Our final two jugs were ready for collection today, so we went and got them.
The first is a mid sized jug, a pint or so, and I did this one while Miss Teen was doing her butter dish.
It's come out really well! The orange is just fabulous, and matches the cooker.
These are before pics:
My lovely SD messaged me to see if we fancied meeting up on Saturday. She was goig to be travelling from the Peak district home, and wondereed about meeting somewhere.
She suggested Dunstable Downs, and it was lovely.
When I saw her, I just hugged and hugged her, and I didn't want to let go.
The Downs was busy, but not overwhelming. There were loads of people flying kites, some were really interesting. The weather was good, not too hot, not too cold.
The kids played with a bat, ball and frisbee ring, and we chatted. We did a shortish circular walk to see the Cathedral of Trees.
We had a late lunch at the Hunters Lodge, which was a pretty pub, with surprisingly good food. The waitresses were lovely. I'd definitely go back there if we were in the area.
It was unexpected, and good to see them all
Especially good to see her though. She means the world to me.
We have an electric desk, with a bamboo worktop on, as out kitchen table.
Since I started using a projector to project patterns, the table has been solely used as my cutting table (and a dumping ground). If we moved it, or adjusted it, or moved the projector, I'd have to recalibrate everything, and it's easier to just move it.
Underneath the table is a unit upon which sits my A0 printer. I bought this when I was printing A0 versions of patterns (before my projector)', when it seemed less hassle than getting them printed and delivered,
DH uses the A0 printer sometimes, so we don't want to get rid of it. We've talked about putting it in the loft, bur there isn't a lot of space for it, and I'm concerned that the ink would dry up superfast up there as it's very very hot.
So, the A0 printer has continued to live under the table. It's a bit of a dust trap, and I don't think that's dong it any good. Some time ago, I realised I could just "whip up" a cover for it. Every time I dust it (which isn't that often, truth be told), I think the same thing,
Today was oe of those days when I cleaned it carefuly and thought again that I really should make it a cover. And then I decided to just do it.
Instead of measuring, I decided to do it on the fly. I'm not sure which part of me thought that this would end well.
The fabric wasn't quite wide enough, so I had to sew some together. I had a brainwave of any idea which was to add some to each end, and use those added bits to box the corners.
I thought about using the coverstitch to do the hemming, but decided that I'd put elastic round the sides and back, to help it fit snugly. I also decided that thes was the ideal time to break out that elastic foot I bought for the overlocker.
I realise that using clear elastic, designed for stabilising seams, was probably not the best choice. However, it wasn't a disaster (it wasn't really an improvement to the item though).
It isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a disaster. Adding knicker elastic to the back, using my never-before-tried elastic foot on my overlocker, was a bit ambitious, and possibly wasn't the best idea. I've had, but it's OK.
And it will keep the dust off.
Total crafty things this year: 48
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scuba, great pattern matching, good fit on waistband
31) Convert single duvet cover to king size
32) Convert 1 pillowcase to 2, and create 2 additional plain pillowcases to match
33) Dressing gown (LoveNotions Compose) (black flowers on white, brished cotton)
34) Cover for A0 printer
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
And then there was some pottery stuff.
I collected my Hen Heart Plate (and Miss Teen's pressie for her Mum, but I can't post that).
It came out really well, better than I'd hoped.
I drew round the plate, cut out the heart, marked the centre, and the top and the bottom of the heart, and scanned it. Then I resized the scan to 90%, saved it, printed it, cut it out. Resized the original to 80%, saved it, prnted it, cut it out; Resized the original to 70%, saved it, printed it, etc etc.
I pierced the centres, so I could align them and then drew round each one, in pencil, giving me lines to use to write on.
Each "set" of hens was done in one colour, and the colour changed for the next "set". It starts with "Delilah", in the centre. I wanted to do a heart shaped spiral, and the crossovers can be seen where "Not Norman" follows "Siouxsie", where "Batty" follows "Nora", and where "Pong" follows "Ping" (I've marked them on the closeup)
I fluffed up near the end, I accidentally leant on "Blondie" while I was putting the dots round the edge.
