A life in lists

Liberty spotlight: Lizziemade

All photos in this blog post are copyright of LizzieMade

The first time I sold fabric to Lizzie, I didn't realise that she was insanely talented and in the business of creating beautiful Liberty print guestbooks. I think somewhere around the third time I dealt with her I actually went and looked at her shop and was speechless at the gorgeous books she makes.

Her fabric pairings are incredibly thoughtful, I think, with the solids really picking out the colours from the prints, and the finish on each book looks superb.

Oh, and she also (shhh) makes some super-cool non-Liberty print books, but pretend I didn't tell you that, because the more Liberty print books she sells, the more fabric she has to buy from me, right?

Anyway, if you're planning a wedding/christening/party or just want an amazing book to keep by the phone, LizzieMade's books are definitely a bit of a treat. It's faintly possible I'm saving for one of my own to go in our possible new house (more on that exciting bit of news next month!)

By the way, if you've bought Liberty fabric from me (heck, even if you've bought it from someone else - nobody's perfect, right?) and you've made something with it that you think I might like to take a look at and possibly feature, please drop me an email or comment on one of my posts - I love looking at and being inspired by all the gorgeous Liberty print projects out there, and I'm happy to share the love when I see something amazing!

Yarn along

Playing along with Ginny's yarn along this week. I rather like this idea of linking knitting and reading, two of the most relaxing things known to mankind (well, known to me, at any rate).

And what do you mean that doesn't look like much of a sweater yet? And what do you mean that ribbing looks like I couldn't find an appropriately sized needle and just did it in the needle I was using for the body?

I promise you that Teddy won't mind. He'll be too busy being impressed with those boats (yes, they are boats. Thank you. They are awaiting a row or two of funnel and some french knot portholes).

I have to say I'm not enormously in love with this colourwork thing. I very much like the idea of it, and I suspect if I had lots of time to devote to knitting for sheer pleasure of process instead of trying to actually create useful garments in a timely manner to get our family through the winter that I would enjoy it more, but I'm mostly just finding it plain old slow going.

Added to which I am following an Elizabeth Zimmermann 'pattern' for the first time and am scared. I'm looking forward to being done with the boats and just getting on with the knitting/maths combo unique to any of Elizabeth Zimmermann's instructions. At least then I'll only have one thing to worry about.

Oh, and the yarn is brilliant. It's Jamieson & Smith 2ply jumper weight (Ravelry link), and it's proper woolly wool. Not as soft as some of the more glamorous yarns, but warm and well dyed and not scratchy and 'sticky' enough that I'm not too worried about my intarsia slipping undone at a moment's notice. The colour range is amazing too. If you're thinking about using it, it's worth investing in a shade card (out of stock at the moment, but they do reappear at random every now and again. Or just save a bit of every yarn you order and make your own. You'll get through them all in a decade or so...)

Although I am not entirely thrilled with this whole colourwork thing so far, I am still determined to give proper Fair Isle a try one day. Although perhaps not till I've made a bit more of a dent in the winter knitting and both children are reliably sleeping in the evening.

Oh, and the books are interesting too. There's not a lot I don't know about budget cooking (surviving on one salary in one of the most expensive areas of England outside of London for three years has given me a whole new area of expertise), but How to Feed Your Whole Family... has managed to give even me a few new ideas and recipes, as well as a smile about the laughably long complete title every time I pick it up. I'm only on about page eight of Free Range Education, but so far it's an interesting read.

Incidentally, am I the only one incapable of reading only one book at a time? One the whole I stick to only one per genre, but it is usual for me to have at least one cookery, one non-fiction and one fiction book on the go at any given time.

Bookshop

There are so many books that I have, or have borrowed from the library/pinched from friends/coveted in the bookstore, and I keep wanting to share them all with you. I'd been planning one enormous blog post full of links, but realised that it (a) might not be terribly exciting, (b) would be a pain to keep updated with new discoveries and (c) will get lost in the archives in about a week. In an effort to solve all of those problems in one fell swoop, I thought I'd open a personal Amazon store. See the shiny new link in the menu bar?

I should point out that if you buy anything from 'my' store, I'll receive a (small) commission from Amazon (at no extra cost to you, obviously), in the same was as the Amazon Associates account I've had for a while now (as explained here). While it would be lovely to make a quid or two from this, it's more about solving the problem of sharing my favourite books with you (believe me, if I was in blogging for the money, I wouldn't be in blogging).

Please do take a look, let me know if you hate it, love it or just don't get it. Oh, and if you have any book recommendations, please let me know!

