Dragonfly

20 :: doing a runner...

2011-12-20T17:17:00.000Z

Not literally, I might add, although it sometimes feels very tempting.

Following on from this post, I have brightened up my kitchen table with a new runner.

It is far too close to the ends of the table at the moment but come the weekend, I will have two extra leaves in to extend it to seat the masses.

The blocks are the Starry Night Blocks over at Fresh Lemons and are my first attempt at paper piecing. Faith's tutorial is fab and I am loving my interpretation of the block. I used some red and natural fabrics from my stash, some of my precious Spoonflower fabric and some natural linen/cotton mix that I was given by a generous friend.

It is looking a little crinkled up because it has been folded up for a couple of days now~~I'm sure it will flatten out! I used Insul-Brite heat resistant batting plus a layer of regular batting as I want to be able to put all my hot dishes straight from the oven onto it without worrying about scorching the table.

19 :: rekindled...

2011-12-19T17:28:00.001Z

I have the knitting bug back!

It's been ages since I knitted anything and since I finished my wrist-warmers I have been planning and dreaming of yarn!

So, next up on the needles was this ribbed cowl, as recommended by Kristina. Once again, I used Malabrigo worsted, this time in Pink frost, which is a beautiful, soft dusky pink. All details on Ravelry.

In fact, I love this colour so much, I have something else on the go already using the other skein I bought...

18 :: Oh, Christmas Tree...

2011-12-18T17:02:00.000Z

My tree is up, at last, having been in the garage since Wednesday.

It looks nice and twinkly in spite of my decorations being slightly sombre in colour.

It's not much fun putting it up on my own, to be honest, but No2 just shrugged when I suggested that he might like to come and help. He doesn't seem to get Christmassy these days which makes finding the motivation to get it all ready for our guests a little difficult to come by sometimes.

I think I will call it a day with the decorations now. It is time to concentrate on the menu planning and ingredient buying.

17 :: Christmas pudding cupcakes...

2011-12-17T18:19:00.000Z

I made Christmas pudding cupcakes for my craft ladies. They were delicious!

Easy peasy - you just add some mincemeat to a cupcake recipe then ice with brandy buttercream and sprinkle with red sugar crystals.

They were incredibly light, but still nice and moist. I made them smaller than my regular cupcake size because I wanted to use the gold liners and so I have another dozen in the freezer for Christmas tea.

Recipe found here.

16 :: Christmas sewing...

2011-12-16T16:46:00.000Z

Pretend that I didn't miss a day of advent! Not really sure where the time went yesterday...

Today I have been able to spend some much needed therapeutic time in my sewing room.

My table runner is ready to quilt so hopefully I'll have a reveal over the weekend.

14 :: berries...

2011-12-14T17:00:00.001Z

I am taking advantage of the profusion of berries on the bushes this year and bringing them indoors to add to my festive decorating.

The ones on the ivy are particularly impressive and add drama to a bunch of supermarket roses on the kitchen table.

I bought the tree today and was unable to resist a bunch of mistletoe too.

13 :: M&M's...

2011-12-13T17:06:00.000Z

I had fun today, shopping with my sister. Something we don't do nearly often enough.

There was some present-buying for No2 in Selfridges (my favourite of the big London stores) and then the day ended at M&M'sWorld in Leicester Square.

Tacky, I know, but sometimes these things need to be done because I need just green ones for my Christmas table. As you do.

12 :: Not my favourite part of Christmas...

2011-12-12T17:27:00.000Z

I write so infrequently with a pen now that I have found it to be quite a chore and so doing my Christmas cards is by far the worst part of the whole festive season for me.

It doesn't stop me wanting to buy gorgeous cards though. I bought this lovely box from Jen Rowland when I visited Cockpit Arts Open Studios a couple of weeks ago. They are for my special people! I have to be careful as there are only 10 in the box!

I also made some using some of my photographs and some brown paper cards from Paperchase. I cut the photos out to look like little polaroid shots and added a little bit of type.

I'm' all written out now and have spent the afternoon learning how to mail merge on my new desktop, so I'm feeling a tad headachy. I know ... I'll go do some more knitting.

11 :: a little bit more...

2011-12-11T17:00:00.000Z

...decorating happening here.

I'm still embracing the little by little approach and finding it very relaxing to make it part of my daily goings on.

Time now for some knitting while the smell of roast chicken fills the house with its wintry goodness.

10 :: Revealed...

2011-12-10T17:00:00.001Z

This is what I was up to on Thursday! Making some Christmas decorations from Scandinavian Stitches.

They are very addictive and perfect for making use of offcuts and scraps of fabric. I also love the excuse to rifle through my button tin, so it's win-win project for me.

9 :: Journalling...

2011-12-09T17:00:00.001Z

Do you like to journal? For me, my blog is one way I like to record and remember snippets from my life. This digital age has made it all so easy to combine words and pictures. I can't remember the last time I actually printed photographs, let alone put them into an album.

I've never been one for keeping a traditional diary with thoughts and observations from my days, although I have, until recently, always had a small diary in my bag for jotting down the obvious stuff such as birthdays and dental appointments. Of course, these days all that is on my phone and with the launch of iCloud, it gets duplicated seamlessly onto my desktop calendar without me lifting a finger! I do have a calendar hanging in my kitchen but I tend not to write on it anymore and so I'm thinking that is a tradition that has reached the end of the line for me.

I think I have mentioned on here before that I wrote a monthly diary for Tom for eight years. It is something I have written about in my book within the chapter on Creating Memories. That is so important to me now - the actual hard copy of the diary and the job of remembering. I don't want to take it for granted anymore. So now, journalling is almost compulsive but will never to be a chore to me. I think there is a place for private thoughts and ones to share. These are some of the ways I'm going about it at the moment.

Last month I entered a give-away over at The Sometimes Crafter on the subject of journalling and to my delight, I won! It arrived at the beginning of the week and I wish I could receive mail addressed like this more often!

I chose the she journal as I loved the simplicity, the way it looked and that it had some prompts in it too. I am going to save it until the new year now, although it is sitting on my desk daring me to make a start in it.

In September I spotted this over at Christina's too and although it took me a few weeks to get going, I got stuck in. I have chosen not to publish my list online (or in the Flickr group), which I suppose isn't very sociable but I have enjoyed dreaming up my lists each week. Of course, it was a great excuse to go and choose another little notebook.

At the beginning of 2011, I had a Simple Diary on the go. Again, it is full of prompts and questions to get you going and think outside of the box. Each day you had to choose one of three words/phrases to describe your day, a bit like a multiple choice. For example on 18th February, I could choose from getting there :: outspoken :: like spaghetti then you had to explain why. It's very tongue-in-cheek and fun to fill in. I loved that the actual date wasn't written in (you filled that bit in yourself) so it didn't matter if there were gaps. I hate to feel pressurised in doing something!

My latest squeeze in my need to record and remember is, of course, to be found on my phone. Momento was a staff pick in the app store a couple of months ago and I succumbed immediately. It's a great place to keep all your online stuff too as it streams all your feeds into the diary, such as Flickr, Facebook and my blog. I can add something profound when the thought strikes me (that was said tongue-in-cheek, btw!) and you can add photos, tags and locations.

I do wonder sometimes, if, in years to come, anyone will be actually interested in all this information other than me. I'm hoping that my descendants will want to know a little about me and my day to day life. Because, as Katie over at Gadanke says, we should celebrate our story.

8 :: doodling...

2011-12-08T17:00:00.000Z

A photo heavy post today as I don't want to give too much away. My humungous reel of black thread is having an outing on the sewing machine.

As I doodle on scraps of fabric.

Outline appliquéd letters.

Or make sketchy words on linen.

7 :: A Ta-Dah Moment...

2011-12-07T17:00:00.002Z

Fully deserving of the capitalisation, I think. May I present, in all it's finished glory, My Ripple Blanket.

Looking suitably atmospheric on my bed there! It's been most welcome the last two nights too as I've shivered myself to sleep due to both the sudden drop in temperature and the germs that are rampaging through the house at the moment.

Some thoughts, then. Lucy's pattern is the easiest ripple by far. Trust me, I tried others. I'm SO VERY GLAD I hooked in the ends as I went along (accompanied by a very small securing knot) as I think I would have lost the will to live had I had to do them all at the end. It felt most decadent to just merrily snip them all off with my scissors.

