wool week freebies

The weather is slowly turning. Cold wet winds are trying to push out our warmer days and banish summer for another year. This change in temperature and climate makes me start thinking of blankets, crumpets, hot drinks, boots, scarves and hats!

So with great timing it's just been UK Wool Week (or Love Wool UK). It's time to get your needles or hooks out! I was in Leeds over the weekend, where there was an event on in the Corn Exchange sponsored by Rowan. On display were some lovely knitted & crochet goods and the lovely people from Rowan have put the patterns for free (yippee) on their website!

Union Jack Heart Cushion

Ripple Patch Cushion



Moss Stitch Ripple Large Cushion

Crochet Swirl Cushion

My main reason for being in Leeds was to see the Kaiser Chiefs at Kirkstall Abbey on Saturday afternoon/ evening. It was a really good gig, the band are from Leeds so it was a homecoming concert (and it kicked off their UK/ World tour).

I travelled by train, and I'm glad to say they were all on time and they all turned up!

the two of us

This weekend it was just the two of us. My eldest son and I.

So I prioritised fun and mother and son time over everything else.

I planned a loose itinery for us to do which included: gingerbread men baking, swimming, picnic on the beach, DVD, 2 x art projects, bike ride, tennis. It turned out that we did not have quite enough time to do everything, but we had fun trying.

One of our art projects involved this Pop Up book that I bought recently. Pop-Up: Everything You Need to Create Your Own Pop-Up Book by Ruth Wickings and Frances Castle

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Inside are 4 scenes to turn into fantastic pop-up pages: a dragon, a jungle, a medieval castle and Frankenstein’s laboratory. There are some brilliant pop-up tricks that you try out. And you don't even need glue (every piece has sticky back plastic attached. Genius!

We also watched a film; How to Train Your Dragon, which was a brilliant story. We both really enjoyed that. And from that my son decided he'd produce his own book about Dragons. Each page had a dragon on it (some from the film, some made up) with information about the dragon. I helped with some of the drawing and writing, but that is our work in progress.

We also played on Beatles Rockband together, which was a great laugh.

On a sadder note, I went into Habitat for probably the last time. So sad it's gone into administration. I've bought some gorgeous things from there over the last 20 years. I have many beautiful vases from there, my everyday crockery (I went and picked up some more to cover breakages), bed and table linen, furniture. Sad times. Unfortunately IKEA, and all the supermarkets have been selling homewares in a similar style and a lot cheaper than Habitat do. However Habitat was always more original, more interesting and it used to be better quality as well. Hard times.

easter weekend

I hope your Easter weekend has been as good as ours. First we were invaded by bunny rabbits. Two have already been decapitated!

Then someone turned 41, so you can only really go BIG and FUN with a birthday like that!

This is a home-made Genoise Cake (recipe from Eric Lanlard) filled with fresh cream and strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I calculated the calories and it's a terrifying 520 per slice!

Much lego has been built. Battle hideouts...

...and dragons.

Then we decided to go back to an old (but brief) haunt of ours, Godalming, Surrey.

There is a lovely riverside walk that we did, past the boathouse (who had rented all their rowing boats out by the time we got there!)

The lovely river itself. There were narrow boats, canonists, rowing boats and even someone punting! It reminded me of this song.

I love photographing my 3 boys! Look at the height difference! That's a 41 yr old, 8 yr old, 4 yr old! Even though the 8 year old is very tall, he's still small compared to his dad! (Not me, he comes up to my shoulder already). The boys walked along the river looking for wildlife, using a stick as a gun, a walking stick, a probe. Far too many dandelions were picked up and blown by my little one. Near misses with stinging nettles (how we got away without a sting, I don't know). At the end of our walk, a riverside pub for bitter shandy and lemonades.

There are some amazing houses that back onto the river. This house had beautiful lilac wisteria growing all it. On a day like yesterday, it felt like life was perfect.

The whole day was stunning. And our guilty pleasure on the way home (using our Chippy app to find a fish and chip shop!)

british museum

The British Museum, London, is an incredible museum full of artifacts that tell the stories of civilizations over thousands of years.

My eldest son is doing a school project on ancient Egypt, and has become really caught up in finding out more. We took him to the museum yesterday, so he could see the artifacts that he has been told about, seen on websites and books for himself. Ok it's not as good as going to Egypt, but as that is out of the question, at the moment, this was almost as good.