No jewellery, thanks

Me, I wanted books for my well-done-you-gave-birth treat (yes, I appreciate the baby is meant to be a reward in itself, but no one in their right mind turns down the opportunity for treats, right?). I tweeted for book recommendations and got plenty (including a handful that have gone on the Amazon wish list, notably the fabulous looking Open Studios by Lotta Jansdotter, courtesy of Karen), finally cutting it down to the four above.

Jasper Fforde is one of my favourite authors. I'm thinking of constructing a story about naming Jasper after him, but the truth is it didn't even occur to me until a visiting relative enquired (jokingly. I think) whether I'd been too lazy to look further than our bookshelf when it came to picking baby names. The Well of Lost Plots is an older book of Fforde's that I'm sure I used to own but lost somewhere along the line. I'm looking forward to re-reading the whole series before starting on the newest book, One of Our Thursdays is Missing . Fforde's books are (to me) the perfect mix of comedy, crime drama, fantasy and satire, and stand up to a good re-read on a regular basis (almost as well as the unparalleled Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. To describe my copies of these books as dog-eared would be doing a disservice to dog ears the world over).

Of course, no Amazon order would be complete without an addition (or two) for the crafting bookshelf.

If you read other crafty blogs (and lets face it, if you bother to visit me and you're not my mother, you probably do), you'll probably have come across Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson, the genius behind Oliver+S and Lisette patterns (she has a great blog too). All I intend to do here is add my praise to the unanimous approval this book seems to have garnered. I haven't tried any yet, but the patterns look well drafted, instructions are clearly explained, and there are plenty of interesting and slightly more complex designs in there, such as the rucksack and hats (one of my pet hates is books like these filling their pages with the kinds of patterns that are available for free online, or could easily be worked out with a pencil and ruler).

Top of the list from this book is a bucket hat for Teddy (I suspect that every member of the family will be sporting one soon), but as soon as I get a little more time I'll definitely be tackling the penguin bag pattern.

The quartet was completed with essential reading for the hand making mother - Handmade Home by blogger extraordinaire Amanda Blake Soule. I have bought (well, borrowed from the library) books by prolific bloggers before, and been disappointed that the book contained little more than their blog reworked into book form (and I can appreciate that it's hard to avoid - one of the reasons these writers get their book deals is because their blogs are brilliant, and to find a new and clever take on their ideas must be a challenge).

Not so with Amanda though. The book is entirely true to the ethos of her and her blog, but has a lot of substance of its own. It is absolutely stuffed with projects, and although lots of them are quite simple - perhaps no more than a new idea for a messenger bag or a reworking of that perennial kid-entertainer, papier mache - the eco-friendly fabric suggestions and joy in reusing old materials where possible, as well as the clever ideas for involving kids in construction, make them thoroughly satisfying to read and inspire the reader (well, me, anyway) to actually try some of them, rather than passing them off as just another take on an old idea. Each project is accompanied by a story (I particularly liked the tales behind the Broadturn and treasure bags), creating the perfect marriage between practical patterns and Amanda's friendly and slightly whimsical writing style.

I can't wait to get cutting from this book too - I am particularly determined to make a version of Maddie's rag rug for either my workroom, or perhaps the sitting room, and I can definitely see a treasure bag in Teddy's near future.

Things that please me today

My cousin and her husband got this for me. Apparently it was one of those "I saw this and thought of you" moments. I can't imagine what they mean...

Adam's sister sent this beautiful bookto Teddy the other day. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful, and we've read it about three dozen times already.

And I'm totally not bitter that the Mummy is significantly more stylish than me.

My sister liberated this page from the Telegraph Magazine at the gym the other day. It's part of the Social Stereotypes series. She (and I, and anyone else I've shown it to) was giggling reading it because it is just so me.

We're spending a relaxing weekend round these parts, enjoying the sunshine with Teddy (picnic lunch in the garden = much excitement for all concerned) and hoping that the baby doesn't arrive before I finish all my WIPs (that might just be me. I'm not sure Adam's so concerned for the state of my WIP basket).

The boy loves books

It makes me very, very happy. And not just because it keeps him quiet for up to 45 seconds at a time.

I have always loved reading. And I mean I love it, big time. I can't remember when I started reading, but I do remember my parents laughing at me for being so desperate to read something that I always knew the back of the breakfast cereal packet off by heart. I read on the bus (but not the car. Stupid motion sickness), during mealtimes (when I could get away with it) and in bed until stupid-o'clock. Everywhere and everywhen. I remember being absolutely transported by the Chronicles of Narnia, slightly terrified by The Lord of The Rings (possibly should have left that one a year or two longer...), totally entranced by The Borrowers, and almost as happy reading Sweet Valley High. Hey, I'm a voracious reader, not a picky one (although there is a definite fantasy theme running through my most favouritest books).

