With Hands and Heart

Starry Bluebells

2010-05-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

As a small child, in the primary school playground and at birthday parties, I used to play a ring game with my friends called "In and Out the Starry Bluebells". My surname then was "Starkey", so needless to say the words were usually changed to "In and Out the Starkey Bluebells"!

In those days I had never seen bluebells en masse, but now I am fortunate enough to live in a village where there is an ancient wood which is full of bluebells in Spring. They are finally in flower, a good fortnight later then last year. Sadly my photos don't do them justice, but I wanted to try to capture something of the loveliness of the blue carpet they make...

Inspired to sew again...

2010-05-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

...by this book, which I borrowed from the library this week:

I know the book has been out for some time, but I had not looked at it until now. The lovely photos, projects and the clear way techiques are described has re-enthused me about dressmaking-type sewing, which I haven't done for many a long year ( apart from my recent enforced school-play-costume-making). I even got as far as pinning and cutting out one of the patterns I'd bought recently, although I found that our dining-room table was far from ideal for this.

I used to love dressmaking - I'm going back to my teenage, post-exams, long summers years here - and have many happy memories of the rattle of the sewing machine , the lovely smell of the steamed fabric when pressing seams, and the joy of immersing myself for hour upon hour in a project. I'm hoping to recapture some of that joy, although I fear that it may be a little more elusive now with family, work, house and garden all clamouring for my time...

A sad footnote to my "missing hen" post - I found a small pile of speckled grey feathers at athe end of our garden this morning - proof positive that our local Mr or Mrs Fox has taken Beryl. This is the first hen we have lost to a fox in nearly 6 years, though, so I suppose we have been lucky up to now.

Apple blossom time

2010-05-12T03:16:00.000-07:00

One of the first things we did when we moved here 6 years ago was to plant some apple, pear and plum trees in a roughly triangular area beyond our pond which we now (laughingly) call "The Orchard". Yes, I'm still dreaming of floating around my Sissinghurst-like garden in a long frock and taking tea on the terrace...
But today, even in the real world of my rather scruffy, weedy and overgrown garden, the sight of this apple tree in full blossom is uplifting to the spirits. I'm not sure what variety it is as we managed to mix up the labels after planting our fruit trees - I think it might be Jonagold. This is the most blossom it has had so far so I'm hoping for a really good crop of apples this Autumn. We had our first real crop last year, which was the 5th season since planting.
Elsewhere in our village, the bluebells are finally out in The Ancient Wood - I walked back from school that way with my friend L. and saw (and smelt!) the gorgeous carpet of blue. There were a lot of orchids too - seems like this Spring is a really good one for all kinds of flowers. I'll take my camera with me down to the wood either this afternoon or tomorrow to try to capture a picture of the bluebells.
I hope you are all enjoying your own display of blossoms and blooms in the gardens, streets, woods etc of your own neighbourhoods..

A day in the big city

2010-05-11T01:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry to have been absent this week - somehow too much has been going on with teaching work, family ( and the General Election!) to make it on to here.
One highlight of last week for me, though, was that this little country mouse went down to London to meet up with a friend who I hardly ever see nowadays. It was great fun for me as it's such a change from my usual life. As another, local, friend said to me, even sitting on the train reading the newspaper or a magazine for an hour and forty minutes was a blissful break from my real life!
I met C., my friend, in Oxford Street and we spent the next 4 hours or so talking, having coffee, talking, having lunch, talking and window-shopping and in all that time didn't stray more than a couple of hundred yards from where we met up.
As you can see we did make it as far as Selfridges - and what is in the bag?

This gorgeous Guzzini mug which C. bought me as a early birthday present and which is perfect for drinking my daily Cappucino out of. Thank you so much, C.!

With the busy-ness in my life this past week, crafting has unfortunately been rather pushed out, but I did manage to make my Sister-in-Law a card for her 50th Birthday:

Bye bye Beryl?

2010-05-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

It seems that we have lost Beryl, our Speckledy hen, leaving us with just one hen, Edwina - who is looking rather sad and lonely.
Chickens will always return to their house to roost at dusk, so normally both hens are waiting for me when I go out to give them some corn as dusk approaches. On Thursday Beryl was unusually nowhere to be seen, but after a few minutes of calling and corn-box rattling, she appeared from the next-door garden. But on Friday evening she simply didn't appear at all and has not been seen since.
It is possible she's been taken by a fox - Edwina had an extremely lucky escape from the very jaws of a fox last summer, but I haven't seen any foxes at all this year. It has also occurrred to me that Beryl had not been laying any eggs in the nestbox for a couple of weeks before she disappeared - she may have laid a clutch of eggs under a bush or hedge somewhere and be broodily sitting on them. The problem with this is that they will never hatch and she is quite capable of not coming off the nest to eat or drink. I'm not certain, but I think she could end up dying of thirst or starvation. We've looked everywhere we can think of in our garden and next door, but no sign. So I think it may be "Bye bye Beryl", even though I still hope maybe it's only "Au Revoir"...

Tulip Medley

2010-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Back in November I posted about planting my tulip bulbs. I have two small beds surrounded by box hedges and with potted holly trees in the centre of each outside the back of the barn. These are my attempt at "formal" beds and the idea originally was to have a show of single colour tulips in Spring followed by a different type of bedding plant each summer. As you can see, such plans have gone awry - I do plant a different species of tulip each Autumn and try to dig up all the bulbs of the previous one, but obviously I have missed quite a few, and after 5 years we now have quite a mix. Not what I intended, but at least it's colourful, I suppose!

This year's Summer bedding is Sweet Williams bought from a very green-fingered and creative acquaintance in the village, which , since they are biennial , have been happily growing in the bed since last summer and should put on a good show this year.

Also, I just wanted to show the layout from the final class I did during the UK Scrappers Cyber Crop at the weekend. The class was by Sarah Youde and involved distressing, sewing and using raffia - good fun. Now the Cyber Crop has finished I feel at a loose end creatively - not that I haven't got lots of things I could be finishing off - knitting and sewing projects especially, and I need to make a card for my Sister-in-Law's 50th birthday...I think I need to have a play with some of my supplies and try to get inspired.

Up to my ears in paper and card...

2010-04-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yes it's the Cybercrop weekend on UK Scrappers! For those of you who are not UKS devotees, a cybercrop is a weekend of online classes, challenges and general fun with points and even prizes to be won.
Each CC has a theme - this one is Monopoly with all the classes and the teams monopoly-themed. So far I have managed to do 2 of the classes as well as the pre-crop challenge ( which I did a little sneak preview of in my last post) and the Mystery Kit challenge where you buy a scrapbooking kit from an online shop without knowing what it consists of and then have to make something with just the items in the kit. I love doing this - it is such fun to do and then later see what everyone else has done with the same kit. I'm always inspired by other people's ideas and talents. This time, two of the LOs made involve wonderful 3-d elements - a fruit basket and a 3-d house.

Here's my ( definitely 2-d!) Mystery Kit LO :

And here is the LO I used the Tim Holtz compass mask on:

The first class I did was by the very talented Angie Woolfall, and involved intricate hand-cutting and doodling to make a frame. I normally avoid using a craft knife in favour of scissors or my trimmer so this was a real challenge for me. I persevered, though, and ( some hours later) had made this:

I'm actually really pleased with how this turned out, and may even have a go at this type of hand-cutting again. ( You might recognise the photo from a recent post!)

