think I saw some floor varnish in the shed so will finish it this time, and hopefully the paint job, with care, will last longer.