Winter is most definitely here

You might have noticed that winter is most definitely arrived. The bed has been turned into a shrine to the God of duvets, blankets and hot water bottles, and we are extremely grateful for the semi-finished-but-still-functioning curtains, which are very noticeably and substantially aiding the insulation of the house.

Work has become super-super busy. 8.30am to 7.30pm or later. Add to that the client drinks and other networking events I am expected to attend, and my free time shrinks to almost zero. Hence why I'm so behind-hand on blogging - and on my emails, messages etc. Balance? The scales are totally to one side. I can be there for my work but not my boyfriend, for my family but not my friends... Does anyone have any magic beans that give you the ability to balance all the things you want to do with and for the people you love, the things that make you who you are and the things that can take you to who you want to become?

No? Well, at least I've got a pair of socks that are comfy and warm. Baby steps, yes? I might not feel in control of my life but at least I'm in control of what I wear under my shoes. (Erm. Yes. Very profound.)

Nine tips for cheap(ish) city holidays

Back from ten days' holiday to beautiful, grey, rainy Belgium. We went to Sweden which you'd have thought would be quite expensive, but we found many ways to save money and have wonderful trip. So I thought I'd share our top tips for not blowing your holiday budget on day 1. (Mostly city-based).

1. Book in advance. Duh.

2. Stay in a hostel. Or, if your budget is more generous and you're staying for long enough, a self-catering place. I prefer staying in hostels to hotels for several reasons: free wifi and computers in pretty much every hostel; a kitchen for self-catering; and a chance to chat with the staff and get some tips on where to go, what to do. Most hostels have private double/twin rooms these days, although you usually still share a bathroom (but not always). Check out HostelBookers.com for reviews and prices. (Check the facilities - sometimes you pay extra to hire towels.)

3. Check travel costs from the airport. For travel from airport to city centre, check out public transport links - but don't always assume it's the cheapest rate. If you're a group, one taxi may be cheaper than four train tickets. Compare train and bus - Stockholm central to Arlanda by train is twice the price of the bus - but only four minutes faster.

4. Avoid eating out. A major advantage of staying in a hostel is access to communal kitchens. Most hostels I have stayed in have provided excellent and modern facilities, with cooking implements, and will often also provide basics like salt, or tea and coffee. Ask hostel staff about the local budget supermarket, and take yourself on down there to stock up. The local specialties, which are often only available in tourist trap restaurants, are also often cheapest in the supermarket. If your budget stretches to it, find a local bakery and treat yourself to fresh bread or the local flavour bun/pastry for breakfast. For lunch, prepare sandwiches to eat on the go, bring fruit, and fill up your own water bottles. For supper, revisit student days (or A Girl Called Jack's website) for quick and easy recipes. (Tip: check the kitchen implements first, so you don't find yourself without a tin opener.)

5. Start with a free walking tour. Most cities I have visited in the last four years or so have a free walking tour. (Another advantage of staying in a hostel is that tour guides often stop by the hostel before the tour starts to collect anyone who wants to join.) Free walking tours are exactly what they say - usually once a day during tourist season, and sometimes lasting up to three hours, local guides walk you around the city giving details of the city's history and current culture. You often see unusual parts of the city not covered by professional tours, you can ask for recommendations of places to go, you quickly get a sense of how the city fits together, and - of course - it's free. The tour guides are usually volunteers who are not paid, so at the end of the tour they will ask for tips. Essentially, you pay what you can or what you feel the tour was worth.

6. Look for free entry to exhibits/activities. In many cities, museums and art galleries will be free entry at some point. In the UK, national museums are always free but in many other European countries, museums will be free one day (or one evening) a week. Ask at the local tourist office - they might even have a map of all the museums with entry times and admission detailed on the back. Otherwise, take a little time with the free hostel internet to check them out. In Stockholm, we found no less than nine museums with free entry during our stay.

7. Explore on foot. One of my favourite things to do is just walk around the city, checking out side streets, browsing through antique shops and checking out the local parks. Holidays should be relaxing, and stopping in a beautiful park hidden off the beaten track, or finding a bench alongside a river or lake, is about as relaxing as it gets. We are avid readers and often bring books or just sit and soak up the atmosphere. Treat journeys between activities as opportunities to explore a new area of the city, and shun the local public transport system whenever possible. (Hint: bring comfortable shoes and a jumper for cool evenings.)

8. For souvenirs or gifts, shop at the flea market. Flea markets are AWESOME and you can find some really lovely things. Keep your camera in your bag - many stallholders do not like to be photographed - and keep an eye out for pickpocketing. Alternatively, bring back a sample of the local tipple from the supermarket. 

9. Seek out small, simple pleasures. One of the highlights of my holiday in Stockholm was sitting in the centre of the old town, wrapped up in a blanket, sipping hot chocolate as the light faded and the candles twinkled. Closely followed by a glass of mead served by barstaff dressed as Vikings in an underground bar, seated on wooden benches and animal pelts, by candlelight.

