On “A Book Of Nonsense”: A Book Review

 

About the book…
A Book of Nonsense is a collection of poems and sketches by Mervyn Peake, who is best known for his Gormenghast novels.

What I think…
I absolutely adore Mervyn Peake and am perfectly delighted with this book! With Peake one can always expect a touch of whimsy, regardless the subject matter, and this book does not leave one disappointed in fulfilling that. Furthermore, one of the things I truly enjoy about his poems, as with his novels, is his beautiful use of the English language. In everything he paints such a clear picture with words that in the reader’s mind it leaves a firm and lasting impression.

Multiple poems stand out as favorites for me, foremost among them “I Cannot Give the Reasons” (have no reason as to why), the ridiculously silly “Aunts and Uncles” (Uncle Jake graces the cover), and the charming “O Here It Is! Oh There It Is!..” (cute flying pear with chilblains, anyone?). All are a bit quirky, but it is the type of quirky that makes one want to read them over and over.

This book also contains a nice selection of his uniquely bizarre sketches, which range from being very simple to having greater detail demonstrating the range of his artistry.

To sum it all up…
Being such a fan of Mervyn Peake to begin with and having first found out about him through his poetry about six years ago, I can’t do anything more than happily recommend this merry and amusing book! ♥

On Thoughts of the Beach

As summer arrives with its increasingly warm and sunny weather it’s not all that unusual for one’s thoughts to begin wandering to spending more time outdoors. And, common among these are thoughts of visiting the beach!

(excuse the reflections, it's ridiculously hard to take a
photo of this display case in the morning) 




Many activities come to mind when the beach is mentioned, including, but not limited to sunbathing, swimming, going for a stroll along the shoreline, and, in the case of the younger age group, collecting shells and building sandcastles (not that age should prevent one from doing either). While for some this could be as simple as grabbing a towel and taking a short drive and for others requires quite a bit more preparation and a long trip, it is certainly undeniable that any of these activities could lead to a delightful day in the sun accompanied by a refreshing ocean (or lake) breeze.




What's not love about this adorable crab?

 

Whether you’ll be heading off to the beach this summer or are just planning to soak up some sun at home, I hope your summer is off to a lovely start. Happy second day of summer! ♥

On the Flamingo Skirt & Pink Blouse

With warmer weather headed our way, it’s finally reaching the point where I’m able to start wearing more of the things I’ve sewn during the colder months. And one of my favorites (which I say about almost everything right after I finish it) would have to be this flamingo skirt I made in January.

I had been thinking about this project for quite some time, but was waiting for the perfect fabric. Needless to say, I jumped on this print the moment I saw it because it was just what I was looking for!

 

Once again I used my Simplicity 3773 pattern (seen previously here and here), which can probably be safely considered my go-to skirt pattern. Having never done an appliqué before I think I learned just about everything not to do when using one. I had sketched out my own flamingo design including distinct tail feathers. Just in case you’re wondering, it’s a bit hard to stitch around such small shapes on a sewing machine. I also decided that the beak should be a different color, bringing about the problem of how to attach it without creating a bulk. So my solution for that was to use fusible interfacing. Yes, interfacing, not fusible webbing which is what you would normally use to make it easier because it can be fused directly to the skirt. Next came sewing it on. This went well until I got to the afore mentioned tail feather section, changed the stitch size, finished the tail, and then continued to sew a few inches before realizing I hadn’t changed it back. By the time I was done I was tickled (flamingo) pink with the result, but decided that my original idea of two flamingos was not going to be carried out.

 

As for the blouse, it was made in February and was my first attempt at one. While I’m not entirely pleased with it, I did learn a lot. Originally it was just supposed to serve as a practice since I had quite a bit of magenta fabric left over from my shirtwaist dress that I had no specific plans for. As with the shirtwaist dress, the seams bunched when I ironed them (for no particular reason it seems, as I tried both a cooler iron setting and longer stitch length). The back also proved to be a little tight in fit, although this was probably due to a slight misinterpretation of the instructions and my having trimmed the seam allowance before noticing it. By the time I was finished I had put so much work into it that I decided I was definitely going to be wearing it even if it was shade of pink a tad bit brighter than I would have preferred to match with my skirt. Now having worn this outfit twice, though, I can say it’s one that will be making an appearance often. ♥