With the pandemic came...retirement! I finally decided that to keep my sanity, one less stress might help! I'll miss my work colleagues, helping them problem solve and knowing what they're up to in their stalwart and very brave efforts to meet the challenges the NHS now faces, but I won't miss getting up early, sitting staring at a screen and office politics!
AND of course I now have more time for my garden and making all you lovelies out there the bags you ask for!
Another colleague made the same decision, at the same time and our team, unable to give us the usual sort of send off with 40+ people wanting to attend a farewell party, came up trumps with a lovely tea, huge bouquets, bunting and balloons and lovely gifts which they brought to my back garden! So we had just a small gathering to keep within the guidelines, but it was a very lovely afternoon, all the same! Here are a few pics to show you how it was! (Click on a pic to enlarge.)

The seat cover made a lovely cross body bag-I had thought it would go onto Etsy to be sold but needless to say I can't part with it-it's part of my family history!!
UPDATE: (30/12/18) And I've since discovered that a cousin in New Zealand also made cushions in this design, following a trip to the UK many years ago, when one of mum's sisters gave her the materials and pattern to make them! So even more of a family piece than I had realised!

Designed by mum as an upright chair seat cover this cross-stitch is very typical of the 1970's. When 70's colours went out of vogue the seat was re-covered, this was washed and placed aside in the linen cupboard, where I found it again recently. The colours and design now appeal to a new generation and Mum's quite happy for me to repurpose it, so I'm going to attempt to make it into the back and flap of a clutch bag.
I have a lovely golden dupion silk to make the front and lining, so we'll see how that works out!

I spotted it on Ebay and did the usual sneaky snipe with 7 seconds to go at the end of the auction and won it for £25. So at that price I was willing to have a go at customising it.
I wanted it navy blue, but paint suppliers had bright blues, smokey blues and green blues but no navy, unless I had it custom made for mega-bucks.
I took a chance and bought two 150ml pots of Annie Sloane chalk paint-one in Napolean Blue and the other in a graphite grey, hoping that would be enough paint for the job and that mixing the two would result in the desired colour. I also bought a pot of chalk paint wax as I wanted a shiny finish.
I gave the cupboard a good wash with sugar soap and washed off 50 or so years of dirt and furniture polish. I sanded the cross pieces as I wanted them to give a yellow/orange contrast to the blue.
Then came the paint mixing. I added a teaspoon of graphite to the blue and mixed vigourously! No perceivable difference, so I added another two teaspoons and stirred vigourously, but still bright blue! To cut a long story short, I continued in this vein. a couple at a time, and finally thought s*d it and tipped the whole lot in! A glorious dark blue emerged, navy but on the side of airforce blue. Gorgeous!
I applied it with a small sponge roller, because we'd had good results with our kitchen cabinets, using this method, but I didn't take into account that the kitchen needed a matt finish and I wanted a shiny one! Trying to work the clear wax into all those little orange peel bumps was a nightmare and as much as I applied the wax, waited 24 hours for it to dry and buffed with an electric buffer (x3) I couldn't get the desired effect. Wahh!
Back to square one-sand it all back (three coats of wax clogs up the sandpaper something rotten!) and try to get rid of the bumps with relative success and try repainting. And  that means I've spent more money. Maybe buying a finished cabinet would have been a better idea?

Well I'm afraid I still couldn't get it right so I finished it off with some lovely retro fabric, designed by none other than Heather Moore of Skinny laminx fame!
And THEN-I put it back onto Ebay!! Hopefully someone will like the shabby chic look or will have more energy than me to do a proper job! Sigh!
UPDATE: SOLD! And looks fab on a parquet floor in someone's lounge! Would you believe it!

My dear mum, Willa likes to be busy all the time.  And as for many of us who were born to post war mothers, I have been inspired by the 'make do and mend' generation and in mum's case, the 'don't sit idle' generation!
Over the years she has taught me to knit and crochet, to sew, to paint silk and constantly badgered me to have something on the go! What are you working on at the moment Ruth? is usually the question!
It was because she kept asking continually, when I was going through a difficult period in my life that had sapped my creativity, that I eventually took up bag making. It was a slow and reluctant process to begin with, but with friends and family responding well to my efforts I soon caught the bug and many years later I'm still at it!
Well that was a long winded introduction to preface that we have a little collaboration going on! At 88 mum might not be quite so able as she used to be but still wants to be busy. She sits and cross stitches binca (you know - the stuff they gave us at school to practice our stitches on?) However once every lamp and vase has a mat under it, there's only a certain number of cross stitch mats you can use! And Dad was beginning to raise his eyes skywards each time another was completed and yet another started!
So we tried folding them up and found they made rather funky retro style purses! Pictured below are the results of adding a lining, a zip or a flap fastening. Six went onto Etsy and we sold four within three days! Mum's really chuffed and inspired to make more, so keep an eye on Etsy - you may see something you like and I can promise you it won't be a mat!

