Wendy's Week - Airfix & Allotmenteering

Hello! I hope you all had a fabulous Easter if you celebrate it or a lovely rest if you don't!

I have been having a few technical issues with my website lately, so this is a little late but after much faffing here is what I got up to last week!

~ Airfix & Allotmenteering ~

-21st - 27th March -

Daffodils // Grumpy looking extras // Sewing Clips // Beau watching the birdies // Hair Bow Tutorial // Digging

- Filmed a video tutorial. I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking about making more use of the film mode on my camera and so I had a go this weekend at a little tutorial on how to make a hair bow just like the one I am wearing in this post, it's very simple and once edited I'll hopefully be brave enough to post it here, so you can see and hear what I am really like! I did actually film a little video just after Christmas as bit of an introduction to my blog and me but so far I have been far too shy to post it or properly edit it as, well it's a bit cringey, you can really tell how very nervous I was filming it (I was honestly shaking, despite being completely on my own at the time) but I am working on my confidence little by little and so perhaps I will get over myself very soon and be brave enough to publish it...perhaps!

- Went out for Lunch On Good Friday, I went for a lovely pub lunch with my good friend Alan so that we could exchange Easter eggs, you're never too old for chocolate! We discussed our plans for our upcoming outing to see the Syd Lawrence Orchestra in a couple of weeks. Despite eating my body weight in Vegetable Linguini and Manchester Tart (I had no idea this was even a thing, it was mighty tasty though! It did make me giggle no end to have to ask for two Manchester Tarts at the bar, but then I'm a child!). I must confess to getting a little tipsy and so on returning home nodded off on the sofa and achieved nothing much else for the rest of the day, whoops!

- Bought some fabric clips. I saw these Plastic Clip Clamps a few weeks ago and thought they looked like something that might be useful to add to my sewing kit, to hold together fabrics that are too delicate to pin and for adding on bindings to edgings. I had previously looked at getting some Clover Wonder Clips which retail at about £18 for 50, but I was put off by the price and so when I saw that these were very cheap at £3.38 for 80 and had great reviews, I decided it was worth the risk and gave them a go. I did have to wait about a month for them to arrive, which meant I had totally forgotten about them when they did, but now they are here I can honestly say they are very well made and totally worth the price and long delivery time. I will be putting them to good use very soon!

- Spent Saturday on the Allotment. That photo doesn't look staged at all, ha ha! My camera was precariously positioned on the water tank to take this! Finally, this Saturday I dragged my lazy behind over to my much-neglected allotment to begin the digging and weeding. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I'd been fearing, the soil is lovely and soft and so digs over really well, plus I've downloaded a new calorie tracker app on my phone, in an effort to loose some weight and have found that one hours heavy digging is supposed to burn about 700 calories, which is a huge amount, though I must confess I'm not sure my style of digging can be considered 'heavy', but even half those calories burnt is a good start and goes a long way to balancing out all the chocolate I consumed over the weekend!

- I Bought an Airfix Kit. Which made me feel a lot like a teenage boy, but you know what I don't care!  For years now I have fancied having a go an Airfix model but have resisted, I have bought kits for all the men in my life at some point, but to my knowledge not one of them has ever made them up and so they all sit waiting patiently in their boxes. So this weekend I used up some Amazon vouchers and took advantage of same day delivery (blows my mind) and bought myself a Battle of Britain kit! As well as being something I have wanted to have a go at for years, it will also hopefully help me to keep to my new resolution of watching less TV. I've realised that despite my best intentions I have become a bit of couch potato, which is really limiting how much I get done of an evening, so I have decided to restrict myself to an hour or so a day, which has so far been hard, very hard.  I can certainly knit and just about sew whilst watching TV, but having something that's a bit fiddly and needs utter concentration might actually help break me of the habit and hopefully, in the end, I'll have a little more to show for my time other than square eyes!

