I am proud that I made a grown woman cry......read on dear reader.....

I am proud that I made a grown woman (a woman I do not know mind) cry : in fact  not just cry but sob and sob to the point  where she was rendered speechless....arm waving and everything!

I will relate more of that tale in a moment but I am pausing awhile to display my Spring purse.

You don't make a purse just for Spring!!!!

Well I never heard the like!

 Made a little hastily but good enough for those trips to the Co-op

Tra la la.....

Fiddle dee dee

 Lost in a sea of panseeeeeee

If you care to discover what happened to the other bits of this embroidery you will find out here if you read right through the post.

 Once I had made this I was going to go round the house collecting together bits of what I call 'Pansy'nalia - but I thought you might think that a little over the top (as a teenager I had a 'thing' for china pansies and had a little collection of china pansy pendants!) so settled just for this.

 The pretty fabric is flocked - flocked pansies no less!  This was my Christmas present from sister Sue: you may recall we have a fluctuating '£1 to £5 maximum'  budget for Christmas presents and there is a bit of competition as to who can trump another's bargain buy!  Sister Sue has insider trading with the WI which might explain her bargains each year.

 Just in case you feel cheated by the paucity of photographic material in this post I am adding in some extras - call it a 'bonus buy', 'freeby', 'just because'.   The purse below was made for someone from work as a 'surprise/shock' so really does belong in this post .  Ms X has patiently helped me very much over the years : as we recently were discussing Spring bulbs (specifically iris reticulata) and the joy they add to the garden I thought that I would make her this by way of thanks.  I sent it last week so should arrive on her desk this morning I think.

So this was the starting point using some of my favourite floral fabric (good alliterative phrase!) : I have yards and yards but  very miserly when I come to using it.  The fabric dates from the late 40s (I have gone on about it previously I think) but was  never used - bought from a local'ish (Gosport) shop a few years ago.  I love it.

Please tell me that you have seasonal cups - if you don't have seasonal cups I urge you to obtain some asap

The little flowers (just happened to be next to me when taking the photos so thought I would add them in) are second hand from a charity shop head band.  I am going to make 'Spring tra la la dingly dangly' things  to hang from the chandelier : add in some 'old birds'  to 'create something darling'  or 'create something' darling!

A 'bottom' picture for old times sake!

Back to the original story!

Triumphalism is not a pleasant attribute but I must admit that I felt triumphant in my endeavours this time around and in making a grown woman cry.  After watching her sob and not able to speak I merely said: 'Job done' and walked away......

'What a terrible event it must have been'

'She must really have shown her true colours this time' ('What do you mean THIS time?)

'I always knew that there was a darker side..... ' ( I've NEVER heard you say that Arthur)

'I've always said that the truth will out'  (Thank you Martha - your unstinting support has always been a marvel and source of great comfort......)

The Back Story:

Just after Christmas a local charity shop was having its New Year sale - goodness me things were cheap so what is a woman who has a house bulging at the seams supposed to do.....

Naturally I bought a cupboard. The cupboard  cost me ten of our Kingdom's pounds - more of the cupboard another time.

THAT IS NOT WHAT MADE THE WOMAN CRY.

 I was on foot and said that I would return when I had a means of transport to get cupboard from Charity shop to Custard Towers.  No thank you, I did not want to pay £10 delivery - that would double the cost of the cupboard and add to environmental costs so we would all just have to wait.

THAT IS NOT WHAT MADE THE WOMAN CRY.

Cupboard had to wait slightly longer than I thought because on returning to Custard Towers I realised that I had no space for it.   So  I then listed a cupboard on ebay and sold that in order to create space for the cupboard that I had just bought.  Life can get a bit complicated with all the cupboard shifting that has to be done.  The cupboard which I sold WAS CRAMMED TO THE GILLS WITH STUFF.  I had to do a fair bit of sorting : not an unpleasant task and certainly better than having to cut toe nails or clean out the toilets/lavatories so I am not complaining...too much.

The Front Story:

Time passed and I realised that I could not delay in collecting the cupboard much longer....off I went..........
 Naturalment upon my arrival  I looked around the charity shop again....some nice things but 'NO' I must be firm....however I heard some nice fabric calling to me :  'Over here...that's right.....I am nice and cheap so you know I have to be bought'...that type of fabric....you know the sort... nice AND cheap!

On taking the fabric (curtains in fact) to the counter the manager became emotional and told me that they had in fact belonged to her mother who had died last year.

Did I respond by saying: 

a) 'Get over it love, that's life' 
b)  'Finders keepers dearie' 
c) 'Oh no - please keep them....no please...I feel awful and you feel awful...please'.


AHEM!  Shame on you if you said a) or b) !!!

A bit of a  tussle ensued along with some :  'Please keep them' 'Please buy them' going on......

'Oh dear : well I promise that I will make you something nice so that you always have that memory....not sure when....but I'll be back'

Some time passed..... I had more fabric sifting and cupboard sorting to do .  Sometimes things take a while.

 When |I read blogs I note that  others have grand works to make - ordered by large businesses - and large orders to make  for  grand folks -   I get to make a little purse for a manager of a charity shop! However I felt very good about it....very good indeed.

Eventually I made this:

Waste not, want not:  the curtain lining was used to line the purse.

  I took Bronte with me back to the shop so that she could witness kindness in action!  As I walked toward the manager with the little gift in my hands she started to well up .......and then really cry:

 'Look what you've done to my mother's curtains' she wailed 'They have been absolutely ruined'.

 Written for comedic effect.  I made that bit up!  Cheeky!

In fact she could say nothing - she was waving her hand in front of her face, rendered speechless and gave me a hug in between sobs.  I said: 'Job done' and out Bronte and I went (An aside: Is this an example of a split infinitive?).

I particularly liked the little child sobbing....not unlike the manager herself!

I have said this many times : fair exchange is no robbery and little things really do mean a lot.  Sometimes that is all it takes in life to make someone happy - simple stuff but with great impact.  I was quite chuffed.



PS: Nothing to do with anything...whilst re-reading AJP Taylor's 'Origins of the Second World War' I got stuck on the word 'goak' (I must have by-passed that in my pre-Google youth!).  Searching for the meaning I found that many people had the same question: 'I am reading AJP Taylor and have come across the word 'goak'......'   It is good to know that there is a common bond amongst us all !


PPPS: For no good reason I am adding in a photograph that I took a few weeks ago - I was going to use it for a Valentine's Day post but never got round to it.  These are the local swans that also sometimes waft over our garden -  the sound of their wings remind me of that wonderful Grimm (contradiction in terms!)  fairy tale.     I waited ages (five minutes...I am not the patient sort) for the swans to 'align' in a heart shape.....I nearly grabbed necks at one point to show them how I wanted them to pose!  Anyway here it is...nearly a heart shape for a nearly Valentine's Day post

PPPPS: Final one!

'Today we are looking through the ...............stained glass window.....' (vintage tins in the background...)

'Tis the season to be Springy tra la la la la la la laaaaaah!

PPPPPS: The 'now and again' posts work better I think - don't wish to burden the electorate

PPPPPPS:  Saddened that the children were not too pleased with me popping up in the  'John Lewis' Spring window display singing my rendition of:  'If I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of Spring....' à la Harry Seacombe.  Can't please everybody.  Mind you if the children had done that......



Phew!

PPPPPPPS: Thank you SO MUCH again for calling in and kindly using precious time to post a comment

Final phew!