goodbye september

October tomorrow.  Is it me or does September seem to have just flown by.  We have had a really busy month.

  

The start of the new school year, a broken arm, lovely family days out and returning to my upholstery course along with the everyday things which have been happening as well.

September has been fun but I am looking forward to October.

The school pickups will be in sync from now on.  I won't be constantly running in and out so I might have some chance of actually completing some crafting and cleaning and organising and decorating.  The list goes on and on.

I wanted to say a big thank you to all of you lovelies who sent my little man get well wishes when he broke his arm.  He is really well now.  His cast has been removed and he is 'all better', to quote the patient.

Our biggest problem now is trying to keep a very bouncy active little boy in a rather more subdued state for the next while to prevent further injury.  Not easy.

The photos are a little random.  They are of our vegetable plot this summer.  We were very pleased with our bounty considering neither of us has any real clue what we were doing.

We have wisely invested in some books to help us next year.

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My Mollie Makes project will appear here soon, a little behind schedule.

Wishing you all a lovely October.

spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup

Autumn has arrived and there is a definite nip in the air.  Perfect weather for a warming bowl of soup.

We love this spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup and it has already been enjoyed twice in the last week accompanied with some lovely soda bread.

It is my own recipe created from a bit of this and a bit of that.  The quantity below serves four but in my usual style I alter quantities to suit how many are eating.   I think soups are very forgiving, more liquid or vegetables can be added as needed.

spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup

ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 medium butternut squash, chopped

3 medium sweet potatoes, chopped

half teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala

ground black pepper

800ml of stock, chicken or vegetable

chives and creme fraiche to serve

method

Heat olive oil in large saucepan and add the onion and garlic

Cook gently until soft and not coloured 

Add all the spices and black pepper and cook for a minute or two

Add in the squash and sweet potato and allow to soften for 5 minutes

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil

Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through

Blend the soup until smooth

Add chopped chives and creme fraiche if liked

Serve with some lovely bread or scones.  This soup is delicious after a walk and is a great way to warm up when you come in from the cold.

You may have noticed I didn't include salt in the recipe.  I find the stock provides enough salt for us but feel free to add it or more or different spices. Soup is a great food, really anything goes when making it.

Hope you are all having a lovely week and that it isn't too wet where you are.

chair addiction

My name is Bee and I have a chair addiction.

I attended an upholstery class last year in my spare time, (spare time, what a laugh) and so can often be found staring longingly at chairs of all shapes and sizes.  More than a little weird, I know.

I have a penchant for armchairs and love so many different styles.  Although I have a particular love for chairs from the 1950's and 1960's and don't get me started on all the beautiful fabrics.

I particularly love the work of flourish and blume.  Well worth a look if you too like chairs and enjoy rescuing sad, unloved furniture.  Here is a little peep at a few of their transformations.

source: flourish and blume



source: flourish and blume

source: flourish and blume

Amazing, don't you think?

I am returning to the class this week and am pleased to meet up with friends who share my addiction and where I don't have to hide my effusive admiration for all manner of seating and I am bursting to get stuck into a new project.

I will keep you updated with my antics.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and that you are looking forward to autumn and all the season brings now that the equinox has passed.

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Just to let you know.  I have added a Bloglovin button to the sidebar for those of you who like to use it for your blog reading.

advent swap

Just a quickie.  I wanted to let you know about a swap I signed up to last week.  It had slipped my mind until just now. It might interest some of you lovelies.

The Advent Swap 2012 is being organised by Lynda from Hookin with LaaLaa.

The idea of the swap is that you buy, make, thrift or share twenty-four little gifts with your partner to open each day of advent until christmas and one larger present to open on christmas morning.

It sounds like a lot of fun.  You can still join in, the closing date is tomorrow, 20th September 2012.

That's all folks.

september weekend

This weekend, we enjoyed the sunny weather and went for a walk at our local national trust property Florence Court House and Gardens.

It's one of our all time favourite places to go.  The wee ones know every path, tree and stream in the grounds.

And they have an absolute ball running through the garden and forest walks.

We stopped off at a little stream to make a wish,

and said hello to the gargoyle.

After some time in the playground it was off home for tea, a bath and stories before bed.

Heaven, three little ones cuddled into bed.  Relaxed and happy for the week to come.