I'm not sure if I'll ever attempt such a large blanket again. At least not for A Very Long Time.

There are some pretty impressive stats to go with it.

Each ripple consists of 14 treble crochets and there are 30 ripples per row. That makes 420 stitches per row.
I crocheted 164 rows, so that makes for 68,880 stitches.
I used 65 balls of yarn. There are 116m in each ball. That adds up to 4.69miles of yarn. I'm allowed to switch between metric and imperial because my convertor app lets me ; )

On and off, it has taken me 18 months to complete and felt at times like a mammoth task. But then, I do have a very large bed! I haven't actually measured it but I'm guessing that it's over 6' wide and over 5' long. It's big.

A very big tick off my to-do list.

6 :: Petersham goodies...

2011-12-06T17:00:00.003Z

Last week (or was it the one before that even? They are flying by, so who knows?) I was taken out for a belated celebratory lunch by a friend. My choice of venue, so to Petersham Nurseries it was.

My friend had never been there and I managed to find our way there by car without my trusty navigator directing me! As I suspected, it was wonderfully Christmassy and all very tempting. The orange decorations in my blog header were top of my wanties list. I decided though, to buy the ingredients to brighten up the pots outside the front door. The barrows at the entrance to the nursery are very inspirational and so I picked three of the best.

I'm hoping they will last right through until I change the pots for my spring tulips. I love the silvery foliage on the left and the berries are fabulously plump.

I also bought a little potted Christmas tree which is planted up and on my back door step with lights twinkling through it. My first bit of festive decorating done! I'm with Nina on the little by little approach.

5 :: playing with fabric...

2011-12-05T17:00:00.001Z

A progress post today. I didn't make a mad decision to make a whole load of Christmas presents this year as I knew from experience that it just stresses me out. There are just a couple of things instead. This is what is on the wall at the moment awaiting completion:

The front of a potholder, bottom left and one block of another potholder, top left. Inspired by this pin.

The blocks on the right are for a festive table runner for my Christmas table. Now I have my final numbers (20!) I know how long I've got to make it. It all depended on whether I needed one or two additional leaves in my table, you see.

Today I have woken up full of No2's cold (yeah, I'll blame him!) and a 6 chapter attachment from my copy-editor (eeeek!) to go through. Who knew that a document with 'track changes' looked so scary? What to do? Carry on sewing or hunker down and cringe at my punctuation?

4 :: Looking forward...

2011-12-04T19:00:00.002Z

It's decision time here. The talk of late has been one of leaving school next summer and continuing No2's education at a college as school has never been his favourite place.

Suddenly, last week, that all changed. He came home with the prospectus and informed me that he had chosen his subjects and would be staying on a his current school.

It felt like he grew up before my very eyes. That evening we went to the 6th Form Forum and I have to confess to being mightily impressed. So tomorrow we will be filling out the online application and then sitting back to see if he can get his grades. (Predictions are all very encouraging).

3 :: Toast

2011-12-03T19:00:00.002Z

Having admired Nancy's wrist warmers from both her blog and in real life I thought it was about time I had a pair of my very own. They are a satisfyingly quick knit.

I had a ball of Malabrigo worsted yarn in 'Hollyhock' in my stash so it was just a question of choosing a colour to go with it. The grey shade is Polar Morn and has a wonderful pinky tinge to it in places so I think it complements the Hollyhock perfectly.

This yarn is so beautifully soft and the stitch definition is a dream (to me). Pattern here.

2 :: grrrr ...

2011-12-02T19:00:00.001Z

Forgive me for not introducing my Blogging Advent Calendar properly yesterday. Better late than never is always a good attitude in my book. A friend of mine introduced me to a new photography app on my phone in the week and I'm loving this pinhole camera photo so I thought I would use it as a bit of a theme to my posts for this month along with one (or two or three) photos that I have taken using my macro lens.

I am going to refrain from using bad language here on my blog, but believe me there has been some used this morning in connection with my Ripple blanket. I am on The Last Row and look! I don't have enough yarn. Grrrr!

I'm feeling so frustrated and am now faced with a dilemma. Do I use a scrap left over from another colour to finish this last little bit and use the change in colour as a reminder that this is the bottom of the blanket? (The chances are that this tiny little portion will never really be seen as it will be tucked in to the bottom of the bed). Or do I track down another ball of wool?

I'm swaying towards using a scrap of the nearest colour so that it is not so noticeable and employing the wabi-sabi aesthetic to the project, embracing the hand-made and all that.

What would you do?

1 :: paperwhites ...

2011-12-01T16:15:00.000Z

In spite of carefully diarising when to plant my paperwhite bulbs so that they would flower at Christmas, this crazy weather made them flower four weeks early! In fact, they only took two weeks from planting to flowering.

Their scent fills the downstairs of the house and seems to be at its strongest in the afternoon when it is just starting to get dark.

Today, I took delivery of another batch which I think I will plant just a few days before Christmas Day so that I can something lovely to look forward to in the New Year.

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - November

2011-11-30T17:10:00.000Z

:: a lucky charm ::
my ring ... I never not wear it

:: a poppy ::
worn with pride

:: a self-portrait eeeek!!!!
eeeek indeed

:: comfort food ::
a deliciously thick milkshake ... a naughty treat

:: memorial ::
slate from the quarry where we chose Tom's headstone

:: polka dots ::
my wellies

:: silouhette ::
epic fail as No2 would say! Not found : (

:: something purple ::
sumptuous yarn in Loop

:: something that lights up ::
No2's face when there is an Ocado delivery containing doritos/pringles/haribo/skittles etc

:: something you have made ::
tiny hexagon cushion

:: staircase ::
the escalator at The Angel tube station

:: warmth ::
an open fire. unfortunately, not mine.

Adventures in bag-making...

2011-11-29T19:02:00.000Z

I made a bag! What I'd like to think of as a proper bag, from a proper pattern.

I spotted the fabric way back at M is for Make but I think it is out of stock now. The grey fabric is a great weight, slightly heavier than quilting cotton.

This was my little adjustment I made that I gave a glimpse of here and it has worked out just fine. I don't get along with bags that are supposed to just perch on my shoulder. I have the wrong kind of shoulders. It doesn't matter though because you can get little metal things and webbing to make things all better.

It holds everything I need it to hold and very nicely too.

****************

I am going to do my November Scavenger Hunt post tomorrow and then I have decided that I need to get back in to my blog and am going to attempt a blogging Advent Calendar again.

Stitches...

2011-11-22T18:40:00.000Z

There have been all sorts of different stitches around these parts lately. Some beautifully soft malabrigo ones on my dpn's--I can feel a knitting phase coming on ...

Remember this? Well, it has been coming along s-l-o-w-l-y, inch by inch, stripe by stripe. Another 14 or 15 inches to go to cover my bed. It is a monster of a blanket and incredibly cosy. I can vouch for this for I am enjoying snuggling under it as I crochet the evenings away. I hadn't touched it throughout the whole summer and paid for it dearly as quite a few of the colours I am using are now discontinued and it has been a job in itself tracking down odd balls here and there. There are some pretty impressive stats to go with this blanket which I will finalise on its completion. Miles of yarn, miles!

There are a couple of sewing projects on the go too, which have required some accurate top-stitching. I find that if I look at the needle as my guide, my stitching seems to go all over the place and so now I have discovered my own trick to fairly neat top-stitching. Not exactly rocket science, but all part of the process of learning!

There's been a new venture in bag-making, with a slight modification of my own due to my preference of a long handle to go over my body rather than a shorter one which invariably falls off my shoulder.

And then there's the stitching that needs to be unpicked and re-done. Sigh. I'm trying to catch up with the FWQAL and not doing too badly considering how far behind I had fallen.

In pictures...

2011-11-20T18:14:00.000Z

A misty start to the morning but I am feeling in need of fresh air so I head outdoors.

I am joined by the hens, who now follow me around as soon as I step outside the back door.

The rake and my new leaf-grabbers, plus a fair few black sacks, are my companions for a bracing clearing up of fallen leaves. I always make leaf compost and next year I am going to use it for this.

It feels like a thankless task when I have a tree that is still positively laden with yellow leaves.

The heavy dew looked dramatic on the dark green leaves on my bear's breeches.

Which is surprising me with a late flush of flowers.

Whereas my hellebore has one early flower.

And the muscari I planted just a few short weeks ago are starting to green up my pots.

