Nini Makes

My first loved book

Sitting on a small sofa next to my Auntie Sarah begging her to read this story yet again I remember like it was yesterday. Of course it was now decades ago but my love of this particular book has never waned. She was my grand aunt, her sons are my father's cousins and lucky for me her boys were grown and gone and she loved having a little girl to spoil. She spoiled me with her time, the chocolate kisses and snow caps in her glass candy dish were just an extra bonus. I still remember asking her to read it over and over again. After I was grown we often reminisced about that time, in fact when she passed away, at least ten years ago now, she left me this special book in her will. When I received it and held it in my hands again it returned me to that sofa, her voice and the chocolate too. 

I took the book to a book restorer to have the torn pages and cover repaired. The restoration gave it a longer life so my children have enjoyed it too.

These illustrations are just as bright as I remember them being when I was a child.

This edition of The Gingerbread Man was published by Whitman Publishing in 1947 and it originally belonged to my dad's cousin Bill. The paper isn't the best quality, but the illustrations still look wonderful.

I never felt sorry for gingerbread man when he met his demise nor did I wonder how he came to life in an oven, I just loved his adventure and admired the fox for being so clever.

This book has now been loved by three generations in my family, I hope it lasts for many more.

Do you remember your first favourite book?

Happy Thursday to you!

Jx

PS, EDIT: Gracie's tutorial will go up later today is now up. Also, I came across a beautiful pot with a deer etched on it at school this week in the art department. When I turned it over to find the maker I found my boy's initials carved in it. I'm hoping he'll share how he made it on his own blog.

What's the time?

Time is a funny concept. It disappears when my hands are busy making things, or when I finally get into the heart of an overdue chore like reorganizing my fabric cupboard or when I'm reading a great book. And in the winter it's hard to tell what time of day it is. The skies are grey for days on end, and when you're sitting in a cloud, outside it looks the same at 8am as it does at 4pm. So I clock watch, until it's time to get children from school.

This week has been a lot of getting stuck into chores, but also playing with supplies as I go about reorganizing and cleaning. The bunny above hasn't laid eggs, he's just taking a peek at what I've been up to. In the midst of finding a new home for my roving I began playing with tiny needle felting and it's been fun.

Gracie has been playing too. She has a friend who had  a tiny hat attached to a hair clip. Gracie really liked it so she made one for herself. She's mulling over my offer to help her cover it with felt.

Between the two of us, organizing takes a long, long time, we're both happily and easily distracted.

Colour at the moment is found mainly in the form of the mosses and lichen enjoying some warmer temperatures and the rain, rain, rain. The garden is already awash with mud post snow-melt and I've scarcely taken off my wellies for the last two weeks. 

Also, a little birdie hinted that there aren't many pictures of me online. So here's a doosie taken by my brother. I'm feigning surprise while I open a coat that I asked for and knew I was getting. Though that face doesn't look surprised, not sure what it looks really. And I'm also not sure why I'm wearing my glasses, I use them when I drive.

This week there are some really very lovely giveaways happening. An incredibly old prize is being offered here, beautiful missing pieces can be won here, a dreamy fiber prize here (if you're really quick) and some wonderful loot won here. If you enter them all, your odds are great don't you think?

And, I just finished one of the best books I've read in yonks, Small Island by Andrea Levy. As I linked the book I found out the BBC made the book into a TV movie last year and there are some brilliant actors in it. I'll try and get my hands on the DVD and hope it's as good as the book. Did you see the TV film; how was it?

Do you have any good books on the go?

Happy weekend to you,

Jx

 

 

I love surprises

This was a surprise, because it was so quick & easy to make. I'd made the flower from a felted bit of dyed blanket ages ago and it had been sitting next to my sewing machine (along with too many other things) for ages. So I finally stitched an elasticated bracelet for it, added leaves and voila. A little pin ditty for my wrist.

Wonderful surprise. Lovely, witty Amy sent me Amanda Soule's book. Am I the last English speaking mother on earth who didn't already have it? I'll crack it open this week during our half-term break. She also sent me a mountain of hexagons in gorgeous fabrics and gingham pouch, this photo doesn't really show just how many hexies there are. Thank you generous Amy, it made me smile very wide indeed and your note, as always, made me guffaw like a mad-woman :)

Amy is hosting her Clothesline Challenge again this year, so ban the tumble dryer and join in. And if you can't ban it, try and use it a bit less. I'm very excited to say we finally have warm enough weather to hang the laundry out instead of in.

Another surprise this week came in the form of a beautifully decorated envelope filled with very pretty stitched paper greetings, cheery floral photos and the sweetest loom flowers that I'd admired on Flickr. Most of you will recognize the handiwork of the very kind Nanou; her parcels are so thoughtful and lovingly prepared, even her delicate handwriting is a treat to read. Thank you again Nanou  :)

 

Wishing you all a warm and sunny weekend!

A project close to my heart

I'm so thrilled to finally be able to share this very special project with you. I've been working on the design of this book for several months now. It's called Remembering, a type of book/journal to help children work through bereavement.

It's author, Dianne Leutner, the illustrator, Daniel Postgate and myself have all experienced the loss of someone close to us and through research we've found that a child in the UK loses a parent every 30 minutes. This doesn't even take into account the loss of a sibling, friend, grandparent or other people close to them.

Dianne's text has just the right touch sensitivity, and Daniel's illustrations are outstanding. There is space for photos and drawings as well as spaces to write about the loved one. This book is like a special little place for a child to return to, helping them remember their loved one, whenever they wish.

The response to the preliminary copies of the book has been overwhelming; local teachers, vicars and doctors all wanting copies to distribute as needed.

Lady Mountbatten, the Honorary President of The Child Bereavement Charity has said Remembering is "A very helpful little book of comfort for bereaved children."

It's not even published yet and a copy made its way into the hands of Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, they are writing about Remembering in their national newspaper column this Saturday. For those of you in America, Richard and Judy are the Oprah equivalent in the UK with their own book club and talk show.

Now we are searching for the right publisher to take it on. While it's in the hands of several publishers at the moment, if anyone has any publishing contacts for this specific type of book that might help speed up the process, please let us know through this site.

There's such a huge need for a book like this, people are offering to buy copies printed from our inkjet printers not wanting to wait for a real printed version.

If anyone is in need of a book like this, email us at dianne.leutner@btinternet.com or leave us a comment and we'll add you to the waiting list. As the book is ready to print, it should be ready for distribution soon - with or without a publisher, we'll get it out.