Then, this afternoon, I spent a very rushed couple of hours making a LO following a class by Gertie. I didn't leave myself enough time for the paint over the masked letters to dry as I had to upload the LO by 4pm to claim my points, so the title doesn't look as good as I'd hoped and I think I could have made a better choice of fonts for the letters. I may have a go at redoing the title some time.

Looking at these LOs now, it would appear that I'm very fond of the colour blue!

I'm hoping to do a couple more classes this evening or tomorrow, if I can take the pace...

Trying something new

2010-04-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been reading tutorials and seeing lots of projects using Glimmer Mists - something I have never tried. While browsing in my local craft department I looked at the price of Glimmer Mist and then, being a bit of a cheapskate, I decided to go for the ( I think) similar and substantially cheaper Cosmic Shimmer:

Knowing my track record with getting messy when using inks, I followed the tip from my friend Nicky to use an empty pizza box as a makeshift spray booth. I still managed to spray part of my wooden tabletop blue!

I decided to try out the Cosmic Shimmer spray with a Tim Holtz mask I. had wanted me to buy when he reluctantly accompanied me on a craft shop excursion during the holidays - he thought it was a cool design.

I've never tried masking before either, so two new things!

This compass design was to use on a LO I've done as part of the run-up to this weekend's Cybercrop on UK Scrappers - a pre-crop challenge. I can't show it yet as the idea is for all the entries to be secret until the CC starts, but I can say it was to be about someone who has had a great influence on your life - I have done mine about my late Dad, and here is a sneak preview, showing the finished compass design:

I do like the effect of the Cosmic Shimmer - in fact I even bought another colour of it today, and maybe in the future I might splash out and invest in some Glimmer Mist too!

Overprotective? Me?

2010-04-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Tuesday evening

I've been thinking tonight, while doing the dishes(!) about the worry involved in being a parent - a topic I'm sure most of you are extremely familiar with

When you first have a child, and while that child is a baby and toddler, parenting is an anxious time. You worry about what they eat (or won't eat), their development, whether they just have a bug or a serious illness, whether you're a good enough parent... We've all been there.

My experience now as a parent of two teenagers and a 9 yr old is that as they get older you don't really worry less - it just changes. I remember my mum telling me that she used to worry about me driving to work round the M25 - and I was 26 then!

This evening, my middle one, E., who is 15, is out for a meal at a pub with the cast of the pantomime she was in last week. One of the older boys (18) is going to give her a lift home - it's only about a mile and half away, but still... And in the summer she is off for over 2 weeks holiday abroad with a friend and her family.

Meanwhile, her older sister, L. at 17 is within 18 months of going off to college and officially entering the big, wide world.

I know it's important to let them go gradually, and I do try, and i'm fortunate that both girls are growing into lovely and sensible young women, but it's difficult to sit back and watch them becoimg independent.

So all I can do is cheer them on, hope that all goes well for them....and worry!

Postscript - ( this morning) - E. got back safely by 11pm last night so all is fine ... until the next time!

Sunny Afternoon

2010-04-20T05:07:00.001-07:00

Hello again! It's nice to be back blogging after a few days away. The children are now back at school and we are left with some lovely memories of a great Easter holidays: plenty of sunshine;

having family and close friends to visit and stay; a trip to London and meeting up with my mum; E. starring in our village pantomime.

On Saturday we went with my sister and her two children to a beautiful, tranquil garden on the edge of the Norfolk Broads - Fairhaven Water Gardens which has wonderful spring flowers and it's own private Broad ( lake) which we had a boat trip on. The cousins thought it was a magical place - "like something out of a fairytale"- and it certainly seemed so that afternoon as we walked along paths speckled with sunlight and leaf-shadows and looked out over the shimmering water.

Of course, for I. the most magical thing was the presence of my sister's Border Terrier, Findlay...

Beautiful bookmarks and a family visit.

2010-04-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

These are the lovely bookmarks that I received back today in the bookmark swap with my team mates on UK Scrappers. Now I will never have to hunt round for a scrap of paper to hold my place in a book again!

We are having family arriving to stay this evening until Sunday - my sister, her husband and the two cousins - I. is eagerly awaiting the arrival of 13yr old T. - his favourite cousin, When the boys get together they never stop talking for about 3 days! I don't think I'll be able to post on here while they are staying, so I look forward to returning here in a few days.

Sending out today...and an award!

2010-04-14T11:16:00.001-07:00

Went to the Post Office this morning and got these sent on their way.
First the card for my niece who will become a teenager tomorrow, made using the lovely dress-form stamp from The Girls' Paperie and resist stamping technique:

Next is the decorated box of stash for Amanda in the Community Chest stash swap which is part of the run-up to the Cyber Crop on UKS. I cheated a bit here as the box, which had contained some toiletries from Boots was already decorated on the sides, so I just used patterned paper on the front and back and attached some ribbon and a flower. Inside is a collection of small items from my stash such as buttons, brads, chipboard shapes, journalling spots, gems, pins, charms. I really hope she likes it:

And last, but by no means least, I have received my first blog award - from the talented Winnie - thankyou!

I understand that I now need to list 7 crafty things about myself and then pass on the award.

So here are 7 crafty things I do/have done:

1) I make all my own cards for birthdays and other occasions, including all my Christmas cards for the past two years.

2) I knit, having learned to do so as a child, but have only recently mastered the art of circular needles.

3) Since taking up scrapbooking in Feb 2008, I have made more than 100 scrapbook layouts, of which 8 have been published in magazines.

4) When I was a teenager I made lots of my own clothes and got a sewing-machine for my 18th birthday. ( more than 30 years ago!)

5) I recently got a new sewing machine and have enjoyed getting back into sewing.

6) When my children were young I made and decorated all their birthday cakes ( does this count as crafty?)

7) In the past I have also done lots of drawing, painting, cross-stitch and even pottery.

I'm passing this award on to 3 other creative bloggers : Nicky C, Sandie and Claire.

Through my Kitchen Window

2010-04-13T03:52:00.001-07:00

We don't have a dishwasher - our previous one "died" just before we moved here 6 years ago and we've not yet replaced it. So I spend a lot of time standing at the sink looking out of this window while I do the washing-up. One of the first things we did in the garden was to make a flowerbed outside the window so I would have something interesting to look at, and I really appreciate it every day. So far this year I've enjoyed hazel catkins, witch-hazel, cornus, snowdrops, daphne flowers and now hellebores and aubretia.

And I get to spot quite a few animals and birds while I wash up - pheasants, partridges, moorhens, blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, great tits and blue-tits, various finches and once a woodpecker. I watch rabbits and hares - once a young hare even took up residence in the flowerbed for a while, and occasionally Mr ( or is it Mrs?) Fox - a magnificent creature, but not a welcome sight when you're a henkeeper...

This morning it was a tortoiseshell butterfly and some fat bumblebees working over the Aubretia flowers.

Maybe one day we'll get a dishwasher: but if we do I think I will miss my washing-up sessions too much...

Resist Stamping revisited

2010-04-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hmmm - I re-read the resist stamping tutorial and found that Christi had sprayed the colourwash onto her cloth - if I'd read it properly the first time it could have prevented my pink fingers!

I treated myself to this lovely stamp set today from The Girls Paperie:

- I'm going to have a go at using the dressform stamp for my niece's card, but I'm sure I will also get great use out of the other stamps.

