Knitting a hat for someone is a great way to show you care. I enjoyed coming up with twenty hat designs for a book to be published in September and my daughter Edith and her boyfriend Bill were a big help, trying the hats on to see if they worked. In the picture, she's wearing the 'Blossom' beanie.
Hats are quick to make and most designs use only a single ball of yarn.
For more details about the book, follow this link:
http://www.searchpress.com/info.asp?EAN=9781844487073&page=search
An advanced copy of my new book – Knitted Finger Puppets – arrived in the post this morning. I really enjoyed creating these little characters and it's lovely, after so many months of work, to see them in print. The book will be published in March.
This time last year I resolved not to buy any new clothes for a whole year and, I am pleased to say, I stuck to this resolution... apart from two purchases! I had a job interview and all my shoes were pretty shabby, so I bought a pair of brown leather shoes from Camper; and my niece got married at short notice, so I decided to buy a new dress, a silk one from Jigsaw, so that I would look sufficiently smart.
Other than this, I made do for a whole year with my existing clothes, including underwear and accessories and I enjoyed the challenge. (Here are some of my favourite outfits.) In fact, though I am not going to make the same resolution this year, I do not feel tempted to rush out and buy lots of new clothes: the discipline of making do with what I've got has taught me to be resourceful and I find that I have grown very fond of many of the clothes in my wardrobe. I think I might have a clearout in the next few weeks, however, and get rid of the items that didn't really earn their keep.
And if I can find time this year, I intend to make some new clothes for myself, using some of the fabric and patterns I have been hoarding for years, and to customise some of the clothes that I have put aside for that purpose.
It's my daughter Lillie's birthday today... we had lunch together, both daughters and me, at the Buenos Aires Café in nearby Blackheath Village. Lillie looked so beautiful and chic in black 'bullfighter' trousers, secondhand black jacket and little brown suede boots and she tucked in very heartily – we both did – to Morcilla, an Argentine steak, rare, vegetables, chips and a robust Malbec. We followed it up with a Pimms in The Pelton. Happy Birthday, Lillie!
Roll up, roll up for the Vintage and Secondhand Fair at The Pelton Arms, Greenwich, on Sunday 18th September from 1.30 until 5pm.
It will have many of the same elements as last year's late summer fair and jumble sale, but this time we are concentrating on the "vintage", with stalls selling secondhand and vintage clothes and accessories, vintage china, kitchenware and collectables.
The Pelton Arms does a lovely Sunday lunch – you are advised to book a table in advance – and, of course, a brilliant selection of beers, lagers, wines and so on.
If anyone is interested in having a stall, please get in touch as soon as possible: you can email me, or contact me on Facebook. Otherwise, just come along on Sunday 18th September, from 1.30-5pm and join in the fun!
My 18-year-old daughter Edith is currently travelling around Europe with her friend Alice. This morning I received in the post this lovely hand-drawn postcard, documenting the places she had visited in the first few days of her three-week trip... Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam and Berlin. This lovely artwork was posted in Krakow a few days later. I feel so privileged that she took the time to create this artwork and send me such a lovely, personal greeting... Thank you, sweetie!
It has taken months to clear out and decorate what is now designated as our 'spare room'. It was the nursery, then my son's room and has been used by all of my children in turn. The walls were full of holes and covered with graffiti and there was no heating... Anyway, a nice builder called John has decorated the room, installed a radiator and built shelves in the alcoves and my son Josh has done a wonderful job of sanding, mending and painting the floor. We now have a lovely place for guests to stay, with an iron bedstead, a vintage quilt found in a junk shop in Hastings, and piles of colourful and quirky home-made cushions.
I have designed this flyer to promote our upcoming Summer Fair at The Pelton Arms. Please download a copy and email it to all your friends, or print it out and circulate it... Thanks!
Following the success of last year's Jumble Sale (pictured above), we are organising an event on Sunday 12th June (it was originally scheduled for 29th May but the date had to be changed).
We are calling it a Summer Fair: it will have many of the same elements as last year, with stalls selling crafts and bric-a-brac, secondhand and vintage clothes, home-made cakes and other goodies, and a few entertaining sideshows such as 'hook a duck', 'lucky dip' and a charity raffle in aid of Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice. If anyone is interested in having a stall, please email me. Otherwise, just come along on Sunday 12th June, from 2-6pm and join in the fun!
For details of this and other events at The Pelton, click here: The Pelton Arms