I'd had to get my spreadsheet out to get the hens in the right sequence. I know the sequence of the garden girls, and I know the sequence of he Allotmenteers, but I've rarely ever thought of them all together and I didn't want to miss anyone.
Janet at Hands on Art recommended a particular type of plate hanger, so it's going on a wall soon!
I forgot to collect my medium sized jug, which I'd taken in to be fired a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to collect it when I collect the tall jug (DH finally painted his side of the tall jug, and we took it in to be fired when we collected this plate), and I'll post about them then.
Total crafty things this year: 47
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scuba, great pattern matching, good fit on waistband
31) Convert single duvet cover to king size
32) Convert 1 pillowcase to 2, and create 2 additional plain pillowcases to match
33) Dressing gown (LoveNotions Compose) (black flowers on white, brished cotton)
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
Despite the disheartening stuff, there have been some 'achievements'. Firstly, some sewing.
I wanted to make a lighter dressing gown, same style as the one I made before but using brushed cotton. I bought 4m of fabric (cue eye rolls from DH when it arrived) from Ebay. This fabric has been on my watch list for months, specifically with a dressing gown in mind.
I did the whole thing in one go, and I am happy with the result. I need to add a kam snap, and I'll do that one morning when I'm wearing the dressing gwn (and feeling better).
Excuse the crappy picture.
It's soft, light, and comfortable, and I'd definitely make it again. It was the Compose Robe from Love Notions.
Total crafty things this year: 46
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scuba, great pattern matching, good fit on waistband
31) Convert single duvet cover to king size
32) Convert 1 pillowcase to 2, and create 2 additional plain pillowcases to match
33) Dressing gown (LoveNotions Compose) (black flowers on white, brished cotton)
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
B) Knitted Infinity scarf, first attempt (pinks)
C) Painted bisque small jug (hen names) and had it fired.
Its been one of those fortnights. I'm not sure what to say, what not to say, where to start even.
I had a phonecall from the hospital very late one afternoon saying that I was on the list for a 7-day Holter monitor. They'd had a cancellation, so would I like to come now. I would. I did. It was all fitted and I was back out before the car park charge kicked in.
It's actually not going to be quite 7 days, more like 6 and a bit, as I have to get the monitor back to them by 10am on the end date.
Last night was another "one of the worst" nights (3rd or 4th, I'm undecided), and even getting up and walking around to let my back and shoulders drain only gave temporary relief. It was so bad that I did a Troponin test, just in case. (Which was negative of course, I wouldn't be writing like this otherwise). I'm shattered, and I'm still suffering the after effects now (headache and shoulder pain)
I hope these things show up. I've tried to make notes to accompany my button presses,I've been using an app on my phone, and trying to keep the phone within reach. It's not always easy to do.
I hope they don't take too long to analyse them.
A few days ago I had my Echo, and nothing requiring urgent attention was revealed. I couldn't see the images, as I was facing the wall. The operator wouldn't let me lie down "properly", from her point of view she didn't need to see the palpitations. I'll get the results in due course.
In other news, Miss Teen's dad went into hospital to have a tube inserted in his stomach, ready for him to start Chemo and Radiotherapies on Wednesday. It was done under local anaesthetic, and it went wrong. The chemo and radio therapies have had to be delayed, and he had to have an op (under general anaesthetic) yesterday to try and repair the damage, clean him out, and put a new tube in. He sounds more like himself today, and he's hoping to be discharged soon. It's not my story, so I won't say more about it.
A few weeks ago I had been excavating the guest bedroom/sewing room so that my amazing exDiL could stay.
I accidentally found a "Mrs Tweedy's Chicken Pies" pillwcase, from a single Chicken Run duvet cover set that I'd bought back when I was making bunting for DH's 60th birthday. I had the brilliant idea of turning it into a kingsize duvet for the guest bedroom. I even thought I might be able to "whip it up" before exDiL arrived.
