Dillon my favourite animal!! And that cat!

Dillon charms the socks off everyone he meets.The anorak & I  love him to bits.Dillon loves chasing a ball.  Other dogs mug him for it!!  And he lets them!!

Sooty the cat.  Why Sooty?  Who knows, blame the previous owners.  He's just cost me £41 at the vets, he's developed an allergy to ..............fleas!!  Now I've just got to gut the house all over again.  he meanwhile is quite content to taunt the dog.

Confusion reigns.

Talk about confusing.  I had the bright (?) idea of knitting up some yarn to give me some knit yardage to play with for the SWAP, but of course the colours are all DRAB.  Olive green, some beige, lots of grey - OK grey I can use - some navy but not enough for a top.  Bright pink cotton, & maybe enough white for a simple top.  I've twisted different colours together to see what they look like & they still look bleh to me.  I'm going to have to experiment with tuck & slip stitches to see how they look.  The problem stems from having a little stash left over from when I knit my Dad jumpers, he looked good in drab colours, & the stuff that came with the freecycled knitting machines I collected.  Obviously colours that no one else wants either!  Oh & I can't wear acrylic which is what the remainder of the yarn is.  Better go & set up a machine I suppose & see if it will work.  That'll be the next problem.

Thoughts on SWAP

I've got my pants base pattern sorted.  I will need to rehash it for jeans & make some changes for dog walking pants but the base is good.  I was inspired by David Page Coffins "Making Trousers" book that  my DD gave me for Xmas.  I haven't put it down - well apart from when I was drafting & amending muslins that is.  It re-enforced the need to get the fit right before I began on the details of construction that this book is all about. 
Now what to do about the plans?  I've been given a LBD by my daughter that I really need to shift the last 7lbs to look better than OK in, but will it fit in with the SWAP plans?  My lifestyle doesn't really involve getting dressed up but as we all know a LBD can look good in the right place / occasion as long as black is a good colour on you.  It is on me fortunately.  And should I ever need to go someplace all dressed up then it fits the bill perfectly.  So do I include it?  Or not?  Or do I start a second SWAP?  Or even another for all the other possibilities that keep entering my head? 
The current loose plans are based around the Smarties jacket which is a black, but looks dk grey, denim with pink & purple buttons.
The 4 bottoms will be :
black(ish) jeans
dog walking pants - probably lined for the cold weather as I have a lighter weight pair (though as they are currently being used with thermals under they may need replacing sooner rather than later)  Not sure on colour though something that goes with my pink or red fleece jackets might be a good idea.  I don't fancy black though.  Grey perhaps?
Smarter pants - probably black pinstripe Marlene style for going out & teaching (if I get the required student numbers next term), & all my black pants are too large & don't appear to be that straight forward to take in.  When they fit I wore them a lot.  The only hiccup is that I'll need to buy fabric as all I have suitable in the stash is navy wool & that don't fit with the rest of the plans!
Do I go with a skirt for the 4th piece?  I've stuck with pants as I've not had a suitable pair of shoes/boots for skirts the last few years but my DD gave me some Ugg lookalike boots for Xmas & I could get away with a longish skirt now.  Black seems likely but that means I have a lot of black,  then again I wear black as a base colour a lot if I'm  not in denim jeans.  Hmmmm, maybe a denim skirt?  Not sure on this one.
6 Tops:
Possibly a number of variations on basic long sleeve tees.
A couple of shirts - I fancy a couple of stripe ones, & maybe a warm western style check one to go with the dog walking pants. 
I do have a bought long sleeve tee that I could substitute in place of a sewn one if I get stuck, in purple, tha would go with the jacket that is my own choice garment.
But of course I could base my SWAP around the navy wool pants I plan on making now (as I already have it) to test the pants draft properly, then I'd need to rethink a few things.  I know I don't need to make it all matchy matchy but if I have random colours then I run into the snag of pairing up what with what?  And it won't look like it all came out of the same woman's wardrobe (closet).  Of course whatever I decide will involve buying more fabric as I have little if anything suitable in the meagre stash & money is in short supply right now.  May even mean I have to pull out of SWAP altogether but I do need clothes that fit me now.  Oh bugger. Decisions will have to be made somehow.  Maybe I'll just have to go with whatever I can find in the cheap shop & make it work.
Now I've hit a snag - these constitute two separate clothing needs I think & may not fit into the SWAP rules so I'll have to await confirmation of possible solutions to this.  I don't need a full SWAP for either casual (dog walking) or smart casual (ie teaching) so I'm stuck.  Better just get on with the navy pants I guess.

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  For myself I hope our financial situation improves so I can stop worrying & I very nearly have a good fitting pants sloper that I can base my SWAP pants on.  Not that I've got any fabric sorted yet, although there is some cheap denim on sale in town that would do a pair.  How long they would last is unknown but beggars can't be choosers.
I've taken up knitting & find it relaxing, a pair of socks & a hat so far with another hat in production.

