My no.2.son.12yrs advised me this week we will be enjoying a "fruit crumble" in his latest cookery class for "pudding"
hurrah! I thought! (I love fruit crumble! which will it be? rhubarb? apple? ..)
Good job I didn't get as far as writing "custard AND ice cream" down on the shopping list - the WHOLE idea, one would think, OF a cookery class is to COOK!? right?
well. no. apparently not. NOT today. today the cookery classes are rather more what can we do in 55mins that doesn't involve a lot of effort or mess and minimises the whole thing into a complete allocated session OF 55mins .. ah! TINS! and preparing it all at home!
Yes. my son informs me that he's to bring in a container of tinned fruit eg pineapple .. (you'd think they'd have the grace to at least teach them to USE a tin opener at the school class if they HAVE to use tinned fruit? but no! the contents to be placed into a container!).
well, I've never heard of a "tinned pineapple crumble", and I'm not sure that either custard OR icecream will be right to accompany this huge I mean tiny offering!
Of course I'm going to get all riled again!
But REALLY! in MY day when we did cookery we made proper steak and kidney puddings! we baked blind! we didn't use processors! and we DIDN'T use tinned fruit! we cooked proper foods that were taken home and eaten as a meal.
First we had "fruit salad" - this involved peeling/chopping assorted fresh fruits and putting into a container and adding way too much "juice" into another container, for our children to mix and prepare into a "fruit salad" to slop about and drip into their bags and shoes on the way home ..
then we had "pasta or rice salad" - THIS involved sending in COOKED pasta/rice in a container, along with various salady stuff into another container for the mixing and preparing into a "pasta or rice salad" .. THIS isn't COOKING!?
and NOW! (stamps foot and thumps on table!) TINNED FRUIT CRUMBLE!? you can't HAVE a tinned fruit crumble! its supposed to be stewed rhubarb! or apple! or better still, apple AND blackcurrant!
Upon threatening to send a note in with my son with 2lbs of cooking apples, my poor son crumpled and begged me not to! apparently some other of his friend's mother had done this with the last group and the poor soul had to spend his whole lunch break in the cookery room on his own stewing apples and as he pointed out he doesn't even LIKE cooked apple puddings anyway!!
Well. its parents evening on Wednesday! GUESS what teacher I will be making a bee line for!
It doesn't, actually, do you any good cornering a teacher and pinning them down.
But it does make you feel just a BIT better anyway!!!
(TINNED fruit crumble! I ask you! ...)
Monday, 16 June 2008
Creative Textiles - as we near "the end"
Today we finished off looking at the design work we'd started last week and spent ages admiring some rather spectacular pieces which included a rather cool length of fabric printed with blocks and fabric paint which sort of looked good enough to come out of a production line!
We looked also at crocheting circular pieces and our tutor brought in some examples to inspire such as a cushion cover which looked rather yummy and some felted bowl/vases that are a bit like the FSL machine embroidered bowls that were all the craze a couple of years ago and you either love them or you don't! (I quite liked the tip of putting a jam jar inside and filling with something, I'd probably be inclined to put buttons in mine rather than flowers as anything like that doesn't usually make it past 2 days before wilting and turning black and slimey!
I must get my hook out again and plunge it into a ball of yarn and do something yummy soon!
We've two sessions left before "the end" and next week we're setting up for the finale which will be our masterclass on water solubles!
Now its nearly here, I can't quite believe it IS here! the end, I mean!
And I have to make a difficult decision about whether to sign for a 2nd year enrolling later in the September ..
At the moment I am inclined to feel it less likely I will, mostly due to time constraints and the amount of time that IS inevitably taken up with a varied course like this I feel stretched to capacity in keeping up with sampling and recording each aspect which leaves little time left over for larger crafting projects.
What I'd like to do NOW, is use some of these new techniques and ideas and incorporate them into some practical project rather than launch straight into yet more sampling and techniques. What would be ideal would be an option where one could work on a piece of their choice alongside the class, but there isn't the scope within the way that they are set up and run to allow for this.
I'd like, for example, to explore knitting - with colour! with fairisle and with cable and definitely finish my lace project and work further on that aspect too! I'd like to work further with felting, make or knit a felted bag and embellish it. Look, too, at furthering my enjoyment of hand stitching and maybe expand into quilting with some more crazy patch and embroidery!!
I'd like to work on what I enjoy most and suits the type of project I'm most likely to appreciate and use rather than the more arty type that I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing others' examples of and trying out my own more limited interpretation and I suppose, really, its more of a "club" that would suit my needs now which the system doesn't cater for!
