All Sorts

For some inexplicable reason I had the sudden urge to sew a garment for myself and sew(!) I did :-)

 I think the fabric is a Liberty Lawn and the pattern is from the book, " Stylish Dress Book," by Yoshiko Tsukiori  Hindsight is a wonderful thing and therefore next time I would make a smaller size.  I almost had a disaster with one of the buttonholes which was a bit stressful and one side of the front hem hangs a little lower than the other, but not massively misaligned! 

 To save paper the designs are printed on both sides of the paper and do not contain seem allowances.  As a result I ended up tracing the sleeve design for another top which is in fact longer than the original pattern but regardless still works well with the blouse. Although the patterns instructions and images are relatively easy to follow, I wouldn't recommend this book for a first time sewist since some prior knowledge is helpful in working out the various configurations.  Having said that the designs are very versatile and comfortable and  I am looking forward to trying one of the dress patterns in the near future.

We received a lovely package in the mail from our blogging friend, Kezzie  In the parcel was a beautiful dress for me which fits every where apart from the bodice, so I will have to put my sewing skills to use with the help of my mother outlaw!  There was a super cute jumper for Pip which looks to be a bit small as she is quite muscular but I have an idea to morph it into something else :-)  There was also a bamboo tooth brush fro me to try as Kezzie is doing a mammoth job in not only reducing her plastic waste but also educating and encouraging other to do likewise.  Dave received a box of chocolates from Kezzie's end of year teachers' stash and the main purpose of the parcel was a t-shirt for Ben which fits perfectly and hasn't been off his back since!

Apologies for late night blurry image but I think it's safe to say that he approves!!

During one of our Saturday jaunts to Wesleys I did my usual thing of finding the thought for the day and I thought it was quite appropriate:

 I really felt in my heart that God was confirming and encouraging our decision to home educate and for me to make a real go of utilising my crafting skills as a means of sustainable part time employment at this end.  We might have plans but then life happens and the test is to make the best of where we are :-)  I think this family does a pretty good job of making the best of things and working together day by day.

Kathryn and Mary came to stop over the weekend and we had Mary whilst Kath attending a meeting on the Monday.  As usual it was lovely to see them and Mary had fun spending time with Pip.

I have made a start on subject preparations for September and we are currently working home school light at the moment, so far it is going well :-) 

Paper Box People

Pip spent yesterday afternoon with a fellow altar server from church.  The girls spent the afternoon crafting these paper box people, followed by painting their hair with washable pink and blue hair chalk and playing with Lego.  It was the first time that both girls had spent some time together outside of church and they got on really well.  

 Dave devised the hat for E's model apparently he is wearing a 'stove pipe hat' ala the iconic civil engineer, I K Brunel

Pip just loves blue hair!

We are in the throws of crazy politics and even crazier weather :-)  I love the heat but the humidity and temperature today has been quite a challenge.  It has been too hot to knit so I have been sewing instead, if all goes well I should have a new top to wear quite soon :-)

Family Time

Over the past few weeks we have spent some time with extended family.  We managed to visit my dad on his 80th birthday.   Here he is holding a mammoth piece of work courtesy of Dave, it is a well documented piece of history; our family tree on my Dad' side of the family.  Dave took the original piece of research from my Dad and cousin and amalgamated the info with further additional information.  We have family from Somerset and Northumbria, two of my favourite places in Britain :-)

On Friday we had an impromptu visit from Sara, Tom and Ollie which was really lovely.  Ollie in true toddler form attempted to gain access to cupboards and drawers and thought the blinds in the lounge fascinating!!

I am pleased to report that Pip's smile has returned, yay!  She hasn't even grumbled to much about keeping up with home school light in the form of maths, read aloud and spellings.  Pip has a busy summer of activity camps, visits with friends and day trips in between.  We kick started this week with an orienteering home ed afternoon at Beacon Fell.  The same group that organised the day is also responsible for the forest school sessions tomorrow and Friday.  In addition she has also been attending youth football on a Wednesday with the opportunity of additional sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer.  Pip is football mad and the guy running the session today said she is really good at controlling the ball, she is one happy bunny. 

Highs And Lows

The Highs:

A birthday gift from  Dorina in NYC and a Get Well card from Eva in NY state, both arrived in the same postal delivery!  Thank you dear friends for thinking of me, your friendship is much appreciated x 

Outside knitting and eating.

Ben having fun building a wooden shoe rack for the hallway.

A Saturday morning cooked breakfast only a five minute walk from our home.

Beginning to make contacts and friendships within our church community, most especially there are three other church folk living with MS that also attend our Sunday mass!  

A new lounge carpet and bathroom flooring upstairs.

The Lows:

A perfect storm of a dodgy u-bend, a sink that was slow to empty and a knocked tap equals a flood in the upstairs bathroom!  Hence the need for new flooring as well as a complete redecoration of the lounge and dining room ceiling.  It quite literally never rains but pours!

Who knew that Pringles plain crisps also contained yeast extract?  No, me neither!!  One of the very offending substances that I have painstakingly avoided for an entire year, so no wonder I am now dealing with another horrid candida flare :-(  Thankfully the GP has prescribed a systemic treatment so things will settle eventually.

Pip has been increasingly unhappy at school.  In addition to the issues with one of the girls she is also struggling with the relentless pace of work.  She was off school last week due to a virus and a reaction to the MMR vaccine and despite being sick was relieved that she did not have to go to school.  For the last few weeks she has felt a complete failure because she is struggling to keep up.  I had a meeting with her teacher today and in order for Pip to have a hope of managing next year we would have to guarantee 100% attendance as well as Pip working at 110%; both of these goals are totally unrealistic! 

 It has been an interesting journey trying out mainstream school and it has confirmed my thoughts that schools are just number crunching machines with little regard for the well being of the children in their care. Needless to say Pip will be home schooled as from September with the longer term view of her attending Myerscough college once she is fourteen.  So with a bit of luck I should be hopefully posting our usual home school stories as and when they occur :-)