Ruby in Blue

Proof of Life

2011-03-12T18:36:00.006-05:00

It's okay, don't panic. I'm sure you've all been imagining the worst. Kidnap, pirates, antisocial behaviour orders requiring me to wear a tag and refrain from bloggery, or one of any number of other highly plausible scenarios.

Rather than taking a picture of myself holding today's Evening Standard in order to prove I am alive and well, I thought it might be more interesting to post some pictures of things wot I have made since I last checked in. Forgive the crappy photography. It's late and I can't be arsed to fiddle about with saturation and exposure. For the avoidance of doubt, my wall is not actually pink.

First up is an owlicious smocky top for the small girl, from an Oliver + S pattern. I don't often work from proper patterns, but this one took my fancy due to its lovely simple style and great potential for variation.

This bag is from Rae's brilliant Buttercup Bag tutorial, my favourite thing about it being that it only uses one fat quarter for the outside and one for the inside.

I made another version, slightly bigger, based on the same design, with a super-camp gold lamé lining (despite much camera wrangling, it became apparent that lamé sadly does not photograph at all well... just use your imagination, okay?)

These little trousies are for a certain little imminent godbump of mine, and make me wish that I could shrink my great big overgrown nearly-four-year-old down to brand new size again just so I can smooch her. Temporarily, mind. Chronic sleep deprivation is not on my wish-list for this year.

This one here is a sneaky preview of the godbump's main welcome gift. I could show you the whole thing, but I'm rather proud of it and I might save it up to give it a grand reveal all of its own, possibly involving a photoshoot with a smoochable newborn.

And last but not least, one of a batch of dresses to sell at some point when I am not up to my eyeballs in work. Love the cowboys. So much in fact that I kind of wish I had a cowboy dress. I did try to persuade Ruby that cowboy wallpaper was a good move for her new bedroom, but she wasn't buying it.

So there you have it. Rumours of my death may or may not have been greatly exaggerated, quite possibly by none other than yours truly, but I am officially still here, still making stuff. Catch you later. x

Sybaritic Sewing

2010-10-14T16:33:00.011-04:00

Alright, alright. So I said I'd try to post more and I haven't. I have been truly, truly, uselessly absent.

But. I don't get to do much sewing right now. It's ages since I have sewn anything interesting, and exponentially longer since I have sewn anything interesting for myself.

So tonight, with a great big heap of work parked very firmly in my blind spot in the dining room, no more than an indistinct silhouette in the corner of my eye, I dusted off my sewing machine and cutting board and made something I have needed for ages. I guess the fact that I needed it means that it is not total self-indulgent extravagance in the truest sense of the word, but it certainly feels like it.

A couple of hours playing around with a set square and a few scraps, and reacquainting myself with my poor neglected Singer, and we have here a brand new makeup bag. Small enough to fit in my handbag, big enough to hold all the things I actually need. Plus, it's got a funkalicious orange lining, and I have such strong affection for orange. Oh, the luxury.

I'd also like to draw your attention (if it has not been drawn by others already) to the glory of oh comely magazine. I may be way behind the times with this recommendation (so, what's new there?) but this magazine is be-oooooo-tiful. I could lose days reading it. If anyone loves me and is wondering what to get me for christmas, consider this a hint.

Now that I've fallen off the wagon it may not be imprudent to assume that you could be hearing more from me. Given the fact that I'm getting an overlocker for my belated birthday (can you say 'Fuck, yeah?!')and am unlikely to be able to resist playing with it far too much when I ought really to be working, that may appear more feasible still. Those of you who know and love the sporadic nature of my blogging will naturally know not to get your hopes up too much.

I will, however, tentatively pledge to have the shop up and running in time for Christmas shopping – at least for those less organised amongst us who don't get all our gifts bought before the clocks go back – as much to force my own hand as anything. Feel free to nag / harrass / abuse / flagellate /otherwise encourage me when I inevitably look like I'm going to fail to deliver. It's actually looking fairly well-stocked at the moment, so it's really just the web design side where I really need to pull my finger out. Be gentle with me though, okay? I have a full time job and a three year old.

Catchya later x

Breaking radio silence

2010-09-06T08:16:00.005-04:00

It's been a while, I know. But bereavement will do funny things to you.

One of the things it has done to me is to make me curl up and hide and not have any contact with the outside world. Including you lot, I'm afraid. I've just been feeling too raw. I'm starting to come out of my hole, but be gentle with me, and and try not to give me funny looks when I switch from mopey depressive wreck to frightening fixed-grin-happy and back again as quickly as a very quick thing.

One of the other things it has done to me is to motivate me. When you watch someone die too soon, watch them mourn for all the things they will never get to do, you can no longer escape your own mortality. The finite-ness of yourself. I will not allow any more time to go by while I faff about not following my ambitions to fruition. So, in between the periods of wanting to curl up like a little hedgehoggy ball and offer the world my spikes, I have been working. Really hard. Drumroll please.... Ruby in Blue is going into business. I have been sewing my little socks off producing piece after piece of hand-crafted gorgeousness. Watch this space people. There will soon be a shop, stocked with beautiful things for you to buy for your very own small people. I'd been planning to do it for ages, but this was the push I needed. I am excited.

Coincidentally, the other thing bereavement has done to me is make me very, very busy. I am now heavily involved in my dad's company, and I am currently on a steep learning curve, finding my footing in the world of finance. It's a big step and a huge opportunity. Challenging, different to what I'm used to, and exhilarating.

Oh, and lest we should forget about the small girl, she still needs feeding and cuddling and playing with and reading to and tickling. If anyone knows where I can purchase additional hours for my day, I'd be really grateful. She is still the personification of gorgeousness by the way, and makes me smile a thousand times a day, even when I am an inch away from crying. Just in case you were wondering.

So, lots going on, and very little spare time as a result. It never rains, hey? As a little offering by way of apology for being so absent lately and for the serious lack of actual sewing in recent posts, I would like to direct your attention to the brand new button over there on the right: Sew From Scratch, by the very wonderful and clever LiEr at Ikat Bag. This is the holy grail when it comes to drafting patterns, a whole series of posts that will take you all the way from how to get the measurements you need to having a perfectly fitted sloper for your subject. I'm serious. I have waited my entire sewing life for someone to put together something like this. Anyone who has ever wanted to know, really understand, how to draft a pattern from scratch and have it absolutely perfectly fit your child, then you will want to set aside a couple of hours, some chocolate and some wine, and sit down to read your way through this whole series. Trust me, you will be glad you did.

I'm going to try to post more often. Don't expect too much in the way of sewing because, well, because of all the things I just wrote about. But I will be trying to add recipes, and generally blog more. If you notice I've been quiet for a while come and poke me with a sharp stick. If someone could also bring me a cup of tea from time to time that would be really great too.

TTFN x

For my Daddy

2010-07-28T10:01:00.006-04:00

I'm sorry. I haven't been here in what feels like forever. The practical reason for this is that I have been without a computer for the last couple of weeks. The real reason though, the reason I have no words and nothing to say, is that my Dad died on Friday. I am numb, and I am wordless.

After a long and awe-inspiringly courageous battle against cancer, which began in his colon and spread through his liver, lungs, spine, bones, and finally his brain, he died peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Friday morning, surrounded by the people who loved him, with my sister and I asleep on either side of him. He was sixty-one.

I can't imagine a world without my dad in it. He was the most generous, kind, loving, eccentric, wonderful man in the world. He filled a room. He made a party. He lived for music and beauty and family, and for each and every day. He will leave behind him an unfillable space, and a quiet to which we are unaccustomed.

Ruby understands, I think, in the way only a three-year-old can. She had a dream, a week or so before he died, about flying with her Baba, holding his hand. She says he can live in her heart, and that there are stairs in her body for him to get in. She blows kisses out of the window to him at bedtime. She reminds me that he is not ill any more.

It seems wrong, that these few sentences should be all I have to sum up my father, when I would normally find such comfort in words upon words, but for now I am mute. I could talk about the incredible things he has done, the funny stories and the cock-ups, the bravery and the reconciliation, but silence feels more fitting, more natural right now. The words will come, in time, I'm sure.

I love you, Baba. I will miss you forever. I am proud and thankful to have known you.

Always your daughter,

B x

A spanky new look for Ruby in Blue

2010-07-16T13:33:00.006-04:00

...courtesy of the lovely people over at Shabby Blogs (yep, up there on the top left corner) and their glorious font of gorgeousness. And, get this, it's free to use.

Let me know what you think - are you a fan of the new look, or do you prefer the simple beauty of our former aesthetic? Leave a comment and let me know. This is a democracy, y'know.

I mean, I'm the boss and all, but I'll factor in your opinions... ;)

Rubyisms, for posterity.

2010-07-11T20:01:00.003-04:00

Much to my dismay, Ruby's pronunciation of words is improving exponentially at the moment. I can see some of my favourite Rubyisms vanishing from use entirely in the not too distant future. For the amusement of you fine people, I thought I'd write down a few of my favourites.

Trickult [tri'-kuhlt] (adj.)
Not easily or readily done; requiring much skill or labour to be done succesfully.
[Origin: Compound word, formed from the synonyms 'tricky' and 'difficult'.]

Lilypaddling [li'-li-pahd'-ling] (noun)
The leaf of an aquatic plant, the water lily, upon which frogs may sit.

Swimsuitcase [swim'-suht-keys] (noun)
1. A usually rectangular piece of luggage used for carrying clothes whilst travelling.
2. A garment worn for swimming.
[Origin: compound word, combining the meanings of two related words into one convenient multi-purpose term.]

