Hanah.

When I wrote last week's post about brand new baby Hanah ( who has her own special spelling of her name ), I thought a lot about what I wanted to say about Hannah, her namesake. It turns out that one of the family, Hannah's nephew Ron, had  already described her perfectly. This is what he said.


"When I was a boy it seemed as if Aunt Nan's love could eclipse the sun. Nan cared about her nieces and nephews with a passion. She was a lioness if anyone threatened them or did them harm. She watched over the following two generations - her grand-nephews and nieces, and then her great-nephews and nieces - with the same unqualified devotion."

I can see Hanah inspiring the very same devotion.

New stories to tell.

I became an Aunt this week. I have the strangest feeling that life may never be the same again. Hanah Maria was born on Monday 22nd March and she is named after her Great Great Aunt.

Hanah's namesake lived in a small Scottish town and worked as a weaver in the local mill. She was a woman who knew that the most important things in life can't be valued in material terms. Happiness came in the form of family, friends and a passion for music. I  inherited Hannah's small hands and her love of clutter and shiny jewellery. I hope that her legacy of contentment and happiness passes down another generation to new baby Hanah.

No pictures as yet to show so you will just have to take it from me that Hanah is the most beautiful baby ever born. The black and white image is of Hannah Macdonald and the Queen Mother.

Spring Fever 2.

Cat fever more like. This image of the Mog during his springtime roll around the garden was so lovely I thought it should have a post all to itself.

And here it is.

Spring Fever and Sashiko.

I don't care when the official start date of Spring is meant to be, as far as I am concerned, Spring sprung this week. Two days in a row I was able to sit on the bench in the garden without the aid of a balaclava. At one point I removed my jumper and there were only two layers between me and the elements. Strange time of year, it was warm with a hint of freezing. I supervised the gardener at his pruning and Magnus supervised the pruned branches as they fell.

Monday saw me in Glasgow at the Collins Gallery for a marvelous Sashiko workshop led by Sara Keith. There were many interesting people there including fellow blogger Hazel/The Art Room Plant. The workshop was a lesson in the beauty and complexity of very simple stitching. I was reminded once again that there are times when it pays to slow down and be precise. Thankfully there was a sunny bench this week where I could sit and practice being meticulous.

And if meticulous lets you down, you can always make the failed project into a stunning cat toy which will be sniffed at once and then left hanging on the side of a chair.

Long Suffering Bear, an apology.

You see, Long Suffering Bear isn't even my bear, it belongs to my other half. I call it Long Suffering Bear on account of the droopy frame and world weary expression. I have to prop the fellow up in order to take half decent pictures.

Poor old bear has been dressed up a lot recently and I fear more indignities ahead. I am knitting tiny things for a not yet arrived child and that makes photographing the finished object a little difficult. Even when the arrival actually arrives, web etiquette suggests that it is not the done thing to post pictures of someone else's child on your public access blog. So the bear it is.

There has been sewing too - but nothing finished as I concentrated on the tiny knitting. And three days in Glasgow with three films a day - which was magical, terrifying and sobering all in one big lump. Magnus has been on the case, helping with my knitting and being a general menace. We went out for dinner last night, to friends in the village and the cat followed us. He gatecrashed the party and ate cream from the pudding bowls before falling asleep in a menacing manner just above our hosts' rat's cage.

The observant amongst you might notice that I am wearing pajamas in the not so flattering picture. It was only just after lunchtime and I had sworn to myself that I would finish the little white smock before doing anything else that day. Including getting dressed.

A good blue day.

I have been making this beast for months and it is finally finished. Made from thrifted and gifted pairs of jeans and mattress ticking from a second hand shop, it cost me practically nothing except blood sweat and toil. Literal blood - my softy knitter's fingers were unprepared for the hardship of sewing without a thimble. At one point I needed to call upon Archie's pliers to help me through three layers of fabric.

The crockery in the picture were the templates for the circles that I embroidered in my own sashiko-ish way. One dinner plate, a side plate, and a bowl that my chum Marianne had brought one day filled with cholcolate brownies and I'd failed to return.


I like it very much. So much that I ran outside and threw it in the snow so that I could take some snazzy pictures. The light was blue with cold and so was I.

Curtains, why bother?

I've never liked curtains. Not for me the the big fully lined blackout that keeps a room in darkness till noon. I want to know that the light is changing and to lift my head, half-awake and catch the dawn as it breaks. Or, as happened in my teenage bedroom, to lie on the mattress* on the floor and watch as the ceiling changed colour, reflecting of the flare from the local Gas Plant.

It all went horribly wrong when I moved to Glasgow and lived in a flat on a busy road. I continued my no-curtain policy till one day I wandered into my room naked from a shower. A movement from across the road caught my eye. In the window opposite, stood a group of young men waving enthusiastically. The curtains went up that same day. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, a few weeks later I told the tale while having a drink in my local pub. A young man at the table leaned over saying: " So that was you ! " He had been one of the window enthusiasts.

I may be softening though, last week saw us back in Glasgow shopping for the things you need after a bathroom and a living room have been decorated. I wasn't convinced that we needed a blind for the bathroom, after all we are one floor up and have frosted glass. Then I found the most beautiful blind ever - a Lucienne Day design in perfect colours. It has been purchased and placed with great care in our loo and I find myself wandering in every now and then just for a look.

In other news Kat was the winner of my pick a picture competition. My mother very kindly drew the winning name from a paper bag yesterday. Let me know what picture you would like.

* Not that I was was forced to sleep on a mattess due to parental cruelty. I was sixteen and thought I was being cool.