Ten years on

Roses at Ground Zero (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Ten years ago today I was still an actress. I was taking part in a workshop at the Battersea Arts Centre designed to bring young playwrights from London and New York together by staging a series of readings of extracts from their work. I spent the day rehearsing a scene where I played a 50 year old New York woman. I wasn't entirely convinced that I was doing the play justice as a very English 25 year old but I was having a wonderful time trying and getting to know all the writers who had come over from New York specially for the event.

After rehearsal, I travelled home to my flat in North West London still on a high from the day's work. On the way a friend of mine who worked as a journalist for Metro sent a text to say a plane had flown into the world trade centre. At the time it was too soon for it to have meaning. It was an abstract concept that didn't properly penetrate. I got home, turned on the news and everything changed. Some time later (I still had not moved from my position in front of the TV) my flatmate and oldest friend returned home. He is an actor and was also taking part in the Battersea workshop. News hadn't reached him and he came in with a spring in his step. I tried my best to explain what was happening. I can't remember whether the second plane had hit at that time - before then it was still potentially a horrendous accident - but I think it was clear by the point he stood in the doorway to our sitting room that what was happening was no accident. I remember saying "Look at your T-Shirt". He was wearing a vintage red 70s shirt that simply said "I love New York".

I kept thinking about the young writers so far away from home. Thinking they too would have left the rehearsal feeling bright and energised and gone to their respective lodgings to find out what was happening in their city. Were their friends OK? Were their families OK? And what of the friends I had in New York. Were they safe? Were they frightened? Sometimes it is hard to get your head round so enormous an event in its entirety. In those times it is the individuals that you know that come into focus most clearly at first. But as the days moved on it was as if the camera panned out and the enormity began to sink in although there are many things about that day that I still can't quite comprehend and never will.

I remember exactly where I where I was this day ten years ago. I think we all do. But today I am thinking of the people whose memories are about personal losses and loved ones who they will never hold again, about lives changed forever on a day that had started like any other but during the course of which, the world changed.

The times they are a changing...

Well, so much has been going on in the Crafty household of late I don't even know where to begin!

Those of you who have read my cake posts in the past know my love of baking. Well, I am thrilled to say that I have a bun in the oven but this time of the metaphorical sort! We have had a relatively long rocky journey to this point that I haven't really felt able to talk about on here. At times my mind has been so jammed by the whole thing I found posting hard hence prolonged absences but so far (fingers crossed) everything is on track this time around. I still feel slightly like I could jinx things by going public but at 17 weeks with a great scan behind me I am feeling very hopeful that we will really be holding a mini-Crafty in our arms come February.

And this brings me onto change number two. Our lovely flat just doesn't really suit family life. Our second bedroom is up space saving stairs which I wouldn't like to tackle holding a little one. Plus I am aware that our lives will change a lot once the baby arrives and we won't be able to zoom all over London at the drop of a hat to visit friends and family as we do at the moment. This is going to leave me a bit isolated in South East London when on maternity leave as my family live in West London and most of my friends are north of the river. All of which has led us to the decision that it is time to move on to get somewhere more child friendly that is also closer to my family.

So...the For Sale sign is outside and the first people have started viewing. It is a strange feeling but with the decision made I am ready to move on so we can start on the next phase of our life together.

We have been working our knuckles to the bone to get the place ready to be viewed. Frustratingly this means it looks better than it ever did just as we are all set to leave it. I am particularly impressed with what Mr Crafty has done with the bathroom:




I have wanted those tiles on the floor since we moved in and I love the grey on the walls but I will have to leave them for someone else to enjoy.

Our second bedroom has been underused and a bit of a dumping ground at times but with a bit of room dressing involving my new found love of crochet it also now looks rather inviting:




Whilst in some ways it will be sad to say goodbye to the flat that saw us from cohabiters to happily married, I am looking forward to finding a new nest to feather for our future family.

Birthdays, Banners and Blognics

So I recently turned the big 35. I was in France for my birthday and spent the day picnicking by an idyllic stretch of river and dining at this amazing courtyard restaurant in the picturesque village of Angles sur l'Anglin:

I was very spoiled by Mr Crafty, my family and my in-laws and am now the very, very proud owner of a Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer in Majestic Yellow. I feel slightly traitorous towards my vintage Kenwood, which was given to me by the mother of my oldest friend, and has beaten the mix for many a cake including our wedding cake but look how pretty....(sorry Kenwood)...

I was also treated to the most amazing vintage sewing box by my friend Helen and now finally have somewhere to neatly stash my overflowing sewing supplies.

We found it at the Winter's Moon open studio day. Their website is full of very beautiful things and well worth checking out.

Then last Sunday I attended Blognic in Regents Park:

 

What a lovely day! It was great to meet other like-minded bloggers although I didn't by any means to speak to everyone there sadly. Thanks so much to Lynne and Ellie for organising.

