A treasure found

I found this darling cup and saucer with violets on it and the delightful crocheted mat/traycloth at a local charity shop. I was particularly glad to find the cup and saucer as I love violets. My mother's name was Violet and they were special to her too. The hyacinth beside it broke off and I had it in a vase together with some daffodils for a while.
So the weekend is almost here and tomorrow we are up early again dashing off to Heathrow to fetch my Canadian friend who is on her way back from Angola via England. We are hoping to go to a local quilt show tomorrow which will be fun. Hope you all have a great weekend and don't get too blown about with all the gales that are forecast.

A happy mother!

Look what I had for mother's day! It is a fabulous book with so many lovely projects, even crocheted letters of the alphabet which I have never seen before. I had a lovely day taking it quietly really (apart from ironing 15 shirts - don't ask!) and all four daughters cames for lunch and stayed for the afternoon. They cooked an amazing exotic fish pie with prawns, salmon, haddock and cod, purple sprouting broccoli and then for dessert daughter no.1 made a tiramisu based on a cooking programme she is currently editing for channel 5 with Carluccio. She did it all from her memory of the visuals and without any recipe! Then sure enough we did watch the old version of Little Women and it was lovely. It seem several worlds away though compared to society today but a wonderful little escape on a Sunday afternoon.

Culitvating serenity!

So March is here already! As William Wordsworth said:

"It is the first mild day of March
Each minute sweeter than before...
There is a blessing in the air....


And from Simple Abundance, we read:
"March arrives, the last hurrah of winter and the first whisper of spring Slowly our spirits reawaken, along with the natural world, from a long winter's slumber. Branches that just days ago were bare, now blossom with new growth. Deep withiin we feel stirrings of hope."

I have been watching the forsythia at the bottom of our garden this week and seeing how it is gradually coming into flower.


I do love forsythia. It seems such a happy plant with its delicate bright yellow flowers and seems to pioneer the way for others.


It's been a busy week again and today has been good to stop for a while and potter and ponder.


Time for some serenity amidst the craziness of life. Time to concentrate on the moment, what is just happening right now and enjoy it - whether it be gazing at the forsythia, making rock buns or listening to The Most Peaceful Classical Album in the World - Ever! So often we are running about trying to do seven things all at the same time (and I am a great one for this) but in doing so we miss so much. We need to give ourselves permission more often to concentrate on one task at a time and to notice the things around us.




So tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and as I was pondering I was drawn to this delightful statue of a mother and daughter which someone gave me last year.
I have mixed feelings about tomorrow as I remember my own Mum who is no longer with us. However this statue evokes some of the feelings I remember about my own girls who are all coming tomorrow and indeed coming to make lunch! Those moments when you end up dancing and twirling around the living room or the kitchen to some music or some song you are singing together are precious indeed. I am a very blessed woman to have four very lovely daughters. We may just have to watch that old version of Little Women tomorrow!!!
Hope you have a lovely day tomorrow and try cultivating serenity soon. It will restore and reawaken your inspiration.....

Home alone - and having fun!

I've had a rare day by myself. Hubby was away working and daughter no.4 went to Oxford to see a friend and the opera Madame Butterfuly (amazing what these 20 yr olds get up to!!) then on to her new experimental pattern cutting course in London. Before she left she put her order in for a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting so that was one thing I managed to do today

It was a near miss though as I had it in the oven without the grated carrot at one point!! I must have got completely distracted and having set aside the carrot, I was gaily mixing all the other ingredients and I remember thinking that this mixture didn't look very much when it was in the tin but it's a while since I made one so I just brushed it off. Then I put it in the oven, shut the door and looked on the counter top and saw the carrot so out it came and after a bit of a mess, went back in. Anyway it tasted very good and daughter no.4 said how glad she was to be home!

So what else have I been doing all day? Well, putting a border on the quilt I am making and cutting the batting and backing pieces.

This is all new for me from here on as I have only ever done handpiecing patchwork before.

I did have a go at another little something which is for a dear friend who lives in New Jersey whose birthday is coming up. It leaves a lot to be desire in the finishing stakes but it smells gorgeous as it is filled with homegrown and harvested lavender!

A Little Bear comes to live at my house!

The parcel arrived from the wonderful Nicky at http://www.thevintagemagpie.co.uk/
And dear little Agatha emerged, feeling very shy in such a new and strange place!
And was very camera shy! So it was time for some cossetting and cosiness to make her feel very welcome and loved.

All wrapped up in a favourite crocheted blanket, she felt very much more at home and even tucked down for a little nap....
and now she is feeling very much happier and is sitting just beside my printer on my desk... ....
It will soon be time to introduce her to some other little friends around here but I shall take it gently. It's been a big day for a little bear.

Thank you Nicky - she is gorgeous!

Little box of love

Today I went to visit a very special lady who is a friend of mine. We share so much in common although there is 20 years plus difference in our ages. She loves all things heart shaped and as it was valentine's day I decided to decorate a little box I bought at Hobbycraft for just a few pence. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I dabbed and stippled some ink from an ink pad and stamped some flowers and found a sticker that I thought was appropriate. Then inside I popped a special little prayer card from a wonderful place which I will blog about another time. My friend was absolutely thrilled with her little gift and it made my day to see her so delighted!

