Carbon Footprints

Laugh Out Loud Cats 1117 from Ape Lad on Flickr

Too good not to share. Can thoroughly recommend the cartoon adventures of Meowlin Q Kitteh and faithful sidekick Pip - take a look at Ape Lad's Flickr photostream or buy one of his books.

* Laundry *

Today is what my mum would have called 'A good drying day'. Line-dried textiles smell like nothing else (what causes that?) and, obviously, it's a far more eco-friendly way to dry your washing. It's relatively easy to set up a line in your garden, or on your balcony, and it's much cheaper than using a tumble dryer. Apart from the occasional dash into the garden when it rains it's really a win-win situation. However there are certain useful tips, or dare I say wrinkles, to make laundering certain fabrics that much easier.

A lot of people shy away from linen and hemp clothing because of its tendency to crease. Others see that as part of its charm. Either way, there are laundering techniques that solve a lot of the problems associated with the care of linen-weave textiles.

Firstly, wash and iron garments inside out - especially if they're dyed. When linen-type fabrics crease the colour can wear off a little and you get lighter crease lines; turning inside out when laundering prevents this happening. Keep the item turned inside out when you iron these fabrics (and also cotton) or you can end up with a nasty shine on raised seams and details. Alternatively press with a cloth in between iron and garment (a damp cloth for preference).

Secondly, always iron linens whilst damp. Don't leave them on the line until they are solid! If they've dried too much simply spray a little water over them a few minutes before ironing, to allow the fabric to relax. Alternatively the damp cloth helps with this problem. Obviously steam irons are invaluable too.

Thirdly, when you take linens from the washing machine give them a good tug back into shape. Spend extra time doing this and there will be much less ironing later on. Years ago I had problems laundering some old napkins and tablecloths and my mum passed on a tip which I now pass on to you. When the item is still damp from washing pull across the weave in both directions; in other words if you're washing a tablecloth then pull from corner to corner one way and then the other, trying to do this over the whole item. Then pull straight across, working from top to bottom; hold both sides and pull quickly apart to get a nice 'snap'. Then turn the item 90 degrees and do it from the other side. By now a lot of the worst creases will have disappeared so try to dry it on the line carefully to avoid adding more. Even better, whilst the linen is drying give it a quick tug to remove even more creases every time you wander past. Doing this will sometimes allow you to get away with ironing entirely if you're not worried about a slightly rumpled look and aren't after the crispness of freshly pressed linens.

Lastly, another little tip for reducing creases when you're wearing a linen or hemp garment. These fabrics are lovely, are wonderfully cool in summer, and have a charming natural appearance but they tend to crease during wear. This is most noticeable where the garment creases such as around elbows and, heaven forfend, the groin! To reduce these a little simply damp your hands and rub over the offending area. The aim is, again, to relax the fibres so you can pull out some of the creases. Don't soak the fabric unless you want some strange looks; just slightly wet hands are enough to reduce the creasing.

Happy laundering!

So Busy

Apologies for the terrible quality of the picture which I snapped with my iPhone.  We took part in a charity fashion show organised by local Profile magazine to raise money for Macmillans.  The photo here shows our two models, Grace aged 7 and Jan aged... sorry, not telling.  Thanks to them both for helping us out.  I would describe the clothes but you can't really tell what they're wearing!

We've been so busy.  We're trying to get more products online (there are so many waiting in the wings) and we've been settling into our new home as the clothes shop moved around the corner to much nicer premises a few weeks ago. We also attended an evening award ceremony where we picked up our Peak District Environmental Quality Mark award and met other businesses who all care about the environment and sustainability.  It was an exciting evening that makes you realise you're not working alone.

Spring snow showers

Woke up to snow.  We weren't expecting that, although it was pretty cold last night.  The water in the bird baths was frozen and the countryside was covered with a soft layer of snow, melting rapidly in the sun.

Turned off our lights last night from 8.30 onwards as part of Earth Hour.  We played Boggle by candlelight for an hour and then went to bed because we were both exhausted.  Well, it confused the cat.  If we hadn't been so tired it would have been fun so I think we may schedule in regular candlelit evenings.

Grey is so last year

Difficult to believe it's not April 1st.

Some of you may have seen this in The Telegraph

Nature is extraordinary. Long live Pinky!

An end

I'm sitting here feeling very low as our vet has just left after putting our beloved Mouse to sleep. Mike couldn't be here with us as he's finding this all incredibly difficult and couldn't put himself through it. I understand completely. I would give anything not to have had to do this but Mouse was diagnosed with a terminal throat cancer in December and has gone downhill over the past few days.


Apparently these tumours become excruciatingly painful and we wanted to save him that. The last two evenings he's had real problems eating, despite obviously wanting the food so we decided that it was best for him to ease him from life now rather than waiting until he was in obvious constant pain. We could probably have left the decision for a few more days but really that would have been for our benefit I think, rather than his.


I felt terrible doing this to him as he had a good morning. He actually managed to eat quite a bit of food and went out for a wander round. I am concerned I made the wrong decision but this was not an illness he would recover from and he could only get worse. I know from personal experience that often animals (and people) have a really good day just before they go seriously downhill and I'm guessing that was the situation here. But I feel completely shitty.

Mouse was the most loving cat I've ever known, and would nuzzle into your neck when you held him. He was also a cheerful and stoical little soul, despite nearly dying twice from a blocked urinary tract and suffering a number of operations for other issues. He always bounced back immediately and never bore any grudge. I WISH HE WAS STILL WITH US.

Sorry, feeling a bit too emotional to carry on. I will blog later today or tomorrow about something far more positive but I just needed to let some of this out. Don't expect anyone really to read this but needed to say how much I loved Mouse and how much godawful pain I'm in now he's gone.

You're standing on my grass

You're standing on my grass, originally uploaded by publicenergy.

I'm very fond of cows... well, all creatures really. Cows seem to have an air of independence and intelligence that has bypassed (most) sheep. My brother, who was a herdsman for a while, told me stories about cows who could break out of locked byres and bypass complicated feed systems to gain an extra snack. He also told me about an unlikely relationship between one heifer and the farm cat, who used to ride around the fields on the cow's back.

If you share my fondness for farm animals do take a look at Dave Wild's photos at www.notsowildlife.com. His images are candid and funny and capture the innermost thoughts of these domesticated beasts. You can also order prints and more from his site.