UK Handmade Magazine.

Oh my golly, I am beyond excited today because the winter edition of the wonderful online magazine UK Handmade is now available to read and there just happens to be an interview with me inside its pretty pages! I so admire this publication and the amazing support they offer to independent artists of all media, as well as the constant work they put into promoting such work. The only thing I am not so sure about is the photo of yours truly - hindsight is a wonderful thing!



Head off here for a wonderful read through of things to make, interesting articles on all topics craft/art related and some great interviews - oh, and then there'll be me!

Have a great day x

A Christmassy Ramble.

Such a beautiful day today with sunshine and crisp breezes. Isabella and I have just returned from a treat of a shared hot cholcolate in Thorntons; a rare treat, but one made all the more special for the scarcity. Her little face was so excited. I swear she radiated happiness and it was returned by the other shoppers smiling at her chocolatey face. back at home a few things have continued to make me smile such as these dried apple rings piled high in a flowery jug. They will be gracing a door wreath any day now, but for the moment I just love the sight of them in our kitchen.



Waiting on the worktop is my most favourite Christmas mug, a present from Mr Davey a couple of Christmasses ago. No doubt you recognise it as a Caroline Zoob design. She is someone whose delicate embroidery I admire hugely and I covet one of her beautiful pictures. Of course, I also aspire to be as good as her in my own embroidery work and should any potters out there wish me to design a range for them I would not be too slow in saying yes!



Ho hum... well, on to decorations. I love handmade - obviously - but am also lucky enough to own one or two exquisite baubles thanks to my dear dave. This fragile beauty has been gracing our tree for a number of years now and is made of the finest glass painted with the sweetest circus scene. So fine is it that the light shines trhough turning the colours into glowing jewels



much like the stained glass orange slices dried earlier this week - have you done yours yet? Bossy again, eh.



Let's mix things up a little as a change from the festive scene. I think I may have mentioned how much I love to cook and so here's a recipe I would like to share. No need to be precise about measurements. Just take a mound of peelings - potato, sqush, leek for example. Add some chunks of said squash, some left over apple pieces, pumpkin seeds,porridge oats and anything else you would normally add to your compost bin; add some water and cook gently till slightly softened.



Blitz with a blitzer (!) and ta da, you have a meal fit for...ducks and hens obviously. What else were you thinking?



Ok, intermission over and it's back to Christmas with a tree made by Davey who makes a new decoration every year or two depending on how the mood takes him. I love this one with its touch of hand embroidery and tweedy squishyness.



And of course, the best of all are the ones made by your chldren aren't they? This is the angel made by my eldest son Tom almost 22 years ago when he was five - and for those of you trying to do the maths, there is almost 24 years between Tom and our youngest, Isabella. Come to that, there is four and a half years between Tom and Lauren, seven between Tom and Sam, fourteen between Tom and Lucy (eight between Sam and Lucy) and as I said, 24 between Tom and Isabella (eight between Lucy and Isabella). Add to that Dave's two gorgeous children Matty and Elias (we hate the word step-children as it suggests you are distanced from them and I most certainly am not!) and you can see maths comes hard in this house! Anyhoo, back to Tom's angel fondly known as the 'Angle' Gadriel - and yes, the 'Angle' is intended!



Back out with the Christmas cookery books and first up is Elizabeth David's classic which, though I love her writing, I do wish there were more pictures to complete the scene she sets so evocatively.



Well, I think I have rambled quite enough for one day, so will leave you to enjoy yours with a picture of the magnolia stellata buds which are forming their furry bud coverings quite nicely and reminding us that spring is not so very far away. Back next time with some more crafting, some more decorations and possibly some more christmas china too. I can feel the anticipation!



Bye for now x

Christmas Time!

Hurrah, December is here and that means decorations and twinkling fairy lights and mulled wine sipped by the fire! We start our mulled wine pot on the 1st of December and just top it up until the decorations come down. Yum. And on the subject of Christmas, here are a few more presents off the list for family and friends - dreadful photos but I was on a roll and didn't bother grabbing the tripod, etc. First up, a little mistletoe heart small enough to hang on the tree.



I have hand embroidered a serious amount of holly leaves and berries. This is a tea cosy I am making for...oops, can't say just in case. These of course are also available here along with many other gorgeous pipany gifts and decorations to solve your Christmas shopping! Yes, shameless I know, but a girl has to eat.



Next an embroidered hanging for a door or wherever. I had the idea of using the little girl that pops up frequently in my work for the business as a carol singer a while ago and finally got around to making this yesterday.



Next up is another heart this time inspired by the scarlet rosehips which grow just outside our bedroom window and bring all sorts of birds into view as we sit with our coffee pot at weekends.



So the list is shortening (she sort of lied hysterically...arghh!!! So much to do, so little time!). Time for a quick river-view break to bring back some calm before the next bit of crafting I have to show.



