Gorgeous freebies, SAL update,& Grannys' Album

Hello, lovely people, what a strange week we have had.Searing heat up in the high 80's, and then turning to extremely heavy bouts of rain the next.

Here is something I thought you may like whilst I was having a surf around the stitchery sites. I found this gorgeous little rabbit block as a freebie at http://zuill.us/andreablog/category/embroidery/free-patterns/ I just couldn't resist. Thank you Andrea. I have stitched it with 2 strands DMC on Calico. Andrea has quite a few cute little patterns which are intended for patchwork, but could be used in many other ways.

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The picture below is of my sewing efforts so far, of the free Stitch A Week SAL that I am participating in on the Yahoo Friendly Stitchers Group. ( The link is at the top on the left). I am a bit behind, but am catching up gradually.

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I must tell you of another stitchery site that I have found which has some delightful little embroideries/stitcheries which are supposed to be used to make a small quilt. The lady who is offering the blocks called 'Verandah Views' is Cheryl, and the Freebies can be found here at Willowberry Stitchery:http://willowberrydesigns.typepad.com/willowberry_designs/verandah-views-free-stitchery-patterns.html

As yet I haven't started stitching, but no doubt I will start stitching them shortly. They are in my list of to do's.

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Granny's Visitors Album.........

As I don't have a lot of stitching to show you this week I though you may like to see a few things from my Grannys' Visitors album. I inherited this album before she passed away back along in the 1960's, as she said she wanted me to have it, especially as I was interested in Victorian times and history, and also art. I don't think that it was actually her visitors book, but more so the ladys' whom she worked as a Companion for, back at the turn of the century. The lady was quite elderly, and Alice, Emily Garrett, my Granny, I believe was given it for some reason unbeknown to me.

The earliest date in the album is 1834, and it seems has been added to gradually over the years. There are many lovely little drawings, and poems in it, in the most beautifully elegant writing. Quite a few of the written pieces are in French. As I do not speak French and have to use translator tools to read it, I find it most frustrating that I don't know what these pieces of literature say.

If I have any French readers of my blog I would dearly love to know if you are able to decipher this beautiful French text. I think that if you click on the pic it will go large hopefully.

This is some of the art that is in the album, I have tried to look up the artist, of the Turkish style man but to no avail. If anyone reading this blog has heard of W.Warman...... could you please let me know what you know of this artist.
This next picture is a pencil drawing of an African scene, back in the 1800's



Christmas card from the 19th Century

Early Victorian Christmas Card

Next time I blog I will try and decipher some of the poetry, I don't know who the poems are by, but some are very beautiful.

SAL Progress, Patchwork Blocks,Lavender Make....

This is my Alla Turca SAL progress, all up to date with part 6 finished, and part 7 eagerly awaited any day now. I just love ding this SAL it is to relaxing, and easy going.

Its been a funny sort of a week, starting very peculiarly on Saturday evening, when a sort of semi connected person in our family telephoned us to say that my Daughter and her family are stuck in Goa with no money as her income from an Internet business had ceased. I haven't heard from her or from any of the grandchildren in 9 months. I have tried to get hold of them but to no avail. I would have thought that if she was in such a predicament she would have gone to the British Embassy out there, and we would have heard something.But no! We spent quite a lot of time on Saturday evening until midnight trying to find out what had happened to them, via the Foreign Office, but to no avail, as they said if they didn't want to be found, or had not requested assistance there was nothing we could do. They did suggest other agencies such as the Police, but they were unable to help, as they said unless they were wanted for something they couldn't help. Apparently too they have moved house from where we knew they were living too, so that doesn't help matters.

All I have been able to think of is awful thoughts, and worrying about the grandchildren... ages 14,12 & 7. I really can't keep my mind from wandering, so please forgive me if my blog is a bit disjointed.

If there is a likelihood of Joanna reading my blog......please get in touch to let us know you are all OK.