My greenhouse is looking promising too. I'm feeling a bit nervous about planting out these seedlings now that the weather is getting decidedly cooler but maybe I should just bite the bullet and see what happens. If they don't survive, I can always sow more in the spring.

And look what has happened indoors! One of my amaryllis has flowered four weeks early! I planted them carefully so that I might have flowers on Christmas day!

A Christening Quilt Part II...

2011-11-12T09:00:00.001Z

It's been a busy sewing week and I am feeling very pleased with myself that I can now give both my nephews their christening gifts. This is my version of the Wonky Roman Stripe quilt from this book.

For the first time, I roped No2 into being my assistant to get a photo of the finished quilt. There was a modest bit of moaning but nothing more than I am used to!

I decided to use some of the fabrics I had left over to make a bold striped back. I've always held onto my fabric stash so preciously but now I am beginning to want to use more of it on the backs of my quilts. Of course, this makes way for new and exciting fabrics. Like this for example.

I machine quilted it and added a bit of detail on the neutral triangles that I really like, especially where it overlaps on to the tip of the stripy triangles.

For the binding, I used the same as Sonny's quilt only in orange, which I think frames it very nicely indeed!

The boys have also got a cushion each which I made out of the scraps and leftovers. Watch this space for a separate post soon.

Have a great weekend!

11.11.11...

2011-11-11T11:00:00.000Z

I've been listening to this series on Radio 2 this week. It's well worth a listen.

A Christening quilt...

2011-11-03T12:01:00.000Z

Since I have some time back on my hands for sewing, my first priority has been to complete the quilts that I started way back for my nephews' christening gifts. I have one finished and one very near completion and for the first time I am entering a quilt in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival. Click on the picture above to see more amazing quilts.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to photograph it in its entirety and this was the best I could do. Ignore the hangers! It would have looked good on the lawn but it is too wet and the last thing I wanted was to give away a muddy quilt.

I made such a good start on the first quilt but then it kind of got in a pile of Stuff Still To Do and remained there for some time. As I completed the blocks for this quilt, I found I had a growing pile of triangle offcuts that I knew would be destined to stay in the bottom of my scrap bin if I didn't make an effort to incorporate them into the quilt somehow.

My FWQAL blocks (which are in the aforementioned pile for the time being) had given me heaps of confidence in sewing with triangles and so I set to making some scrappy stripes for the back of the quilt. And, oh! I love them!

This quilt has been a joy to make. I love the blocks, I love the back and I love that I decided to machine-quilt it. It is only the second time I have attempted this (the first one is still languishing in The Pile awaiting binding) and it has saved heaps of time as opposed to hand-quilting. I am also dead chuffed with the binding and went with my thoughts that I talked about here.

I have learnt so many things about quilting over the last year, my head is full of ideas and plans. The second christening quilt is basted and ready to be quilted too -- it feels so good to have my sewing mojo back.

Here's a final couple of photos of the front and back of the quilt, blowing gently in the breeze, all ready to be gifted.

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - October

2011-11-01T18:43:00.000Z

:: a black cat ::
This is such a terrible photo (taken with my phone) I nearly didn't post it ... scraping the barrel with the first one here as there are no cats around me at all so spotted this one on an advert for flea treatment!

:: candlelit ::
cosying up my evenings now that they are so much darker

:: crunchy leaves ::
on my walk with Pippin

:: fog/mist ::
early one morning last weekend

:: golden ::
my pen tin

:: graffiti ::
surprisingly, I had trouble finding graffiti near to home. A good sign.

:: heritage ::
My great-grandmother crocheted, I crochet. I'm hoping the generations below me will love my crochet.

:: pumpkin ::
at the garden centre. Little and large!

:: river ::
not exactly a river, but the closest water to home

:: something eerie ::
on a leaflet I picked up in the vet.

:: sunset ::
glorious

:: a witch's hat/broomstick ::
modelled gracefully by my funny friend

Right now..

2011-10-31T10:14:00.000Z

I am moving swiftly from sewing machine

to the ironing board

while drinking coffee,

listening to my new favourite music

and waiting for an opportunity to photograph my latest quilt because I'd like to enter it into the Bloggers Quilt Festival.

October gardening...

2011-10-24T11:22:00.000+01:00

Still full of inspiration from the cutting garden course, I got planning for my spring bulbs a few weeks ago.

This weekend was perfect for pottering and planting in the garden. It felt so good to be out there in a fleece and wellies. I ordered bulbs from here, here and here. Tulips, muscari, ranunculus for the garden and amaryllis and paperwhites for indoors.

They don't look very attractive at the moment on the windowsill, but hopefully will start producing some green leaves soon. My amaryllis last year were a great success and this year I went for something a little less obvious -- Lima.

Photo credit Parkers Wholesale

Helping me out in the garden are my three pretty new hens. I bought them last weekend and for the last couple of days they have been slowly exploring the garden.

I lost my two new girls to a fox in the summer, which was a bit traumatic and I vowed not to get another white chicken for gory reasons that I won't elaborate on here. However, I was convinced otherwise by the very knowledgable chicken man at Thornes that I would love having a bowl of pinky white eggs laid by the Coral hen on the left there, who I have named Daphne. When they all start to lay, I should have eggs of different colours from each of them. Things like that make me very happy indeed!

Anyway, back to the bulb planting. Protective measures have been implemented to stop all my promise of a colourful spring being ruined. Again, not particularly attractive...

... but necessary because if it's not squirrels stashing acorns, it's the ever curious new girls on the block.

Still a couple of hundred bulbs still to plant in my raised beds that will purely be for cutting, along with the seedlings I have got from the course. Just a bit of leaf raking and a bonfire or two to put the garden to bed for the winter and I'm done for the year I reckon.

Handing over...

2011-10-13T17:00:00.003+01:00

I am ready. I am finished. It is all on this memory stick. I am delivering it tomorrow morning. I can't wait.

Eleven chapters. Four images. A resource list. A marketing form. The best and worst bits of my life.

I am travelling by train because there is champagne to follow.

Who knows? I may find time to blog again. I have a pile (actually, make that a mountain) of WIP's to finish...

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - September

2011-10-01T07:46:00.000+01:00

:: back to school ::
No2's tie, found again after a summer spent languishing at the bottom of his bag.

:: the football season ::
goalposts put up again in the park where I walk with Pippin

:: what's in your bag? ::
not very much, although I have taken to having a bag-within-a-bag for all those annoying small items that clog up the bottom of my handbag.

:: relaxation ::
this could have been a number of things, but I decided on walking with Pippin as I find it really clears my head.

:: Harvest ::
my own, from my tomato plants. I've been making Jamie Oliver's tomato soup, it's delish.

:: a pile of things ::
offcuts from my quilting project

:: your desk/workspace ::
Hmmm, may need a bit of a sort out ... lots of things on the go here ...

:: a public telephone box ::
quite difficult to find an old-fashioned red one around now

:: something taller than you ::
the oak trees along the footpath I walk with Pippin

:: apples ::
in the orchard at Upton House

:: a road sign ::
in the New Forest

:: a view from above ::
from the terrace at Cliveden, looking down towards the Thames

The Great Outdoors...

2011-09-26T10:48:00.001+01:00

The tent has had its first outing and I couldn't have hoped for a better weekend considering it is late September. First stop, Roundhill camp site in the New Forest.

The local animals were completely comfortable with sharing their space with us and Pippin was quite fascinated.

Seeing the ponies roll about joyfully, you just couldn't help but smile. Seeing them galloping in line, wild and free, made me cry. I'm daft like that.

For supper, it was a red pepper and chorizo stew with home-baked bread and some regional cheese. Hearty and warm and very do-able in one pot on the stove.

Waking up to the perfect sunrise, the grass heavy with dew and a quiet that I am quite unused to in London.

Driving just a few miles and finding rivers that remind me of my childhood. I am too used to seeing just the Thames.

Watching these cygnets gliding up the river after deciding it may be a better option while there is a chocolate brown snout nosing about around their nest.

Coming back and lighting the bucket bbq for a bit of extra warmth and to make hot dogs for supper.

Which were eaten by the light of the lanterns. Then, tumbler of wine in hand, sitting back to be stunned by the stars. The sky was full and the constellations were so much more visible than I am used to at home.

I have a wanderlust. I am making plans to escape London. I want it all now but know that I am going to need to exercise more patience. I will get outdoors more in the meantime...