On the other hand, I would really miss my new crafty-pals and definitely miss the excitement of seeing new projects and ideas - ho-hum! what to DO!?
We looked also at crocheting circular pieces and our tutor brought in some examples to inspire such as a cushion cover which looked rather yummy and some felted bowl/vases that are a bit like the FSL machine embroidered bowls that were all the craze a couple of years ago and you either love them or you don't! (I quite liked the tip of putting a jam jar inside and filling with something, I'd probably be inclined to put buttons in mine rather than flowers as anything like that doesn't usually make it past 2 days before wilting and turning black and slimey!
I must get my hook out again and plunge it into a ball of yarn and do something yummy soon!
We've two sessions left before "the end" and next week we're setting up for the finale which will be our masterclass on water solubles!
Now its nearly here, I can't quite believe it IS here! the end, I mean!
And I have to make a difficult decision about whether to sign for a 2nd year enrolling later in the September ..
At the moment I am inclined to feel it less likely I will, mostly due to time constraints and the amount of time that IS inevitably taken up with a varied course like this I feel stretched to capacity in keeping up with sampling and recording each aspect which leaves little time left over for larger crafting projects.
What I'd like to do NOW, is use some of these new techniques and ideas and incorporate them into some practical project rather than launch straight into yet more sampling and techniques. What would be ideal would be an option where one could work on a piece of their choice alongside the class, but there isn't the scope within the way that they are set up and run to allow for this.
I'd like, for example, to explore knitting - with colour! with fairisle and with cable and definitely finish my lace project and work further on that aspect too! I'd like to work further with felting, make or knit a felted bag and embellish it. Look, too, at furthering my enjoyment of hand stitching and maybe expand into quilting with some more crazy patch and embroidery!!
I'd like to work on what I enjoy most and suits the type of project I'm most likely to appreciate and use rather than the more arty type that I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing others' examples of and trying out my own more limited interpretation and I suppose, really, its more of a "club" that would suit my needs now which the system doesn't cater for!
On the other hand, I would really miss my new crafty-pals and definitely miss the excitement of seeing new projects and ideas - ho-hum! what to DO!?
Friday, 13 June 2008
The jacket is done! yayy!!
LOTS of apologies for the terrible photographs! I can't believe I'm actually going to publish them! (I must get myself better organised and actually BUY a dress form if only for the purposes of taking a decent picture!!).
At last I completed my jacket today! the fabric is a lovely dark navy pinstripe with a light blue and beige stripe, I bought this piece of fabric about 5yrs ago when I optimistically thought I might make an "interview suit" about the time I was planning to go back into proper work! its sat in my sewing room all this time and I finally decided to make it up!
I had just enough (barely!) to make a jacket and two skirts, had I realised I'd forgotten to cut the facings, however, I'd have been stuck skirt-wise, at least! I used some of my infamous grey for the lining (groans from Debs!) its been SUCH a useful purchase and has to be my all time best EVER investment - 27ms for under a tenner - back in the days when you could get a real bargain!
The grey fabric has seen both my son's through middle school and is now seeing me through "work" as I have 4 jackets and two skirts in it and LOADS left over, it ought to see me off never mind through work!
BACK to the jacket! as you can see its hanging unattractively on a hanger looking rather wrinkled, but its better in real life! I had to adapt the collar into two parts for both the upper and under, which didn't seem to matter at the time of cutting but, since then, I've had all my hair chopped off! I'll have to try and hope for a bit of summer-regrowth at the back!!
Never mind, its a nice jacket and has a lovely quality lining in mid-grey, its fully interlined and stabilised with shoulderpads and fleece wraps at the arm all per the speed tailoring course I attended years ago!
Goodness only knows what happened with the skirt pictures! the top is another one of my "usual" New Look A-line good old standard pattern, the number of which escapes me at the moment but I've blogged it before!
The 2nd skirt is from the same pattern as the jacket and is a new one for me, I'm reasonably pleased with the fit and shape of it, its not really quite as twisted as it appears, thats just because its gripped at the waist by a skirt hanger dangling in my doorway!
The pattern used for jacket and 2nd skirt is Simplicity Threads number 3962 and features a shawl collar which I think is just the hardest shaped collar to manage!
I've done two other jackets using this same pattern and have decided this is absolutely the last time I'll make this up as its too much fuss and faffing about trying to frighten it with the iron into rolling satisfactorily!
At last I completed my jacket today! the fabric is a lovely dark navy pinstripe with a light blue and beige stripe, I bought this piece of fabric about 5yrs ago when I optimistically thought I might make an "interview suit" about the time I was planning to go back into proper work! its sat in my sewing room all this time and I finally decided to make it up!
