October Bits and Bobs

On this wet and blustery October morning I snapped a few photos of a beautiful rose that my daughter gave me for Mother's Day this year, and which, I'm ashamed to say, sat in its pot until late summer this year.

It is only just flowering now ( as I deprived it of a comfortable bed for so long ) but it was worth waiting for, especially as I hadn't expected it to flower this year, but the mild weather has obviously encouraged it to bloom.

It is a very delicate pale peachy pink, so pretty. It wasn't a named variety so I don't know what it's called as it was just labelled a pink floribunda. It is delicately scented too, and I've planted by the entrance to the drive so in a few years time I hope it will make a good show as you come in.

The pale pink tiny flowered fushia is still going strong

and even this self-seeded marigold is thriving in a crack by the house!

In the back garden the fuschia on the patio is also still blooming away, as are all the summer geraniums, some of which are from last summer which continued flowering on and off over last years mild but wet winter.

And spurred on by mamamercantiles recent post on getting the garden set for winter, I went out yesterday, bought some pretty tulips ( a lovely plummy one, Purple Dream, and a smaller variety Little Beauty, a lovely cerise with purple centre with an RHS award of garden merit), a bag of bulb compost and two new pots (just seen above either side of back door )and actually went straight out into the garden and planted them up!  Usually I have two out of the three elements needed and the bulbs never get planted as I have either pots or compost but not both, and as there is little free space in the borders, and I never seem to be organised enough to plant under trees or in the lawn as an alternative, they sadly and wastefully just get forgotten. 

Any suggestions as to what I could plant in the top of the pots or should I leave well alone? I thought of poking some classic forget-me-nots around them in the Spring, but maybe I should put some cyclamen in for now? Or winter pansies? What do you think? All suggestions gratefully received!  

I tend to do better with pansies than with cyclamen, which I have tried many times to introduce to the garden when  I see them in the garden centres, but they just seem to disappear after a while, never to return! Pansies and violas seem to thrive though.

I also spent an hour or two in the sunshine sweeping the patio, clearing up the clumps of moss fallen from the roof ( courtesy of the birds), and the many autumn leaves, as well clearing up and re-organising pots and planters, so it now looks a lot tidier

.

Out and about with a friend yesterday morning, which included the trip to the garden centre for the Tulip bulbs, we pottered in a charity shop and I spotted this lovely Alfred Meakin plate in the "Linden" design, for £2. I find it very hard to spot any pretty china these days so was chuffed to find it, as I am very keen on some of the Alfred Meakin designs of the 1950's and 60's and have a few other plates which I'll share in another post.

Last week I found this useful display shelf in a country furniture shop, not to my taste decor wise as it had been painted in a pale yellow combed effect with patchy peach highlights, and is made in cheap particle board, but the shape is good and it is sturdy. It will be perfect on my stall table for displaying smaller items.

 

I'm not completely happy with the result yet as the Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue paint that I used came out darker than I expected, especially after putting on the clear wax. It looks light enough in this photo, but it is actually darker and more green in real life, and I wish I'd left the side edges duck egg instead of off-white, so I shall paint over the side trim and see if I like it any better then. If not the whole lot will get re-painted in my favourite Annie Sloan Paris Grey!

I know its still a way off, thankfully, but I'm having to get on with xmassy makings, and have made a 2014 version of the hessian tree hangers I made in previous years as they always seem to be popular.

 and some country style checked stars.

Hope you are not being too battered by the winds today!

P.S. Here's a quick but poor photo of my Blueberry Cowl finished a week or so ago - the colour is lovely and heathery with tiny flecks of turquoise. 

Am pleased with how this one has turned out, and it may, just may, be going to Bella if she can bring herself to wear "something crocheted"!!!

The pattern can be found by clicking on the link on my Ravelry page here

Out and About in Norfolk

Just returned from a weeks break in Norfolk................

 our holiday cottage.....at the end of a daisy strewn grass track next to a large potato field.......the sunsets were spectacular, the weather warm and sunny except for one wet day

out and about in the Norfolk Broads.........so different seeing it from the road and by foot.

