Greetings at Easter

Sending greetings via the Easter Bunny to all my visitors.

Embroidered London Landmarks

Lured into the thrift shop again ....

.... and found these rather eye-catching embroideries of two famous London landmarks.

They were framed, about 13" x 11" and cost £1 each.   That's about $1.50.   So you can see I would be in two minds about investing!   Doesn't it seem a shame that they were discarded by someone?

The embroideries were covered in what I think are known as 'thunder flies'.  Those teeny black specks of wildlife, who, every summer, round up a couple of hundred chums, set up camp under the glass of your pictures and then die there.   So I took the frames apart and gave the fabric a gentle dusting off and had a good close look at the embroidery.

The stitching really does convey the impression that the edifices were sketched in pastels or charcoal.   Though the linen is really a light grey colour, my photos taken on a dull dull day don't do the work justice.

Now I'm thinking:  do I clean up the glazing and frames and pop them back in to protect them, or shall I perhaps make a couple of cushions, with the embroideries as an appliqued panel, and maybe risk getting the stitches snagged?   We haven't got any clawed and furry friends in the house, so they wouldn't be exposed to any rough-and-tumble.  

So, blogfriends, what's your advice?   Any shy lurkers like to offer an opinion?  Ooooh, go on! 

wild violets (yum-yum)

Lots of these growing like weeds in my garden + a beautiful photo in the weekend newspaper meant I just had to make the cake.  

The delightful directions for making the crystallised flowers states that all you need is "a quiet hour and a bit of patience".   I remember years ago Shirley Conran ('Superwoman')announced that life was too short to stuff a mushroom.   So I did wonder if devoting one's time to painting the tiny petals of a wild violet with beaten egg white was a sensible use of a real person's time.  

Particularly one who was actually meant to be painting the bathroom walls.

Yeah ...... of course it is!

And, do you know, crystallised violets taste of, well, violets.

Hope you're having a great weekend,

whatever you're doing!

Rush Matters

The wonderful woman in this photograph is Felicity Irons who owns RushMatters based in a village not far from where I live.   The picture jumped out of the latest Country Living magazine and then I saw it too in the Telegraph supplement a couple of weeks ago.    It's from a new book, a collaboration between County Living photographer Andrew Montgomery and designer Jasper Conran, which depicts "the countryside of today in all its fascinating diversity".  ('Country', published by Conran Octopus £50, or £40 to CL readers.)

Every summer, Felicity spends long days out in her punt harvesting rushes along the River Ouse in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire and the Nene in neighbouring Northamptonshire.   The rushes are brought  back to the drying fields to let the sun and wind remove the moisture and a wonderful range of shades is produced naturally as a result.   When they are dry, the rushes are gathered into bolts and stored in her 13th century timber barn.

Which is where I saw them when I went to buy some for an autumn display in our village.   There was something magical and enchanting about the barn, surrounded by fields and ponds and wild flowers.  Felicity's workshop next door is full of rushes in various stages of production - matting, hats, chair seats, log baskets and, hanging from the ceiling, rope upon rope of rush plaits.   And the aroma!   Love at first sniff, for me.

So I was overjoyed when I discovered that Felicity offered workshops and got myself (and Richard) signed up pronto.    I had done a bit of table-mat and waste-paper-basket making with rushes years ago at a local evening class, so I thought I had a fair idea of what I was letting myself in for.    I have to say that although we had a weekend of fun and laughter, fantastic lunches and mountains of home-made cake, Felicity stands for no nonsense.  I was actually made to go and work on my own in a corner by Sunday afternoon because I was offering Richard some much-needed guidance about the construction of his basket.  In a "look, that's not how you do it, give it here" kind of way.  

Felicity's instruction was patient and painstaking and everyone was guided kindly through their chosen projects.   One of the most abiding memories is Felicity's adherence to the highest of standards - nothing leaves her workshop to be sold unless she is completely and utterly satisfied that it could not be done any better.   She has such an understanding that things must be good value, whatever their price. 

I ought to make it clear that the photos are of the things I made during the workshop - not Felicity's own work!

See you again soon!

Bye-bye bunnies!

Bluebell and Flora are a bit dizzy today.   First they were whizzed off to my Etsy shop and before they knew it they were in a big aeroplane on their way to a lovely new home in Massacheusetts.   No time to pack their bags or say goodbye to Brunhilde and Grayson, who are still dozing in their hamper.   Perhaps I've got time to make them some new friends before their sleepyheads are properly awake.

Can't stop using that little birdie stamp!!

Hope your week's going well?

Bunny Boiler

boiled sweaters make lovely bunnies!

old cutter tablecloth

shrunken cashmere

daisy eyes

lovely lambswool

all bunnies together!

Happy Monday!

Save water, bath with a friend

"Madge, old girl, this isn't really working for me, you're leaning on my head!"

"OK, I'll get up and move around a bit and you get your head sorted out"

"Well, Hilda, I'm afraid that didn't really work - now my head's buried and my tail's sticking out"

"Anyone need any help here?"

Peace at last!

Hope you all have a peaceful weekend, whatever you're doing!