Apart from what is on display, the building itself is glorious. The new coovered section, the great court, takes my breath every time I go in there. The architecture is stunning, and it transforms the museum into an even better building than it was.

Is there a quilt pattern that could be found in the roof or windows?

spring sunday

Spring is definitely here, which gives me a very happy feeling inside. It seems like we have had a very long and cold autumn and winter. It is so nice to see the sun, and feel the warmth of it on my skin.

On Saturday I had the pleasure to meet Lisa Lam from U-Handbag. She is so nice, people! She was running a new craft fair in Brighton, called Craftaganza. There were some great stalls, really nice things. Lisa was just overseeing it all, she was not selling any of her bag making things. Lisa and I had a lovely chat. She is very giggly. She is writing her second book, this time there will be 15 projects (not all bags) and it is coming out in 2 parts. The first part is an E book with 3 projects and then the second part (2012) will be the entire thing.

I do plan on making a few of her bags from her book, it's just finding the time and money for the projects I would like to do (namely the gorgeous weekend bag).

But right now, the outside is where it's at! Suddenly a coat is not needed, just a cardigan. Boots have been put away and trainers are back on my feet (soon I hope I shall just be wearing sandals). The bikes have also been in heavy use again this weekend. All the boys were on their bikes.

The park offers many areas of pleasure, like finding a gnawed pine cone. Who has been chewing on it, we wondered.

And some interested new hedging has gone up, with an explanation of how and why it has been done. (thank you local council!)

Look how they split the branches to bend them into place. Not many things can survive being cut in half!

Here is the small growers exhibition garden that had been set up in the park. It is a demonstration to everyone in what you can grow in a small space. This year they have doubled their plot size. It's a very interesting project. Inspirational even!

And then to round off the weekend a nice game of Doodle Dice. Lots of fun, even the little one can play it with my help.

I hope you had a lovely weekend as well.

sunday lunch

The traditional British Sunday lunch is Roast Beef, Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Potatoes and lots of vegetables with gravy and is very popular indeed. Although being vegetarian the Roast Beef is left off the plate!

So although that might not be my favourite line up of food, the tradition of having a fine Sunday lunch is certainly one I am happy to go along with. My sister and her husband were here for the weekend, and as a treat and a part celebration of my birthday and their visit we all went out to lunch.

I chose the lovely Bills, which is a famous Brighton restaurant. It's the perfect place for family and friends, but a word for the wise, get there early, as the queues are long. We did arrive reasonably early (11.40ish) but with 6 of us we had a fairly long wait. However, we were expecting that. It's open all day, so there was a lot of people having a Sunday breakfast (another popular Sunday tradition which should be indulged every now and then!)

The restaurant were kind enough to give us free drinks as they thought we were waiting too long (it was about 45mins) but we didn't mind. We were chatting and enjoying ourselves. And the children were playing games on our i-phones!

We ended up sitting in their small upstairs area, but you get a good view of downstairs and the busy hubbub going on. I love their rafia and tissue paper hanging up to decorate. Also the walls packed full of things to buy, chutneys, olive oils, balsamic vinegar etc.


I chose the Meze dish which was lovely and very filling. It has Houmous, Olives, Baba Ganoush, Cucumber Salad, and another salad with toasted bread .

As it was my birthday I had a Pavlova with fruit, far too much cream and a berry coulis. It was good!

It was a lovely way to have Sunday lunch, I thoroughly recommend it!

Brighton Artists Open Houses

The Christmas Artists Open Houses is back on, it started last weekend, will be on this weekend and the 11th and 12th December.

This is a great way to find lovely gifts and support local artists. Plus it's a great to have a nose around people's houses!

There is a flickr group as well here.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

At the weekend we went to Portsmouth to the Historic Dockyard. It's the home of the Royal Navy, and it has a load of old warships to go on, plus the Mary Rose Museum (who remembers the Mary Rose being brought up and shown on Blue Peter in 1982?)

We went on HMS Warrior 1860 and saw a gun demonstration by an ex Naval seaman called Knocker Wilkins (or something!) I love the naval names, as soon as you join the navy you seem to lose your first name and get a new nickname that stays with you for the rest of your life.