Getting Inky

2010-04-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

It being the school Easter holidays, not much crafting is getting done at Hands and Heart, but I did steal a few minutes this afternoon and had fun getting messy. More messy than I intended as I accidentally stained my hands shocking pink (Adirondack Cranberry colourwash) when I tipped out rather more than I meant to...

I have wanted to have a go at resist stamping since I read a great tutorial about it by Christi Snow in issue 12 of Creative Cardmaking. Her technique is to stamp the image with Versamark, emboss in white and then apply the ink/colourwash over the image with a cloth for a vibrant effect.

Through my experimentation I found that using plain smooth cardstock and gently rubbing over the colour gave the best effect. I want to make a birthday card for my about-to-be-a-teenager niece so I'm going to continue playing with this technique with other stamps.

Cherry Blossom Morning

2010-04-09T02:11:00.001-07:00

A good side -effect of keeping hens is that I need to go outside first thing each morning to let them out of their house and feed them. This is a great way to get myself fully awake each morning and connect with what the weather is doing and the beauty ( or otherwise!) of the morning.

Today is definitely a day for beauty - the sky here is a deep clear blue and the sun has a real warmth to it. As I went about my tasks with the hens there was birdsong, bees and butterflies. But best of all was that the flowering cherry trees in the hen pen, whose fat pink buds I've been eyeing up for the past week, have burst into blossom.
We planted these trees two years ago to help prettify this rather ugly area with the compost bins and the oil-tank - you can see these in the picture below, disguised a bit by the blossom, along with our two hens - Edwina and Beryl.

I need to make my morning coffeee now and sit out on the deck to soak up some more of the lovely morning. I hope your morning is as promising as mine.

Scrapbooking Kit swap

2010-04-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I love about being involved in UK Scrappers is the opportunity to join in swaps of all kinds - various types of stash, made items such as bookmarks (see my post below), altered objects etc.

The current one I'm in, organised by my UKS teamie, Claire, is a scrapbooking kit swap - the idea being to send your swappee a co-ordinated kit including cardstock, patterned paper and various embellisments, enough to make several LOs. As we were all to send items from our excisting stash, this didn't cost us a penny, and just look at what a wonderful kit arrived for me this morning:

Thanks so much to the very generous Ann who sent it!

And this is what I sent to Claire:

She later posted a pic of a LO she had made with some of the stash I had sent her and it was really interesting and inspiring to see what someone else had done with "your" stash.
I think swaps are a brilliant idea - even if I don't always like everything I receive (although I did in this case), it is great to get some free and different items to experiment with and stimulate my creativity.

Easter Gardens

2010-04-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!
Well, the Easter Hare paid his regular visit here very early this morning and left a trail of chocolate eggs in the garden for the children to find. He also always leaves a treat and often a little something else in their Easter gardens - this year it was a little chocolate rabbit and a butterfly ( made by yours truly) -see close-up below.
These Easter gardens have been part of our traditions since the girls were young - originally the idea came from the Steiner kindergarten that L. went to and the girls used to make little caterpillars out of plasticene which would miraculously change into buttterflies overnight.
They no longer do this, but we still enjoy the ritual of visiting the garden centre in the run up to Easter and choosing some plants and cress seed to sow. We also use grass seed but never get round to doing the gardens early enough so that the grass has had time to germinate before Easter Day!

This one is E.'s.

And here are the butterflies I made:
I used a butterfly stamp with charcoal chalk ink on patterned paper and then attached it to a shadow-stamped image of the same butterfly.

Our good friends M. A. and O came over for lunch and we ended up playing charades - I. loved it and has been playing lots more rounds with me since our friends left.
A good day.

Lark Ascending

2010-04-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday late afternoon I had one of those magical experiences with nature that sometimes happen here.
It had been horrible weather all day, cold, windy and raining, and then towards 6pm it suddenly brightened up. We had been in the house all day so I rounded up R. and I. and we went out for a walk to the wood. As we headed home R. decided to take I. for a quick lemonade at the pub and I headed home across the fields alone.
One of the fields I walked past often has skylarks and as I approached I could hear their song. I stopped to listen and look up to see if I could see any when suddenly one took off from the ground right in front of me and hovered in the sky overhead singing loudly - it was a wonderful moment - so unexpected and with the sun out and the sky now bright blue after such a day.
As I walked back along the "Concrete Path" I saw that the wild primroses are out along the verges and I also spotted some tiny wild violets. It reminded me how much I love the changing seasons here...

On the crafting front, I managed this month for the first time to do all the weekly challenges on UK Scrappers and the monthly House Challenge too.
Here is my week 5 challenge LO, which I'm really quite pleased with as it is the second set of photos I attempted to use for this challenge and after a strugle with the sketch provided I like how this has turned out.

Quick Easter Cards

2010-03-31T13:40:00.001-07:00

A quick post to show these quick Easter cards I made for my mum, brother and family and sister and family - the bunny image is clip-art, coloured with my lovely Promarkers and the patterned paper is all magazine freebies. So, very cheap as well!

Cutting back

2010-03-28T04:32:00.001-07:00

Now that Spring has at last arrived I am trying to get all the cutting back and tidying up done in the garden that we usually start about a month ago but weren't able to with all the snow and then rain. I'm really racing against Nature's clock here, as traditional wisdom says all pruning and cutting back should be done by the end of March, which is on Wednesday! I've done the fruit trees, the Cornus, some roses and other shrubs and made a start on the Siberian Irises, but there is still a lot to do. Looks like good weather for it today, so after lunch I will be out there again with my trusty gloves, shears and secuteurs...

Promarker Love

2010-03-26T03:53:00.001-07:00

After reading a thread about these artists marker pens over on UK Scrappers, I just had to get myself some and try them out. Yes, they are expensive, £1.50 - £1.99 each (though I got a good deal on a set and free postage at Angelcrafts), but the quality is wonderful, the colours beautifully vibrant and there is a huge range of colours available. I can see they are very addictive!
Anyway, when they arrived, I spent an enjoyable couple of evenings doing colouring in - I made a couple of Easter cards and then these bookmarks for a swap in my team on UK Scrappers:

Front:

Back:

I don't actually have many outline stamps which are good for colouring, so I have been using clipart images - I read on someone's blog that you can change images to black and white and use them like digital stamps. I have found that not all images work when you make them b+w (well not on my computer anyway), but lots do. Apart from the lampshade, which is a stamp, all the other images on the bookmarks are from clipart. I'm really pleased with how these turned out - and they were such fun to do as well!

Also, please check out my very cute Promarker storage tin in the top photo. Again I "borrowed" someone else's idea - on a thread about storage of the pens, someone had said they used a lunch tin from Paperchase. Well, I just happened to find myself in Paperchase on Tuesday and treated my new Promarkers to this lovely tin!

Papercrafting

2010-03-24T04:52:00.001-07:00

Whew! It feels a little strange to be back blogging after such a long break. I'm not sure quite why I stopped at Christmas time - we were away at New Year and then life seemed to be extra busy after that. My knitting projects have also been sadly neglected although I did use my sewing machine intensively for a while to make DD2 two flapper girl dresses for a production of Bugsy Malone she was in at school

I have been back making things this month and last, though - cards and scrapbook layouts!

I have got back into scrapbooking recentlyalmost to the point of obsession. I 've made 7 LOs in the last 3 weeks and have also made quite a few cards. (I've also spent lots of money on scrapbooking stash, but sshh - don't tell anyone!

