Category: Around the House

The author packs light

7 August, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Due to some hand luggage space restrictions (cloth nappies are too precious to be trusted to the hold), I find myself on holiday without any hand work.

One could argue that the idea of having the time to do anything with travelling companions of four (and three quarters) and four months old was sheer folly, but I remain an optimist.

The lack of my usual pursuits has left me free to mull over the next step in the Ark Project, cook with unfamiliar ingredients and relive the more unusual parts of my childhood.*

I’m not sure I want to make a habit of travelling without needlework, but I find myself Pinning an awful lot of art journals at the moment, so perhaps I’ll exchange pins for pens next time.

*I was such a voracious reader that I would make regular, if half-hearted, attempts at The New England Journal of Medicine. It turned out to stand me in good stead when it came to Pilates coursework, but I think I really only liked the cover.

Moderate or Good, Occasionally Poor

10 July, 2015 / / 3 Comments

I’m wafting gently through the weeks at the moment.

The weather is nothing special, I’m in the middle of two medium to large projects that I can’t really show at the moment, and my companions are mostly silent (but good company).

It’s quite soothing, but the odd day of excitement (Dragon’s school induction!) takes me rather by surprise and I end up needing half a day staring out the window to get over it.

I’m still picking away at things, even if it is in slow motion.

Are we nearly there yet?

1 May, 2015 / / 0 Comments

I like to think of myself as adaptable, open to change and unflappable.

But I’m really not.

I absolutely appreciate the fact that we can use the in law’s flat as a bolthole while we have work done (and the amount of grime on even the parts of the flat as far away from the bathroom as possible is truly stunning), but I want to go home!

I’ve got some exciting news coming up in the next week or so, but in the meantime I’m trying to maintain my good humour with the aid of a gorgeous view over the Meadows and the odd tea party.

In A Sunshine State

24 April, 2015 / / 0 Comments

At the risk of alienating any of you who aren’t enjoying similar weather, I have to tell you that we’re having one of those perfect weeks in Edinburgh.

We’ve been eating outside at all possible opportunities, I’ve made iced tea that will probably be unnecessary before it’s cold enough to properly be called iced and our ice cream consumption has shot up!

The only slight hitch was that we didn’t quite pack enough warm weather clothing, and when we popped back to Misericordia Mansions to get some, we discovered the all the bits of the new bathroom were carefully ranged along the hallway, blocking all our rooms! So we’re sporting the rolled up sleeves and trouser leg look.

What with sitting outside all the time I haven’t got much embroidery done, despite my best intentions. Maybe when it clouds over…

Last Vestiges

17 April, 2015 / / 2 Comments

This is going to be strange…

…for me, more than you (with the possible exception of the four or so of my readers who have inside knowledge).

Misericordia Mansions started out as the Lovely Young Man’s student flat, lo this 15 or so years ago. It was distinctly upmarket for a student flat (the boy has standards), but there were still idiosyncratic touches such as orange radiators throughout, unusual paint combinations, and a cork in the cornicing.

Found it yet?

Over the years, we’ve been upgrading in bits and pieces, but since we’ve moved back, there has been a more concerted plan (and budget).

Next week they start ripping out the bathroom, which is the last big project before our flat looks like a house where grown ups live. (But for Heaven’s sake, don’t tell those grown ups, we quite like it here!)

The only thing that was worrying me was Kipling. Every six months or so, a new generation of mice forget to heed the warnings of their elders and squeeze through a gap between the bathroom wall and floor where they meet this charmer…briefly.

I probably don’t need to fret, in a Victorian tenement another mouse dispenser is bound to appear, but I thought it was a fitting farewell when we heard the unmistakeable sounds of mouse-crunching in the middle of the night.

We’re decamping while works are underway, but I’ll be confecting a little something with these which I can share later in the summer.

Not Quite Hibernating

10 April, 2015 / / 1 Comment

Is there a word for hibernating which evokes lying in the sunshine?

All this baby stuff is certainly different this time around, or perhaps I am different, or (even more likely) it’s a little of both.

I remember feeling an overwhelming urge and ability to accomplish things when Dragon was born. This resulted in the Three by Three quilt (which is much in use at the moment) and a fairly extensive baby book.

This time, while the astonishing range and throughput of infant digestive systems no longer makes me weep, I’m really struggling to do… anything.

Instead piles of things I’m halfway through are mushrooming up around the house while I read Agatha Christie and stare vaguely at the walls.

On the other hand, I sold two pieces this week, so perhaps all is not lost.

Little Lion – in the wild

3 April, 2015 / / 4 Comments

[whispered, in the style of David Attenborough]

Little Lion

Here we can see the most juvenile member of the Misericordia Mansions Menagerie. This young female appears to prize physical contact above all other stimuli and will frequently spend hours in the same position in a more senior Menagerist’s arms. At only two weeks old, she will eventually open her eyes and start to interact with other members of the group, especially the junior male.

nappy change

To demonstrate his new position in the Menagerie, the junior male brings gifts and watches the mid-ranking male and female as they care for the new arrival.

Small scuffles have been observed between the most senior female Menagerists, but these rarely lead to violence and are probably part of a complex ritual to demonstrate their joint status in the hierarchy.

That Whooshing Sound?

20 March, 2015 / / 0 Comments

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

– Douglas Adams

For once it’s not me missing a deadline, it’s Little Lion.

Obviously giving them a feline nickname was a mistake, as they seem entirely unwilling to vacate their comfortable nest.

But today’s the day the metaphorical duvet is shaken out and the tedious sleeplessness and vagueness of  late pregnancy is replaced by the bewildering sleeplessness and vagueness of life with a newborn.

See you on the other side.

Of Ice Queens and Parenting Foibles

6 March, 2015 / / 3 Comments

Parenting is a bit like trying to drill holes in the walls of our Victorian flat.

From the outset you’ll never be quite sure whether you’ll remain as unyielding as surprise masonry or as soft and crumbly as lath and plaster (or in fact be made entirely of newspaper and Polyfilla, but I can’t make that relate to parenting, so lets pretend we haven’t spoken of it).

My large weak spot is costuming. I’m starting to be able to tap the figurative walls and guess when this indulgence will rear its head, and when an invitation to a Frozen birthday party appeared, I knew it would be better to anticipate than react.

Luckily, I’ve been spared the princess-mania and since Dragon’s favourite character is Olaf the snowman, I could suggest a t-shirt rather than a full ensemble.

I’m pleased that this one came together with an investment of £1 in charity shop clothing and some felt (not to mention that I feel I’ve escaped very lightly without metres of sparkly tulle).

 

The Embroiderer’s Children Have No…

13 February, 2015 / / 2 Comments

It occurred to me a few months ago that if I was going to get any quilts finished for our increasing menagerie, I was going to have to get cracking.

Unusually for me, I had the urge to finish a project I’d already started, so I’ve decided to give Little Lion the Shirt Quilt.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this long-term (ca. 2008) WIP, it’s made from my dad’s (forcibly) retired shirts. I’m paper piecing 1″ hexagons for both sides (I have quite a lot of shirts) in a fairly random pattern.

The palette is (as you will have noticed) fairly limited, so there may be some surface decoration, but I’m not quite sure what it will be yet.

If you’re interested in the process of going from shirt to hexagon I can write an explanatory post, but this is a good start for an overview.

Also, if anyone wants some shirt-skeletons – collars, cuffs, button plackets and French seams all still in shirt shape, please let me know.

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