Moving House

It is hard to believe after all the waiting but we have been in our new home for nearly four weeks. I could probably write about the move itself but we've all been there... and it's stressful. Trying to remember everything feels overwhelming, what to leave behind, what to pack in the last minute box, not to mention the several hours cleaning everything as we emptied each room. That was a complete waste of time as the new occupants of our old house haven't moved in but instead are gutting the place. Bathrooms, fitted wardrobes, carpets... you name it, it's all coming out. Wish they had told me... the place hadn't been that clean in years! Despite only being a mile and a quarter away from the last house, and us both having friends in this village, not to mention all the activities we already do in here, it does feel completely different... and we love it!

 

The view from our front door looks right across the road to the beautiful church and we love hearing the bells as well as the hourly clock chiming. It kept us awake the first night and we did wonder if it had been a mistake to move into a house right opposite a church, but we really haven't heard it since and I have already managed to get myself on the clock winding rota.

We're lucky that the house itself doesn't need anything doing to it. It's clean, well maintained and the decor is very neutral so we can take our time putting our own stamp on the place. However that doesn't mean that we are all unpacked and sorted... far from it! We thought we had done a really good job of clearing and getting rid of stuff, after all we were doing it for long enough. But we still have far too much stuff so the decluttering continues. And I no longer have a studio, so everything that was in my previously spacious studio is now in boxes scattered all over the house, which makes gathering things for teaching an interesting experience to say the least. The plan is to replace the rather tired looking garage at the end of the garden with a purpose built studio and shed, but all in good time. The garden also needs a complete overhaul but I have decided that waiting a year to see what comes up etc will be the sensible approach. Which of course is just a ploy to put it off for a year! At least it is looking a little greener today after all the rain than it does in the photo below.

One of the major changes I have had to adapt to is cooking on an Aga. I have never been one of these people who have longed for an Aga or the lifestyle it implies. I couldn't really see the appeal. I also happened to love my electric/gas range cooker and knew that would be the one thing that I would really miss in my old kitchen. But I admit, the Aga is a thing of beauty and I have started to get the hang of it.

Meals tend to be oven roasted combinations that all go into one pan and get cooked together.

Virtually anything goes and so far everything has been a resounding success (although I have yet to be brave enough to bake a cake). But... and it really is a big but... I just hate the fact that the thing is hot for twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, using electricity and pumping out heat when I might use the oven once a day if that, I boil the kettle a few times a day and sometimes make some toast. Maybe in the days of having four teenage sons at home when the oven always seemed to be on it would have been fantastic but with just two of us I am struggling to see how it can possibly be cost effective or in the least bit environmentally friendly. And so although it feels like heresy, I'm not sure the Aga will stay. The jury is out and there won't be a rushed decision, but I'm not convinced it's an asset.

 

Despite my doubts about the Aga I rather like the rest of the kitchen. There is a central island that has the sink, dishwasher and a fridge fitted along with some cupboard space. There is a free standing larder and these fitted shelves. I managed to find a real bargain in a closing down sale and bought this sideboard that fits snuggly underneath  the shelves. Except the cupboard is painted off white and the shelves were a sludgy looking green. Actually I'm guilty of heresy again... they were painted in Farrow and Ball "Vert de Terre" which I'm sure is very classy but just happened to look a bit dark and dingy! There is no before photo but I have spent the past three days painting them off white to match the cupboard and I think it's a big improvement. I might be over sharing here but it was so hot in the kitchen during the heat wave this week given that the Aga was also throwing out heat, that I was stripped down to my underwear to do the painting. Fortunately there was no-one but the dog to see me because it was not a pretty sight and there really was paint everywhere!

 

It has certainly brightened up this little corner.

The squashed bucket thing on the wall was left with the house and I was all for getting rid of it. It caused a bit of a debate on Instagram and suggestions were made that it could be used as a planter (too many holes), it could hold dried flowers (no way... dusty things), it could hold utensils (potential in that one) or it could be a magazine holder, which is what I have opted for... for now. The thing still doesn't really 'spark joy' as they say!

And so there we are... we have moved, we are happy, there are lots of changes we would like to make but we are also in no hurry. Just don't ask if we have unpacked yet!

In other news, I am off teaching at the Festival of Quilts next weekend (it has been a challenge finding all my resources to say the least) and with the move etc I complete forgot that I have some complimentary tickets to give away. If you are going to the FOQ and don't have a ticket please email me and let me know. If I post them on Monday you will still get them in time!

Quilting

I was reminded last week that one of my resolutions or intentions for 2018 was to finish off all those half finished or just started projects I have lurking around... and there are a lot of them which I'm not sure says much for my attention span!

Long time readers will know that I'm not really a patchwork and quilter although I'm often irresistibly drawn to beautiful piles of fabric and lured into believing that I will be able to make something fabulous with them. This was the case a few years ago at the Festival of Quilts when I bought these gorgeous shot cottons from Oakshott Fabrics.