Here are a few of the LOs I've made recently:

My DD2:

This is about our silver wedding anniversary:

Another nostalgic one about me and DH:

My three:

And this one I just finished this morning, for the monthly challenge over on Sarah's Cards blog:
(the challenge was to use old stash)

The stockings were hung...

2009-12-24T16:04:00.001-08:00

The stockings were hung, the welcoming snack and drink were put out for Santa and Rudolph ( chocolate brownie and whisky this year - a bit untraditional!), Baby Jesus had arrived in the Nativity scene and the children were in bed. It was nearly midnight, all was quiet and full of anticipation...

A very Happy and Peaceful Christmas to everyone!

Snow day

2009-12-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

Heavy (for us) snowfall overnight. I.'s school still closed so an early start to the Christmas holidays for him. The girls were really hoping their school would be closed too, but it stayed open although they finished at lunchtime. I. and I had a snowball fight, he played with his Lego in the snow and then I took him out in the sledge and he met up with 2 other boys from his class in the playground. Lovely for him that we really had time to enjoy the snow today.

Frosty Morning

2009-12-15T01:50:00.000-08:00

No snow here yet ( the children live in hope), but we had the first hard frost this morning, and we may possibly get a little snow on Thursday.

Indoors, the woodstove is lit, the christmas lights are on and I'm planning a day of card-writng, present-wrapping and knitting (yes, that reindeer) with I.'s school Nativity play this evening. It's really beginning to feel festive...

A walk in the wood

2009-12-12T14:12:00.001-08:00

We are so lucky that we have in our village, only a 5 minute walk from the house, a 90-acre ancient wood, which is carpeted with bluebells and wild garlic in Spring, full of fungi in Autumn, and home to Red and Fallow deer.
Every weekend, I like to get I. outside for a walk, accompanied by whatever other family members are around. Today it was just me and him, and we walked down to and around the wood. Although there wasn't much wildlife to see today, I. entertained both of us by pretending we were on a train and keeping up a running commentary along the lines of "On your left you can see... In this oldest part of the forest..." all the way along the whole walk. I was enchanted.

Sew pleased!

2009-12-11T04:37:00.001-08:00

Hooray - bunting is finished! I used the seam binding which I could only get in 5m lengths and I had made so many flags there were enough to make 3 lengths of bunting. I am so pleased with this project - although it is pretty simple, it is the first sewn project I have made for years and the first thing I have made on my new(ish) machine. I've lots of plans for future projects...
Away from the sewing machine, it is a gorgeous day here - this morning R. and I both walked I. to school across the fields - the sun was just coming up and the trees were ghostly shapes in the mist - magical. I'm pressing on with knitting my reindeer - maybe I'll have him finished to show here in the next day or two. Happy Friday.

Catching up

2009-12-10T12:23:00.001-08:00

Counting down to Christmas now and there's still lots to do, but I am trying to fit in something creative each day. Today I finished making my cards, I had intended to make 65 but when I counted them up today there were 61 - I think this will be enough!

I've now made all the bunting triangles - they are not perfect - there are some not-very-pointy-points there, but once it is finished I think it will look good. Today I bought some red seam binding and ribbon (not sure which will work best) to attach them to, and I hope to finish this tomorrow.

Although I didn't mange to post about it, I did make something new for supper on Tuesday - this is Aubergine and Red Onion Bake, from "365" by Gary Rhodes. A very quick and simple recipe, and it tasted really good - in fact I had the leftovers for lunch both yesterday and today ( I doubled the quantity). I realise it is another gratin-type dish - I need to find something completely different for next week!

On Tuesday, I also went to an Ornament Exchange party at my friend D.'s house back in S.W.
This was the first one I had been to and wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun and some lovely food, as well as seeing people I hadn't seen for ages - one or two people I hadn't seen since we moved up here nearly 6 years ago. It was really good to catch up with them.
This is the ornament I took to the swap:

And here is the one I ended up with - it is actually a little photo frame, so I am debating what photo to put in it:

It was a really good evening, but the party went on till after 11.30pm , and I didn't get home till 1am, so have been feeling a little jaded. In contrast it has been lovely being home these past two evenings, just reading and relaxing...

Practising completion

2009-12-08T01:39:00.001-08:00

I am great at starting projects - I see a pattern, have an idea, and I'm off...
Finishing is quite a different matter. Before I have finished some of these projects which I began in such a blaze of enthusiasm, I have either lost interest, started something else, or put it aside through lack of time and never taken it up again.
I've been thinking a lot about this recently, particularly now at this time of year when blogs and magazines overflow with wonderful ideas which inspire me to want to start something else new.
Sure, I can allow myself a lovely new project (favourite candidate is Mousy Brown's wreath), but I also need to devote time each day to a completion practice.
So yesterday and today, my completion work is the bunting for E.'s room which we started way back in the summer. She doesn't know I have taken this up again, so hopefully I will be able to surprise her with it as part of her Christmas presents. It feels good to get out the sewing machine again and work towards finishing something - this will be a good discipline for me.

A Quiet Sunday

2009-12-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

(Spindle berries collected by R.,E. and I. on their walk yesterday)

A quiet day at home today... woke late, organised breakfast for everyone, including E.'s friend who had slept over. Made another batch of Christmas cards, then made a pan of lentil soup for lunch. A brisk walk by myself to get some fresh air and then helped L. get ready for the party she is hosting for her friends tonight. R. and I. are out, so all is quiet in the house - there are any number of crafty things I could be getting on with, but somehow all I want to do is nap...

Apron Love

2009-12-05T09:22:00.001-08:00

I wear one of my aprons every day - when I cook and when I clear and wash up and when I serve up meals. Basically all the time I'm working in the kitchen. Often, I end up answering the door in my apron - to the postman/woman, friends, or the parents of my children's friends. No-one ever says anything, but since I have never seen any of my friends wearing aprons, I wonder if I am alone round here in doing so?

I love aprons. When I was a young child, in the Sixties, my favourite one of my mum's aprons was bright pink flowered in silky fabric with a ruffle round it. I used to always choose to wear this one when I helped Mum with the cooking.

My preference, though is definitely for bib aprons, and all mine seem to have blue in them. But I'm very open to other colours! In fact, I feel that an apron sewing session may be in the offing. ( Just as soon as I finish everything else I've started.)

So, are you an apron-wearer? If so, and if you, like me, love your apron(s), you can indulge yourself in more apron-love here:

Apronology - a wonderful publication from Stampington

The Apron Book - includes a pattern for a basic bib apron

Tie One On - wonderful blog about all things apron-y

Cheering my heart...

2009-12-04T01:28:00.001-08:00

...on these damp, rather dismal mornings when I go outside to let out and feed the hens, is the beautiful blossom on my little cherry tree, bravely flowering away:

...and when I come back inside the first thing I do is make myself a mug of my favourite Cappucino, for further spirit-lifting purposes:

Have a great Friday morning, whatever the weather is like where you are.

Collecting E. from her two weeks away tonight ( yes, she was home for the weekend, but the house and the family just don't feel right without her here each day) - can't wait to have her home again!

Time for a deep breath

2009-12-03T07:44:00.001-08:00

Feeling frazzled today. I ventured into the city to take back some items of clothing for E. and I. which were too big, and to try to finish all my Christmas shopping before it got too busy. I ended up feeling demoralised by the relentless commercialism and exhausted by trekking back and forth, especially when I had got all the way back to the car park only to realise I had forgotten to take back one item to a shop back across town, when I had actually already been in that shop earlier. On the way home I also had to food-shop, and then remembered the hens were in immediate need of more woodshavings for their nest box - so another detour was required.