Annoining [uh-noi'-ning] (adj.)
Causing annoyance; irritatingly bothersome.
eg. 'Oh, that's very annoining!'

Upside-up [up'-side-up'] (adj.)
Correctly orientated; antonym of upside-down.

Boffum [boff'-um] (noun)
The buttocks, or rump.
eg. 'Mummy, stop pinching my boffum!'
[Origin: early mispronunciation, reinforced by sentimental parent and grandparents.)

Oboe [oh'-boh] (noun)
The bend or joint of the human arm between forearm and upper arm.

These are too precious to forget. I sincerely hope I never do. I know there are more, but it's late and I can't think of them right now. Plus, I'm in Cornwall with no internet, and this is turning out to be a fairly tortuous process on my iPhone (on which grounds I would appreciate your understanding as regards any typos). Will try to stop by again while I'm away, but in case the tempermental phone signal fails me, or I an just too busy having a good time, I hope everyone has a great week. Peace x

An age old tag, fulfilled...

2010-07-06T16:56:00.007-04:00

Two posts in one day. I know, it's madness. Well, I was reading my lovely friend Skip's blog earlier, and I clicked on the label "happiness", as you do, and found this post. Seems I was tagged, and quite some time ago, and I never even knew it.

Here’s what to do:

1. Open the first (oldest) photo folder on your computer

2. Scroll to the 10th photo

3. Post the photo and the story behind it

4. Tag 5 or more people to continue the thread

I wasn't going to do anything about it, thinking it's a bit like realising you never paid your library fines, and that it's a bit late now, so the best thing to do is simply never to go back to the library again, but then I opened iPhoto, and I found the 10th photo in the first folder, and I thought again:

It's not one of the ten oldest photos on my computer, so I don't know how it snuck into that spot, somehow hoodwinking my computer and its grasp of chronology, but I'm kind of glad that it did. This is my Dad, and the picture was taken a couple of years ago, when Ruby was about five months old, on holiday in Cyprus.

I keep writing and rewriting this, going into the backstory and and the now-story, but all I really want to say is that I love my Dad more than I can say. He is the most generous, loving, brave and inspiring man I have ever met, even if he does hide it pretty well sometimes behind the fact that he's from Yorkshire.

This picture sums him up for me. It is how I think of him. He's the best dad I could ever have hoped for, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. I wouldn't even swap him for Bill Nighy.

Coincidentally, that was also the week my little baby girl first stood up, sat up, crawled, and grew her first two teeth. Busy holiday for her, that was.

Don't feel in any way obligated to take up my out of date tagging, but here are my five taggees:

1. Pixie at I'll be Francoise

2. Robyn at Rose Lullaby Dolls

3. JK at West of the Pennines

4. David at Things I Don't Understand

5. Kat at Slugs on the Refrigerator

So, take it or leave it my lovelies, but I found something rather special doing this, so it might just be worth a shot. A big belated thank you to lovely Skip for that little nugget of love.

The Great Unveiling of the Grand Transformation

2010-07-06T13:46:00.007-04:00

I have been threatening to do this for such a long time, and procrastinating so effectively, that I had honestly almost given up on it myself. I made flags for bunting, oh, three hundred years ago, and never sewed them together. I made a roman blind in the similarly distant past, and never hung it. But finally, with (almost) all the bits and pieces in situ, the Great Unveiling of the Grand Transformation can, at long last, take place.

Here, good people, is your before shot:

Not so awful, but just too girly for me, and it all just felt old and cluttered. It felt very much like a baby's bedroom, and my baby is very much a Big Girl now.

So, goodbye to over-saturation of pink and hello to clean lines and bright colours.

Goodbye to chaos and clutter, and hello to a well-stocked bookshelf and a sense of space.

Goodbye to poorly fitting blackout blinds and feeling like a long, narrow railway carriage, and hello to daylight in the day time, darkness in the night time, and a whole lot of feng shui.

The only thing missing is a shade for the ceiling light, which I am going to make out of the same fabric as the bedclothes when I next venture near an Ikea.

We're both pretty pleased with it. Here's to many happy nights' sleep.

Oh, and I'm going to tidy up the old bunting (which is not really 'old', just needs repressing and possibly topstitching because I was too lazy to do it the first time round!) and give it away on the blog, so watch this space.

Sunday night refashion.

2010-07-04T18:54:00.011-04:00

Not much to report here, except that the small girl did an excellent job as flower girl yesterday. So much so, in fact, that I am considering renting her out on a regular basis to wander round strangers' weddings holding flowers and being photogenic. Gratuitous proud-mummy-shot coming up.

Tonight's project was a simple refashion: a t-shirt I have never worn (t-shirts and I have never really got along) and a strapless dress I have never worn (ditto for me and strapless dresses) into a much more wearable dress.

I'm sure the idea of refashioning is not necessarily to reduce one's wardrobe by amalgamating two existing items into one, but, as far as I'm concerned, one item I am certain I will wear is better than two I almost certainly won't.

Also, this week I have mostly been laughing at these little gems. Happy sunday folks. Peace out.

Three times a bridesmaid

2010-07-03T05:55:00.006-04:00

She's only just three, and already the small girl is on her third run of bridesmaid duties. I'm hoping that the old wives' tale doesn't hold true for her. Just in case it does, at least this time she'll have had a shot at walking down an aisle wearing a white dress.

She's wearing it with a little cardie and sparkly white shoes from her last outing as bridesmaid to her godfather, and is over the moon because we're spending the night in a real live castle, like real live princesses.

This silk was quite possibly the must frustrating fabric I have ever worked with. It was a challenge to get it sewn up before the whole thing unraveled, and I can't see it holding up particularly well in terms of washing, but its pretty and it only has to survive a day, so fingers crossed, hey? Also, I have learnt a valuable lesson: when sewing a white dress and wearing red lipstick, it is not advisable to bite off threads with your teeth.

Freshly picked pinny

2010-07-02T06:06:00.006-04:00

We had a bit of an idyllic afternoon yesterday, the small girl and I. I spent an hour running up this dress, from a great tutorial over at Freshly Picked, and contrary to all precedent or character Ruby spurned Beebies in favour of watching me. "I love watching you sew, mummy," she said, heart-meltingly, whilst proceeding to observe me, chin resting on her hands, head to one side, for a full ten minutes, before getting bored and wandering off to get some crayons and sticky things.

This sweetness was only very slightly marred by the forty-minute screaming session that followed as a result of my tying a bow the wrong way. I'm willing to overlook it though, and store the little watcher in the memory banks instead.

Time travel, courtesy of some strawberries

2010-06-30T16:46:00.005-04:00

I went back in time today. Approximately twenty years back as it happens, transported there by row upon row of warm, dusty red berries, nesting in straw. Who would have thought that a pick-your-own garden centre could have such a visceral effect, but there I was again, not much bigger than Ruby, with strawberry juice dripping down my chin and the sun on my back. I couldn't stop picking them.

And the peas, my other favourite things. Just to push me a little further down memory lane, Ruby and I spent a happy half hour shelling them into a sieve, eating half of them raw along the way. From field to plate in under an hour. Beat that, Captain Birdseye. It doesn't get much better.

In other news, the makeup bags have been at it again, breeding like rabbits. Honestly, they wouldn't be out of place on the Jeremy Kyle show.

In the oilcloth family way

2010-06-30T07:54:00.005-04:00

Remember the oilcloth purse tutorial? Well, I made the mistake of not checking the sex of that first pair, and it seems that I inadvertently ended up with a boy and a girl. At least that is the only explanation I can think of, since the two of them have quite clearly been breeding. The dirty little buggers.

They have produced no fewer than four offspring. If that doesn't show a lack of self-control I don't know what does.

Like their parents, the babies are made from oilcloth with a shiny silver lamé lining, but their outer skin is a pretty Cath Kidston-esque floral which, frankly, has me doubting the paternity. And I don't know what they are feeding little oilcloth babies these days, but this lot are big. One of them could even be called obese. I blame school dinners.

We love them all the same though. Here they are, all together, the whole happy little family.

And the winner is...

2010-06-28T17:04:00.004-04:00

Drumroll please.......

Dawn & Rose

Congratulations, you are the proud owner if the infamously spurned yoga leggings!

Email my with your details at kellyb[at]rubyinblue.com and I shall send them on their merry way to you.

Tonight is 'me' night. I am making not one, but two dresses for me, me, ME!

Of course, I wouldn't be all that surprised if I inadvertently got sidetracked into something on a smaller scale. Somehow the 'me' projects never quite seem to be realised... I'll let you know how it turns out.

Le Quilt (aka. The Father's Day Project of Epic Proportions)

2010-06-27T17:32:00.007-04:00

So, said the cat in the hat. So, so, so...

As promised, here are some pictures (as modeled by the small girl, who can never resist a camera lens anywhere in the vicinity) of the quilt I made for my beloved Baba for father's day, the secret project that has taken up so much of my time lately. You see, I wasn't making it up, I really was busy.

I made it using the Folk Dance Quilt pattern by Anna Maria Horner, and I love the geometric-ness of it. As a virgin quilter, it was a daunting project, but manageable. Very much a case of one step at a time.

It was machine stitched, hand quilted, and is made from 100% natural fibres. The middle of the quilt sandwich (anyone who knows the proper term for this, do please let me know - I have no knowledge in this area whatsoever) is a lightweight bamboo batting, machine washable, tumble-dryable, and perfect for snuggling up on mild summer evenings.

