I shall be on the lemon and honey tonight!

Above are three photocopies of photos of our garden which I wanted to transfer onto fabric. I used the method described by Maggie Grey in her book 'From Image to Stitch' which entails ironing Bondaweb or Misty Fuse cut to the size of the image, onto the fabric, and then placing the trimmed photocopy face down onto the webby area and ironing that in place. The paper backing is then made damp and gently rubbed away to reveal the image. I have been meaning to try this for ages but other things keep pushing in, but at last I've done it and am quite pleased with the results.

I think I could get away with a bit more damping and rubbing but am nervous of beginning to rub away my image.

As I plan to stitch over the images in places, perhaps the 'cloudy' effect wont matter. Maggie says that it is possible to go over the image with coloured pencils in order to counteract this. It was a very sunny day when I took these photos and the shadows are very dark. Stitching on top of the dark areas should give nice depth. I shall have to choose the colours carefully to get a natural look and the threads will need to be quite fine. Am I brave enough to stitch it on the machine? Will I chicken out and go for hand stitching? Will it get done at all?!

.
Have a lovely evening if you are celebrating tonight - we will be staying at home as usual as we never really got into the habit of partying on New Years Eve because we both worked in banks about a hundred years ago and the staff worked on till all the books and accounts balanced and that often took until midnight. That was in the good old days of steam banking. Add to that the fact that I have a filthy cold and am still coughing, so no-one will want me anywhere near them. So I shall break open the Hall's soothers and pour myself a lemon and honey and wish you all a Healthy, Happy and Creative New Year.

Nearly Spectacular!

This happened AFTER I had put out all the candles the other evening, when I went into the kitchen to make a bit of supper then watch something on TV. Neither my husband or I noticed anything untoward until the next morning. How observant can we be? There was an amazing wax icicle hanging right down past the next shelf down, but before I could reach for the camera my helpful husband had started trying to clean up for me and snapped it off, so you will have to imagine that bit.

I had arranged things carefully so there wouldn't be a bonfire on the mantlepiece but hadn't thought about the possibilities of a cascade.

.

No more snow for us thank goodness, just rain and it is so dark and dismal we need the lights on even during the day. Time to make a cuppa and find something nice to do, I think.

There it was - gone!!

Our youngest grand-daughter made this lop-eared rabbit for me from a sock. I think he is so quirky and delightful. She is only 14 and has made it so well. It'll keep me amused for hours changing his pose by rearranging the lentils with which he has been filled.

This morning I tidied away the last remnants of the mayhem that is a family gathering here. We have to bring in the garden chairs to provide extra seating, and our lounge ends up looking like some kind of waiting room. Normal service has now been resumed and I like to think I have earned the right to be idle and enjoy some of my other presents. Monty Don's new book promises to be very interesting - amusing as well as full of little bits of useful gardening knowhow and with plenty of beautiful photographs. Not the usual perfectly staged ones, lovely though they are, but natural ones which he has taken himself which make it a very personal book.

What makes you think I like piano music?! Yes, I know there is some opera in there too. Some time ago I acquired a new radio, sadly without the facility for playing tapes but with a CD function. I had a large selection of music on tapes which became useless to me so I got rid of them and am now building up a CD library. The above has helped enormously and I now have the pleasant task of deciding which to listen to.
.
I hope you all had an enjoyable and trouble free Christmas - everything went very well here, even if half the tree lights conked out on Boxing Day. Nobody commented so maybe we were the only ones who noticed.
.

Late on Christmas night there was a knock at our door, and a very nice chap apologised for disturbing us and blocking the end of our drive with his car. He had been spending the day with his sister several doors up from us, tried to turn his car to go home but kept sliding down the slope. As we are the last house, he came to rest at the end of our drive. The snow had become so hard packed and icy, it was like a skating rink out there. He promised to return in the morning to try and shift his car. Miraculously less than 12 hours later, by 10am Boxing Day, the road had thawed and he was able to drive away - unbelievable. Crazy weather. Everywhere looks so green again, it's difficult to believe we had snow and ice only two days ago. There may be more very cold weather on it's way so I shall lay up provisions for a siege and settle down with my new book and CDs. Hope we don't get any power cuts - I can read by candlelight, but haven't worked out how to play CDs by candlepower.

Breakfast in the Garden.

The starlings are so beautiful at this time of year. I'm hoping some of their colouring will come out in these photos. I had such a job getting them as the slightest movement inside the house scared them off. I know they are greedy birds and can be a real nuisance when they get under the eaves and build nests in the loft, but their winter plumage is gorgeous.

