Here Come The Girls!

One Sunday in the middle of December - what seems a lifetime ago now, but which was in fact only three weeks! - the female Figgest descendants met at Covent Garden for Sunday lunch and a catch up.

I was trying to work out the last time (and, for some of us, the first time also) we met and thought it was only eighteen months ago.  However, it turned out to be two and a half years ago - blimey!   So, an assortment of cousins, sisters, aunts, etc, made their way to London for the big day - sadly, Sandra was not well, so there were only nine of us - but we made enough noise for more!

Now, those photos above are the ones I took - I was way too excited and giddy and enjoying myself to take many photos!  So I've "borrowed" some of the photos from the girls below - I really hope they don't mind.

We had the obligatory shot of Sheila's god-daughters.   And of course one of us with our fairy godmother ...

I love this photo above - they all look very angelic - haha!

Sadly, the afternoon went way too quickly and it wasn't long before we were having the mandatory group shots outside the restaurant and showing ourselves up in front of everyone, including the daftest "selfie" I've ever had the pleasure of being involved in!

So, a lovely, lovely day and I really think we ought to give ourselves a collective kick up the backside to at least meet once a year!  Kerri is getting married in December 2015 so what about a November meet and a bit of a "hen" do, girls?!!

Finn's 5th Anniversary

On 13 December, Finn and I celebrated our fifth anniversary!   I can't believe it's five years since he came to us from the Dogs' Trust Rehoming Centre in Snetterton.  We've had mostly ups but a few downs - even after five years, he can still behave a little bit unpredictably so I have to have my wits about me constantly with him.  We've no idea how old he is - we think eight or nine - because he was a stray, the rescue centre couldn't tell us anything about him at all, except that he was found in County Cork in Ireland.  Which is why he has an Irish name!  He was actually called Johnnie by the rescue centre, but they advised me to give him a new name for his new life.  I wanted to pick a huge name for him so I named him after Finn McCool, the mythical Irish giant.

I think it rather suits him!

Folksy Sale #7

I cannot believe how far behind I am with posts at the moment - despite it being 27 December, I still have posts to put up for Finn's anniversary (13 December), day out with the girls in Covent Garden (14 December), an un-Christmas (weekend of 20/21 December), Christmas Day and Boxing Day.   I resolve to be more prompt next year!

However, I wanted to blog about these socks .....

I love making socks - they're probably my most favourite thing to make, but it turns out that they're helping a lot of people out.  I had an order for five pairs in the summer from a chap who had really bad circulation and was also having chemo for skin cancer - chemo apparently makes your extremities really cold so bedsocks are needed.   (I sort of knew this already as I'd made a couple of pairs of socks for my friend Carol a couple of years ago who was having this treatment.)

Anyway, this pair sold a couple of weeks ago and I had the most wonderful thank you email from the lady who ordered these for her Dad.

Hi Susan,

The socks have just arrived . They are beautiful thank you. They are for my Dad who has really bad circulation and these will be perfect ! you are very clever I wish I could knit like that ! I can just about run to a scarf !!!!

Thanks again, Merry Christmas I will be back for more !!!!!

Anne

I've copied and pasted below the description I put on Folksy - hope I don't get done for Folksy copyright, although, strictly speaking, I wrote the blinking thing!

Description

Lovely ankle length socks - knitted with a long cuff which makes them a bit slouchy - ideal for anyone with circulation problems as there's no elastic to cut into you. Perfect as bed socks! Or just for lounging around in. Made on five needles and knitted in the round, so no seams either. Fits up to a size 10.5/ 11 foot comfortably.

Inspiration

These socks are so soft and fine, perfect for lounging around in, or wearing as bed socks. There are no seams or elastic to interfere with your circulation. Perfect!

