Snow Days

It's been a snowy few days in Surrey. School was (predictably) cancelled on Friday which was handy as we had a teenager at home to do the shovelling!

It's not so bad now as we finally gave in and bought a 4x4 a few years ago, as we didn't used to be on any kind of grit route and it was at times pretty challenging to get out of the village at all, and that's before you dealt with the  bad weather lunatics ( the ones who won't slow down even when there is no visible tarmac). Now we are back on the gritting list and so we are one of those semi-rural families driving found in a 4x4 for no apparent reason! All I can say is that it made sense at the time. At least it's only a very small one.

Pippin enjoying a snowy walk through the woods. She's not so keen on the white stuff now she is getting on a bit, but will still fool around given enough encouragement!

Bleak and wintry views across the fields (yes, we do have fields in Surrey). I did read somewhere that we are Englands most wooded county - which I do find a bit hard to believe but who am I to argue? Fingers crossed that these don't get built on in the next few years with the push to stimulate the building industry. A few months ago I did see a very rare smooth snake near the stream in the picture - shame i didn't have a camera to capture the evidence of the endangered species. I'm not too snake-aphobic but this thing was huge! Way bigger than a grass snake, it took quite some time to uncoil and slither into the water.

I've been busy baking as a full cake tin is essential to avoid the risk of civil unrest. This week I have re-discovered Delia Online and have been inspired to try her Sticky Tea Bread:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/cakes/sticky-tea-bread.html

It's a bit flat compared to Delia's as I don't have the right size tin - but the up side was that it cooked in half the time and still tastes great. I'll happily sacrifice aesthetics to save the planet. Today we are having Menu of the Month for January - the Braised Pork with Prunes is simmering in the poor woman's aga as I watch the snow falling. It's a great site - she must be really busy ! What's on your menu in snowy weather?

Happy New Year!

I've had a busy few weeks with my curtain making micro business and preparing for Christmas. The last week of cocooning ourselves for a family holiday has been wonderful - lots of good food and drink, walks with the dog and the decadence of watching films in the afternoon.

There has been little time for "leisure sewing" so I haven't completed many projects for myself (of which I have a predictable backlog). It doesn't seem right to blog about my client projects - a bit of an invasion of privacy, so a busy period for Absolutely Frilling means a lack of anything to write about here! I did manage to squeeze in this small hanging heart with a free-motion applique / embroidery. I've never actually made one of these little padded heart shape decorations before so I accidentally chose the most awkward elongated template for sewing and stuffing. Next time it will definitely be a rounder heart shape with smaller "lobes" as this one does remind me a bit of one of those V shape nursing pillows!

Wishing  a happy, healthy and peaceful 2013 to all,

Rebecca

Page by Kim Hargreaves

I've been busy with various projects lately, including finishing my Page chunky edge to edge jacket, pattern by Kim Hargreaves. Kim is one one of my favorite knitting pattern designers as her designs actually seem wearable by a normal person (!) and they really do resemble the pattern photo when finished. Here's Rachel modelling it in the spare room, she's not looking her best as I hastily dragged her across the landing and only noticed that she wasn't quite on her stand straight when I was half way through taking the photos! I can't take  her downstairs for modelling duty any more as she upsets the dog. And I mean really upsets the dog, in a full-on hackles up, death stalking, kind of way. Not surprising really as she probably does look a bit like an evil headless alien from Doctor Who, from a labrador's point of view. Good to know she's got our security at the top her agenda, should we be invaded by malicious dress forms.

Anyway, back to Page. I knitted it in Rowan Drift, the pattern is for Big Wool but there wasn't a shade I fancied so I improvised. The only downside to this is that I think it may have lost some of the stitch definition due to the marled yarn, a bit of a pity as I found it quite a tricky pattern to follow.

I think the scallop pattern would have had more of an impact in the plain yarn, but it is better in real life than I have managed to capture in the photo. The only other change I made was to add about an inch to the length, as I'm taller than average and don't like a cold midriff (old age?).

The pattern photo in the book shows it belted , I'm not sure about the whole belts- round - cardis thing as I'm too much of a fidget. I'm sure it would never stay put.

Back view. I have some very strange camera angles today, I'm really not shaped like the Incredible Hulk! Definitely more bottom heavy.

I think I'm going to try it belted to start with, adding a press-stud and a decorative button in a week or two if I can't cope!

Any second opinions on the belting / buttoning issue would be gratefully received. I live with a husband and teenage son - frankly I may as well ask the cat!