{ Image Source}

- All that said I did make time for some TV. Mr. Holmes is currently streaming on Amazon prime (I promise I am not sponsored by Amazon, I just seem to use them a lot!) and so I decided to give it a watch as I utterly adore Sir Ian McKellan, I want him to be my grandad! Mr. Holmes is a completely different take on the Sherlockian story. Set in 1947 the 93year old Holmes has retired to the Sussex coast to live the simple life tending to his bees, with the help of his housekeeper Mrs. Munro and her young son Roger. It's becoming clear to Holmes that he is losing his memory and so in a last effort to correct some of the misconceptions created by Watson's stories he is attempting to rewrite his last case, the case that broke him if he can remember the facts that is. For me it's not the unfolding case that is the best part of the film, it is the growing relationship between Holmes and young Roger, it really is so touchingly sweet and shows that Holmes has a not just an analytical but also a caring side, it's all rather lovely!

Wendy x

Wendy's Week - Fabric & Family

Hello! I hope you have been having a fabulous week and are looking forward to the Easter holidays!

Here is what I've been getting up to...

~ Fabric & Family ~

-14th - 20th March -

In Retrospect Magazine Issue 06 // Fabulous floral fabric // BBC Film Suite Francaise //
Pictures of Paris // Working hard or hardly working // Mum and Dad's Wedding Anniversary

- Said hello to my parents My folks were staying at my aunt and uncles in London for a few days to attend a family funeral, so as they live not far from where I work I was able to pop round for a few hours on Thursday and Friday for a quick chat and a bit of cake. It was lovely to see them despite the sad reason for their visit especially as they celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary this week!

- Worked on a Saturday The company I work for had an open day event at our warehouse in Enfield on Saturday, and so it was all hands on deck to keep everything running smoothly. It was actually a great day, since I spend most of my time working in an office on my own all day I don't really get to interact with many people so it was rather fun to get to chat to people and to be able to hold my own with collectors who love our models and know much more about them than I do! I made a little video of the day which has come out quite well considering I have not done that kind of thing before, which is tempting me to perhaps make more use of the video feature on my camera!

- Bought some beautiful new fabric from Clothspot! After reading Cate from a Vintage Gal fabulous post declaring her love for Clothspot, I decided to pop over and have a look at some of their fabrics, blimey they have some lovely stuff! After a spot of deliberation as what to choose I eventually opted for some slinky black and red floral satin, which I bought up the last of and some 1940s style blue and pink floral lawn which I am hoping to turn into a summery 40s tea dress very soon! I have to say I am really very impressed the fabric is very reasonably priced,the customer service was really excellent and the fabric arrived very quickly and beautifully wrapped, I am sure it wont be long before I am tempted again!

- In Retrospect This week the latest copy of In Retrospect magazine hit my doormat which is always a wonderful moment, as it is one of the only vintage specific magazines that I truly enjoy reading.  I shamefully have a post still sitting in my draft folder about my love of this magazine which hopefully I will post soon, but if you love all things vintage, then this might be the magazine for you!

- Watched Suite Française After work on Saturday I opted for a quick veggie dinner and to plonk myself in front of the TV for the rest of the evening with a massive bag of Monster Munch! So I was delighted when I spotted that Suite Française was being streamed on Amazon Prime as I've wanted to watch it for ages (Charlotte I think you might be psychic)! Based on a unfinished work by Irène Némirovsky, (who sadly died in Auschwitz before she could complete it) it is set during the occupation of France in the early part of WWII, and tells the tender love story between Bruno a German officer played by Matthias Schoenaerts and a French villager, Lucile Angellier played by Michelle Williams. It is a beautiful and sad film which reminds us there are good and bad people on every side of a conflict, which considering the fate of its author it makes it all the more poignant and of course there are some beautiful costumes too!

- Finally started editing my holiday pictures from last year! As you will see from the little picture of the Eiffel tower in the header, from my epic holiday last year with my family, I had promised them a CD slideshow of all the pictures ages ago, but as between us we took about a million photos I have been putting off editing them until now,  I might share a few here soon that is if I ever get to the end of them!

Wendy x

Wendy's Week - Tweets & Repeats

Hello! I hope you are having a fabulous week!

Here is what I've been getting up to...