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On a happier note......Lavender Room & Drawer Fresheners

I have discovered on another blog which I can't seem to find the name of I found this wonderful idea of making these gorgeous little Lavender room and drawer fresheners. I thought they are ideal for someone who is allergic to the commercial type of freshener products. As my lavender is just about ready for picking now, I thought I would have a go. This is the pic of the end result

How to make them is quite easy. You cut about 10 stems from the plant as about 12" or more. Get all the heads together evenly, and just under the heads, wind some thread around about 6 times and tie off( I used crochet thread). Then about 6 inches down the stem wind the thread around again 6 times and tie off tightly. Then bring the cut end of the stems back up towards the heads one at a time,(it doesn't matter if they crack slightly). Then push the end of some 1/4" to 1/2" ribbon into the centre of the bunch to hold the end of the ribbon whilst you weave it in and out of the stems on the outside. When you have woven all the way up the stems, tie off ribbon and add a loop through the tied off ribbon for hanging the completed piece. Trim off the end of the stalks of the lavender at that end to make it neat. Add a bow to the bottom.

And there you have it sweet scented lavender pretties for decorating about your house. It keeps flies away too and soothes the mood, and aids sleep.

Two Finished embroidered Patchwork blocks.

These two blocks stitched up really quickly, and I thought they were just lovely, so I am going to make them into large cushions for my lounge like I did with the peacocks that I showed last posting.

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This is a pic of one of my paintings that I did some time ago. I usually use watercolours, and gouache, I think that this one was done in watercolour.

This one I painted whilst sitting by the river Dart at Dartmeet.

Stitchybits, Classic cars, and Cake

This lovely little design was a freebie that I found at http://www.xstitchhappy.com/ some while ago. I just love the design, as it is so fresh and bright. It was one of my UFO's that I couldn't finish really until now, as the mobile that I had at the time wouldn't fit into it.

Now I have the right sized mobile I feel reluctant to use the case as I don't want to spoil it, and have to keep washing it.

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Since last weekend I haven't really felt like writing my blog, as the weather has been brilliantly hot here in Devon, and I had got behind with my A Stitch a Week SAL that I have doing along with many other ladies in the Friendly Stitchers Group which belong to.I caught up on three of the motifs, but by now we have another one. That leaves me 11 motifs to catch up on. It is particularly hard, as I elected to do the ASAW SAL on 28ct linen, and the motifs are only about 1.5" square, so everything is minute sometimes, and very slow going when stitching. Hey Ho!!!

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Gorgeous Plum/Apple Cake Recipe.

This is one of my families favourite dessert cakes. You can eat it as it is, or with cream poured over a slice in a dish. It is best when it has been in a plastic container in the fridge. It keeps up to 4 days in the fridge......... that's if you can resist it that long.

Ingredients

5oz butter,

2 large eggs,

8 oz caster sugar,

1 teasp almond essence,

8oz S.R. flour,

1.5 level teasps of baking powder,

1.5lbs of Plums (stoned),or apples before peeling.

Icing sugar to dust when cooled.

Method.

Grease well, but don't line a 10" spring loose bottom cake tin. Heat oven to Gas 5, 375 degF, 190 degC.

Melt butter in a pan over med heat until just liquid, and pour in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, sugar, and almond essence, and beat until well mixed. Fold in the flour, and baking powder.

Spread just under 2/3rds of the mixture into the baking tin. Then straight away peel & core the apples,or stone plums. If using apples ,slice, if using plums just halves will do.Arrange the fruit roughly over the top of the top of the mixture that is in the tin. Then spread the remaining mixture over the top of the apples/plums. It is difficult to get the top of the mix smooth, so blobs of the mix will be OK, as it evens out in the cooking..

Bake for 1 and a half hours until the fruit is tender. I usually stick a metal skewer in to test the middle isn't still runny after an hour. If it comes out clean then the cake is ready.

Loosen the sides of the cake from the tin with a knife, and carefully tip it upside down on a rack to cool. Invert it right way up on plate when cooled, and dust with icing sugar.

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The week-end prior to the one just gone, we went on our travels again, and went to see a small Steamfair, and Vintage Automobiles and Bicycles.

Below are some of the sights we saw. Amongst others are some Morris Men/Mummers who decided to come along and jolly the atmosphere up. For my readers from foreign climes, Morris Men/Mummers are Country Folk Dancers with their own musicians, who pretend to fight with sticks whilst dancing. A very old custom in England.

