Don't blink - this might be summer

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we suffered yet another day of lashing rain and we were all  beginning to wonder if we are going to go straight into Autumn, so much so that my mind has started to turn to thoughts of apples, pumpkins and all this autumnal. My favourite time of the year. This feeling was not helped by my latest copy of Country Living Magazine hitting the door mat, displaying  a beautiful cover photo bearing all those things that make me feel comfy and cosy but I quickly buried such thoughts. It is only August for goodness sake. I must not succumb to the urge to either hibernate or seek out all things witchy . And do you know my resistance was repaid immediately.  The sun has come out!

Edinburgh Castle ready for the Tattoo

I braved the elements, coatless, on the commute in this morning and then spent my lunch break envying all the passing tourists in their skimpies as I charged about the shops on a very important mission ( shoes!!) boiling my little bits off in office gear. Edinburgh is such a stunning city and the arrival of the Festival in August transforms an already hectic city into a place of madness. However I do not begrudge the extra ten minutes it takes me to plough through the crowds to get to my train home, as the colour  and vibrancy of the place makes me smile. Me and the beloved JB have not been very organised with tickets this year as I think the ongoing Olympics has been a bit of a curved ball and drawn our attentions away, but I am sure we will catch up for the final couple of weeks once the Games have finished. Last year we very proudly took Zoe on her first ever trip to see live theatre , seeing " Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy", based on the wonderful books by Lynley Dodd. If you are not familiar with these you really should check them out for the little people in your life. Tales of naughty pups and their friends, with names like SlinkyMalinky, Bottomly Potts and Hercules Morse. Cracking stuff.

Anyway as ever I digress. I purpose of this blog was to share with you a little update from the garden, as I was able to catch a few rays when I got home tonight. It has taken an absolute battering this year with all the rain and although it looks very lush and green, we have had hardly any flowers since back in May when things started to peek out. Its been such a shame as many of my favourites just didn't appear because of the low temperatures and the rain.  We do have a garden full of roses at the moment though which is giving a great show of colour, but if you look closely you can see we have the worst black spot I have ever seen.  I will need to consult Dad, as rose guru, to see if he thinks this is due to the rain or some other horror. He told me years ago to plant garlic near the base of the rose bush and this did appear to help, even if it looked a bit on the odd side. If roses are your bag and you have and ideas , do let me know your ideas for beating this blight.

As well as the roses, the hostas are out which I adore but again they are very bruised. I love these giants of our garden and we are very lucky not to have a slug problem. Don't tell anyone though but when I have found the odd mollusk or two I have been known to fling them over the fence as my neighbour doesn't garden at all and I figure the little blighters do need to eat at some time.

 

 As you will see we do have a few other favourites in bloom, even if it is a bit of a poor shown this year, but I hope you enjoy the pictures. As for me I am about to put my feet up with a glass of something chilled and enjoy the dappled sun under the dovecot, comfy cushions to hand ( as you will  see we have gone for an international flavour - of a sorts ha ha)



White Buddhlia



Under the dovecot, the sun breaks through

a bit of this and a bit of that...

Today has been what my Dad would refer to as a pottering day. Nothing major has been done, but lots of little odd jobs have been ticked off the list. Sometimes this is the best way to spend a Sunday, as it somehow re-aligns the brain from whirring around at high speed and lets you unwind with the more every day items of life. JB was setting to at sorting out our garage which somehow has become overwhelmed with every thing except those things you would find in the garage, so this left me to dip in and out of all kinds of jobs and fun activities.  

First on the list was go pay attention to "Hermann", the German Friendship cake I had been given by a young friend of mine called Katherine. Katherine is a great baker and regularly keeps us fed in the office with yummy Irish snacks whose recipes have been passed on to her by her Mum. 10 days ago she shared with me a pot of a gooey bubbling mix from the friendship cake which she had baked for our morning coffee and so I have been lovingly looking after Hermann since then. 

For all of you not familiar with these cakes, they are basically a sour dough mix which you nurture for 10 days and then divide into 4 and share with 3 friends , keeping the last quarter to make your own cake. The basic cake is an apple and cinnamon flavour and is delicious but I fancied making a different variety so plumped for a Raspberry, Blue berry and White Chocolate version which proved a great great success with all the family. If you would like to start your own friendship cake, or try my version you will find the recipe on my Recipes page. 