I have been getting crafty over the weekend too, adding a few more rounds to my granny square blanket. Very slowly I must admit owing to a sore elbow which is limiting me to short bursts now and again.  It's seriously messing up my hooking time.

Oh and on the subject of time, I can't quite believe how long it takes to complete a single round of my blanket at the minute.  I am in awe of the giant crochet throws and blankets I have been drooling over in blogland.

I've also started on my Mollie Makes project for this month and will reveal all here soon.

And I have been reading The Simple Things magazine.  It seems like my kind of magazine with some lovely crafts, food, homes and gardening articles.  It also has the bonus that Mr F has been enjoying it as well. There seems to be enough content to satisfy both genders.

I'm off now to catch up on a mountain of housework.  I never seem to get anything done at the weekend. Does anyone else have the same problem?

etsy love

A few of my rabbit themed etsy favourites,

scandinavian softie toy bunny from Jane Foster,

bunny and chick needle felting kit from Hanami Boutique,

and blue grey hares print from Dee Beale.

I have ordered the needle felting kit.  I had a go at needle felting at a workshop earlier this year and the bunny kit was too cute to resist.

Have any of you lovelies tried needlefelting?

a big thank you

The postman delivered a lovely parcel in the post yesterday afternoon.  I was a little puzzled as I couldn't remember ordering anything recently.  Then, I noticed the rosiebulldesigns sticker on the package.  How exciting.

I opened the parcel to find wrapped up in pink tissue paper the beautiful bag I won in Gina's recent giveaway.  I am winging a big thank you to you, Gina.  The bag is truly gorgeous and so beautifully made.

I am so thrilled that if you were here, Gina I would make you one of these.

A very decadent millefeuille pastry from Lorraine Pascale's recipe.  I know you're a fan.

Freestyling as usual, I altered the millefeuille slightly, making a vanilla flavoured cream and using some luscious strawberry jam and a few fresh strawberries between the layers.

So wicked, but what the heck, it's the weekend.

Wishing you all a lovely Friday and a wonderful weekend.

little monster

In light of current events and a certain someone's little accident, this bad mummy decided it was about time she made her littlest man his monster softie. He had waited long enough.  Over the summer, it had sadly gone on the long finger, in fact the longest finger there's ever been.

So to put things right and so that he had another friend, a monster of his own to give him get well hugs I made Mac.

A little buddy for Zog and a significantly lighter guilty conscience for me.

 I'm not sure what they're looking so puzzled about though. 

patchwork bunny rabbit

Meet Blossom the bunny, inspired by the front cover of Nuigurumi Style, a Japanese craft book.

My little fairy loves rabbits, a love born from watching the rabbits and hares which frequent our garden early in the morning.  So I decided to make her a little rabbit soft toy.

I like to think that she has an affinity with bunnies as she was an Easter baby. Anyway, she seems to quite like her new friend.

To make Blossom, I used the picture on the cover of Nuigurumi Style as inspiration.  I don't own a copy of the book but found it through Flickr.  I presume it is written in Japanese meaning it would be imposssible for me to understand.   I studied French and Spanish at school but strangely Japanese never made the curriculum.

 

Nuigurumi Style, a photo by nataliezdrieu on flickr.

I used some linen I have in my stash along with some lecien fabric scraps.  I pieced the scraps together in strips.  The back and front don't match but I don't think it really matters.  I like the way the coloured fabrics look like a little dress.

The picture on the front of the book shows little buttons added but as my fairy is only two I decided not to add any, although I think a collar of some sort may be pretty.  Maybe felt or ribbon.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and maybe a crafty Saturday.



lemon drizzle cake

I baked lemon drizzle cake last night as a special treat for my little boy.  He had a bad fall on Tuesday evening while playing football in the garden with his daddy and big brother.

A trip to A&E revealed that he has broken his arm close to the elbow.  He will be in a cast from his shoulder to his hand for the next six weeks.

He was exceptionally brave throughout the whole thing despite being only four years old and more than a little scared of hospitals.  His main concern was whether he would still be able to go to school.

