A Textured Shawl...

I finally finished the knitting project I cast on way back in the summer while I was on holiday in Majorca. The one that got put on hold when I slipped the disc in my neck and the one that I now cannot wait to drape around my shoulders now that the evenings have got chilly.

I used the Suri merino yarn that was specified in the pattern and it is simply the softest, most beautiful yarn I have ever worked with.

The stitch definition is gorgeous, in spite of it being the tiniest bit fluffy. I particularly love the textured part of the pattern.

My faithful model, Mrs Jennings, is *ahem* a little skinnier than me and so she needs it folded above her neck a little. I blocked it (something I rarely do) as the textured parts did draw the shawl in a tad and  it is now pleasingly triangular. This yarn has a fabulous drape to it.

I bought the pin at Loop earlier in the year, knowing that I had a couple of shawl-type projects in the pipeline. I may have to re-watch Cranford in this now and feel very much in character.

All details Ravelled here.


What's on your needles?

Unexpected memories...

A few weeks ago I went to visit the most beautiful garden on one of its open days with the National Gardening Scheme. Its owner, Philippa, had tweeted some photographs of her garden earlier on in September and I commented that it looked like the garden of my dreams. To see it for myself was a treat I couldn't resist. And so, one bright Sunday morning we set off.

My photos really don't do any justice to the garden, but here are a few of my favourites.

I adored the planting and came home brimming with inspiration for next year.

This chicken wire fox would be a welcome addition to my garden - somewhere down near the chicken coop would be perfect! Isn't he fabulous?

*******

I hadn't been in the garden very long when I realised that it had a very familiar feeling to it:

When I was young, we had family in rural Essex who we visited maybe once a year and were always told to be on our absolute best behaviour (as if two young girls could ever be on anything else!). My great-aunt lived there, with my Dad's cousin (her daughter) but I only ever remember going there when it was just my great-aunt at home. Perhaps we were too naughty to be presented to this elusive relative and her husband? There was also a second cousin (I think that's what he was to me!) but he went to boarding school and so he was also very mysterious to my sister and me at such a young age. The threat of boarding school was always present, as though it were a huge punishment.

There was lots about the house that kept us in awe. It was huge for a start and set in 27 acres of land, 26 of which were woodland that edged up to the lawn at the back of the garden and into which, we were warned NEVER to set foot in. I remember begging my Dad to take us in, but I don't think we ever went further than a few feet to collect mushrooms.

I asked my mum to dig out a few photos to see if my memory was being reliable about the similarities to Philippa's garden. I think the style of the house and the gravel drive are quite alike and probably what set the memory machine in motion.  This photo was probably taken in the late '60's.

The gardens were my aunt's pride and joy. To have the space to run around in was always such a treat; there was always a new area to discover - a kitchen garden, a greenhouse with peaches and cacti, a rose garden with a fountain. (That's me, in the anorak!) It all looks quite newly planted in these photos and I've been wondering what it would perhaps look like now. I have looked on Google Earth, but it is all a bit grainy.

The biggest thrill for my sister and I was the trampoline and climbing frame, and in later years, there was a swimming pool. (That's me, below, hanging upside down!)

We absolutely loved going there for so many reasons. It felt so far removed from our normal lives in the suburbs of London. We played croquet on the lawn and were allowed into the sitting room in the afternoon, where I started my love affair with Scrabble. My aunt was my inspiration into the world of craft and sewing and I would love to sit and sew with her. Her embroidery was a thing of beauty and I always wanted to have a sewing purse that I carried with me at all times in my (vast) handbag.

It's funny, isn't it, what will trigger a barrage of memories? Philippa, thank you so much for opening and sharing your fabulous garden. It was an absolute treat and the cake was excellent ; )

A week in pictures...

Thank you so much for leaving me such heartfelt comments on my anniversary post.  I wrote the post last week and scheduled it to publish while I was away for the weekend. What a treat to come back to lots of lovely comments!

The last seven days have been filled productively, so in the spirit of continuing with my online journal, this post will be photo heavy and short on words!

Sunset on Chesil Beach, last weekend

Fossil-hunting

Coffee at somewhere rather special in Axminster

Fishing off the beach. Check out the concentration!

Fresh mackerel for dinner

I managed to squeeze in one last camping weekend, in Dorset. The mackerel went from sea to plate in less than an hour. Hugh would've been proud of me!  We had two sunny days and a final day of persistent rain, but hey-ho! I got a very soggy tent dried at home eventually.

Getting dressed up on Wednesday...

... to attend a luncheon at Wadham College, Oxford University for Women of the Year, raising awareness for The Mulberry Bush School

I was thrilled to have been nominated for this fund-raising lunch. I thoroughly lapped up the experience and tradition of the day and was entertained afterwards by Emma Bridgewater and Dame Catherine Wybourne. I'm struggling to describe how it felt to be sat amongst 160 women. I felt very honoured, yet hugely welcomed.


There has also been a meeting of minds from a friend who I 'met' on Twitter, a bit of cooking, a bit of coping with decreasing pain medication but not a lot of crafting. Yet. I'm dying to get back to my sewing machine or knitting needles. This weekend, though, the garden is calling to me to finish off some jobs and do some general tidying after the wild and windy weather of the last week.  Have a good one, whatever you may be doing.

A five year anniversary...

:: the patchwork of my life ::

Who knew when I first started writing this blog that I would be able to maintain the momentum of it continuing for five years? And yet here we are today, marking that very anniversary.

