Someone save me. I'm making bunting...

One of the things I was determined to do during my few months as a lady of leisure was to learn how to use my sewing machine. I've had it for four years now and, with the exception of one angry afternoon when I swore loudly at it while attempting to make a failed cushion cover, I've never used it. It was a second anniversary present from Andy. In case you're thinking that doesn't sound very romantic, and in fact suggests Andy was suggesting I should become more domesticated and regress to some kind of wartime ideal where I spend my evening darning his socks and mending his clothes, he bought it at my request.

We do the themed anniversary presents thing. Although it sounds a bit corny, it actually makes life more interesting and saves each of you having to think up something hugely romantic and meaningful every year. That said, I don't think we'll ever quite surpass our first anniversary, when we approached it with gusto. The theme for your first year is paper, so Andy bought me the complete 7 hardback volumes of the Oxford History of Western Music and I commissioned him a painting of Durham, the place we lived when we got married. Ah, very romantic I know. Things go downhill from here...

The second year the theme was cotton - I got the aforementioned sewing machine and Andy got... well, he got a power kite which may or may not have had some cotton involved in some of the stitching somewhere along the way. Year three was leather, but before your mind starts racing I'll tell you that I got a lovely leather bag which I still use every day and Andy got some kneepads to go with the aforementioned power kite (I've omitted to mention that the kite and the kneepads were actually bought at the same time, because it took us a whole year to get round to buying the 2nd anniversary present). Year four... Well, things start to get complicated around then because there are so many varied themes for anniversaries these days, that we started to pick and choose the ones that we liked. If you look up fourth anniversaries it says linen and silk, or fruit and flowers - or the 'modern option', electrical goods. Quite a wide choice. I would have asked for a fruit tree but I'd just bought myself some of these when we moved into our new house, so instead Andy bought me a little bay tree which sits outside the front of the house - you know the kind, with the little ball-shaped head that posh people have on either side of their giant porches (we don't have a giant porch). And Andy... well, I can't actually remember what I bought him that year (you can sense the enthusiasm in the idea fading can't you?). This year was our fifth anniversary for which the theme is wood. I bought Andy a big splitting axe. Because nothing says I love you like a giant axe. He actually hasn't bought me anything yet (our anniversary was in July), nor in fact have I had a birthday present either (except the two pairs of slippers - yes, really), but he owes me a carved wooden bowl.

Anyway, back to the sewing machine. Mum bought me two beginners books on how to use my sewing machine for my birthday (for some reason all my birthday presents seem to have come in twos this year), and on Sunday I set about making friends with it. I was very diligent and sat down reading through the introductory chapters about finding the right space, setting up your machine, getting the right equipment etc etc... After an hour or so I had managed to thread the machine and sew a few straight lines without any swearing. Not a bad effort.

I had the idea that because we can't decorate the baby's room in the house we're renting here, I would make some bunting to hang up and make the room more colourful. So I found a kit online from a great website called Clothkits, who make all sorts of easy-to-make kits for clothes, toys, dolls etc. It was actually surprisingly difficult to find bunting kits online which were suitable for a baby's room but which were not either pink or blue. Since we don't know what we're having, and in any case I object to the pink and blue thing, I chose a really brightly-coloured kit, which I must admit turned out to be a bit brighter than even I had intended when it arrived. I had also assumed all the triangles would be cut out for me and I would literally just have to sew them on to the line and hey presto: bunting. But in the event it was more work than that, but also more rewarding as a result. The fabric arrived in long strips which I had to measure and cut up into triangles.

From long strips of material...

...to nice neat triangles, pinned ready for sewing...

...with a little 'help' from Bella

Then you have to pin the triangles together, sew them up inside-out, turn them out the right way and press them, before you can attach them all to the bias binding and finally have some bunting. It took me a fair few hours' work but I'm really chuffed with the result, given that before I started I didn't know my bobbin from my feed dogs. And it turns out that actually the sewing is the quick and easy part - it's the measuring, cutting and pinning bits that take some time and care to get right. It takes a bit of patience, and I don't have much of that, but I'm inspired to try something a bit trickier next time, maybe even some curtains... I wonder if the baby will appreciate the effort?