Sew Christmassy, Sew Sparkly...

 

This is Kirsten's December patch. She used a piece of Christmas print fabric [I am sure I had a scrap like this, years ago] 
Each little rectangle has been overstitched with backstitch, running stitch, satin stitch etc. It has given this small square a wonderful dimensional quality, it is like a miniature quilt!
Wisely she avoided trying to stitch metallic threads, and worked around the parts of the design printed in gold, which emphasises their sheen. 
Having made so many attempts with metallic thread on my snowflakes, I think that was sensible. It does twist and knot alarmingly.
It is very Christmassy, what with the star, the tree, the gifts, a snowy windowpane and the conifers - as well as the hints of snowflakes, holly, a cracker, a crown, bunting and an elf's hat. So much detail in a piece no bigger than the palm of my hand. 

My flat gift for December was a lovely rust silhouette which may be hung in the greenhouse pro tem whilst I consider a permanent home for it
This is about 15cm high. It reminded me of the wonderful art work of Rob Ryan, which often features birds. 
Rob has recently published a book about his work, entitled "I thought about it in my head, and I felt it in my heart, but I made it with my hands" which ought to be a motto for handcrafters everywhere! 

Here's a lovely Rob bird design for Kirsten as we work at our collaborative stitching.
We are both late finishing the December piece- so our next 'swap date' will be Valentine's day. But I am not doing anything 'hearty' I have another idea which I need to work on...

First Figs

Early yesterday morning I harvested the first two figs of the season. They tasted fabulous. I might have written a poem about them, but then I discovered someone else had beaten me to it... after lunch, I found this poem, First Fig, by Allison Elrod...

The fig tree has spread its generous
canopy across my late summer side yard.
Its branches are heavy with fruit.

Every day now, the figs grow softer
and fuller; they are taking the rain
and the warmth
of a hundred summer days
and making them over into pleasure;
taut green skin and soft pink flesh.

Wearing only my nightgown
and my work boots,
I have come outside at dawn
like some post-modern Eve,
yearning for a taste of the fruit of the tree.
I reach up into the branches,
reach up for the fruit
that hangs just beyond my reach,
the fig whose skin is just beginning
to bear the flush of readiness.

Maybe I am Eve. After all,
isn’t the light in my garden
still what came of
"Let there be light?"
And isn’t everything to come
in human history beginning
on this very day,
this very morning,
when this very fig—the one I am holding in my hand—is finally ripe?
Or maybe, I am
a middle-aged woman outside
in my nightgown at six a.m.—
filled with happiness so pure it feels
like innocence—savouring the sweetness
of summer’s first ripe fig
before the light shifts,
before history resumes,
before I come inside to wake you,
temptation on my mind.

To be strictly accurate, I ought to admit that I was in the shower, when I suddenly remembered I needed to check my figs, and I really couldn't wait. I wrapped myself in a large bath towel, slipped on my sandals, and ran out into the back garden. I was wearing only slightly more clothes than Eve  [It's OK, our neighbours are away at the moment, nobody could see me]

Lightbulbs Or Teatrays?

I know the phrase a lightbulb moment, when you suddenly understand something, it all comes together, you are inspired.

In the world of crossword-speak [like the comments published underneath the Guardian cryptic every morning] people talk of a tea-tray moment. This is when you suddenly realise how a clue works, and why the answer is what it is.

Until recently I thought this referred to the sudden shock when the chambermaid brings in the tray and finds Sir Roderick murdered in his bed, and drops the tea-tray and screams. 

But I find I am quite wrong, it is the D'oh! gesture, beloved of Homer Simpson, when you slap your head, because you realise you got it completely wrong - and it is meant to symbolise bashing yourself on the head with a tea-tray, thinking
"How stupid am I?"

I have had not one but two tea-tray moments this week. On Wednesday I went to check on the tomatoes in the mini greenhouse, and I was really worried because one pot just did not seem to want to ripen - they had gone from a pale green to a honey colour - but no signs of the beautiful scarlet I was expecting. 

I bent down and checked the label on the pot [I got it from Toftwood Nurseries, when I bought my 'mini cucumber'] And realised they would never go red - because they were heritage tomatoes, intended to stay golden, named "Honey Delight"

I did have plenty of other scarlet beauties though, ranging from sweet little ones to sprinkle into salads, through to larger ones.

My second revelation was on Wednesday. I was due to meet a friend in Fakenham for coffee. I quickly stripped off, left my glasses in the bedroom and jumped in the shower

I scuttled back to the bedroom, and caught sight of myself in the mirror. I had a huge red zit on my nose. I am not particularly vain, but this did look ugly. Only when I put my glasses on to check it more carefully did I realise it was not a spot - just a bit of the price label from the new shower mat, which had somehow got stuck on my nose.

