Yayyyyyyy I've hit 2500 page views!

I can't believe I have hit 2500 pageviews. I love blogging and reading other peoples blogs. They really are so inspirational- from the sewing- the linen cat and teawagontales  to the crochet blogs Attic 24 and meme-rose , the lifestyle blogs hedgecombers and our new life in the country to the allotment blogs plot number 58 and real men sow and many many others besides. Each are so inspiring, thought provoking and I consider them all to be friends. Thank you for reading and enjoying my blog!  Now back to the garden and sunshine whilst it lasts!

I got there at last!

I finally managed to get down to the allotment on Friday morning for a couple of hours, which is really for not that long considering there is soooo much to do down there. I have to be thankful for the time I had. I spent most of the time digging over what was the parsnip and beetroot area and some of the cabbage area . It was lovely basking in the sun in between digging . I found a whole load of parsnips that we had missed over the winter:

I think we will be eating a lot of parsnip soup! I may even be able to prepare some of the less woody ones, blanch them and then freeze them. I will have to make sure I get down to the lottie over the weekend to try and catch up with my jobs.
On another note younger daughter had a baking session yesterday. She loves making cakes, and tries to make them for her friends birthdays. She made this one for her friend Hollie, who loves Hello Kitty. Isn't the cake fabulous! She really is a very clever girl, I  just don't think she realises quite how clever she is!!
                                           

I can't quite keep up with the weather changes- I have only just got accustomed to the warmer weather and now Its cooling again with snow forecast ( in the north at least) next weekend. I know many garden centres will be wanting the warmer weather as I believe it can be one of their busiest weekends in the year. I definitely prefer the warmer weather - so please come back!

Anyway I will try and post this week - the youngsters are off this week but no major plans have been made so have a good weekend and see you next week!

More sewing!

The last couple of days have been spent sewing- I really should get down to the allotment. Hopefully later! So I thought I'd update you on some of my goodies I made. I have been making shopping bags and I have taken photos of one of them to share with you.
The main part of the bag is made with  fabric from Prestigious fabrics which are made in the uk and is called St Ives. I just loved the colours and the Seaside feel without a boat in sight!

Front of the bag:

 Back of the bag:

Inside the bag: lined with blue and white spotted fabric:

Then  I worked on these lavender bags which have a London theme with a loose interpretation
of the union jack on the front and the changing of the guard on the back

So hopefully back to the garden to enjoy this lovely sunshine. Hoping you are managing to get out and enjoy it too!

Sunny Sunday at the car boot sale!

In a rash moment after Mr H had been on one of his tirades about the state of the garage I agreed to do a car boot sale. For those of you who haven't been to one- they can be a source of fantastically great bargains but they also can be - as one person I overheard yesterday say- full of the biggest of a load of old  junk he had ever seen!
I decided to Car boot - not sure if it can be a verb or not- on Sunday as the weather looked promising. ( It's not a good idea to do one on a wet cold morning). I had however forgotten that the clocks would go forward. So not only did I have an early start to contend with but it had to be an hour earlier  too!.
I choose  one that was half an hour or so away from us. Funnily no one was particularly keen on helping me at such an early hour. Teenagers love their beds - not at night time I find- but mainly in the mornings. So no luck there and Mr H absolutely detests car boot sales and will diligently help sort and load the car but that's as far as it goes.
I headed off with my car load and was directed to my pitch after paying my pitch fee. My neighbouring pitcher's were all very pleasant and we waved and nodded and I set to unloading. This is by far the worst part. Suddenly people come from nowhere, peering into the deep cavity of the car  hoping to get a glimpse of a bargain. Some are just plain nosey. One lady stood and watched me unload everything bit by bit. I wonder whether she thought I would magically produce a long lost Rembrandt?
It was a bit of a slow day and  it was obvious people have been definitely affected by the recession and it made me wonder how some families survive. I didn't do as well financially as other times but I can't complain. The money I did make will go towards a trip to London.
It was lovely to be out in the fresh air with the sun on my back. There are worst ways to spend a morning ( not according to Mr H!).

After lunch in the garden- I sat in the garden sewing- using my trusty and eco hand machine - Esmerelda!

I didn't need electricity, I didn't disturb the sounds of a lovely summer type day and I got to be productive- fabulous! Later a glass of wine was enjoyed listening to the birds and warming myself in the sun- what better way to finish such a busy day!

Hat stand

With two girls in the house, we have a number of hats always lying around. It drives me crackers, so in a moment of enlightenment I turned our stick display in the hall into a funky hat stand. It looks like we are growing hats there now but at least the hats have somewhere to live! What do other people do with their hats ? Do people still have hat stands? Do the likes of modern Swedish stores produce hat stands? I'm not sure that I would buy one tho' as I like our quirky version! What do you do with your hats?

Sprouting onions

Whilst clearing an area of the allotment I came across one of my last years onions skulking amongst the weeds. It had sprouted and on checking the Internet I found the Self sufficiency blog which talks about these onions being cooked. In fact  there is a festival  dedicated to them in Catalonia in Spain. You can find the link here: a self sufficient life. I will definitely try  growing the sprouts further to see what happens.

Talking of onions-  My Tiny Plot    also had a tip worth bearing in mind which suggests that if you have too many onion sets left over, you could plant them in pots and you will grow spring onion like onions for later in the year. I like that - waste not want not!

I've been busy sewing

Having given up my job last Summer, we have definitely noticed the drop in household income. We are all doing what we can to help- little things count like turning off lights, not cooking too much food, growing our own veggies, cooking form scratch, and keeping the chickens are all important. Whilst I still work the odd day here and there, I felt I needed to do something else to help with cash flow and something that didn't involve licking envelopes either. I needed something to get my teeth into ( no not being a part-time dentist), something for me to work on, to think about whilst at home. I made a number of gifts at Christmas this year and one of our local shops took several of my cushions and childrens aprons and they did pretty well. I have dusted my sewing machine off and given it an oil and have started beavering away. I made these :

and these this week:

To be honest I'm not going to make a fortune but it should give me a lot of pleasure and if nothing else  it  will give me something to think about in those wee early hours of the morning when I just can't sleep.

I'll keep you updated on my progress in between my allotment and other posts. Now where did I leave the scissors.....................