1970's Ercol Table Restoration

The end of summer always motivates me to get on with those projects that need to be done outside before the weather turns. I decided to make the most of the dry but chilly weather last week to revamp our dining room table.

This is the table that I grew up with. My parents bought it when I was about 3 in the 70's, so that dates both me and the table! It's an Ercol table and I think it's made of elm.  When we set up home we inherited numerous bits of old furniture from both sides of the family - including a sofa that had been stored in a barn (I'm sure it had things living in it) and a washing machine whose party piece was to fill itself with water and then attempt full spin with disastrous consequences.

I've been reluctant to re-furbish my table as I've always rather liked it's battle scars. I did cutting and gluing on here, as did our son years later, the family meals, the Christmases, the list goes on.  However, over the last couple of years it had started to age in a much less attractive way ( I know the feeling). What little polish that remained was turning orange and this combined with the bare wood wasn't very appealing.

So into the garden we went for a good sand down. I used a Mouse for the main surface and did the curved edges by hand. In the interests of thriftyness I chose to finish it with a tin of beeswax polish that had been lurking in the garage for some time. There's a knack to applying beeswax, as I found out. You have to be methodical and not only apply it in the direction of the grain but also polish it to a shine in  the direction of the grain. It's important not to resort to circular polishing like a mad woman ( my preferred technique), unless you want a "smeary window" effect.

Almost done, just needs a final polish:

I decided to leave the table legs in the authentic vintage condition. Partly to save a whole load of effort and partly to preserve the patina of age.They are a library of puppy teeth marks inflicted by all the family pets over the years. The monster in the picture above was possibly the most destructive of the lot - she even managed to detach and eat the knob off mum's washing machine! How do they do it? Nothing is safe or out of reach from a labrador pup.

The finished article.

Hitting 40 and looking fab. Wonder if I can get myself "re-surfaced" to match?

Olympic Bike Race

It has been hard not to notice that some sporting event is going on around here at the moment. I'm a bit on the cynical side regarding the whole Olympic organisation, but as I was pleasantly surprised by the opening ceremony ( I was expecting something far more glitzy and superficial, still can't believe that was really the Queen) I decided to join the rest of the family with a train ride over to Gomshall to watch the men's road race last Saturday.

The trains were absolutely packed so we were surprised to find that an hour or so before the race was due to pass through there was plenty of kerb space available for a good view.

Sleepy Gomshall 

We passed the time with a takeaway coffee from a nearby tearoom and enjoyed the sunshine. The atmosphere really got going as every train arriving at the little station brought a new batch of spectators. Everyone was chatting to their neighbours on the kerbside, even though they were strangers, which really added to the carnival feeling. The police seemed to be having the time of their lives whipping through on their bikes waving at the crowds.

Warm-up Act

Finally, the race reached us. It was all quite a blur and I think they were just cruising through and warming up on the way to Box Hill at this point.

The Main Bunch, Chilling and Enjoying Snacks

One of these riders is eating what looks like a brioche. Now that's what I call multi-tasking!

Hopefully Mr Wiggins

Finally, in a patriotic fervour - two riders from Team GB. I'm claiming that one of them is Bradley Wiggins, although it's hard to pick out their numbers.

It was a great morning out,no ticket required, lots of excitement and still back home in time to watch the rest of the race.

Loseley Park Food Fair

I'm a bit behind with blogging as usual, but I'm determined to record the best bits of the summer so that in the cold, dark days of next winter (which I think may have already started!)  we have got something to look back on. Last weekend we had a lovely afternoon out at the Loseley Park Food Fair. There were lots of foods available to sample and some interesting things to see, like this patriotic little steam engine. The house and walled garden were being used for a wedding, so a tour of those will have to wait for another day.

We tasted our way around the event, fortunately teenage son did not accompany us, so a locust-like attack on the samples was averted. Here are some of the things we took home:

On the left are some multi-purpose chilli based sauces from chancham .These really taste fresh and have a range of influences and "spicy-ness". They are also good value as they are really concentrated - we used about a quarter of a bottle to make a really delicious vegetable stir fry for two.

The elderflower cordial and preserves on the right were made by Debbie of "Debbie's Homemade Preserves" in her very own kitchen. I'm all for a bit of a dabble in the dark art of chutney making, but hats off to anyone who can juggle three preserving pans simultaneously! Even the thought of sterilising that many jars makes me feel stressed out. To top it all, I think she had one of the prettiest stands at the fair. Very inspirational.