And so, 234 pieces, 13 yards of fabric, 60 hours of sewing, and thousands upon thousands of loving stitches later - the result is one very heartfelt gift, for one very special man.

And this is the man himself. Happy father's day, Baba. I love you xx

One day more...

2010-06-27T11:42:00.005-04:00

Hello peeps. Just a mini announcement to say that I'm going to extend the giveaway deadline until tomorrow. The extremely valid reason for this is that I have been sunning myself on the beach all day and haven't got round to it, so, yeah, my laziness and lack of commitment are working in your favour once again. If you haven't entered already, get on it.

I'll be back later with some pictures of the quilt I made for my daddy for father's day, but in the meantime, can we all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the ritual shambolic humiliation that is England's contribution to the World Cup is over for another four years? Don't get me wrong, for a change I actually feel quite bad for all the people who really do care about football and harboured a preference as to whether we won or not – good grief, that match was painful to watch, even for me – but really, England, it's just embarrassing. Three cheers for no more vuvuzelas. Hip, Hip...

Lined oilcloth purse tutorial

2010-06-18T09:59:00.008-04:00

Haven't done a tutorial in a while, so here is one I have been working on for a zippered oilcloth purse with a shiny lamé lining. Obviously, you don't have to use either lamé or oilcloth, but I like how robust the oilcloth is and the lamé... well, I just like shiny things, okay?

You will need:

Two rectangles 4.5" x 9" from your outer fabric;

Two of the same from your lining;

Two little rectangles 1.5" x 2.5" from your outer fabric;

One 8" zipper.

(As an aside, I have recently acquired a set square, and I can tell you exactly how much easier it makes life: a lot easier, that's how much.)

Start with your small rectangles. Fold them in half so the short sides are aligned.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT press anything in this project with an iron. You will regret it. Big, smelly, molten regret. You just need to use some firm pressure with a flat rigid edge. I used the end of the lever bit of my nail clippers (obviously) but you could use anything really. Back of a knife? Just assume that's what I'm talking about when I tell you to press folds in this tute.

Turn the short edges under by about 3/8" and press again, then do the same with the other small rectangle. These will be the little tabs on the end of the zip.

Insert one end of your zipper into one of your little folded tabs, making sure that the metal bit of the zip is enclosed inside the tab. You can trim the fabric at the ends of the zip if they are too long. Stitch straight across, being careful not to hit that same metal bit with your needle.

Do the same with the other end of the zipper, and it should look something like this

Now you are going to make a zippy sandwich. Take one of your outer pieces and lay it right side up. With the zip closed and the pull to your right, lay it face down along the bottom edge of your fabric (if your fabric has a print that needs to be a particular way up, you actually want to be looking at it upside down right now - does that make sense?) then lay your lining fabric right side down on top, aligning all the edges. The tabs will stick out slightly from between the layers. Tack it all in place. I wouldn't recommend pinning here - you get a much better result if you tack.

Stitch along about 1/8" from the zip teeth with your zipper foot. I find the easiest way is to start with the zip closed, then stop halfway with your needle down, lift the presser foot and open the zip up, then put the foot back down and carry on to the the end. It stops the zip pull getting in your way and spoiling things.

Turn the layers of your sandwich back on themselves, so that the two layers of fabric are wrong sides together. Press the folds and topstitch.

You then need to repeat this process with your other pieces. Same drill: outer fabric right side up (upside down printwise, if relevant) Lay the piece you just sewed, right side down with the zip closed and the pull to the left, and then your final lining piece right side down on top. Tack and stitch in place. Open it out like you did with the other side, and topstich. It should look like thsi:

Now, this is a little tricky to explain, but not tricky to do, honest. Make sure that your zipper is at half-open. You want to fold your nearly-purse so that the two lining pieces are right sides together, and your two outer pieces are right sides together. Align all the edges, tack in place, and sew all the way round, just missing the tabs on the end of the zip, and leaving a 2" gap in the lining part to turn it. The two things you really want to avoid here are forgetting to open your zip and forgetting to leave a gap for turning. If, like me, you forget either (or indeed both – yeah, you heard, both) of these things – don't panic, just reach for your trusty stitch ripper and start again. It should look like this:

Clip your corners and turn the whole thing carefully through the gap you left (or, like me, curse your stupidity and return to the previous step). Stitch the gap closed. Tuck your lining inside and use a stitch ripper to gently coax the outer corners into shape.

Ta-da! That wasn't so hard, was it? Looking at this now, I wish I had some metallic thread or something for the top-stitching, but on the whole I'm pretty pleased with it.

I also made a makeup bag version for my mum: Slightly bigger, and I boxed the corners at the bottom so it would stand up:

Let me know what you think of the tutorial, and any changes you think I need to make - happy sewing!

Boom box leggings giveaway: Come one, come all

2010-06-17T08:15:00.008-04:00

This week I have been a little naughty and splashed out on some patterns and fabric, including this great pattern for yoga leggings from the lovely Amanda over at Kitschy Coo. I made them out of what is quite possibly the coolest jersey print in creation, fabulous turquoise-green and covered in boom boxes, also purchased from Amanda's great big Fabric Bonanza Mega Sale.

They have mock-buttoned cuffs on the bottoms, and a big wide waistband that can be worn folded down or turned up to save little tummies from draughts.

The leggings and I are very much in love. Upsettingly, Ruby does not feel the same way and, what with children being unrepentant sociopaths with little or no cognisance of other people's feelings or emotions, she has no qualms with letting me know this fact, or with point blank refusing even to try them on.

My heartbreak and devastation, however, are your gain, because it means these beauties are up for grabs. They are a size 2T, but I think fairly roomy.

I'm sure you know the drill by now: comment on the post to enter, and if you blog about the giveaway or share it on twitter or facebook you get two entries (be sure to let me know in your comment that you have done so!) and I will get the small girl to pull the winner's name out of a hat on, let's see... how does Sunday 27th work for everyone?

Good luck everyone, get commenting xx

Ruby in Blue is on Facebook

2010-06-14T20:27:00.002-04:00

Hello lovelies. I know I've been really really rubbish lately, but it's because I've been working on something BIG and it's for a certain father of mine who happens to be a follower – Hello, Baba! – and so I can't blog about it until after Father's Day.

What I can blog about, though, is the fact that we now have a new facebook page so if any of you nice folks fancy heading over there nd becoming a fan (or even suggesting it to your friends?!) it would be very greatly appreciated. And I promise that there is sewing goodness to come in the near future. Peace out x

Late night whimsy

2010-06-02T20:24:00.005-04:00

So, here I am again. Silly o'clock and no sleep to be had.

But I have made a little something, which is, well, something.

It's uncharacteristically pink for me, and very girly, and yet I kind of love it. I more than love the fabric, with its fanciful print, and I love the red heart buttons that clash a bit, in just the right sort of way. I think I dodged twee by an inch or so.

I'm not sure how much wear this will get, as it really goes with nothing the girl owns, but when I saw the fabric I knew I couldn't not make it. Oh, if only she had some red patent Mary-Janes. How good would that look? Or would that be overkill? Might have to settle for Converse high-tops for now, although I kind of like the incongruence of that too.

Quiet now, brain. Hush.

In the immortal words of Take That... (Or: Anyone can learn to sew)

2010-05-30T13:23:00.010-04:00

... "We've come so far."

Every time Ruby stays over at my parents' she comes back with something or other that she has begged, borrowed or stolen. Last week she came back with a little pink dress she had found hanging on a forgotten hook somewhere, the first thing I ever sewed for her.

It wasn't that long ago, maybe two years, but I'd kind of forgotten about it. I'd forgotten that when I started out I really didn't know how to sew. I just knew that I wanted to. Obviously the girl has grown in the interim so you'll have to forgive the fact that she looks like an extra from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but whatever allowances you make for that you will surely wince, nonetheless, to see the flaws in the shaping, the way the upper bodice gapes while the lower bodice barely makes it across her belly...

... the, um, generous armscye and the poorly finished seams.

The wonky stitching...

... the seams that didn't quite stand the test of time ...

... and the raw edges ...

... raw edges everywhere you look.

It made me really happy to see how for I've come in what seems now to be quite a short time. I've learned everything I know from sewing blogs, tutorials and books, from my marvelous mum, and from good old-fashioned trial and error. When I started I couldn't sew a buttonhole; I didn't know how to set in a sleeve. I had never sewn elastic, never used bias binding, never sewn a rolled hem or a french seam. Back then I didn't know what a placket was, let alone how to sew one. If something got ripped, or stained, or outgrown, it went to the charity shop, or in the bin. Now when Ruby outgrows a dress, I make it into a skirt. When my jeans don't fit properly, I alter them. I couldn't find a dress I liked enough to wear to my friends' wedding next weekend, so I am going to make one instead.

Two years ago I was no better at sewing than when I walked out of my last needlework class aged eleven. Now I feel as though I've always sewn. There is so much that I still want to learn, I'm standing right at the foot of the mountain, but it's not intimidating any more. I don't look at something I want to make and decide against it because I don't know how to sew in the zip, or what to do with the interfacing, or because I don't like the sleeves quite like that. Not any more. Now I look at something and work out how achieve what I want to achieve. I know that few things are as hard as they look.

So, that was the first dress I made for Ruby, which was only ever worn once or twice, which never really survived the wash, but which, like everything else I make her, was stitched so lovingly, with so much care. It was my prototype.

My other prototype turned three yesterday, but this one can't be improved upon. She's perfect just the way she is.