The idea was simple. Cut the seam off each of the two long sides, and attach pieces of a sheet which would widen it to the new size.
How difficult could that be?
Well, let's just say that I didn't get it finished in time. It should have been simple. If I had had more faith in myself, then it would have been finished in time.
I did manage to finish it the day she left, but it needed washing so I wasn't able to put it on the bed. Then a couple of weeks later Miss Teen came to stay, and she has her own duvet cover at our house, so it still didn't get used.
I had been waiting for it to be on the bed to take a pic, but Miss Teen's duvet cover is still on there as she's likely to stay again soon.
So why am I writing about this now?
Yesterday, I was determmined to finish the job by making pillow cases. I had one case which came with the duvet cover, and I needed 4. So, I attempted to make 2 plain blue cases, and then I cut the printed one in two two pieces, and gave each piece a bit of backing.
The first, plain, pillowcase was whipped up in record time. I'd even included a little envelopey bit to keep the edge of the pillow enclosed.
The second, plain, pillowcase was OK (but not great). Too cocky.
And then I had to put them together. The first one was OK, the envelopey bit was on the printed fabric. The second one... I spent ages farting about to get theenvelopey bit perfect. I used an existing hem on the fabric to make sure it looked beautiful, and I spent ages making sure I had it the right way so that the hem on the inside would also be correct.
Eventually I had it all square and clipped together on my ironing board, and I sewed it. Beautiful straight edges, lovely job!.
I might try and iron it to flatten it, and handstitch one side to hold it down.
I could try and cover the whole length with ribbon or something, using my coverstitch (did I get that tape foot? Hope so, as that will come in handy).
In the meantime I stuck them in the wash, and now they are hanging on the airer. I may or may not get round to trying to hide my mistake, but I suspect it will be another last minute fix.
I'm not sure what has happened to me, there was a time when nothing less than perfection would do.
I'm going to count the "cover" and the "4 pillowcases" as two separate makes. (but not as 5 makes).
Total crafty things this year: 45
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scuba, great pattern matching, good fit on waistband
31) Convert single duvet cover to king size
32) Convert 1 pillowcase to 2, and create 2 additional plain pillowcases to match
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
B) Knitted Infinity scarf, first attempt (pinks)
C) Painted bisque small jug (hen names) and had it fired.
Last Sunday, when Miss Teen was here, we popped to our local farm shop to get some sliced meat for an improptu "roast dinner".
We got back in the car, masks off, and I pulled out of my space. As I drove forward, m best friend, who I haven't seen in person in a year because of Covid, walked across in front of my car! She waved. I waved and I stopped the car (apologies to the poor woman in the car behind me), leapt out and ran to see her. We hugged and said we'd meet up in the week for a catch up.
I got back in the car and, to the consternation of Miss Teen, I burst into tears.
I tried to explain to MissT that I wasn't upset, I was just suffering from an overflow of emotion. She wanted to understand more, so I said I'd try and explain when we got home (because trying to work out how to explain it was just resulting in more overflows).
We got home, and I did my best to explain. I can't explain it all here in this blog post, because this led to quite an involved discussion about the nature of different types of friendships, but I will share one the crucial bits:
My best friend lives 'just around the corner' from me. I haven't needed to see her in person during the last year because I know she's just around the corner. Knowing that she is there, that we could see each other if we needed to, has been enough. I've known that when I do see her, we'll pick up as if there had been no year's gap.
If I had lived further away, it would have been much harder.
However, seeing her so unexpectedly, and then actually seeing her close enough to hug her and talk to her, made the long year of not seeing her seem endless, and I missed her so much, and I wanted to see her properly and talk and laugh and do all the normal things that you can't do by messenger. I had so much that I wanted to share with her, that it hadn't been possible to share by Instant Message, and she had a lot that she had wanted to share with me.
