A Saucy Stitch is Born

A Saucy Stitch is Born So, here I am in the glorious blogosphere, launching my first blog, hurrah!    I have been working up to starting this blog for the last few months and after a great deal of procrastination and general dithering, I figured that I had better just get on with it. Self-doubt has threatened to bully me into silence, but I have stuffed its mouth full of cake and shut it in the attic with David and Kylie (more on this at a later date).   Let's have a look at what this blog is all about.... Baking Over the past few years I have accumulated lots of cookery books; some are dear old friends, their pages stuck together with butter and sugar or smeared with chocolate; others have been taken to bed to ogle at their pretty pictures but I have failed to pop their cherry and try the recipes.  In this blog, I want to abandon myself to the joy of baking and share with you the new recipes that I woo and schmooze until they result in something fabulous and life enhancing (oh yes, cake is most definitely life enhancing).  Cake seems to have almost mythical powers to make people happy; so let's put our fingers in the metaphorical cake batter of life and enjoy the simple pleasure of licking the bowl clean.     Stitching Two years ago I secretly bought a sewing machine.  I covered it with a cloth and hid it in the cupboard under the stairs for a month, until I plucked up the courage to take bring it out and remove it from its box.   I had never used a sewing machine before and it felt as if I had taken in an exotic animal that might bite me if I didn't handle it properly.  After a couple of workshops, I gained a little confidence and I have sewn a few things, but my sewing has been sporadic and guilt laden.  I always feel as if I should be doing something more important, like hoovering or cleaning the toilet.  I have squirreled away fabric and purchased patterns and books, but still timidly tip-toe around the edge of getting serious about my sewing.  In this blog, I resolve to shake off that guilt, and take the pledge to sew on a regular basis.   I will share my progress with you, be it good, bad or indifferent, reviewing patterns and books and tutorials along the way.  Who knows, I may even start wearing my 'me-made' items of clothing out in public!   Charity Shops I have a penchant for vintage china, sewing boxes, glassware, fabric and anything old and interesting.  When I say vintage, I mean the sort of things your granny might very well own.  Generally charity shops get this kind of thing from house clearances or donations, often after someone has died or moved into a nursing home.  Although this might seem sad, I get a real kick out of providing a new home for these well-loved items; I imagine who the previous owner was and what kind of life she lived.  In this blog I am going to share with you my charity shops finds, and give you some top tips for what to look for and what to do with it once you have it. The Incidental War on Sh'mummery   I am 'blessed' with five children and one day, a few years ago, my middle child charmingly coined the phrase 'sh'mum' to express his dissatisfaction with my performance as a mother.  It's an abbreviation of 'shit mum' and as a family, we have cheerfully embraced the phrase and liberally apply a 'sh' in front of anything, as we see fit.  For example, when my sister forgets one of her nieces' or nephews' birthdays, she refers to herself as a Sh'auntie.  This is all done in good humour and without a hint of reproach or malice, should you be getting upset at this point; we are a family who know how to laugh at each other and more importantly, ourselves.  However, I am constantly irked by the lack of organisation in my day to day life, and  it's time to get my arse in gear and attempt to make the most out of every day, without beating myself up too much when I get it wrong.   The Sauce Oh yes, I love a bit of 'Carry On' humour.  Ladies and gentlemen, titter ye not, for we shall not be taking ourselves too seriously in this here blog.  I am afraid that I can't help myself when it comes to double entendres, and they may just slip out, ooh, err, missus.  But, joking aside, what I mean by 'sauce' are the things in life that make me feel good about who I am, and add depth and joy to the everyday mundane things that we all have to do.  If variety is the spice of life, then creativity is the sauce on the Knickerbocker Glory that is my life.     So there you have it.  A lifestyle blog that focuses on baking, sewing and some charity shop 'granny chic'.  What's not to love about that?  I am going to share lots of great links and blogs that inspire me to be creative, and I hope that will also inspire you to be creative and enjoy the simple things in life.  The aim is for around three blog posts a week and I hope you will bear with me as I grapple with getting to grips with the mechanics of how the blog looks.  And finally, I want to hear from you.  Yes, really I do.  What I love about the blogging community is the way that it brings like-minded people together to encourage one another and share their own experiences.   Hurrah!  First blog post done, and now we can get on with the fun stuff and eat some cake.  Thanks for reading. Giddy Aunt Lola x

A Saucy Stitch is Born

So, here I am in the glorious blogosphere, launching my first blog, hurrah!    I have been working up to starting this blog for the last few months and after a great deal of procrastination and general dithering, I figured that I had better just get on with it. Self-doubt has threatened to bully me into silence, but I have stuffed its mouth full of cake and shut it in the attic with David and Kylie (more on this at a later date).   Let's have a look at what this blog is all about....

