A Fab School Trip

Today I had the treat of accompanying Y6 on their trip to Crucial Crew in Rotherham. This was a really interesting day out and I am sure the children got lots out of it, I had heard about it as both of my children had been on the trip in Y6 but as I mainly work with younger children I had never been myself.

If you are not familiar with this, the whole place is set up like a film set so that the children can experience and learn about different personal safety situations in a lifelike setting.  A lot of the staff are volunteers but some are employees of the fire service, police and St John ambulance etc.  I felt it gave them a taste of what could happen in a way that we couldn't in school. Anyway this may not be of interest to everyone but I just thought I would share as education often gets a bad rap and we fail to celebrate all the wonderful work that goes on. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers at the Lifewise Centre Rotherham

Dinner today was very simple just some veggie roll things for me with a baked potato and beans and fish for my husband and younger son. The thing is I really enjoyed it, so I spend all this time trying to find new recipes and faffing about in the kitchen and the thing I enjoy the most all week is just the easiest, throw in the oven meal.

That is my working week done for this week and I really can't explain what a difference it has made to have Friday off.  Of course it  reduced my income but as I watch what I spend this has not made big difference.  Everyone lives to their means so you naturally make adjustments as your circumstances change, the only difference being I chose to reduce my hours.  

We are not all the same and I know some people recoil at the thought of buying second hand, DIY, home cooking and sewing their own clothes but for many these pursuits are not only money savers but also hobbies.  Time is precious and I don't think you can buy peace, so if you ae feeling overwhelmed have a look at where you can cut costs it might just save you a day a week.

Bits and Pieces

A few random bits today grouped under one heading, the first being the pieces of my dress that I am in the middle of making.  I did mention that I needed tops and that is still the case but the piece of fabric was big enough for a dress so it seemed a waste not to make one and have a big bit left over.

I still have unused patterns left from the sewing magazines that I got at Christmas but as I didn't like one of the patterns I tried I have just returned to cutting around my own clothing.  This always seems to work for me and the fit is much better with my try as I go approach.

Now this is the fabric that changes colour in different lighting, I have decided to do an elastic waist which will then have a belt worn over it and small sleeves, I am undecided at this point whether to line the dress or not.

Last week I decided to buy Vegan Food and Living magazine, I am not a fan of magazines in general as they are usually full of advertisements and  a bit of a waste of money.  The only reason I requested a couple at Christmas was because they contained free patterns so I had been debating with myself if it would be worth the five pounds to buy one about food.

Well I bit the bullet and it has been quite an interesting read  but sadly the first recipe I tried did not go down well.  My husband politely ate it but told me after it was bland, I felt the same to be honest and youngest son just said this is horrible.  Oh dear! 

It was three bean paella and did look promising in the photo and ingredients but I hate it when that happens as you feel like you have wasted time and money, I ate all that was on my plate I mean it was healthy if not that tasty but with so many flavours in there I am baffled as  how it could taste so dull.   I took left overs the next day to work not being one to waste food but it tasted even worse and did end up in the bin.  Here is the magazine photo...

Now I probably won't try everything in the magazine but I have decided to at least try one new recipe a week from it for the next few weeks, I will keep you posted and won't let this little mishap put me off.

The magazine did have some interesting reading and not that many ads so I was pleasantly surprised at that but I won't be buying every month as I don't think it is necessary, they do have interesting content on their website.

I find it quite amusing that the Buda bowls on the front cover are considered a recipe, surely that is just arranging different foods in a bowl? 

At the moment I am still reading this book...

It is good but it is one of those that seem to take forever and I had promised myself I would read more by authors of some depth, the thing is I can't just whip through them and I tend to stop and think for a while, or sometimes think 'what?' as there are some strange goings on.

Also getting a repeat read through was this little book...

Very short but such a lot of wisdom, I know the message so well but just need a reminder from time to time, we are what we think.

Today has been a beautiful day and I have had a lovely walk with the dogs when I got in from work, early finish today out on a school trip all day tomorrow.  There was also a bit of sitting outside with a cup of tea what a difference the sun can make.

Kale and Mushroom Risotto (Vegan)

Just recently I have been browsing lots of recipes, I feel the need to add some new ideas to what I eat as I have been rehashing the same recipes for a while now.  I think this is mainly because you come home from work and make the things you know will work, everyone (or some of you!) will eat and that don't take too long. The other reason is that I hate it when you come across recipes that require lots of ingredients that you don't have and may never use again.  This can be a waste, so often it puts me off.

While on holiday I made a recipe I saw in a Tesco magazine that was in the cottage we stayed in, tender stem broccoli with chilli and rice.  Now I ended spending a bit on ingredients there but I feel I will use them again as the dish went down well.

