Monday 30 October 2017

Fish pattern

I really admired this rug in our holiday rent recently. A clever interlocking fish design.

I made a pattern using a piece of newspaper and have been working on it to get an accurate shape.

I am using some leftover curtaining fabric to mix and match like the original design.  Only - can you spot the error?


The thirds have to be even - if you want to do thirds in different designs and fit together!  I had to start again with the pattern.
The next trail pattern making was more successful.

I am thinking about how I can use this pattern for some future soft furnishing or quilting projects. I am going to look in the charity shops and bargain bins for some suitable materials.


Monday 23 October 2017

Cold turkey holiday

No, not meat. No, not bad weather in Turkey.

A cottage in Skye (Scotland) with fantastic broad band but NO TV or MOBILE RECEPTION or LANDLINE PHONE.  (There was a working coin operated red phone box at the end of the mile long rough lane).  So our usual 2 or 3 hours a day wasted on TV (and the other hours where it is background noise to other activities) are suddenly gone. Its lovely.

Our digital devices (ie ancient laptop) can Google but can't play movies or sound at all. So the cottages DAB radio playing via the modem is permanently on Classic FM and our pile of library books is going down.  We have played 4 games of Worddrop (a cross between scrabble and connect 4) and the other half has won three games to my 1.  Jigsaw puzzles are available in the bookcase too.  Weekend papers quiz pages are strewn everywhere.

I have been sketching and doing some water colours inspired by the fantastic scenery.  Then we go somewhere and see local artists who are all absolutely fantastic!

I am also enjoying the dish washer. Its a holiday treat not to be doing the washing up!!  No log fire, (so a break from wood cutting and cleaning as well). This timber built bespoke cabin is so well insulated the small radiators and evening cooking are keeping us more than cosy.

Like Retireewannabe I am actually back at home when you read this - no point advertising to the criminal fraternity!


Interesting stranger

We were having lunch in a cafe (cum shop cum community hall) in a small village on the coast of Skye last week when we and a holidaying Scottish couple got chatting to a young Swiss backpacker.

He is going overland through Europe to South America (via Japan/Russia) without using air transport. Apparently he runs a solor panel installation scheme in Switzerland so is very interested in being carbon neutral in life.  https://www.footprintless.org/


The Scots couple were trying to explain the idea of a Bothy (free basic shelter) and how he may find one by a lough somewhere nearby on a mountain trail.  My husband was trying to explain the weather forecast was for rain in the late evening and my (motherly) brain was trying to commute his route round the world if he was in Scotland having come from Ireland via France by hitchhiking. Was he sure he wanted to go via Korea?

We were talking about getting up to the Faroe Islands and going to Denmark by ship.  I was sure one of our neighbour's friends had contacts in Faroes so promised to get some information and introductions when we went home ourselves.

As a mother of similar aged young males - I am admiring and worrying in equal measures.

Sunday 15 October 2017

Shoe tidy tray

Our conservatory/back porch suffers from our constant in and out from the garden. Shoes and boots are slid off and abandoned, with mud or dust tracking everywhere. I have tried cardboard, newspaper, plastic bags but they get kick or blown away. So when we arrived in Scotland and saw this at our holiday cottage - WOW!
A simple very large plant watering tray! ~Why did I not think of that before?

Less than £10 in garden centres - or worth scrubbing the one currently hosting 3 dead cucumbers in the greenhouse!

Super holiday cottage by the way - a wood chalet that is highly insulated and is very warm and cosy even in poor weather in mountains of Skye!  Great for our anniversary trip (thanks for the good wishes from other bloggers)







Saturday 14 October 2017

Autumn colour

I have really enjoyed the last few weeks of colour in the garden.  Lilac is our theme at present.
Autumn crocus. These keep popping up in odd corners and our neighbour keeps giving us more bulbs as well.



Perennial asters in a ball of colour!  I made this plant by gathering seeds from one we paid £4.99 for 18 months ago.  It is just as good as its "mother" plant.