It has been my place to record the minutiae of my life and has brought me many unexpected things in return: wonderful friendships, a sense of community, a passion for crafting and being creative, intensified by the joy of sharing.

I like to think of it as a colourful space and one that reflects my outlook on life. It is ridiculously obvious from a mere glance through this blog where my passions lie. This year, more so I think, than any other, a huge focus has been on my garden. The colour I add outside is interpreted into what happens inside. Having said that, my garden, like the inside of my home isn't necessarily a riot of colour in all its permutations, but instead I like to add punches of it now and then. And that is a good thing as there have been periods of intense darkness, as regular readers will understand.

This blog also gave me a taste of how it feels to write about the things that are important to me and through it I found the confidence to write about how it felt when Tom died enough to be able to embark on a soul-searching journey that ended in the publication earlier this year of my book. Sometimes my posts require few words and at other times, I find that the words are flowing freely and my fingers are moving swiftly over the keyboard. I like that often, my photographs speak for themselves and I have never felt more inspired to capture elements of life and have them all in one place.

This chair that I re-upholstered (freestyle as I went along, using one of my favourite fabric collections), now has pride of place in my kitchen. It has become quite a talking point and one that I have been nagged (you know who you are!) about blogging about on many occasions. So it finds itself here, in this post, and reflects exactly what my blog and the whole blogging experience has come to mean to me: the patchwork of who I am and what I like (and don't like), in all its mismatched glory.

You never know what the next post will contain. I never know! I just mosey along and when the mood takes me, I blog.

So there you have it. Sort of in a nutshell. I am hugely proud of this space and long may it continue. Who knows what it will become? I have the inkling of an idea in my mind about perhaps taking my crafting to another level so the focus might change. I hope not too much. Onwards and upwards!

Weaving with willow...

If you follow me on Twitter, you will have the heads up on the most fabulous of days I had on Tuesday when I found myself in deepest, darkest Cambridgeshire learning the art of weaving willow.

When Celia tweeted about a skills swap she had done with Debbie of Salix Arts, I found myself, along with Mrs Dottycookie and Mrs Silverpebble, getting enthusiastic about it to the point where a workshop was arranged especially for us.

We were blessed with a crisp sunny day and soon were completely immersed in the task to hand. There was barely a whisper, which is very unusual for when bloggers meet!

Debbie is a fantastic teacher and we were quickly on the way to creating with this wonderful natural material. I knew I wanted to make a plant support for the garden so having been given a quick tutorial, things began to take shape.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo above, but there are a couple of different weaves happening there - the middle section being a fence weave. I loved working with the continuous amount of willow that you just added to as and when necessary to create a flowing design.

I think it is possible that my favourite part of my structure is this knot that secured all the ends together. Isn't it beautiful?

I love the natural ends of the willow so much, I couldn't bear to chop them off.

So here is my ta-dah! I'm not entirely sure I will want to cover it with foliage next year and so I'm thinking I might just have it as a focal point somewhere in the garden.


Oh! And there was cake!

Thank you so much, ladies, for yet another superb crafty, bloggy day xx

Sowing Saturday in pictures...

Autumn sowing of my hardy annuals - DONE.

Just a few packets of seeds then...

...girlie gardening gear, always helpful...

...gently forking over the beds...

...taking care not to disturb self-seeded plants...

...being shamelessly ruthless in removing excess plants...

...to reveal patches of bare earth ready for sowing...

...around the last of the sunflowers...

...knowing that I've still got flowers to come...

...in abundance.

A Productive Day

Whichford Pottery...

One of my favourite jobs in September is planning what bulbs to buy for some eagerly awaited spring colour. It is no secret that tulips are my all time favourite flower although this year they have had a run for their money with some of the wonderful cut flowers that I have grown.

I have learnt so much about growing this year from the people I have 'met' on Twitter and so I couldn't wait to go to the bulb sale at Whichford Pottery that Harriet had given me the heads up on earlier in the summer.

In a serendipitous moment, I realised that the pottery was just a few miles away from my bestest friend and so I booked myself a room with her for the weekend and armed with my list, off we went.

Whichford is a slice of terracotta heaven. I think I have in excess of fifty or so pots/crate/containers in my garden but I came away thinking I could never have enough. The entrance to the pottery lures you in immediately with its archway of pots and I was instantly in love with Harriet's planting. Why on earth have I never thought of planting dahlias in pots?

The courtyard garden was fabulous. I particularly liked the display with succulents in tiny pots surrounded by gravel. The planting was so different from the usual suspects that I always feel uninspired with at the garden centres and nurseries that I visit. It was an absolute feast for the eyes.

 

Having ooh-ed and aah-ed in the courtyard, we made our way into the yard that housed the pots. I was literally like a kid in a sweet shop. The studios were open and we had a nosy around and a chat with one of the potters who talked to us at length about the process of making pots using moulds and then hand-finishing the designs. I said she must have the best job in the world and her face lit up as she agreed!

After having purchased our bulbs in the marquee we had time for tea and cake - always a Very Good Thing.  My thoughts on some things have done a complete u-turn: I would normally say that I couldn't stand begonias, but look at that beauty in the cake photo. Next year I will definitely have a couple of them somewhere on my deck.

 

I have pinned all the bulbs that I am planting for next spring to keep me going through the dark days of winter ahead. I will be looking forward to some other bulbs that I have not grown before too. For now they are all tucked away in the cool of my garage until I plant them in November.

It's not all about looking ahead though. My garden is still supplying me with just the right amount of cut flowers and I hope it will continue for quite a few more weeks until it is ready to be put to bed for the winter.