Finally we chatted to a very friendly lady from "Made in Provence"   who sell handmade specialities and gifts from Mont Ventoux. ( madeinprovence ) Another beautiful stand, it was so difficult to choose, but I finally plumped for handmade soaps.

Overall, the Food Fair was a good afternoon out - and a rare sunny afternoon this summer!

Quilts and Roses

As part of my transition from engineering career to a more "normal" lifestyle one of the things on my "to do list" is to make time for socialising (ie I need to get out more!). To this end I am attempting to join a local quilt group. I say "attempting" as my attendance record has been a bit patchy so far as something always seems to crop up on quilt night. Last month it was a sixth form taster evening. This is where the school sell their sixth form to the parents of prospective pupils. I thought you just went to the nearest one ( especially if it's attached to the school you are already at), but obviously I am quite naive.

Anyway, I  was interested to see what kind of things my new quilting group get up to by visiting their exhibition this weekend. They are clearly a very talented bunch, all the quilts were stunning, but here are a few personal favourites.

This quilt is made entirely of Liberty fabrics, the prints were beautiful close up.

I loved this one. It is made up of heart shapes appliqued on to individual squares of the background fabrics ( a variety of small scale ivory prints). I feel quite inspired by this as it would be great way to use some of the  vintage fabrics I've been collecting.

This was another favourite. It's a clever twist on log cabin (I can do that - hurrah!) and is in shades of taupe and raspberry which haven't been done justice in my photograph.

There was also a rose show next door. I've never been to a flower show before but I loved the way some of the roses were displayed.

These reminded me of a box of chocolates:

A bowl full of roses:

Way beyond my flower arranging skills:

It was our son's birthday on Sunday and as a special treat we all got to experience watching England getting knocked out of yet another football tournament! Part of growing up is accepting that England will never again win a cup and will always lose a penalty shoot out. We can all put the flags away now.....

 

May Garden Tour

I've been too busy making curtains and building my website for blogging lately, but I couldn't resist just putting up a few snaps of our garden as it's full to overflowing with colour at the moment. These are my favourite geums and masses of self-seeded aquilegia.

My rose arch in the background, temporarily upstaged by a whole load of early bloomers. It takes some time and a fair bit of calculated neglect to create a garden as messy as this!

Down the garden path, past the barbecue and under the pergola to the back door. What a shame it's a scruffy old UPVC one - I'd really like a wooden stable door. I can dream, dreaming is free.

A bit of utility. Hopefully tomatoes to pick soon.

Some of the wisteria growing around our front door. It smells amazing at the moment and it's also really noisy with the constant hum of bees.

I love roses, especially the old fashioned sort. This is the first to flower. I never spray my roses so the leaves always look a bit tatty by the end of the summer, but they are as tough as old boots and don't seem to mind missing out on chemical pampering.

Finally, Romeo and Juliet, looking suitably romantic.

A Different Kind of Sowing

I pushed ahead with some seed sowing a few weeks ago, optimistically thinking that spring was just about to arrive. The tomatoes and chillies were started off on my kitchen windowsill, as my greenhouse is unheated. I've found that I have to sow chillies early to get a good crop before the weather turns cold again (usually in August!). I didn't bargain on this foul spring weather and although the tomatoes look ok the chillies are stunted and decidedly too chilly. I'm not holding out much hope for chilli jam this year.

These are dwarf zinnias that I sometimes grow to put in an old tin bath as an alternative to geraniums from the garden centre. It has to be a lot less plant miles to grow your own and disposing of the polystyrene packaging they are usually sold in doesn't seem that green either. Sadly the zinnias are also suffering from the cold and are now relieved to be back in the kitchen for a holiday.

Nature has been doing a good job of sowing seeds despite the cold and wet.

These are self sown forget-me-nots running riot in the bed I usually use for growing annual flowers for cutting. At least they keep the other less attractive weeds under control!

We also have bluebells which I didn't plant, I assume they must have been spread by birds?

I think they are the Spanish import type not the native English ones, but I'll let them off as they are still so pretty.

The Cirlce of Life

Sadly my father-in -law passed away at the beginning of April after suffering with leukaemia for some time. My dad died of the same wretched disease when I was barely out of university and setting sail for my adult life. Watching someone else eaten away by the same disease has brought back all the same feelings of anxiety - of how fragile life is - and how we should value those closest to us and live for today - something I have always struggled to do.