I had just enough (barely!) to make a jacket and two skirts, had I realised I'd forgotten to cut the facings, however, I'd have been stuck skirt-wise, at least! I used some of my infamous grey for the lining (groans from Debs!) its been SUCH a useful purchase and has to be my all time best EVER investment - 27ms for under a tenner - back in the days when you could get a real bargain!
The grey fabric has seen both my son's through middle school and is now seeing me through "work" as I have 4 jackets and two skirts in it and LOADS left over, it ought to see me off never mind through work!
BACK to the jacket! as you can see its hanging unattractively on a hanger looking rather wrinkled, but its better in real life! I had to adapt the collar into two parts for both the upper and under, which didn't seem to matter at the time of cutting but, since then, I've had all my hair chopped off! I'll have to try and hope for a bit of summer-regrowth at the back!!
Never mind, its a nice jacket and has a lovely quality lining in mid-grey, its fully interlined and stabilised with shoulderpads and fleece wraps at the arm all per the speed tailoring course I attended years ago!
Goodness only knows what happened with the skirt pictures! the top is another one of my "usual" New Look A-line good old standard pattern, the number of which escapes me at the moment but I've blogged it before!The 2nd skirt is from the same pattern as the jacket and is a new one for me, I'm reasonably pleased with the fit and shape of it, its not really quite as twisted as it appears, thats just because its gripped at the waist by a skirt hanger dangling in my doorway!
The pattern used for jacket and 2nd skirt is Simplicity Threads number 3962 and features a shawl collar which I think is just the hardest shaped collar to manage!
I've done two other jackets using this same pattern and have decided this is absolutely the last time I'll make this up as its too much fuss and faffing about trying to frighten it with the iron into rolling satisfactorily!
Yarn Bargains
oh dear .. and I SEW was not going to do this again! buy up yummy yarn BARGAINS!Never mind, I managed to resist for a whole week the temptation to visit the shop with the Rowan bargains despite the hysterical screechings of various knitty-pals who stopped by clutching bags and wafting loveliness at us ..
Even though I had, originally, planned to buy some Rowan Cocoon to make up one of the garments in 42 but resisted due to cost I STILL stuck to my resolve in NOT rushing down to grab a bag.
All this hysterical loveliness and screeching got to me in the end, and this week I rushed down myself to grab a couple of bargains :
A bag of 10 Cocoon in shade Shale down from £69.50 to £20.00
A bag of 5 Kidsilk Spray shade 572 for just £1 a ball! (usually £7.50 a ball!)
Now to get back to knitting! with all these bargains filling up my stash basket I ought to make an effort to finish my ongoing projects?
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Creative Textiles: nearing the end
As we reach the end of our course and holidays start to loom we're very short on numbers now that are regularly attending - we're a small but select group! but, still, we're eager to continue exploring and this week our tutor had set us all the challenge of creating a textile piece inspired from some images against the design element that we are now concentrating on.
We spent two hours messing about with threads, beads and buttons (and some with wooden blocks, bits of string and paint! to create effects on fabric! that was pretty cool!).
Our work has been checked and as a group we're deemed good enough to have collectively "passed" - which is good! However some mutterings within the group about lack of feedback on ALL of our work and, specifically, on those of us newbies/level I's work from on high-up! (which is a bit of a laugh as on high-up is ACTUALLY sitting in the office next door - you'd sort of think she could do a bit of extra marking in between checking the car parking and kitchen/washing up standards?).
While this came as a surprise to some of the newbies, it didn't, particularly, to me!
My most irritating experience of this came about 5yrs ago while attending an IT course (heavily subsidised, of course, which is what "they" say is the point behind it all but I've never been able to discover quite WHAT this point actually IS as my logic suggests if all that money is being chucked into the course, then surely they'd want to thoroughly examine and cross question everyone's work including their attendance?).
Anyway, no point getting riled up again about it, suffice it to say that I was most annoyed to discover that during our "exam" (and at my age, remembering proper exams I find this use of the term "exam" a bit of a joke but there I go again - getting riled up!) one of our fellow students managed to remember to turn up for the exam however as she'd not actually turned up to half of the course, was unable to do the exam without the assistance of the two sat next to her! One of them happened to feel this wasn't appropriate and ignored her, the other appeared to be just as clueless himself and we had this (laughable NOW, 5yrs on but NOT at the time on the day!) situation where first a fellow student ACROSS the room came over to "assist" - now you're probably wondering about the TUTOR? .. well the TUTOR came over NEXT!
