Friday, March 30, 2007

Getting outside


This morning was the school Easter service and afterwards I went for coffee with friends, friends that I have been very remiss about keeping up with over the past six weeks or so.
It was somehow immensely cheering. We moved to Drymen 3 1/2 years ago, knowing no-one and slightly wary about whether it would be one of those places that you had to live in for over 80 years to become a local. It isn't.

The decision to move here was a good one, one of our better ones. I have more friends - good, funny, gallus friends - now than I have ever had before. Friends who can tell me as they did this morning - when I am moaning about the state of the cutting garden - that it always looks appalling at this time of year.

It is the cusp of my year, the point when I tip from making things to sewing things. I do hardly any gardening between October and the end of March but then, once the clocks go forward it is a mad rush to claw it all back from chaos.

So today I have been weeding, dividing perennials and planting out. It has been heavenly. I have a pile of orders to make up for things that sold out at the Fair but I told all the customers that I wouldn't be doing any sewing for the next month. For the next month I shall be sowing not sewing and I just can't wait.

Actually that isn't quite true. The thing that I regretted most about the amount of work I took on over Christmas was that I didn't get a chance to make Christmas presents for the girls. I have always made them a present but this year we just ran out of time.
So I decided that, after the Fair was over, I would make them both something. Zoe won a pack of pencils at school so I thought I would make them pencil rolls. So far, so simple - an hour's work maybe. Then I googled pencil roll blog and found this.

Isn't it fantastic? So that it what I am sewing - slowly.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I'm glad to hear that you are taking a bit of time for yourself after the mad rush of CL. The pencil roll looks lovely and I'm sure your daughter will love it. Weather is nice down here, perfect for Spring gardening.

Gigibird said...

You have had a lot on your plate. Real friends will understand this. I would have loved that pencil roll as a child - I'd love it now, or something similar to keep my make-up in.......now there's an idea:)

Jane said...

Carolyn,
I am working on the premise that a change is as good as a rest. I get very grumpy if I'm not doing something.

Lynn, I think a make-up roll is a great idea - I can just see it with your flower on the outside . . .