Not very much going on

It's been nearly three weeks of sniffs and sneezes, a time when energy has to be mustered to just get through the working day and get home to collapse in a sorry heap. Not much of anything has been done, but an effort has to be made this weekend to prepare the house for a celebration next week. The eldest daughter will be 21 and she will come home from university to share a family meal with grandparents, aunt, uncle and little cousins. Unfortunately daughter number two will be absent, on a college trip to London to visit the BBC and the Houses of Parliament, so not something she can miss really. I'm sure her big sister will save some cake for her!

I have started the fleece, it spins nicely but I really need alot of practice so it's fortunate that it was so cheap.



I bought some gorgeously soft wool 'Hug' which knitted up extremely quickly into a nice chunky jumper for me. I tried to take a decent photo but the light was not helpful. The balls were on sale for 69p each so I am very pleased with the result.

Split Ply Braiding - having a play

Last Sunday my friend Cath and I went to a workshop on Split Ply Braiding. I didn't know what to expect but had an enjoyable day sat around a table of like minded ladies, having a play with threads, learning how to make cord (lots of winding a contraption - aptly called a 'Cord Winder'!) and coming home with some samples of braiding, which I will make into key fobs.

Very basically it is a braiding technique using plied cords (often 4-ply) which actually go through each other. It is a traditional method for making camel girths, harnesses and similar items in India, but it has evolved into a craft technique that can also be used to create three- dimensional structures like hats, and belts and jewelery. A small tool, not unlike a latch hook for rugmaking, called a Grip Fid, is used to push through the threads in a way that braids a pattern.

The samples on the left are mine, and the other picture shows Caths. I was quite pleased but it won't be a craft that I will pursue, Cath on the other hand was much taken with it and bought supplies to continue at home. The expert was a very nice lady called Julie Hedges.
http://www.juliehedges.co.uk/pages/workshops.html

We all brought something for lunch so that was nice as well, my contribution was Lemon Cheesecake. Isn't it good to spend some time fiddling, experimenting with colour, learning something new and satisfying that need to 'play'? Even if it means that the ironing didn't get done at the weekend!!

Christmas - The countdown begins!

1st December - the day of our Christmas fete. Lots of the stalls were inside the church and it was too dim and far too crowded for photos. I did manage to get a photo of my lovely friend Rachel striking a very silly pose, she makes 100's of wreaths every year and she had a table in the entrance taking orders.

The Bell Inn Brass Band played jolly festive music, Cath (in the Christmas hat) played and then had to do a quick change in the ladies loo to join in the Crooked Steeple slot. It was sooo cold today!

Poor Rob could hardly play, his hands were numb with cold!

Santa was in his grotto, and was going to turn the lights on at 4pm, we didn't stay this year though. We needed to get in to the warmth.

Here is the view down the street to the Market Hall and church, past the local butchers.

Punch & Judy and various stalls were in the Market Hall, but again I didn't take photos. However, here are a couple of photos of our Millennium Embroidery - isn't it fab? Every organisation in the town took part in supplying something for this piece and it hangs in the Market Hall. I did the black and white paper shop in freestyle cross stitch. Soon afterwards the owners retired and it closed, so it is already a little piece of history. I love the Church and the view underneath.

Did I mention it was cold today? So glad we got a fire in, and just as we got home it started to rain.

And finally, I saw the lady who organized the Christmas box wrapping - she told me the final number we managed to ship was 1,325!!!!!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Shrewsbury

The summer holidays will soon be at an end and already there is a hint of autumn in the air, especially in the mornings, yesterday was quite misty until the sun burnt through. Hopefully we will have an Indian Summer through September, I think we need one after the wet summer.

Finding time to blog is difficult ~ and I often find that I have forgotten to take the camera with me on our days out! On Thursday I went with daughter number 2 to Shrewsbury for a day out. We let the train take the strain - only a 1/2 hour journey - and spent a really enjoyable time together. She is getting serious one to one at the moment with daughter number one on holiday in Paris.

As you can see, Shrewsbury is well worth a visit, although too much to see in one day with a wonderful Abbey (do any of you remember the Cadfael series on TV?), Castle, Museums, a gorgeous park and some smashing shops.

The photo above is of Castle Street, the walk up into town from the station, it's only a couple of minutes.

This is Grope Lane (I think were the Butchers used to trade), there's a Fish Street as well - one can't imagine how smelly these places would have been in medieval days!