Carbon Positive blogging

2010-05-27T12:05:00.004-04:00

I have to say, it has never crossed my mind that my blog could be generating CO2 emissions. Never even thought about it. Then I saw this post over on Eco-Strip Down and it made me think, so I pottered over to Ixpo which got me thinking even more.

Ixpo is pioneering the Plant A Tree initiative, planting one tree for every blogger who signs up, which means that this is actually a practical difference in the world that you and I can be a part of. I'll bet that the CO2 generated by your blog never crossed your mind either, did it? It may look like a tiny amount, but apparently someone highly intelligent has worked out that every visit to your blog causes about 0.02g of carbon dioxide (think computer usage, electricity hours and server cooler systems). That may not sound like much, but add it up and an average blog attracting 15,000 hits per month generates 3.5kg of CO2 a year. Now, I may not be attracting 15,000 hits a month (yet!) but here is the other beautiful aspect to Ixpo's initiative - it won't cost me a thing to offset my carbon emissions anyway, and you can do it too.

Click on the green "Carbon Positive" button on the right to add a button to your own blog, and Ixpo will plant a tree in your name. All you have to do is write a post about it and email them with the link, and you too can proudly wear your green button. I don't know why this concept appeals to me so much, but it really, really does. It's made me smile to think that because of something very simple I can do, there will be one more tree in the world that I am leaving my daughter, and in my mind that's enough to make it worthwhile.

Addendum: Sorry I've been a bit absent lately. There's a lot going on and it's taken over a bit, but normal services will be resumed shortly, I promise. x

Insomnia-induced creativity

2010-05-06T20:22:00.012-04:00

If jet lag is the mother of industry, then insomnia must, at the very least, be a distant cousin of productivity. I have forgotten how to sleep. My body seems to have forgotten it needs sleep. Actually, that's not strictly true. When I do sleep, I sleep really deeply and really well, but I am down to about five or six hours a night – four and a half last night – and I am a big fan of sleeping. I love to sleep. Until I had the small one, I was a nine or ten hours a night girl.

So, while I am not necessarily thrilled about this state of affairs, it is true that fewer sleeping hours mean I have inadvertently got my wish for more hours in a day – more waking hours at least – and I have been making and doing and fixing and... did I mention making?

I have very nearly gotten my act together and finished Ruby's room. I have finally screwed the dimmer switch, which I wired in over a year ago, to its back box. I have put up the roman blind I made for Ruby's room, with my very own drill. Yes, all right, it's pink, but it's still a power tool, okay? I am woman, hear me drill things! Rah.

I have bought and bravely ridden a bike, with my precious spawn on the back, on actual roads. This clearly was not done at night, so doesn't strictly qualify to be included here, but it is kind of a big deal for me, seeing as how I haven't ridden a bike in well over a decade. It was the shame and lasting trauma of failing my cycling proficiency that did it, you see.... So I am somewhat proud of my newfound roadworthiness, and thought I'd just squeeze it in there.

Sewing-wise, I have done loads (and thrown away a fair proportion of it on account of it being embarrassingly badly sewn tat, which perhaps goes to show that insomnia is not all good – but let's not dwell on that). Success stories include a shirt-to-dress refashion using this tutorial (I'll stick a piccie up when the girl is not asleep in such close proximity to said dress), a few nighties, since the girl, for no obvious reason, has renounced pyjamas, and a nice little bunch of summer dresses and tops, all from half yards I have been collecting.

This is my pick of the bunch:

A sweet little smock top made using Anna Maria Horner flannel;

A stripy pinafore dress....

.... with a cute appliqué on the back (which, because I quite like how the heart-on-the-bum-look turned out, we are going to pretend was not accidental);

And Ruby's election night dress, a lovely soft peasanty tunic, based on this tutorial, completed at about three o'clock in the morning when the reds and the blues were neck and neck, and I gave in and went to bed.

There's also a really awesome skirt, which happens to be in the wash, but you get the point. I think I have made more in the last week than I have in the last month put together. I have also learnt that lining and reinforcing things, while taking a little more time, makes oh-so-much of a difference to the end result. So, in conclusion, as much as I am wary as to what the long term consequences of sleep deprivation may be, as long as I can keep up this kind of productivity I am not going to complain. For now at least.

This tute will change your life.

2010-04-28T07:53:00.016-04:00

It's not my tute. I wish it were though. It's Susan's over at Freshly Picked, but it really will change your life.

It made my jeans stop looking like this....

...and start looking like this!

They are my favourite jeans ever, but the waist was just way too big. The pictures aren't great (have you ever tried taking pictures of your own backside? No? Give it a go some time - hours of fun) but you get the idea. And now... no more hoiking them up all day, and, even better, no more builders bum! See how the two little brass studs are closer together in the second picture? That's what we're doing here.

So, I urge you to go forth and alter. Everyone has at least one pair of almost perfect jeans somewhere. See, I told you it would change your life.

In other news, would you check out this booty (as opposed to the booty above, haha... oh, I amuse myself). My dad cleared out his wardrobe and I got these shirts. I already have plans for at least some of these, such as this and this. Now, go on, say Oooooooh...

I am, not for the first time, exceedingly grateful to have a father who never, ever, wears a boring shirt.

Carrot and nutmeg cupcakes

2010-04-26T17:15:00.005-04:00

Sorry. I know, I know, I've been really lame lately. I have been busy though, honest. I've done loads, it's just that the sewing I've been doing has either been (a) very utilitarian and dull; (b) part of a bigger project – aka the Grand Transformation of Ruby's room – that I don't want to put up until it's done; or (c) completely buggered up and thrown away in a rage.

There are, I promise, one or two posts lined up ready to go. Lined up in my brain, you understand, not anywhere useful like on the computer.

There's an upcycled cardie that theorically is brilliant, but will probably end up being given away because with my characteristic lack of planning and forethought I made it in the same colours as my school uniform, and I can't actually bear to look at it. More of that to come. There is also the playdough recipe to end all playdough recipes, tried, refined, retried and thoroughly crash-tested by the small one.

If further excuses for skiving are still required, I should like to draw your attention to my completed and submitted self-assessment tax return for 09/10. I'm feeling a bit smug about that, not to mention crazy excited about what I'm going to spend my £1.00 rebate on.

For today though, I shall stop wittering and attempt to placate and appease you, my lovely readers, with a recipe. It is yummy, lovely and light and not too sweet, and because it contains vegetables, and because I used the low-fat cream cheese, I can kid myself that it is good for me. So, for your epicurean pleasure, I give you carrot and nutmeg muffins with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients: (makes 24 fairy cake-sized, um, cakes)

150 g soft light brown sugar

175 ml vegetable/sunflower oil

3 large eggs

4 medium carrots, grated

juice of half an orange

200g wholemeal self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp of good vanilla essence

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

For the frosting:

250 g low fat cream cheese

30 g butter, softened

zest of one lemon (or 1 tsp lemon oil)

250 g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Line 2 twelve-hole mini-muffin or cupcake trays with paper cases, or use silicone cupcake cases.

For the cakes:

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat sugar, eggs and oil until smooth.

Stir in grated carrot, vanilla essence and orange juice.

Sift in flour mixture, bit by bit, and mix until the dry ingredients are combined. The misture will be fairly runny.

Spoon into cake cases, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch.

For the frosting:

Beat together cream cheese, butter and lemon oil/zest until smooth and light.

Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar, until consistency and sweetness is to your taste.

Leave frosting to chill in the fridge until the cakes are completely cool, then dollop on top and finish with a little grated orange rind if you are so inclined. Try very hard not to eat the whole batch (or at least be prepared to do as I did and pretend that you only made twelve, rather than twenty-four).

Welcome to the Factory

2010-04-14T19:18:00.003-04:00

It seems that my house has metamorphosed into a production line. These thirty stripy little flags are all part of the Grand Transformation of Ruby's room. They were rapidly – as opposed to beautifully – sewn, but, since I am shortsighted and she won't care, I figured it doesn't matter too much.

The Grand Transformation is more significant than a string of bunting, but you don't get to see the other bits yet. Partly because it would spoil the surprise, but mostly because the small girl is asleep, and I don't think that going into her room, turning on the lights and taking a bunch of pictures would be particularly conducive to that continuing.

Incidentally, sewing diagonal seams on vertically striped fabric is curiously counter-intuitive, like steering into a skid. You really have to overrule your natural instincts.

Seared tuna with basil guacamole

2010-04-12T15:55:00.005-04:00

This is vaguely inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, but because I didn't have most of the ingredients and I did have an avocado about to be past its best, I improvised and came up with this. The basil guacamole was also a consequence of not having the right ingredients (are you sensing a trend here?), and of my having once been to a fab Tuscan-Mexican fusion restaurant near where we used to live in New York, called Matilda. This is really, really easy to make. Like, you could do it in under five minutes if you set your mind to it easy.

Ingredients:

2 fresh tuna steaks

250g baby spinach

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

a few good handfuls of fresh basil

1 avocado

1 fresh red chili, deseeded and chopped (optional)

juice of 1 lime

olive oil

salt and pepper

Serves 2.

Peel the avocado, and put it together with the chili (if you are using it), the lime juice and two thirds of the basil in a bowl. I was going to mash it all up but decided to whizz it in the blender instead. Up to you really.

Rub both sides of your steaks with salt, pepper and olive oil, then sear in a hot dry frying pan for one minute on each side. Bear in mind that they will continue cooking after they are off the heat, and don't overdo it – you want the tuna to be pink in the middle.