So I have ended up feeling quite out of sorts, with nothing done in the house today, or any crafting. A deep breath is needed, to remind myself what this season is really about, and to centre myself back into my life here. Tomorrow will be a day at home, and hopefully tonight I can get on with my knitting...

( I treated myself to this lovely Cyclamen when I visited The Kitchen Garden recently.)

WIP Wednesday

2009-12-02T05:42:00.001-08:00

Hmmn... what is this fluffy, grey object, I hear you wonder. Well, it is all I have managed so far of my reindeer. I'm finding the Rowan Alpaca Cotton yarn difficult to knit with as it is so fuzzy, and counting the rows on the knitting is practically impossible (as I found when I realised I'd misread the decreasing instructions and had to take out a good few rows). I obvioiusly need to press on with this to have him ready to grace our home over Christmas so he is the #1 knitting priority at the moment. In fact, if I can get today's tutoring session prepared quickly, I may just manage a bit more of him before collecting I. from school.

Advent's here!

2009-12-01T13:43:00.001-08:00

I know that advent really started last Sunday, and perhaps next year I will make an advent wreath and start our celebrations on the Sunday, but this year today was the day. Nestled inside the drawers of our advent house are colour-coded ( gold for I., green for L. and pink for E.) tissue -wrapped little gifts ranging from tiny reels of ribbon to tiny diaries and individual chocolates, together with a couple of "tokens" for seasonal treats. We're all looking forward to enjoying this lovely time of anticipation and tonight lit our advent candle for the first time.

Also at supper-time, it was Try Something New Tuesday, and this is what we had:

Mushroom Ragout with Rice Pilaf

This seemed to go down very well with L. and her friend who was here for supper and also with R. - all of them had second helpings.

The recipes are both from "From Anna's Kitchen" by Anna Thomas. The pilaf in particular was very easy - the ragout was a little more involved, but I will certainly make them both again.

A quick and simple card

2009-11-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I forgot to share the very easy and quick (but still, I hope, pretty and effective) card I made for L.'s birthday. The gorgeous fabric is "Confections" by Robert Kaufman, and the epoxy sticker is by"Love Elsie" from KI Memories.

A birthday, a cold walk, and a tired boy...

2009-11-28T15:08:00.001-08:00

Today we...

celebrated L.'s 17th birthday:

The cake is the carrot cake recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery book - absolutely delicious and easy, even though I do not own a food mixer and did all the mixing by hand ( I've developed a very strong right arm over years of baking!)

Had a cold, but lovely walk up what we (unromantically) call "The Concrete Path" - a farm track through the fields from our driveway:

Some of us a little reluctantly:

And fell asleep on the sofa, too tired to sing his sister "Happy Birthday":

Tulips

2009-11-26T15:21:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I managed to get an hour in the garden and planted my tulips, which were beginning to sprout. I love tulips and every year I plant a new variety in two small formal beds we have outside the back of the barn. I am very taken with the idea of formal beds with a succession of bulbs and bedding plants through the year, surrounded by box hedges ( I visited Sissinghurst at an impressionable age!) and these two small beds are my rather basic formal garden. After the bulbs I only have one lot of summer-flowering plants, although it would be nice to follow these with something that will last through the winter, like pansies. This year I have put in Sweet Williams which are biennial and are happily overwintering to flower next summer. I have been spectacularly disorganised about the tulips, though, not only have I left it rather late to plant them, I also managed to throw away the label where I had writen the variety name, and now I can't remember what they are. Possibly "Ballade", as that is the name which comes into my head, and there is actually a tulip of that name. Oh well, it will be a surprise in the Spring to see what they look like!

This is one of the beds, just before planting.

And here is my assistant gardener, Edwina, who always jumps out of the pen and comes to dig around, very unhelpfully, whenever I attempt any weeding or planting.

W.I.P. Wednesday

2009-11-25T12:58:00.001-08:00

My first posting for W.I.P. Wednesday and today my Work-In -Progress is my Christmas cards, which I finally started this morning and managed to get 10 completely done and 10 more partially done in just over an hour. My design is very simple this year, and apart from the dove stamp and the card blanks which I have bought specially, everything else is items already in my stash. ( I have got so much stuff I really need to use up!)
The dove stamp is from te English Stamp Company and the background calligraphy stamp is by Invoke. The paper is left over strips from a Dovecraft pack I bought for last year's cards.
I'm hoping to do another 10 each day to work towards my target of 70.

Try Something New Tuesday!

2009-11-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I did cook something new, Mushrooms and Lentils Au Gratin and I think it was a success - L. had a second helping, but there was only L. and me eating it, as R had cooked a chicken which needed using and he and I. ate that, and E. of course is away.

Missing her already.

2009-11-23T03:37:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I took E. to stay with our good friends A. and M. as she is doing her Work Experience with the National Trust, which M. works for. She will be with them this week and next, although I will be collecting her on Friday for the weekend back at home (it's big sister's birthday).

I know E. will have a lovely time - she has often stayed for a night or two with A. and M. and their daughter is one of her best friends. And I know it's not for long - but it is the longest she has been away, and she is such a full-on personality that the house and family seem very quiet without her. It also feels like a rehearsal for when she (and her sister before her ) will leave home - not very many years away now - and I'm not sure that I will be ready...

What's for tea, Mum?

2009-11-21T15:01:00.001-08:00

I read in the newspaper last week that a survey found most mums "recycled" the same 9 dishes for dinner ( or "tea" as we tend to call it in our house - my Northern roots are showing!) over and over again. When I came to think about what I cook each evening, I realised that my regular repertoire is not much more adventurous - I do tend to make the same "safe" dishes that I know the children will eat, very regularly.

So, I have decided to give myself a challenge which will perhaps make the answer to the above question more interesting. I am going to find a new dish to cook once a week - the best night for this will be Tuesday- so here's to "Try Something New Tuesdays"!

The picture above is one of our summer regulars - Halloumi and Vegetable Kebabs, which I have promised my Halloumi-loving L. that I will make tomorrow, even though it's late Autumn...

At last...introducing my new design - "Betsy"

2009-11-19T04:28:00.001-08:00

Well, it has taken me quite some time, and 3 test knits ( you may notice this one was a little different), but finally I am happy with my baby pinafore design. The pattern will be available soon to buy as a download on Ravelry, and I'm looking forward to knitting it in other sizes and colours ( denim blue for starters) to hopefully sell finished garments as well . Watch this space for news on that...

Remember not to rush...

2009-11-17T14:41:00.001-08:00

One of the other mums at I.'s school brought me up short with a comment today when I met her while picking I. up - "You seem to be in a rush today - calm down" she said. And, thinking about it, I realised she was quite right - in fact I was feeling quite breathlesss from rushing. It had been one of those days - I had been into the city, birthday-and-Christmas-and clothes for DD2's-work experience next week-shopping, come home, done a few jobs and had a quick blog-browse then realised I was runnung a bit late to pick I up. But it is more than just one day - I seem to rush at life a lot of the time, even feeling anxious and a bit panicky about all the things I feel I need to get done. Even though I have taken the decision to cut back on some activities ( I talked about this here) I still feel sometimes there are not enough hours in the day, and this also leads to me staying up too late and ending up a tired and grumpy mama.
The picture above is of me with my littlest and biggest on the beach at Wells-next-the Sea ( one of our very favourite family places) last February and is there to remind me to calm down and remember not to rush through this life of mine. To be honest, it's going too fast anyway...