And because I was feeling that way, and crying, all the other things from the last 18 months all came rushing up as well, and it created a tidal wave of emotion that I just couldn't control... and it came out as tears.
My best friend and I (and our husbands) did meet up a few evenings ago, and it was lovely. Normal. Both pairs had had a lot of stuff going on, and it was cathartic to be able to share and to have it shared.
They really do have a plateful at the moment, and I'm hoping we'll be able to arrange another catchup soon.
Our local pottery painting workshop had been doing these great "Paint at Home" options. We had done one lot of things, and I had bought a few items back in January to do during lockdown.
I started one, which DH needs to complete, some time ago. I'll post more about that another day.
I also did a small jug. I had got some bottles of paint, one orange, one black, with "nibs" in, which made writing easier. I decided to write the names of the many Hens we've known over the years.
It was much easier writing with this than trying to use a brush. It wasn't superneat, but it was OK.
I took it back to be fired, and collected it about a week ago.
It's very simple, but I like it!
I'd like to try and do then hen names again, but a bit more carefully. I bought a plate to go on the wall, and Janet (the owner) very kindly lent me some more nibbed bottles, with more colours, for this project.
I've got a medium sized jug being fired at the moment, and that'll be ready for collection in a couple of weeks. Because of the loan of the nibbed bottles, I've promised to get my plate and the loan items back to Janet when I collect the medium jug.
I'll get started on that in a few days.
Total crafty things this year: 43
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scuba, great pattern matching, good fit on waistband
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
B) Knitted Infinity scarf, first attempt (pinks)
C) Painted bisque small jug (hen names) and had it fired.
After 17 months, Miss Teen was finally able to come and stay for a couple of nights.
We were so happy to see her!
She arrived in time for dinner (fish fingers, at her request) on Friday, and left after dinner on Sunday.
I can't remember what else.
It all passed very quickly.
It was so lovely to see her. I'm hoping it won't be too long before she comes again.
Both kittens have been unwell, Shelby was hospitalised and put on a drip. She;s home now.
The cats ate at 9pm on Monday. On Tuesday, neither was interested in food, and Shelby was sick. We thought it might be the weather, or hairballs. Both cats are long haired, so they do have hairball issues. I have Shelby some hairball paste. We locked the catflap and ept them in so we cold see what was going on.
Shelby was sick again in the evnening and was sick in the night. We woke up, DH cleared it up. When I got downstairs, she'd been sick twice more that we hadn't heard. She was sick again. We took her to the Vet immediately.
Bloods were taken, an anti sickness injection given, something else. We took her home, with instructions to return if she didn't improve.
We set up a camera at the water bowl so we could see if she was drinking (she wasn't). We put another one by the litter tray to see if she was weeing or pooing (she wasn't)
She continued to be sick. We took her back the next day, and we were fortunate to see our regular very this time. By now, we were concerned that she might be dehyrating. Her stomach was a bit gassy, there was no sign of constipation. Another injection. Phone this evening, and bring her back and we'll put her on a drip if it doesn't improve.
It didn't improve, so we took her back that evening. She went on a drip, they did more tests, nothing. She refused to eat.
We were able to see Shelby and say hello, which was lovely, and the two kittens were happy to see each other.
Shelby had bad diarrhoea on Friday and Saturday, and we were hoping that whatever it was she had eaten was finally out. On Sunday, she ate a small amount, the diarrhoea had cleared up, and she was allowed home.
Lewis drank a tiny amount. We weren't so worried about him, because he wasn't vomiting. He eventually ate a little on Saturday, and a bit more on Sunday. He was back to normal food wise by Monday, and he was fully back to normal this morning.
Shelby is eating small amounts, and is still a little quiet.
We're keeping an eye on her.
She died today.
For the last 3 weeks she has been utterly detemined not to go. Each day she ate the tiniest amount, drank the tiniest amount, and insisted on going outside and sitting down, or having a quick walk.