You know you have just the right fabric to make a lovely retro bag, but you can't remember which box it's in, and you have to go digging or turn it upside down to find what you want. Finally you come to the realisation, that despite your up-bringing that taught you to be frugal, you're going to have to spend your Christmas money and a bit more on some proper storage.
Well-thank goodness for Ikea online. No more traipsing miles around the warehouse filling up your yellow bag with Tillstellning cheap napkins (and you can't make up your mind whether to go for practical white or that lovely green, so you get both and they last you the next ten years!) and kitchen utensils Gnarp and Trojka that you don't need and can't pronounce! Instead you sit in the comfort of your own home and happily spend umpteen £££ on some shiny new cupboards, a new table and a little table top shelf unit. It felt so decadent but oh so good!

Seven brown boxes were efficiently delivered by an affable top-knotted lad and his grinning brawny mate. We had to get it all upstairs (no - keep it at this angle and bump it up!) and putting them together was problem free-we're dab hands with a powered screwdriver! Well the other half is - I'm good at deciphering instructions! Then came the fabric sorting and re-organising, which took a couple of evenings.
I am somewhat smug at the result. Red retro fabric? Right hand cupboard, third shelf down on the left. (By the way I'm running out of napkins...)

I'm not a dedicated follower of fashion, but when I heard that Burberry were promoting their latest collection in collaboration  with the Henry Moore Foundation I was most intrigued to know how that would look...
Burberry have an exhibition space in one of the old Foyle Bookshops in Soho, now called  'Makers House', so we went along to find out one Sunday afternoon in Feb. The queue went down the road, round the corner and back again! Difficult to say from looking at the clientele, who was the pull-had they mostly come to see the fashion or the sculpture or maybe like us they wanted to see how one played against the other? Two very slim fashion conscious japanese guys with poker straight precision cut hair, were ahead of us in their Burberry - it gave me the chance to appreciate the attention to detail in the trench coat one of them wore. He had the collar up to show a contrasting Burberry plaid, set off with a leather strap complete with buckle, non functioning, as far as I could tell, but very smart. This didn't prepare me for what was to come.

It didn't take too long for us to reach the front of the queue and then the journey of discovery began!
I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

I was excited to see that Burberry had taken some of Moore's sketches to create some most unusual printed fabrics.

For more info about Henry Moore follow this link: www.henry-moore.org/

A totally fascinating experience - a little peep into the world of haute couture, but most importantly how one great artist had inspired another.

 

















Having completed a further five bags using fabulous Henry Moore designed fabrics, I needed to deliver them to The Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green. As I was on holiday from my day job, Fred and I decided to make a day of it. The new Visitors Centre is a wonderful welcome as you arrive, spacious and airy with, of course, a lovely new shop and coffee shop overlooking the green, so you can view some of the sculptures as you sip your cappuchino!
I handed over the bags which were well received as the first five had sold out two weeks previously!
Images of 'Zig-zag, treble clef and safety pins' and 'Heads' fabrics reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation'

We signed up for the tour of Moore's home, which was fascinating, slipping carpet protectors over our shoes, we tiptoed round, whispering in awe of all the amazing treasures filling the main reception room, enjoying the cosy feel of the family sitting room and admiring the grand dining room. The kitchen was classic fifties style and a real step back in time.

We spent the rest of the day discovering Moore's studios in the grounds of his home and learning about the processes used in designing and creating the incredible sculptures we were able to view within the perfect backdrop of the grounds surrounding the house. There is so much to see with lovely walks through a wooded area, around the grounds and across fields of sheep.

By the time we were ready to go home (five hours later!) the bags were in situ lit up behind glass in prime position. It was a most enjoyable and memorable day.
I would encourage you to go if you ever have the chance! Click here for a link to the
​Henry Moore Foundation website.

​And here it is. The  Vesta treadle sewing machine, made by LO Dietrich of Altenburg, Germany, housed in it's 'parlour cabinet'. Not as pretty you might expect from the name: Vesta, who was the Roman Goddess of the Hearth and Home, but pretty practical and definitely an integral part of the hearth and home!

Before I had the luxury of my own sewing room, mine sat in the dining room with a lamp on top and served as a furniture piece, as it was intended originally! Now it stays open and ready for action!

​The machine came to me with an original tin box housing all the extra feet and tools and a marvellous etching of the manufacturer's factory inside the lid, a collectible in itself!  
​I inherited a supply of needles  and I must confess (being self taught) it wasn't until recently that I discovered the remaining needles, that I had been routinely using were far too fine for the job in hand. I broke so many! Enlightenment came when I went to a class held by Norah Stocker of Fantasia Textiles and found I should be using needles three times the thickness. Not sure why I hadn't worked it out for myself!
The handbook has also survived but I have to handle it very gingerly as the pages are so brittle. An additional instruction book shows all manner of rather clever techniques to master : not sure I'm into festooning and monogram embroidery but who knows, it might come back into fashion-most things do!