Memories in a tree

2009-11-16T01:07:00.001-08:00

I love this little tree. It is a winter-flowering cherry (Prunus Subhirtella Autumnalis) which was one of the first trees we planted when we moved here nearly 6 years ago. Then it was tiny, quite ungainly in the way its branches fell. Now it is filling out and becoming more graceful. I love it for the beautiful autumn colour, and the anticipation of the starry white flowers adorning the bare branches in winter. Most of all, though, I love it for the memories it represents - we had a much larger version of this tree outside the front of our house in S.W. and it was a special place for the girls when they were very young - almost magical. They used to hold tea parties for their dolls and themselves under its shelter and it was a joy to look at with it's firey leaves in autumn and abundant blossom in winter. When we sold the house to move here, the purchasers were concerned about the tree's roots getting into the drains and they cut "our" beautiful tree down.

So the young tree in the photo above is the repository for me of all those memories and will, I hope, go on to make its own memories. The girls are too old now to hold dolls' tea parties, and I. is only really interested in trees if he can climb them, but I hope that one day its branches will be shading the patio where we will be eating our meals outside, and maybe one far-off day, when the tree is really quite big and old, my grand-children might hold dolls' tea-parties under its shelter.

Duvet day

2009-11-13T13:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday a pale, tired, headachey-and-tummyachey boy greeted me when I woke him up. Not exactly ill, but not exactly well either, and definitely someone who needed a day just being at home. So we had a lovely, restorative day quietly at home, a lot of which was spent snuggled under his duvet, lying on the rug reading or playing. I. loves his duvet and usually appears downstairs in the morning wrapped in it, having trailed it down the stairs like a prince trailing his cloak.

By teatime, the rosiness had been restored to I.'s cheeks and all achiness was forgotten. He ended the day happily relaxing on a makeshift "sofa" in front of the woodburner. A happy day indeed.

I just couldn't resist

2009-11-11T01:58:00.000-08:00

this gorgeous Rowan reindeer pattern which is in the current issue of Knitting magazine, and I got the wool for it in John Lewis while I was supposedly beginning my Christmas shopping yesterday. I've never knitted a toy before, but I'm looking forward to having a go at this once I've finished working up my pinafore pattern.

On my needles

2009-11-09T04:43:00.001-08:00

...and on my lap this morning is my new design. It is a "no sew" baby/toddler pinafore dress in Rowan handknit cotton which I am in the last stages of test kniting and writing up the pattern. I hope to have it as a download on Ravelry in the near future.

Started out here as a lovely bright morning - now it has clouded over. I think it may be time to light the woodburner...

Alone at home...on a weekend

2009-11-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

While I'm often in the house alone during the week with R at work and the children at school, it's very unusual for me to have any time in the house by myself at the weekends. But this morning E was still at our friends' house where she had stayed overnight after a fireworks party, and R went with I and L into the city, and I was here unexpectedly by myself for an hour or so until E returned. I don't know whether it was to do with the pale autumn sunlight in the rooms downstairs, but the house felt especially peaceful, not as if it was holding it's breath waiting for the family to return, but as though it was breathing out in the quiet after a typical busy, noisy, week.

The house settled down around me as I pottered about, clearing up, washing dishes...just the house and me...blissful.

Crab-apple jelly

2009-11-07T05:51:00.001-08:00

Coming into the kitchen when I woke up this morning I was greeted by the sight of the sunshine glinting through the jars of crab-apple jelly which I made yesterday which I had left to cool down on the kitchen table. They certainly are a wonderful colour, but although the jelly is set, it looks as though it will be quite runny - I think the fruits from our tree, which is the variety "Evereste", may not have as much pectin in as some crab-apples.
It was easy and fun to do and I used a doubled -over piece of muslin, which I wet and then wrung out, instead of a jelly bag - I had checked out the prices of a jelly bag and stand at Lakeland - £18! Halving all the fruit took a bit of time as the crab-apples I used were quite small.
Here is the recipe I used, given to me by my neighbour, Liz:
Crab-apple Jelly
6lb crab-apples
4 pints water
sugar - 1lb to each pint of juice yielded
(note: I used 4.5lbs apples, so I needed only 3 pints water. This quantity yielded 2.75 pints juice to which I added 2.75 lbs sugar.)

1) Wash fruit and cut apples into halves.
2) Put into preserving pan or large heavy-bottomed pan with the water.
3) Bring to boil and then simmer gently for 45mins to an hour. Resist stirring during this time as this can make the jelly cloudy, but be careful the apples don't catch and scorch on the bottom of the pan when bringing to the boil.
4) Strain the pulp through a jelly bag or muslin for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5) Measure the yield of the strained juice and add 1lb sugar to each pint juice.
6) In the pan, bring to the boil and boil until setting point is reached - between 5 and 20 mins depending on amount of pectin in the fruit.
7) Fill pre-washed and sterilised jars while the jars are still warm and put on lids.
8) Enjoy and/or give to friends!

Taking on too much

2009-11-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

When will I ever learn?

In the summer my girls did a 2-day art course with an artist friend of mine, and while waiting outside her house in the sun to collect them each day, I thought " How nice it would be to do an art course!" My dad was an artist and I did art at school to A-level, but have let it slide in all the years since. I felt that now I was getting back to doing some creative activities it would be good to brush up on my sadly neglected drawing and painting skills.

So, in September, I signed up for a beginners art course with Zangmo Alexander, a local artist and teacher, and paid upfront (or at least, DH did). After just 4 sessions and having been unable to go to 2 others, I've had to come to the realisation that this was a course too far, and it is just unrealistic given my committments to family, house , teaching and my own time. It has been an expensive lesson.

However, I have learned some good tips and techniques to improve my drawing, and I have a nice new set of drawing pencils to play with!

Look who's 9!

2009-11-04T01:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks out of date, but I. recently turned nine and I love the look on his face that sister E. captured in this picture. Oh the joy of blowing out birthday candles!

This is the first of the children's birthdays, all of which fall at this time of year when although bithday parties and teas in the garden are out, it is dark enough at tea-time to have the proper conditions for the ritual candle-blowing-out.

This year's "party" for I. consisted of going to the cinema with 2 friends to see the lovely film, "Up", and then having one friend to sleep over. Much more calm than in previous years, and because friend had gone home by Sunday tea-time it was just the family who were there to sing Happy Birthday and enjoy the chocolate brownie cake - a relaxed and cosy occasion.

Fairy Ring

2009-11-02T13:58:00.001-08:00

Today on the way back from a bike ride with I ( which was not an unqualified success since he got very cold ears and very tired so we ended up pushing the bikes up the last stretch), I saw this round one of the birch trees in the garden. All the birches had fungi around them, but this one had a complete fairy ring. Is there something in birch roots which attracts them, or do we really have fairies at the bottom of the garden?

Also, a picture of Saturday's Halloween pumpkin. The ones I took while it was lit on Halloween didn't come out well enough...

Summer Garden Stripes

2009-10-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

My first completed knitting design project - a baby blanket knitted in Rowan Handknit Cotton. I loved these delicious colourways, Gooseberry, Delphinium and Thunder together, and the names inspired my "summer garden" name, even though it was photographed today minutes after being finished, in my Autumn garden.