Peaking Too Soon

I have already received - and been using for six weeks now - my Christmas present from Andy - a fabulous Singer sewing machine.  After bowing to pressure from my sewing classmates, I have given her a name - Elsie-Mary.   Apparently all machines should have names and, after discussion with Andy, she is named after my two Nans.   So, Elsie-Mary she is.
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Already I love her and have made a lot of Christmas gifts with her, although I can't post blogs yet because I'm waiting for the recipients to open their presents first!  The one thing I can put up here though is the bag I made for the Knitters with Attitude Secret Santa.

I wanted to play about with the stitches to see what I've got available so Viv at work and I came up with the design after playing about with the different fonts and sizes on our PCs one lunchtime.   I chose two different fonts and three different sizes and printed them all out to try and work out which would suit the bag best.   The material I used was all given to me by a fellow sewer at work (and now I've typed that, I can see exactly why sewing bloggers call us "sewists"!) so everything has been recycled/ upcycled/ and cost less than a fiver, the only stipulation for Secret Santa.

I was rather pleased with the way the bag turned out and was half hoping that I'd pull it out of the Santa Sack myself - no such luck though, Mum got the bag.  I got a lovely mug warmer instead which Shirley made.  Because we're never really sure who's going to be at the monthly meeting, instead of picking out a name of someone to make for, we bung everything in the sack and use a "lucky dip" principle instead.

Not sure what these two were up to, but it was evidently no good!  (As usual!)

Amanda got a carrier bag holder which Michele crocheted. (There is a lot of hiding of faces going on - blinking comedians.)

Elle got a knitted cowl (Amanda) and Shirley got some Christmas tree crocheted snowflakes (Elle) but came up with a rather novel idea for them.  See below!

Michele got felted tree decorations/ pin cushions from Sarah who has done some sewing classes at Makeplace - I love her apron so much, that I'm planning on signing up for a class myself.

Sarah got a beautiful pink bag - crocheted by Shannon in spaghetti - not literally, but a massively chunky yarn made from ripped up jersey/ tee shirt fabric.

And Shannon got a bottle of mulled wine with its own little Christmas jumper and hat, knitted by Mum.

And, by the miracle of modern technology, this is the picture of Mo's gloves that she sent me after she'd got home.  Mo had been so busy remembering to bring the apple crumble for the meeting, that she had forgotten her Secret Santa present, so she got to keep them herself.  They are rather gorgeous - I'm thinking I might have to commission her to make me a pair!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Normally I don't put the tree up or start feeling festive until 17 December - when we were kids, the tree went up on 17 December as a special treat for Amanda's birthday and we were all allowed to decorate it.   Then, when Amanda was allowed to make her own choices, she declared that Christmas didn't start until 18 December, once her birthday was celebrated!   I love the tree, but I get a bit fed up with the house being upside down, so generally it then comes down on Boxing Day.  I'm so bah humbug!

This year, however, the tree went up on 3 December which was quite a shock for me - I was hosting the December meeting of the Knitters with Attitude (post to follow!) so wanted the house to be all festive, with the tree up, a massive beef stew smell wafting through the house, mulled wine, etc.

And, since the tree went up, I'm actually feeling very festive.  I've nearly finished the presents - all the ones I have bought have been wrapped up and over at Mum's out of the way of snoopers - namely, Amanda! I just have a few more to make - lastminute.com - but they're pretty quick and easy.   

I'm not convinced I'll put it all up so early again, but I've really enjoyed it this year.  I'm becoming an old softie!

Folksy Sale #6

This week has made me really think about the way I use Folksy.  I've been pretty bad about making stock and putting it in the online shop this year, but that's pretty much because I've become obsessed with dressmaking instead.   I resolve to do more for the shop next year!   I can't start yet, because, with only twelve days left to Christmas, I still have fourteen things on my list to finish.   Talk about lastminute.com

The reason I've been reminded of Folksy's existence is that we made two sales this week which has come as a lovely surprise.   Last year we did a few craft fairs and it's much more tangible when you have a stall that people come and look at your stuff and you get a real feel that people are definitely buying for Christmas presents.  This year, I had forgotten what that feels like.   What's interesting is that the two items we've sold this week are both socks - one a pair of lacy bedsocks and the other a large pair of man's socks.   Last year we sold LOADS of socks and I even sold five pairs this summer too, as a commission for someone.   I've started a list of the things that do well so I know what I should be concentrating on, and not just flitting from one lovely project to another!  No focus, that's my trouble!

