WIP Wednesday

Its WIP Wednesday time again and I have been fairly busy on the craft front and have even started to make some Christmas presents!  I know its only August but I like to be organised.  I'm making some pencil folio’s for my 2 little boys and one for my niece.  I have had a practice run, but I think I’ve got the idea now.

                        

After showing you my basket of blue yarn last week I have started my blanket.  I’ve wanted to do a ripple blanket for ages, but after a failed attempted earlier in the year I’ve been putting off starting one.  Well I started this project last Thursday and I am loving it.  Its working up really fast and I am so pleased with the result as it reminds me of the sea.  This blanket is going to be for the boys, but I’ve think I may well have to make them one each as sharing is not their strong point.

With all the ripple action and getting the sewing machine out I have not done anymore of my little cardigan for little W, I really want to get the back done at least by next week and as we don’t have any visitors this coming weekend I hope to get some knitting done.

I also have my stool that I wrote about in my last post that I hope to get rubbed down and some undercoat on before the weekend.  This is the first piece of furniture I have given a makeover and I am quite looking forward to it.  If I am pleased with the results I have a small chest that I keep all my fabric in that I think will get a coat of paint and I would love to cover the top in some Cath Kidston oil cloth........oh and I may have purchased some more wool for my next project!

Conservatory makeover begins

This week saw the arrival of my new bureau for my conservatory, which is where I keep all my crafting stuff and is the only properly girly place in my house full of boys.  I had wanted to find a second hand one to do up, but after having a look around for a few months I caved in and brought this one from Ikea.  I am very pleased with it and just need to sort all my craft bits and pieces and get them put away nicely.

I picked this stool up a few months ago and I have just brought some paint to start making it more pretty and in keeping with the rest of the furniture.  I picked up some Craig and Rose Arcylic Eggshell in Swedish Blue, which is a beautiful soft pale blue.  I have some other plans for the stool but I will save them for the big reveal.

I have made a few bits and pieces including some bunting and cushions, but the seat pads need a good clean, the floor a good scrub and I think some fairy lights need hanging.  Its starting to come together and I can't wait till its all finished and I can sit back listening to the radio, drinking tea and doing some sewing or crocheting.

This weekend we had some friends come to stay, which included pizza, wine and fish and chips do I am back on the healthy eating big time this week. In fact this was the eighth weekend in the row that we have either had friends or family staying or we have been off visiting.  It has been great to catch up with friends and family but I am really looking forward to it just being the four of us for the bank holiday weekend.  We don’t have any plans yet, but I’m guessing what we will do will depend very much on the weather.... so watch this space.

Thanks for stopping by

Emma x

WIP Wednesday......

I have decided that Wednesdays are going to be ‘WIP Wednesday’ as I have several bits and pieces on the go and loads of projects and ideas I want to get started.  I’m hoping that by keeping a record of what I’ve got on the go, what I’ve finished and possible new projects here on the blog it will give me some motivation to get things finished.

This week I have finished my granny square blanket for my living room.  I am so pleased how it has turned out and it goes really well in our living room.  We’ve not had chance to test it out for ‘snuggly-ness’ yet as its actually been summer this week and has been rather muggy in the evening so no blanket has been needed.

I am also working on a little cardi for my little W.  This is the first proper thing I have knitted so I’m not sure how its going to turn out.

There is a basket of beautiful blue yarn awaiting my attention! These are going to be for my next blanket which I think is going to be a ripple.  I have attempted a ripple before but after about 5 rows things started to go wrong and I scraped it. 

Also another ongoing project this week is the mountain of washing that has accumulated in my house.  What with our holiday, sick children, visitors and trips to the beach it had really got on top of me.  Luckily my wonderful Mother has been to stay and has been the ‘laundry Fairy’ and has got things into a far more manageable state, but there is still much work to be done so I better get back too it......

p.s. Sorry if my photo's are a bit rubbish at the moment but I have broken the lens on my good camera and I have been using my snap and go.  

Summer loving.....

Well I need not say anything about the weather we have been having here in the UK this summer.  Its difficult to know whether to put your flip flops or your willies on when you head out of the door and some day it does feel like we are having four seasons in one day.

We have been trying to make the most of any dry weather we have to get out and get some fresh air and we have even managed a BBQ on the beach (complete with Pimms!)