Arrange the spinach, tomatoes and the rest of the basil on plates, and drizzle with olive oil. 'Arrange' is a bit of a misleading description for what I did really. 'Throw hastily together while the tuna is cooking' would be more accurate. Top with a steak and a good dollop of guacamole. Garnish with a final sprig of basil if you are feeling aesthetically motivated. Season with salt and pepper, and devour.

Sewing porn

2010-04-09T18:44:00.011-04:00

I don't have anything particularly wonderful to show off today, but I didn't want you all to think I'd been sitting around doing nothing. Oh, no. What I have been doing is perusing these nuggets of glory, given to me by my friend's lovely mum.

These books are the real deal, like yo mama used to use. It doesn't get much better. We have 'Basic Tailoring', 'The Professional Look' and, my favourite, 'Exotic Styling'. They were (more than) a little over my head when she gave them to me last summer, but now that I am getting to grips with what they are on about – despite not feeling entirely confident about being able to do what they are telling me to do just yet – I am lapping them up like a starved kitten. Yup. They are full of magnificent pictures like these...

...but even better they are packed with illustrated instructions on pretty much any formerly mysterious element of sewing you could imagine. All of which make my placket smugness look a little silly. But, man, I'm excited about all this learning. Now, if they'd just taught stuff like this in school I might have payed attention. I hope to god I'm not breaching someone's copyright by putting pictures up, but I get the impression these babies have been out of print for a while now, so I'm hoping that makes it okay.

In other news, I am working on a summer cardie for the small girl in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze on four – count them, four – double point needles. It's a while since I knitted, but I found this pattern for a cardigan that is knit all in one piece, allowing me to avoid my least favourite part of knitting (the sewing part – oh, glorious irony) and I couldn't resist giving it a go.

And in other other news, I have been taking my wardrobe apart (literally, with scissors and a stitch ripper) and refashioning things that the old me would have chucked out, experimenting with ruffles, darts and elastic. A lot of these alterations are proving to be less than successful, but, like I said, these things would have ended up in the bin anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am also covetously eyeing a hemming foot and trying to persuade myself that it is a justifiable purchase.

All in all, there's a nauseating level of personal growth and improvement floating about. Anyone want to start a sweepstake on how long it takes before I crack beneath the pressure and go on an H&M binge?

Chicken and lentil soup

2010-04-07T20:15:00.004-04:00

One word: yum.

A few more? Easy, simple, marvelously healthy and hearty. Sorry for being so immodest, but it's good. Honest.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

2 red onions

2 cloves of garlic

tin of chopped tomatoes

tin of lentils

a pint of chicken or vegetable stock

a couple of handfuls of spinach

salt and pepper

Serves 2 adults and a little 'un.

Chop up your onions and garlic, fairly fine, and cut the chicken into thin strips, sort of as close to 'shredded' as you can get with raw chicken. Sauté the lot in some butter or olive oil until the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft. Transfer to a big saucepan and add your tomatoes, stock, and salt and pepper if you are using it. Bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 mins, or until it has reduced to a nice thick consistency, then drain your lentils and stir them in, along with the spinach. Let the whole lot come back to the boil, and simmer for another 3-4 minutes until the spinach is good and wilted. Serve with some irish soda bread for double-yum factor, and enjoy.

Jet lag: the mother of industry

2010-04-06T20:23:00.007-04:00

I was up until nearly 5am last night. I completely buggered up the sleep management side of things by having a power nap at 6pm which lasted for, ahem, five hours, hence – abracadabra! – wide awake in the wee small hours. So, with the small one (equally strung out) sitting catatonically in front of Charlie and Lola, I did the obvious thing, sidestepped the six months' worth of luggage staring at me begging to be unpacked, and decided instead to reunite myself with my fabric stash. Two hot cross buns, four cups of tea and a lot of folding and sorting later, I was the proud mama of this little bundle of glory...

But that is not all – oh no – that is not all.

Check out this lot. I didn't know it was possible to be this frickin' excited about buttons, thread and elastic (fold over elastic, no less), but I have been seriously roughing it in haberdashery terms for quite some time now, so forgive me while I go "Ooh, ooh, oooooh!"

One more for luck? Go on, say it with me: "Ooooooooh, scissors..."

Not to mention the bias tape maker. Hell yeah. No more fiddling with hair straighteners for me.

Not satisfied with sorting alone, not anywhere near sleepy, and evidently not willing even to contemplate unpacking things – shame on you for suggesting it – I decided to revamp Ruby's manky old doll's pram. Well, what else is one supposed do at three in the morning when the melatonin that was purchased with such forethought was left safely tucked away in the bread bin on the wrong side of the Atlantic?

I forgot to take the before pictures, so this is the point where you have to imagine the old blue hood with holes and scrapes and stains, and then marvel appropriately at the spanky new deckchair-striped hood and mattress.....

..... complete with matching pillow and duvet.

And, just to top things off, I snuck onto Amazon and very self-indulgently ordered myself a rotary cutter and mat before gathering up my girlie and sleeping the sleep of the truly exhausted. Happy days.

Things to remember

2010-04-04T13:09:00.006-04:00

The smells of coffee, smoke, fried onions and flowers. Chocolate milk and green juice. Frozen yoghurt and chocolate-covered pretzels. Blossom and dust. Bee Liquors, Alphabet Cafe, the Drop Off Service. The woman in the deli across the road who gives Ruby sweets and me credit. 9th Street Espresso and B Cup Cafe. Peanut butter cookies and iced coffee. The ongoing hunt for fresh fruit and vegetables. Third floor with groceries. Bikes chained to railings. The ministry of funny runs. Yellow cabs and traffic lights. Hey, Red. Pigeons on the fire escape. Listening to the neighbours' baby cry. Ruby's plastic storage tub bath. Where the Wild things Are, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, every day, off by heart. Margaritas and pizza slices. Subway stairs with a stroller. Snow and tears. Have a nice day. Big dogs in tiny apartments. Tiny dogs in jackets and bootees. Street-rescued sewing machines and thrift store t-shirts. Snow boots and flip flips. Umbrella carcasses under bare trees. Blue skies, grey skies, rain and wind and sun. Finding out who you are. Making somewhere your home, and then handing it back. I know where you are, I'll see you around. New York, I love you. x

Sewing for the frugal, via Indietutes

2010-03-31T10:33:00.010-04:00

It has come to my attention lately that, as much as I like to pretend that sewing Ruby's clothes myself is a good way to save money, there are certain pitfalls that can make it seriously costly. You find yourself a sewing machine in the street and you think "Ooh, marvelous. Now it won't cost me a thing to make the small one's clothes. Just think of all the money I'll save!" But the fact is that it can be a bloody expensive 'hobby'.

Of course, there are many, many other reasons why I make clothes for Ruby. I think it helps to discourage the disposable attitude that is so easy to develop when you can buy ready-made clothes for a handful of pennies, that can (and has, to my shame) lead to just throwing away things that have developed a little hole or acquired an unshiftable stain. There are the obvious ethical issues involved in buying clothes with a price tag that implies seriously unfair trade in their affordable little pasts. There is doing it for the love of it, because I get to see my baby wearing something that has been made with thought and time and love. I have lots of reasons for making Ruby's clothes, which you can read about here, but that doesn't change the fact that unless you are very careful, you can end up costing yourself a lot of money, whilst at the same time sort of losing sight of why you are doing it in the first place.

And then I found this nugget of wondrousness, the most inspirational and motivational list of ways to keep sewing frugal and stick to the mission plan, and Vegbee over at Indietutes has very kindly allowed me to reproduce some of my favourite suggestions here. So these are my top ten picks from a very long list of truly great ideas, and once you are done reading these, I suggest you go over there and peruse the whole lot.

1. Organise your stash. Until you know exactly what you have, you will find that you keep repeating yourself. You can tell yourself otherwise as many times as you like, but there is such a thing as too many Liberty florals.

2. Keep track of discount days at local fabric stores and shop with a list (or, in Vegbee's wise words, a small child, because nothing will convince you to get what you need and get out like trying to control a 3-year-old in a fabric store).

3. When buying new, cheap fabric doesn't always mean a deal. Some cotton prints and flannels are always priced cheap because their quality is poor. You do not save money (or feel good) if your hand-made garments look faded and tear after just a few washes. If you are spending good money, make sure it is on quality material.

4. Search your local freecycle network and put the word out amongst your neighbours that you will take away the extras from other sewers' stashes. If you have just done #1 and you have some things going begging, you might be able to negotiate a trade-off. Most people looking to downsize their stash will be happy to give it to someone who will appreciate the fabric and use it well.

5. Thrift stores and yard sales are great resources, not only for fabrics. You can often pick up large grab bags of notions for a dollar or two, but steer clear of vintage thread – it dries out and snaps. If buying buttons make sure there are enough matching buttons to finish a garment.

6. Reconstructed garments are the ultimate in thrift and creativity, especially if you revamp your own wardrobe using what you've already got. I try to do as much of this as I can, and it's one great way that I can make things for myself as I am not quite brave enough yet to make adult clothes from scratch, but I can sure as hell restyle a badly fitting dress, or turn an old sweater into a skirt.

7. Check out sewing books at your local library. Most libraries will stock several older books full of general knowledge (which will cost a mint to buy new) as well as some of the new hip books on reconning that sell for 20 smackers or more in the bookstore. Also, and this is too obvious, the internet is an amazing source for free tutes and patterns. But you know this. As an aside, I have a set of books in the UK given to me by my best friend's mum, from which she learn everything she needed to know to make all my friend's clothes when she was little. They were a bit over my head when she first gave them to me, but now I cannot wait to get home and get stuck into them.