Tada! "Nurse the Screens!" Scrubs

Back in the summer, I was commissioned - so to speak - to make a pair of scrubs for my benefactor, Shiriin.  The bottoms were very straightforward - basically pyjama bottoms - and I'd made a few pairs of those by then, so felt quite confident and cracked on with those.

Shiriin had merely said she was happy with either green or blue so I found some blue sateen fabric in Dunelm  Mill - they had a slight sheen to one side.  Not being particularly knowledgeable about fabric - and the front and back being not very different - I went with the slightly shiny side for the outside.   I thought that it would be more annoying to have shiny fabric against your skin, and marginally less annoying to have it on the outside!  

With the bottoms made, it was time to make the top - this was a totally different prospect as I hadn't made a top before.   The pattern was very straightforward, even with regard to the v neck which wasn't quite as tricky as I had imagined.

In fact, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself altogether - I love top stitching, it gives a really neat finish and I got plenty of opportunity to practise this.   Especially as the pockets - bizarrely - were just sewn with raw edges to the front of the top.

Not bad, if I do say so myself.  

I think there are a few fitting issues, but, with Shiriin living in Nepal, it's quite tricky without trying on and re-fittings.   But on the whole, I think I know what I've done wrong, so, when I get some time in the new year, I will try another pair and hopefully they'll pass muster also!

(Because this was quite a quick project, but quite full on - less than a full weekend - Finn took up residence on the bed for a couple of days and kept his beady eye on me.   I'd recently bought an ipod dock so I could listen to music in my bedroom while I worked - we had a very companionable couple of days!)

North Elmham

Mum and Dad have only been living at North Elmham for six or seven weeks now, but are so settled that it feels like they've been there forever.  There are lots of clubs within the village including Knit and Natter and Sewing for Pleasure, which Mum is really keen to join.   The village newsletter has details of all the clubs and activities each month and there are regularly at least two typed up A5 pages full of jaunts and jollies.   And the newsletter is a mine of information - local decorators, farm shops, builders, etc, etc - and this is where we found out about the fabric sale that we went to on Saturday.  Mum, Amanda and I visited the home of a local lady whose sister has been collecting fabric for years now - I bought a couple of bits of vintage Liberty fabric to make myself a frock next summer.   Amanda bought some fabric for her bag making course which she is doing in the new year and Mum bought some curtain fabric for the cottage, as well as some jams and marmalades being sold for the church funds.  

Last week, however, it was a different side that I saw to North Elmham.   Dad suggested we take Finn for a walk around the grounds of North Elmham Chapel - the ruins of a chapel built around 1070.   Dogs are allowed on leads and it's free to members of the public.  

Now for the history bit - in the 14th century, Bishop Henry le Despencer held the manor of North Elmham and turned the chapel into a house.   In 1388 he obtained a royal licence to fortify - basically to turn the chapel into a castle - which is evident from the thickness of the walls.   Apparently, he wasn't too popular - according to the guide, "he was despised for his merciless quashing of the Peasants' Revolt" and it's felt that the fortification was to protect him from his tenants.

It was pretty eerie - but I think that was more to do with the cold and damp than anything.  It's a massive site and there are lots of walks all around the boundary of the site, looking over farmland.   I bet in summer it's full of people having picnics and sitting around in the sun.   As it was, we didn't hang around too long - much too cold!

I also discovered while researching North Elmham - I love Google and Wikipedia - that the actor John Mills was born in the village.  Next time I'm there, I will be searching out the blue plaque!