OneChurchillsGreen

On the road again with Agnes....

It's been a while since I took Agnes, my trusty green Fiat 500, cross hill and vale. So, when I set off this morning for Home Sweet Home in Sherborne I did so with just a little trepidation. But an hour later and she was safely parked opposite the Abbey and just across the way from the new home of Butterfly Bright. I used to nip back and forth to the very same shop when my friend Liz first opened a couple of years back. Not only was it filled to the brim with gorgeous homewares, but it also stocked our range of Sicilian Artisan products, Veru. Now, Liz has passed the helm to Lizzie and Ali, haberdashery extraordinaires! Alongside the prettiest melamine picnic ware, sits beautiful Michael Miller fabrics and all manner of sewing must-haves. A sewing machine class was in full swing in the workshop out back. And, if Lizzie and I get organised, we will see some crochet workshops happening there soon - maybe with some summer cotton yarn, crochet isn't just a winter sport after all! And not wanting to leave empty handed - in fact, given more time, I could have filled Agnes to the brim with summery cotton prints, buttons and braids - I treated myself to this beautiful grey velvet/cream lace ribbon, just perfect for a little summer sewing project for Pipi, the combination will be perfect with her white linen trousers (cropped from last year to make a fab pair of capri pants!). 

 

Oh I do like to be besides the seaside....

...well, harbour's edge to be precise! If ever I lose sight of why I love our little corner of Dorset so much, it only takes some happy, sunny days to remind me exactly why we live where we do. Just a quick hop and a skip inland from Poole harbour and the spectacular Jurassic coastline, we are spoilt for choice on destinations when the sun comes out to play. Luckily for us, our lovely friends, Liz and Tim, invited us down to Shell Bay for a sail on Sunday. Picnic packed and we were off!

When they weren't swimming or hunting for driftwood and sea glass, Tim's beautiful Mirror dinghy, 'Bits-n-Bobs', proved a great hit with the children. And our first English strawberries of the season played a starring role in the picnic....

Fresh from West Holme farm shop earlier that morning, their scent and flavour an indicator that summer really has arrived - hurrah! xxx

Remember the peacock blue thru' to celadon stash?....

Earlier in May I posted about the delights of finding yarn you'd all but forgotten about. I've been hooking away with a 1.25mm hook and my stash of fine cotton yarn. Gradually my project is starting to take shape...

I'm planting out cosmos at the moment (just popped in for some string for the sweet peas!), but another evening or two and I should be ready to put it all together xxx

Start crocheting now ready for the Autumn apple harvest!

It made me smile to see my apple cosies on German design blog designchen. My German is non-existent I'm afraid, so I'm not too sure what they were saying, but I think it was along the lines of 'the apple trees are in blossom, so get cracking on your cosies now in time for the fruit harvest later in the year'! (Any German speakers, feel free to correct me on that one!). And it set me thinking. Our crab apple tree is very much in blossom and quite beautiful. It took me a few months to master crochet, so why not - learn now and by Autumn you'll be making little apple cosies as gifts for children, their teachers, or friends. The pattern is such a simple one and is ideal for beginners - the first edition of Mollie Makes, featuring the pattern, is now available for free download (if you're an iPhone or iPad user - not me, ironically), alternatively you can get it online with The Guardian, or better still it is featured in my new book, together with a sweet little apple blossom pattern and so much more. Inspired by that very apple blossom, I picked up some green, white and pink Rowan 'cotton glace' and whipped up some lunchbox sized apple cosies for my Etsy/Folksy shop. The only problem being, the children are eating the apples as soon as I nestle them in a cosy - I'm afraid I don't even follow my own pattern, I just use an apple as my guide and off I go! xxx

Subtle shades of early summer.....

My first posy of flowers! The garden is springing beautifully into life; the roses are in bud, the peonies are unfurling their leaves and the herbs are filling out by the day. I felt inspired to bring in my first little bunch of flowers - aquilegia, sweet cicely and budding sage. All so delicate, as if the garden is teasing me in anticipation of the striking hydrangea blossoms and sculptural alium balls yet to come. My seedlings are nearly ready for planting out, the cosmos is frothy and light, the scabious a little more robust, my only hope being that the hens don't trample and nibble them to the ground. Maybe I'll get The Sicilian to construct a low willow fence before I chance it xxx

Learning to crochet......

It is always a pleasure to teach others to crochet. Having only picked up a hook myself for the first time a couple of years ago, I get so excited starting others out on their crochet journey. Not everyone will get as hooked as me, but if crochet gives them even an ounce of the satisfaction and peace it has given me, then it can only be a good thing. I had a great day yesterday with Angie, Jo and Rebecca going through the basics. The setting couldn't have been more perfect, Angie's beautiful conservatory overlooking her spectacular garden. The doors were open, the sun was shining, the cotton yarn looked more enticing than ever. And my students were just brilliant - with determined concentration, they'd cracked the basic stitches before our second coffee of the morning!
And by end of play they were tackling the finest gauge cotton on a project featured in my book - hence the slightly cryptic photo (all will be revealed in September!). 
So proud of their achievements and in such a short space of time, hopefully they'll be planning their next project already!