The dilemma of decluttering

I love reading about de-cluttering. I love the idea of getting rid of all the stuff that's clogging up my space and my energies. But I also love the idea of being ultra-frugal, of avoiding waste and getting as much use as possible out of something before passing it on or disposing of it. And these two often come into conflict. Add into the mix that I am by nature a MASSIVE hoarder, and struggle to let go of the most mundane, useless, impersonal things (say, a packet of noodles that's several years past it's use-by date), and you have a constant inner battle over what to do.

A classic example of this is my craft pile. Consisting of half-finished projects, fabric and wool bought for things I've not yet made, and numerous scraps and old clothes which I am holding on to in case I ever take up quilt making, this pile spreads through three cupboards, the wardrobe, under the bed and most recently, a growing pile on the sofa. Hardly ideal!

So I'm slowly trying to work my way through my project pile and my stash, as this is the only answer for both frugality and decluttering. My latest achievement: an oven glove! This project was started quite recently (I ran into issues with insulation) but is pretty frugal - the main part is made from a tea towel I picked up in a flea market in Finland (isn't it gorgeous?!) for a tiny sum, and the mits are cut from odds and ends of previous projects. I did buy the binding and the insulation, but there's plenty of insulation left for me to make further oven gloves as gifts. (Although one way of looking at this is: I have added more to my stash than I used up in this project...)

Honesty compels me to admit that I did get the main panel on the other side (hidden in the photo) the wrong way round but after four and a half hours, I couldn't face unpicking everything. The stitching is also a little messy as I had to sew over the bias binding several times to catch all the edges, but this is the first time I've used bias binding so I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. And it works!!

My very first skeins

So it turns out I shouldn't have set the yarn before plying it. Anyone have any good projects involving singles yarn?

This is my very first spindle-full of yarn. It makes me hoppy-skippy-happy to look at my lovely skeins. I split the yarn in two, because there's a very clear point about halfway through the spindle-full of yarn when I suddenly 'get' the whole drafting thing, and you can see that the two skeins are very different in thickness, evenness and, shall we say, use-ability?

As this involved digging my spindle out of the Bottomless Pile of Craft Stuff, I couldn't resist starting on another yarn, this time to be plied before setting! It seems that whatever secret I suddenly discovered at that half way point has been lost because my new yarn is a bit slubby and the drop spindle keeps, well, dropping. I'm sure I can rediscover it, though! All the bloggers I read who spin say that it really comes down to practice.

One loaf is not enough

Yesterday I finally tried out A Girl Called Jack's soda bread recipe. She calls it 'airy fairy easy peasy soda bread' - and it's by far the simplest, quickest, easiest bread I've ever made. It came out beautifully tasty - so much so that one loaf was not enough, and I made another one.

 It's so quick! From start to stomach in an hour. My second loaf was lighter and I reckon I could get it lighter still with time. Both were utterly delicious. I just can't get over how easy and quick! It's a loaf I can make after work that's ready in time for supper, and the ingredients are all things I have in the cupboard/fridge all the time so no planning or shopping is required. It's so simple that I didn't even have to refer to the recipe second time around. Thank you Jack!

Distractions

Do you get these periods? Maybe it's just me. I periodically seem to sort of 'switch off' for a week or so. I don't really engage with anything, and all I seem to want to do is reread old books and rewatch old movies that I've read/seen a million and twelve times (roughly).

I know this is not ideal - this is very much a retreat from the frontier of life, and it's extremely unfair on my boyfriend who starts wondering if he's annoyed me somehow. It says a lot about my lack of self-discipline that it takes me so long to pull myself out of it. But I'm out again now! And trying to catch up on the housework that I allowed to pile up.

During these detached, unproductive and undisciplined moments, I find myself re-reading books by LM Alcott and similar, in which the characters openly discuss their battles against their weaker instincts in a journey to be 'good' human beings, with value not just through their jobs or their material possessions but through growth and relationships. There's something ironic about reading rather than living this kind of life, and I find myself thinking 'what would Darryl Rivers do?' (She certainly wouldn't be inside blogging on a day like this!)

I am now enjoying once again the lovely feeling of being lazy and productive at the same time. Thank you, oh thank you industrial revolution! for giving us the washing machine. Is there a better feeling in life than curling up with a cup of tea, smug in the knowledge that the laundry is being washed and the bread being baked while I sit and relax? 

Has anyone ever made an oven glove?

I'm trying to make a pair of oven gloves. I have a lovely Cath Kidston pattern from her book Sew! and I've cut out all the fabric and batting, but before I make it up, I am testing the heat-proof-ness against a cool-ish iron - and it is utterly failing to withhold the heat for more than about three seconds.

I've got two layers of batting, a dressmaking cotton both sides, plus tea-towel-type thick cotton on one side, and it's still not working. What is the problem? Is it the batting? (Cotton quilting batting, the only cotton kind in the shop) or the fabric? Or have I not added enough layers of either fabric or batting? Should the batting be wool rather than cotton?

Any thoughts or suggestions most welcome!