Move a bit closer and the beauty of these boats become so apparent doesn't it? this is the river basin right by the bridge over penryn river.



Love the range of textures you find wherever there is water.



Lovely. Now, back to the Christmassy makes and here is something I do every year: slice up some oranges, lemons, limes or whatever you have to hand.



I used up yet more of the windfalls which have still not made it into tarte tatins, but have fed ducks, hens and us in many guises. This year they will also be joining our Christmas decorations as part of the door wreaths and so on.



I threaded them onto skewers and wove these so that they hung under the oven shelves in rows (if that makes sense?). I used to dry them on trays, but this way the warm air moves around them and they dry much faster. obviously those of you with agas are onto a winner here. For the rest, leave on the lowest setting for as long as it takes to almost dry them completely - PIP'S TIP: if your oven if gas like ours, leave the door wedged slightly open as gas is moist heat and will not dry them properly. Great for baking, not so great for drying. Et voila!



Perfect little stained glass windows to hang on your tree or wreaths. Use string, wire or ribbon to hang them and add bay leaves, cinammon sticks, berries or leave plain as I tend to. Most of our decorations consist of masses of foliage from our garden and twinkly lights or candles, so this adds a lovely glow of colour to the whole.



Hmm, Tiger Lily doesn't seem so very impressed does she?



Ah well, back to the river I guess...



Or maybe not.



Well, that's my Christmassy start to December.
Have fun! x

Sooo EXCITED!

I am SO excited! Tonight I am going to the ballet with my bestest friend, Miss Looby Lou...hurrah! We are off to see the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre perform Giselle and for someone who rarely goes out this is a major cause for excitement. Add to that the sheer beauty, grace and the wonderful ethereal quality of the dance and you can tell I am just about bursting at the very thought!



Be still my beating heart. So how can I fill my hours till then? I could chop some more wood to replace the somewhat damp wood I chopped yesterday.



I could knit some more of this crazy coloured ball of wool which I am making some socks for myself with...yes, I know I said never again, but dave bought the wool and I wanted some socks and my feet are only little (size 4 to be precise).



Mind you, I'm not sure I like the effect so very much. bit like an explosion in a paint facory isn't it? I was hoping for nice neat rows of bright colour as a bit of variation to my usual soft tonal range, but typically it is too random for that. Hey ho, a change is as good and all that.



I could curl up with a slice of the cake I baked yesterday - carrot but with loads of orange zest, chopped walnuts and cinammon this time as I didn't have enough lemons for lemon cake due to the grog Dave had made - and read this wonderful, always inspirational magazine given by the sweetest of ladies. It will be posted off for dear Lauren after as it is her very favourite magazine and is really intended for her.



I will have to work on making one of these for an order to be posted today.



Or I could take a leaf out of Tiger Lily's book and snuggle down under the quilt for a snooze in a pool of warm sunlight. Hmm, yes I agree: fat chance, eh?



Ah well, no doubt plenty will fill my time until the curtain rises....aaahhhh.

Have a lovely weekend x

Focus on the Positive.

A sunny, crisp morning here today, so let's start with a cup of my current obsession: mango, orange and cinammon tea. So good that I am getting through boxes of the stuff.



No cake to offer though. This dismal sight greeted me which means baking is on the agenda I guess. What do we fancy? Lemon cake is appealing at the moment and I wonder if it is the need for bright zesty colours and enlivening tastes in these dark, wet months that suggests it to me.



I have had a quick ramble through the garden inspired by Pomona's wonderful post today. She took us on a tour of the amazing vegetables in her own plot, the leeks and cabbages and so much more. Instead of making me rue the fact that our allotment and garden haven't produced as much as we had hoped this year, Pomona's take on things made me focus on what we did gain: wonderful carrots and parsnips, spinach and potatoes, blackcurrants and gooseberries just for starters. I won't labour the point as I have recorded it all in far more detail in past posts. What I am trying to say is that instead of always feeling we could do more, I actually am pleased with all we do manage despite being so busy. We always grow a lot of our own fruit and veg, make wines, cordials and fruit gins, cook with our own produce and so what's to feel bad about? Thanks for the inspiration Pomona x



So, what did my morning ramble reveal? The papavers have sent up masses of bright green leaves that will need a covering of mulch before the icy winter sets in and bulbs are already pushing their grey-toned leaves through the soil. Irises and daffodils can be found...



and in the long forgotten greenhouse I found these runner bean plants still winding their way of the bench.



Seedlings sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli (my most favourite veg though I love them all) and cabbages struggle on despite my appalling neglect



yet it fills me with hope that there is still time to do things as nature doesn't always follow the rules either.



Still some amazing colours to be found.