We have only been here before when on boating holidays. We re-visited favourite haunts seeing them from a different perspective.....South Walsham Broad, Malthouse Broad, Ranworth church and the pub........Coltishall, Horning, Wroxham........we've had some lovely holidays on the Broads, the first when Bella was only 3 months old.

Both the north and east coasts were close, and we visited Sheringham, Cromer (fish and chips one evening overlooking the sea - how very British!), Cley next the sea (sweet little village with a wonderful little shop (with parking!) here selling wholesome, healthy foods, olives, nuts, fruit and veg, specialist breads, a deli and lots of lovely fresh stuff for a great picnic and holiday food. Also a great fish shop with dressed crab, smoked fish etc ), Blakeney........so many good places to visit.

We visited lots of National Trust properties for the estate walks........with the dog it was one of the best things to do. A typical day this holiday started with reading in the sunshine in the garden, with the dog and a cup of tea, a leisurely breakfast, then a wander around a small market town or village checking out a few antique and charity shops for the odd bargain and finding a picnic lunch.

Then a drive to a National Trust property for long walks around the estate, through woods and fields, and around lakes, stopping off for our picnic. Some days a pub lunch or drink. Later, a drive to either the north or east coast, a stroll around a seaside village or walk along the beach, and (usually!) an ice cream before heading back home.

Simple pleasures.

Felbrigg Hall - we visited here twice, once without Bella who was spending the day in Norwich with an old school friend.  Lovely walks here, to the Church and around the lake and estate, through fields of sheep and cows (and a bull!) and also beautiful cool woodland walks. There is a stunning walled garden too. 

flowers in the walled garden at Felbrigg Hall

Sheringham Hall

Sheringham Hall and Park - the house is private but there are extensive walks of different lengths throughout the parkland and estate, and even through to the coast and back. There are look out towers, a sensory garden with insect hotel ( I thought of you Jane! ) and wonderful views to the sea.

Blickling Hall - we had a long walk around the huge lake followed by lunch at the pub next to the Hall. Perfect!

It's good to be home too though. We had one wet day in the middle of the week when I was itching to do some sewing or crocheting as we waited for the torrential downpours to stop! 

Do you take sewing/crocheting/knitting away with you on holiday? I have a few times and it never gets touched, as we are usually too busy out and about, but this time I wish I had.

I try to leave it all behind to have a real break and come back refreshed, and first day back I was in the sewing room by 8am and made this Amish inspired cushion from a patchwork piece I sewed last year (or the year before?).

I hand quilted it and added some tiny buttons, then made the back from a recycled indian cotton skirt. So that's another cushion front from my pile of WIPs now finished and waiting to go in my shop.

Thankyou for your comments on my last post, and welcome to my new followers.

A huge "thankyou" too, to those kind folks who added a "like" to my facebook page - in just over a week I went from under 400 to over 500 likes, which all helps in getting traffic to my Etsy shop as well as coming across new people, new businesses and new websites.

Hope everyone has had a good week and are enjoying their weekend - football and Wimbledon, just as well with the unpredictable weather at the moment!

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

Wet Weather Sewing

At least I can do some guilt free sewing as its pouring with rain outside.............a cushion for a friend's birthday present.

just loving this pretty fabric................I think I'll make some more for the shop.

Hope the weather is better where you are!

New Books and Linen

There's nothing quite like the thrill and anticipation of a new book. 

Of seeing that brown cardboard packet from Amazon (or elsewhere) sitting there waiting for a quiet moment when you can finally unwrap it and fully savour the latest addition to your library. 

The glossy and enticing cover, the fresh smell of print and, of course, the glorious contents - the wonderful words that transport you far away from your every day life, and the artfully composed photographs that leave you inspired and itching to make or transform, to cook, to plant, to travel or whatever the subject of the book excites you to do.