Above photos from http://www.pbase.com/
One of the main shopping areas. Just along from here was the cafe we went to for lunch. It was very 'Victorian' with flowery wallpaper, a dresser full of china knick knacks, lacy table cloths and pretty pictures. The food was not so dainty - a chicken tikka baguette for daughter and a BLT for me, together with a pint of coke each!!

On our way to lunch I suggested I showed her the oldest building known as Bear Steps (1300's). It is now a little gallery and tea rooms. I was very pleased to discover that they had an exhibition taking place by the Shrewsbury Spinners and Weavers. Lunch was slightly delayed whilst I had a brief chat with the ladies, and purchased a drop spindle from them for £2.50.

Above is the Bear Steps front and back.

One place we did not have time to visit was the Dingle. The Dingle. set in the park is a 'quarry' which many years ago was turned into a spectacular floral garden. This is a picture taken in Spring but it is an amazing place year round

Alas on our way back to the train station I noticed a shop that stocks Cath Kidston, I think a return visit is necessary.

So anyway, today I got the drop spindle out and had a go, amazingly I managed to produce a passable yarn - finer than I can on my Ashford for sure! Daughter 2 took this 'action' shot.

I like to shop as locally as possible. This has not been as a result of the new trend in sustainable living, traceability, air miles, carbon footprints etc, it's just how I have always done it, as did my mother and hers before her.

My fruit and veg come from a small farmshop, Richard there stocks produce as locally as possible. Milk comes from our nearest farm (which is wonderful enough to do a whole post on!). Any groceries come from a small independent grocery store in Tenbury. I try to stay out of supermarkets as I do not generally like the way they operate (~of course I do understand that others do use them, each to their own).

Today I did my meat shopping and Clive kindly let me take some photos.......

Here is Heath Farm Meats in Bagginswood (sounds like something out of 'The Shire'!) . Clive and Clare own it, they produce all the beef, lamb and pork themselves, the chickens come from another local producer, and their dad provides the eggs. The 'shop' is in the farmyard and opens 4 days a week. Nothing is too much trouble for these lovely people and their meat is superb. They take their animals to the abbatoir one or two at a time and send them off with as little stress as possible, this improves the texture of the meat.

It's nice to pull up a chair and have a natter while they are preparing your meat, it makes an occasion out of shopping.

This is the rebatched soap (well some of it, I couldn't wait!) mentioned in my last post. It is very, very easy to make. I got the recipe from Rhonda at Down to Earth. I have been really impressed with this lady's blog, lots of sensible thinking going on over there! Anyway here is the post soap

They look a little 'rough' but I like them. I used lavender oil and next time I shall use more because the scent is not that strong. The hearts were cut using a biscuit cutter. I have some nice cellophane bags and ribbon so later in the year I will be making Christmas presents!

Another blog I have discovered recently is bean-sprouts, I like this girls attitude! One day I shall keep bees and her accounts of bee keeping have had me in stitches.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

A thank you from me

I was so touched that so many of you took the time comment on my last post and I do apologise for sounding quite sorry for myself! Anyway as I said I have already given myself a good talking to and those teddies will soon be finished! Thank you so much for your support.

To give myself a project I have signed up to Pay It Forward Exchange. Anna had said she was going to do it so I jumped at the chance of getting a present from her, she is a lovely lady and I love everything she makes. So here it is:-

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week... LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.


One of my favourite bloggers is Sue over at vintagetovictorian I have just bought some of the Perle Cotons she has available. I asked for 10 colours I could use for embroidering roses and look what she sent me! I was so pleased - they are perfect for what I had in mind. Thank you Sue! Here they are together with a couple of very pretty plates I got yesterday.

I had a bit of a scary time today, as I have said my daughter goes to school in Tenbury Wells and after more torrential rain at midday there was a flash flood. There was literally a river raging down one side road into the main street where there was about 3ft of water. I managed to park up and walk all the way round to get her, but there were fire engines rescuing people and police everywhere. The amazing thing was that in the 45 minutes it took me to get her the whole thing had receded, just leaving people standing in shock and bewilderment. I feel so dreadfully sorry for the shopkeepers who were flooded out a couple of weeks ago and were just getting back on their feet. I've just seen it on the 10 o'clock news.

When I got home the rain had stopped so I went into the garden for a breather and snapped my Lucifer which is in full bloom, my black Geum and my greengages growing bigger - just look at that sky!

