Flaming Ballerinas and Flying the Nest

We moved our gorgeous girl down to London at the weekend ready to start university.  I knew it would be emotional, but I have to say that I was not at all prepared for quite how upset I would be.  There was a moment on Sunday when I thought I might never surface from my pile of soggy tissues.  It sounds rather dramatic, but I felt grief stricken and rather lost, even though I am not completely "empty nested" yet.  It is a very strange feeling indeed and I don't like it but, as my husband (who is always very level headed about these sorts of things) keeps saying, we're just moving on to the next phase of our lives.  I'm not sure whether that's a comfort or not when you think that it also means we're getting older!

Dorothy's room at the Hampstead residence is much bigger than we had expected and it was instantly transformed by the addition of the blanket that she has been crocheting over the summer.


             














It was her 19th birthday on Monday so we had "fake" birthday celebrations last week with cards, presents, a family dinner, silly games and home made chocolate birthday cake.

Hubby went off into the kitchen to make some coffee and do the honours with the birthday cake.  As he came around the corner into the dining room, cake in hand with candles lit, and we began singing "Happy Birthday to you...", he said "those ballerinas are candles, aren't they?"

Well...we could hardly draw breath for laughing...the ballerinas were plastic cake decorations that Dorothy had spotted in my candle box as I was making the cake earlier that day.  She recalled how she had had them on a cake that our very kind neighbour had brought round to us the year that I was laid out in bed with an injured back following the collapse of our ceiling.  That was in 2002, her 9th birthday!

Ten years on, the two ballerinas with their gold and silver headdresses and tutus were a perfect match for the gold and silver candles that I had already put on the cake.  Unfortunately, they are now a little worse for wear...one suffered a burnt scalp, the other lost her head and most of her left arm in the incident!  I shall keep them in my candle box though and they will bring a smile to my face with each birthday cake that I make!

Dorothy seems to be making lots of new friends, finding her way around and partying well during freshers' week so all is good so far!  I miss her so much, but I don't have a tissue in my hand as I write this so I am seeing that as progress!  I know she will be feeling a little up and down for a while too and there will be things that trigger a tear or two for both of us, but we will be fine!

...and we have plenty!

I am so excited for Dorothy as she begins university life at King's and starts to enjoy all the delights of living in London.  When Dorothy started school here in Yorkshire one of the other children told her "you talk funny you do". Dorothy replied "Well, I was born in London you know!" so it's as if things have come full circle really.

Meanwhile, back up north, I am throwing myself into my work and keeping myself busy (to avoid falling into the tissue box!) by spending most days at my lovely new studio, which is a great place to be. I love the light here, I love having so much space to spread my things out as I work and I love having an internet connection which means that I can try to keep up to date with things like blogging!  I am very much looking forward to welcoming people to workshops at my new place and you can see what's coming up here.  

Bye for now,

Rebecca

x

Nostalgia, Flowers & Romance

A few weeks ago I read a blog post that brought back so many wonderful childhood memories, especially of my fondness for Holly Hobbie in the late 1970s. This rush of nostalgia meant that I simply had to find the cushion cover I remembered making and that I referred to in my comments on the lovely Sarah's blog! And I found it...it was neatly folded inside a Woolworths bag inside an old suitcase, which also contains things like my school recorder, stamp albums, scrap books and newspaper cuttings.

So, here it is...my Holly Hobbie cushion cover, made with help from my mum, to whom I owe so much for teaching me how to knit, sew, crochet and create! Oh how I loved Holly Hobbie...and I have to admit that I do still love this cushion cover, despite some rather bad stitching and its gentle padding with old tights (used as stuffing in so many of my childhood creations!).

I remembered the cushion cover, but had not remembered that the fabric I had used was that which I am now using to make these!

I have a received a gorgeous basket of flowers...not from my Valentine, but as a 'thank you' from my lovely neighbour B. They are so pretty...

and are arranged in this very useful, floral fabric-lined basket!

I have the house to myself today, which might not seem a romantic way to spend Valentine's Day. However, hubby is out rugbying with our son and I shall spend the day pottering, sewing and crocheting, so we are both doing things that we love to do! Everyone will return home this evening and my day's pottering will be undone once more...piles of muddy washing will be deposited by the machine, the hall will be re-cluttered with shoes and kit, and the house will once more be filled with the voices of those that I love..no doubt enquiring what there is to eat! The romance of family life - I love it!

In the meantime, before I potter, I think it's time for coffee and cake!

Hope you're having a lovely day whatever you're doing!

Back soon,

Rebecca

x