My intention was to make a table runner with some place mats but I forged ahead without much of a plan and cut out lots of rectangular pieces to make log cabin blocks and at the time I may have even made up a couple of the blocks. And then it was all put into a bag and put away in a drawer while I plunged myself with enthusiasm into the next thing to grab my interest. Occasionally it would come out again and I would have to remind myself of the process all over again and try to remember if I had a plan for the end result but I never got very far until this week.

I finished all the blocks, twenty one in total and it was time to decide how to put them together. It was then I realised if I wanted a runner plus place mats I probably should have had more of a plan before cutting out the fabric in the first place. So instead I just stitched them all together and decided to see what I ended up with. To be honest I was just happy that things lined up and corners more or less came together.. for an ex-mathematician my accuracy in cutting and sewing up leaves a lot to be desired!

And so here it is... possibly the wrong proportions for a table runner (without mats unless I invest in more fabric), certainly too small to be a quilt but maybe it will end up as a wall hanging? All suggestions most gratefully received! Of course, there is still the small matter of quilting, lining and binding so I'm nowhere near having finished this project but possibly a little closer than I was.

And talking of quilts does lead me very nicely into what I really need to tell you and that is I will be back at the Festival of Quilts this summer teaching two one hour workshops for Husqvarna on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August. We will be making little needle cases decorated with free machine embroidery - everything is supplied, you just need to show up!

And what is more... I have a free ticket for the show to give away. If you would like a chance to win the ticket then please leave a comment and I will pick a name at random this time next week. Leave me a comment even if you don't want a ticket... I need ideas of what to do with that log cabin patchwork!

And while you are about it please remind me that I do not need to buy any more fabric at the Festival of Quilts this year!

Changes

I bet you all thought I had forgotten about my flower brooch giveaway. And you'd be right! Well, I hadn't completely forgotten but it had rather slipped to the back of my mind. But in fact it doesn't really matter because as today is my birthday it seems more appropriate to be giving something away today. Judging by the comments there wasn't a huge demand for one of these little brooches, but names were put into a hat and a winner was drawn... Katy M. I'll be in touch about making you a red and/or turquoise brooch!

On the 23rd of this month I will have been blogging for nine years and things have changed dramatically in that time. In the early days, comments were few and far between and I was happy to have three or four per post... Until I held a giveaway and suddenly I had fifty plus comments! Perhaps it has something to do with what I was giving away but more likely the nature of blogging and bloggers has changed. There are very few of us still doing it after all this time. Bloggers come and go and new people come on the scene but very few of the people I knew from the early days are still posting regularly. Other social media platforms seem to have taken over. I'm still in contact with many people on Facebook and I'm aware that many are around on Twitter which I still don't understandt. Recently I discovered Instagram which I really like... Until they changed the app for the iPad and I can no longer post. I know I can use my phone but I just don't. I don't use it for photos and more often than not the battery is dead just when I want a crucial shot! Anyone else have this problem with Instagram on an iPad or. Is it just me? Whatever else may come and go I'll probably still go on blogging because I like the fact that it is a record for me... And I quite enjoy the reflective process of writing. And I'll probably still give things away occasionally... whether you want them or not!

This week, with only four days until I open my house for Open Studios, I was doing a bit of tidying up and found a dozen or so of these 6" wooden frames. I was on the verge of packing them off to the charity shop when I thought they would be good for an idea I'd had to make "stitched tattoos". Five hours later and my stitched tattoo had become a stitched tattoo portrait! Suddenly my head was swarming with all sorts of ideas for others I could make and and I felt an old familiar excitement return at the thought of what I might do... but of course, with only three days to do it all. Blogging may have changed but I haven't... always more productive with a tight deadline!

As a result, I have spent most of my birthday making portrait no. 2 "The Stars Look Very Different Today". Stewart has already named them my "Dead Singers" series!

I've got some of my own ideas for others... What about you... Who do you think I should do next?

I shall leave you with some images of some of the beautiful flowers I have received for my birthday... I have lovely friends and family!

Lots of beautiful flowers but no cake... which was entirely my choice as I am still trying to shift the several pounds gained since breaking my ankle.

We are going out for a meal this evening though and I'm looking forward to that!

A Flower Brooch Tutorial... Again

Many thanks to those of you who kindly said you would like to see a tutorial for the flower brooches... and even more thanks to Diana who tactfully pointed out that yes, I had indeed already done this a couple of years ago! I had a sneaky feeling that I'd already done it before. But more thanks again go to Diana who also suggested I just repost but with some updates... so that is what I have done!

So first of all you need to select your fabrics - you can use the same fabric for all five petals, choose five completely different fabrics... or like me choose five different but toning fabrics. What is important is that they are thin fabrics... too thick and your flower will be too bulky. Patchwork fabrics work well.