~ Tweets & Repeats ~

- 7th - 13th March -

The force is strong with this...bag for life // Me and baby Bro // Beau blending in
// Gardening // Restless // A bit of sewing

- I joined Twitter. OK, I actually signed up a few weeks back it's just taken me this long to finally get to grips with it. I must confess I put off joining for this long as I am not great with spelling (partly why I post these on a Wednesday rather than Sunday!). Up until now, I have been more than content with just using Instagram as it requires only a pretty image and a few words (which are editable) but I am going to give it a go and see how I get on!



- Did a spot of gardening. It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, so I headed outside to get a bit of vitamin D on my pasty skin and to crack on with a bit of much-needed gardening, all with the assistance of the Beau of course. I'd love to say that it made a huge difference, but despite spending most of the day mowing cutting and tidying, it looks only a little less woolly and wild than it was before. but it got me out in the fresh air so it was worth it!

 - I embarrassed my little brother. It was my brothers birthday this week, so, of course, I had to share a picture of him I'd found in my recent cleaning endeavours. I have no idea why we were in the boot of the car amongst the spare tyre and what looks like my mum's homemade changing bag, but it makes a cute picture none the less and it suitably embarrassed him, I mean that's what older sisters are for after all! Though this photo is from the 80s, with my dad's vintage Sunbeam Rapier and my mum's hand crafted wardrobe you would never guess, it could quite easily pass for the early 60s! It's clear the love of vintage started very young!

{All Images from SundanceTV}

- I rewatched the BBC miniseries Restless. After the clear out of my living room last weekend I found, rather shamefully, that I'd got a fair few DVD's that were still in their cellophane wrappers! So on Sunday I sat down to rewatch Restless, an adaption of William Boyd's book of the same name. It is a spy thriller which alternates between the 30/40s and the 1970s and has a stellar cast. The lead is played by Hayley Atwell as the young Eva Delectorskaya with Charlotte Rampling who plays the older 1970s version, and I must say it is all rather gripping! I not having seen it since it was shown on Telly a few years back I'd pretty much forgotten most of the plot which was actually great as it meant that I could enjoy it afresh, plus it gave me another chance to swoon at all the fabulous costumes! I can totally see why Hayley Atwell got the part if Agent Carter (another show on my 'I need to watch' list), she suits the 1940s look perfectly and can certainly rock a sharply tilted hat!

Love Sewing Complete with 2 sewing patterns // Simply Sewing with a Tilly & the Buttons Blouse and some pretty fabric

- I bought a couple of Sewing Magazines. Along with my fab new Star Wars shopping bag, I might have had a little splurge on some sewing magazines! I don't buy them very often anymore, I actually used to subscribe to Love Sewing but decided to end my subscription last year as I found I'd never made up any of the patterns as lovely as they were, so it seemed a bit of a waste of money. But every now and then I treat myself when the patterns are tempting enough to make me part with my cash. This month Love Sewing has actually had two separate patterns a Jersey dress/top and the pattern that drew me in, the 5-in1 wardrobe builder which was rather tempting. Simply Sewing has a new 'Tilly and The Buttons' blouse pattern which also looked very appealing. I guess time will tell if I actually make up anything!

 - Also did a bit of sewing. But not that much, now it's becoming clear to me why it takes me so long to finish anything! I finally set to hemming my 1950s Box Pleat skirt, though I am still really not happy with it so I have left it hang for a couple of days and then will reassess it, this has been the most fiddly part of the whole skirt, but I am determined to get it right, eventually!

Have you been up to anything crafty this week?

Wendy x

Wendy's Week - Horses & Hyacinths

Hello, I hope you are having a marvellous March!
Here is what I've been getting up to this week...