We also had a tour of HMS Victory, the warship that Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson fought the Battle of Trafalgar on in 1805, and where sadly he lost his life. They brought his body back to England is a brandy barrel, nice!

The children loved Action Stations which is a building full of hands on things for children (and adults) to do. You can fly a Merlin Helicopter, shoot and enemy missiles, do the Ops Room, I think you get the picture.

We also had a boat trip, which is the Harbour Tour. You get to see all the naval ships/ subs that are in port.

All in all the day was a big success. We didn't do everything, but as the ticket lasts a year, you can return and finish the tour off!

saturday things

Everyone in my house is ill (some horrible tummy bug) which has kept me very busy this week, with the Dettol spray and disinfectant.

I decided to bring some cheer to myself, by purchasing a few necessary but top quality supplies this morning.



First was a trip to my local deli, where they had just received their delivery of bread from Real Pattisserie . I picked up a delicious Farmhouse Cob (the kind of addictive loaf you can eat in a day) and some gorgeous chocolate macaroons.


Yes they were as good as they look! Sorry picture not in focus, clearly couldn't keep my hands steady in anticipation! I'm pleased to say that they tasted great with a cup of tea.




Then to Miss Mole's for some flowers. Aren't they amazing?



I have forgotten their name, but they are from the proteas family. I think it's a Leucospermum from a bit of googling.


I also picked a bumper crop of tomatoes from our 3 plants. I have to say I wasn't that happy with the yellow ones, they were not as good as the other 2 varieties in taste or texture.



I hope you have a great weekend too, full of fun and fantastic things.

blackberrying 2010

(husband's hands!)

:

I cannot remember a year, since we have had children, when we haven't blackberried. It's now a family tradition, and must be done!

:

Both this year and last we have picked them at Ditchling Common & Country Park, which is a popular spot for blackberry foraging. We were perhaps a little early, as there were lots of berries still unripe.

:

Even though our sons were told that they would not get a slice of pie/ crumble if they did not help to pick, they chose to play instead. I can't blame them, as I got very pricked and scratched.

Austin 7

I was lucky enough to go for a ride this weekend in a 1930 Austin 7. (The one above is not my friends, but an image from here.) It was the most incredible experience.

*

The car was exactly 80 years old, and it was in great condition. It is navy blue like the one pictured, and is a convertable. The roof was off, and we had a blast. Going at 15 miles an hours in one of those, feels like 40 miles an hour in a modern car!

*

The car belongs to our friends, who bought it earlier this year. Apparently there is still a surprising number of them around. We drove it to Anne Boyleyn's former home, Blickling Hall, where we had a picnic and a lovely afternoon. (Apparently Anne's ghost is there!)

*

We were in Norwich for the weekend, where was warm and dry (unlike my home town which was cold and wet!). We had a lovely break, sharing a great weekend with good friends.

Good Times

Firstly, I must apologise as I did not take my camera out with me at the weekend. Photo below is stolen from my husband! It shows Brighton from a distance.

It was a gloriously hot and sunny weekend, here in the UK (well in Brighton for sure). The kind of day where the most important thing is to find a good way of keeping cool.

Luckily we have the sea, a mere 20-30min walk away (possibly longer with both children). On Saturday, after a noisy and excitable start, I managed to round my two up and leave the house. How do people cope with more than 2 children? We first went to the park, I let them have a good run around. Then we had to head back home, grab lunch, then off we went to the beach.

We met up with a good friend of mine, and her two children. The children all went in the sea. There were no squeals of "it's too cold", it clearly was the right temperature for them. Personally I wouldn't have minded a dip, but I did not have my swimming costume with me, and I don't feel in the best shape at present to strip off!

After that we went to the children's paddling pool, which is on the beach as well (just by Al Fresco restaurant, and west of the West Pier!) It gets so busy there. When my children were younger, it was slightly scary on a busy day, as it is so easy to lose sight of your child. Now they are elder, my 7 year old really looks after the 3.5 year old, it is fine. This is very handy, and means I can relax a little bit! We were all so tired after our day out, that we took the bus home. Oh yes, and watched the last episode of DOCTOR WHO. We are a hooked family. My eldest could not believe it when they said the next episode will be at Christmas (6 months away!)

