She is beautiful, well spoken, well mannered, just lovely. Tonight for the first time, I watched her "Home made home" programme. Is there no end to her talents? Mosaic making, cake decorating? Garden design? She is truly the domestic Goddess. Move over Nigella, you are merely a cook.
However, the programme is so misleading!!!! Either that or I am supremely cack handed. (Is that a real word?*) Knitting simple baby garments, yes. Making simple curtains, tops and skirts, no problem. Anyone following this blog, will know that I re-started knitting when I met hubby. I knitted briefly as a teen, when mohair sweaters were all the rage and out of my price range. But I am still knitting the same sweater that I begun for myself before I got married!!!! Anything bigger than age 2-3 just takes too long!!! (As my husband who asked for a Guernsey was sharply told!)
Anyone who knows me from my twenties, knows that I hand make patchwork quilts..... It takes about a year to complete one. Is it really cost effective, if you factor in even a minimum wage?
Lets move on to baking!!! How many blog posts are dedicated to the trials and errors of the yacht club baby cake and bread baker?? Today's batch of egg free cakes were fine (rose flavour and lavender flavour!! very girly). But the Saturday batch went bin ward quicker than you can say "cup cake!"
Lovely Kirsty is so talented!!! She makes it look so easy!! And all these things are supposed to save us money!!!! No way! If like me, you are an ordinary mortal, with a mere ounce of talent in the craft department, then you will waste a small fortune "practising" before you eventually get it right. Cheaper to buy it in the first place! Especially if you buy quality materials with which to make your things. Let's face it, if you are investing so much time and effort you do want quality fabric, or lovely wool. Some of baby's cardigans and sweaters have cost around £20 each for the yarn! (I do hope Daddy isn't reading this too closely!!) And I daren't even think about his odd, too big, but lovingly, hand knitted cashmere socks.
I will never, ever knit socks again!!! They were just too darn difficult for my liking, not to mention too time consuming. On announcing to hubby that I was knitting him socks he chirped "But why/ when M&S do perfectly good ones!" I agree now, but at the time it was a rather dumb labour of love, and I was determined to finish them at all costs- emotional, physical, financial. They are pretty useless and awful socks, but he is very sweet and wears them round the house and it makes us both laugh ....
Some one out there I know , will be saying," Ahh but the mistakes and quirks are what makes these things endearing and treasured" Well to you maybe. But if you are a slave driving perfectionist (Who me??) every tiny flaw will be an enormous, glaring error in your eyes and you will chuck the GD thing away and start again!!! Mistakes and quirks are what make children's home made goodies treasures! As an adult I expect my efforts to be PDP.
Time to mention the Tomatoes.
Ahh the "dig for victory /grow your own" experiment! Take 6 plants at 75p each and 2 grow bags (No idea what they cost but it was a few quid) Add a bottle of "Tomorite". Add to the mix a dose of "blight"...... apparently all of us keeny beanies who tried to "grow our own- rapidly becoming very expensive" Tomatoes this year in Newbury lost them...... So it wasn't just me being crap then! It was the dreaded blight.....
Pop to "Tesco" though and a vine load of Tomatoes will only cost you a quid anyway! I'm just not sure about this thrifty , make do and mend malarkey. I think that you need to be like Kirsty. Exceptionally talented. Yes ST, and like you too, how I admire Mrs T, she has such patience, neatness and makes things so beautifully that she could sell them! If anyone could afford to pay her for the time she puts in making them!
Though the cost was not really the point of growing the tomatoes. It was an attempt to be self sufficient, organic and also to get pleasure out of growing our own veg..... I got one miserable pea plant. Killed all the Spring Onions and lettuce (swiftly replaced the latter with a batch from Homebase, which have thrived nicely) There are two pumpkin plants hanging in there by a thread, which were given to us by the lovely LG who grew them from seed- fantastic! I doubt they will have pumpkins by Halloween but watch this space!! You can bet your bottom dollar Kirsty will have awesome Pumpkins!
* it is a real word!!! "Awkward; clumsy. Perhaps from Old Norse keikr, bent backwards; akin to Danish keite, ..."
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