Yesterday I made Curried lentil balls from the Vegan Food and Living website, I forgot to take photographs but it was so nice and I have saved a portion for in the week.  Today we haven't strayed from home at all as we need to keep an eye on the little dog who is ill, he needs rest and can only have small amounts of food but I have to say he appears much better today and keeps trying to get the other two dogs to play.  I decided to cook some lunch and use what I have in so here is what I made...

Kale and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

300/400g of white rice (the cheap stuff)

100g of red lentils

1 veg stock cube

1 red chilli

2 garlic cloves

75g Kale

50g mushrooms

1 teaspoon Oregano

1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 cup vegan cheese sauce ( made with hot water and powder from Holland and Barret)

salt and pepper to taste

Boiled water as required

olive oil

1 small grated piece of Prosociano vegan cheese from Tesco (if desired)

Method

Wash and finely chop kale, chilli and one garlic clove, fry in the pan for a few minutes until the kale has halved in size.  Transfer to a plate and set aside, heat oil in the pan and fry the rice and lentils for a few minutes gently then add the stock. 

After a few minutes as the stock cooks down begin to add more water as required from a boiled kettle.

While the rice and lentils cook slice the mushrooms, after about fifteen minutes add the mushrooms and the other crushed garlic clove, cook for five minutes more then add the kale mixture, cheese sauce, oregano and yeast flakes.

Keep stirring as it cooks down and begins to stick, about another five minutes, add seasoning and serve. I added grated Prosociano vegan cheese once it was cooked and stirred through, I bought this on holiday and while it is not cheap I really like it and you only need a little.

Half Term Break

We have just returned from a break in Devon, we came home early as one of the dogs is ill so while he is resting beside me I thought I would update here a little. 

We stayed in a property that was converted from an old barn, it was very nicely done with lots of little touches like fresh flowers in  every room.  It had a living room upstairs with a nice balcony overlooking the owners land, very private and quiet. It was close to Barnstaple and we also visited Woolacomb and Bude while we were there.

The dogs loved being on the beach the downside being that now I am worried that it was something from the beach that has made the little one ill.

The photographs above are from the two days we actually had sunshine as mostly it was grey and overcast, in typical fashion it was glorious all day yesterday as we travelled home. We enjoyed the change of scene it is just a shame it was cut short.

I did spot a little fabric shop in Bude and bought two pieces of fabric...

This is a stretch chiffon.

This one is quite unusual, you can't see in this picture but it is brown in the daylight and green when you are inside.

I really want to do dresses with both but what I need are more tops as in reality that is what I will be wearing with jeans when I'm home walking the dogs.  Some thinking required first before I decide perhaps.

Japanese Pinwheel Patchwork Cushion

 This week I wanted to make a new cushion cover as one of them was looking a bit tired, I decided I would do a patchwork pattern that I have done before and is a favourite.  There is also the bonus that I had already worked out the square sizes for this cushion pad the last time I made it.

It is quite fabric greedy as you are folding the pieces in half and laying them over each other but it gives a really nice result.  This is also a good opportunity to use up all those old shirts as they look so much more interesting when folded together like this.

I started by cutting out my 16 bigger squares which form the backing of your block from a charity shop duvet cover.  Then I cut the first of my smaller squares out of an old shirt, fold in half and pin on.

Then I had to decide which other fabrics to use with it, this involved lots of getting bits out of bags and holding it against it.  I eventually decided on my three other fabrics and repeated the process the whole way around the square.  So it is a lot of squares for one side of a cushion.

Then you just sew them all together as you would usual patchwork squares, I kept mine all facing the same way this time, the last time I made this design I turned each square one turn to vary the pattern.

I love the colour combination this time and this cushion is my new favourite, it was worth the time mulling over the fabric to use.  It is made from the duvet fabric, two fabrics from old shirts (the red striped and the blue) green craft cotton and grey cotton from an old project.

I made a vent and put the zip on the back part the way down so as not to spoil the sharp corners of the cushion as the seams are bulky enough.  The back of the cushion is the red fabric.

Now that is one finished I want to make more but I really ought to do another style, I just need to find another pattern I like as much. We have family for dinner today so I probably won't get chance later but I can browse ideas this evening.

Up very early with the dogs this morning and read the whole book 'Think Small' by Owain Service and Rory Gallagher before my husband got up.  It was quite interesting detailing how we should all be chunking out goals into small steps as we are often put off by the enormity of what we want to achieve.  Obviously it said a lot more than that but that was the basic idea.