At THIS point, two of us decided to make a stand and suggest this was not only inappropriate but possibly unfair! and we ended up (this is true, I promise you!) with a slanging match across the room as half were agreed this shouldn't be happening, and a few thought it perfectly reasonable and a few just apparently enjoyed the prospect of a break from the tedium of the "exam" and were clearly hoping it'd end up as a scrap!
The tutor spoke with 4 of us at the end, to "reassure us" that it wouldn't "matter" about assisting this particular lady as she'd not be applying for any jobs due to the fact that she was leaving the country the following week - he was obviously used to this and didn't seem all that concerned beyond the need to get as many "passes" as he could and since half hadn't actually bothered to turn up for the exam this lady was needed for the numbers!
Was I upset for myself? not especially. I was upset for my children! who are coming up in the system and who one day very soon will NEED these sort of quals in order to validate their job applications and improve their prospects of gaining employment! when certificates are just handed out like this, is it any wonder employers don't value them?
For leisurely pursuits, for ladies like us that are just wanting to enjoy the company of like minded folk, who just want to explore new techniques for the treat OF trying something new or different, its all a bit tiresome!
Well. I'm off now to un-rile myself with a spot of tailoring!
Got myself into a pickle last week when I discovered that yes I had been marvellously frugal in stretching a length of navy pinstripe into two skirts and a jacket - however when I came to sew the collar I discovered I'd not got any facings! blast! blast! BLAST! and nothing in my stash to co-ordinate and nothing in the shops as suiting is regarded as "winter". I could wait until Aug when it will be deemed "winter" however I need to wear the suit NOW.
All a bit annoying!
MORE annoying was the discovery that I'd apparently forgotten how to sew and had attached my in-seam pockets to the outside of my jacket. both times! more annoyingly still, I didn't realise until after I'd seamed both sides ..
Happily its now sorted, and I've just got to sew up the lining and attach it and voila! it will be done (subject to finding something not too hideous for the miserable facings).
We spent two hours messing about with threads, beads and buttons (and some with wooden blocks, bits of string and paint! to create effects on fabric! that was pretty cool!).
Our work has been checked and as a group we're deemed good enough to have collectively "passed" - which is good! However some mutterings within the group about lack of feedback on ALL of our work and, specifically, on those of us newbies/level I's work from on high-up! (which is a bit of a laugh as on high-up is ACTUALLY sitting in the office next door - you'd sort of think she could do a bit of extra marking in between checking the car parking and kitchen/washing up standards?).
While this came as a surprise to some of the newbies, it didn't, particularly, to me!
My most irritating experience of this came about 5yrs ago while attending an IT course (heavily subsidised, of course, which is what "they" say is the point behind it all but I've never been able to discover quite WHAT this point actually IS as my logic suggests if all that money is being chucked into the course, then surely they'd want to thoroughly examine and cross question everyone's work including their attendance?).
Anyway, no point getting riled up again about it, suffice it to say that I was most annoyed to discover that during our "exam" (and at my age, remembering proper exams I find this use of the term "exam" a bit of a joke but there I go again - getting riled up!) one of our fellow students managed to remember to turn up for the exam however as she'd not actually turned up to half of the course, was unable to do the exam without the assistance of the two sat next to her! One of them happened to feel this wasn't appropriate and ignored her, the other appeared to be just as clueless himself and we had this (laughable NOW, 5yrs on but NOT at the time on the day!) situation where first a fellow student ACROSS the room came over to "assist" - now you're probably wondering about the TUTOR? .. well the TUTOR came over NEXT!
At THIS point, two of us decided to make a stand and suggest this was not only inappropriate but possibly unfair! and we ended up (this is true, I promise you!) with a slanging match across the room as half were agreed this shouldn't be happening, and a few thought it perfectly reasonable and a few just apparently enjoyed the prospect of a break from the tedium of the "exam" and were clearly hoping it'd end up as a scrap!
The tutor spoke with 4 of us at the end, to "reassure us" that it wouldn't "matter" about assisting this particular lady as she'd not be applying for any jobs due to the fact that she was leaving the country the following week - he was obviously used to this and didn't seem all that concerned beyond the need to get as many "passes" as he could and since half hadn't actually bothered to turn up for the exam this lady was needed for the numbers!
Was I upset for myself? not especially. I was upset for my children! who are coming up in the system and who one day very soon will NEED these sort of quals in order to validate their job applications and improve their prospects of gaining employment! when certificates are just handed out like this, is it any wonder employers don't value them?