~ Horses & Hyacinths ~

- 29th Feb - 6th March -

A bemused Beau // Mustard Miette // Me and Gus // Jessica Jones // Blooming Hyacinths // My  Mum in the 1960's

- I started watching Jessica Jones. After a slight detour via Unbreakable, I got the chance this weekend to watch Netflix's Jessica Jones.  I'll be honest, I am not one of the cool kids who has read the comic book, so I came to it not knowing anything other than it's by Marvel and so it's bound to contain superheroes, oh, and that it has a pretty enticing trailer. I've only watched three episodes so far, but WOW it's shaping up to be very exciting, it is a bit racy so if that kind of thing offends you you've been warned, I really love Krysten Ritter as the feisty Jessica Jones and as I said before it's got David Tennant in it so I'm definitely sticking around for more!

- Blooming Hyacinths. The bulbs I planted up last Sunday have grown a huge amount in just a week. They are now all in full bloom and are currently filling my flat with their amazing spring scent. As lovely as their scent is it is a constant reminder that I need to get active on my allotment, I have let it go by the wayside a little as I have so much to do over the last few months (or at least that's what I am telling myself..so busy) I really need to get digging and deciding on what seeds to plant, which is actually my favourite bit so not too difficult a task to get myself to get going on that!

"Carry on feeble human"

- Started the spring clean. On Saturday I managed to pluck up the courage to begin the spring cleaning I've been promising myself I'd do since January.  I started with the living room, which is where all my books and DVD's amongst other things are kept. My method for the sort out is simple; if it hasn't been used, watched or read in the last few years then it's in the charity pile. The exception being if I really love it then it can stay. So far it has worked quite well, I think partly because I am reminding myself that I can always buy another copy in the future if I really need to!

I've actually managed to make a hefty dent and my shelves are breathing a sigh of relief. Currently, my 'out' pile is stacked up on the kitchen table (behind that regal looking moggy) as a reminder to myself that I need to take them to the charity shop, soon. It has really made me aware that I have an awful lot of stuff that I just don't need, I mean had no idea I owned so many Jamie Oliver cookbooks (six), which apart from the one I am keeping I have never once used!  Next up, is the bedroom and being this is where all my sewing supplies and clothes are lovingly stored, I know I will find this a little (OK a lot) harder to be so ruthless with, but I know it's necessary!

Me and Gus (Emperor Augustus to give him his show name) with inquisitive Louis in the background

- Horses for courses. In my tidying, I found a CD full of photos from the years I worked as a Groom at a livery stable. I started my equestrian career, as short-lived as it was, after reading an advert in the local newspaper about an NVQ course in Horse Care at a local stable. Loving animals but never having ridden a horse in my life, despite always wanting to, it seemed a good, free, way learn and as I had just left college and was floundering with what I wanted to do as a career it was an interesting stop gap. From the minute I set foot on the yard, I loved it and felt at home in the mud and the fresh air (explains the allotment), once the course ended I got my first job at a yard in Hertfordshire, where I had my first taste of independence and a wage packet of £70 a week, which seemed like an utter fortune at the time! They were the happiest days of my life, and looking back at the pictures has made me realise that over the many, many (many) years that have passed since I left the stables behind, I have actually really missed it. So I am planning to, once I have saved up my pennies, to take some refresher lessons and hopefully recapture some of the fun I have been missing!

 - The Big Vintage Sew-along As cleaning my living room took nearly all weekend I didn't find any time for crafting, I did, however, receive an email this week about the Big Vintage Sew-along currently being hosted by Butterick. The idea is that you purchase a pattern from a selection of 20 patterns from their vintage range, sew it up and then show it off using #bvsewalong on Instagram and Twitter. The money raised from the sale of each pattern will go to help fund The Eve Appeal Charity in their work preventing and fighting women's cancers, a good cause I think you'll agree! I am really very tempted to join in, once I can decide on a pattern that is (I'm drawn to the 1930s patterns in this selection, the McCalls skirt & blouse and though I would have no occasion to wear it this dress is just swoon!), though to be honest I need more sewing patterns like I need a hole in the head, but as it's for charity I think I can definitely make an exception!

Are you taking part in the Big Vintage Sew-along?

Wendy x

Knit It - Mustard Miette Cardigan

I have tantalised you with a few bad bathroom selfies over the last few weeks, it's now time to properly show off my latest finished knit!