This one is tucking into lard which my husband smears into the crevices of a piece of bark he has nailed onto the pergola. They then have to go off to wipe their beaks clean as they get really clagged up with it!

We don't often see a wagtail in the garden. They always look as if they run by clockwork to me, with their funny bobbing gait.

.

While I am here I shall post my offering for TFE's Christmas challenge. He hasn't started the Poetry Bus again, but apparently Santa has brought his go-cart out and we are invited to jump aboard. Here goes:

I've done all the housework

and bought all the food,

distributed presents

and got in the mood

for a wonderful Christmas

with family and friends -

and mindful of others

whose survival depends

on charity handouts -

I've counted my blessings

and now want to send

Seasonal Greetings

my bloggy friends dear,

and say 'Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year'.

It's beginning to look a lot like .........

I should have removed that bag of spare decorations from the dresser before taking this shot. I was so busy trying to avoid camera shake that I didn't notice it.

Years ago I arranged the cards on the sideboard, mantlepiece and any other flat surface, but got so fed up when the draught each time someone entered or left the room blew them over that I now tape them to the banisters. It makes the dusting easier too.

I'm always surprised how much light is given out by one little string of almost ancient tree lights.

I've only just noticed that the painting on the opposite wall to the mirror is reflected here. It's a pity I didn't get it central. I've gone mad on candles this year and am very safety conscious - the short ones are all in small glass holders and the tall ones are well clear of any foliage so I won't have a bonfire on the mantlepiece. Not long to go now and not long to get all those last minute jobs done but I'm hoping to get one more post in before the big day.

Consider this.

I cut this little article out of an issue of our local magazine some time ago and came across it again the other day. It was written by Bernard Tapp, who is probably a local man but we don't know him but I thought I should acknowledge him. He writes:
.
If we could shrink the population of the earth to a community of exactly 100, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like this:
There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere (North and South), and 8 Africans.
52 would be female and 48 male.
70 would be non-white and 30 white.
30 would be Christian and 70 wouldn't.
89 would be heterosexual and 11 homosexual.
6 people would possess 59percent of the world's wealth, and they would all be from the USA.
80 would live in substandard housing.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
1 would be near death and another near birth.
1 would have a college education and 1 would own a computer.
.
It makes you think, doesn't it?
.
I have just loaded some photos onto my laptop but can't persuade it to share them with you, so it's words only today. I'll try again tomorrow.

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas.

There are quite a few more cards on the bookshelves built in under the stairs and when I have fixed the swag of greenery on the banisters, I shall fasten the cards below the swag which will leave the mantelpiece free to receive it's decoration. But I'm not quite ready for all that.

There is quite a lot of this sort of thing cluttering up the dresser as well as carrier bags full of presents parked beside it. We are the 'sorting office' for family presents and by next week they should all have arrived at their proper destinations. Last year I had the 'bright' idea of making little paper wallets in which to present gifts of money. The other day I suddenly remembered that and thought I ought to think up something different for this year, so these little crackers came about and I have made ten of them. They've been a right fiddle to make but look OK, though will not be up to close inspection by any perfectionists. I must say it is much easier to give money. Gone are the days when we rushed about from town to town in search of the latest 'things', clutching our list with all the details written down to ensure we bought the right ones. Multiply that by five for our own children and then add nine more for grandchildren and we'd be worn to a frazzle if we still had to do it. It was fun but became very exhausting and there were sometimes desperate phone calls for alternatives when the right 'thing' couldn't be found. They are all happy to receive money and maybe go shopping after Christmas and pick up a few bargains, but the very young ones always have a proper present.

Tomorrow it's a cleaning frenzy, then out on Thursday and we're putting up the tree on Friday. By then I should feel a lot like Christmas.

Nature's Yuletide Decorations.

Mother Nature is ahead of me as I haven't started putting any up yet. This little stream is just the other side of our garden wall beside the public footpath. It is dotted with little shrubs still carrying one or two golden yellow leaves. All the recent rain makes it sound like a proper stream - in very dry spells it gets down to a trickle.

I love the covering of moss up the trunk of this tree. It continued for several yards and was really dense in places.

This is what feeds our little stream. It is a drainage system further up the path from our house - hardly a real waterfall but doing it's best right now.

This spider's web is spangled with morning dew - pity there was no sunshine to light it up.

A dead tree stump is smothered with little bracket fungi. I don't know why I like them so much - I know very little about them but find them fascinating.

There is an ornamental hawthorn right outside our house - the haws are much larger than the wild ones and we can enjoy them right through the winter as the birds don't seem to like them.

The name of this shrub escapes me but it is quite common and very decorative at this time of year. The berries were an intense crimson - much brighter than they appear here.