You will need to cut 5 circles of fabric, approximately 8 - 9 cm  in diameter. I found that the lid from a large Golden Syrup tin to be the perfect size template!

Thread your needle with a strong thread and make a knot at the end of your thread. Taking your first circle, fold it in half.

Fold it in half again making a quarter circle.

Now stitch along the circular raw edge with small running stitches, making sure you are stitching through all four layers of fabric.

It should look something like this...

Fold your second circle of fabric into quarters and without knotting or cutting off your thread stitch along the curved raw edge of your second circle with small running stitches.

Repeat for all five fabric circles. They should look like a mini string of bunting when you've finished.

Now, gently but firmly gather up your thread. You want to gather as tightly as possible without snapping your thread (this is why you use strong thread)

When you have gathered it up as tightly as you possibly can, tie a knot at the end to stop the gathers coming undone...

and then working from the back, join the first and last petals with a couple of over stitches.

You have now finished your first round of petals!

Using a smaller template of approx. 6-7 cm... I used the lid from a small tin of Golden Syrup... cut another five circles of fabric

Repeat the method and make another circle of fabric petals. By now you will realise that by selective folding you can position designs/colors/patterns on your petals.

Next you will need a pretty button, large enough to cover the raw edges and gathering stitches of your smaller circle.

I did originally try stitching the button onto the small fabric circle but it is really difficult to keep the button firmly in place so that it covers all the raw edges. So my advice is to use a hot glue gun to firmly position your button in the centre of your small circle of petals.

Using the glue gun again, spread some glue onto the back of the small circle of petals and position it centrally onto the larger circle.

You should now have something that looks like this....

Next you need a circle of felt, about 4 cm diameter, a circle of firm card (card from cereal packets is the perfect weight), about 3.5 cm diameter and a brooch back.

With a matching thread start to stitch the felt circle onto the back of your flower brooch, using small slip stitches. About half way around, slip the card circle in place behind the felt circle.

Carry on slip stitching around the felt circle securing it firmly in place

Then stitch the brooch back into place onto the felt backing.

And with a bit of luck your flower brooch is ready to wear... pin it on your jacket, your hat, your bag... or spread the love and give it to your friend!

Me... I'm just filling up my case with more to sell at Open Studio weekends (which are now only two weeks away!)

But as you have so patiently read through this ressurected two year old post... I'm also going to spread a little love and give one of these brooches away. Just leave me a comment by Saturday evening next week (2nd July) and tell me your favourite colour. I will then pick a winner at random and make a brooch specially for you.

And talking of comments... where I can, I have always replied directly to comments by email as it has always felt more personal and I will continue to do this. But many people these days seem to leave "no-reply" comments and so I have also enabled replies directly in the comment box so I can reply to you too!.

Cambridge

Coming from London, I am a city girl at heart. Even though I have lived in a small village for over twenty five years now and have no desire to live anywhere else, I still enjoy the buzz and pace of city life. Fortunately we do have Cambridge on our doorstep, which is a particularly beautiful and vibrant city... with a very lively food scene. I have recently joined an online group in Cambridge for poeple who like to make food, write about food, photograph food... and most of all eat food!

 

Through this group I have met Cambridge based artist Naomi Davies who has produced these beautiful pen and watercolour drawings of wintery scenes around the city, that she has made into Christmas cards.

 

 They really do conjure up a feeling for the city... it's hard to pick a favourite.

 

But best of all Naomi has sent me a set of these cards and although I really would like to keep them all for myself, I thought it would be a festive gesture of appreciation for everyone of you who keeps reading my wittering to give them away! All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post and after one week I will pick a name out of a suitable vessel to find the winner of the set of cards

 

Meanwhile I am trying to get some festive baking underway... cakes, mincemeat, pies etc as I have a tasting day on Sunday to launch my new business. I'd like to tell you that the kitchen is all finished and ready but I'm still working around tradesmen, ladders and the occasional bucket of paint! Maybe by Sunday?

 

I've also had a special order this week to make a Slavski Kolac or Slava Cake which is a traditional Serbian dish made for family saint's days, a yeasted enriched dough a little like a brioche. Our friend Pete wanted me to make it for a family get together this coming weekend as it was something his Mum always used to make. As it was something new for me I decided I'd better have a trial run.

 

This afternoon Pete and his wife Janet came over for a cup of tea and a trial tasting!  And the verdict... almost as good as his Mum's... which was good enough for me. Now let's hope the real version turns out as well as this one!

 

Then it's back to more baking ready for Sunday... where luckily for me Naomi will be bringing some more of her cards so I will be able to buy a set for myself. Don't forget to leave a comment if you would like a chance to win. And take a look at some of Naomi's other lovely drawings:

Naomi Davies Art