One of my favourite 'grown up' books is Gormenghast. I haven't read it for a few years, but the creepy characters and Peake's amazing descriptive powers never fail to send me to a different world. My all time favourite books, however, have to be the Discworld series by the unparalleled Terry Pratchett. Fantasy and hilarity in one neat package (carried on the back of four elephants). The Discworld shelf on our bookcase is two deep (actually, most of the bookshelf is two deep) and my mother always jokes that I could recite most of them off by heart. Possibly I could.

Sadly, I have slightly less time to read now, but it makes me just as happy (well, almost) to see Teddy begin to take an interest in books. I know that there's no particular reason that he should end up the reader that I was (and will be again, no doubt. Just as soon as I can persuade Teddy to extend his reading sessions to 90 seconds or more), but I love the idea that he is getting even a taste of the kind of excitement and joy that books can bring. His current favourite is the wordless Welcome to the Zoo - I make up stories to go with the animals and visitors and Teddy provides the sound effects (including, usually, a resounding "neenaw!" for the imaginary fire engine at about page four), but he also loves being read to, particularly Hairy Maclary (I have yet to see Adam escape without reading all five stories in that book) and new favourite Great big little red train.

 

Good books

I bought both these books last week, and I am completely in love with them!

Handmade Beginnings , by the fabulously colourful Anna Maria Horner has being doing the rounds of the blog world recently, so there's not a lot new I can say about it, but I am loving the colourful quilt patterns and cute little baby goodies. Multicoloured baby trousers!

 The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making, by Jane Brocket (she of the Yarnstorm blog) is one that would have passed me by but for a review on someone else's blog (not that I can, for the life of me, remember which blog that might have been, but it was clearly a good review). The style of quilts in this book isn't one that I would normally go for, but the photography is lovely, and I have to say I'm a complete convert to her saturated quilts, with very little white space.

 I'm not a huge fan of complex quilts with no chance to catch breath between blocks, but her very simple designs in squares and rectangles give the eye something of a rest, and really allow the crazy Kaffe Fassett (and other big colourful designers) prints to shine.

In other news, I finally ordered backing fabric for the sunshine quilt, and perle cotton to quilt it with. The backing is various shades of Kona blues, which I'm going to piece in big squares and rectangles, and the quilting cotton is various shades of yellow. I cannot wait to see this quilt finished, I was literally bouncing when I ordered the backing yesterday. The top is about 60" square now, I'd like it to get to about 80"x96", but I won't beat myself up if I lose interest a bit before then.

In other other news, if you're reading this  blog in Google reader, or any of the other blog reader services, will you come and take a look at my new banner? I wanted to summerify the blog, and I'm really pleased with my new banner, and the profile photo (taken by my sister a few weeks back in Kew Gardens. I won't show you all the other photos of me sticking my tongue out, trying to get Teddy into the picture and generally avoiding having a sensible shot taken).

A little box of WIP

This is what my WIP box looks like at the moment, sitting next to my badly-in-need-of-replacing chair (Adam's mother has a rocking chair reserved at her thrift store headquarters, which I have utterly failed to pick up thus far). Glossing over the fact that I badly need to make a prettier WIP container, there's an awful lot to do there. That box (and the tupperware next to it) contain:

1. A knitted pea coat for Teddy, started during Kids' Clothes Week (the pattern is from Essential Kids by Debbie Bliss)
2. The sunshine quilt (well, parts of it. The quilt top is too big to store in that basket now, so it's upstairs in my workroom)
3. My charm quilt hexagons
4. The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Fizz Carr (I like to have a good look through all new books before consigning them to the bookshelf - if I don't have at least a vague idea what kinds of things are in there I never take them down again)
5. Weekend Sewing , by Heather Ross (see point 4, above)
6. Somewhere out of sight there's two thirds of a pair of socks (both socks are minus their toes at the moment) that I started for my mother about three months ago. If she's lucky they'll be done just in time for a nice warm summer...

I think it's safe to say I've got too many WIPs at the moment. Particularly considering there's half a (machine) pieced quilt top and Teddy's pyjama top in my workroom as well. I generally like to have one hand sewing/knitting and one machine sewing project on the go at a time, but one thing and another has meant that I've totally exceeded this in recent weeks. I'm finding this hugely unrelaxing because it means I'm spending a lot of time making without ever getting the excitement of finishing something and seeing it in use.