I hope these photos are not blurred though I'm sure some of them might be. I had a little friend with me on my walk, and trying to take photos and hold a dog's lead at the same time is not the best way to get good clear shots.

.

A bit of frost would have added some sparkle to my 'decorations' - maybe I should have waited and done this post next week, as according to the forecast it is going to get much colder.

I Couldn't Believe my Eyes!

This ornamental cherry tree usually flowers in the middle of March, but here it is three months too early trying to flower now.

I thought I was imagining things when I caught sight of it. I do hope it will put itself on hold as I look forward to these blossoms on my birthday each year. I shall miss them if they have all finished by then.

This is as far as I have got with my rag rug. I have had to stop working on it for the time being as I think it may be preventing me from getting rid of my persistent tickly cough. I suppose I have been inhaling loads of dust and minute fibre particles as I cut the fabrics into strips and then pull them through the hessian. After only 24 hours the cough is slightly better. If I start to suffer from withdrawal symptoms I can always resort to wearing a dust mask!

Pleasant Surprises.

A couple of days ago there was a very plump envelope addressed to me lying on the front door mat and inside I found this very festive ATC ...........

........... and a delightful little needlecase made from vintage fabrics and lace .........

......... and all fitted out with needles and pins. It had come from Maureen whose blog is Maureen's Mixture. I don't know what I have done to deserve it, but am most grateful - thankyou very much Maureen.

This is the reverse of the case.
.

The weekend has passed in a blur. It was very enjoyable owing to an influx of children and grandchildren - always a treat - so there was much tea drinking, talking and laughing, and not much else got done. However I did find the Christmas cards and wrote them all, and I did manage to get the two shrubs planted plus a few other little jobs out in the garden before the rain set in again. We even have puddles in the greenhouse!

.

I read Victoria MacLeod's article 'DIY Applique' in the current issue of Stitch and wanted to try her techniques out - I also have her book - below is my very small and hastily worked 'sampler' (though that is a rather grand title). I think it would be better done on a finer gauge canvas but in her article Victoria works on plain cotton fabric. I used several different white threads of various thickness and coloured everything later. In the article coloured fabrics and threads are used, but I wondered what would happen if I did everything in white..........

......... then painted it all with gesso (sorry about the shadows) before painting or spraying colour on.

It looks pretty awful with just the gesso over it. I used a plastic curtain ring, metal curtain hooks, small metal washers and two sizes of plastic tile spacers. It was all done fairly quickly and with no preconceived design. I would like to do another piece with a properly worked out design in mind first and on a finer canvas.

This photo is awful - the light is so bad today - and it doesn't give a good idea of the colours which are rather nice. I used a lovely space dyed Stef Francis thread to add a few areas of tent stitch. When I have done all the other things on my list, I will create a proper design and produce a 'Hardware Masterpiece'!!
.

The rag rug is progessing slowly and I will post it another time. I have at last found just the right shade of faded terracotta to help things along after searching several charity shops without success. It was staring me in the face all the time and hanging on the clothes airer!! I don't intend to chop too many of my clothes up for rugs but this top has given good service and seen better days.

Ross-on-Wye this week.

The river is getting wider - I do hope they don't have flooding to contend with. Most places in the area have water meadows to cope with excess water, and the good sense not to build on them.

We parked alongside this wonderful wall which got me very excited until I found that it isn't nearly as old as it looks, having been built in the 19th century and made to look much older. They did an excellent job and could have fooled me.

This is the Market Hall - still used for the market today - I love that sense of continuity. It is usually much busier than this but at least I was able to get a good shot of the building.

The same building but 'end on' this time. There is a noticeable air of community spirit in Ross which we find very appealing. It's a lively, bustling little town and I'm amazed at the size of the lorries which manage to get through this narrow street on the right of my photo.

Two or three days ago on her blog 'Fan My Flame', Gina Ferrari posted about a way of making book covers using the colourful mesh bags from fruit and vegetables. Her cover was so attractive I thought I had better stock up - her technique is featured in the current issue of Workshop on the Web which started on 1st December. At least we will be eating lots of fruit and veg - no chocolate wrappers here!! As you can see, courgettes come in a very fresh green net......

....... and as you might expect, lemons come in a yellow mesh.........

...... and pretty obviously clementines, in orange ..........

but I was pleasantly surprised to find these oranges in a rather nice plum coloured mesh. I may have to make a courgette cake with lemons included to use everything before it loses it's freshness.

.

My next task is to find my box of Christmas cards which I have put in a safe place. I came across them a little while ago and thought 'I shan't need those yet' but can't remember where I put them. Could it be time to tidy my workroom again?!!