Last weekend was a very mixed bag of blue sky and moody looking grey clouds, but as we had friends visiting we refused to stay stuck in the house and headed to a WW re-enactment weekend that was happening in a village not far from home.  The rain stayed away and there were some lovely vintage stalls selling beautiful clothing, home ware and even some rather scrummy cake!

I am so thankful for my washing machine as I would be doing it day and night the old fashioned way!

The sun even came out and I was able to get catch up with an old friend I've not seen so much of recently..... my shadow!

and when the weather did close in on us and we had to head home we cheered ourselves up with a cream tea!

Courgette's Galore

As the courgettes in my garden seem to be thriving and producing a bumper crop we are having to think of many different ways to use them.  We have been eating them in the usual stir fries and steamed, but I’ve had to be a bit more inventive with some of the bigger ones.

Firstly I made some courgette, pea and spinach soup from a recipe I got out of my New Convent Garden Soup book.  This was delicious and had a lovely texture.  I think I will be making up a nice big batch of this and freezing some.  I wouldn’t normally eat much soup this time of year, but as the weather has been so cold and wet I’ve needed something hot at lunchtime a little more often.

Next came a bit of an experiment.....courgette cake!  I had a look on the internet and found a recipe that sounded nice for a courgette and lemon cake.  I was a bit sceptical, but I love carrot cake and I do have an awful lot of courgettes to use so I had nothing to lose.  The result was lovely, a little lighter than a carrot cake, with a lovely hint of cinnamon.  It is lovely and moist, but lemon didn’t come through as much as I’d like so I think I would add more next time.  Another success I look forward to repeating in the near future.

Lastly I made some chutney as we had just finished off last years supplies so it was the perfect time to get out the Maslin pan and my collection of old jam jars.  I used a recipes from my river cottage handbook that I used last year for a Apricot chutney, and although the results look good and initial tasting was good we will have to wait a couple of months while it matures for the final verdict.

While reading some magazines I found some lovely recipes for dishes using courgettes, including pizza and risotto, so as long as my plants are giving me the courgettes I will continue to experiment.  

How does your garden grow.......

Well mine is not doing well at all!  Having recently moved back into our house after living abroad for 3 years the garden is in need of some love and care.  Not much has survived and I am fighting a battle with the weeds and some rather invasive bamboo.

I am rather a novice gardener and I think I am going to have to take things back to basics and start by clearing all the weeds and tidy up the space before planting can begin.

While on holiday in Scotland we stumbled upon a beautiful walled garden in Dunbar.  There was a great park for the little’s, a lovely cafe so the big ones were happy and the planting was very inspirational. 

Now as my knowledge is very limited I have purchased a few books and I am going to be dragging my mother into the garden to get her advice as her garden is beautiful, I have already got some seeds from her garden to sow once the boards have been dug. 

There is so much to do and its going to take some time.  There are plans going to be made, rubbish and weeds to clear and lots of reading and advice seeking to be done, but I am very much looking forward to taking the garden in hand and making it a lovely place to be.

I must say where everything else is failing in my garden after returning from two weeks holiday I have found that the courgettes are my one success and I have a rather bumper crop, including 3 monster ones that are going to be made into some chutney and some soup.

Sub-Tropical Micro Climate....Cornwall Grey More like!

Today we have woken up to rain and grey skies and it feels like a bit of a pyjama day today, but luckily we managed to get out and about over the weekend and enjoy lots of lovely fresh air.   Saturday was a child focused day with soft play and animal petting, but Sunday we did something more for the grown-ups and visited Trebah Gardens. 

A few months ago I brought a copy of Gardens World and there was a special voucher that allows 2 for 1 entry to a number of gardens around the UK.  I have been getting more into my gardening lately and thought it would a good opportunity to get out and get some inspiration.

I must say that we are really rather spoiled with the gardens down here in Cornwall and some are really quite exotic looking with the counties sub-tropical micro climate and Trebah was no exception.

Although this was more of a day out for the adults, the children enjoyed themselves throughtly too.  Watching the Koi Carp in the pond, running in and out if the giant bamboo and playing on the estates private beach.

A fantastic day was had all round and the weather was very kind to us.  I did think we might have trouble getting the little ones to bed as they slept quite late on the way home but I think all the fresh air did them good as they went to bed no problem.

So if you are ever in the Falmouth area I can really recommend a trip to the Trebah gardens..... the cake in the cafe was yummy too!

p.s. My photos where not a good as I would have liked because on Saturday I dropped my DSLR on the floor and managed to break the lens....luckily the main body of the camera is fine so just need to get a new lens sorted!