Granny bunting for Yarndale

As you may have noticed, I am getting just the teensiest bit excited about our trip back to the UK in September. One element of our exciting plans, that is extra-specially exciting, is a wee trip we have booked for just J and me. We are not going far, but we are going on our own, which will be a lovely treat. We were umming and ahhing about where to go and eventually decided on Harrogate.

 

It is somewhere I have fancied for a while and it is just down the road from Skipton which just happens to be hosting Yarndale while we are there. Yarndale is a coming together of all things yarny and crafty and wooly and I couldn't believe it when I found out that we might actually be able to go.

 

Now, I found out about Yarndale through the lovely Lucy at Attic 24. I can't believe there are any crafty or bloggy types that don't know her, but if you never have, pop over and take a peek - you won't be disappointed. 

 

As part of the yarny celebrations Lucy is organising a mammoth amount of crocheted bunting to decorate the venue - Skipton Auction Mart.

Here is my small contribution, I wanted something distinctive so I can try and find them when I get there.

If you want to join in the bunting fun there is still time. You can find the pattern and instructions here and the address to send them to here.

I am completely excited and will be putting these on the next ship and hoping they make it in time.

 

I think she is also planning a globe to show where all the triangles have come from so it would be lovely to have St Helena on the map.

Maybe I'll bump into a few bloggy friends in Skipton, I do hope so, although quite how we'll know each other I have no idea!

xx

An English Country Garden...

 ...except it is in a town.

 

I have written before about missing my beloved patch, but this week it really came back with a bang.

 

My friend and gardener who is looking after it while we are away sent through some snaps to show us how it is doing...

It is lush and full and verdant and floriferous and wonderful,

and I miss it  - terribly.

Not that I am complaining because I am loving having an adventure instead.

But look how desperate those raised beds are for rows of lettuces and wigwams of mange touts.

I have to say, under Richard's care the grass is looking more lawn-like than it ever did for me. I have heard rumours of a strimmer...

I am hoping hoping hoping for an Indian Summer in Englandshire this year so I can have a little summer-garden fix when we go back for our holibobs.

In the words of the wonderful Alan Titchmarch: Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy your garden!

xx

I made this and thought of Ada Bea

Do you know Ada Bea? She has a pretty and most lovely blog which you can find over here, and my post today is inspired by her. (Oh, and she is doing a fabby and fun giveaway right now so definitely worth a visit before Sunday.)

 

Just before we left for our sub-tropical adventure, a new and wondrous charity shop opened in our town (please please please let it still be there). On my first and only poke about, I came up with a fabulous haul which I never managed to blog about because we left within a day or two and other things rather got in the way.

 

The haul included a large rag doll which Tall Girl named Bluebell (all her dolls have flower names except the one that once was called Baby Jesus but then became Eleanor - have I ever mentioned that my Smalls are crazy?). There was a lovely towelling over-the-head swimming costume covering thingy, a monsoon dress which is still too tight, some mugs which I left in the UK and these.

 

I had not long discovered Ada Bea and her lovely blog, and I pounced on them from a great distance. Two pillow cases and two king sized flat sheets. I was full of much glee, I can tell you. I stuffed Bluebell, the towel thingy, the dress and the sheets into the already overcrowded suitcases and prayed we wouldn't be over the weight limit. You see, I couldn't possibly go on a sub-tropical adventure without them. I was not yet sure why I needed them with me, but need them I did.

Then a few weeks ago a sad thing happened. In the realms of sad things it was at the minor end, but it made me sad. One of the pillow cases that we use all the time on our bed, and we received as a wedding present ten years ago, tore. Right across the middle of the top side. It was unmendable. The fabric had worn so thin it was practically non-existent, and I was sad. I poked about on the interweb thinking we could order some new pillow cases and a new duvet cover to go with them. Then I discovered the price of cotton bedding and the revoltingness of most of the designs. I was more sad. Then I remembered my lovely vintage sheets hiding in the fabric-stash trunk, waiting...

Waiting for me to sew them round three sides. Waiting for me to leave a large gap in the middle of the fourth. Waiting for me to turn my new duvet cover the right way out and put on my bed.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I can't wait to go to bed tonight!

xx

Apple scones

Nicky asked for my apple scone recipe, so here it is:

2tbsp sugar (any kind, I usually go with brown)
2tbsp butter/marg
2 eating apples
12oz self raising flour (OR 6oz self raising flour, 6oz brown flour, 1tsp baking powder)
1 egg
60ml milk

Sorry about the terrible mixture of metric and imperial but I'm a mixed up kind of baker.

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Grate the apples (with or without the skin depending on the fussiness of your audience)
Mix the apples into the sugar and marg.
Add the flour and egg and enough milk to form a soft but not sticky dough.
Flour the surface and press out the dough gentle to about 4cm thick. Cut circles with a small/medium cutter.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Gobble.

The fairies and pirate have been showing Grandma their footprints at the millennium forest.

xx

Slow Living June 2013

As usual I am linking up with these good people...

Nourish

I am continuing with my mission to get the Smalls to eat grown up food most of the time, and getting them to help make it definitely helps. Tall Girl is a bit of an expert at guacamole and also wants to be able to help with the fajitas.

 

I have done lots of baking recently. Pumpkin scones have been a favourite for a while but I tried apple scones this week which went down a treat.

