Anvil envy

Anvil envy has been identified (unofficially!) amongst my friends and yes, you know who you are.

My Hero was responsible for my star Christmas present this year. No, it wasn’t the monthly delivery of flowers, lovely thought though that is. Much as I was delighted with the wool pressing mat and Nigella’s latest book too, it was the smallest - and heaviest! - package that brought the biggest smile to my face.

A small jewellers’ anvil.

I’d had my eye on one for some time, because in previous years I’ve been given lovely new cutting mats to cover my worktop in the studio to replace the old, beaten up ones which had seen better days. But it didn’t take long before these new ones were also beaten up, with holes and dings in the previously smooth surface.

I have a habit of using a hammer and punches, of fixing eyelets and metal joints in bears and I needed a more solid surface on which to do these things. My Hero delivered!

He had given me this set of tools some years ago and they were one of the major culprits to leave their mark on my cutting mats. Working on my Christmas journal this morning, trying to get it finished before Easter (!) I gathered them, my hammer and my anvil up, calling “anvil moment!” to my Hero, who I knew would be happy to see me using his gift.

Five minutes later, the notch is cut perfectly, the little tag holds the page closed, keeping the receipt from our recent stay at Le Manoir aux Quatr’ Saisons safe but under wraps. Sight of such things could induce heart attacks in unsuspecting readers.

Importantly, my work surface is unblemished - not that much of it is visible right at this moment!