And finally, speaking of Lynne, I have been meaning to post about my fabulous banner from her gorgeous shop Papermash. It arrived so prettily packaged it almost seemed a shame to open it:

But open it I did and I am so pleased with how it completes the pictures in the corridor:

Corridor Dressing

Ever since we moved into our flat a full five years ago, the corridor has been a sad and empty place. We painted it white  which was a definite improvement on the lemon and jade walls/metallic silver woodwork combo that was there before but having done that we left it. Each time I walked down it I made a mental note to find some lovely colourful finery to adorn the blank walls and then other rooms stepped in, shouted louder and assumed priority.

But it was such a perfect blank canvas eventually I just couldn't ignore it and decided it was time to dress it up.

By happy accident I had over time acquired a few prints and pictures with a red theme running through them and they have formed a cheerful little collection on one of the walls:

My mother bought me the Ballet Russes poster at the V&A exhibition of the same name. The Leyland Buses postcard (in the smallest frame) was sent to me from the North by my lovely friend Helen - Leyland is her home town. The bigger London bus screen print is actually the poster for a Flight of the Conchords gig we went to - it is very rare that I buy show merchandise but this one appealed to me and reminds me of a night involving much, much laughter. The Rob Ryan limited edition laser cut for the V&A was a Christmas present from my parents. The gorgeous fox painting is from Mir Dinara on Etsy, found via The Seventy Tree and was the final piece of the puzzle. I thought this area was finished but then spotted the gorgeous Papermash banners on Tea For Joy and the Joie De Vivre one is now winging its way to me to act as the crowning glory.

I had also wanted to do something with the wall space above our bedroom door. Books are everywhere in our flat - Mr Crafty devours them and usually has about three on the go and both of us feel strongly about buying solid paper books and holding onto them. Our dream house of the future has a library but we have no such luxury in our two bedroom flat. As the two bookcases in our sitting room were bursting at their metaphorical seams we decided to use the space for a bookcase to hold Mr Crafty's collection of classics:






He loves the display of reading matter, I love the fact they make a rainbow!

I have a funny relationship with books in that I love reading, almost more than anything, but if my head is very full of day to day stuff I sometimes find it hard to pick up a book. It's as if I forget how much I enjoy it. When I do make a start on a good book then it is all that I think about but I can go for months without reading anything. So I made this banner from scraps of Liberty fabrics to remind me to pick up a book! I adapted the design from the Nice banner in Applique Your Way by Kayte Terry.

Finally, back in 2009 we bought a pine dresser from EBay. It looked like this when we bought it:

Since then it has been standing in the corridor looking very out of place but providing useful storage for all my cake making equipment. It was always my intention to paint it and I finally got round to it. It now looks like this:





I added the slate grey painted numbers on the drawers and doors which I hope you can just about see in the picture for a bit of interest. It blends in a lot better now although it is going to need retouching soon as it has become one of Milly and Jeff's favourite scratching posts.

I now sometimes find myself pausing in the corridor. It has it's own cheery identity instead of being a blank space to simply pass through. We haven't done a huge amount but what we have done makes me smile. Hope it makes you smile too.

Happy to make your aquaintance Mollie Makes

I know - I am way behind the times as ever but just wanted to remark on how lovely Mollie Makes is.

I have been musing for sometime to myself as to why we didn't have a modern crafty magazine in the UK. Whenever I have looked for something in Smiths there has been plenty for a different generation of knitter/cross-stitcher etc. but nothing for those with a slightly edgier aesthetic who still like to spend their time making and doing. Then along came Mollie Makes. I have been hotly anticipating the first issue and rushed down to by it on its release date. I wasn't disappointed. It is a visual treat and has the right balance, for me, between projects and inspiration. Really excited about seeing what they have in store for issue two!!

A happy accident on the scenic route

I have been learning to drive. For various reasons I didn't learn the moment I turned 17 as most of my friends did. I had a brief stab at university but had better things to do like extended pub crawls and spending nights sleeping in the drama department ostensibly working on avant garde pieces of theatre so I didn't really put the effort in and never took my test. Then the years rolled by and living in London I never felt the need to learn. Plus being a non driver sort of became part of my identity.

Then I met Mr Crafty and we got married and I began to feel very guilty that he was not only my husband but also my chauffeur. So I bit the bullet and started to learn.

With the test looming some practice was in order. We were in Stratford upon Avon for the weekend and so I suggested we took the A roads back home to London and I would do the driving. We found ourselves going through the most picturesque villages imaginable and eventually stumbled upon the market town of Wilmslow which is like something off a chocolate box. And wouldn't you know they were having a Handmade and Vintage fair!! What a very happy stumble!

Please excuse my terrible pictures - I am no pro photographer at the best of times but having done my first stint at 70mph I was a little shaky!

The market square was packed with lovely stalls selling all manner of delightful items

Gorgeous sweet shop - I was sorely tempted by their cake pops!

Coffee from a camper van - genius!

Vintage ice cream van serving the most delicious rum and raisin ice cream!

And the end of the story? I passed my driving test at my first attempt two days ago so taking the scenic route delivered in more ways than one!