Christmas Eve, and I am wallowing in nostalgia over a photo box and memories of Christmas past.
On a top branch of the tree is a blue glittery eggshell that Josh made in nursery - he is now twenty - and a stocking made by my great aunt Carol more than forty years ago hangs on my living room door.
Me 'n' Santa, early/mid 70's. I still had a very tight hold of my mum's hand in this photo!
My now adult son is out with fifteen of his closest friends while I am home alone. Home alone with two snoozing cats and a plate of goats cheese and chilli jam...oh, my goodness, how much do I love goats cheese!!!
The lights on the Christmas tree are twinkling, presents are wrapped and Bethlehem is on the news - a very different Bethlehem to the Bethlehem I remember from the 1980's. Then, it was still possible to clamber down the hills from a Jerusalem kibbutz and in to Bethlehem, without need of a passport.
Merry Christmas!!!
Sunday morning.
Chocolate brownies, a half finished Christmas tree and a full eight hours sleep. EIGHT HOURS!!!
After a fortnight of working till after midnight, sewing machine whirring regularly at 1 am, erratic eating, baking at midnight - finally, I can see light at the end of my owl tunnel. Just four owls to go...
These are three of six owls that went to Edinburgh last week. I love these fabric combinations.
Ten months in, and this is my first Christmas trading as The Sherbet Patch.
Phew!!! November - busy, busy, busy.
December - swamped with order deadlines, but today I can see a chink of light in the owl paraphernalia that has slowly taken over my front room. I'm on the home stretch with my order book, and there will be room for a Christmas tree after all!
Exhausted. And looking forward to a two week break over Christmas. The last time I had more than a day off from sewing was July. Self employment is tough, but satisfying. I've learned a lot this year.
I source my material from many different places - online, independent retailers, Liberty, John Lewis...Brick Lane. However, you can't beat the satisfaction gained from unearthing a gem in a charity shop, and the gorgeous (fully lined!) tweed above - complete with original labeling - was found lurking amongst the polyester duvets in a Swansea charity shop. Love at first touch!
Of all the fabrics I have in my stash, this has got to be my all time favourite!
It is the epitome of 70's flower power, once an original 1970's St. Michael's curtain, and now a groovy, snoozy cat doorstop.
http://folksy.com/items/3900726-Snoozy-cat-doorstop-Marigold
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
11.56 on a gloomy Sunday morning, a morning just 23 days before Christmas! How did that happen? I must admit to being pretty jaded about Christmas, the magic disappearing once children grow up and away, and Father Christmas is relegated to little more than a cartoon character. And what exactly do you buy MEN???
But there is one thing I do love about cold, December evenings. A fire - a real, log fire roaring in the grate, and my dad is particularly wonderful with log foraging.
There is something mesmerising about a fire; the flames, the hiss and spit of the logs and toasty toes.
And although I may be missing the magic of Christmas, I am loving the fantastic Christmas fabrics on sale this year, particularly this red reindeer material. It is a cream and red cotton fabic by Kokka, which has a crisp, timeless, Scandinavian feel to it.
http://folksy.com/items/3892706-Festive-owl-cushion-23cm-tall-
This week I have also been pondering how easy it is to let friendships slide. In this age of technology it should be easier than ever to keep in touch, but I must be getting lazy, as I discovered yesterday that a very dear friend got married thee weeks ago and I knew nothing about it! Admittedly, he lives a thousand miles away in a beautiful part of Israel, but as part of a large group of friends still in touch after 20 years, I was amazed how few of us knew that Shimon had got married and we'd somehow missed it! Obviously, men aren't very good at passing on information. Unless it's a football result...
