Just Five Minutes, Then I'm Going to Bed for A Very Long Time.....

I just wanted to share a couple of things I've made recently and tell you about what's going on!

Said leopard print fabric, generously donated by "Cass the Collie's Mum" made itself into three bags - I originally made one, for Meg, rather liked it, made one for me. As you can see the leopard print fabric is on the outside, the bottoms (and sides on the little square one) are made from the cut off bottoms of some of Meg's old red jeans. Denim is marvelous. I then lined them with red shiny lining to give them a gorgeous luxurious feel, a genuine vintage gold nautical button, and I've got commissions to make two more for other people. I'm feeling a zebra print one for us next. Maybe with purple.

I thought it would be rude of me to not make one for "Cass's Mum! to keep her lead in - or beer money, fags, phone, whatever she chooses to do with it ha ha ha!

When making the prom dress, I faced the old "matching bag quandary. Given the style of the dress colour etc it would have been impossible to match a bought one and I didn't want to make a pouch style bag, it needed to be a clutch. So I covered the black one you see in the pictures. I must take a better photo of it, I thought I had, but you can see Meg holding it in the picture of her with the umbrella. I was really rather pleased with that.

I made the leopard skin dress for her too long, so I shortened it, made the classic mistake of making it too short, so now I have a little work to do. I have also cut out my favorite dress pattern for my teacup print frock, which I hope to wear out on Friday.

In amongst all this, half the house is packed to move (except sewing machine - can't live without that!) Husband's back in hospital, and I'm trying even harder than usual to do things for myself and keep my independence and sense of self. I don't think I'd have such a great perspective on things without many of my friends but in this particular instance Jenny has been the most insightful, sadly able to draw on personal experience. I am even more grateful than usual for you kind and sensible words Jen.

Oh, and I went on BBC Radio Wales again this morning. What was that...? You want a link? Oh, go on then :) I must be honest I LOVED the idea of being one of the "Seven Deadly Sins"! How glamorous!

The Jamie and Louise Show

Attention! The Eagle has Landed!

The dress, it came, it saw, it wowed.

I'm so proud Ii was able to make something so sensational for the most incredible person in the world, who I also made.

I'm pretty ace at making stuff sometimes.

I've actually made a few other things of late. My mate El gave me some gorgeous leopard print fabric, from which I knocked up a little frock for the teenager, two bags one for the teenager and one for moi, which are nearly done. They were totally done until I found a lovely massive nightie in the charity shop which will soon become lining for it. And I've got a bit of fabric left.

Who do you think I should make something for with it?

Crafty

A new purchase has opened up some new craft possibilities for me. Well it will when it arrives.

As my lovely hubby is so poorly we have made loads of modifications in the house to help him get about and have more space to do it and no where is this more apparent than our bedroom. It's tiny, and without an extension, there's not a lot we can do about it. But what we can do we have done.

I moved the bed into the corner by the window. What this now means is that Steve can actually walk forwards rather than sidewards across the room (I'm aware that the word "across" is a little ambitious) which helps him considerably. We also now have a bed rail to help him get in and out. It's really good, if not a bit, erm, ugly.

From my point of view, I appear to like sleeping with the wall next to me, and the window sill is awfully useful, but I have to climb up into bed from the bottom, or over Steve and/or Labrador/Spaniel gathering. I actually can cope with that although I could really do with a step up to save my shins on the foot board.

Of course now that means the bed is partially at least enclosed on both sides, and, having rather a lot to do these days I use a simple equation to determine whether or not a job get's done. It goes like this.

I take into account the amount of effort required to complete task, over the duration of said task staying done and divide that by the life or death importance of said task = If it's a pain in the arse, I don't do it.

Making the bed is a pain int the arse in this current situation, therefore I don't do it. I don't like not doing it, but it's not worth it.

Yes, we're hoping to get a new home that Steve can get around better, no I can't guarantee how much room it's going to have, so I need to be prepared to put the bed in a similar position in the new house. I can't not make the bed for the rest of time!

So we've gone for the American approach - something I've been on about for ages. I've bought two single duvets. And I can't wait for them to arrive.

I'll be able to once again make he bed simply and efficiently, I can have a lower tog rating than Steve who likes to cook himself on gas mark 9 all night - and it opens up a whole new possibility of patchwork/vintage/shabby chic options. And Steve wants a Count Duckula duvet cover for his duvet. I'm glad I haven't got a complicated husband.

I went to pick up a couple of new mattress sheets today - specifically for easy bed making purposes and I was told that they no longer stocked that gorgeous jersey bedding - you know the stretchy ones like t-shirts? What a travesty. So I'm thinking about a patchwork duvet set, made from old t-shirts rescued from charity shops. It always galls me the amount of t-shirts we keep buying and buying, and then they end up in charity. So a well collected selection of contrasting/matching t-shirts will make me some bespoke, luxuriously soft, recycled, cheap as chips one off bedding. Do you dare me?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

"Vintage" is now code for both "anything and everything that isn't neon" and "absolute tatt". Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I've been a charity shop addict and lover of all things old and kitsch for a bloomin' long time and WELL before it got popular. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

So anyway, I've been thinking about the internet. As a concept in shopping. I bet you all have really. You're just too shy to admit it.

I've shied away a bit from internet shopping preferring to "shop locally", and don't get me wrong, you've gotta love and support a local shop. They're there when all the roads are blocked with snow, for a start, but increasingly I think people are turning to the internet to boost their company's profits, and I don't think that can be a bad thing.

Take for instance around here. There's not a lot of industry any more, Welsh valleys, decline of industry and the coal mines, yadda, yadda, yadda, but there's a thriving business here on one of our little industrial estates (that is all boarded up predominantly) that sells spares and stuff for caravans. Yes they have a shop, yes we've shopped there, (when we had our 'van) but without it's online and ebay stores - it would have closed down. There just isn't the footfall to sustain them without it. Now it doesn't employ an army, just a couple of people but isn't that better than another boarded up unit?

The internet allows people to set up and have a go at businesses to see if they are viable before they commit to paying the rent on an expensive commercial premises. Those rents are why we are having towns relegated to rows of charity shops. The internet allow's people to be competitive on a national level, which is really what business is all about, supply and demand, competition, all that. Now don't get me wrong, I don't advocate the total abandonment of the high street, far from it. I love and support my local high streets, but I also support the people providing me with services not available on my high street. And let's not forget about the jobs that all these packages whizzing about the country generates - Post Office and couriers. I personally have 13 parcels to take to my local Post Office tomorrow. That can't be a bad thing.

And think of the recycling that goes on every day on ebay! Brilliant.

I guess after all it all comes down to the same thing. Everything in moderation, support the little people as much as the big people and there's room for all.

Dresses to follow ...