So you see, my brave little man really deserved this treat.  I have included the recipe if anyone fancies trying it.

lemon drizzle cake

ingredients

155g self-raising flour

130g caster sugar

25g soft brown sugar

155g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

zest and juice of 1 lemon

for the drizzle

40g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

method

Preheat the oven to 180 

Grease a 1lb loaf tin and line with baking paper

Cream the butter and sugar using an electric whisk until light and fluffy

Gradually add the eggs a little at a time beating into the mixture

Sift the remaining dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix into wet ingredients

When combined add the zest and juice of the lemon and mix in

Pour the cake mixture into the loaf tin and cook for 35-40 minutes until golden brown

When fully baked the cake should be firm to the touch and an inserted skewer will come out clean

While the cake is cooking, mix the sugar and lemon juice together to make the drizzle

When cooked allow the cake to cool completely in the tin

Once cool, prick all over with a skewer and pour the drizzle over the top

Boil the kettle, make a cup of tea and enjoy a lovely big slice.

With the happenings around here, there's no chance any of us will ever forget his first week at school.  We are hoping for a speedy recovery.

back to school

The little ones went to school for the start of the new school year today.  We had two very excited little boys here this morning.  One bursting with excitement to see all his friends again and the other desperate to see what all the excitement was about.

They looked so cute in their new uniforms, shiny new shoes and schoolbags that always seem slightly too big.

Thankfully, they both had a great day.  The littlest finished up early and will continue to do so for the month of September, easing them in gently.  The second changed classroom and teacher and is full of beans about all the fun things he will be doing this year.

I am so pleased that school is the fun place it is now.  I always loved school but I know that others were not so lucky.  Times and attitudes have changed and teachers are so wonderful now, it seems that most little ones really enjoy their first experience of school.  Here's hoping the enthusiasm continues.

And on the home front, I should have started the cleaning I had promised myself would be top priority but instead I wandered around the garden taking photos of wildflowers and my apple tree.  I can't quite believe it has produced apples the same year we planted it.  I snuggled with the little fairy, perused my new copy of Mollie Makes and drank copious amounts of tea.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

goodbye august

It's September tomorrow.  Autumn is nearly here and I am just a little delighted.  We have had a wonderful summer of fun despite the questionable weather.  Now there is much excitement in our house as school starts again on Monday.

Our first boy is starting year 3 in primary school and Monday will be my second little boy's first day at school.  I am amazed at how the years fly by and how quickly the little ones grow up.

There is a lovely newness in the air.  New uniforms, shoes, schoolbags and books.  It brings back lovely memories of when I was little and looking forward to returning to school.  I loved nothing more than a new pencil case filled to the brim with pencils and pens.

I must admit I have never got over my love of a new notebook.  I have many stored in drawers, occasionally taken out and admired.  My problem is I think my handwriting somehow defaces the lovely new book.  I think I may need help.  I really must start using them.

The little fairy and I will have the opportunity for some one on one time when the boys are at school.  Time for baking, crafting and reading, just a few of our favourite things.

Hope you all have a lovely autumn and enjoy all the good things the change of season brings.

Oh hello too, to my newest followers.  It's lovely to hear from you.  Thanks so much for visiting.

baking days

Baking update.  Brownies from The Primrose Bakery Book.  So delicious.

Sweet, sticky, delicious, need i say more.

A lovely brownie on a pretty little plate for me.  Hope you are all having a lovely start to the week.

primrose bakery book

Our postman arrived this morning with a parcel containing this little gem, The Primrose Bakery Book.

I can feel the urge to bake coming on.  Just look at that carrot cake.  Doesn't it look delicious.

Green tea cupcakes.  So pretty.

And those biscuits.  Could biscuits be any lovelier?

Sadly I think most of these masterpieces are a little beyond my current baking skillset.  However a girl can dream.

A little wildflower arrangement created by my eldest boy.  Can you see the little stones in the bottom? He informed me he knew I would think they were pretty.  I have a bit of a thing for stones, a little weird, I know.  Anyway, wishing you all a lovely bank holiday weekend. 

mollie makes: august

Well here goes.  My first Mollie Makes project reveal.  Teeny tiny bunting on a top for my little fairy.

After flicking through the August issue of Mollie Makes I decided to try the mini bunting.  As you can see I used the tutorial as inspiration, choosing triangular bunting and a little top instead of the skirt.  