I am just about to go off for two nights to my trustees meeting but have been busy baking pink cupcakes with white hearts on top and making a card for my wonderful hubby. Hope you are having a fun Valentine's day.

More photos of the Gower!

What a wonderful time we had! The sun was shining every day and we walked and talked while we surveyed such beautiful scenery. Pennard, Caswell bay, Rhossili and The Mumbles were all delightful places to walk and breathe in the fresh air. It certainly blew the January cobwebs away.

But in the words of Nellia Furtado "All good things come to an end....." and we are back home now and I have my two hour commute tomorrow, albeit just for one day this week. Then I am home for one day and away again for a trustees meeting in the South West!! but back again on Saturday afternoon so there may be time for another post before next week begins all over again.

On the Gower!

So here we are today on the Gower peninsular and the weather has been absolutely stunning - even less cloud than in this photo (which was taken last year!). We are staying with friends in The Mumbles and are having a very relaxing time which is just fabulous after some busy weeks. Today we went off to Penard and Caswell Bay. We walked on top of the cliffs and then came right down onto the sand and out towards the sea. The sun was incredibily warm and I almost forgot it was still early February. Little folk were paddling in the sea and one family were having a birthday party on the beach complete with birthday cake!! This area has become one of my favourites together with Hengisbury Head in Dorset - oh how I would love to move nearer the sea and away from London! Maybe one day...... soon.......? Hope you are having a great weekend and the sun is shining where you are.

February

"China tea, the scent of hyacinths, wood fires and bowls of violets - that is my mental picture of an agreeable February afternoon" - Constance Spry

"February arrives cold, wet and grey, her gifts disguised for only the most discerning spirits to see. Gentle is our path. Gratitude is the thread we weave into the fabric of our daily lives this month, giving thanks for our simply abundant lives and asking for the gift of one thing more; grateful hearts" Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach

These quotes from this book! What a delightful image of tea, bowls of violets and the scent of woodfires and hyacinths! I love it! If you haven't come across this book then you must treat yourself! I have had it for a long time and this isn't the newest cover (which I think is pink) but it is a terrific book set out in days along the themes of gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty and joy. I think Sarah was really inspired when she wrote this, and in my opinion, this is definitely the best of what she has written so far. There are numerous interesting quotes from all sorts of people, really practical ideas and deep thoughts in amongst the journey that Sarah herself has taken and chooses to share with the reader. I highly recommend it for a cold and grey February and indeed for each day of the year. You will be encouraged, energised and inspired.

Home at last!

It is so good to be home and in my own bed! I think I realise just how much of a home-bird I am. It's funny really when I look back I can imagine the idea of a couple of nights away from home when the children were all young and demanding would have been very attractive but right now it is a bit of a wrench in all sorts of ways.

It was very soothing to come back and go on the computer and link up with all you lovely crafty people and to see what you have been up to. Very soothing in fact, to pick up the gentle arts again and to peek through the windows of so many delightful bloggers and pick up the threads of their doings over the week - a new pattern here, a new discovery there, a recommended recipe or some musings on a beloved book.

This weekend I have to go away again!!!, for a course I am doing, so more packing of little suitcase and trying to remember all the things I will need over the course of two and half days. I am back on Sunday after lunch though so will have just a little time at home again before Monday and next week I am going to try travelling to the job there and back every day!!




This is not a very good picture of the scarf I have almost finished now for daughter no.3. It is a very pretty wool. I have taken up a subscription for Let's Knit magazine - just for three months - as I have enjoyed the last two issues and they aren't always easy to find in the local newsagents.

So, onwards and upwards to finish the packing and some housework! Hope you all have a great weekend and manage to get lots of projects finished or started or selected for your 'I would like to do in 2008' list. (I think I might just pack those socks I have started - you never know if there might just be a moment when you need to just do a few rows!)

Signs of Life

Snowdrops! Don't you love them? Here they are in bud just outside the front door. They are such a delicate flower and yet they pioneer the way by being first to open in the garden after what seems like such a long time without colour anywhere.
And in the back garden there are signs of life too! Tulips, daffodils and crocus are all bursting out of the sodden earth, spreading their shoots up towards the light. There is hope in the air - hope of Spring. I am reminded of the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where it was always Winter and never Spring. Imagine that!

So the new job has begun but the travel lodging was dismal. So I am trying something different this week and hope it will be better. As for the socks - well I took them down three times but I think I have finally got it! They will be coming with me again this week, as will a new scarf in jewell tones for daughter no.3 this time. We took some time out on Friday this week and discovered a C&H fabric store with some nice yarn in and she choose some Sirdar Juniper which looks lovely. Also I have been teaching daughter no.4 to knit again (she learnt a couple of years ago but abandoned it a few months later). I think every fashion designer ought at least to know how to knit and I think if she gets going she could be very good at it. So, some Rowan biggy yarn and some large needles and away we go. That's all for now but I'll be back soon. I don't have the computer with me while I am away so it won't be before Wednesday but I hope you are all in good heart and have lots of fun projects to be whiling away these winter evenings with.