8. Keep your machine in good shape by cleaning and oiling frequently. Don't bother to use canned air to blow out the lint from your machine – a set of inexpensive make up brushes work just as well, can be used for years and are a fraction of the cost. Better maintenance means fewer service bills.

9. Don't get sucked in by all the 'essential' products sold as sewers' aids. Buy what is helpful and then make use of what you already have at home. For example, used dryer sheets are a great stabilizer for embellishments, appliqués can mostly be held in place with pins to avoid the need for bonding papers. Old sewing books (see #7) are full of great inexpensive techniques from an era that had never hear of liquid anti-fray agents.

10. Keep the original motivation and intention in mind. Remember that sewing skills were, once upon a time, used to save money and reduce waste. The darning of socks, patching of holes, mending of rips, and clever placing of appliqués can all save stained or worn clothes from the bin – and if you can't save them in their original incarnation, then try to work out how you else you can use them.

There are loads more ideas and suggestions over at Indietutes, so make sure you take yourself over there and have a look. I'd love to hear any other tips and tricks too, so leave a comment and share your wisdom. Thanks to Vegbee for such an inspiring post!

Fairy Godmother Rice

2010-03-29T12:52:00.008-04:00

I got an email the other day, in response to my 10 things post, or, more specifically, to my admission that I cannot cook rice properly. It was from my godmother, Bad Betty Bell, who I am hoping has solved my rice issues, and I thought I would share it with you, in case there were any other rice-ophobics out there.

Now, there are clearly a lot of things that you can do that I can't. But one thing I can do is cook rice! And here's how.....................

Follow this to the letter and you will not go wrong - I promise!

I usually use white basmati rice if cooking white and short grain brown rice if cooking brown. However seems to work for all types, the only thing is that brown needs cooking longer.

One average size mug of rice will be generous amount for two people.

Measure the rice precisely (in a cup, glass, mug, whatever), put it in a sieve and rinse at length under a running tap until the water is running practically clear. (Takes much longer to rinse the starch off white rice than brown). Drain well.

Measure exactly the same amount of cold water and put it with the rice in a pan which is the right size ie. one that when the rice is cooked it pretty much fills it.

Put in a good pinch of sea salt, bring it to the boil, stir it once with a fork and then either cover with a tight fitting lid (or tin foil and then lid as well for a good seal).

Turn the heat down to absolute minimum, - one of those heat diffuser things is ideal - and DO NOT TOUCH IT until it is ready precisely 12 minutes later.

Turn off the heat, fluff it with a fork - et voila.

Brown rice need cooking for about 30 - 35 mins.

The great thing is that when it is ready you can leave it sitting there for up to an hour or so before you are ready to use it. Just DON'T TOUCH IT!

So there you are - let me know how you get on.

I am optimistically hoping that this is the key to my domestic success. Thank you BBB! x

And the winner is....

2010-03-29T12:22:00.002-04:00

Put the names in a pot.

Have small girl shake the pot....

... and pick a name.

Congratulations Svea! I think you're UK-based, so let me know your address and I'll get it in the post to you when I'm back in the UK next week.

General Knowledge, á la Skip.

2010-03-25T21:24:00.003-04:00

Inspired by my friend's post over at Skippedydoodah, here is my list of Ten Things You May Or May Not Know About Me:

I am afraid of dolls. Absolutely, completely, thoroughly, embarrassingly afraid of them. I tried to get over it in order to buy Ruby a doll for Christmas last year, decided I really couldn't go through with it, and had to lock it in the boot of the car overnight until I could take it back the next day, because there was no way in hell I was going to sleep with that thing in my house.
Chocolate covered pretzels are my weakness, and the single best thing about America. Don't get me wrong, there are loads of other great things too, but chocolate pretzels win, hands down. They almost make up for the healthcare system.
I am in possession of a small girl who starts talking each morning practically before her eyes are open, and then doesn't stop. I adore her, obviously, but I often wish to throw her out of a window, particularly during that first ten minutes before the kettle has boiled and I have had my tea.
I failed my cycling proficiency. You can point and laugh now. It's okay, I'm used to it.
I can't cook rice. I just can't. I've tried everything, honestly.
I haven't read a new book in about a year. I have fallbacks: Ian McEwan, Evelyn Waugh, Iain Banks, and J.K. Rowling (yeah, I know, I'm a kid at heart) are all 'safe', but outside of that I just don't seem to have the mental energy to embark upon things I haven't read before. I'm hoping it'll come back one day. Which leads us to...
I rarely, oh so rarely, finish books. Short attention span + limited reading time = no qualms whatsoever when it comes to abandoning books halfway through. Cutthroat. Rah.
My cat, Andy, had to be put to sleep last month, while I was over here in the States. I've had him since I was 4 years old, and I feel really, really guilty that I wasn't there.
I take a binge and purge approach to housework. I let things pile up until I can't stand it any more, then I become a 1950s housewife, blitz the place, and live in domestic bliss for a week or two until things start to accumulate again.
I want to be a writer when I grow up. And open a bar/restaurant. And start a children's clothing line. And open a flower shop. And maybe a cake shop. Baby steps, right?

So, those are my Ten Things. Now it's your turn. Go on, you know you want to.

Sweater to skirt in 30 minutes.

2010-03-24T02:13:00.017-04:00

I'm going to make a disclaimer of sorts now, and say I have no idea how robust this design is – my sweater says hand wash only so that is what I will do – but if you have a sweater that is on its way to the sweater cemetery then you can't possibly have anything to lose.

I found this particular beauty for $4 in an east village thrift store, so I didn't have an enormous amount at stake. I'm not suggesting they all need to be quite this garish. You need to start with a sweater that fits comfortably around your hips. It also needs to be long enough from underarms to hem for you to be comfortable wearing it as a skirt. You can cut it shorter but not longer. You will also need a length of wide elastic, 1-2" shorter than your waist measurement.

Take the length of elastic you cut and sew a seam with the right sides together, to make what will become your waistband.

Open out the band you just made, and use a zigzag stitch to secure the raw edges. This will avoid any scratchiness on the waistband.

With the sweater the right side out and the waistband the wrong side out (so right sides facing), insert the bulk of the sweater inside the waistband, up under the arms. You will be sewing along the upper edge of the elastic.

Stretch out the elastic and pin in place at intervals around the sweater so that the stretch is even.

Zigzag stitch around the waistband, stretching it out as you go to ensure it is spread evenly around the sweater. If you are very brave and experienced you can cut the skirt first, but do so at you peril. I was such a scaredy puss that I zigzagged twice around the waistband before daring to cut.

When you are feeling secure enough in your stitching, you can cut the top part of the sweater off, following the line of the elastic. Rest assured that in the fullness of time I will think of something worthwhile to do with the upper body of your sweater.

Turn it back on itself and, voila, you have a skirt. Send me pictures of your own sweater-skirts and I'll stick them up here. Enjoy! xx

Tuesday Giveaway

2010-03-23T10:42:00.005-04:00

Because, um, it's Tuesday and I'm giving something away.

Don't get all excited, it won't be happening every week. You should be so lucky.

So, as you may know, I made this beautiful top (well, I think it's beautiful, anyway, but perhaps I am more attached to it because of the element of thwartedness involved) which is of course of no use to me whatsoever. So I'm going to give it away.

It is too small on Ruby, who is nearly three (she weighs about 30lbs), but only just too small, and only around the chest, so it's close thing. I think it should fit a little one closer to her second birthday just fine, and will be a little longer obviously, maybe long enough to wear as a dress, or with leggings underneath. Anyone with a chest measurement under 20" should be okay.

So leave a comment, I'll give you till Sunday night and then I'll get the small girl to pick a name out of a hat. I want a good home for this thing. I'd be too sad to see it just put away somewhere and never worn, so tell your friends, spread the word, and check back for the results on Monday morning.

Summer tunic with placket tutorial

2010-03-21T22:13:00.014-04:00

So, I was going to do a tutorial for the top with the puff sleeves I made earlier in the week, but I decided to keep things a bit simple for now. This is a tutorial for a simple sleeveless tunic top with a placket, and once you have got the shape down, you can use it for more or less anything, and I will add separate tutes for puff sleeves and bells and whistles later. I based the placket on this tutorial from Made by Rae. I would suggest popping over there and looking through hers as well just to get a really clear idea of what you are doing before you begin.

If there's anything that is confusing please let me know so I can change it. It's long, with several thousand pictures, but surprisingly simple, so bear with it and thou shalt be rewarded.

You will need to pin down your victim and procure the following measurements, in inches:

- Chest, all the way around, as opposed to just across the chest;

- The length you want it to be, from shoulder to hem (mine is 16");

- Measurement around the upper arm;

- Shoulder width.

You will see that the lengths on the diagram below are marked as letters, so you should be able to make this fit your own child easily by doing a few simple sums.

C = your chest measurement divided by 4, plus 1"

L = your desired length (no sums required here!)

A = your full upper arm circumference, divided by 5 and multiplied by 4, to the nearest half inch

S = your shoulder width, minus 1", divided by two

H = C plus 1.5"

It pleases me greatly that these letters spell the word CLASH.

Cut out two pieces as below, rounding off the bottom edge as shown so that it is an inch or so higher at outside edge. Use a top you like as a guide for the neckline. You can either cut both the same, or choose to cut it higher on the back piece. Note that this pattern does not include seam allowances. For this particular project you will need to allow for seams at the shoulders, the sides, and the hem at the bottom, but the neckline and armholes will be finished with bias binding so there is no need for extra allowance here.