Prepare

Preparations round here are not of the jammy or bottling kind, but are for September. Were are going back to the UK for a few weeks to see friends and family, to restock our wardrobes (the Smalls will keep growing) and to glory in the wonder that is Sainsbury's fruit isle. We have had car hire to organise and trips to schedule and we are having lots of fun planning lots of fun...

Grow

After metaphorically stamping my feet and throwing my teddy out of the pram about veg growing I have pulled myself together and I am ready for another go. I spent a happy hour footling with seeds and I am at the stage where I am forever checking for signs of life. I shall have to be extremely nice to the neighbours to get them to water them for eight weeks while we are away... We also have catalogued a pineapple related success. Tall girl has a science book that said if you cut the top off a pineapple and plant it, it should grow. Well after sulking for a couple of months it looks like it may have worked!

Reduce

I have decided that brown paper is no longer the thing, and I am now wrapping parcels in newspaper before taking them to post. Actually, I ran out and had to improvise since missing the post means a three week wait!

And of course there were experiments in tarn which I am definitely not done with yet!

Create

After the success of my latest handbag I am making another one with the intention of writing up the pattern. Watch this space...

Discover

A few weeks ago I met a girl at a party who had a flax handbag made using a different technique to what I have learned. She very graciously allowed me to empty her bag, examine it, photograph it, turn it inside out and generally mistreat it. I have spent many hours replicating it and I am in the process of taking pictures and writing up a tutorial for my fellow flax weavers.

Enhance

Still crafting on a Thursday and most excitingly have been teaching my friend to crochet. She is very keen and has been practising, practising, practising. She is making a cushion cover with granny squares on the front and stripes on the back and I think we are going to try some edging and some flowers. A real sampler of techniques.

I have also been asked to do some major surgery on this poor kangaroo. Crocheted by a Granny for her grandson then mauled by an overenthusiastic dog he is missing his  ear (presumably eaten), has a large hole in one side and almost no stuffing left. I have acquired some yarn that is not a bad match and I need a quiet moment to see what I can do.

Enjoy

This month we celebrated Tiny Boy's birthday which was a two part affair: presents and cake on his birthday and party (more cake) a week later. He wanted to wait and have his party when Grandma had arrived. My Mum is the latest visitor. The Smalls are very much competing for her attention and are pretty hard work. They had half term last week which was a bit full on but term has resumed and with it, sanity.

What a difference a day makes!

I have been thinking for a while now that I could really do with a new handbag. I completely love my old one which I made pre-blog, but it is a bit tired, no longer comes up clean when I wash it, and doesn't fit my new handbag requirements. You see, we have just passed a major milestone and no longer have a Small in nappies. That means I don't need to tote a nappy bag around with me everywhere. I can leave a change of clothes in the car and just carry some wet wipes, drinks and snacks.



 

So the new handbag has to be bigger and have more sections and pockets  - one for Giant Baby's stuff and one for mine...

A couple of nights ago I got a second wind about 9.30 and thought I'd just have a wee look in the trunk where I keep the fabric stash and see if I couldn't find something I liked.  I drew a little sketch of the new bag, worked out how much material I would need and then had a rummage.

I found these: on the right an offcut of upholstery fabric in gorgeous bright colours which came from my sister-in-law's mum (an upholsterer who passes on the best of her offcuts to me and makes me a very happy girlie indeed). On the left some IKEA cotton for the lining. I like a bright lining, it gives you a lift every time you open your bag.

I ironed and I measured and I snipped, and before long I had cut out all of the outside fabric. It was a bit late by then, so reluctantly I paused.

The next day I ironed and I pinned and I sewed and I ironed and then....

 

my machine broke. It started tangling and trying to chew the fabric, and the Smalls got hungry and whingey, and I had to make the tea and then go out, and I felt very sad about my poor half-made bag, and my poor sewing machine, and the 5000 miles between me and my nice sewing machine man.

 

I posted my sad tale on face book and had some good advice from fellow sewing friends. I took a step back and a deep breath, waited for the Smalls to be safely asleep in their beds and got J to hold the light so I could actually see inside the sewing machine. I little bit of detective work later and we had it detangled and running like a dream. By now it was again later than it ought to have been so reluctantly I left the half sewn pieces and went to bed.

 

This morning, a new day dawned, and armed with my newly fixed machine I pinned and I sewed and I ironed and I thought and I sewed and I ironed and... Ta Da! My gorgeous new bag which I completely love and is exactly what I hoped it would be. 

 

It is bright and beautiful with a pocket on the front, and two sections on the inside, a big one and a small one.

There is an inside pocket and a magnetic snap fastener (not used one of these before - very cool!).

Now I want so fill it with goodies and go out on the town to show it off. I love it!

I think I am going to call it my Extremely Useful Smiley Bag.

xx

Tarn-tastic Ta Da!

Ta Da! 

 

I am totally and completely chuffed about how lovely my new bathmat is. It is made from the t shirt yarn (tarn) that I made the other day.

I used 15 mm needles to knit it up in simple garter stitch. I tried crocheting it, but the biggest hook available was 12 mm and not really big enough. Anyway I like the simplicity of the rows - like fields of flowers for cutting.

30 stitches per row, as many rows as each ball would allow (although an even number each time to keep the colour changes all on one side).

I put an edge on each side because it seemed like a good idea, and actually it has stabilised the stretchiness which can get out of hand because it is quite heavy.

The success of the edge inspired me to use the left overs for a little log-cabin something. I'll have to see what it turns into!

I think I may need to buy more t shirts really quite soon...

xx