Mildred is my bright blue Citroen C3 Picasso, who used to be driven by my late 93 yr old mother. Mildred is a bit like me ….getting on a bit in age, strange shape, usually reliable and has attitude with a capital kick ass “A” …. Mildred is more than somewhat tetchy at the moment … She has gone nowhere since her driver got “Shielded”. Mildred is beyond Grumpy as she hasn’t moved now for 8 months, no jolly jaunts or adventures that I could blog or write about as “Mildred’s Marvelous Meandering Musings”. I am fed up her glaring at me through the front window saying….. “Where are all these promised Marvelous Mildred blogs then?” … so OK Mildred just for you I will try a bit harder.

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My neighbour Anne is in her late 60’s and her husband is in his 80’s.I have lived next door to them since 2004, and you could not meet more considerate and kind people. Anne is also a carer for her father in his 90’s that lives 6 miles away. For the last few years before she retired, she worked as a much appreciated care worker at the nursing home that is behind our garden.

They have a niece, and a great niece who is 8. This little bundle of joy is like Tigger, bouncing and jumping with joy with a huge “Boinggg”. Pre covid she used to sit with me in the lounge while I made “stuff” for her… a case for her new sunglasses, a little girl’s matching shoulder bag, a pair of pyjamas turned into a Koala costume with a furry tummy and ears for a school event for fundraising for animals in Australia who had been caught up in the forest fires. She used to watch the sewing process and was a good as gold between excited squeals and bounces.

Miranda sadly lost her father when she was only 18 months old to cancer. She spends time at weekends and school holidays with her great Aunt and Uncle next door to me so that her Mum can work. Thankfully during Covid this has been allowed to continue as my neighbour is an official support bubble to a single parent.

A few weeks ago they decided to give Miranda her own bedroom in their spare room, instead of her sleeping on a sofa bed in their bedroom. She has been so excited and in ultra Tigger bouncy mode. I had bought some material from Gill Lawrence at Matilda’s fabric because it looked fun. Jolly ice cream material, I bought FQ’s and yardage with no clear idea of what it would be used for, but nevertheless started sewing it together in my garden using my hand crank Singer 201.

Anne popped round for a socially distanced chat and saw the top I had nearly finished and loved it. She was telling me about all the plans to redecorate and give Miranda her own little nook. I asked if Miranda would like a quilt for her new bedroom …. she was blown away by the idea, and Miranda has been involved in it’s progress…obviously socially distanced of course and was ultra excited.

I sewed like a madwoman a few weekends ago and although I had nearly finished the quilt, I had not bound it which was disappointing. Rather than let her down though, I let her have the quilt without the binding to show her Mummy. Mummy is a twin so her Aunty and Uncle got to see it too. They could not believe that someone would even want to do that for a little girl that was not related to them. But Miranda brings such joy to everyone so why not?

Well that little girl made us an apple crumble last weekend while cooking with her Great Aunt, that little girl brings round strawberries when she has been out to a pick your own farm, that little girl brings round tomatoes from their greenhouse from seeds I had given to my neighbours. That little girl will become a wonderful young lady and then a strong woman because she has had the love and influence of people who surround her that have shared old fashioned skills like cooking and sewing instead of putting a DVD on. Her innocence and joy might get battered in the the years ahead, but I have no doubt that this little excited Tigger will bring joy to others too.

I can’t wait until social distancing is no longer needed and I can sit with her in our lovely garden and teach her to sew.  

I finally finished the quilt and had to make scrappy binding as not enough left of any yardage after I had made matching pillowcases. Proper proud of those, no raw seams, all French seamed with an envelope to tuck the pillow into on one side. There are a few tiny scraps left so I am going to make her a pyjama case and a reading cushion, which will both be backed with snuggle plush in pink which has hearts on it.

The quilt backing is not conventional …I had enough blocks left over to make a strip running down the back. The fabric on the back is a pale pink 100% cotton fabric but it is just slightly heavier than quilting cotton and has a finish that I can only describe as polished or with a chintz sheen. That material came from another neighbour Dave. His wife has Supra Nuclear Palsy which is like Alzheimer’s but far worse. Sadly she had to move into a Care home because she could no longer be nursed at home even with support…. I really miss Val. I was last allowed to see her in January before the home went into complete lockdown, but at least she still has one of the quilts that I made for her. She used to be a teacher, highly loved and regarded by pupils and parents alike. She used to sing Hymns in the garden that backs onto ours at full belt… All things bright and beautiful, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, Jerusalem, and other well known devotional songs.

Val and I shared something else in common she was a fabric hoarder, and her husband knows she will sadly never come home again. I last visited her in January in the nursing home and her husband used to spend all day everyday with her at the care home. He has only been allowed to see her once since February. So cruel to both of them. Her speech has been very badly affected now so phone calls etc bring no solace.

Even when she was poorly and in a wheel chair they always came round here for Christmas Lunch and on Boxing Day. That was a big effort because as she increasingly became more poorly she point blank refused to go out. We managed it by telling her she was going “along” not out, so we managed to get her here. Dave is a great raconteur and tells some very funny stories and my husband always enjoyed sharing a beer with him

Val has a total obsession with cats, she has hundreds. She used to do a new cat arrangement every week in her bay window to delight the children going past on the way to school. Val was a much loved local teacher. Her husband still changes the arrangement every week. I gave her a very special antique Chinese cat of mine that Christmas and she often sits on their window sill looking out at a busy gaggle of children off to school.