Jaguar Panther
1935 Auburn 851 Speedster
Model T Ford
This was the Yuckie sign on the side of the ratcatchers vehicle.

I just had to photograph it as I just couldn't believe what I saw. Lovely stained glass window

Secret peep through a gateway.

Bluebell fields on Dartmoor

My Friendly Stitchers Sal stitching so far......

This week has been a bit busy so I haven't got around to a lot of stitching. I had got a bit behind with the Yahoo Groups Friendly Stitchers ASAW Sal and had only done about 5 motifs out of the 12 that had been charted, so I decided to catch up on that before starting on any other projects. I think my most favourite out of the motifs so far is the ' Mole '. For my US readers I don't know if you have moles in the USA but they are little animals about 8" long, and are virtually blind, that make a terrible mess of your lawn if you get them burrowing. They leave little hillocks of earth all over the place, and are very difficult to get out of your garden. Their main diet is earth worms.

These are a few close ups of some of the motifs.......

The Sal has been stitched on DMC 28ct Linen, in DMC threads.

The link to the Friendly Stitchers Group is to found on the left of my blog page.

Hopefully next week I shall be able to get on with other patterns that I have been wanting to stitch for a while.

Going greener...Not only in stitching

Having had a' bit of a week' last week, it was nice to see the sunshine arrive in our little part of the world on Sunday. Although D husband had other ideas I was able to nudge him up the garden with me to clean out the greenhouse. In it we had a collection of Cacti which I had inherited from my D Daughter when she went to live in Goa, I am really not into Cacti even though some of them produced the most beautiful flowers for one day or so in the summer. I therefore had decided that they were taking up valuable space, and that they had to go in order that I could get my vegetable seeds under way, and in particular my tomatoes. This year I am going to grow them in the greenhouse, along with cucumbers, so that no matter what the British weather throws at us we will have luscious tomatoes all summer.

By the way don't be sad for the cacti all thirty odd of them. I listed them on http://freecycle.org/ and gave them away to a home, and to someone who would appreciate theThe rest of the garden is going to be redesigned this year. We have been here now for seven years this year, and after having to start my garden from scratch in the beginning as it was like a wilderness, I think it is time for a change. Not only that,but in England now the powers that be are encouraging people to try and grow their own Veggies and fruit. Well we already do that but not on a very large scale, so I have decided that the round lawn has to be moved, and the shrubs and put into either the front garden, or to be arranged somewhere else. That way where the lawn has been, and is virtually virgin soil can be my new vegetable patch.

These are some of the pics of the plants in my garden last year.

Clematis

Aquilegia

Spring.....Dutch Iris

Calla Lily

Rose: Dawn Chorus....has the most glorious scent

Voodoo Lily

Lavender

Australian Bottlebrush

Spring....everything not out yet.




Blue Angel Wings

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Still on a Green Note

I got to thinking last week apart from all that we have done to be "green with our electricity", I cast my mind back to when I was a child and thought about what my Mum used to have in her house that was different today which didn't use electricity but was so useful. Do you remember those carpet sweepers that you push along to pick up the bits? I really thought this would be a great idea to get one so that when I had finished stitching I wouldn't have to get the vacuum out just to pick up the ends of threads etc., and it would also be eco friendly. I hadn't got a great deal of money to spare this month, so I put a "Wanted" on http://freecycle.org/, and 'voila', some dear soul had one that I could have. So I am now saving money in electricity bills, and it takes less time to pick up bits.

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Stitchers Heaven Group SAL......Finished part three of Alla Turca

Stitched in French Navy DMC 311 on 28ct evenweave linen

My WIP at the moment

I have quite a few freebies stored in my stash on the PC and yesterday I wanted to do a small for me. I decided on this beautiful little Quaker Scissors Case pattern which was offered back in March of 2006 on http://www.carinne.ht.st/ for personal use only.

I have cross stitched it, and have decided to line it with some contrasting patterned silk that I had in my stash, yet to be finished, but here is the pic before finishing into the scissors case.