That sinking feeling...

2011-09-14T07:05:00.001+01:00

For a treat with our morning coffee at the flower course last week, we got served a delicious cake which Rachel said was a River Cottage recipe and she was thrilled to tell us it used honey from her own hives. I always bake for my craft ladies on a Tuesday evening and so having the book decided to give them a honey wholemeal cake too.

Looks nicely risen in the photo above, doesn't it? Not the case... as soon as I took it from the oven it sank before my very eyes and dramatically at that!

It was almost as if it got sucked down! After the suggested cooking time, I thought it still looked a little wobbly, but having four eggs in it I wasn't that surprised. Nevertheless I gave it another 10 minutes. Very frustrating, especially when you are all set to share with what are now almost professional cake-tasters!

The recipe said that the middle would be a dense, honey-filled sensation but I would say it was a soggy mess. I wasn't too proud to offer a trimmed cake and it was delicious.

I'm curious though, as to what went wrong. The recipe link above is from an article in The Guardian and I have noticed that there are a few dissimilarities from the recipe in the book. It uses more butter (and I thought 300g of butter was a lot, but this version says 350g!), more sugar and the oven temperature is 10 degrees lower. Oh, and the tin size is 1cm bigger! I'm tempted to try out this version and see what happens.

Any thoughts on that sinking feeling? Answers in the comment box please.

Sunday stroll...

2011-09-11T19:46:00.001+01:00

My plans changed unexpectedly today and so I took Pippin for a long walk along one of my favourite local footpaths.

I forgot to take my camera and so used my phone along the way to record it in photos. Sometimes I get a bit nervous of walking through the footpaths on my own but thought there were bound to be other people out and about on a Sunday. I was wrong... I didn't see a single person the whole way.

I love walking along this particular footpath and I really ought to try and do it more often. I also need to change the setting on the phone not to change the 'film' by shaking the phone! It was obviously uneven ground because when I got home and looked at my pictures, nearly all of them were taken on a different setting!

It doesn't have quite the same effect in black and white as it did in real life with the sun coming through the gaps in the hedgerow.

The sky was heavy with clouds and the wind was strong and head-clearing. I'm so glad I made the effort. It beats pounding the pavements and being tugged along by Pip on his lead.

As it turns out, my unexpected day at home was just what I needed. Funny how that happens some times.

Dreaming...

2011-09-10T11:42:00.000+01:00

...of a cutting garden of my own.

This is my vase of the most wonderfully dramatic flowers I came home with from my day at Green & Gorgeous on Wednesday. Ali and I spent a fabulous, if not a bit chilly, day learning all about the secrets to growing a cutting garden. We took cuttings to bring home.

These pelargoniums smelled of Turkish delight. Seriously. Just like it.
And we sowed seeds that Rachel had collected from the spent flowers of this season. She said that the cornflowers were speedy germinators and she was right, just two days on my kitchen windowsill and they are showing signs of success.

This is a vase of flowers I picked from my garden on Thursday, from where I threw a meadow seed mix earlier in the year on the patch that was trashed from the chicken run.

Next year I'm hoping to have more than two cornflowers and now know the trick to getting them to have nice straight stems and not the curly ones I seem to have grown.

There is much planning and planting to be done...

A little bird told me...

2011-09-02T12:17:00.001+01:00

This little yellow bird. I have finished making the blocks for Sonny's quilt and so now I need to start thinking about the backing and the binding. I never worry about these things until I'm well on the way with the quilt top as it usually comes to me as the top is coming together.

As I was sewing, I noticed that although the quilt is predominantly red/grey/black, there were little splashes of yellow dotted throughout. My little yellow bird is getting told off by the owl here, I think, maybe for sitting on the furniture...

The skulls are wearing dashing yellow neckerchiefs...

And there are a couple of yellow cockerels too.

I'm thinking perhaps this fabric for the binding and I have gone for a medium grey plain backing that will have the addition of some colour from the scrap that came from making the blocks (that is another post, I think).

I can't remember where, but I read recently about using monochrome photos to judge the balance of values in the blocks. Here is my first draft layout:

I wasn't sure about the heaviness of the top two rows on the right hand side, so had a move around. This is my second draft:

I still wasn't happy with the top left corner, so a final adjustment was made and I think it is much more balanced. This is my final layout:

Subtle changes that make a lot of difference. I think I need to work on taking a photo that is straight!

********

While we're on the subject of fabric, Julia is having a fabulous giveaway over on her blog. Go check it out!

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - August...

2011-08-31T09:27:00.000+01:00

:: something ancient ::

here

:: a mountain ::
artistic licence... of ironing on our return from holiday...

:: something bizarre ::
I have never seen a gold postbox before. Ever.

:: a fountain ::
at Kew Gardens

:: street food ::
the ice-cream van outside Kew Gardens

:: fabric ::
now that's an easy one to find!

:: bread ::
homemade and thinly sliced.

:: market ::
the plant stall.

:: a picnic ::
at the Show

:: a boat ::
on the shelf in Tom's bathroom

:: a festival or funfair ::
also at the Show

:: a sport ::
yep, you guessed it, at the Show. Carriage racing.

The rural life...

2011-08-30T10:43:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I visited the Edenbridge and Oxted Agricultural Show. I loved every single minute of it. Take a look at what I saw...

I don't seem to be able to make it bigger, but if you click here you can see it on my Flickr page where it is a bit bigger!

One day, I will live in the country.

Seeing stars...

2011-08-26T17:34:00.000+01:00

Still raining here so more sewing to catch up on. I have written about 1000 words of my book today, so I think it is good to balance that out with some creative soul-food.

I posted here about my plans to give my two nephews a quilt each for their christening presents and I had reached a bit of standstill for one reason or another. While I was on a roll yesterday in fabric love mode, I managed to cut out the rest of the pieces for the one I had made a start on. That was some serious cutting out - just under 600 pieces!

I find it incredibly satisfying to see an organised pile of fabric on my worktable ready for sewing.

I am using this tutorial for July Star Blocks over at Cluck Cluck Sew, although I have made the blocks slightly bigger to achieve the size quilt I was looking for.

It has been a real challenge trying to think of what type of quilt would appeal to a 14 year old boy and I really hope it isn't too childish. This is just a mock-up using the collage creator to give me a feel of what it will look like. 12/35 blocks completed.

For the my younger nephew I have chosen to make something with a bit of a watery feel as he is our star diver and likes to be in the water. I pulled lots of blues and soft greys and some splashes of green from my stash and am using the Wonky Roman Stripe Block from this book. I love the mixture of solids and prints.

This is my first mock-up block to get a feel for how it might turn out.

I really am hoping that this week's persistent rain will give way to a dryer and even warmer bank holiday weekend. Right, I'm off to make pizza for dinner and change the pace and relax in to some hand-quilting on this quilt. Poor neglected thing.

Things to do on a rainy day...

2011-08-25T20:07:00.000+01:00

Catch up on my Farmer's Wife blocks

Week 12:

Week 13:

Take note of book recommendations from the lovely Pomona and duly purchase.

Anticipate handling of hot pots and pans on campfire. What better to while away a few hours than playing with my scraps and make a couple of pot-holders inspired by one of the Farmer's Wife blocks (Evening Star, above).

I made a little pocket for my hand on the back to give extra grip. I used a plate to draw round for the curve.

I have found the best to handle linen when making hst's is to cut it bigger than needed to allow for the movement which it is prone to, being such a loose weave compared to the quilting cotton.

After sewing the two pieces together, cutting along the marked line and pressing open, it is easier to achieve a square block.

I use the diagonal line printed on my ruler to line up the seam to cut the block down to size.

There may be a tiny bit of waste, but I think it is worth it.

Intent...

2011-08-22T09:12:00.001+01:00

Shiny new eyelets,

fluorescent guy ropes,

sparkling tent pegs

and a bit of spec to boot.

All the signs are there that I have realised my dream and bought myself a tent. It seems that late summer is a good time to find a bargain for such a purchase. My intent is to go camping before the winter sets in.

It was a doddle to put up and is having a good airing in my garden. So what better reading material to peruse than the books I have pored over for the last few years hoping that one day it would all come to fruition.

It gave me a view of the garden that I don't often take notice of - I'm usually looking the other way. I didn't want to come back indoors and spent a lovely few hours relaxing with my sampler and laughing at my daft dog.

