Autumn Musings

Hello everyone, and welcome to our small corner of the UK. It is school half term here, and both D and I intend to do some fun activities together. 

While D has been at work, I carried on working on my small Autumn display. After the success of my knitted pumpkin, I cut out some felt-shaped leaves and added some stitching detail to them. I also used some textured sofa fabric swatches to make a few other leaves. As part of the display, I have placed them on a decorative plate that used to belong to my nan. It is a lovely pottery piece with leaves trailing over it – perfect for an Autumn display.

I also planted a few lettuces in the greenhouse this week, and they are doing well. I'm sure they have grown some more since I planted them.

I don't often grumble on here, but there sometimes has to be an exception. We have had on/off-road works very close to our road continuously for some time now. First, the road is dug up for one utility to work on, then a short time passes, and the next comes with another reason to dig up bits of the road again, and so on. And each time, the activities are accompanied by the three-way traffic lights. Why? 

The post box topper on that particular road end summed up the situation perfectly, and I couldn't help but smile.  

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Hello! D here, and carrying on from Mum's Autumn theme, I noticed in the news that Charlecote Park has recently opened an Autumn pumpkin display. Great minds think alike!

We visited on Saturday morning and were very impressed. The pumpkins and squashes were knitted, crocheted and sewn by volunteers, and the National Trust hopes to display them every year. 

While we were there, we also had a look around the Hall and discovered some interesting facts and stories. Legend suggests that the famous William Shakespeare was once caught poaching on these grounds. One of the guides explained that the Hall had been extended in Victorian times and showed us several places where the Tudor rose emblem was displayed. It was on doorknobs, servant bells and the ceiling and was intended to link back to the original property, which was built in the Tudor period.

Before we left for home, we had a stroll around the gardens, and Mum took some photos of developing pine cones. We had a lovely time, and even better, the sun was also out!

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Have a lovely week, everyone.

B and D xx

We've Been Framed

Hello, and welcome back to our small corner.

D here, and last week, Mum talked about several small projects she had finished. I have been working on the brown scarf for a few years, and the pretty crochet flower was just what it needed. However, that was only one scarf that I had started.

Mum tells me that posting a picture on the blog might encourage me to finish this scarf sooner than the previous one.
We shall see!!

Here is my current progress. As you can see, the new WIP scarf is a lovely shade of blue, which reminded me of the sea.

During this week, I did a framed picture of some mermaids swimming with colourful fish. It will fit nicely with the colours in my bedroom when it goes on the wall.

And now it's back to B's corner.

I also framed a few pictures this week while continuing my quest to finish projects. The artwork is by a friend who works a lot with pen and ink, and the felted birds were by a lady at a craft fair I visited in Bakewell last year. Unfortunately, I didn't get her name, but her work will be displayed in our living room.

 

A few weeks ago, I saw a lovely little crochet bag pattern here and, with my limited crochet skills, decided to give it a go. I had plenty of yarn left over from previous projects and found some suitable fabric for the lining. The pattern was easy to follow and could easily be adapted to make it a bit bigger. I used some ribbon for the handles so I could use the bag to go out for a meal in the evenings. Project finished :-)

It has been so wet and windy this week all over the UK that it has been challenging to do much outside. I do hope all of you have been okay wherever you live. However, I managed to take a few pictures to show the progress in the greenhouse. These are the lettuce I sowed a few weeks ago, and they can now continue growing in a tomato grow bag.

I also have some baby spider plants, which are doing quite well. 

Here is a mummy spider plant with lots more spiderling.

As Autumn is here now, I am cutting out some fabric leaves for a project. It may even be finished by next week.  

And that is all our news for this week. Please keep safe if the weather continues to be bad where you are and D and I wish you a great week.

B and D xx

Finishing A Few Small Jobs

Hello and welcome back to our small corner.

What is the definition of a small project, and how long before it becomes a long-haul project? 

Is it a large project or one that you have had to work on for far too long?

Such are the daft questions I had floating around my head this week.

D is a novice knitter and she finished this Autumn scarf earlier in the year. It is lovely with a thread of twinkle running through it but we both thought something was still missing. 

I said I would make a few flowers and leaves to finish it off, and then... it just stayed in a bag for several months. 

So...

This week, I have been on a 'finishing-off projects' mission. I crocheted three Autumn coloured flowers and a couple of leaves, and now the scarf looks like this. D and I are both delighted with the results.

Repairs to D's favourite slippers were next on my 'to-finish' list. The slippers have a pair of furry bobbles that had fallen off some months ago, and now, after putting off the task for far too long, D is modelling her favourite footwear.

This cross-stitch is another little project that I completed this week: all it needed was to have a backing on the reverse.

Finally, I revamped the fastening on this cushion to deal with my procrastination on specific projects. I was never entirely happy with how the cushion turned out, but I placed it on the 'I will deal with it later' pile.

That was 12 months ago, and I have been staring at it literally and metaphorically across the lounge.