Her foray into the the nestbox in the run (see Waiting, back in July) ended with the girls attacking her and me rescuing her. She tried again a week ago, with a worse result. Hens are just nasty beasts sometimes.
Every morning I expected to find her gone, but she'd be sitting in the cratewaiting for me to put her outside.
A few days ago, I sectioned off the Fruit Cage part of the run, so she could stay in there. I put a nest box underneath the Cube, and she "overnighted" there. She's come inside every night since, but has been happy spending the hottest part of the day in the cool shade of the enormous Jostaberry.
Every day, she looked determined to live. She even started to try and eat the odd bit of slightly more substantial food (more substatial than lettuce, tomato, cucumber). I even kidded myself that she might turn the corner. She might eat enough to actually start to reverse her decline. She might be one of those unicorm chickens that reaches the age of 14.
On Tuesday, 2 days ago, she was sitting near the netting. She's sat there most days, watching the rest of the flock and chatting with some of them. Yesterday, they attacked her through the netting. All of them. It was like a horror film.
I saved her, cleaned her up, and prepared something else for her to eat. She seemed her usual defiant self the following morning. She went out, ate some grass (another improvement), tootled around. Had a bit of real food..... and then she just lay down and went to sleep. I don't mean that as a euphemism for dying, I mean, she went to sleep.
I lay on the grass beside her, stroking her. I thought that she would die quietly and peacefully, and quickly. I cried, a lot.
She didn't.
She was still sleeping in the evening, so I brought her inside. She was obviously dying, and it seemed peaceful, so I decided (perghaos wrongly) to let her slip away overnight,=.
She didn't.
This morning we agreed that it would be best if we helped her along, so DH kindly did the deed.
..........................
Nora was an absolutely beautiful girl. Her Mum was either Rose or Ruby, the two Welsh Black girls we got from Castle Farm many years ago. Her Dad was Roo, our first home hatched boy.
She was an amazing mix of the two. She had brown/black feathers, where the black shimmered an irridescent green.
She outlived her twin, Batty, who died exactly 4 years ago. It was often hard to tell them apart. In truth, Nora was a bit darker than Batty. But, like many of the allotment pairs, they were known by their pairname "Nora Batty" .
She also outlied her daughter/niece, Big Bird (who died earlier this year), and her daughterBarbara who looked very much like her Mum. Barbara died just before lockdown.
She lost the sight in one eye years ago, but it didn't stop her.
When she came here, after four girls were stolen from our allotment at the beginning of the first Lockdown, I was worried that she wouldn't be able to cope with the change. She amazed me by being a feisty lady. She got ito full on flying kick fights, many of which she won.
She was a friendly girl, that came from her Dad's side. Happy to be handled, happy to be stroked, happy to eat from my hand. She was heavy, relatively placid, and a real joy to have in the garden.
Who knows. She might have survived longer if she hadn't had the stress of moving, and then of integrating into one big flock. It's also possible that the move kept her fit and thjriving for longer - access to grass every day, all day; no boys; aways new stuff going on.
I'm happy that I got to spend so much time with her over the last 18 months., and I think she had a good life.
When I was a small child (45 years ago?), I watched Born Free with my mum. I cried, a lot, as I ofte did at sadhappy films.
Many years later (like about 5 years ago), I bought some new music for my lovely Orla, and the first piece in the book was Born Free. I played it , and I cried.
I've played it many times since.
I sat down to play today, for the first time in a long while, and that book was on the stand. I played many of the songs. I played Born Free, and I heard the narration The bit I remembered was when Elsa came back hurt.
It made me cry.
I've no idea why I had such an emotional response today. Maybe I'm tired, I don't know.
Before Covid I bought a copy of Born Free on DVD, but I haven't been able to watch it. I might try. I don't know if it will exorcise the tears, or make them worse.