I won't even attempt to regurgitate the tutorial but here is a little of the process.  I chose the fabric and decided on template size for the little triangles.

I cut them, stacked up with my rotary cutter and sewed them up.  I added bias binding, a narrow satin type I had in my stash.

I decided to hand sew this part as the bunting is so small it was a bit of a faff with the sewing machine.  I also liked that you could have invisible stitches along the tape.  Then I stitched it onto the top, a basic little long sleeved cotton t-shirt.

And now the before and after.

I enjoyed completing this project although i'm not really sure if i would do it again.  The bunting was a little fiddly.  I will sticking to larger scale versions for draping gaily around the house.

I have ear-marked a few other projects I would like to give a whirl.  When my crochet skills improve I wouldn't mind trying the star garland.  It would make a cute festive decoration.

And I will definitely be giving stamp carving a go.  It's been on my to-do list for quite a while.

Did any of you make anything lovely from issue seventeen? 

chilling out

Just spent a lovely relaxed weekend, chilling out, going to the park,

making lion and 

tiger pictures,

picking home grown beetroot to make some rather yummy beetroot and goats cheese risotto and

working on my Molllie Makes pledge.  Here's a little peek at what I chose to make. I'm hoping to show you all later in the week.

My chill out plan was hatched because I was getting a little stressed about the mess around here.  So rather than spend the next two weeks before school starts doing my nut, I have decided for the sake of sanity to let standards slip just a little until routine returns.  I think it will mean a happy vibe around here.

Also receiving the Liebster award was really great but the most exciting thing about it has been finding so many more amazing blogs.  Lots of lovely new reading for my blog roll.

a lovely award

After receiving a lovely message, I was delighted to be awarded the Liebster Award from Ada of Vintage Sheet Addict.

Firstly a big thank you to Ada, I love your blog and am so pleased that you enjoy my ramblings.

I am really pleased to receive this award.  It is given to blogs which have less than 200 followers as a way to raise their profile and increase their readership and is a little confidence boost for the receiver.  It is lovely to know that your blog inspires and entertains others.

So to pass on the love I must choose five blogs which I enjoy and admire.

This is something I really struggle with as there are so many wonderful, funny and enjoyable blogs to choose from.  But here goes.  My chosen blogs are an inspiration and if you have a minute you should pop by and visit.

Tales of a Happy House

Morten and Me

Rainbow Vintage Home

Squiggling About

Scraps of Us

It was really difficult to choose just five, so to help me, I have tried to include blogs who like me are receiving this award for the first time.

Anyone receiving the award has the opportunity to pass it on to five blogs they love.  If you want to take part, please do and if you would rather not I understand.

Also, welcome all my lovely new followers.  Thanks to all of you who take the time to read and comment on the linen cloud.  It is very much appreciated.

happy little house

A while ago when visiting teawagontales I happened upon Jane's lovely little house shaped shelf which she had madeover with some lovely vintage wallpaper.

Having also admired some similar shelf units I thought I could have a go at my own makeover so I gathered the necessary supplies, flexed my crafting mojo and ta dah,

a happy little house finished today.

I got my vintage wallpaper pieces from Jane's etsy shop, littleteawagon and while I was there I popped one of these lovelies in my basket.

source: littleteawagon

It's destined for my much hankered after craft space which I hope I can make a reality soon.  Otherwise my leaning tower of craft supplies is in danger of imminent collapse.

bug hunt

Thought you might like to see our new friend.  The little ones have spent the afternoon bug hunting in the garden and Colin the caterpillar was the prize specimen.

Their cousin is visiting and sleeping over on his own for the first time.  You can imagine the excitement.

Curtains are pulled, jim-jams on and movie night is about to start.  I am off to pop some popcorn.  Maple syrup flavour, anyone?

granny

I wanted to take a little moment to remember my lovely granny who passed away three years ago today.

My granny Margaret, was a wonderful woman, much loved by her large family.  She had the most amazing stories to tell about her life and has left a lovely legacy behind through her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Granny was very special and she has without doubt inspired me today in my love of creating and making.

She was an amazing cook and baker and there was very little she couldn't do with a crochet hook.

Granny was ninety-five when she passed away but I feel so lucky to have spent so much wonderful time with her.

The photograph above was taken at our wedding.  Didn't she look beautiful?