I've got a couple of new projects waiting in the wings, including a couple of big week long challenges for myself (which I'm really looking forward too - all will be revealed soon), and also this calling to me from my workroom

Supplies from Kimonomomo and book from the library (but you can buy it here if you want)

Anyway, my point is that before I'm allowed to pick up that sashiko stuff or begin my monster projects, I've got to completely clear my WIP basket. I'll allow myself a bit of leeway on the charm quilt, since we all knew that wasn't going to be a quick project, but I want all the others cleared in the not-too-distant future, and definitely before anything else joins them

With that in mind, I'm off to make my sunshine quilt even bigger!

Little rituals

 Some things start out as chores, but over time they evolve into the rituals that keep me going through the daily noise, lack of plans and general lovely havoc that is my life at home with a toddler (how do people manage with big families? How? We'd better hope we feel complete at two children, because more will mean our home becoming the living embodiment of chaos).

Anyway, menu planning is one of those things. It sprung up originally as a side effect of our major budgeting drive. As I often go on about at great length may have mentioned, we take budgeting to whole new levels in this household. We live a wonderful life - Adam does a job he enjoys, I get to stay at home with Teddy and work on my crafty stuff, occasionally even making some money from it - largely because I am such a fiend when it comes to budgeting. I could go on endlessly about how much lovelier our life is than when I was commuting into London every day and earning a decent wage, but that's a story for another day and another post.

One of the results of this is that I have a whopping £167.89 per month (see, I told you I was a budgeting fiend!) to spend on all our food, which is almost entirely organic. No mean feat, but now a weekly challenge that I (dare I say it?) actually look forward to now.

Once a week, usually on a Tuesday afternoon (or evening, depending on whether Master Theodore has deigned to take a nap), I sit down and work out a menu plan for the coming week. Our food week runs Wednesday to Tuesday because our Riverford organic veg box delivery comes on Wednesday morning. One day, when we finally have the space to grow more of our own vegetables, we hopefully won't need it, but I like the way planning our food from a Wednesday divides the week up. There's too much stuff in every week to make it all happen on a Monday.

I plan our evening meals, the occasional lunch (usually lunch consists of leftovers, which take minimal planning), and the week's baking (I generally bake once or twice a week, depending on how much time/energy I have to spare). Breakfast pretty much takes care of itself - scones, toast or muffins if I've baked recently, porridge if not. You can see my beautifully divided up notepad in the image up top.

 I have a library's worth of recipe books, but my staples for recipe planning are those that are organised by seasons and/or are less structured (e.g. 'take one white fish fillet and some breadcrumbs') - makes life easier when you're eating seasonally (and once you eat decent, organic vegetables in season, you'll never go back to insipid December tomatoes). Number one resource is definitely Nigel Slater'sKitchen Diaries, but here are a few more of my weekly go to books:

1. Tender, also by Nigel Slater
2. Bake, by Rachel Allen (lots of basic goodies that you might never think to bake, like english muffins and bagels)
3. River Cottage Everyday, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. A new addition, but it's shaping up nicely
4. Jamie at Home, by Jamie Oliver. Brilliant pizza dough/topping recipes, among other ideas

I also dip in and out of our two dozen or so other recipe books, as well as regularly borrowing from the library. I've currently got The Cook and the Gardener, by Amanda Hesser, out, and it's a lovely look at seasonal eating with lots of lovely, not too expensive but tasty looking recipes scattered throughout.

(ps, apologies for the poor pics - I have to take them when I get the chance, which is often in the dark!)

A foragey book review

The lovely library has ordered in a book I've been after (I love the library. I may have mentioned this); The Forager Handbook, by Miles Irving.

I haven't read it from cover to cover yet, but a quick skim read suggests it's one of the most comprehensive foraging books I've come across so far. It not only covers most different varieties of every possible edible plant (did you know that there are three different type of sow thistle?), but gives ideas for preparation for most of them. However, it does, I think, assume a degree of knowledge on the part of the forager, as the identification drawings aren't nearly as thorough as those in, for example, Richard Mabey'sFood For Free.

It is also one of the prettiest books I've seen for a long time. You wouldn't think it was a book for frugal foragers, and it would probably look quite at home on a posh coffee table (I don't have a coffee table, so can't tell you for sure).

All in all, definitely worth a read - it's quite cheap on Amazon, or you can follow in my even more cheapskate footsteps and get it from the library (I had to ask my library to order it in, as it's quite a new book and they didn't have it yet).

Now I just need to find some more foraging time...