We settled on the idea of making a hexagon shaped 3D model, with the six days going round the side. Day 7, and a quotation, was on the top.  |
| Day 6: animals of the land, Adam & Eve |
 |
| Day 5: Animals of the Sea and Birds in the sky |
 |
| Day3: Vegetation, plants, trees |
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| Day 2: separated sky and water |
It's yet another Pattern Emporium Heartlight Skirt. I didn't use my projector, I have a card template for this. Imade a slight adjustment to the waistband, and it's now both comfortable and it stays in place.
The wardrobe mirror is too narrow really but it gives you an idea.
When I had the fabric on mmy cutting table, DH walked past and said "Ooh, scuba!". It made me chuckle that he knew what it was and was so proud of himself for knowing.
I'm proud of him too .
We had been watching reruns of old series of The Great British Sewing Bee so pattern matching was at the forefront of my mind. It's a quite flowy skity, so I've had to pull it to show the seam.
It's not perfect, but I am really happy with it.
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Total crafty things this year: 42
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt (using stretchyfix)
30) Yet another Heartlight skirt (July) feathers scubb, great pattern matching, goof fit onwaitband
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
I decided I'd get an Echo done privately. It would either reassure me that nothing was wrong (which would give me peace of mind at a price), or it would identify something was going on, and I'd be able to take it to the GP for help in getting it resolved earlier than otherwise.
The place I chose had a spot at 8pm last night, so I took that. It was an easy 40min drive and a three minute walk. I was 15 mins earlier, so stoof quietly in reception, waiting.
Mayble it was the sitting driving, or the standng idly for 15 minsm but my heart decided to choose yesterday evening to be fairly quiet. For the first time in weeks I couldn't actually feel it beating (and skipping). Even when I touched my pulse, it was all unusually quiet.
This meant that whilst I was having the echo done, it only did a couple of pathetic ectopic beats. It wasn't doing the usual, four betat regular, lub dup, lub dup, lub dup. BAMBETY BAM, pause, lup dup, lub dup, lub cup, BAMBETY MAM, pause,lub dup. It wasn't even doing its mega drum solo. Nope.
So the Echo didn't really get a chance to see what was going on. I also wasn't lying flat and, on reflection, I wish I'd asked him to let me do that.
However, it did show that there was no obvious damage to the valves etc, so that's reassuring.
It means that we still don't know what is causing the ectopic beats. It could be a virus. It could be coronary disease that an Echo can't pick up. It could be an auto immune thing, but there is no damage to the valves to suggest it is. Of course, for the doctor who did the Echo, all he saw was a couple of minor blips, so I can imagine that he thinks I'm overstating the issue a bit. (I wish I was having it done this morning, as it's been going mad all morning)
So. All he can do is look at how to reduce the symptoms. Vitamin D may help. Magnesium may help. He gave me a prescription for beta blockers which should stop the ectopic beats. I'm going to wait before taking betablockers, as (a) I really would like to try and find the cause of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms, and (b) I'm still going to go for my Echo at the beginning of September, and I need to be symptomatic for that to have a chance of showing the real issue up.
I didn't get the three things done.
I did one item on the list - I sewed a new waistband on to a skirt, so I can no wear it without it falling down. It was at least 2 sizes too big, but is great for wearing round the house, in the garden, and for chickening.
One of them, the leggings, I decided to start again with better fabric. I haven't actually started again, but I did make that decision.
The third one, the bra, is still waiting.
I've been a little unwell (including another hospital visit early this morning), so I'm happy that I did any of them.
When I got back from hospital today, my double sided sticky interfacings had arrived. This meant I was able to attempt to salvage a special tee shirt for DH. I did a test run, and then I did the real thing.
My test run showed me that I needed to apply an oversized piece of stabiliser to the back of theold shirt before cutting out, then cut out, then trim to size.
It all worked really well.
I picked a grey tree shirt to pick up on the grey in the logo, a white tee shirt would have looked dreadful.
DH was a bit surprised, and seemed reasonably happy. Not ecstatic. Not over the moon that I had saved his tee shirt.
