I want to do it myself!

I’m feeling a bit sentimental, it’s our second anniversary tomorrow.. bear with me.

One of the things that I like about Batman (apart from his fine pair of calves and good waltzing technique), and that we share, is the need to understand how things work, and if possible, to be able to make and do things by ourselves.

So although he doesn’t necessarily feel the need to expand his sewing skills beyond the pair of shorts he made at school, he understands why I would want to spend countless hours and tears making quilts and clothes. In the same way, I may joke about how he’s never allowed to go to the shops again, I’m secretly pleased that we ended up with a beer-making kit this weekend.

Particularly well-timed to the week before our first house-inspection by the letting agents, but also coinciding with my dad’s visit in August, we have a vat of proto-beer in the cellar.

I’ll let you know how we get on… and if anyone in the Manchester area has any empty fizzy juice bottles and/or Barr’s screw-top bottles with lids that they want to donate to the cause, please let me know!

(The dying experiment in the photo was a complete disaster, the ribbon ended up an unpleasant hospital-walls-green…)

Too Darn Hot!

I, like the rest of you in the UK at least, am suffering through the heat! I’m trying to remember the things we used to do when I was a kid in the States to stay cool and it basically involves trying to dampen yourself in various places where the blood runs close to the surface (ankles, knees, wrists, neck) and letting it evaporate!

Somehow all the best summer things, like fruit picking, lead to things that make you warmer, like making jam.

If you like, you can imagine them full of ‘cooling jellies’ (must be said in the style of Ian McKellen).. they are actually full of raspberry and gooseberry jam.

I need to apologise to any creature within a 50 metre radius of any of my plants, I am feeling particularly unfriendly to creepie crawlies who seem to insist on eating all of my carefully tended plants. I’ve been spraying them with an organically noxious substance that claims it is pet safe, and therefore doesn’t do much to protect the poor plants.

To prove I am not entirely heartless, here is a lovely photo of plant-eating creatures that I did not spray, mainly because they were in someone elses’ garden!

Weekend Plans

It’s been a crazy week at Misericordia Mansions, I’ve been riding a wave of (caffeine-induced) creativity and enthusiasm and I’ve hardly had time to stop and document it.

I’ve found a ballet class or two at Sunshine Studios, which is a hilarious Formulaic Dance Film-like place where I waited for class to start among the popping and locking set, picking out the bunheads from afar. It’s so nice to be back in class, even if it hurts the next day!

I’m trying to stop myself from starting too many projects at once, a feat which is made more difficult by the arrival of this lovely package.

Can you see my eager fingermarks where I tore it open on the way back to the car from the sorting office! Longtime readers will be aware that practicality rarely gets in the way of prettyness in my life, and this is silk laceweight destined to be a baby present for a friend. She’ll understand beauty over function, and babies aren’t babies forever, and when they grow up they need silk!

But before I start that, I need to finish my over-engineered curtains that I started last night. I’m hoping to write a tutorial, so I’d better get cracking so I’ll have a finished product to show for it.

I found these scissors, I don’t know where they came from, so if you gave them to me, thanks. If I stole them from you, let me know…otherwise I’ll just get on with it!

I just can’t stop…

I may have mentioned this before, but I am a bit of a perpetual student. I’ve been trying to work out what the longest time has been between exams, hand-ins or other outside deadlines. Not counting the fact that was in almost full-time education almost as soon as I left the hospital until the age of 25, then there was a 4 year gap which I filled with a driving test (theory and practical sections), two ballet exams, a photography course, and then Pilates.

No sooner have I finished my practical Pilates assessment (it went well, I’ll let you know my results when I find out in a few weeks), when I realise that I should probably take my Life in the UK test which will enable me to stay in the country in perpetuity (short of committing a horrible crime or something). I would even be able to stay without Batman’s auspices, so I’ll have to start loving him for his inherent charms, rather than his ability to keep me in the country.

So I’ve booked my test and started studying… which rather scuppers all the other plans I’d made for the end of Pilates-based studying like organising the Garret and taking some photos and all that stuff.

Still, I’m nothing without a deadline, so here we go again!

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up With…

…parcel tape!

I recently won a little giveaway generously donated by Rachel of Cornflower Blue Studios.

It was full of such treasures as a ballerina handkerchief, three bags of buttons (it was almost too exciting..), some fabulously colourful jewellery, and one pretty and serviceable apron, and one that was so fabulously and amazingly wrong for any aproning duties I had to wear it around the house for a while. (It’s sheer, flammable, and has a wedding ring-type ornament attached to it…all it lacks is feather-trimmed mules.)