We did it all again on Sunday, got up, and headed straight down to the beach. I made a packed lunch for us this time. The boys had a great time. I bought them water squirters, they look like giant syringes! Lots of children had them.

I also finished reading a very arresting and moving book, called "Brixton Beach" by Roma Tearne. I would highly recommend it. It follows a Sri Lankan girl, whose parents emigrate with her to England due to the civil unrest in Sri Lanka. You follow all of her family (4 generations) and it's very moving. Again highlighting a conflict in a deeply personal way. I find this a better way to learn about things, as it becomes far more real. I would highly recommend it! Now I just need to find another cracking good read, any suggestions?

Quilt Update: I got round to trimming all the patchworked pieces, for the back, down to the same width! I did it while the children watched "Fantastic Mr Fox". They were engrossed. I'm not in a rush with this quilt. I'm making it just to use up all my scraps of the Midwest Modern range by Amy Butler. The quilt was dictated by all the shapes and sizes of fabric I had to work with. It will be a single bed size though, when I finally finish off the back.

Weekending

We have had a wonderful weekend, I hope you did as well. We all drove to Norfolk on Saturday, as my husband had a meeting with a bride and groom, whose wedding he will be photographing next weekend. It is quite an exciting wedding, as it's not the traditional ceremony, that we all know. They are having a hand fastening, in the open air, in this lovely opening in a woodland, with arches made of branches, and lovely small marquees. There will be a harpist, a jester, to entertain, a kaleigh, and if the air is still Chinese lanterns! I will not be there, but I certainly look forward to viewing the photos.



On the way back, to make a day of it (the weather was a bit variable, sun, wind and rain) we saw one of those brown attraction road signs on route, that said World Horse Welfare. So we thought, why not. It's always a risk, as you can never be sure quite how many miles your detour will take to get you to your surprise venue. Luckily, the Horse farm was straight off the main road, in a beautiful setting. There is a visitor centre (which still had the heating on! heaven), a cafe, and an indoor training room for the horses. We were lucky enough to witness a horse being trained in how to walk, trot, cantor etc.

a very friendly horse

We also walked around the stables (all immaculate and clean) and the paddocks (again, in beautiful condition). They are a charity that rescues badly treated horses, and they rehabilitate them, and get them healthy again. They also loan out their horses, which is where I presume they make a lot of their money to run the charity with. All the horses in the stables had their stories and photos on a board, and some were found in absolutely horrific circumstances. The horses were now unrecognisable, as they looked so fit and healthy, with beautiful coats. They also help horses around the world, and train people in how to make saddles, and what is and is not suitable for a horse to wear, pull and do. We were all very impressed.



Then on Sunday, which was Father's Day, we all had a lazy morning. I made waffles for brunch, which everyone loves with maple syrup. I use a recipe from Rachel Allen's Bake book, which is a baking book that I would highly recommend. Everything that I have made from it has come out beautifully, and tastes great.



I took the children to the park twice. Once, after waffles but before lunch, and then again in the evening, when we all went, including their dad!

our eldest enjoying the best of the summer days

The rose garden is at its most magnificent this time of year. I find the roses stunning. I love the deep pink roses. The scent from the flowers is intoxicating. The parks have made a map of all the roses within the garden, so if one takes your fancy, you can find out what it is and purchase it from a nursery.

All in all it was a great weekend. My husband is working flat out at the moment, setting up his photography business, and with work as well.

I hope your weekend was a good as ours!

Photos by my dearest hubby.

Vlad

Meet Vlad our snowman we built in a local wood. Although the snow isn't very deep, here in town, it was more than sufficient a few miles north, on higher ground.

After a lovely walk, admiring the other worldliness of a snow ridden wood, we had a vicious snowball fight, instigated by my husband, then we built Vlad.

He's like no other snowman I've every seen before!!! He's there to ward off evil spirits from the wood!!

But it did all look so fairytale like in the snow, I have to say.

I'm hoping Vlad will raise a smile with the dog walkers who frequent the wood.

I came home and made a lovely minestrone soup for everyone (which obviously the children refused to eat!!! Far too healthy with all the fresh vegetables in it!) that warmed us all up again!

Hope you're having fun in the white stuff!!