I guess we all misinterpret things wrongly sometimes, and feel a bit daft for doing so!

Ordem y Progresso

The national motto of Brazil, emblazoned across their flag is "Ordem y Progresso" which means "Order and Progress" which is my motto for this week, I think.

Definitely progress. Sean the tiler arrived at 7.45 and got straight to work on Monday morning. He is efficient, and careful. Everything was covered in plastic sheets and taped down, to prevent damage to the new cabinets. A dust sheet went onto the floor to catch the mess from his tile cutter. And he was meticulous about measuring and accuracy. Only one glitch - Julian had helped carrying the heavy boxes of tiles in from the garage before he left on Saturday. Only after lunch on Monday did Sean discover one box had different tiles in it! Fortunately B&Q said if Bob took it into the Norwich store, they would swap it for the correct ones. Fortunately he was able to do that. 

As well as the burgeoning fig tree, there are other good signs in the garden. 3 rose bushes currently without blooms, but the Absolutely Fabulous is living up to its name. That has been there 10 years
In one corner of my little raised bed, the strawberry plant has survived the winter and has flowers - there may be fruit later 🍓🍓🍓
And my alliums, bought in RHS Bridgwater  in Manchester in 2023 have bloomed - but they are only half the size of the previous year's flowerheads. Things are coming up in the main raised bed, the tomato plants in the mini greenhouse are thriving, and the potatoes are producing foliage. 

So all that is definitely progress. As for order - well. we are getting there slowly. Since Bob and Julian took our DIY waste to the tip, the remaining wood on the patio has been reorganised in the workshop. The tidier boxes in the back bedroom make sorting things out a little easier - and by Friday I should be loading my  wall cupboards in an orderly fashion.
I have been able to get out my sewing machine and have a day working on a birthday present, for a special little girl, and that has been lovely. And my knee is no longer painful, nor is it the size of a football - I can wear my jeans again! I have had my Shingles Jab too. Much to be grateful for.

Gone To Pot

The weather was lovely yesterday. I moved my broad beans [which had been hardening off in the mini-greenhouse into the raised bed. And the fuchsias went from the bathroom windowsill into the greenhouse - eventually destined for the front border under my bedroom window.

My fig tree is almost 20 years old- a gift from Liz for our Silver Wedding in 2004. In Kirby it lived in the conservatory and was covered in figs every summer. We moved it here when we went to Dorset, and it has not fruited since!

In the high winds, a piece of wood blew into the side of the plastic pot [now brittle with age] and seriously damaged it. Bob kindly bought me a new glazed, frostproof pot* as a birthday present.

I hope the new pot, and the sunny location beside the summerhouse will mean we might get fruit this year- there are a number of leaves beginning to show.

* It is a Woodlodge product, rejoicing in the rather ugly name of the Kok Knob Pot

On their final morning before returning to London, we looked after J&R. They enjoyed sitting in the summerhouse for elevenses with Grandad. It was really sunny and pleasant. 

JIGSAW GIVEAWAY- Heather, your name came out of the hat, please can you email me, and I will get the puzzle in the post to you.

This Ole House...

We bought Cornerstones fifteen years ago - and got the keys in April 2009. Bob dreamed of a hexagonal summerhouse for the garden, and in autumn 2012 we found one  - a display model, at a ridiculously low price. It was delivered, in sections, on a pallet, and stored in the garage all winter. Summer 2013, we put it it up [with help from my old friend Christine]. We painted the walls green, and Bob made windbreak panels for three walls, which Steph decorated with fantastic beach-scene murals. But we had not laid the foundations that well, and by last summer we admitted the base needed replacing and there were some parts of the structure which needed repair.  "Ain't had time to fix the shingles, ain't had time to fix the floor" as George Clooney's auntie used to sing. Also, we needed new fencing, and the structure was in the way of that work. Our good friend Peter came one cold wet Saturday to help us dismantle it. You can see how bad the base is in the fourth picture.

The guys replaced the fence, then relaid the summerhouse base. Here is the new oil tank being delivered in November - you can see the new base, with proper edging. Bob spent a lot of time repairing dodgy beams. He and I put up the walls by ourselves, and managed to get the six roof beams up. But realised I wasn't really tall enough and anyway this needed three pairs of hands. Jon and Liz came to the rescue - and yesterday eleven of the twelve roof panels were replaced. We will need to go into our neighbours' garden to fix the final section.

Very soon we will have everything sorted- and have power and lighting laid on [so I can even take my sewing machine out there!]