And here it is after I added a few buttons. It was an easy thing to do, but it has made such a difference!!

As you can see, it has been quite a productive week and I am very pleased with everything I have been able to accomplish. Whatever your plans are for this week, I hope you have a good one.

B x

Greenhouse, Rhubarb and a Pumpkin

Hello, and thank you for joining me again this week. 

Over the Summer, there was one significant change to our back garden. My old greenhouse was a lovely place to grow and nurture seedlings and other plants for over thirty years, but we decided to replace it with a new and more suitable model. Although I felt sad when we dismantled the old greenhouse, my sadness was short-lived. We put an advert on a local free-to-collect website, and within an hour, someone wanted to give the old greenhouse a new home, which made me very happy. 

My Old Greenhouse

And so, may I now present our new greenhouse.

My New Greenhouse

My new greenhouse is something that I can enjoy all year round. It is larger than the old one and has some fitted shelves that are just the right height for me to use comfortably. The sliding double doors make manoeuvring a wheelbarrow of compost easier, and the larger opening roof vents allow better air circulation.

The building is big enough to put in a chair and a table, so I can potter even when it is raining and cold outside and enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee and a biscuit. Wonderful!

My hubby and son put the structure together and made it all work, so a huge thank you to both of them! :-)

While there is not much growing in there yet, I have some lettuce and a few herbs that have germinated in the last week. It will be good to get plenty of use in the greenhouse over the Winter.

Now, I know that all the gardening books and many gardeners say we should stop picking rhubarb at the end of the summer, but I have been doing a little rule-breaking this week. I left this rhubarb bed for weeks, and the leaves and crop of stems have just grown. As the branches had not deteriorated, I picked a few of the largest to freeze and a few more to stew for a pudding. There are still lots of stems and leaves that will now die down and feed the plants for next year. It just seemed a shame to waste such a large and good crop.

The stems I used for that pudding were delicious, so I am glad I broke the traditional rules.

Continuing with an Autumn garden theme, I found a lovely free pattern on Ravelry for a knitted pumpkin. It only took a weekend to make, and it would be easy to make a smaller or larger version using different yarn weights and needle sizes. I loved the vine and leaves, which reminds me of a Cinderella pumpkin.

I intend to make more of these and some other Autumn-themed decorations to build up a display to enjoy each year.

As it looks like a warm and dry week ahead, I shall spend more time outside and wish you all a good week wherever you are.

B x

A Mediterranean Adventure

Hello, and welcome back to our small corner.

D here, and this week, I will tell you about the Mediterranean cruise I went on during the Summer. Although I have been on several cruises alone, this was the first time a friend came with me. It was her first-ever cruise, and it was exciting to show her what it was like.

After an extremely early morning flight, we arrived in Palma de Majorca and breathed a sigh of relief when we spotted our bags coming off the luggage carousel. Not long after, we arrived on the ship and enjoyed our first lunch and drink. We explored and found some lovely places to chill out and relax during our holiday.

Our first port on the cruise was Barcelona. I usually book excursions through the cruise line, but my friend and I opted to do something independently this time. There was a city bus tour that started right outside the port, which meant we could see the city at a relaxed pace, and we took lots of photos.

We even saw a stubborn little dog who refused to move from the middle of the road, no matter how many car horns honked at him. The dog and his owner were both fine, so don’t worry. I can’t help imagining the owner being a bit exasperated with his dog, who probably didn’t care what the fuss was about because the little dog was king of the road.

It was rather appropriate that we found this fellow waiting for us when we returned to our cabin.

Our next port was Corsica, but as we were due to arrive about midday, my friend and I had a spa treatment. I had a hand manicure and massage, and it was lovely and, oh, so relaxing. I would happily do that again!

After lunch, we went on an excursion to Vizzavona in the mountains: the views of the mountains and valleys were spectacular!

We also stopped at a little restaurant in the mountains, where we tried wine and local delicacies before returning to the cruise ship.

During our trip to Naples, my friend and I visited the ancient city of Pompeii. Although I have been to Pompeii several times, this was my friend’s first visit, and she was excited.

Pompeii is a window into how the ancient Romans lived, and it was just as impressive as the first time I went. Walking past a Roman fast-food shop reminded me that Romans' daily lives were not so far removed from our own as we like to imagine.

Mount Vesuvius

 

The weather was scorching and sunny in Pompeii, so we indulged in our first holiday ice cream while we waited for the coach.

My friend and I both had a fantastic time on this cruise. We spent much time between our excursions and city tours relaxing by the indoor pool and chilling out, sitting in the bars while we had drinks. Oh, and having afternoon tea. I can’t forget that! 😄

Although we were sad when our cruise ended at the end of the week, we had a fantastic time full of fun, laughter, and beautiful memories. My friend loved her first cruise, and I have happily converted her to cruise holidays. Truthfully, it only took me about a day and a half to finish convincing her!

We have already booked another cruise holiday for next summer, and I can’t wait!!

Whatever your plans are for this week, I hope you enjoy them.

D x