But at least not annoyed that I had destroyed his original tee shirt.
He has another tee shirt that needs doing, one which has a front and back design. I'm not entirely sure he'd be happy about it, so I'll ask him first next time.
I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
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Total crafty things this year: 41
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
28) Replace waistban on massively oversized maxi skirt
29) Salvage DH's Firestorm tee shirt
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
I feel like I'm treading water.
I had some bad (but not the worst) news about my cousin (MIss T's dad) last week: he has throat cancer. It's treatable, and the treatment has a reasonably high success rate. He has a few additional MRI type scans to be done before he can start treatment, as the last scan showed some other oddities that need investigating.
We'll know about the scans sometime next week, and all we can do is wait.
He's (or appears to be) quite sanguine about it. Mrs Cousin, understandaby, not so much.
......
Separately, and starting before I got that news, we are waiting for Nora to die She's had something happen which means she can't see (she's blind in one eye anyway) properly, and can't feed herself. I've given her daily doses of vitamins, and I've been helping her feed and drink several times each day.
She's not going to get better, and I thought about asking DH to cull her. I haven't asked him yet because , she isn't ready. And I mean she isn't ready, it's not me pretending that she isn't ready because I'm not ready.
Unlike Gloria, who made it clear she was ready and sat in the nestbox patiently waiting to slip away, Nora comes out of the run into the garden each day. She finds a spot away from the others, and sits in the sunshine. If I go out with treats, she comes running (but then can't actually get any, so I have to take her out and hand feed them to her.). She goes to bed each night and, until last night, was actually going up the steps into one of the coops to sleep.
Last night, she chose to use one of the nestboxes in the run. These are easy for her to get into and out of, and I'm a bit surprised she didn't take this option earlier. Last night she refused to eat, but she did drink.
She's our oldest girl, 10 going on 11, so we've known for a couple of years that she's likely to go at any time. As always, I keep hoping that she'll go of her own accord, before we have to cull her. We won't let her suffer, and I have to remember that it's "better a week too soon than an hour too late".
I guess it won't be long.
.....
I'm waiting for my Echo.
......
I'm going to do some sewing. I started to make a pair of leggings using Apostophe Patterns MyFit Leggings. My fabric choice wasn't right, so I'm not hopeful about them. I got so far and stopped, and I've been procrastinating.
Today, I will finish them.
I will replace the waistband on that skirt.
I will try the Velcro Hook and Loop on the bra that I use for exercise.
 |
| Burritto rolled bag |
It worked really well! Sadly, I didn't realise that it was going to be two coordinating fabrics, so I made mine out of two pieces of the same fabric.
 |
| No exposed seams (outside) |
The "no exposed seams" only applies to where the two fabrics are joined. The inside side seams are still there. I did try and work out if I could add a lining to hide the inside seams but I don't understand enough, about how and why the burrito method works, to be able to work it out.
 |
| Noexposed seam (inside) |
I need to sit down and play a bit, and I need to be in the right frame of mind to learn. I'm not there at the moment.
But the bag is cute, and I can see me using the idea for present wrapping as well. Thank you Jane.
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Total crafty things this year: 39
Sewing based makes:
123) Inner pad for foot muff; make cover for foot muff; trim down Superking Duvet to KS and recover edges;
456)Cushion cover for Miss T; Gift bags for Miss T and GDK;
7)Dressing Gown;
8-10)Cat Duvet, Duvet Cover and Pillowcase;
11) Cushion cover for living room;
12-15) Sleeveless tops (x4);
16) SBCC top
17) Overlocker chicken
18) Curtains for nest boxes (4, but counted as 1 make)~
19,20,21)Boxers for DH (test pairs for sizing - counted as 1, and then 2 pairs)
Abandoned muslin for LoveNotions Willow Wrap Dress (not counted in total makes)
22)Apostrophe Patterns Joggers (jellyfiah and space)
23)Apostrophe Patterns Flared Joggers (black, with big red roses)
24)Boxes for DH (3 pairs using black cotton lycra with patterned fly)
25)Shorten the hems and sleeves on 4 of Mum's day dresses (count as 1 task)
26) repurposed old tee shirt as cover for mini cushion
27) Burrito rolled bag (from Jane's July Zoom)
Learning activities:
1)
Scanning pattern pieces; 2) Making movies; 3)Babylock demo day;
4)Gathering using my overlocker; 5) Euphy training (circles,using
elastic in looper);6) Gail Yellen's binder course; 7) Inkscape 1; 8)
casting on; 9)purling; 10)casting off
Last night I went out to put the Girls away and, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something dead under a shrub. I thought it was a hedgehog, and I'd seen something pink, so I guessed it had been half eaten.
