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Poule Au Pot
It was the 16th C French King, Henri IV, aka Henri de Navarre who, I believe, said, "I want there to be no peasant in my realm so poor that he cannot put a chicken in his pot every Sunday." It became a...
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Epiphany - Virtual vs Reality
Epiphany is nearly upon us. Christmas is over; the New Year is here and with the arrival of January, come the kings, riding out of the dawn-darkness of the land of the rising sun, tracking the star...
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Blanket Alchemy
There are some things that seem relatively commonplace to make at home and some things that seem faintly exotic, unexpected or even downright daring, if you know what I mean. What is homemade around...
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In The Winter's Pale
"The red blood reigns in the winter's pale" I love this image from Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" (IV.iii.4) - it's a good reminder at this point in the winter, that under the surface, things are...
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"Life Is Too Short To Stuff A Mushroom"
Shirley Conran's famous maxim is not a bad one to live life by - don't sweat the small stuff; don't get bogged down in frippery detail; don't waste time on what is inessential. All pretty sound. But...
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Washing-Line Tales
One of the small joys that come with the arrival of Spring is the demarcation zone of laundry drying outside on the line, instead of inside in various corners, that are intended to be inconspicuous,...
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Eastertide 2015
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that comes alive in Holy Week and Easter"I hear and I forget;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I see and I remember;...
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Washing Line Tales Part 2
My experiments with wrapping washing-line in fabric and stitching the results into baskets have continued over the last few weeks. It's proved rather an addictive process. Or more accurately, I should...
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Washing Line Tales Part 3
This is the finale in my posts about my washing-line exploits, (for the time being, anyway!). You may already feel you have had more than enough of washing-line tales by now, but as this episode is a...
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Borders, Bobbles and Procrastinating
You may remember that in January I launched into hooking two blankets at the same time for using in my up-and-coming retreat space, which is shortly due to become a reality in my garden. I don't know...
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Lily Pond Crochet
Have any of you found yourselves dipping your toes, or perhaps I should say rather, your hooks, into the Lily Pond Blanket Crochet-Along designed by Jane Crowfoot, in conjunction with Stylecraft Yarns?...
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Pineapple Lanterns
Now it's the end of May, one can almost spend evenings outside without freezing to bits in this country. It's one of our national characteristics to maintain a valiant front that outdoor-living is well...
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Crochet Fly-Curtain
In my last post I left you with an unidentified pic as to what was on my hook as my next cheap and cheerful summer-living project. Well, here it is:A crochet fly-curtain! And just as the weather turns...
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Of Elderflowers, Roses and Lemon Verbena
Thank you so much for all your kind and enthusiastic comments about my crochet fly-curtain. The weather has tailed off somewhat since finishing it but I am pleased to report that on those occasions...
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Summer Sewing (And Other Activities)
It's always nice to indulge in a bit of sewing in the summer. Pretty cotton prints in summery colours. Nothing too big or that takes too long. Stitching in the garden, or inside while the summer sun...
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Making My Way Into Autumn Via Aprons and Apples
So it's September. And the summer is gone. The swallows knew it weeks ago and had made themselves scarce before August struggled to its bedraggled end here, but I've been slower to catch on, I think....
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Autumn Delights
1 Pumpkins. I really do love pumpkins and when their bright orange faces first appear in October, I always feel buoyed up.I bought one of those beautiful duck-egg blue ones the other day (although I...
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Rubbish Talk
Seriously. This content of this post is rubbish. You might argue that how a society disposes of its waste tells you something fundamental about it, in which case there are some signs of hope for us...
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The Legend of the Christmas Rose
Do you know the legend of the Christmas Rose? There are a couple of Christmas Rose legends, actually, but the one I've been thinking about recently is originally a Scandinavian folk-tale. It was retold...
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Motto For 2016
Lots of people, these days, seem to choose a word, or a phrase, as a kind of motto, or talisman, for the New Year. It's rather an appealing idea and I've been toying with a few. Some of them more...
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