~ Mustard Miette Cardigan ~

Pattern: Free Miette Cardigan Pattern by Andi Satterlund 

Size Made: 38" Bust - My tension made it nearer a 40"

Ingredients: DK weight (I think!) doubled up to make Worsted
24" long 5mm & 4.5mm circular needles 

4 x stitch markers 

8 x 5/8” buttons

OK, so a quick round up on this pattern for those who missed my previous ramblings! Back in 2013, I wrote a super long list of all the UFO's I had around my flat. I aired my list and felt great and really positive about kicking them into finished object territory, but wait, what is this, the urge to cast on something new was calling and I was weak and I gave in to temptation, I raided my stash for some yarn and began knitting myself a Miette!

I would dearly love to tell you what yarn I used for this cardie, but sadly the label has long been mislaid (AKA binned) and so I can only guess that the yarn is either from Stylecraft or Robin. The ply is also a bit of mystery, I think is 4ply but it could be DK (it's so close in thickness to both?!?). The colour is a gorgeous mustard yellow the prefect vintage cardie colour if you ask me. Ok thinking about it a bit more I'm going say it's most likely to be this Mustard Stylecraft DK but without buying more I can't be sure. One thing I am sure of is that to get the correct tension I doubled up the yarn, this is my goto technique for knitting worsted patterns and so far it has always worked out really well!

Miette is knitted from the neck down on circular needles, which is a very new concept to me. Around the neckline, there is a lot of pretty holes which are crated by decreases and yarn overs and they look wonderful when you get them right. I got them wrong a lot. It is a pattern which requires you to jump straight in at the deep end, so it's worth noting if you're new to knitting, you might want to work up to it! But after my 50th attempt (OK I'm totally exaggerating, probably...48th) I had it sussed and felt quite proud of myself!

After the neckband it becomes much easier, it's just a simple knit and purl stocking stitch with a few decreases for bust shaping and increases for the sleeves and more yarn overs continue the holy border along the edges of the front openings. After a while you will need to put some stitches on to a stitch keeper for each of the sleeves while you continue to knit the rest of the body of the cardigan, this to me was such an ingenious idea!

The body finished I went back to tackle the arms. I pulled out my DPNS, for this as I could not get the super long circular needle to work well using the magic loop method, and this is where I hit my first hurdle! I may have said it before, but it's worth repeating, I find that my tension changes dramatically between knitting on straight needles, circular and DPNS. I can knit on exactly the same size needles and have three very, very different outcomes. Circular being the loosest tension, next straight and finally, DPNS on which I knit the tightest!  So when it came to picking up the arm hole stitches I just could not get it right, So it was put in the UFO pile.

Until October last year when bought a bigger set of DPNS and whilst on visiting my mum and dad on the Isle Of Wight I set about finishing it off, I was a bit unsure as to whether I would have enough yarn to finish as I only had one medium hand wound ball left, but as it happened there was plenty and I even managed to knit the arms a bit longer than the bracelet length they are in the pattern. So that brings us to a few weeks ago when sewed on some bright red buttons and tidied up the loose threads so I could finally add it to my wardrobe!



I have worn my Miette lots since I finished it and really love it, it is certainly very warm and will look great with summery dresses in the once the weather warms up a tad, plus the colour should work well with lots of things, especially my new box pleat skirt, once I finish it!

The fit is pretty good too, though it is worth noting that this style of cardigan is designed to be close fitting and so will draw attention your bust, this is great if you want to enhance that area but if you are a little more self-conscious (like myself) then you might feel more comfortable wearing it unbuttoned or perhaps knit yourself a slightly larger size. As you're knitting the cardigan in one piece you can try it on as you go to check you are happy with how it's all going which is great and also means no seaming up at the end which is a massive time saver!

Which gives you more time to pretend to play the Ukulele!

Wendy x

Wendy's Week - Spring Bulbs & Buns

Hello, I hope that you have had a marvellous tail end of February!
Here is what I have been up to this week!