I hurried the Girls in, and then I went to investigate. It wasn't a hedgehog. It was Sunshine, one of my lovely leghorns. (The pink I'd seen, and out of the corner of my eye assumed to be guts, was her comb).
I ran to the house to get a towel and to get DH to come and have a look.
 |
| Sunshine (centre) with Astrid (right) and Sylvia |
We wrapped her up carefully in one of my good towels, and then double bagged her. She's currently in the freezer, waiting for the next bin day.
It was a complete an utter shock. and it upset me much more than the death of Gloria because of that.
I've got 5 girls that I fully expect to go at any time. Norah, Poppy, Katy, Phyllis and Fleur. I'll be sad to lose any of them (some more than others, to be honest) as they have all been part of my life for a long time. But they are all old (for hens), and I've already made sure they've been told (and told and shown) how loved they are, so I'm prepared for them. The younger hens, well, I just didn't expect it.
I've always loved the character of Leghorns. Loony, flighty birds, with a reputation for being difficult to tame. I've never found that. All my leghorns have been the friendliest birds, and I will always have space in my flock for one.
Sunshine and Astrid, my golden partridge leghorns, are both lovely characters, and very different to each other.
Sunshine is was a particularly interesting little girl because she is was so fascinated by Other People (those who aren't chickens).
She studied the cats at great length, and always wanted to chat to them and talk to them through the netting.
She studied us, very carefully. She liked to observe when we had visitors.
She was always interested in what everyone was doing - not in an attention seeking way, she didn't want to be part of it, she just liked to observe closely just from a distance. She always seemed to be studying us scientifically, like we were mice in a maze she'd created.
She loved her food, happy to accept treats from my hand, was very tame., and tolerated being picked up. She knew and responded to her name.
It's just not right without her. I'm happy and lucky to still have Astrid, of course, but hens aren't interchangeable. Yes, I can hatch another leghorn (at some point), but it won't be Sunshine.
I don't have any individual photos of her as an adult,Bye bye poppet.
Hmm, well, the thuddiness came back with a vengeance. The ectopic beat is no longer regularly every 4 beats, it's very erratic... and it's now sometimes an extra lub dub, sometimes a lubduplubdup, and sometimes worse.
The cough also returned. Four days ago I was in hospital so, although unlikely, it was possible that the cough was Covid. The News has been full of how different the symptoms of the Delta variant are, and how many people just aren't bothering to get tested (and thus why the virus is spreading so quickly).
So, I booked a proper PCR test. My local test centre didn't come up on the options. There was a walk-in place relatively close, and a drive-through place a bit further away. I didn't want to be walking or queing near people when I was coughing so much,so I opted for the drive through.
I was assigned a half hour slot, with instructions not to be early.
I arrived at the beginning of the half hour. It was a pop up mobile unit in a temporarily requisitioned public car park. It wasn't signposted, but it was easy enough to find. There was just one other car in the car park when I arrived, but by the time I left, about 15 minutes later, there were probably 12 cars. Some cars had one occupant, some had several.
It was easy to do. I'm used to doing lateral flow tests, and the swabbing bit is the same. The test result came the following morning, and was negative.
No surprise, but a relief all the same.
The heartbeat symphony continues.