It was his birthday yesterday and he had a mahoosive rawhide bone as a special treat. He shares his birthday with No2, who was 15 but adamantly refuses to be photographed. My very own Inbetweener.

Of course, it has necessitated a whole new board for inspiration over on Pinterest!

Splash...

2011-08-18T19:16:00.000+01:00

It is pouring and has been all day.

The rain is bouncing off the deck and the garden furniture.

Fortunately, it is not quite so dull indoors.

I have been to the nursery, picking my own dahlias.

Filling the house with colour.

And having a play with my macro lens.

Late summer...

2011-08-16T10:55:00.001+01:00

Hot colours around Kew yesterday, captured on camera whilst walking and talking with Alice and Kristina.

The highlight of my day was Alice tentatively asking if we ever stopped for a drink or something to eat! Heehee. Of course we do... eventually...!

Holidays have been taken and I am seriously considering adopting the habit of taking a siesta in the afternoon as a matter of routine. Just an hour, but it seemed to make a whole lot of difference to the rest of the day. Particularly if there were gorgeous beaches to wander along.

I am a creature of the shade and so have no tan to show off. More an impressive (for me) list of three books read and reaching the letter K on my sampler (that I saved for my holiday, being light to pack) ticked off my to do list.

I am looking forward to the rest of the holidays to be able to write, write, write (deadline fast approaching), balanced out with some creative pursuits and perhaps some gardening.

FWQAL week11...

2011-08-11T09:00:00.001+01:00

In a fit of procrastination about doing the things I should have been doing last week, I made the decision to get ahead of myself and make four blocks and draft this post for today so that I'm on target with Week 12. I'm actually sunning myself in Portugal.

These teeny tiny squares were crying out to be made (I'm getting quite into this scale of sewing) and again, were perfect for my skinny strips. Postage stamp being a very appropriate name for the block.

I'd been making other star blocks that week too so I thought I'd keep the theme going for the Farmer's Wife quilt.

Have you looked at the Flickr group lately? It's full of inspiration. I love the blocks made solely from solids.

FWQAL week10...

2011-08-04T06:50:00.000+01:00

My first block this week was chosen just because I wanted to carry on using my very skinny (1 ½") honeybun roll strips. Each strip doesn't yield much, so mistakes are going to be unforgiving. I'm pleased with the way this one matches its points and corners up.

The second block I chose was a real brain teaser. I checked out the errata page and couldn't find any comment about it, but the block assembly directions just weren't making sense to me for its construction. Maybe I was missing something.

In the end, I had to fudge it together by sewing the little seam on the end of the long strip by folding the already pieced part over and then sewing on the corner triangles. Probably not the right way, but other than a couple of hardly-noticeable tucks on the corners, I think I've got away with it.

I also wish I'd placed the middle fours tiny squares differently. Never mind. No matter, I like this block anyway.

Looking...

2011-08-01T19:56:00.000+01:00

...backwards...

Thoughts from the christening:

I found this picture on Pinterest the night before the christening so I got up at 5am on the morning of it to replicate it for my Godchildren. (They love me calling them that!) I decided to find some photos of them when they were much younger rather than how they are now. I think they were pleased.

The food was just the right amount and hugely appreciated by everybody. Phew. Fancy trying a new quiche/flan? This one was delicious.

It wasn't so appreciated when three people shrieked in unison "eek, there's a rat". Ooops. The downside of having the chicken coop near the deck.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the subject of chickens, I lost my two lovely new girls to a fox last week. I'm trying not to feel guilty as I loved the fact that they free-ranged around my garden. Flossie is lonely and has been following Pip or me around like a lost sheep. I will get a couple more once I am back from my summer holiday. I'm not enjoying buying eggs for the first time in nearly four years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took my youngest nephew and niece to Kew last week. It was far from the sedate stroll around that I am used to. I hardly took any photographs either as someone commandeered my camera.

I took them up on the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway. They ran round several times while I clung to the rail, not enjoying the height and the wobbliness. It was good to get a different perspective though.

Looking back up was fun too.

As was playing on logs.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking forward...

to making a quilt each for the boys for their christening presents. I had to give them an IOU as it was all a bit last minute. I'm loving the joys of chain-piecing.

To tasting the first ripe tomatoes from the garden. Warm from the sun, together with perhaps some mozzarella and avocado.

And a holiday in the sun sometime soon and hopefully balmy days of August for the rest of the summer holidays.

What are you looking forward to?

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - July...

2011-07-31T20:52:00.000+01:00

:: red, white and blue ::
birthday card for my brother-in-law

:: flip flops ::
standard summer footwear

:: ice cream ::
caramel cornetto

:: strawberries ::
from my own garden

:: a flag ::
on my little friend's t-shirt

:: fields ::
whizzing by on the train up to Sheffield

:: celebration ::
Christening cupcakes

:: sea shells ::
on my bedside table

:: stars ::
on my flat white

:: stripes ::
my new bag - a summer sale bargain

:: a kite ::
spotted in Aldeburgh

:: something that makes you happy (but not a person or animal)
picking flowers from my garden

FWQAL week 9...

2011-07-28T09:30:00.000+01:00

Blimey, nine weeks!

I have surprised myself by actually managing to get any sewing in at all this week, what with child-minding and day trips out. After a while, I find the need to sew or make, almost compulsory to reducing my stress levels. This week's blocks are of the one easy, one not so easy deciding factor. I was also keen to start introducing some different colours using the fabrics that came in the post last week.

The easy one!

The not so easy one! There are a few not-very-well-matched points and corners in this one. I need to remember that when the pieces are so tiny, what looks like a nicely coordinated selection of fabrics on the cutting table, doesn't necessarily make for a well-defined block. Maybe I'll remake this one at a later date.

Fascination...

2011-07-27T12:42:00.000+01:00

My fascination with the zoo remains strong. This week I have the pleasure* of having my new Godchildren to look after while my sister is at work and so yesterday, along with No2 and my friend and her two boys, we went to London Zoo. As Friends of the ZSL, No2 and I get four free tickets per year so we actually had a fairly reasonably priced day out.

Unlike the six children in tow, I could watch the animals for hours. Here's a few of my favourites...

The expressions and mannerisms of the gorillas are wonderful.

Their hands, with their dexterity, I find so engaging.

There is a new penguin pool now, with some deeper water and underwater viewing portholes. I can't resist a penguin either.

The spider monkeys in Animal Adventure were very close to the pathways this time and were busy snacking.

The meerkats were on the look-out.

And the camels were never taught that it was bad manners to eat with their mouths open.

*that's irony, just in case you were wondering. Or sarcasm. You decide!

FWQAL week 8...

2011-07-22T20:30:00.001+01:00

Here are my blocks for week 8 of the Farmers Wife Quilt-a-long.

It seemed wrong not to fussy cut this cute bird and nest.

I couldn't resist using both of these brown prints together either.

This mosaic shows all my sixteen blocks to date. My other fabrics arrived today and so I am looking forward to introducing the other colours from the line. It is looking predominantly red at the moment.

Taster day...

2011-07-21T18:24:00.000+01:00

For the last year, my Mum has been doing a watercolour class each week and I have been so impressed with what she has been producing. In the course of conversation, it came up that I had been to art college (many, many moons ago) and so her tutor kindly asked if I would like to join them on their annual outdoor workshop with a view to joining the class in September.

This morning I packed up my tin of sketching pencils, found a new sketch book and set off to a nature reserve that I didn't even know existed just a couple of miles from home.

Everyone looked very confident and excited to be given such a large space to explore and choosing the subject was, I think, the hardest part of the day. I have never had any tuition in watercolours, although I used to love using them for illustrative purposes and so I chose the safe route of finding a thistle head to sketch. As long as there is something (usually nature-related) in front of me, I am fairly confident of my sketching skills and so putting the first marks on my paper wasn't too daunting.

Soon, though, the lure of adding colour became too much and I crept over to where Mum was drawing and decided to give it a go. Having raided her art box, and with some encouragement from the teacher, I started out sketching the view in front of me with a drawing pen.

I couldn't wait to add some colour.

The day flew by and my sketchbook now has something in it! I think it's ok for a first attempt but I am definitely going to join the group in September and learn a new skill. The less is more concept of watercolour is something that I am going to find challenging, but I am also hoping to be able to develop my own style of painting, especially combined with the ink.