We hope that once all the work is done, it will last a good few more years. This ole house holds too many memories to be demolished just yet!

Doctor Peppers

My pepper plant, given by my brother last autumn - it produced a fine red pepper in December, and has lived on the kitchen windowsill ever since. But I needed that space for chitting potatoes so it is now alone in the mini greenhouse.

I've just been learning about thrips. These little creatures can really wreak havoc with capsicums [bell peppers] as these photos show.

The worst sort are the Alf Rite Thrips. [Named for the man who spotted them in WW2, whilst he was busy Digging For Victory in his back garden in Sidcup]

But it took another 80 years for a horticulturalist at Kew, Prof Ailsa Loyd and her team to develop and effective treatment.

Para di-lysol FA developed from teatree oil is an effective deterrent, when put into a spray.

Thank you Alf and Ailsa, today especially I want to celebrate your achievements.

Thank you everybody who commented - those who spotted the joke, and those who made encouraging comments about gardening! 

Summer Puddings

It has been great having Julian to stay this week. We've enjoyed some good food together, both eating out, and meals at home. 

Guests are a good excuse to make fun desserts. We bought Clotted Cream and I made scones one afternoon. Seeing my splendid rhubarb growing in the garden, J. mentioned that he liked rhubarb. So I made a rhubarb crumble [or was it a crisp?] using this recipe for the topping. Served with more CC

And we had a meal round at

Adrian and Marion's place. I took a banoffi pie for dessert.

Ruby Tandoh has a version with salt, coffee and cardamom - to reduce the cloying sweetness often associated with this treat. I didn't have pecans around, so replaced the nuts in the base with cornflakes [trust me, it works] and drizzled chocolate sauce on top. 

It's Plastic Free July

 

Find out more here

I've not signed up for another 'plastic free' activity, but I have been thinking hard about reducing all single-use products. In May we visited the wonderful Unicorn Warehouse round the corner from Steph in Manchester. 

They had reusable cotton coffee filters. I came home and researched them, then found two pieces of cotton in my stash. When the machine was out for another task, I whipped up two filters, using one of my paper ones as a pattern. 

I added a hanging loop made of cotton tape on the side seam.

They're working very well. After each use, I turn the filter inside out. The grounds go to enrich my garden - and I scrape off as much as I can. The filter is rinsed well in cold water, and hung to dry from the rail over the hob. Every couple of weeks, they get boiled up in a pan, to remove any coffee build up. [No detergents]

I don't imagine I am saving much in financial terms - maybe a tenner a year. But I am saving hundreds of paper filters from going to landfill. [I did try composting them, but they seemed to take an age to degrade]

And we don't find ourselves running out of filters any more! 

Are you doing any Plastic Free July Activities?

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Well, not really. You see we have a couple of folding chairs we use in the garden, and the seat on one of them is beginning to come apart...I was afraid if Bob a larger person sat on it, it would rip and they would be stuck in the frame.

I had some strong cotton in the Great Stash. It was a small amount leftover from some caravan cushions I'd made in Dorset. Recently I'd cut a narrow strip from each edge in order to make striped straps for Kezzie's cosplay dungarees.  

If I could dismantle the chair it would be easy to make a new seat. But that did not look possible. I worked out that if I made a loop of fabric, I could manage to put it round the folded chair, lay the chair on the table, and sew the joining seam.

It was a bit of a performance working with a folded chair laying across the dining table. But it worked. I did a row of hand stitching back and front to stop the loop moving. And I did both chairs, just in case the other one started to fail. And I kept the original black seat in place as an extra strengthener.

A very satisfactory refurbishment of our £10 bargain seats. All ticking used up now!

Drop Through The Letterbox

My Gardener's water saving kit arrived on Wednesday. 

It contained a selection of items and info sheets. 

Thanks Anglian Water

• A water mat, to place under a pot plant - supposed to keep it hydrated for a week, while you are on holiday
• 2 packets of Swell gel [plus money off coupons]
• A box of 'seed bombs' to plant wildflowers and bee friendly plants
• Various leaflets

Sadly the 'water stick', which is supposed to alert you to your pot plant drying out, was missing. Never mind. It was all free.

I do not understand why people in Suffolk who get sewerage and drainage from Anglian Water [but their tapwater comes from Essex and Suffolk Water] do not qualify for this freebie.

Rosie and her cousins were at Mundesley beach this week. Sadly they were unable to paddle or swim due to the raw sewage in the water and on the tideline. I find this very disappointing.

🏊‍♀️😢🌊😢💩😢💩🌊😢🏊‍♀️