Between the showers.

Hello! Welcome back to Oriel. How is your summer going? Ours has been a tad miserable to say the least. I guess we should have known, toying with The Weather Gods in such a cavalier fashion. So since our purchase of some garden furniture at the end of May in a joyous burst of enthusiasm for the hot promise of a Summer, any Summer, we have used the set approximately twice and the view to the garden looks mostly like this. Sodden. Abandoned.

Met Eireann, the Irish Meteorological service has been monotonously persistent with it's daily depressing forecast of 'thundery rain moving east'; this has been the worst summer since I moved to Co. Louth and that year it rained for a biblical forty days! Nevertheless, we have been trying to make the best of it, embracing the excuse to catch up on our favourite house pursuits, crafting, baking, reading, colouring and watching as many films as can be squeezed into a rainy afternoon. I am making steady progress with O's Autumn Sunburst blanket and Rosie likes it too.

She is a very crafty dog as you can see, these are a pair of PJ bottoms that I made for E from the fabric I bought up in Belfast and blogged about here. I followed this brilliant tutorial from the completely marvellous Countryside Tales blog and managed to run them up in about three hours!

 

The sun did make an appearance briefly and conveniently for a little photo-shoot. I miss you Sunshine.

 



E is delighted with them and I cannot wait to make some for myself as soon as a little bit of fabric cash manages to settle in my purse. When we were in London, I couldn't help noticing that those colouring book for adults were all over the place, despite being an avid colour-in-er in my youth, I didn't really 'get' the concept at the time but of course now that we are At Home, they seem like such a good idea and not just for the grown ups either. I love the intricate detail of the Secret Garden one but thank-fully for our diminishing summer budget, you can print out some free sheets from Red Ted Art and I just love how the kids approach the same picture in their own unique way. Sadly no pics of our art, it is just too feckin' grey for photography.

Play-doh is another 'old' toy that is also making quite a come back in our house, of-course we had to try the allegedly fabulous no-cook make-your-own recipe but oh my goodness letting two over-enthusiastic kids loose with bright red food colouring is not for the faint hearted. My lovely old farmhouse table is now covered in great globular red stains which no amount of elbow grease can shift AND the resulting 'playdoh' was deemed Far Too Yucky and promptly discarded and Mr S cajoled into buying some real stuff from the big supermarket.

Some days, it has been too wet for some people to even get dressed and Baking in Onesies and Licking Bowls in Pyjamas has become quite a weekly event. I don't think Mary Berry would approve.

Mr S has been getting all creative too.

 

Can you guess what it is yet?

 No?

Mr S is attempting some serious pallet reconstruction. Hopefully, I will be able to reveal the result of his endeavours before next summer...! Bye for now. xxxxx

A study in Hibernation/Hibernia and Hairy Men in Flares.

Hello! Thank-you for coming back to Oriel. How fast this fortnight has flown. I have been sequestered at my desk, reading, reading reading and watching the rain. How dark and damp it has been, we have also seen pretty extreme flooding in these parts, thankfully not at the door of our home but elsewhere in the town which was fairly disruptive for a few days.

I have also been totally bitten by the crafty bug and have been waiting for a good light to share with you my works-in-progress. My big 'precious-yarny' granny-square blanket is nearly fully-grown, just six more squares and then I can tackle joining them all together. I am loving all the blanket making in the blogs, there is Lucy of-course, Bunny Mummy and Heather from Tiny Tin Bird all busily crocheting away. This long autumn certainly has been inspirational for gorgeous colour combinations and all those ladies are certainly a rich source of inspirational creatively.

I have also been knitting E a scarf-at a snails pace- but I do like the colours which remind me of a raspberry ripple.

I even started putting my skirt together, the McCall's A-line pattern, previously mentioned here and here and inspired by totally fabulous Lazy Daisy Jones blog.

Home has been such a comforting retreat, is has been very difficult to leave!  So much so, when my long suffering friend P called me up unexpectedly to go to the pub  I almost wailed 'Oh No!' I do fear the onset of a major inability to be spontaneous. Mind you, Mr S had just poured me a large glass of red and we were just about to sit down to a feast of pulled-pork from this recipe. These long evenings are perfect for slow-cooked meals like these.