A quick knit.....

The yarn I picked up in Canada is taking shape. With our spring weather here in Dorset being variable, but predominantly wet and windy, I thought Pipi could do with a pair of 'in-between-season' wristwarmers. I picked up the beautiful fine blue yarn from the Fibre Studio on Granville Island, a pair of 3.25mm needles and here we are - 45 stitches per row, 70 rows in stocking stitch, crocheted together with some pink cotton yarn and finished off with some buttons from my little jar. I simply double crocheted the two edges together, leaving a gap for the thumb and a 5mm edge at the top (to roll back - I hear rolled back knitting is on trend at the moment?!). Anyway, they look really cute and even better, they're perfect for early morning lamb feeding!

 
If you fancied knitting up a pair but haven't got any handspun yarn at your disposal, just use a lace weight yarn, it's ideal for spring time temperatures. I'm cracking on with my fine cotton stash project this weekend, hope you have a good one too xxx

Happiness is.......

.....discovering a yarn stash you didn't know you had! Oh, and a good nights sleep!!! All revived and refreshed after an undisturbed night, I decided it was time to look at my long neglected Etsy and Folksy shops. Thinking I'd pretty much consumed my existing yarn stash, I gathered up my fine cottons, only to find a whole ream of gorgeous greens and blues I had forgotten all about. From brilliant kingfisher blue to the palest celadon, there is a whole palette to work with and I've got an idea already, be back in a while xxx

A little low & a day to sew.....

I have to admit to feeling a little low of late. Initially I put it down to post holiday blues, the reality of wrestling with the end of year accounts, the miserable weather. But we've had sunny days, I've got two lambs bounding around my garden and a husband who cooks me endless delicious meals, not to mention Pipi and Dante to cheer my days. I think it comes down to the modern dilemma of being a busy working mum. I am constantly torn between the demands of work and those of the house and family, not to mention my passion for craft. So, in an effort to raise my spirits I sat down with my sewing machine on Monday and cracked on with the summer skirt I'd been promising Pipi. She pulled up her little machine and started designing an outfit for Ursula (her occasionally loved, but generally abandoned childhood doll). Together we put the world to rights and indulged our creativity. It was an absolute joy and despite nursing Dante through a couple of bad nights, I keep catching sight of the skirts hanging on the door and let out a satisfied sigh which allows my creative self to rest in peace for a little while. I don't know about you, but if I allow myself a few hours of creativity, I feel a whole lot more ready to face what the world brings to my door.

Woollies & wild garlic.........

It's been like an episode of Springwatch down at the cottage! Sofia took delivery of two lambs for her 10th birthday. I might have mentioned before that we are lucky enough to have the lovely Claire and Andrew Head as our neighbours, organic farmers with their beautiful farm Cedar Organic just a short walk up the lane. We have adopted one lamb, Snowdrop, and to keep her company we've got Shaun too (a little girl as well, but Dante's choice of name). The children are bottle feeding them morning and night and when they're old enough they will head out to grass with all of the other sheep. It's the perfect solution, the children will be able to continue their relationship with them as we pass their fields on our way to and from school everyday. They are so affectionate and like nothing more than to spring across the lawn chasing the kids or the chickens. The only one who is a little put out is Violet, the pussycat, she's not sure at all, despite the lambs best efforts to include her in their games and running races!

The plan is for Snowdrop to become a breeding ewe, and that way Sofia will be able to part of her lambing experience and help out Farmer Head whenever possible. I'm hoping that we'll get our hands on a big woolly fleece at some point - I learnt to card, spin and weave at about Sofia's age and would love to teach her too; even better if the wool is from her very own Snowdrop! The Sicilian, on the other hand, is sizing them up with a view to roasting them one day!!! I am joking, of course, even he knows these two aren't destined for our dinner table!

Amidst all the livestock excitement, we're in full wild garlic season. The house is filled with the heady scent of the leaves as The Sicilian whips up another batch of wild garlic butter.....

Here it is, all labelled up ready for the Home Producers market in the local town. In fact, he's just zipped out to see if he's sold any, otherwise there isn't going to be any room in our freezer for lamb, it will be full of butter logs! If you're lucky enough to have woodland floors carpeted with wild garlic at the moment, here's the recipe:

1 bunch of wild garlic, roughly chopped

2tbsp wild garlic flowers

250g unsalted butter

juice of half a lemon

salt & pepper

Cut the butter into small pieces and melt slightly in a pan on a low heat. Add the leaves and blend together until smooth, then add everything and stir with a spoon. Keep refrigerated or freeze. We like to freeze it and then we just slice a slab when we need it. It's perfect with grilled fish, new potatoes, spread on hot baked bread or stirred through some roasted vegetables. Enjoy! xxx