Easy breezy

It’s been a weekend of windy sunshine and doing just what we fancy.

Yesterday, Tom and I treated ourselves to brunch at a favourite cafe and spent the afternoon on a longer-than-anticipated walk across Yaverland and Bembridge Down.

Today, with tired legs and heavy rain outside, we had the perfect lazy Sunday, filled with knitting, baking and reading.

This pattern from Kate is proving great fun, much faster and simpler than the initial five-page pattern had me fearing. Its got me picking up my knitting far more often than I have done for months and I’m enjoying watching its fast progress.

I’ve found a banana bread recipe (adapted from Hummingbird Bakery) that Tom seems to love. Home-baked goodies in a weekday lunchbox remind me of being a kid and always go down better than the Kit-Kats we settle on when I fail to bake.

I’ve taken my time reading Roger Deakin’s Wildwood. This morning I was transported to the wild walnut forests of Kyrgyzstan and this afternoon I was lost in the blackthorn and crab apple of English hedgerows.

It’s easy breezy weekends like this that make that early Monday morning start a little easier.

Chichester stitches

I’ve spent this sunny afternoon sitting in the garden and mulling over these new fabrics, found yesterday at the eternal maker. I travelled up to Chichester to visit my friend Kate, who introduced me to this treasure trove of fabric, buttons and trim.

I have often bemoaned the lack of any really great fabric shops in this country. Very Berry did a marvellous job, posting this comprehensive list of fabric sites online, but I still missed the inspiration of wandering through a place, touching the fabrics, and flicking through patterns. Whenever I visit Fabric Temptations, in my Grama’s home town I end up having to buy a larger suitcase for the journey back to England. So, you can appreciate my delight in finding a real-live bricks and mortar fabric shop (relatively) close to home!

The eternal maker could have claimed commission from Kate’s three-year-old daughter who led me round the place with delight and excitement in every button, zip and ribbon. We marvelled at the robot quilts, butterfly buttons and felt-sewn garden tools. Stacks of gorgeous fabrics fill this building, including Japanese prints in rich colours and thick cotton. I refrained from any big spending, but couldn’t resist these few bright prints, to add to the ever-growing list of Things To Make Next.

Pencils please!

Last year I gave Tom this pencil case for his birthday. I’m pleased to see it get plenty of use, and find myself regularly pinching things from it.

There is no doubt, a pencil case is a useful thing, and yet for years I’ve languished in a muddled mess of digging around in the bottom of bags or sheepishly borrowing biros from strangers. For someone with a long-standing love of all things pencil&paper, I have a funny way of showing it. Today, with rain clouds looming, and every excuse to stay indoors, I set about remedying my state of inky limbo.

This was made thanks to another easy pattern courtesy of design*sponge. Honestly, it took me longer to uncover my sewing machine from the mess of my desk than it did to stitch this up. I now have renewed vows to keep the study tidy so that I spend more time stitching and making, than clearing and tidying.

Tomorrow I’m headed outside. Sunshine is promised and Tom and I have had the map spread out on the floor, planning long routes and pub stops. The camera will be packed, along with plenty to eat. And maybe this time I’ll take some pencils too.

Little Ones

Several of my friends have had babies recently, so I’ve been busy making newborn knits. I love this pattern. It is quick to knit up, perfect for using leftover yarn, and simple enough to knit+chat (I’m generally very bad at multi-tasking.) I’m excited to send off my little packages tomorrow. I just hope they fit the intended heads!

On the subject..

I think this is the most beautiful nursery, especially the reading corner.

And, I love this big brother letter to baby.

Allotment Absentees

Last weekend my neighbour (and fellow allotmenteer) popped his head over the garden wall to to ask the dreaded question: “How’s the allotment going?” He informs me that I should be digging up ground, and planting broad beans. But, with ground like this, we’ve had every reason not to..

It was a beautiful, frosty morning down on the allotment today, but the ground was far too hard to dig. The fact that we were the only people down there gave us a little hint that today is not the day for allotmenteering.

And with winter walks, homemade projects and bitter cold, we’ve found plenty to distract us from the serious business of vegetables.

Allotment plans on hold, we wandered through Northwood Park, for some serious tree appreciation. Tom pointed out the London Plane, the Lebanese Cedar, the Turkey Oak, and the Robin Hood Oak. (The latter name being our own invention.) The texture of the bark, the way they spread their canopy, the various occupants; trees are pretty inspiring.