Doing, not blogging

Hey there! It's been one of those weekends where I've been so busy doing bloggable things but not finding a spare moment (when I'm awake*) to blog about them. I had a fabulous day on Friday. In the morning, whilst waiting in for the man from the garage to come and collect the car for repair**, I finally tackled the huge mound of yarn, fibre, patterns, fabric, and needles that I (affectionately) and the boyfriend (not so affectionately) liked to call Mount Stashmore. It felt so good to tidy up that corner and I found a lot of stuff that I had forgotten about (or at least had no idea where it was) in the process.

As soon as the man came for the car I dashed off to get the bus and train to Reading for some Christmas shopping. I had a lovely time in John Lewis buying fabric for a party dress although I was slightly fazed by the amount of choice when buying gold satin. Eventually I emerged with 2.5 metres of silk satin in new gold, a matching zip and thread, and special machine needles for stitching silk. I also managed to sort out pressies for my sister, the boyfriend, and my new second cousin once removed. Then, around 4, I met up with Felix and we headed over to Mark's to wait in again (this time for the man for the boiler). We had a gorgeous afternoon and evening sitting and knitting and drinking tea in front of the fire.

On Saturday I went for a run, tidied up a bit around the flat, and then steeled myself to cut into the silk with my new serrated dressmaking scissors. Cutting out the dress pieces was a nightmare, the silk just slips away from the scissor blade, the pattern, and the pins every chance it gets and it wasn't until I'd cut out most of the pieces that I realised that the rotary cutter, used frehand, is the best way to cut out silk.

I was really scared that if I stopped working on the dress I would lose my nerve and pack it away somewhere to languish so I just did it (as a leading sportswear brand) would say. Thankfully the stitching was considerably easier than the cutting and I managed most of the sewing by Sunday morning. Now I just need to hem the outer dress and the lining and I'll be all set for the work Christmas party next Thursday. I'll try to get someone to take some pictures then for the blog.

Sunday I had a cross country race in the morning followed by a leaving do (my friend Katie has got a nw job in Nairobi) in the afternoon. The cross country was great. All the training I've been putting in really seems to have had an effect - I came 60th out of a field of around 150 (which is pretty good for me. After the race I had the best shower ever round at my friend Lizzie's accommodation - I'd forgotten just how much hot water you get in student buildings - and then headed for the pub and Katie's leaving do where I had the yummiest drink in the work, hot apple and cinnamon toddy. At £5.20 a mug it's an expensive taste to acquire but I watched the barman closely the second time around and I think I can make my own now.

OK, I'm falling asleep as I type this so I'm off to bed with a skimmed milk hot chocolate and Dorothy Wordsworth's journals - they are just delightful.

* I've been feeling very sleepy in the evenings, possibly due to all the running!

** I got rear-ended at a roundabout the Saturday before last - the boyfriend and I were both fine (if a little shaken) but it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.