A Bit of News!

I was recently awarded the Stylish Blogger award by the lovely Jenny Arnott - yes, she of the gorgeous embroidered textiles - and though I don't usually do awards because I am notoriously bad at thinking of anything to say, I will give this one a go because I have never been called 'stylish' before!



I have to tell you seven things about myself, so apologies if I have made these facts known before, but here goes. The photos are old ones too as I haven't left the sewing table to take any new for a few days. Shoddy really, but do keep going to the end as there is one fact none of you will have known - ooh, the suspense!



1. I have a love of fire. This can be the crackling of logs in our pretty Arts & Crafts fireplace, watched with a glass of wine in my hand and pleasant dreams drifting through my head or it can be in the form of a massive bonfire in the campfire we built in our garden. I love the smell, the sound, the warmth...everything about it and can be somewhat dangerous if left to build the fire as I get a little carried away. This seems to be something I inherited from my Dad who would walk a long way to see a barn burn down! Eldest son Tom is similarly afflicted too. I would like to point out we don't actually start such fires, merely are drawn by them.




2. I am one of seven girls and have seven children myself ranging in age from almost 28 to 4 years, have given birth five times (work that one out) and have been lucky enough to be present at the births of two friends' children where I was the first after the midwife for cuddles. I also have masses of nephews and nieces, godchildren plus ducks and hens. Oh, almost forgot the cats.



3. I love Cornwall with a deep and lasting passion. I love its soft and gentle south coast as much as I yearn for the wild and elemental reaches of its north coast were I grew up. I love its meandering rivers and hidden coves, the wild moorland of Jamaica Inn fame, the woodlands where streams and gullys trickle and which are bordered by bright fields of daffodils. I love its history of mining and the harshness of the reality this brought both to the lives of the Cornish and the landscape it scarred, the engine houses and chimney stacks still prevalent almost everywhere you look. Quite simply I love it all.



4. (Struggling already here). I like a challenge and seem to start quite major projects when I have a baby. For example, I did a degree in English Literature and Media Studies when Lucy was a baby and I also had three other children. I also started my business when Isabella was less than a year old. Neither of these do I recommend doing as a path to an easy life!



5. I am totally hopeless at just sitting and always have to be doing something. I usually have knitting or sewing to hand, a book or a magazine to read and have to be positively forced to go to bed if poorly. I am also rubbish at asking for help as I just get on with things so it doesn't occur to me. Hmm, fiercely independent may be a good way to describe me though I am getting better and will actually ask Dave for help on occasion. At Christmas he was a dab hand at stuffing Christmas hearts and cutting out. Come to that, most of the children helped out too!



5. I have read all twelve of the Poldark novels by Winston Graham and feel as though I know the characters intimately. Forget the TV programmes and give these wonderful novels a go. Graham truly writes with a beautifully poetic style, underwriting key events in a manner that allows the reader to place his/her own imagination in the scene which always allows for a much deeper imagery. They are beautiful, wistful and just wonderful books.



6. I have a fabric fetish which gets fed by friends and family. Fortunately, I do actually use it in dressmaking projects such as this dress for Isabella and numerous other guises. I love sewing for us and wish I could find more time for it, though I am lucky that my work means I get to work with threads and designs and fabrics.



7. And I have saved the best (and quite possibly the only interesting one of the seven) till last:

our lovely daughter Matzen is having a baby girl and she is due at the end of May! I shall be Granny Pip at the grand old age of 47 and I can't wait!



So, there you have it. Have a wonderful weekend x