Announcing – Changes – My New Sewing Blog: Magpie Makes

Yes!  Those plans I keep mentioning!  Here’s the low-down …

I have been thinking for a while of splitting the blog between my main two interests – sewing/crafting and writing – but I’ve been unsure about it for a number of reasons and with my PGCE, I haven’t had a great deal of time to think about it or implement any decisions I did make.

Until now!

My PGCE course has finished (Wewt!  What a weight has been lifted!) and I

(a) have more time (huzzah!),

(b) have only a part-time income at the moment (boo!), so …

(c) am getting more serious about my sewing/making life,

and

(d) am getting back into writing A Thief and a Gentlewoman!  (Yeah, bet you’d forgotten about that one!  Rest assured, I have been thinking about it, in between the essays on Pedagogy vs Andragogy and Humanism vs Instrumentalism and the like!)

So, in order to do justice to the two areas I blog about, I am dividing the blog.  Jane of All Trades, here, will remain my blog for all things relating to books, writing and research relating to A Thief and a Gentlewoman, and now I am able to actually work on T&Gw, I hope to actually post about such things around once a week (once a fortnight at the very least).

Posts about my sewing-related escapades will now be at my new blog, Magpie Makes.  I really hope you like it there, I spent quite a while wrestling with Illustrator, Photoshop and Blogger to get the layout and design juuuuust right for you all!

I’m really looking forward to being able to get some renewed direction here at Jane of All Trades and seeing all your stitchy-types over at Magpie Makes for more sewing, my attempts at learning to knit (be prepared for laughs at how that goes!) and that apron giveaway I mentioned the other day.

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Apples

So apples may not seem like the most interesting topic, but I was just reading this fascinating article on BBC news … Did you know, for instance, that that tasy, refreshing variety, the Granny Smith apple was discovered growing on a rubbish heap in Australia?! It grew completely by chance, and was found and cultivated, rather than thrown away. What a lucky fruit!

Did you also know that all Bramley apples came from one single parent tree that was grown around 1810 in Nottinghamshire by a young woman called Mary Anne Brailsford? Every single Bramley apple pie every made and scoffed owes its existence to that one, humble, Regency seed.

Is it just me, or is that kind of amazing?

Go here if you’d like to read the article for yourself: British to the core.  As for me, I think I’m going to go and eat an apple.  Lush!

PS – I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when I was very little (about 5 years old) I hated the name Clare and wanted to change it to something different every other week.  For quite a long period of time I decided I wanted to be called – wait for it – Rosie Apple.  Yes, that was what I seriously wanted my name to be.  I think I even refused to respond to anything else for a day or so.  Oh dear!

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Petal Apron – finished project

Remember this?

And this?

Well, I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but here – at last – is the full apron:

I love this pattern!  And I love those spring colours!

Being a bit of a worrier (understatement!), I was concerned about getting any horrible stains on this apron since, you could reasonably argue, getting dirty is the purpose of an apron.  Sooo, I sprayed it with that stuff you get to protect suede shoes and it seems to be working well so far.

Things I learned:

• Shoe protector spray works fine on cotton and may well be a good idea for protecting aprons and the like.

• I like the look of bias binding, but not the application!  I never want to see the stuff again (or at least not for the next couple of months!).

I hope you like it – there was a lot of love for this pattern in the comments, so I hope I’ve done it justice!  And, if you love the Petal Apron pattern, I am very pleased to announce that I have plans to make up one or two for a GIVEAWAY!  Yep, giveaway goodness for you, my lovely readers!  Just give me a little while to make them and I will come back to you with more details – stay tuned for this and those other plans for the blog.

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I am here!

Hello hello, dear readers!

I am still here, I promise! I’m so sorry for the lack of posts recently, but I hope that if I tell you I handed in my dissertation two weeks ago and my final piece of uni work on Monday, then you will understand. I have been one seriously busy Gentlewoman. I’m still recovering and have been kept busy with the things I’ve fallen behind with, but I have some fun and what I hope will be exciting plans for this blog, so please do stay tuned and expect some announcements in the next couple of weeks!

Love to you all!
x

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