Decorating for Free and Odd Jobs

I've been quite busy this week without actually going very far, I decided that I wanted to repair and paint my oldest son's bedroom ceiling but then of course I had to paint the whole room.  Fortunately we always put away any odds and ends of paint in the garage so I had the white paint for the ceiling and some masking tape.  I also had the two colours left that I originally did his room in a couple of years ago, a mint green and a sunrise (opposite walls).

As I was on holiday from work I decorated over a few days, I did the ceiling one day and coving, the orange walls the next and the green walls today.  I also scrubbed down all the fitted wardrobes, the window surround was done last week.  I always try to something like this when I am off work, last holiday I rubbed down the living room and dining room floors and varnished them. This ensures I don't have to pay anyone to do jobs I am quite capable of doing myself and by breaking them down they don't feel as daunting.

Earlier in the week a neighbour also gave us  load of purple slate that he wanted he rid of because he had taken all he wanted out of the bag. This was great as we have that on our garden but it is wearing thin. (You know picking up after dogs, you always get a bit of slate with it!)  So I carried that around the back bucket by bucket as the wheel barrow won't fit through  the gate.  I'm really pleased as we were going to buy some, he wouldn't take anything for it either.  Earlier this year we gave him some vintage computer games that were my brothers a big box and a bag full and he was really pleased with those so nice gestures do flow around people.

Back to the decorating and I was going to say that when I decorated youngest son's bedroom I had some white paint left and I just bought some tester pots in a bold blue and made a really good shade of blue for his room, not free but nearly.  However people always have odd tins of paint left so if you are in need I am sure a few relatives may have odd leftovers of white left that they may be happy for you to take and if there is a colour in there why not experiment?   Paint is such a difficult thing to dispose of and not great for the environment so it is really for the best that we use every last drop once it has been manufactured.

Anyway after the DIY not a lot of sewing going on this week.  I did resize the charity shop dress that I bought...

I altered the shoulder by this much.

I have taken it in by this much at the sides but forgot to take a picture as I wore it Easter Sunday straight after I fixed it.

I made a new little coaster as my youngest dog keeps eating them as this is apparently a really fun game, quick chase me I have your coaster!

A bit of elephant fabric there for binding, remember I use every bit.

Oh and a birthday card, recycled bits of course.  Fabric from previous projects, the ribbon from inside a blouse (you know those annoying hanger tabs at the shoulder) button from an old shirt and recycled envelope and newspaper.  It has a green insert to write on.

Other things I have been up to this week; I have just finished 'Miracles' by C.S. Lewis, as  a friend of mine said he is hard going. I enjoyed it but I feel I will need to review it again, quite heavy stuff but so well written.

 I am loving listening to Switchfoot the band, I have heard them  before but lots of listening this week while decorating and now I am a huge fan, with a CD  on order. ( I know such a mum ordering a CD but I like them for the car.)

Also watching  a new series 'Department Q' BBC Four, only three of them but all feature length, Danish and very good acting.  Only watch if you are interested in crime dramas as they are quite intense in parts.  Maybe I will get more sewing done over the weekend.

Slow Fashion

This post is about something that tends to come naturally to anyone who sews many of their own clothes and that is slow fashion.  I'm sure it is the same for knitters, those who crochet and also those who thrift a lot of items through charity shops.   If you are creative then the process is part of the charm, you know where the item was produced (but not always the fabric) and you know that you have played a small part in it.  There is also the fact that if you have spent many hours producing a garment you will be less inclined to quickly discard it as a passing fad.  You have invested your time and energy into it so it means more to you.

Unfortunately this is not the case for many items of clothing, they are in one season and out the next.  Wearing out of season clothing is viewed by some with scorn and snobbery with no thought for the impact that  all of this is having on the environment or our fellow human beings slaving away to mass produce cheap fashion.

Some people may think well it's not that cheap I buy from expensive stores, well it still is really when you think about it.  Even if you shop high end, factor in the farming of the materials, grown or animal based, the cleaning, dyeing, stitching and shipping.  Anyone who makes their own clothes knows that the labour alone amounts to hour upon hour for some garments and that is without the rest of it, so yes mainly your clothing is cheap!

Years ago people used to buy made to measure here in the UK, they visited a tailor or dressmaker occasionally and buying an outfit was a big purchase for many.  While it is wonderful that we are able to buy for ourselves without experiencing such hardship it is also a shame that we have lost that sense of respect for the labour that goes into every item we own.

I appreciate that when I buy new fabric many of these same principles apply, it is not something I buy often and I use every last bit of it, I also try to source second hand and repurpose whenever I can.

Top made from a charity shop dress.

There is an interesting article here at Not Just A Label, still a more in the theme of mass fashion production but maybe leading things the right way.  Of course there is always going to be a need for inexpensive clothing but often it is not a need that drives people to buy new but  the desire to own the latest trend,  just something to think about.