Finally the weather has been warm enough for me to wear the tunic I made in March. This isn't the greatest pic,obviously I wish I were thinner,but at least you can see it does fit,and has been worn.
India had the day off school today and conned me into taking her shopping.while in New Look,she spotted a little skirt with a deep ribbing waistband/yoke and gathered skirt attatched. It wasn't expensive,but it was that cheap thin cotton that disintegrates in the washing machine,so I promised her I'd run one up for her instead.
So after lunch she entertained Sid,while I whizzed this one up for her.
She loves it,but now Eden wants one too!
The weather has been glorious all week,but today when I decide to wear my new skirt (I even shaved my legs!) the sun is hidden behind a blanket of cloud.
Feeling like a proper housewife this evening,after I made tonights dinner and a skirt in an hour and a half!
The dinner was Woody's recipe,spinach and chick pea curry,I made the skirt while it was simmering.
Made with some vintage cotton and art deco buttons bought at the antique textile fair in March.
To be fair,I had already drafted the pattern and cut out the fabric yesterday,so it was simply a matter of whizzing it up on the sewing machine. It's a simple A line wrapover with side button fastening.
And for those interested here is the recipe for the curry too.
Spinach and Chick Pea Curry
Ingredients:
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 inches of ginger
2 tablespoons of veg oil
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1/2 tablespoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 bowl of chick peas (soaked overnight and boiled for 40 mins)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Approx 1 pint of water
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 bowl of spinach (frozen)
handful of chopped coriander
salt to taste
Heat oil in a large wok,when very hot add mustard seeds.
Add in chopped onion,garlic,and ginger.After a couple of miniutes stir in chilli,cumin,ground coriander and turmeric.
Add chick peas and tomatoes,and as much water as you need,bring to boil and simmer for one hour,stirring occasionally.
Add garam masala and spinach and simmer for another 15 mins.
Stir in salt and fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice.
This is a birthday pressie for my friend,Jayne. I gave her a voucher for her birthday last month,valid for one hand made bag,and this is the pattern she chose,and the fabrics too.
The outside is a japanese cotton print,and the lining is aubergine silk dupion. I used a cotton canvas to give the bag some stability. I hope she'll be happy with the results,I'll find out later today when we take our youngest children for a picnic in this lovely sunshine.
Sewing to me is often therapy. I can go days without sewing or being creative,but I find I get anxious and jittery if I do. This morning my poor old hubby got the brunt of my bad mood. He phoned from work as usual,just to say hello,but at that precise moment I was scraping pasta sauce off the kitchen floor and not in the best of moods. (could that also be the PMS?). After patiently listening to me rant on about how I wasn't a housewife,no one appreciated me,and what was the point of spending my limited time on earth cleaning all the time....you get the picture?....he calmly said goodbye,and I realised I needed to do something productive.
So, here it is, a dress to skirt recon. I loved this dress when I bought it last year,but I couldn't wear it,it wouldn't fit over my boobs (story of my life!),so it's now a skirt with attatched underskirt and purple lace trim.
Can you see? Look ikkle salad leaves poking through! I'm so excited!
The children helped me plant some salad,courgettes,leeks,strawberries,tomatoes,and some sunflowers the other weekend. We had more to plant,but if you've ever tried planting lots of seeds/baby plants with three excited children helping out (India is just too grown up these days to help),you'll know how confusing and exhausting it is.
Sometimes new shoes are good for the soul.(Or maybe sole!) I need a lift today,and finding it hard to lift my spirits,so I'm going to lift myself in these new shoes,put on my lovely Emmeline apron and clean my filthy kitchen....just as soon as I've finished my cuppa.
I cut this out a couple of weeks ago,but finally got enough time to make it up today. A super simple pattern, Amy Butler swing bag. I barely even glanced at the instructions,which to be honest looked (as far as I could tell from a glance) far too over complicated for such a simple bag.
The corduroy was dyed,and the lining is a retro cotton print.The brooch is one I had already.
I don't usually like this style of bag,I generally prefer an across the body style,but I'm going to try this one out tomorrow,and if it works I have some lovely corduroy I dyed deep purple to make another.
I shouldn't get carried away though,I've an Amy Butler messenger bag to make for a friend first.I made one once before ,but it'll be fun to re visit the pattern.