I also had the chance to walk around the reserve and was delighted to find a tiny little pond where dragonflies were emerging from their nymph stage. I don't know if you can just about spot the dragonfly in this photo, drying out its wings. It is just above that brown leaf in the middle of the picture. I wish I'd taken my other lens'. There are a couple of other nymphs hanging off the leaves.

I then found an empty nymph moult. The child in me still loves this kind of discovery.

Back to the kitchen tomorrow and Saturday for the rest of the christening preparations. Keep your fingers crossed for a fine day, I really can't face the house full of people. I'm expecting about 48 and am hoping to keep them all entertained in the garden.

I'll leave you with a quick photo of one of the red admiral butterflies that were in abundance today. I love butterflies too...

Baking day...

2011-07-19T18:30:00.000+01:00

Busy, busy, busy baking this week. My sister is having her three children christened on Sunday and I have been given the honour (?!) of not only being Godmother to all three, but also having the after party at my house! My cookery books have been perused and lists have been made.

I've had one shopping delivery of non-perishables, and there is another due on Friday of fresh stuff.

The kitchen has, at times, looked like a bomb has hit it.

Number of cupcakes made:

16 x vanilla
20 x chocolate
16 x lemon

Number of focaccia made: 3!

Now all nicely stashed in the freezer because Ruth says that baked goods are great for freezing and I am going to be up against it on Friday and Saturday making other goodies.

*******

I have taken to using these little page markers to identify my favourite recipes in my books. It makes finding what I'm looking for so much easier.

A finished object...

2011-07-16T16:01:00.001+01:00

Another item I can tick off my list of UFO's.

I actually started this cushion last year when I was on holiday in Portugal! I'm not really sure why I stopped hooking it because I was loving the colour combinations.

It came out of my hibernation a week or so ago and it has been amongst other projects on the worktable.

I took a bit of chance in my method of making it into a cushion and ended up tacking it to a piece of leftover quilt backing so that I wouldn't make a hash of machining it together with the back of the cushion.

The extra bits of the hexagons are just tucked inside and virtually unnoticeable from the front. Pattern from here.

I like this shape cushion and it is snuggled nicely in amongst the others on the sofa in the conservatory.

I'd like to make two more smaller cushions to replace the original sofa ones at either end but for now, two more projects have taken priority. More of which soon.

FWQAL Weeks 3–7…

2011-07-15T11:18:00.001+01:00

I’m a happy bunny now! I have completed a total of 14 blocks and so I have managed to catch up with everyone on this fab quilt-a-long!

There hasn’t really been any one reason for which blocks I’ve been making. Some of them are as they appear in the order of the book. Others are ones that I thought were easy to do, so good to do as catch-ups.

And then others, have been made as a combination of easy and more difficult blocks. It has depended what I’ve felt like on the day!

I managed to find a honeybun of this now out-of-print line of fabric online which I decided to buy, reneging on my previous plan of using co-coordinating fabrics from my stash. The honeybun is only 1 1/2 “ wide, but having looked through the templates, there are plenty that I can use with such a small amount of fabric. I’m looking forward to including some of the other colours in to the blocks now.

I have to confess to a bit of wastage with these limited fabrics from last week’s struggles!

I’m staggered at how many members there are now in this group. Check out some more of the amazing interpretations in the Flickr group.

My next job is to make a mosaic of my blocks so far to see how they are looking together.

I wish...

2011-07-13T09:44:00.001+01:00

... you could smell this: Sweet pea Hunters Moon

Bought at Kew last year and sown in the spring.

Flowering abundantly now and filling my senses.

Hopefully the pictures will suffice.

A bug's life...

2011-07-11T21:36:00.001+01:00

Today, No2 started work experience. His first taste of the world beyond education and play.

I showed him the way by bus and tube, then left him in the hands of others who I'm hoping will inspire him.

The clues were adorning the building and I silently hoped he realised how lucky he was to get such a fantastic opportunity.

I was unexpectedly emotional on my journey home and spent the day clock-watching until he got home.

His task for the next two weeks is to study the life-cycle of mosquitoes. Today he discovered that:

* they get fed baby food
* some people get paid to get bitten
* there are whole departments dedicated to repellants
* that dust mites aren't very nice
* and bed bugs are even worse
* that he is close to Oxford Street and all the shopping opportunities!

I'm hoping he doesn't bring anything nasty home with him!

FWQAL progress…

2011-07-08T17:13:00.001+01:00

So, everywhere else it is week 6 but I’m only in my second week and there’s been some catching up to do. Last week, after the success of my first two blocks, I managed to get another two made. Easier than the first two!

I was on a roll with the hst’s!

This week, I decided to have another look and see what Carla was up to so I could learn from her again.

I struggled! For a long time and plenty of mistakes were made and more than plenty of unpicking was done.

There may have been a bit of this being said too at some point! Then I decided (after about 2 hours…) that maybe I should use the templates.

I think the back shows just how difficult I found this block to construct. Even now, it is not perfect and I may make it again at some time, but for now, I needed to move on from it!

This week’s blocks are done and I have done some serious catching up to do too. Rushing now as I have a train to catch!

Catching my eye...

2011-07-06T20:54:00.001+01:00

...at Kew this week... hot pink and orange beds...

... bees being busy...

...passion flowers...

...with spirally tendrils...

Away day...

2011-07-03T20:18:00.001+01:00

Sometimes it's good to get away, even if it's just for a day.
With the promise of fine weather and the sound of the sea, the decision was an easy one to make.

Sitting on the beach, taking in the atmosphere, is the best of ways to spend a Saturday.

And what better to finish it off is there, other than fish and chips?

Yum!

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 – June …

2011-06-30T15:49:00.001+01:00

:: something with your town’s name on it ::

spotted walking past my GP’s surgery

:: an elephant ::

a picture in my conservatory

:: a wheel trim ::

I think I’d like one of these on my bike!

:: architectural detail ::

on the bank on the corner of my local shops

:: cheese ::

l-o-v-e this cheese!

:: night ::

lights out!

:: tree branches ::

looking up on a sunny day

:: cutlery ::

left this one until the last minute and did a quick dash outside this morning!

:: a childhood memory ::

what I’m reading… I still play now, though and intend playing more…

:: a farm animal ::

in my back garden! (I didn’t realise it was blurred until just now! Sorry!)

:: something beginning with z… ::

found in my workroom. One day, I will conquer my fear of zips…

:: the view right outside my door ::

I can be found there most days, at some point.

My first quilt-a-long…

2011-06-27T17:15:00.001+01:00

I’ve been watching with interest and growing curiosity about the Farmer’s Wife QAL that is popping up all over Blogland. You know how it is, when you’re on a finishing up marathon. Something catches your eye and before you know it, you’re in! I happened to spot the book in a fabric shop last week and I have to confess that judging by the cover, I wouldn’t have normally given it a second glance, but having seen some of the modern interpretations in the Flickr group I knew it didn’t have to be in any way traditional. The following morning I went on to Amazon to buy the book and decided on a whim to download the Kindle version for instant gratification.

I then spent a good while reading through the Flickr group discussion and I was well and truly hooked. Two blocks a week sounds manageable and I am hoping that by doing perhaps some of the easier ones first, I could catch up.

Until this morning, I had no idea what fabrics to use but I’d seen a comment on the Fat Quarterly blog about using whatever you felt like on the day and thought that sounded like the way to go. Looking in one of my fabric boxes, I found an unopened bag of these Momo Wonderland fat quarters and made an instant decision to use them. Once they have gone, there is plenty in my stash that will fit in with them, I think.

Then I found myself on Carla’s blog reading her first post for the QAL and before I knew it, the first block I was making had 51 pieces to it! In a 6” block!!!

In spite of having made probably 10 quilts to date, I have never made a half square triangle! Throwing myself in at the deep end, I set about making 24 1” square hst’s, carefully following Carla’s instructions.

Am I pleased? I’ll say! I don’t know exactly how long it took me but I do know that I ate lunch somewhere in the middle.

Before I knew it, the second one had been made as if by magic!

Oh, and while I was busy, the postman delivered the backing and batting for my Babette quilt so it’s back to the UFO’s for the rest of the week.

Don't you just love it when...

2011-06-25T19:35:00.001+01:00

...you wander around and suddenly find the most perfect bunch of flowers from someone's garden for sale.