~ Spring Bulbs & Buns ~

- 22nd - 28th February -

Snoozy Saturdays // Hot Cross Buns // The Vintage Pattern Files Hits 1000! //
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt // A cup of Hyacinths //  Musical Miette

- Finally took some photos of my Miette Cardigan. It may have taken ALL of Saturday morning, but armed with my tripod, self-timer and fancy new studio light (birthday present and a mighty useful one in my dark and dingy flat), I finally managed to get a few in focus shots of that cardie,  and some silly ones just for good measure! Full post soon to follow! Oh and no I can't actually play the Ukulele, but I can pretend!

- I started watching a new series on Netflix. I had actually sat down to start watching Jessica Jones as it has been calling to me for a while now (anything with David Tennant and I'm in), but I got sidetracked by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which intrigued me. I'm glad I gave it a go, as it is rather charming, despite its totally bonkers plot! The main character Kimmy is utterly adorable with a wardrobe that Boden would be proud of, and the whole show has the feel of New Girl crossed with Pushing Daisies about it. Oh, and if you can watch it and the theme tune doesn't get stuck in your head for at least the next week, then you are a stronger person than I!

-  I did a little Spring planting. For my birthday in December, my friend and work college, Christine gave me a fabulous giant polka dot tea cup planter as a gift. Though I know at thing or two about veg, I'll be honest I don't really know much about flowers and such, so I've been pondering for a while as what to put into it. This week after a chat with my boss as to what she thought would work best, she gave me in a set of four beautiful Hyacinth bulbs, which was very unexpected and very kind of her. I planted them up this weekend and I'm excitedly awaiting them to flower and to release their fabulous scent!

- I did no sewing, but I did do a little knitting. So rather than finishing off the hem on my box pleat skirt, like a good girl would, no instead I distracted myself by digging out another UFO from the pile. This time, my Land Girl Jumper I started back in 2011. All I had left to do was to make a decision whether to knit or not knit the sleeves. Now if you have been reading this blog for a while, then you will already know my feelings on knitting sleeves (psst...I hate knitting sleeves), so, in reality, my decision was rather easy; instead I choose to knit rib bands around the armhole openings and the neck, turning it into a pullover rather than a jumper, which suits me just fine! All I need to do now is sew in all the ends but it's, oh so very nearly done!

- Attempted to start a Spring clean. I have been wanting for a few weeks to have a big old spring clean, the kind where no stone or DVD is left unturned or undusted. I'd planned to start the attack this weekend, doing one room a week, but then a lazy cat decided to hamper my progress by falling asleep on my unmade, and about to be stripped bed, so I'll be honest, I lost my will to carry on. There is always next weekend and let's face it, it's always best to let sleeping cats lie - well mine anyway, he is a bitey little blighter!

- Booked tickets to see a big band. When I met up with my old work chum Alan for our trip to the cinema last week we had a discussion about our mutual love of 1940s big band music, he told me about the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, who will be playing at the Millfield Theatre, not far from where I work in April, he had wanted to see them play for a while, so after a call to some of his friends we decided to book up some tickets! I am actually really looking forward to it, though it does seem a little odd to me to be sitting in a theatre rather than say, a club or a venue where you can mill about, whilst listening to the music; however I am sure it still should be a good night out!

- Had a lazy Sunday morning. I after a quick trip to the local Co-op to get some bread for my usual Sunday breakfast toast, I decided instead to treat myself to some Hot Cross buns, well it was almost March! I usually struggle to just sit and read, partly due to an overactive mind which is always trying to get me up and doing something else, and partly because I read quite slowly, but this week I fought through the temptation to get up and managed to enjoy a very relaxed morning reading, eating toasted buns and sipping tea - it was bliss!

- My other blog reached 1000 followers. You may or may not know that I have another blog called  The Vintage Pattern Files which is where I post daily links to fabulous free vintage knitting and sewing patterns that I have found across the world wide web! This week I was astonished to see that it had hit 1000 followers on Bloglovin! Now blog stats don't really mean a lot to me it's not why I blog, but I must say I was astounded to see it had reached so many followers, I might even have to have another hot cross bun to celebrate!

Has spring sprung yet where you are? 

Wendy x