Using a contrasting fabric, cut two pieces for the band at the bottom of the tunic, indicated by the dashed line in the diagram. Mine was about 4" wide.

Using the same contrast fabric, you also need to cut a rectangle, 5.5" by 8", for your placket, and you will need to make enough double folded bias binding to finish your armholes and neckline (I needed about 40"). Make yourself a long piece of bias tape using these instructions, and follow the instructions for the straps on my summer dress for the folding.

Now you've got all your pieces you're ready to roll, so here goes.....

1) With the wrong side of your rectangle facing you, fold in and press 1/4" around the sides and bottom, and press in four creases, giving you five 1.5" sections.

2) Line up the centre of the rectangle with the centre of your front piece, and pin it in place, right sides together.

3) Following the creases you made, stitch around three sides of the middle section of the placket, leaving the top open.

4) Cut down the centre of the middle section, through both layers of fabric (terrifying, I know) and into the bottom left corner, as close as you can get to the seam without snipping through your stitches. Clip the bottom edge at the corners of the section you just stitched.

5) Fold and press the left flap across the centre to the right...

...and all the way round on itself so that it encases the raw edge where you just cut.

6) Pin and topstitch the edges.

7) Repeat stages 5 and 6 for the other side, only this time the bottom of the centre section needs to be stitched inside as well. You will end up with two placket pieces, one of which is attached at the bottom and side, and one which is sort of flapping about.

8) Pin one placket piece on top of the other (pick whichever one looks best) and stitch in place. Then give yourself a clap - you just made a placket! Isn't it pretty?

9) Join your front and back pieces at the shoulders and the sides, finishing the seams however you prefer. Stitch the ends of the two contrast strips together to make wide band, but do not finish the seams. Press them open instead to reduce bulk. They won't be visible when you're done.

10) With both pieces inside out, insert the main piece inside the contrast band, so the right side of the band is facing the wrong side of the main piece. Pin in place, and stitch all the way round the bottom edge.

11) Turn the top the right side out, and turn the contrast band back on itself so it's on the outside. Press and topstitch in place.

12) Turn the top edge of the contrast piece under. Press, pin and topstitch in place.

13) Sew the bias binding in place around the armholes and the neck.

14) Sew yourself a buttonhole on the top piece of your placket and stitch your button onto the underneath piece (noting how frickin' cool my cheshire cat button is as you do so)....

... and you're done!

Well done you.

Don't fear the placket.

2010-03-20T01:38:00.010-04:00

I have been mooning over Anna Maria Horner's beautiful children's prints for a while now, and when I found this very well-priced bundle of half-yards of her stunning flannels on Etsy I couldn't quite believe my luck.

This little top is the first thing I have made for the small girl from my little stash of gorgeousness, and I am feeling really quite pleased with myself

It's got a freakin' placket! And, you know what? Plackets: not as scary as you might think. I used this tutorial, and I'm really really glad to have conquered one more of those great big scary sewing hurdles. It opens up a whole world of possibilities....

There's only one minor glitch. Hardly worth mentioning, really. It's just that, well, I'm not actually sure it's going to fit its intended. I think it might be too tight across the chest. I'll have to wait and see in the morning, but if it doesn't fit her then I think it would make a sweet little dress for a smaller girl, so I'm sure it'll find a home one way or another. But, god, I'll be pissed off if I end up having to give away my first placket (which seems incidentally to be one of those words that loses all meaning once you've repeated it a few times).

Update: It fits! Just barely. If only I weren't such a complete numpty. But still, plackets are conquered and that's not a thing to sniff at...

Children's Museum of the Arts NYC

2010-03-20T01:09:00.006-04:00

The CMA is one of our absolute favourite places in the city.

It's a non-profit organisation whose mission is "to extend the benefits of the arts to all children and their communities and to secure the future of the arts by inspiring and championing the next generation of artists and art lovers."

Ruby simply knows it as "The Art Place."

She begs to go there nearly every day, which pretty much sums up how brilliant it is.

Check out the website, and if you ever get the chance, don't pass up the opportunity to visit.

Happy little Wild Thing.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-03-14T17:37:00.006-04:00

It's funny being abroad for Mother's Day. I spoke to my mum on skype last night, and she emailed this morning to say that the present I sent her had arrived. I got flowers from Ruby via my parents in the UK and the marvels of the internet, which is pretty cool. On the whole though, it has to be said that without a father around to implement it (and with the rest of your family in different time zones), Mother's Day may as well be any other Sunday until your offspring are at least approaching double figures.

Between the rain and the stinking cold that we are both incubating (I smugly thought I had escaped the evils of this particular one that Ruby has been carrying snottily around all week, but, alas, how the mighty have fallen) we never even made it outdoors. There were tears and tantrums, not just hers. We did get our acts together in the end though, and did some rainy day crafty things, turning a cereal box into a television with the aid of sugar paper, sequins, feathers and lolly sticks. So that's something.

Oh, and the $5 flowers I got from Trader Joe's last week have rather surpassed themselves. Not just the hyacinth-and-narcissus combo I had initially suspected. Between those and the lovely pink roses from my parents, I'm not doing too badly for flora.

Summer dress tutorial

2010-03-10T11:05:00.010-05:00

I got a whole bunch of lovely vintage fabric from Etsy for pennies so I have been pootling about making things all week and this is one of those things. This the first proper tutorial with pictures that I have done, so any input from you would be marvelous, as would any pictures you might like to send me of the fruits of your labour. This design is best suited to fabrics that don't unravel too easily. Also, be aware that it is unlined, so don't go for something too transparent.

So you need to start of with a trapezium of sorts. The straight vertical edge which you will place along the fold is 18". The top edge is 6" and the bottom edge is 9", and you join the ends of these two lines to get your diagonal. Round off the lower edge as shown in the very complex and state-of-the-art diagram below. For the front piece, you then measure 2" along each side from the top corner, and cut a curve (represented by the dotted line) to make your armholes. NOTE: I have improved upon the original ever so slightly and decided that, for best results, rather than cutting two pieces identically as shown below, the back piece needs a slightly narrower back, so for one of your pieces you should measure 3" along the top and 2" down the side to make a slightly wider curve.

This particular dress is designed for my nearly 3-year-old, but for moderation purposes, I would suggest increasing the length by 2" and the overall width by 1" for each size increase, so for a four year old your trapezium would be 20" high, 6.5" wide at the top, and 9.5"wide at the bottom. I haven't road-tested this theory though, so you may have to play around. Try measuring some existing clothes and decide what you think will work.

You need to cut two of these pieces, as well as one rectangle measuring 7" x 4", and two long strips measuring 24" x 1.5".

I like to get the fiddly bits out of the way first, so I started by pressing the long strips, which will form the straps of the dress. Fold in half lengthways, and press....

... then fold the two raw edges under to the centre and press again. Repeat with the other strap, and that's the really irritating fiddly done with.

Fold the 7" x 4" oblong in half and press, then tuck the raw edges under and press those too.

Using a long stitch and a low tension, sew across the top of your front piece, from the top of one armhole to the other and pull the bottom threads to gather it in until it is the same width as the rectangle you just pressed, securing the ends when you have it right.

Pin the gathered edge between the two folded edges of the rectangular piece, and sew in place. (don't forget to readjust your stitch length and tension. I always forget.)

Hem the top of your back piece, then join the sides of the dress, finishing the seams however you prefer, and hem the bottom. No pictures for that bit, but I'm assuming you know what it should look like.

Find the middle of one of your straps, and align it with the side seam at one of your armholes. Sandwiching the raw edge of your armhole between the two layers of the strap, pin carefully all the way around the armhole.

Starting at one end of the strap, sew along it entire length....

... around the armhole and all the way to the other end of the strap.

Finish the ends of the straps, tie them up on your model's shoulders (you can put in a few hand stitches to secure them in place if you prefer, or just leave them loose so that they can be adjusted as you like) and you're done.

Hooray!

Playing the Glad Game

2010-03-09T21:09:00.006-05:00

This week (well, the last seven days, since this week is only two days old) has been trying. Ruby's selective deafness has increased, her apparent need/desire for sleep has decreased. The sleep deprivation has had a negative effect on my tolerance levels for the selective deafness, and that combined with a notable lack of interaction with adult humans has left me feeling a more than a little irritable.

In light of these circumstances I have decided to be Pollyanna this evening and play the Glad Game, so, rather than dwelling on the things that are not so great, these are the things that I am glad about....

I am glad that spring is here.

I am glad that it's warm enough for Ruby to

play outside with bare legs.

I am glad for paper and paint and blu tack and a great

big wall of the small girl's art.

I am glad for good food (and a little proud of the fact that I have survived for five months with no bigger pans than this one).

I am glad for the small girl who can always make me smile

even when I am decidedly annoyed with her.

I am glad for the strange wall of brightly coloured religious art of

which I have finally become quite fond.

I am glad that the aforementioned small girl is finally, angelically asleep.

I am glad for wine and chocolate.

And I do feel better after that. Maybe Pollyanna was onto something.

World's simplest skirt.

2010-03-03T22:26:00.005-05:00

Right. So. This is about the easiest thing to make in the world ever. It literally took an hour. It's made from a rectangle of fabric, and one piece of elastic (well, ok, there are two little heart shaped pieces for the appliqué as well, but let's not split hairs).

I measured madam's waist and cut a length of elastic accordingly. I decided how long I wanted the skirt to be, and added about 10cm to this length (to allow for the elastic casing and the hem). This is the length of the short side of your rectangle, and the long side will be double your waist measurement.