An easy and enjoyable project, though knitting all the stripes does take quite a while!

Pattern for Summer Garden stripes Baby Blanket

Supplies:

Rowan Handknit Cotton ( which is machine-washable)

Colour A - 334 (Delphinium) - 4x 50g balls

Colour B - 219 ( Gooseberry) - 3x50g balls

Colour C - 335 ( Thunder) - 1 x 50g ball

Needles:

Pair 4.5mm needles

4mm circular needle ( 80cm long)

Using colour B and 4.5mm needles, cast on 116 st.

Row 1 - k to end

Row 2 - k1, p to last stitch, k1.

These 2 rows form the stocking stitch pattern.

Continue in stocking stitch following this stripe pattern:

B - 6 rows (in total)

A - 4 rows

B - 6 rows

C - 2 rows

A - 6 rows

B - 4 rows

A - 6 rows

C - 2 rows

These 36 rows form one rpt of the stripe pattern.

Work a total of 5 rpts of the pattern , then proceed as follows:

B - 6 rows

A - 4 rows

B - 6 rows.

Cast off.

Weave in ends in same colour stripes using duplicate stitch.

Borders

Short side borders ( work both in the same way)

Using 4mm circular needle and colour A, pick up 113 sts along one short edge.

Row 1 - k1, m1, *k1,p1, rpt from * to last 3 sts, k1, m1, k1. (117 sts)

Row 2 - k1, m1, *p1, k1, rpt from * to last 3 sts, p1, m1, k1. (119 sts)

This forms the moss stitch pattern.

Rpt these 2 rows 4 more times (10 rows in total, 135 sts)

Cast off.

Long side borders (work both in the same way)

Using 4mm circular needles and colour A, pick up evenly 145 sts along one long edge.Work 10 rows in moss stitch increasing as for short edge borders.

Cast off.

Finishing

Sew together border edges using backstitch.

To block, machine wash at 30c then pin out on blocking board or large towels to the finished dimensions ( 86cm x 68cm). Leave to dry.

If you find any problems with this pattern, please leave a comment or e-mail me on silverfamily7@gmail.com.

Christmas is coming...if you're a crafter

2009-10-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not so organised that I have already designed and made my Christmas cards. This is a picture of last year's design, of which I made about 65!
But I do need to , in fact have started thinking about this year's one. When I was in my local garden centre last week the staff were busy putting together the Christmas department. And I have now ordered my stamp for this year, a dove, from the same company as the tree - The English Stamp Co.
I promise, though, that apart from my cards I will do nothing else about Christmas until at least November. But making 65+ cards does have to be spread out a little...

WIPs and FOs. ( or works-in-progress and finished objects, if you prefer)

2009-09-26T05:05:00.001-07:00

My partly-knitted sock - long way to go on this project! Opal pattern and sock yarn.

My first attempt at designing. Cabled cushion cover - wool is Rowan Kid Classic. This is attempt #3. Just as well I didn't decide to design a sweater...

Kaalund kit and wool - lovely to knit with and gorgeously soft.

This shrug was started in June 2008 and finished early Sept 2009. Oh and I just sewed the ends in this morning... Sirdar Just Soya pattern and yarn. I didn't like knitting with this as the yarn split so much and the pattern appeared to be wrong in the stitch count in the patterned section with the result that I went wrong on the back. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway when I realised the mistake I was so close to casting off that despite being the biggest perfectionist going, I couldn't bear to rip it all out and start again. Also, it helps me learn to deal with imperfection!

September - a fresh start

2009-09-26T02:15:00.000-07:00

September...the Jewish New Year...back to school...a fresh start.
And a fresh start for this blog which has been languishing sadly neglected for too many months.
At present I'm in a knitting phase, having finished both the shrug I started way back last year, and started and finished the scarf from the kit I bought months ago.
My current challenges to myself, now I am back intoi knitting in a big way are to teach myself to knit socks and to design a knitted item myself.
So... a sock is duly in progress on the needles, but the 2.5mm needles are so sharp they have actually ended up making a hole in my finger (ouch!!) - well a break in the skin anyway. So I have temporarily transferred to challenge #2 - a knitted cushion cover
Photos of these and finished items to follow.

ps. Further to the posts about our new windows and doors, I'm pleased to report that everything is finished, bar the painting, including a lovely new deck. So, wonderful light inside the house and a great area to sit outside. In fact the previously dark and grim corner of the sitting room has now become my favourite place to sit and knit. Kniting on the deck is good too, except in blazing sunlight.

A closer look...

2009-04-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Having posted about my "Budget Challenge" layouts in the last post, I thought it would be a good idea to show the LOs more closely, so here they are...

Yes, it's me!

2009-04-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Not a brilliant photo but you can probably make out my photo on this spread from the current Scrapbook Magazine. I'm so excited as, although I've had LOs published before, this is my first "article" and what's even better is that I got paid for it( well, I will when payment arrives!).
End of self-promotion, I promise!

A lovely Spring Day

2009-04-25T12:02:00.002-07:00

Probably because I know this long spell of gorgeous weather is due to come to an end tomorrow, I especially appreciated the lovely sunshine this afternoon. R and I made a (very reluctant) DS come out for a walk down to the wood with us to see if the bluebells were out. As you can see from the photo, they were but not fully - I must make sure to go down again in a few days when they will be fully open and lovely.
DS cheered up a bit while we played a game of "40/40 caught", and had a lemonade and crisps sitting outside the pub, but dragged his feet and pulled a cross face all the way home.
After I had mown the front grass and got the hens in the pen, I had a wander round the garden and sat by the pond on the stone bench - I must have been very still because after a few minutes there was a cluck noise and a moorhen appeared from the reeds to the side of the pond and swam across to the reeds in the middle. A few more clucks and she swam back, this time followed by a tiny black ball of fluff - a chick - which she then shepherded into the cover of the reeds. A special moment for me as I had only seen the chicks before this whilst I've been in the car going down the drive .

And more light...

2009-04-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's far too long since I last posted here, and what I really want to post about is the return of my Circle Journal ( hooray!) which finally winged it's way back to me yesterday. But it's too late (after midnight ) and I'm too tired and besidesI haven't got either my thoughts or my photos organised yet. So that will have to wait for (hopefully) tomorrow. But I do want to do one thing tonight, which is to post a photo of our new(ish) French doors.

Together with the windows in the living room, they have, as I hoped, transformed this part of the house - now I don't need any lights on during the daytime like I did before and hated so much. All we have to do now (apartfrom painting !) is to have a deck and steps built outside the doors so we can actually use them, as there's about a metre drop to the ground!

Coffee Love

2009-03-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

My addiction to coffee is well-known amongst my family - I usually only have 1 or 2 cups a day, but it is one of my favourite treats and if I go for a day without a coffee (preferably cappucino) I not only feel deprived but get a headache - yes, a true chemical addiction!
I made this layout in response to this week's challenge onUK Scrappers which include making a LO about something you're addicted to - for me, apart from scrapbooking itself, there could be only one contender!
I can knowledgeably discuss the merits of the Cappucino on offer at all the major coffee chains - Costa, Cafe Nero, Starbucks, as well as my favourite small individual coffee shops in Norwich and Wymondham. Funnily enough, it is only actual coffee I love - I can't stand anything coffee-flavoured, and as for instant coffee ... yeuch! Definitely a coffee snob, me!

