Happy new year, stitching friends!
I write this at my studio table with a hot cup of chai latte (I know, fancy) surreptitiously watching two young men in beanies and fluorescent work gloves trying to fix the wooden fence around the car park.
They keep dropping things and getting the giggles, which makes me have to stifle my own laugh, and then I feel awkward for sitting right in front of them and not helping.
Anyway. I hope you are enjoying our Winter so far and that floods have not reached you. Floods frighten me and make me worried for our future. Have you listened to the podcast ‘No Place But the Water’? It’s good but also a little creepy in the way that all dystopian fiction is.
Christmas ‘chez Franklin’ was a mix of fun and food comas. We ate out on Christmas Day which we haven’t done for a long time. Drew and I organised it to save us hosting (cooking) over Christmas - we usually do and by Boxing Day we have gone beyond the point of exhaustion and become worn-out husks of our usual selves, mindlessly scoffing Quality Street in front of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, barely able to utter a word.
We dolled up for our local pub and nine of us settled down to a quite posh six-course Christmas lunch at 12.30 on the dot. By 12.45 we had been served our welcome cocktails, the canapés had been produced then whisked away and we were tucking into our starters. The entire meal romped along at the same break-neck speed, leaving us clutching boxes of mince pies at 2pm heading home in a slight trance, feeling as though we had mistakenly entered ourselves into one of those ‘all you can eat’ contest (reminiscent of this scene in Matilda). The food was delicious but the pace and speed of service was all wrong. I have felt a little bit grumpy about it ever since, because we ate all that food but had no leftovers to nibble on over the holidays.
As you might know, I don’t have my own children so I often like to indulge my inner child by co-ercing my nieces into crafting with me. Our Christmas tradition for the past ten years has been Gingerbread Houses but we’ve grown a bit fed up of that. This year, we made spoolhead Nutcrackers courtesy of Jenn at Noodle and Lou (her fantastic idea and she makes kits too!).
We had the best afternoon and even my Mum and sister got involved. Dad settled into the armchair to read his book but was roped into judging an impromptu spoolhead beauty contest. We ate peppermint bark and sang along to my ‘Nostalgic’ playlist (Banarama, Paul Simon, Bucks Fizz, Fleetwood Mac etc) having a thoroughly lovely time. We’re going to have another Christmas craft day this December and I’m relying on Jenn for the goods!
I really wanted to make my own Christmas cards this year but didn’t have time. It was a foolish goal for someone with a small business in retail really, we barely had time to eat and wash. So I spent a couple of cosy new year afternoons painting, cutting and sticking to make a little collage ‘cosy’ picture which Lucy, our print manager, turned into sweet little cards for me. I’m spending the afternoon writing them as ‘Happy New Year’ and thank you cards. I think New Year cards might be a more achievable goal for me in future, unless I get super organised and start my own Christmas prep in July (ever hopeful).
I’m on a bit of a schedule so I’d better wrap this up and get on with my next job (inking up a Garden Sampler embroidery pattern for print). You’ll have seen ‘A Floral Year’ at the top of the post - that’s this year’s subscription and monthly payments have been opened! Hope you can join in.
I’ll be back here soon but in the meantime, stay stitchy.
Love
Nicki xx