Happy Halloween

We still have the big boy from this year. I will definately be growing squash in the compost bins again as it seems to feed them well and this is the one that was a challenge to get into the car to get us home. He has a 40 inch waist so maybe we could make a big pumpkin scarecrow.

I was going to make some batches of pumpkin pie but don't know where to start getting a knife into him to start cutting.

Which has reminded me - I bought Nick an axe so that he could cut up wood for the stove, so maybe that will be the route I will have to take.





I was lucky to win a copy of Jamie's America and thumbing through there are some good squash receipes, combine this with Sarah Raven's book, I can make a start on reclaiming the washing basket. Halloween came and went and we didn't do any carving so we will still eat well throughout the winter.

Daily visit to the sewing room

One of the things that I have been doing of the last few weeks is forcing myself to sit down and do some sewing every day. I soon ran out of mending so decided to turn to the fabric drawer and start using up all the remnants and off scraps that I knew would be useful some time.

The TV highlight of my week is 'Quilt in a day' with Eleanor Burns. It is the corniest American home town programme you could imagine, but I love it. I soon discovered the joys of making quilt tops.


This was my first attempt and rather boring. I am sure it will do as a backing for something more interesting.













I had a go at making a book cover in crazy quilting. I will add some beads, lace and ribbon to jazz it up a bit.












I then got brave and splashed out on a jelly roll which is used with a bit of green silk that I had bought as an alternative headboard cover for the guest room. This one has been backed and padded, I have added the binding so all it needs is the binding hand stitching down and it will be done.











A few left over bits were used to make a cover for my allotment book.












I got another jelly roll in black and white and using some red fabric and some odd bits with red in them, made this lap quilt top.













The one that I am most pleased with is a full bed size. I found a bit of red mottled fabric which is used with the black and white plus a bit of black with white spots which I used for the border. The top is finished but I need to find a supplier of wide wadding and decide what to use as a backing so this may be a long term project.

What is going on at home

Having had the bedrooms decorated we realised how tired our bedroom curtains are and we don't have any winter curtains so we went fabric hunting. There was nothing that we could agree on until............................

we found this one. We kept going back to it unsure if we were brave enough so we bought a metre to live with for a while. It took about 10 minutes for me to be convinced that this was the one for the new decor.

I need to get the energy to roll it out and start to cut and sew so it might be a while before they are hanging. Watch this space.







We also treated ourselves to some modern day Staffordshire Cats to take pride of place on the new mantlepiece. They are so cute and look very proud sitting warming themselves.

There is also a certain white cat who has found that she can climb onto the mantle shelf, walk along and turn around also also see the other white cat that lives the other side of the mirror. She only does it when we have visitors. Now that she has gained confidence she is a terrible show off.








I was also very naughty on ebay this week. I have started collecting Lorna Bailey cats and have been looking for the set of 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' for a long time. I have been watching these three and was lucky enouth to win them. They are going to take pride of place in the Lorna Bailey cabinet in my sewing room.

The first parsnip of the year

I know I shouldn't but I couldn't resist digging a parsnip at the weekend. They should stay in the ground until they have had a few good frosts but this one was peeping above the surfact of the ground. The problem is that until you dig you have no idea what is below the ground. I usually get something that is lots of roots and forks and impossible to scrub but this is a beauty. It is about 14" long and almost straight.









Put with some carrots, tomatillo, onions, a couple of turnips, a few Jerusalem Artichokes, the last of the cherry tomatoes and some beans that have been soaked overnight and I can see a lovely vegetable stew. I added a jar of passata that I made earlier in the year which had tomatoes, olive oil and plenty of basil. Yummmmmmm!

Fireplace

I thought I would start with showing the reason why we had to change the fireplace in the lounge. This is what we have been living with since we moved here and after Katy condemned the fire, it was ornamental only.


Once it was all ripped out, I think it looks better already. The fire back had to come out too and it left a bigger hole that I expected.

Standing back, you can see that it is quite a bit smaller than the old fire surround but looking good.

By the time I had finished breakfast it was all rendered and looking wonderful.


They had trouble getting the flue down the chimney as there was some mortar sticking out at the bend, but with one of them on the room and the other with his head up the chimney they did it and it was so exciting to think we can soon have smoke billowing up the flue and out of the new cowl on top of the chimney.


The end result is fantastic and we couldn't resist putting a few logs on to test it.

One thing they warned us about were fumes from the flue, paint and stove the first time we used the fire so we took it slowly. Unfortunately the smoke alarms detected the fumes and rather than sitting relaxing in front of a warm fire, we had to open the door and keep jumping up to waft something under the smoke detector.

Day two it was a different story and we got a bigger fire going. It wasn't long before we had to open the door and let the heat go out to the rest of the house.

Due to the problems with the flue, they ran out of time to put the mantle in place so more updates to follow later in the week once we have painted the wall and the wood is in place.

The new furniture

For some time we have been looking for a nice chair to put in the office so that it will double as the library that it has become. At the auction on Friday we spotted just the thing in the form of a green leather two seater chesterfield. Nick got carried away with putting his hand in the air but it was ours for a bargain price - well below what we had decided on as our maximum.

They delivered it for us yesterday and it fits perfectly. All we have to do now is clear everything around it that has ended up in that room from clearing the kitchen for the floor and the lounge for the fire.

One day we will be sorted but in the meantime we can sit comfortably.


We also bid on a chair which came up before the chesterfield as won that at an even greater bargain. Unfortunately we now have two huge pieces of furniture that we hadn't planned on.

The chair is currently in the hall in place of the rocking chair and I must admit it looks lovely there. Angel loves it too and we have found he sitting in it on a couple of occasions.

The intention was for it to go in the lounge next to the fire as I want to get rid of one of the sofas so we have one sofa and three chairs. After all, it is not very often that we need to seat eight people in the room.

I think we need to live with all the changes for a while before we decide. We also need to decorate the fireplace wall one the plaster has dried out.