But beyond her generosity, you should go visit Rachel’s blog because she does quite a few things better than I do, and I want you to see them..

1. Hauntingly beautiful free-form crochet.

2. Medical embroideries.

3. Still life assemblage.

As if that wasn’t enough…

So off you go, enjoy.

Everything’s better in Vintage

Sorry, this is turning into a bit of a vintage love-in… I haven’t left the house much and I’ve been up in the garret surrounded by my pressed glass collection.

I realise that the pace of life has changed and that not everyone wants to dig out the jam spoon just for jam, but sometimes a little elegance goes a long way.

This, for instance is the remainder of a bunch of parsley that I didn’t use for dinner last night. Add one vintage vase, and you have a table decoration!

Well at least that’s over!

I do apologise profusely for the extended silence on my part. I’ve finally handed in my Pilates assessment and now I can think about other things for a few  hours!

I could tell I was getting frustrated with the increase in typing and the decrease in making (especially of an evening) because yesterday I just wanted to make something.

I pulled out some vintage tablecloths and mats that we inherited from various relatives, and I’m trying to work out how to put them together in a way that keeps as much of the tableclothliness as possible without being boring.

So I went hunting around the Interweb for vintage stuff to add to the tablecloths and then had to back away slowly.. especially from The Vintage Fabric Market which has far too much lovely stuff for reasonable prices.

If you buy the stuff I was looking for I’ll cry..

If you have fallen victim to the lure of vintage fabrics and you feel you must purge yourself of some of your collection, do let me know. I’m also trying to make another quilt to go with our brass bed and this lamp.

So any scraps you’ve got ranging from celadon to turquoise or black or gold stuff would be more than welcome. I can post sweeties or other random things in return.

Apologies (and cold soup)

I’m feeling a little absent at the moment, for which you have my wholehearted apologies! My Pilates coursework is due at the end of this week, I’m commuting an hour and a half each way to a 4 hour temp job, Batman has deserted me to go to Crete for a conference, and I’ve had a headache for the last 4 days that codeine won’t shake!

So I’m a bit of a mess…

Anyways, I was desperate for something to eat for tea last night that was quick and summery and this really helped. I’m afraid my recipes are low on measurements and stuff, consider it a creative process!

Cucumber Soup:

1 cucumber, cut in quarters lengthwise with the seedy bits cut out and then chopped roughly.

Plain yoghurt

Mint (I used dried but fresh would be nicer)

Puree the above ingredients until soupy, start with small quantities of yoghurt and then add more if you need it.

Then add the following to taste:

Lemon juice (just a squeeze will do)

Cumin

Cayenne pepper

Salt

Old Bay (if you’ve got it.. it’s amazing stuff)

Refrigerate, and enjoy!

Inspirational Friday

..or something.

Just thought I’d show you a few things I’ve been looking at for inspiration:

Anonymous Works is a blog that showcases just what it says on the tin. There is a lot of folk art and lovely bits and pieces that I’m not sure I would see without the blog.

Here are a few favourites:

Early 20th Century Masonic Stone Carving of a Skull- Anonymous Works

19th century Cabinet Card of an Old Worn Shoe- Anonymous Works

…and the image that brought me to the site in the first place:

Circa 1880s "Heart in Hand" Odd Fellows Staffs- Anonymous Works

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone know why the word blog doesn’t appear in WordPress’ spell checker?

UK Etsy Swap

I’ve got involved in a UK Etsy seller’s swap recently. I’ve found that the swaps are a really good way for me to branch out and work on new ideas, plus there’s a deadline, which I really really need.

It also means I can show you some of the salt prints I made and talk about why I made them (this isn’t just artistic wankery, nothing keeps you honest like having to explain yourself in front of a particularly self-indulgent piece of work).

The theme came from another swap theme, which was ‘hand’, and since I started it just after Passover, I had the basics of a theme. I was thinking about hands and what jobs they do and how they often fulfil very different functions.

The egg was the first image that came to mind, which felt especially appropriate with salt printing (eggs and salt water are eaten together at Passover, see The Governess for a slightly over-dramatic salt printing at Passover film). Next came the Hamsa, which is a protective symbol in many Middle Eastern cultures, and the scissors, which are my grandmother’s pinking shears.

I usually get completed images popping into my head before I start taking photos, and the same thing with titles..so the Three Ages of Woman just kind of appeared.

So happy housewarming Amity, hope you enjoy having it on your wall!