Baking

Over the past few years I have accumulated lots of cookery books; some are dear old friends, their pages stuck together with butter and sugar or smeared with chocolate; others have been taken to bed to ogle at their pretty pictures but I have failed to pop their cherry and try the recipes.  In this blog, I want to abandon myself to the joy of baking and share with you the new recipes that I woo and schmooze until they result in something fabulous and life enhancing (oh yes, cake is most definitely life enhancing).  Cake seems to have almost mythical powers to make people happy; so let's put our fingers in the metaphorical cake batter of life and enjoy the simple pleasure of licking the bowl clean. 

  

Stitching

Two years ago I secretly bought a sewing machine.  I covered it with a cloth and hid it in the cupboard under the stairs for a month, until I plucked up the courage to take bring it out and remove it from its box.   I had never used a sewing machine before and it felt as if I had taken in an exotic animal that might bite me if I didn't handle it properly.  After a couple of workshops, I gained a little confidence and I have sewn a few things, but my sewing has been sporadic and guilt laden.  I always feel as if I should be doing something more important, like hoovering or cleaning the toilet.  I have squirreled away fabric and purchased patterns and books, but still timidly tip-toe around the edge of getting serious about my sewing.  In this blog, I resolve to shake off that guilt, and take the pledge to sew on a regular basis.   I will share my progress with you, be it good, bad or indifferent, reviewing patterns and books and tutorials along the way.  Who knows, I may even start wearing my 'me-made' items of clothing out in public!  

Charity Shops

I have a penchant for vintage china, sewing boxes, glassware, fabric and anything old and interesting.  When I say vintage, I mean the sort of things your granny might very well own.  Generally charity shops get this kind of thing from house clearances or donations, often after someone has died or moved into a nursing home.  Although this might seem sad, I get a real kick out of providing a new home for these well-loved items; I imagine who the previous owner was and what kind of life she lived.  In this blog I am going to share with you my charity shops finds, and give you some top tips for what to look for and what to do with it once you have it.

The Incidental War on Sh'mummery  

I am 'blessed' with five children and one day, a few years ago, my middle child charmingly coined the phrase 'sh'mum' to express his dissatisfaction with my performance as a mother.  It's an abbreviation of 'shit mum' and as a family, we have cheerfully embraced the phrase and liberally apply a 'sh' in front of anything, as we see fit.  For example, when my sister forgets one of her nieces' or nephews' birthdays, she refers to herself as a Sh'auntie.  This is all done in good humour and without a hint of reproach or malice, should you be getting upset at this point; we are a family who know how to laugh at each other and more importantly, ourselves.  However, I am constantly irked by the lack of organisation in my day to day life, and  it's time to get my arse in gear and attempt to make the most out of every day, without beating myself up too much when I get it wrong.  

The Sauce

Oh yes, I love a bit of 'Carry On' humour.  Ladies and gentlemen, titter ye not, for we shall not be taking ourselves too seriously in this here blog.  I am afraid that I can't help myself when it comes to double entendres, and they may just slip out, ooh, err, missus.  But, joking aside, what I mean by 'sauce' are the things in life that make me feel good about who I am, and add depth and joy to the everyday mundane things that we all have to do.  If variety is the spice of life, then creativity is the sauce on the Knickerbocker Glory that is my life.    

So there you have it.  A lifestyle blog that focuses on baking, sewing and some charity shop 'granny chic'.  What's not to love about that?  I am going to share lots of great links and blogs that inspire me to be creative, and I hope that will also inspire you to be creative and enjoy the simple things in life.  The aim is for around three blog posts a week and I hope you will bear with me as I grapple with getting to grips with the mechanics of how the blog looks. 

And finally, I want to hear from you.  Yes, really I do.  What I love about the blogging community is the way that it brings like-minded people together to encourage one another and share their own experiences.  

Hurrah!  First blog post done, and now we can get on with the fun stuff and eat some cake. 

Thanks for reading.

Giddy Aunt Lola x