A Knotty Problem

More years ago than I care to remember, when I was in what used to be called 4th Year Junior with Mr Pitson and Mrs Twyman, we 'did' the Victorians.  Aside from studying the pages of our fab Unstead history book...

... we were each allowed to choose our own Victorian-related project.  I became completely absorbed in embroidering a sampler of sorts, using my Mum's old chocolate box full of threads and a small blue Anchor booklet of stitches. 

I know I managed to master chain stitch, as I used it for my whole name (all 23 letters of it) in a rainbow of colours . I also used stem and satin stitch, though I remember lots of unsatisfied unpickings with these.  But the stitch that was a yearned-for mystery to me was the French Knot.  I would read the instructions and follow the diagrams, but with every attempt I would watch my 'knot' transform itself from the nubbly bobble it was meant to be into a plain and simple running stitch!

And so it continued for year upon year.  In the end I learnt to do something that looked quite a lot like a French Knot. But I knew it wasn't the real thing, looking a bit too 

sausage-like, not a perfect rosy circle.

Finally, just before Christmas, I decided to call upon the magic of the internet in a last ditch attempt to learn where I was going wrong.  And through the wonder that is Google, I stumbled upon the brilliant 'Stitch School', with an oh-so perfect posy of French Knotted flowers as its logo.

I followed the photographic instructions - you can find them here.

And lo and behold!  It worked!

Rosy roses at last!

The Longest Christmas Ever and a Return to Stitching

Having begun our family Christmas celebrations on December 10th,

 we finally concluded matters on the evening of the 5th January with a big present exchange!  This wasn't in an attempt to be alternative, but just because two of the offspring were abroad for Christmas and this was the first chance we had to all get together.

So the night before last (and because ripping, not dainty unpeeling, was the order of the day) this was the scene in our sitting room...

With lots of happy squeals and exciting presents!

For me, a bit of Hugh, plus some X-Factor related music, some delicious smelling Molton Brown and Lush goodies, a Jodi Piccoult and a half-share in Kevin McCloud's 43 Principles of HOME (good thing it's only a half-share - it's such a weighty tome I might need help to lift it!)


I like Principle 38.


"Buy some tools and learn how to mend things. Learn to repair, to polish, stitch, paint and refinish.  Repair and reuse what you own and invent new uses for things."


The 'Used-to-Bees' principle, no less!


Along with pressies from Christmas Day itself...

My lovely and much worn felt hat from Hyde Park Christmas Market

Because Miss U-t-B's knows how much I love University Challenge

Can't wait to get started on a project from here...

Lots of lovely ideas in here!

And the prettiest of coffee cups!

What a lucky girl I am!

So that was Christmas!  It's all packed away now, so the house looks a little bare and forlorn, especially given the grey and miserable rainy weather. Never mind - I've got those books to lead me into new and exciting projects!

So the return to stitching!  For that I need to go back in time, to earlier in the day of the 5th.  Did you spot the vintage gondola basket in the corner of the first photo?

 This was one of my 'bright' and 'that'll be quick' present ideas.  You can probably guess from the inverted commas how it turned out...


I began bright and early in the morning with a selection of 4 half metre lengths of Cath Kidston fabric and an old woollen Witney blanket (for cosy lining).  The idea was to make 6 pairs of guest slippers for the girlfriend of Mr U-t-B's son, who is mad about CK and has just moved into a house with chilly floors!  


I was using a pattern, but couldn't find any reference to whether it had seam allowances included, and seemed unable to engage my brain in the bleary early morning to make a sensible decision about this based on the size of my own foot.  I zoomed ahead and cut out a pair from each fabric.


So all morning I toiled happily.  


How sweet and DAINTY they looked...

Slippers fit for a Jane Austen heroine, I was thinking.

Hmmm...Even the men's version (my own pattern) look rather , dare I say it, small...

And with my (grubby- sorry) slipper beside them the full truth dawned. The pattern obviously didn't have a seam allowance.

So I made a new pattern and started over, on just two pairs this time!

By about six o'clock (offspring due at seven), the gondola basket contained three pairs of slippers, only one of which will fit adult guests, and my ironing board was littered with the detritus - two more nearly-finished pairs for children (or Jane Austen heroines) and one enormous pair that would do well for the Incredible Hulk.

Good thing the recipient is a lovely girl, who appreciated the effort and is happy to wait for the remaining pairs, once I've made them!

So back to the sewing machine!