I have already made other layouts celebrating my love of coffee, most recently for a Circle Journal group I'm doing through UKS - I really enjoyed using yummy Doodlebug flock and boutique trims in wonderful coffee colours in this double LO below:

Let there be light!

2009-03-11T11:34:00.001-07:00

It's very exciting at home at the moment, because we are having extra windows put in to the living room and the hall. As you can see, the living room windows were put in today - for the first time we can see out into the back garden. This side of the barn faces East, so I'm looking forward to seeing the room flooded with early-morning light when I get up tomorrow.
French windows from the hall should be finished by Monday - watch this space!

First signs of Spring

2009-02-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

I know that snowdrops are really the first sign of Spring, but although I love them, they don't make me feel that Spring is on its way because they are so wintry. No, here in the countryside the sight that really gladdens my heart and makes me think longingly but hopefully of the warm, balmy days of Spring and Summer to come, is the beautiful yellow hazel catkins that festoon the hedgrows. Although we do have some hazel in our own garden hedge, we keep it closely trimmed in the winter which meanns the catkins do not have a chance to develop. I also have a Corylus Contorta ( Twisted Hazel) just outside the kitchen window, but this is slower to open its catkins. The place to see them for me and where I took this photo yesterday, is along a farm track which leads from my neighbours garden which we call "the concrete path" and which is a favourite place of ours to walk, cycle, pick blackberries...

Inchies

2009-02-26T04:41:00.000-08:00

I have just finished making 30 "Inchies" which is the first time I have tried any artwork on such a small scale. Inchies are, as they sound, tiny artworks just 1x1 in square. They are often mixed media, but can be any design, theme or media. I made these for a swap I am doing on

UK Scrappers and I enjoyed using a number of different techniques and materials, searching through my stash to find suitably small images, stamps, and text. My common theme was to use an image and some text and I made 10 sets of 3 different but related ones.

In the swap, I will recieve 3 inchies from each participant, meaning I will also get 3 back of my own, and 3 from my talented DD, who is also taking part. I can't wait to see the inchies created by the other swappers.

Photography

2009-02-11T05:07:00.000-08:00

I'm no good at photography. I have a Fuji Finepix F650 compact digital camera, which I mostly only use in auto mode and I usually find the results disappointing - I think this is more my ineptitude and the lack of light inside the house which is to blame for this rather than the quality of the camera. I often feel in my scrapbooking that my photos let down my LOs.

In a bid to improve my photography skills I'm going to try to do a photo a day challenge for myself and post (at least some of!) the results on here. I've decided to do inanimate objects only because A) My family are fed up with me photographing them, B) I'm on my own most of the daylight hours, at least in winter, C) Inanimate things at least stay still, so my chances of a reasonable picture are a little higher and D) I will get a record of some of my favourite bits of my home and suroundings.

So here goes with 1) - still taken on auto mode, but at least with plenty of light on a sunny windowsill:

I love jugs, I love blue and white "Cornish " ware and I love daffodils - so this picture speaks to me of a blissful glimpse, in the middle of winter, of spring days ahead .

Cybercrop!

2009-02-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

This weekend I 've just taken part in my first-ever Cybercrop over on UKScrappers. The idea is that you follow on-line classes and challenges, some of which you can buy kits for and your work has to be uploaded to the gallery by certain deadlines to gain points for your "team". Some people manage to do most of the classes over the sweekend - I don't know how they do it. I did just 4 - 2 classes and 2 challenges plus 2 challenges which had been set in the run-up to the crop.

One of the classes was to make a house-shaped LO with opening doors and roof. I have adapted this to look like our barn and haven't finished it yet, but will post it on here when I have. The other LOs etc are here:

This minibook was made with a "Mystery" kit from Scrapshed - I loved using these papers and embellishments and love the book I made. Also I have loads left to make something else:

This LO was for a class called "Black and Blue":

The "FBI" challenge to use a file-folder, ink and buttons on your LO was the perfect oppprtunity to scrap these pics of DD1 and her favourite hat:

The Urge to Create

2009-02-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

All children have the urge to create - as soon as they can hold a crayon they love making marks on paper and any other surface they can find! Later, their expressive drawings are an indication of where they are in their development. Many of us adults, however, have become too busy to give time to creating anything or think that doing anything creative is somehow something "childish" that they have, or should have, grown out of. The creative urge is repressed, buried deep down, but never, I believe, gone entirely.

As a child and a teenager, I loved to make things - I used to draw, paint, sew, knit, write and illustrate stories. I took Art at A-level and even thought of going on to study it in some form but I never felt I was "good enough". My father was an artist and I knew that I did not have his skills with drawing, so I went on to study an academic subject and get a series of jobs, finally settling on teaching. Through my twenties I kept going with my interest in art, took up pottery and kept knitting - I even made my husband a fair isle sleeveless sweater. With the arrival of my children, however, the time to do creative things was squeezed out and my creative urge was pushed still further down.

It did rise to the surface from time to time - in my enjoyment of decorating my childrens' birthday cakes and modelling little figures for them out of icing - and in my dreams. I had a recurrent dream where I would discover that there was one or more rooms in my house that I never knew about or used. My dream dictionary confirmed my feeling that this meant I was not "inhabiting" or using all the parts of myself. Yes, it was my creativity that was nudging me through my dreams, wanting to be used.

Then, about a year ago, I discovered Scrapbooking, by happy chance. Immediately I loved it and felt inspired. I also felt I could do it and didn't even have to draw! This has led to an awakened interest in other forms of art and crafts. As you have read in previous posts, I have got back into knitting and I am also experimenting with various mixed media techniques. And guess what ? Now that I am honouring my creativity, I haven't had a single dream about the unused rooms...

This layout, which I did at the end of last year is about my re-awakened urge to create:

And here is one I did about those birthday cakes...

Thanks for reading this long post

Scrapbooking vs Knitting

2009-01-30T05:08:00.001-08:00

I love them both! But I have found that I can't scrapbook and knit at the same time (well obviously not at exactly the same time...) When I am in scrapbooking mode, which I am at the moment, I don't seem to want to knit, and vice-versa. I think they must use different parts of the brain that I can't engage in the same time period.

Currently I am working on some layouts for a magazine challenge, an art journal challenge, and a layout for the Cybercrop on UK Scrappers, and my mind is in overdrive thinking of ideas for these. But I also have a pile of unfinished and unstarted knitting projects which are having to wait their turn. One knitty thing I have to do, though, is sew up the legwarmers my DD1 has just finished, her first project since learning to knit over Christmas. In fact I must go and get on with this job now, as she wants to wear them for an audition she's going to tomorrow!

Winter

2009-01-29T05:30:00.000-08:00

In many ways I love winter - lighting the fire in the afternoons to welcome the children back from school; shutting in the hens and drawing the curtains before tea time; wonderful frosts like we've had here recently; sunshine and blue skies like today. I love the items that provide us with extra warmth in the winter - snuggly scarves, gloves and hats, and the old-fashioned hot water bottle. DD2 has always ben a particular fan of the hot water bottle and I was thrilled to find a really lovely pattern for a knitted cover in the book "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket. The pattern is from the Sarah Dallas book "Knitting", and I have made one for DD2, although as I can't quite remember how to do crochet edging it's not completely finished at the top! I'm intending to make one each for DD1 and DS too, but judging by the number of other projects, both knitting and scrapbooking that I've got on the go, it may be next winter before those two can also cuddle up with their new hot water bottle covers!