I'm back and quilting

It's been a while since I have posted, I have been low and the last couple of posts were scrubbed rather than published and inflicted on you all. I think it is mainly due to a daughter leaving home for university in September (already dreading that), a crummy job, and others, old college friends, reminding me by their successes that I am puttering through life not realising my initial potential!! All my said puttering just seemed so pointless for a while there.

However I have 'got a grip' (again) and thought I would tell you about a couple of my favourite shops.

'The Treasury' in Kidderminster was the most fantastic craft shop for cardmaking and scrapbooking and was filled to choc-a-block with scrummy papers and glitters and stickers and embellishments. The couple who owned it were lovely always with a warm welcome. You had to go when you had plenty of time because they would demonstrate their latest stock and offer a cuppa - really terrific. It is appalling what has happened, the only blessing being that no one in the flats above were hurt. I heard that the building will be demolished now, but I hope they manage to reopen. So sad.

Photo from Kidderminster Shuttle

'Totally Patched' in Bewdley is just gorgeous. Not big, but on a couple of floors in a lovely higgledy piggledy building. Last Saturday the smashing owners had their '18 month of trading celebration' with 25% off fabric!! That was enough for me and daughter to go, but when we got there we found a quilt exhibition as well - staged on the third floor and roof terrace, together with cakes and coffee. I had asked Ian to take a photo - I didn't realise till we got home that he had snapped us as well!

Ian wasn't bored while we browsed, he took lots of photos, here is one of the Severn in Bewdley, not in flood anymore!

I bought material for a quilt - my first attempt, daughter bought some green material to back a patchwork Christmas cloth she did last year.

I have also bought this material - I have no idea what to do with it - I just wanted it!

I also have a growing pile of smelly teddies to stuff, I'm afraid they are lying in piles all around the house at the moment.

I went with friends to Ludlow last night for a Thai meal - really lovely! We were a little late though because one of our friends we were picking up lives on the other side of a ford, with yesterdays rain it was once again too dodgy to cross - which meant a detour and delay.

Rain, we've had enough for now.

Rain

My hubby and younger daughter are doing a paper round at the moment - in torrential rain! and my eldest daughter has gone on a post A level camping trip with friends - probably in torrential rain. I cannot make up my mind whether this is stoic undefeated spirit - or just a tad stupid! I meanwhile am in the warm, at the computer with a cup of ovaltine - nice!

The last week has been dreadful. We are very fortunate to be free of flood risk at home, however I work and daughter goes to school in Tenbury Wells which was very badly hit and constantly on the TV along with the poor folks in Yorkshire. What utterly amazed me was the speed at which small, teeny tiny streams became raging torrents. We could not get into town and the school was closed and used as a refuge centre.

The atmosphere in the town was a bit surreal afterwards, people cleaning up after the waters had gone were all pulling together and jolly, but it was a bit quiet as well, like a morning after a really heavy night. The bridge was closed until it could be assessed so there was hardly any traffic, so the only noise was from the fire engines pumping out all the cellars in the high street.

And now there is torrential rain yet again.

In a small sunny break in the weather this week I went next door and harvested the lavender. The house is empty and the owner is ok about it but I still felt a bit 'naughty'. The bunches are now hanging in the conservatory and drying nicely.

Two of the shops to be stranded in the flood were my charity shops! The Sue Ryder is closed but the Hospice fared slightly better and was open for business yesterday - well I had to buy something didn't I? To show my support. A lovely bit of lace, two egg cups, a book, a pair of shoes and this little chap.

I must now get on with some housework so that this afternoon I can sit and sew - some faces I think are badly needed around here!

A Small Confession or two - and Poppies

#1 - I do not like my windows, would much prefer diamond panes to look out onto the world through. They are much too big and modern. I have therefore let my virginia creeper drape itself down over them, but should I cut it back a bit? - or am I just too lazy?

#2 - I was going to do this hexagon blanket to single bed size - but I have got tired of it, and anyway the colours are much more suitable for a baby blanket, don't you think? that is how I justified doing a small border around it and saying 'enough'. It shall be washed and stored away for when a grandchild comes along

#3 - Ian got up early on Sunday and went photographing things - like barley fields and poppies. My confession here is that I did not want him to because we were having company for lunch and I was busy and needed some help. When I saw the photos though I could understand his point. They may have been nicer with blue skies but this was early with the mistiness just burning off. Don't you just love poppies? With more set-a-side and fallow around here they are becoming a familiar sight once again - along with the White Campion in the second photo. Enjoy:-