SWAP 2010 The Candy Shop SWAP

It's that time of year again.  I started & fell pretty much at the first fence last year.  This time the rules are different & I really think this time I can make it work.  I've chosen Option 1:
6 tops - t-shirts, shirts, blouses, or camisoles
4 bottoms - jeans, pants, shorts, skirts or kilts.
1 your choice (not an accesory)
2 garments may be purchased or previously sewn.

1 may be knitted or crocheted.
1 will be a matched print or stripe.
1 will feature embroidery, beads or sashiko.
1 will have buttons as the star feature OR use unusual or alternative closure(s).
 
Now as a rule I dress  fairly conservatively, BUT I just made a jacket that goes a little way outside my usual comfort zone & I like it & I like that everyone who has commented has done so favourably.  Put simply I wanted about 5 buttons but couldn't find enough that matched in the vintage button stash at work - I won't buy any if I can help it when there are so many in this stash!  Then I spotted some pink ones & remembered I had some pink top stitching thread, except there weren't enough pink so I looked again & found some identical purple ones.  Thus the Smartie jacket came into being!
 

This now fits in with the buttons as a star feature, own choice garment & one previously sewn.  It's a black stretch denim twill with a lighter thread so I could get away with grey pants as well as black & I wear it with blue jeans too.  Quite versatile.  I will need to think a bit more about what pants I make as they will need to be able to be worn with the jacket.  Tops will likely be a mix of tees & shirts.  I have visions of maybe three or four shirts each named after a sweet or two!!!  I will start to go through my big stash of Burda WoF later for inspiration.  In the meantime how does Blackpool Rock, Humbug or Peppermint Cream sound for a blouse?  Stripe?  Hmm.  I think I can do this if I cut creatively eg. on the bias, maybe side panels on a princess seamed top or a  chevron effect on a yoke.
I have to remember too that I dress for comfort & practicality.  I walk to work in all weathers, but have a uniform when I get there.  I walk the dog nearly every day so need pants for that - I generally put walking boots on for comfort.  I go into town maybe once a week, often on foot, usually in what ever I happen to be wearing but I need to make more of an effort.  Finding comfortable, practical but good looking & reasonably priced shoes is always a hassle for me & does affect what I end up wearing.  The designer in me is having a field day, especially as I need to really start thinking outside the box a little & get more adventurous.  Trouble is I can envisage another swap along side this one called Chocolate Heaven to go with a jacket my daughter bought me two years ago that doesn't get worn very often.  All this food thinking must be due to being on a weight loss plan.  VBG.

Pork

Pork was always chops or sausages or paté but now I've been educated.  I spent an hour back at Sillfield Farm with Peter Gott & learned a little more about the pig.  And wild boar.  But mainly the humble porker.   Peter showed us how they butcher pork & which cuts benefit what method of cooking.  Being a fan of slow cooking ('specially now I've got a slow cooker) & usually this means cheaper cuts of meat, I found it very interesting.  Needless to say I came away with some "steaks" best suited to slow braising, probably Monday or Tuesdays tea.  Oh & some wild boar stuffed chicken rounds.  I have ideas aplenty for paté too!  I really want to just buy my pork from Peter now I've seen his pigs, stroked one of the boar & seen the piglets!!   Proper British pork, outdoor reared & welfare top of the list.  The prices aren't bad either.  It does help to see & understand how our food is produced.  Next on the list?  Need to find a beef farmer, chicken farmer & sheep farmer who do what Peter Gott does down at Sillfield.  Kendal Food Festival is something I do hope is repeated, it has been well worth it for my food education, not to mention my sons.
Tonights tea was slow cooked supermarket pork steaks, supplied by mother.  Potentially bland.  Flavour was added in the form of apples & onion & fresh sage.  Easy recipe, brown the meat in a little butter, put in casserole, brown the onion & apple in same pan, add to pork.  Deglaze pan with a little white wine, or cider &/or stock, pour over pork & put in slow cooker & forget for 6 + hours.  Stir cream in before serving if desired.  Served tonight with reheated braised red cabbage & apple, (much improved by reheating), roast butternut squash, roast left over new potatoes with sage, carrots & green beans.  Filled me up & set up Joe for an evenings trick or treat.

Food, glorious food

Kendal Food festival has been a very good idea I think.  We've enjoyed it so far!  Joe in particular.  The only drawback is that it's half term week - good for the kids - but it's also the last week of the month & money is in short supply.  So we've been limited as to what we could do.  However money was very well spent on the sausage making course down at Sillfield Farm with Peter Gott.  We came away with over 2KG of unique own recipe sausage & boy are they good, not mention cheaper than we could buy anywhere made with free range pork & a low fat content.  I do like to know what I'm eating isn't rubbish.  Today Joe made bread rolls for free courtesy of Kendal College.  They're good too & will be warmed up tomorrow for lunch along with homemade soup & paté.  Not to mention the lessons Joe has learned about breadmaking & sausage making & some of the science behind the recipe proportions.
Nearly forgot, I came across a blog by another South Lakes lady, Audreys Tea Shop, the apple & date chutney sounds yummy.  But the trip to Mums has provided me with some of her Autumn chutney & some spicy apple chutney, so I'm set up for a while now!