All those feelings were released over the last few weeks when I rather guiltily treated myself  (  I blame it on the weather)  to a few of those books that are just perfect for dipping into in the evening or at bedtime, propped up against the pillows all warm, cosy and drowsy.

The first book by Deborah Needleman, The Perfectly Imperfect Home, is an interior design book that gives a great sense of the importance and uniqueness of your space, and reminds you that it is far more important to have a comfortable, functional home that reflects you and your family's tastes and character, rather than a  perfect picture book home or one that could have been lifted straight from a high street showroom or interiors magazine.

It is well written, extremely readable and hard to put down as it talks so much practical sense, and each page is sprinkled with ideas and inspirations of how to make a personal and comfortable home.

Without a photograph in sight, it is beautifully illustrated throughout with gorgeous watercolours by Virginia Johnson, and each new section starts with a few words of wisdom.

The next book is for sewers and patchworkers - Natural Patchwork by Suzuko Koseki, and is full of contemporary patchwork projects that can be sewn by hand or machine, and with easy diagrammatic instructions for each project.

There are quick projects that you could run up in an hour or two, or more time consuming ones that you can dip into over a longer period. 

Needless to say, with my butterfly tendencies,  I already had a project from here underway the first weekend I received it. Another work in progress, it is a handsewn project that I showed a glimpse of a week or so ago, and is still being slowly worked on as and when time permits. 

One to savour and not rush

Another comforting sort of interiors book to dip into and always find ideas, inspiration and beautiful photos is The Comforts of Home by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, who has written several other gorgeous interiors books including French Country Living which I mentioned here a while ago.

The beauty of this book, apart from the obvious eye candy photos, is the concept of the book which aims to help you achieve a comfortable home, giving thrifty and chic decorating ideas using what you already have - something that I have always loved doing, making significant changes to my home starting with re-using and re-evaluating what you already have, by thinking outside the box,  giving a new look to the rooms of your home without spending a fortune.

This last week saw me tempted by two books by Selina Lake - Romantic Style and Homespun Style.

With text by Sara Norman, and beautiful photography by Debi Treloar, Romantic Style is the perfect inspiration if you love country style, french style and scandinavian style interiors, and is full of clever ideas to create a romantic style home.

Just out last month is Homespun Style, which embraces a more colourful style and again is full of thrifty, crafty ideas to create an imaginative and characterful home.

The photography is again by Debi Treloar, with text by Joanna Simmons.

Both books are a feast for the eyes, and leave you full of ideas.

As you turn the pages, the wealth of inspiration and ideas within gives you the urge to throw the book down and get cracking, to rush off and grab your paintbrush, your sewing machine and crochet hook all in one go!

I don't know how, but I did manage to restrain myself and instead was content (for the moment!) with merely changing the sitting room curtains (with ones I already had) and playing around with sofa cushions, particularly some new cushion fronts I had made last week with a view to putting in my still bare Etsy shop, but which will now have their backs finished this weekend and grace my sofa instead!

As a result of all the cushion making activity that's been going on here recently, I have successfully used up a little of my fabric stash, but with sewing still going full steam ahead (well, at half steam this last week to be  honest, as I have been feeling a tad under the weather due to a nasty cough that just wont go ) I have run low on plain fabrics.

Being  a lover of natural fabrics, I have been sourcing some new linen fabric these last few weeks

and have found a lovely denim blue and a soft pink linen to add to what is left of the other linens I bought last year.

I have washed them and they now await ironing - but I love them like this, when they are soft and creased as they already look a little aged and time worn.

I also bought some pretty linen braid which came to me all the way from Belarus. The wonders of the World Wide Web and Etsy.

Am hoping to find time for some sewing this weekend, as having spent last weekend in the garden I feel the need to sew - and the forecast is saying rain, so a perfect excuse to get some sewing under way.

What will you be doing this weekend?