So my neighbour has been bringing bags and boxes of material round to me as he is rattling around alone at home, and sorting out her bits and bobs have given him something to do. The material has all been used, for face coverings for the local food bank, fundraising for a local youth group called YoCO, fundraising for the local branch of the British Legion, for scrubs bags for nurses and scrubs for our local GP practice. I think that has brought him some comfort knowing that Val’s fabric has gone on to do others good. He was very happy to see the pink fabric used for a very special delightful little girl. Dave was even happier that nothing has gone to waste.

I can’t do FMQ … I use the built in stitches on my sewing machine to do wiggles and by using variegated thread this provides extra interest. I also machine sew my binding, attaching it to the back and bringing it over to the front where I use an embroidery stitch to secure it.

 

There is a huge gap at our own Christmas table this year, as I am sure there is at many other tables, but not just due to the Covid Pandemic. I always used to go home to my elderly parents in North Wales the weekend before Christmas and we would have our Christmas then. After my mother suddenly died at 93 in 2015 I brought my Daddy to live near us in Oxfordshire so we could care for him. So Daddy was a glorious addition to our Christmas Table down here. Storytelling and playing “Air Piano”  to Vera Lynn, Gracie Shields, and of course Glen Miller. He used to play a piano accordion when he was in the Fleet Air Arm and later an electronic organ. Daddy was virtually blind from Glaucoma and had Dementia but was still excellent company with a dry sense of humour and a liking for G&T’s. Pushing him back to his flat giggling like a naughty child in his wheelchair wrapped up in one of my quilts was an “interesting experience”. Putting a “Floppy Daddy” to bed was even funnier. So I am thinking of everyone else who does not have that simple joy this year, and the many empty chairs having lost parents, siblings, children and partners.

I am now predominantly a quilter, although in the distant past I used to make lots of clothes for my mother and myself. In the last 16 years I have made just one garment, a shirt with road signs for my driving instructor husband.

This year I am missing 8 very special people, my stepdaughters and their husbands, and our 4 grandchildren. Christmas is definitely not the same without them, and the squiggles grow up so quickly that not seeing them really hurts. I realise that many others are in the same boat so I can’t be selfish. I decided to resurrect my dressmaking skills with a special dress with a handkerchief hem in stretch jersey for our granddaughter. The pattern pieces are so tiny, she is only 3, and I have never sewn with a stretch knit stitch before. The pattern pieces were so fiddly trying to sew them but I eventually won. I could not see her but apparently she adores it and won’t take it off, twirling around to make the hem flare out, so at least she got a “Nanna T” hug from me in the form of a new dress and a patchwork bag. The bulldog puppy Hendrix got a new doggy quilt, and the youngest grandson got a fabric book with a rudolf story. I love making toddlers their first book, and the fabric ones made from panels are so practical.

I know this has been a long one but Mildred would approve of my seasonal “Mildred’s Marvellous Meandering Musings.”

I live in a small town in Oxfordshire, rapidly growing with new estates like many others but there is a strong community spirit. A local lady called Molly Day sadly died this year aged 95, she was always doing things for everyone else whether it was flower arranging, which she loved, or sewing and knitting, or just giving wisdom and advice. A friend and neighbour of Molly Rebekah Pugh, who was her neighbour, a close friend and also our Town Clerk, decided to set up a local group to celebrate Molly’s life by giving away 95 bunches of flowers, to mark her 95 years, to local residents who just needed a little ray of sunshine and joy. Providing a little token to show they were being thought of, into the lives of people who were alone, bereaved, or just going through tough times. You could nominate someone anonymously to receive a bunch. They met the target of 95 bunches to the delight of the recipients.

Initially they set up a Facebook page “Flowers from Molly”. This has received so much attention they now have their own website to facilitate keeping Molly’s memory alive. This is just a local Faringdon thing, but it would be lovely if other towns and villages did something similar to keep the memory of a treasured local person alive. They have now set up a website as well. They would love to help anyone wanting to do the same in other localities.

This Christmas they decided with an amazing group of volunteers and local businesses and personal donors to go an extra 95 miles with boxes of Joy. These were to be distributed to people in need of a boost, the lonely, bereaved and unsung heroes. A box of little treats to bring happiness. All via anonymous nominations. They received 160 nominations for 95 boxes. A mammoth task!

I had personally nominated two ladies I know, one of which had lost her husband to Covid, contracted when he was helping a friend with breathing difficulties. He used to be our local Ambulance Service First Responder so was of course the ideal person to help in an emergency. His friend survived Covid, he sadly didn’t. A tragic loss of a friend of mine, and obviously devastating for his wife. Another lady had also been widowed. I nominated my neighbour Dave who I mentioned above because he was going to be alone with his wife Val being in a nursing home. My doorbell rang and 2 jolly ladies were standing there with a box of joy.

 I obviously assumed it was for my neighbour Dave and was so grateful that my nomination had been successful, but the Box of Joy wasn’t for him it was for ME! WOW …. someone had nominated me for everything I do to help others locally and further afield. I was blown away and will enjoy opening my treats later.