Sew your two short edges together, finishing the seam however you prefer (I used a french seam because my rescue machine doesn't allow me to adjust the stitch length of my zig-zig, and because a serger is little more than a distant daydream). This will leave you with a wide tube.

Hem the lower edge of the tube. Fold over the upper edge to make the casing for the elastic, tucking the raw edge under itself and remembering to leave an inch or so open so you can get the elastic in. Rookie error that, stitching your elastic casing closed before the elastic is in it. Never done it myself of course. Ahem.

I topstitched along the upper edge of the casing too, just 'cos I thought it looked nice, but don't feel like you have to. I'm not the boss of you. Thread your elastic through, stitch the ends together, making sure that it is not twisted, and sew up the gap in the casing.

Voila! You made a skirt. Wasn't that easy?

So easy, in fact, that I felt a little unsatisfied by it and decided to appliqué a heart onto it. There's nothing stopping you from making one in grown-up size either....

Pretty pointelle pyjamas

2010-03-03T00:46:00.001-05:00

So, I was rather taken with this pretty thermal-pointelle-type fabric (that's the, ahem, technical term, obviously) printed with tiny flowers that came in my little bundle of goodness....

....and because madam went to bed tonight without playing silly buggers, meaning that I had a whole peaceful evening to myself, I thought I would make a quick pair of pyjamas. I also have my eye on this tutorial for a nightie made of the same fabric, which looks pretty similar in design to the peasant blouse I made from this tutorial at indietutes, but that will have to wait for now.

I used an existing pair of pyjamas as a template, and had to adjust a little along the way as the fabric was veeeerry stretchy and my original pattern would have been miles too big, but save for a few cock-ups along the way, such as cleverly forgetting to readjust the tension and stitch length between gathering the sleeves and sewing them on, and then wondering why the blighters were practically falling off, it all went pretty smoothly. It wasn't until I got as far as the final hem of the top that I cottoned on to the idea that zig-zagging was the best way to stop the hems from looking all stretched out and wobbly (I know, I know, more technical terms; I do apologise). Hence the elasticated legs to disguise this wobbly stretched out-ness prior to this epiphany, but I think they were rather a happy accident. They look a bit like little bloomers.

I'll try and get the small girl to model them in the morning, and add them to my list of things to turn into tutorials. Ah, promises, promises.... x

Peasant Blouse from Indietutes

2010-03-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

So, after UPS and I passed like ships in the night a whole four times, this lot finally arrived this morning and I am so excited about all the lovely things I am going to make.

I decided to start with this pretty little peasant blouse from indietutes. Rather embarrassingly, I don't have an iron here, and, oh, how you would have laughed to watch me pressing those seams with my hair straighteners.....

Looks good to me though. Little poser.

And I think the small girl likes it.

Spinach and goat's cheese muffins

2010-03-02T14:05:00.002-05:00

I first made these a while back when I was rooting around in an empty-looking fridge trying to produce a meal. They are really, really good, though I shouldn't say so myself. I made them for our lunch today, so I figured I may as well take a few pictures and stick the recipe up here, because they have gone down really well with a few people I gave the recipe to. They are a great option for baby-led weaning, but just as popular with grown-ups.

Ingredients

3 eggs

2 oz (1/4 cup) of butter, melted

6 oz (3/4 cup) wholemeal flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 bag spinach, chopped

4oz (1/2 cup) goat's cheese

Cheddar, grated, for sprinkling

EDIT: I made these again the other day, but didn't have any spinach or butter, so instead I used a 1/4 cup of olive oil and a grated courgette (zucchini, for those of you in the US of A, or anywhere else that isn't trying to pretend to be french) and they came out just as good. I may consider working on some more adaptations...

Preheat the oven to 190ºC (350ºF)

Beat together the eggs and melted butter.

Roughly mix in flour and baking powder (it will be lumpy - don't panic, and don't overmix!)

Add goat's cheese and spinach and stir until just mixed.

I also add a dash of milk at this stage. When I remember.

Spoon into the muffin cases or whatever you are using – I used these little silicone loaf tins that I got for christmas that are the best thing to be made of silicone since Pamela Anderson took boob jobs too far – and sprinkle with cheese. Stick 'em in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden and firmish to the touch, and a skewer comes out clean. You know the drill.

Now, this is where the illusion is shattered, and you realise that this is not Blue Peter. Not only did I forget to sprinkle the cheese on top and to add the dash of milk, but in my enthusiasm I must have overmixed it all because they really didn't rise very impressively. They still tasted okay, but not up to the usual standard. So, take heed of my mistakes – this is why we beat until just combined.

Happy baking x

Upcycled t-shirt dresses

2010-03-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

So, there are several hundred things I am supposed to be doing, but instead I am here, posting pictures of a few of the things I have made with my rescued sewing machine. As I mentioned before I got a bit carried away with a bunch of thrift store t-shirts.

The first one I made is still my favourite, but I don't have any pictures of it, and it is currently in the wash, so you'll just have to use your imagination. They are all a variation on a theme though, so here are a few of the others, not particularly well-photographed but I promise I shall work on that.

This one makes her look like a pink Charlie Brown.

Here it is in action.

I love this one, particularly the ruffle on the bottom. My friend sent me this video clip when he saw it, and I now can't not think of that when Ruby wears it. I may have to teach her the song.

This one is from a t-shirt given to me by a friend with a bar in the east village. Marginally more effort went into this one, as I went to the trouble of removing the sleeves before cutting it all up and then refashioning them into little puff sleeves, rather than just cutting the bodice and sleeves in one piece as I have with the others. It gives it a different look, a bit more polished, but to be honest I like both versions.

Tutorial coming soon.

The archive.

2010-03-01T23:53:00.001-05:00

Since I thought the blog would look more interesting with more than one post, I decided to stick up a few of the things I made last year. I did start with proper patterns (well, one proper pattern), but it turns out I am not nearly biddable enough to follow them properly, and far too inclined to decide that I know better then the professional pattern-makers.

This was the first and last thing I used a pattern for. I think it actually still fits her, but the colours have faded loads with all the washing and wearing.

These are some jammies I made for the small girl, with a wrapover top. I was suckered in by the pretty pretty fabric but they ended up a bit too delicate to be practical. You live and learn.

My parents got remarried last summer after 12 years apart, so I made this dress for Ruby so she could be my mum's something blue.

With a bit of trial and error, a few pairs of shop-bought knickers mutilated and dissected for research purposes, and miles upon miles of foldover elastic, I made these knickers (and about 741 other pairs) for myself and for friends. Well, mostly one friend who ended up with a very well-stocked knicker drawer. You know who you are, Miss T. They are comfy, in an 'I really want to wear these every day' sort of way. If I had a nicer bottom I'd show them in action, but I do not. Lucky for you.

There are loads and loads more bits and pieces, most prominently dresses and pyjamas for the small girl, but I'm thinking that since I plan to put up many more pictures of the things yet to be made I'd better avoid overkill at this point, so that's all for now. x

Here it goes.....

2010-03-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

So, this is the first post. How ever so terribly exciting.

I already blog for T5M. At least, in theory I do, she says, slapping herself on the wrist for the embarrassing length of time since the last post and resolving to try harder. But I thought I'd have a go at doing a more crafty, clothes-making-related one with the intention of even attempting a few tutorials...

So here we go. The general gist of it all is that last year I made a pledge that Ruby would only wear second-hand or home-made clothes, partly in an attempt to save money, partly in a knee-jerk reaction to my rapidly accelerating disposable attitude towards baby clothes (well, when you have a wardrobe filled with approximately seven thousand babygros and one of them gets poo on it you do tend to think "Sod it. I'll just chuck the thing out."), and partly because I drink less wine when my hands are occupied with cutting, pinning and sewing.

I did really well with this pledge, although admittedly I was fortunate enough that Ruby's birthday is in May and we were given a few lovely pieces that I could swear people chose because they knew they were things I wouldn't be able to (read: wouldn't be bothered to) make. Jeans, a fancy dress or two and a couple of cardies, all of which served us very, very well and complemented the hand-made stuff brilliantly. I made it through to september, when I gave in and admitted that there were a few things madam needed that I hadn't been lucky enough to find in decent nick and/or the right size in charity shops, such as jeans, jumpers and coats, and which I wasn't likely to make because, well, I'm not a masochist.

So I caved, and then I caved some more, and then I came over to the States for a bit where I had no sewing machine, and basically the whole thing fell by the wayside. But then, fate decided that my excuses had got out of hand and left a sewing machine literally on my doorstep. (As an aside, I love New York for that: people just leave things they don't want by the side of the road or in the hallway, there for the taking.) It needed a bit of attention, such as the paintbrush I stole from Ruby and parcel-taped onto the side to replace the missing spool holder, and it's not exactly very advanced – you can't adjust the stitch length or owt – but it works, and that is all that matters.

So my excuses are gone, spring is rapidly approaching, and I am starting the pledge all over again. Somewhat fortuitously, I haven't bought her any clothes since Christmas either, so I can conveniently backdate it to New Year and pretend that I had intended to do it all along. I will warn you now that I am giving myself advance permission to buy jeans new if I can't find any second-hand in the right size. And possibly the odd thing I see that I simply must have, although I may try to get through that with the birthday loophole, by pointing generous relatives in the right direction.

It won't all be clothes-making, but a mixture of that and some baking adventures and general toddler-related fiff-faffery, so bear with me while I waffle away. Since I recently went a bit nuts with a bunch if thrift store t-shirts I rather conveniently have a whole bunch of dresses all ready to photograph and show off, which will surely make me appear all industrious and resourceful. Read on.......