Season of Mists

Walking with the dog this morning I was met with mist and damp - a sure sign that Autumn is on its way. But I don't mind - I like autumn. There's none of the disappointment we get with a British summer - full of promise that never quite fulfils. Instead we know it will be misty, the leaves will turn to beautiful colours, the hedgerows will be full of fruits, there will will be bonfires - it is truely a "Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness." I can even put up with the spiders... almost!

(Picture from Google - I didn't have the camera with me this morning!)

And so with the feeling that autumn was on its way I took to the kitchen today to make an autumnal meal. Slow braised pork with fennel and shallots. The photograph does not make this look good but it smelled divine - almost good enough to make me eat meat!

But I don't, so Sam and I had a tart with red onions, butternut squash and tomatoes.

And we finished off with a seasonal apple and blackberry crumble with thick cream! I don't miss summer and salads!

Perhaps that is why when I did some embroidery on this felt made with my stash bag from Helen Suzanne...

Although it was meant to be a hot summer scene - the colours seem quite Autumnal!

Dressing up

After Joe's foray into the remains of our dressing up box to find pirate accessories I decided it was time to give it a thorough sort through and throw out. Then I had a bit of a brain wave...

But before I share my idea with you, first the results of some of my stitching into the felt. This was the piece I made as a background for a commissioned picture.


And this is the result after some free machining and applique.

I wasn't too sure about it at first but after the addition of the thistles I think I quite like it. I hope the recipient does too!

Anyway back to my brainwave... or really stupid idea depending on your viewpoint. After sorting through the dressing up clothes I realised that there were still about a dozen or so outfits that were still in relatively good condition despite their great age and it seemed a shame to throw them out. Then I thought of all you blogging friends out there who still have young children and it occured to me I could have a marathon giveaway... or off loading of my junk depending on your viewpoint!

So some rules...

1. I think I'm going to have to limit this to people in the UK only otherwise it will cost me an arm and leg in postage.

2. If you would like one of the outfits leave a comment stating which one (only one per person.)

3. First come first served because with so much stuff to giveaway I can't be doing with drawing names from hats.

4. If this proves popular I'll put some more up later in the week.

And now the outfits - all of which have been made by me and all have been laundered this weekend!:

1. The BFG
Okay, this first one is not really an outfit but just a big black cape with a hood and a snazzy waistcoat but Jacob wore it to book week as the BFG and was very happy with the way he looked! Will fit a 5-6 year old

2. Father Christmas

This comes without the beard but consists of jacket, hat, trousers and belt. Will probably fit a 7-8 year old

3. Aladdin

Hat, waistcoat and trousers (magic lamp not included) modelled by Joe. Another book week success! Will fit a 5-6 year old

4. Jack o' Lantern
There are two of these but due to their great age only one has survived intact, the slightly smaller of the two. Sam was only 2 here but I think it would fit a child up to about 5 -6. The black jumpers and trousers are not included. This was Ben and Sam about to go Trick or Treating in America about 22 years ago!

5. Frog
This consists of a very silly hat and green trousers and jumper (probably fit a 5-6 year old)

I couldn't find a picture of any of the boys wearing this so Joe very gamely demonstated how to wear the hat - also proving that the hat will fit a 19 year old!

6. Woody

This is Woody from Toy Story - again I couldn't find the photo but I think it will fit a 4-5 year old. It comes without a hat - our cowboy hats haven't stood the test of time. Just remembered it doesn't have a sherrif badge either because I made a large version of this a couple of years ago for Ben and he had the badge.

Leave a comment if you want one... or to tell me is was a silly idea!

A Flurry of activity

Browsing favourite blogs this week I noticed Helen Suzanne had put some little stash bags of goodies in her etsy shop - including some of her hand made felts, lovely fibres and other treasures. Being a fan of her work this seemed too good to miss so I treated myself... and what a treat it was when this little lot arrived in the post!


I was immediately inspired to use some of the fibres and make some felt of my own - out came the bubble wrap, hot water and soap...


and after some vigorous rolling and bashing... some felt. I was planning to stitch into this but got a little sidetracked...

and decided to make a felt background for a commission I've got to work on. I was planning to start stitching on this too but then I got completely carried away...

and I made some red cobweb felt...

and some blue felt....

which looked fabulous in the sunshine (yes... sunshine!!!) while it was hanging out to dry.

And finally some green felt too!

The plan is to stitch into all of these pieces eventually so I might have something to show next week. And lest you think this is turning into some kind of craft blog, there has been baking too.

Apple and cinnamon muffins

for breakfast.

And I make no apologies for another Nigel Slater recipe,

frosted marmalade cake...

for afternoon tea.

And the reason for this flurry of activity - I got the first draft of my Opus essay handed in on Tuesday, had a tutorial last night and apart from some minor tweaking it is finished! Two weeks before assessment day... Yippee! Expect to see some more flurrying in the next couple of weeks!

Have a wonderful weekend!