Holiday Highlights Part Two

Luckily, Mr U-t-B's back was much better after sleeping through the Charades, Scrabble and midnight celebrations (was this just a ploy?) so when another day of clear blue skies dawned, he was raring to get out on the slopes.  Saturday is often the best day to ski, as it is 'changeover' day, with lots of   people leaving or arriving in the resort and consequently emptier pistes.

 I was rather glad to have a new recruit to all this skiing lark with us, as it gave me the chance to enjoy lots of blue runs, which often seem to be the prettiest, but also have the advantage that they allow me to look a little more like I know what I am doing than the moguls, reds and (eek!) blacks favoured by Mr and Miss U-t-B!

All the same, I did manage to do a passable impression of Bridget Jones on two occasions - my knee and my derriere are still reminding me as much.  Quite how I managed to fall off that lift is a mystery to me...

After a while we left the young love-birds to enjoy the slopes alone, and headed off to one of our favourite places for a warm drink.  

Mr Used-to-Bees loves the stove...

Miss Used-to-Bees loves the hot chocolate.

And I love the decor!

All kinds of interesting old bits and pieces dangling from the ceiling...

sitting on shelves...

and perched on ledges.

There's even a vintage Peugeot bike that is, I'm pretty sure, the blokey version of the ladies' one I bought at a vide-grenier the year before last...

Here's mine...

with its lovely details...

and original saddle...

Beautiful!

That afternoon I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms, not having done any stitching since before Christmas.  So I stayed in the apartment and did a bit of embroidering instead of risking any more Bridget Jones moments.  I've got a trio of orders from Folksy (finally!), all for cottage matchbox cosies, so had fun perfecting a newly learnt stitch.  As I can't find the lead for the camera right now (been put somewhere 'safe' no doubt) I will have to share the results of my labours later this week.


Sunday was an even quieter day than Saturday - the perfect ending to our holiday.  The 'Portes du Soleil' region was continuing to live up to its reputation, with most slopes basking in sunshine...

...though the lowest slopes, and poor old Morzine, were shrouded in freezing fog...

Hence this on the new recruit's hair...

We had a picnic lunch together, beside the piste, then Mr U-t-B and I left the three youngsters to their fun (jumps, log slides etc) and headed off for a quick blast.  I always finish early on the last day - something inside my head tells me to quit whilst I'm ahead and haven't broken anything!  A bit more stitching seemed a safer bet...


So that was our holiday!  I certainly had a great time, and I think everyone else did too!  The weather was especially kind to us, we ate well, got plenty of fresh air (and a little exercise!), blew the cobwebs out of our heads and relaxed.  The perfect way to end one year, and begin the next!

Holiday Highlights Part One

After our 'little' holiday hiccup (forgetting the keys to the apartment we were staying in and only realising once we were irreversibly headed toward France on the Eurotunnel... NOT an error we plan to repeat!) the rest of the holiday went swimmingly.  Thought I'd share some photos of what we've been up to.

First an all too brief stop off in beautiful Brugge...

Mr U-t-B and I would very much like to go back sometime!

Then, a journey down through Belgium and into France.  The Champagne region, as we passed through on the autoroute, was an amazing sight. The extreme weather had resulted in the branches of all the trees and bushes, along with the wire fences, being encased in a thick layer of crystal-clear ice!  Combined with the hoar-frost spiked grass, it was a scene of ethereal beauty - as if you'd stepped into Narnia, or the kingdom of the Snow-Queen.  

Sadly, it was impossible to capture this amazing scene as we whizzed by in the car - but maybe these branches from a service station car park can give a hint.


Arriving late at night, we slept soundly. This was the view from the window the next morning, as the sun crept up from behind the mountain.

We took it easy that first day, doing nothing more arduous than a bit of window shopping in nearby Morzine.


Christmas decorations...

Pottery...

Russian dolls....

Chocolates galore...

And a murky look inside my favourite - the needlework shop...

Next day we took to the slopes. 

Mr U-t-B was there too - but you can't catch him on camera once he has his skis on!


In the evening, there was a lantern release in the village.  Magical!

New Year's Eve was another day of clear blue skies.

In the evening, there was a Yeti carving 150kg blocks of ice with a chainsaw...

A torchlit descent from the top of the mountain by the ski school instructors...

And fireworks...

Then we whiled away the hours till midnight, playing 'Silly Scrabble' (invented words with feasible English spelling allowed, as long as a believable definition can be given) and Charades, and drinking Kir Royale.  Or sleeping, if your name is Mr U-t-B and you have been sent flying by the cord from a sledge in the firework-watching crowd and have a bad back AGAIN...

Happy New Year!

Wishing anyone who happens to drop in on my blog health, happiness and peace in 2011!