Further on at the end of the garden Red the hen is finally growing back some feathers after going through the moult. She is still a shadow of her former self, but so much better and will soon come back into lay. Ever seen a hen in moult? Think bad hair day; very bad hair day!



Back in the warmth of the house and the Christmas puddings are waiting for me to put fresh covers on them and stow them away until needed. The spicy, boozy, fruity smell is so gorgeous and brightens my day very nicely.



And on the worktop sits a very pleasing pile of embroidery waiting for me to add the finishing stitches



Hopefully the sun will last and the children and I will head off in search of views such as these from yesterday after school.



So beautiful.



Bye for now x

A Bit of Food and Chat.

Goodness, wasn't that a stormy weekend? We had the works: rain, winds and sunshine too. Today is yet another wet day with skies so dark that the photos I took from Pendennis Point this morning have a strange quality, almost like paintings captured behind the glass of a frame rather than that of a lens.



I quite like the effect, though the murkiness of this one showing the need for St
Anthony's Lighthouse to gleam dully through the sheet rain gives some idea of how wild it is out there.



Despite the weather the weekend was busy with friends visiting and endless cups of tea being served. Isabella anounced she wanted to make a cake and we chose carrot as there seemed to be rather a copious amount of the orangey roots lurking about. She weighed and grated and mixed so well, I am beginning to think this little three year old has a natural knack for cooking, though maybe I am leaping ahead somewhat.



Her apron is so worn out now that an idea for a Christmas present of a cookery set consisting of cutters, tiny wooden spoon and measuring spoons - she loves using these - all wrapped together in a brand new apron, made by her Mama of course, came to mind. I made both Lucy and Isabella's original aprons about two or three Christmasses ago and am so pleased they have almost disintegrated from overuse!



In the meantime, Mr Davey made the Christmas Pudding on stir-up Sunday. We both like to do this and so take it in turns; this year was Dave's and he worked to his own recipe for a gorgeous, rich and boozily moist Figgy Pudding made with our own figs preserved in sugar earlier this year.



We phoned all the children who weren't here so that they could make their wishes while we phoned (though we are still trying to get hold of one of the seven!).



Golly, this is a food-heavy post (just for a change), but food is something very important to us as a family. The chance to cook together or chat around the table is something Dave and I really enjoy, always eating with the children unless there really is something that stops it. I hope this will pass on to the youngest three the nurturing side of sharing food and they will have the same fond memories of these mealtimes that the older children have, often coming out with funny stories of things that happened long, long ago now at meals which have long passed into the realms of time. I know it sounds cliched to say, but surely that is what it's all about, this often hard, often exhausting and frequently worrying thing of being a parent? Well, that's what I think anyway, though don't quote me when tiredness turns me into a screeching harridan of course! Note those shadows under my bleary eyes in the picture below...says it all I think, don't you!



On that note I must be off to work and stop frittering the time away. Bit tired and unfocused, but sure it will all come together int he end. I will leave you with a final boat picture



or two and an apology for my haphazard rambling of today.



Have a good Monday x

Wet, Wild and Windy.

The wind is howling, buffeting against the house with such force that it occasionally shakes from the onslaught. Rain pelts down turning the duckpond into a giant murky puddle where leaves surface only to be swooshed down once more as yet another heavy cloudful is thrown upon them. How different to yesterday, a day of sunshine and blue skies. Granny-mother and I took the two girls out for an afternoon trip to the beach to see if the breezy day would blow away the last of the poorliness, a need for fresh air after being shut inside for much of the week.



We grabbed some sweet cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices as well as somwe of the apple and sultana buns made earlier in the week from Lucy's very own recipe.



Our little waterbaby did her usual, stripping off tights and shoes to paddle her feet in the icy water. The tremendous winds of late have stripped much of the beach of sand leaving a rocky landscape we barely recognise. No doubt a change in wind direction will see its return some time soon as is usual at this time of year, but for now it is a lunar landscape most unfamiliar to the girls, but to be explored nonetheless.



Lucy sat mermaid-like on a rock to read her book which she is so enjoying that she whips it out at any and every possible moment to lose herself in its pages once more.



And Isabella hoisted the skirts of her ladybird outfit which she had been wearing for the day. Such a sweet sight to see a brightly clad ladybird skittering surefooted over the rocks complete with snug winter coat over the top!



At last the chill began to descend as the afternoon moved on and we headed to Granny-mother's for warm drinks and cake. Home once more, the girls played quietly, exhausted by their windy outing and I retreated to the kitchne to turn some windfall apples and the squash grown on our allotment into spicy chutney. I love chutney making as it takes me back to when I was a child, the smell drifting through the kitchen as my Mum did the same.



Such gorgeous colours



I intend to cosy up by the fire now and complete some Noel Christmas Tea Cosies ready for next week's orders. A lovely thing to be making on such a miserable dday.



Have a lovely weekend xx