For leisurely pursuits, for ladies like us that are just wanting to enjoy the company of like minded folk, who just want to explore new techniques for the treat OF trying something new or different, its all a bit tiresome!
Well. I'm off now to un-rile myself with a spot of tailoring!
Got myself into a pickle last week when I discovered that yes I had been marvellously frugal in stretching a length of navy pinstripe into two skirts and a jacket - however when I came to sew the collar I discovered I'd not got any facings! blast! blast! BLAST! and nothing in my stash to co-ordinate and nothing in the shops as suiting is regarded as "winter". I could wait until Aug when it will be deemed "winter" however I need to wear the suit NOW.
All a bit annoying!
MORE annoying was the discovery that I'd apparently forgotten how to sew and had attached my in-seam pockets to the outside of my jacket. both times! more annoyingly still, I didn't realise until after I'd seamed both sides ..
Happily its now sorted, and I've just got to sew up the lining and attach it and voila! it will be done (subject to finding something not too hideous for the miserable facings).
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
New bag for work
This is a lovely pattern and very useful as it has LOTS of bags!! McCall's fashion accessories pattern no 9261, view B small size.
The photo isn't terribly brilliant but you can see just enough to know that its a super bag! we have to take clear bags into work and this is clear enough in my opinion to qualify! The main part of the bag is clear vinyl which I usually sew into a basic rectangular bag without a particular pattern (although you'll remember I used my cyber-pal- Carol's bag pattern last time?) the upper edge and lower band is some rather nice novelty quilty fabric that was sent to me ages ago by someone and I've been waiting for a suitable project to use it and this is it! it matches well with the white webbed handles!
Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to sew up! I used my roller foot for the vinyl but think I'd have done better with my walking foot, I wish I'd thought about it and sewed the straps down over the open seam allowances which would have made my bag much neater looking given I've got no lining and couldn't be pfaffed to bind raw edges! never mind, it only has my sandwiches, a brolley and my hair brush and container of de-caff tea bags in it!!
The photo isn't terribly brilliant but you can see just enough to know that its a super bag! we have to take clear bags into work and this is clear enough in my opinion to qualify! The main part of the bag is clear vinyl which I usually sew into a basic rectangular bag without a particular pattern (although you'll remember I used my cyber-pal- Carol's bag pattern last time?) the upper edge and lower band is some rather nice novelty quilty fabric that was sent to me ages ago by someone and I've been waiting for a suitable project to use it and this is it! it matches well with the white webbed handles!
Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to sew up! I used my roller foot for the vinyl but think I'd have done better with my walking foot, I wish I'd thought about it and sewed the straps down over the open seam allowances which would have made my bag much neater looking given I've got no lining and couldn't be pfaffed to bind raw edges! never mind, it only has my sandwiches, a brolley and my hair brush and container of de-caff tea bags in it!!
Nosey Neighbours!
We're not having a terribly great time with some of our neighbours at the moment, but when no.1.son discovered his cat, Bertie, sat atop our litle shed and "peeping" over at the next door neighbour as she sat reading her book in the sunshine he couldn't resist taking a quick shot of him from inside the house!
(he really IS a nosey cat and can't understand why it is that our neighbours have blocked up the hedge adjoining our gardens - that perhaps its because they don't want the cats coming in!!) Bertie, consequently, is fascinated with our neighbour and their garden and will pointedly peek over, ducking, occaisionally to dodge the water pistol!
Now WHY they particularly don't want the cats is because they like birds! and sew, too, does LILLY! unfortunately SHE likes to catch and eat them! I can understand this being annoying, when you've gone to the trouble to site bird-boxes and block up the hedge and THEN find "mummy bird" being dragged off over the garage roof by said cat! .. large stones were hurled over at her in our garden, but too late, I'm afraid to save the poor bird!
(well. thats cats. I'm afraid. they just DO that!)
(he really IS a nosey cat and can't understand why it is that our neighbours have blocked up the hedge adjoining our gardens - that perhaps its because they don't want the cats coming in!!) Bertie, consequently, is fascinated with our neighbour and their garden and will pointedly peek over, ducking, occaisionally to dodge the water pistol!
Now WHY they particularly don't want the cats is because they like birds! and sew, too, does LILLY! unfortunately SHE likes to catch and eat them! I can understand this being annoying, when you've gone to the trouble to site bird-boxes and block up the hedge and THEN find "mummy bird" being dragged off over the garage roof by said cat! .. large stones were hurled over at her in our garden, but too late, I'm afraid to save the poor bird!
(well. thats cats. I'm afraid. they just DO that!)
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