How was I supposed to resist? Especially when they look so good on my new runner.

Another project off the list. To tell the truth, this one wasn't exactly started but the fabrics had been waiting patiently in a carefully chosen pile for a-g-e-s just waiting for the grey linen to come into stock at Ikea.

I'm hoping that it might make me think twice before dumping all and sundry on my kitchen table. I mean, it'd be a shame to cover it up...

I used the same technique as the cushions in the den.

One more of the flowers? Ok, then!

Adventures in quilting…

2011-06-23T14:34:00.001+01:00

Following on from my last post, the maths issue has been resolved and I have finished the quilt top. I filled in the gaps with 2” squares in rows, columns or blocks as necessary. I am now waiting for the backing to arrive so I can get to quilting it.

terrible picture, sorry!

The inspiration behind this quilt came from the Babette blanket that I failed to finish and turned into cushions instead. I loved the way the blocks of blocks were created and I knew it would be an amazing quilt. I think it is a slightly odd size, but it will fit nicely on top of the small double bed I have in my spare room. Also, it is not the whole of the Babette pattern. I was restricted by the fact that I only had the one jelly roll of these fabrics (now out of print, Arcadia by Moda), to which I added about 1/4 m of five plains. Who knows, maybe one day, I’ll have a bash at the whole thing. I certainly love it enough to make again.

Ali’s post the other day has struck a real chord with me and I have many reasons for not blogging as much of late and I am determined to try and get back into the rhythm of it. The first step towards this is that I have moved my laptop onto the desk beside my sewing machine. I love spending time in my workroom and figured that I could come in here and do more than just sewing. Also, my laptop is absolutely on its last legs and I get incredibly frustrated at the length of time it takes to do anything now other that surf the ‘net. At least I can multi-task while it catches up with itself. I am desperate to buy a new one… and now we are talking contracts at OUP, I may be able to fulfil my dream and buy one of these.

There has been lots of sewing going on around here lately as I seem to be getting my creative mojo back again. Like Monica, I am on a UFO kick and am trying to get round to finishing lots of projects that have been laying around in various states of progress for far too long. Perhaps the more frequent blogging will spur me on, although it was part of the show and tell thing of blogging that seemed to be getting a bad press that was putting me off a bit. I don’t know why because I still love to see what everyone is up to and it keeps me inspired on a daily basis.

Right, back to the machine while I wait an age for my crusty old laptop to upload this post!

Today I'm loving...

2011-06-15T21:18:00.001+01:00

Blue Anagallis monelii with bright pink geraniums in my window box outside the kitchen.

Keeping a lookout for whoever is visiting my new feeder. Isn't it fab? It was a birthday present.

Watching the promise of sun-ripened (?!) tomatoes grow before my very eyes.

Doing the maths for a new quilt.

Unfurling a jelly roll that I've had for probably 2 years and cutting into some plain fabrics to go with it.

Experimenting with the layout on my design wall.

Not loving: realising maths isn't my strong point... ah, well...

It's really going to happen...

2011-06-06T22:30:00.001+01:00

It's been a long process and we've been writing for its duration, in fits and starts admittedly. This email arrived last week:

This is my publisher:

It sends shivers down my spine, just looking at the building, and knowing that I am part of this.

One day, maybe our book will be in here:

All this may explain why I have been short of words in this space. Sometimes, I feel all written out.

Our deadline is around October time with a publishing date of April 2012 but more of that later.

One week...

2011-06-05T22:42:00.001+01:00

There were strawberries

and sweet peas.

Pebbles

and blue skies and sea.

And some good news. Stay tuned.

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - May

2011-05-31T08:15:00.000+01:00

:: a butterfly ::

in the tattoo studio

:: a bicycle ::

planted by the Scavenger Hunt Gods

:: a red door ::

on the Waterloo to Southampton train

:: a cartoon character ::

dangling from Jasmine’s bracelet

:: an emergency vehicle ::

plenty to see outside St Mary’s

:: think vintage! ::

a gift from Emma for hosting the jewellery workshop

:: something blue ::

what’s not to love about a blue sky?

:: a street light ::

outside Kew Gardens station

:: texture ::

not a great photo, but this bronze fennel adds an amazing texture to my back border

:: a sign of the zodiac ::

my sign, Gemini

:: an interesting local building ::

am I cheating? It is in London and I do live in London, so kind of local, but definitely interesting!

:: a portrait in black and white ::

my favourite of me and Tom, propped against the mirror in the hall

It rained…

2011-05-26T19:50:00.001+01:00

…at last

It probably wasn’t great that I was walking back from the station in it and got soaked to the skin, in spite of having an umbrella. But at least I haven’t got to do my watering tonight!

Craft and cake…

2011-05-22T19:05:00.001+01:00

…is a regular feature at my house on a Tuesday evening. I just realised that I have never blogged about it! Probably because the ladies who come don’t blog and don’t know that I blog either. For ages I had been asked to set up a craft club and so I made it my resolution for the new year and five months later, it is still going strong. Personally, I think it is the cake that keeps them coming! My promise to my ladies was that for their commitment, I would bake every week.

Yesterday, we had an extra-curricular workshop, hence the early morning baking. Following the on from the fun I had at Kristina’s with Ms Silverpebble herself, I knew my ladies would love it too.

The concentration around the table was a living thing! And four hours later, there were five very happy bunnies all proudly wearing their own creations.

This was the table as I lured them away from it with the cake I had made. A fabulously creative mess! And here they all are, scoffing the cake to get back to the task in hand! I have never known such a short cake break

Emma has such a wonderful selection of goodies to choose from, the hardest part is picking out what to incorporate into your design. I just couldn’t resist this beautiful button.

I also spotted two of Emma’s tiny, tiny silver clay flowers which I snaffled to add in too.

I spent most of the afternoon crafting a choker with it, offset from the centre, and I love it! I know I will be wearing it throughout the summer.

Emma – thank you so much for such a fun afternoon!

There’s baking…

2011-05-21T09:07:00.001+01:00

…being done so there must be crafting…

…back soon!

Hey You…

2011-05-12T18:18:00.000+01:00

Eleven months after buying the tickets, the day finally arrived.

Last night I saw a 67 year old man perform The Wall. He hadn’t performed it for nearly 30 years and his voice finally fitted his music.

I saw Pink Floyd in 1994 at Earls Court and this felt like the missing link. Aside from the music, the show was fabulous – an absolute treat to the senses. The iconic Teacher was menacing, as he was lowered down on to the stage.

As the show progressed, a wall was built, hiding the musicians, onto which projections added to the visual impact.

The finale was the wall coming crashing down.

Finale

Given the chance, I would go back for every night of the tour to hear my favourite song ever.

Faded…

2011-05-09T22:10:00.001+01:00

As I predicted, the bluebells had largely faded from the woods I visited on Sunday. The air was still heavy with their scent though.

Somebody had been busy building in the woods!

Luckily, there were still some drifts of blue on the roadside and they seemed particularly vivid.

From the garden…

2011-05-07T10:24:00.001+01:00

It’s been sporadic, but I am still trying to avoid buying cut flowers, choosing to find things* from the garden to bring inside instead.

I have been collecting interesting jars and bottles to put them in. It hasn’t gone unnoticed either – a friend popped in the other day with three little glass bottles saying that she thought I’d like them for flowers!

It seems that I enjoy finding wild flowers just as much as things I have intentionally planted and this green alkanet is spreading around the garden at the moment (warning! it stings like crazy!)

Then, I have to confess to stopping in the lane that leads to my local nursery to pick some cow parsley to add some frothiness.

Add a couple of bluebells that are wasted growing in the tiniest of gaps along my drive and my kitchen windowsill is looking good. In my opinion.

And so does the table. (The eggs have long gone…)

I’m going on my annual bluebell walk tomorrow, but I think we may be disappointed as everything has flowered so early this year…

*scroll down to the end of the post!

Make a wish…

2011-05-05T21:42:00.001+01:00

Close your eyes… blow the dandelion clock and make a wish…

…I wish I could sit amongst the buttercups more often…

The Secret…

2011-05-02T21:33:00.001+01:00

…to hanging perfectly straight photographs (or any other type of pictures)…

I promised I’d share my secret and so here it is:

:: the ingredients ::

no more nails and some 1” x 1/2” batten

a level, preferably a long one!