I have been occasionally emerging from my cave for my music and driving lessons. I have written previously about my love/hate relationship with my violin, here. I have been making slow progress but was pleasantly surprised to find I had been promoted to 'Intermediate Fiddle'. Yay! Sometimes though my playing sounds so laboured and stilted I can barely pick it up to practise. Regularly, a new/rediscovered tune will bring a new energy to my practise, reminding me why I love Irish music so much. Last week we started this one:

I do so want to believe that this tune was the atmospheric battle-cry of the O'Neills of Ulster, a romantic legacy from the early-medieval Gaelic High Kings but a terse search of the internet can find no definitive source for this piece, perhaps it was composed by the brilliant Sean O'Riada  in the 1960's. Whatever its beginning this piece was incorporated into this piece of 1970's flamboyance:

 

 

These boys crack me up! I really don't know what was going on in the 1970's but I nearly like it ...then in the 1990's Ireland qualified for the world cup for the first time and some mad eejit did this:

 



I'm really not a fan of the football song as a genre but to me it shows the vibrancy of this music and how this wee tune has become almost embedded in our popular culture (and er the optimism of our football supporters) so it doesn't really matter if it is not an ancient song...and it is so much fun to scrape it out on my fiddle!

Next time...I brave the virgin roads of Dundalk for my pre-test practice...eek! Bye.xxxx

EDIT: So sorry but I have just discovered that the links may not work on some devices-I cannot seem to rectify that at the moment so here are the full links if you so wish. Apologies if some of the music gives you the Earworm. xxxxx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wZblPr48OE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5G8AJf4Xzw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5PT65I2ny8

TGISD (Part 2)

As I sat drinking my tea, I had a light blub moment. Oh fantastic, maybe I will get to rev the Red Devil up for an afternoon of happy crafting! I have another pattern, a skirt pattern, this pattern:

I am liking 'Love Sewing', it seems to have replaced 'Mollie Makes' in my magazine heart. I'm not totally sure why, it seems more inspirational somehow instead of aspirational. Look at that lovely dress in issue 4, and aimed at the adventurous beginner. Why, I am sure that is me.

Out comes the sewing machine again, this time I brew up an espresso to assist concentration.
I read over the instructions - thankfully this pattern is in my size and this time a gratifying size 12 - and carefully cut around the correct lines. I repair to the living room and begin to experiment with the lay-out of the fabric. Hmmm, what does this mean?

What width is my fabric? 21 inches. Fold, what fold? Ok, now I see that the pattern pieces are designed to be placed on the folded material and when the section is cut out, a piece that is doubled in size is produced. Oh-Oh, I don't think I have enough material for this skirt. How on earth did that happen!

Not too worry, I spotted a retro duvet cover also in the charity shop, that will have enough material for the pencil skirt.

Annoying though, I really want to make the A-line which presents a dilemma. You know when you get something so entrenched in your mind that it stews away until it must be completed. However, I have resolved to boycott Amazon after reading of the bitter dispute waging between this mammoth organisation and Hachette the large French publishing house. You can read more about this here, if you like. Also we are lucky enough to have a Waterstones in our town and I really want to support our local bookseller much more actively this year. So, if I order the McCall's pattern, it makes the postage costs so much more reasonable if I include my set history book for this years OU course...and I really need that spare part for my Bialetti...

I buy the duvet cover because it has trees on it. Unfortunately, it has taken three washes to remove the fusty musty smell. Groan. Also, in the cold light of my garden I'm not sure about that greeny pattern. Would I really wear that? Oops, don't they always say on the Sewing Bee that pattern is very hard to sew with, to match for beginners?  Once again, the poor wee sewing machine is back in the box. Am I totally over-thinking this task? Is it time for a glass of wine?

TGISD (The Great Irish Sewing Disaster Part 1.)

So some of you may have noticed that despite a proud display of a 'sew along with Daisy Jones' button on the blog there has been precious little sewing happening here in Oriel. What with OU study, house renovations, crochet addictions, child rearing, dog walking and the occasional chat with Mr S, I simply ran out of time to complete the project as it unfolded (!) on Daisy's blog.

I did however order the pattern, McCall's 3341, a nice simple A-line skirt. When I arrived my first instinct was to run down to the fabric shop and choose some gorgeous material but I was very good and supressed this urge and set off instead to the charity shop to purchase some cheap and potentially scrap-able fabric. After much bickering and arm twisting, the kids persuaded me to treat them to some of those blooming Rainbow Magic fairy books (E) and a dinky fork-lift (O). I don't know how such a modern mother as myself can end up with two such gender stereo-typical children! Anyhow, I digress- I was finally allowed to purchase for myself a large box-pleated skirt with lots of lovely material to play with.