Annual asters. I brought these for 25p a packet in Wilco and did not get to sew them till late - but they have been great value in the borders and as cut flowers.
This colour is especially significant to me as it was the colour of my bridesmaid dresses and bouquets in October 1971.  It is our 46 th wedding anniversary.


Thursday 12 October 2017

Demin bag

I was in our local Co-op the other day and the woman in front of me was packing her shopping into a tote bag made of denim and leather. "I want one of those.  Its a great colour for autumn/winter and sturdy for rainy days - not like my summer ones made of old skirts and shirts." I am not usually jealous of others' fashion but this just struck my fancy.

As I cycled home with the emergency milk purchase (too many late night hot chocolates and a rice pudding had upset my shopping routine) I ponder on a pair of jeans I had tried to unsuccessfully alter the fit of some time ago and were still unworn in the drawer. They were old fashioned thick material ones with double seams (currently I prefer the lighter ones with a bit of lycra from a cheap store Mat**lan). 

I fished the jeans out and a sharp pair of scissors - after much hacking I had two rectangles and three strips for the sides/bottom plus two wide bands for handles. 
I put a new size 14 sewing machine needle in before starting this project and threw it away straight after. The thick material and going over the double seams blunted it completely.
As you can see I added a gingham lining to the bag and handles.  I made the handles quite wide as my last bags were narrow and painful if overloaded.  I also inserted some cardboard (cereal packet) to make the sides stand up!



Great make - it holds 8 paperback library books.


Tuesday 10 October 2017

Shopping just in time

I was amused by Life After Money's blog and U tube video the other day about not shopping until unless you really you need to.  Look at our fridge 6 hours before the on-line supermarket delivers the fortnightly regular shopping.  I really need our shopping!

Half the jars in the door are jam stored there for the winter. What did we have for lunch? No eggs, no meat, no ...anything really.  Last two slices of bread, with a mix of last bits of cheeses grated and toasted with sliced tomatoes from the garden. Last two pears from the garden (finally ripened) and last two squares of home made carrot cake with a cup of tea using the last inch of milk.   Least it was easy to clean the fridge!

The fortnightly £42 shop (including £1 delivery charge and  £7 spent of stocking up loo rolls while they were on offer) but with plenty of basics - milk, marg, butter, eggs, cheese, for the fridge plus flour etc for the store cupboard means cooking fresh from scratch can continue.  We spent £26 in the butchers and £13 in the fish market in the next village, which will last over the next fortnight.   So about £40 per week for the two of us at the moment.  I keep about £10 in the house for the odd purchase in our limited village shops if needed.

Before I book the next basics order I will look carefully at the seasonal changes - its time to think about stews with dumplings and milk puddings. 





Monday 9 October 2017

Autumn King carrots

An old fashioned variety but it has given as some very good late crops.  Two rows still doing well in the veg garden at the moment.


Nice long straight carrots!

So its been carrot soup, carrot cake, steamed carrots with every evening meal, grated carrots with salad.etc etc.

These will last till Xmas.  I recommend this variety.

Meanwhile I will sow some faster growing varieties in the poly tunnel for early spring.


Monday 2 October 2017

Own brands and quality


I depend a lot on supermarket own brands to keep the cost of food/household goods down.  Some branded things I can't give up simply based on taste - cornflakes, tea bags, custard powder.  But other things if the product OK; its OK. I'm not fussy.  But this own brand kitchen foil has changed and is now a joke item. The one on the right.  It sticks to meat, tears easily and is thinner than foil round mints!  I brought the one on the left in Wilko for 80p and is 4 times thicker.

So disgusted went on supermarket on line shopping and gave it a very poor review. I found 20 other poor reviews made recently.  I do hope they take notice and re-instate their previous standards.

Talking of standards did you see that ITV report on a chicken packing factory last week?  Yuk Yuk Yuk.  I'm sticking to getting local meat from our local butcher - more expensive but we eat a little bit less and enjoy the really good meat supplied.