:: the method ::

I cut the batten into roughly 6” pieces (making sure they would all fit behind each of my different size frames) then drew a level for the top line of my bottom row. Using the no more nails, I stuck the batten pieces roughly in place of each photo – I lined them up on the floor below to give me some idea (plus I’d laid them out previously to get my final layout). I had to wait patiently for 24 hours before I could then hang my frames on the battens. They are literally just balanced on the batten!

Then I drew another level above this row (I balanced the level on top of the frames and drew along it!). I then rested each of the top row of photos on top of the level and marked it with a pencil to show where to stick the next bits of batten. 24 hours later and up they went!

:: the result ::

I used what I had to hand (read, my camera memory card) to ensure an equal space between each photo and for the two lots of double height frames on the top row, I repeated the process of hanging the lower photo and then marking position of the batten for the top ones.

So, you see, nothing fancy, just good old display tactics!

Thanks Allison, for the tip!

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011–April…

2011-04-30T10:00:00.000+01:00

:: a church ::

on the Thames

:: a cross ::

on the top of the loaf I made on Easter Sunday

:: a sculpture ::

my most favourite in the world, photographed by me in 2000

:: a set of keys ::

that I couldn’t resist buying from Kew Gardens

:: an interesting shop name ::

loved this!

:: April showers ::

the only kind my garden saw this April

:: breakfast ::

creature of habit that I am, porridge and fruit, all year round

:: eggs ::

kindly provided by my girls

:: my camera ::

not for this project though!

:: something to do with Shakespeare ::

this months’ first day cover

:: something to do with St George’s Day

do my patriotic tulips count?

:: something yellow ::

buttercups

Five years…

2011-04-29T08:00:00.001+01:00

Today is Tom’s fifth Angel Anniversary.
Five years.

Near his grave, there is a horse chestnut tree and each autumn we collect shiny brown conkers and put them under his headstone. Two years ago, I noticed that there was a tiny tree beginning to grow from one of them after it had lain there for some time. I brought it home and potted it up. It now grows in my garden having being given life from a life that has gone.
I have learnt a new phrase: mono no aware. One that I stumbled upon recently and that resonates with me profoundly. I think of it each time I look at my tree.

Five years.

Hot flush…

2011-04-22T07:27:00.001+01:00

After the delicate, pale first flush comes the hot, zingy second act.

Now I need to find some zing and get up to make hot cross buns for my guests. I went out to dinner last night and it was such a treat to be cooked for. Perfect timing too as I have a busy weekend of cooking and entertaining ahead of me.

Kew in April #2…

2011-04-19T22:25:00.001+01:00

Kristina and I made our monthly visit to Kew yesterday. We were hoping for lots of blossom but other than this pompom-like pink stunner, we seemed to have either missed it time wise or walk wise.

Looking back over my post from April last year, there is a noticeable difference in the blooms this year. They are much earlier, which is surprising as we had a long, cold winter.

The rhododendrons were in full bloom and my favourite was this unusual pale lemon one. I always tend to think of rhododendrons being pink or mauve. These were a whole month earlier than last year.

We also stumbled across this beautiful pale lemon magnolia, still in all its glory while its cousins were dropping all their petals.

My absolute favourites though, were the tulips. We didn’t see them like this before, that’s for sure.

Whether they are parrot tulips in an urn with happy-faced violets underneath…

…or striking lily-flowered tulips (I’m guessing that this is the type they are because the lily-flowered ones love to open out in the sun), underplanted with white forget-me-nots…

… or peony-like ones, perfect against the blue forget-me-nots…

…or stately single tulips with wallflowers…

… I cannot get enough of them. Love tulips.

Making me happy…

2011-04-16T09:41:00.001+01:00

The first week of the school holidays has passed in a bit of a blur but it has been good to have No2 at home, even if all he does is sleep, play Xbox and grunt in reply to any attempted conversation.

For the first two days I looked after my two nephews and niece and I have to confess to being stunned at a period of quietness in the house only to discover they were playing… wait for it… a BOARD GAME! Shock! Horror! No machines!

I have been able to spend 2 days writing and our book progress is steady, thanks to some self-discipline. It means that I haven’t been able to spend as much time sewing or doing the other things that my busy hands usually like to do but s-l-o-w-l-y I have been making a quilt for my sister.

Putting together my quilt sandwich was made a whole lot easier after getting some clamps to hold it together on my kitchen table. Crawling about on my hands and knees on the floor (usually with a nosy four-legged friend with a waggy tail ~~helping~~ getting in the way) was too much for my aching back.

(is it just me, or does this clamp remind you of an albatross?!)

As ever, I can’t wait to sew the binding on – maybe this weekend.

There are other projects in the pipeline too and this wonderful roll-up finally made it onto my work table after spotting it in a little quilt shop in Warwick a couple of weeks ago.

Look at that saturated colour. I’d love to have a go at making one of these.

My front garden continues to make me very happy indeed.

And with that, I’m off out in the garden. My back is already grumbling about the digging…

Zoom…

2011-04-09T21:13:00.001+01:00

I always forget, so am pleasantly surprised, when I realise that for the months of February and March, if you pay by direct debit, you don’t have to pay for your monthly council tax bill. Living in London, it is my highest monthly bill, so to get a reprieve is a real bonus.

:: baby blue tit ::

So… having a bit of spare cash and spotting a very good deal on Amazon (33% off) I treated myself to a new lens for my camera and I am LOVING it.

I don’t know all the technical terms for photography (yet… one day… ) but I know that I can get some great shots of the birds visiting the feeders in the garden:

Or helping themselves to the new buds on the blossom tree:

Some nicely captured sunlight on acid green new leaves:

And some more (!) shots of the white blossom at the bottom of the garden:

Spring…

2011-04-07T20:36:00.001+01:00

What a difference a bit of sunshine makes.

All of a sudden, there is colour to be found in the garden.

I am so glad I planted more tulips last autumn. The first ones to flower in the front garden are Christmas Exotic and they are putting on quite a show.

Other things that have been making me happy over the last couple of days:

Baby great tits cheeping from the nesting boxes.

Finding a clump of wild garlic at the bottom of the border. A mystery as I did try to grow some last year in the greenhouse but nothing came of it…

And, of course, white blossom against beautiful blue sky.

Yes, we like sitting in the garden. It is easy to find contentment out there, in the warmth of the sun, and try to take on board the way life is taking us.

My gallery…

2011-04-05T15:51:00.001+01:00

I can’t believe it was way back in January that I started playing around with the layout of my photo from my swap with Mary.

I finally bought all the frames (nothing fancy, just Ribba from Ikea, but in an assortment of sizes) and then had a lesson in photo mounting from a friend. It was just the sort of job that I love – plenty of required precision. I knew that keeping my old square from my college days was a good idea.

I also love a bit of kit and the mount cutter was very satisfying to use.

I have to confess to being stupidly pleased with how they all turned out!

And, I am just LOVING them altogether on the wall in the living room. I LOVE the eclectic subject matter. I LOVE the simplicity of the frame with the white mount.

Most of all, I LOVE that they travelled a long way to grace my wall and complete my room.

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 – March…

2011-03-31T10:00:00.003+01:00

:: a collection ::

of brown china in my Mum’s cabinet

:: a fancy gate ::
at Kew Gardens

:: a lamb ::
a mere five hours old

:: a lion ::
at the entrance to the Palm House at Kew Gardens

:: a rainbow ::
on a new-version Monopoly board

:: a ring ::
mine

:: a shadow ::
of a wonderful day out at, yep, you guessed it – Kew Gardens!

:: an empty chair ::
pushed aside in the kitchen

:: peeling paint ::
note to self: shed needs repainting!

:: something as old as me ::
my first teddy bear

:: something green ::
daffodil stems, freshly placed in water

:: something sentimental ::
a little clay donkey and cart that my great-Nan always left my pocket money in (2 bob, back in those days!), now on the shelf in my workroom.

Gotcha…

2011-03-29T10:48:00.001+01:00

Since I last posted about the flock of parakeets that have been feeding in my garden, they have become a more and more regular part of the day. They always come at around the same time (early afternoon) and they always send a look-out first. This Very Important Bird sits at the top of the tallest tree and surveys the garden before he lets the others know it is safe to come over.

They are becoming increasingly tame too. Yesterday I managed to go from the back door to the edge of the deck with my camera to photograph them without them spooking and flying off.

It feels like such a treat to have them in my garden.