I spent some of the lovely summer evenings of our holiday, drinking wine, watching the aeronautical display of swallows and un-picking and deconstructing the skirt. Then came the reclamation of our home and after days of cleaning and organising; after the welcome departure of the jolly electricians and the puerile plasterers and the incompetent plumbers, finally out came the sewing machine and my pattern. My first heart-breaking moment was when I realised that at just a smidgen under 30inches my waist was measuring in at a size 16! No, how on earth had that happened!

I composed myself. Off to Daisy's blog for advice, she says that 'the skirt comes up slightly bigger in reality' and 'why not try making it with scrap fabric first', now I am feeling smug. Sure it is only a number! Tentatively, I open the envelope, scissors and freshly brewed cup of coffee at the ready. I study the lines to make sure I am cutting the correct size, 4, 6, 8, 10...Erm where is 16?!
No, how on earth has that happened! I have ordered the wrong size, so instead of the correct 3341 DD  (12-14-16-18) I have the erroneous 3341 AAX (4-6-8-10)

Disappointed, I fold up the pattern. Marvelling as I fold at the teeny tiny waist that is a size 4. Do grown women exist that are actually this size? Briefly consider a starvation diet before good sense prevails. A good part of this learning to sew malarkey was to have nice flattering clothes that fit me .
Closer inspection of the pattern reveals that these sizes are 'Miss' sizes, right so I can keep the pattern for E. Although, how to persuade her that what she needs is a lovely wee A-line skirt and not a pirate princess skirt is another challenge for another day. I pack away the sewing machine and drink my tea.

Housewifery.

Let me tell you a secret. Sure you won't tell ANYONE? Ok, then. I quite like housework. Not all the time, obviously but every now and again I take the notion for a good auld scrub.
Most of last week was spent writing in the perplexing brain-curdling mist that was my penultimate essay for my OU module for this year, just one more short one to go then the big EMA which is like a mini dissertation and then summer freedom. Hurrah.

After a good sleep I was ready to tackle the cob-webby slovenly hovel that my home turns into with a couple of days neglect. There is something about sitting down with a steaming cup of coffee and home made Lemon and Poppy seed cake and admiring order, clean surfaces, sparkling bathroom and a washing-line billowing with clean linen and all scented with fresh flowers and furniture polish. I found this cute tutorial for a Land-girl style head-scarf on YouTube, great for bad-hair days and protecting those victory rolls while playing at house. I am so tempted to do the shopping looking like this!

 

Hello, to all of you that are popping over from Daisy's blog. I am so sorry if you were disappointed that there has been no sewing. I wanted to try and source the pattern locally or at least on the island of Ireland but I have had no luck. I capitulated and ordered it from Amazon this morning.

I get so worried about our independent shops when browsing that site -no matter how many times I swear I am not going back I always do.  I am so consistently surprised at the range of items that Amazon carries, how can local retailers survive in this difficult economic climate? Last month, we lost our biggest newsagent in the town, Eason's have a chain of stores all over Ireland and while there were many faults with that particular shop it was a huge shock to lose them. We still have some gorgeous wee crafty shops hanging on my the skin of their teeth though, The Crafty Fox, Quaint, Breda's Wool shop and two of my absolute favourites, Kirwan's fishmongers and Sampson's Craft Butchers. I was a vegetarian for almost twenty years till I moved here...

Do you guys have any favourite shops? I wish I could go back for an hour or so to the weird and wonderful shops that we had when I was little. All family owned business and all so different even those the three I remember best sold the same stuff, groceries, sweets and newspapers. There was one shop that I cant even remember the name off, I don't think it even had a sign but it was run by this ancient old lady and her mother! They never took the dark red wooden shutter from the window and it was so dark inside but that is where my Gran got her newspapers and gossip and a comic for me every week. Twinkle, Bunty and then Judy. I still have some of the Christmas annuals of those comics and when I peek inside I forget I am a middle aged housewife and transported back to being a little girl with white socks and scuffed shoes again!

And Begin

The sun is shining.
The dog is sleeping.
The washing is billowing on the line.
The house is a little bit cleaner.
The coffee is steaming.
Time for the little red sewing machine to come out of her box.
We are going to watch The Great British Sewing Bee, I wish Patrick would have my 'jamas on!