I actually did do some mending for the Make Do & Mend HSF challenge: there has just been so much else to post that I haven’t gotten around to writing about it! First, a little 10 minute mend.  One of the bones in my 1770s silver gilt stays was the tiniest bit too long, and had worn a hole in the kid leather binding: I unpicked that section of the binding, slipped it off the tab, pulled out the bone, cut it shorter, and smoothed it off: Then I pushed the bone back in, and used a tiny piece of leftover kid to patch the area with the hole: All that was left to do was to slip the original binding back on, and re-sew it down: The Challenge:  #1: Make Do & Mend Fabric:  a tiny scrap of kid leather Pattern:  My own, based on one in Jill Salens ‘Corsets’ book. Year:  ca. 1770 Notions:  Just thread for the mending. How historically accurate is it?  Period stays were certainly mended, but my binding technique …

Monday night I taught a class that finished at 8.30.  As I drove home in the summer twilight, there was not a breath of wind.  The harbour was deep teal, glassy and still, and mirrored back the changing sky, shot with lavender and pink, glowing gold at the Western horizon, and tinting to indigo over the Eastern hills. When I arrived home Mr D met me at the door.  “Isn’t it amazing!”  It was, indeed, amazing.  “It’s a pity it’s so late, or we could go for a walk.” “Why not?”  I said. So we hopped in the car and drove round the bays to Hataitai Beach, where we walked around the waterfront, marvelling at the sea and the sky.  Every view yielded a new delight; every moment a subtle change in the glory.  We walked to the end of the little pier, surrounded by sea and sky, the lights and boats shimmering against the water. I captured image after image of the view, and then asked Mr D to try to get one of …