Next on the list was finishing a binding on a small play mat for a wee lad named Adam. I had pieced this but needed to finish the binding as I am hoping to catch up with his Mum Lucie very soon before they both go jet setting off the the Czech Republic to see his Grandma.  Jungle animals were the order of the day for Adam, with yet more Riley Blake fabrics which seem to be very quickly filling my shopping basket these days. Funny how you find yourself finding all your real fabrics with one particular supplier at one times isn't it. They obviously fit with my mood at the moment.

By the way I have updated my gallery with not only a picture of this finished play mat but also baby Rebecca, of Kookaburra  and Kangaroos fame in last week's blog, and another little friend called Max  ( short for Maximus) who can be seen enjoying his Nursery Rhyme quilt.  

My next distraction I think will make you smile. We have at home a lovely little dolls house that we keep for when small people call by and last time I was sorting my "orphans" ( left over quilt piecings ? ) I thought how some of them may make wonderful tiny tiny quilts  for the residents of Rosie House as the dolls house is known and so whilst the machine sewing was plugged in today I couldn't resist stitching a couple of them  together and popping them in for the little wooden family. 

Now baby wooden top has a smart pink and green 9 patch, Ma wooden top has a cosy red white and blue throw on her bed and the sitting room is adorned with a  rather snazzy purple floor rug embroidered with a flower motif.  I hope Zoe and any future play mates enjoy them in the house. JB is going to try and install lighting in the house which will bring it from the Edwardian era into the 21st century( even though it prides itself with  a tiny  computer on the desk in the nursery?).

Now the day is done but I  am thinking ahead to my next project. On my last visit to Kaleidoscope in Milngavie I bought a layer cake called Happy Campers by Moda. I have been looking at it all day and wondering what I want to do with it. 

The retro  fabrics are wonderful, with the tiny red, blue, yellow and green tones and the motifs of the 1950's camping scenes are really fun but I just cannot decide what I want to do with it.  Some layer cakes turn out a little "chunky " because by nature they can be easily pieced but I think I will throw out the challenge to all of you in blog land to give me some bright ideas of what you think will be a good idea. The best idea will receive an extra special gift all the way from Quilty Doings land, so get our thinking caps on and let me know what what you think I should do....

Dad's day and family ties

Today should have been the day I made a cup of tea in bed for JB, as it is Father's day and with no junior members residing with us any longer there was no one else who could spoil him on his day. However I awoke to a cup of freshly brewed elixir on my bedside cabinet and the man himself nose deep in the end of his latest read. What a star he is. Best make sure I reciprocate over the next couple of weeks by setting the alarm early.

The rest of our morning was spent catching up with all the family young and old, after the usual opening of cards and gifts . Prize for the card of the year goes to number 2 son, with his sneaky nod to our ever growing guitar collection - well done Colin and mention in dispatches goes to Emily  for the witty idea of writing the whole card in French in anticipation of next week's holiday but most of which we are still haven't been able to translate. Not sure who has the poorer O level french, her or us?

I phoned my own darling little bear of a Dad to say have a happy day and to make sure he had received his little gift only to have one of our usual slightly surreal conversations which always leave me with a little chuckle.  Dad is pretty well advanced in years now but despite everything he tries so very very hard to hold his own in any conversation but is usually foiled with his hearing letting him down. Today was no exception and after me repeating the phrase " what news " five times , the poor old sausage  gave in and Mum and I had a chat instead with her relaying the conversation one sentence at a time . The funniest part though today was when I found out, twenty minutes in and having had a long conversation about his gift, that he actually still hadn't unwrapped it an neither of them had any idea what I had bought him.... Ho hum. As long as they are safe and happy, what's the worry over a  bit of nutty weirdness every now and again, eh. 

Dad in another time and smiling as always with me and big brother ( at the cricket as usual too)

My Dad is a wonderful chap, who I adore. He has always been the best Dad he could ever be and has never failed to make me feel deeply loved. Watching him age over the past eight years or so has been so hard. He is a proud and intelligent man who had not looked or acted his 80 years when he suffered a stroke and watching his frustration at his subsequent  limitations has sometimes made me feel my heart will break. But with Mum by his side now for over 62 years they battle through and I feel it such a privilege to have had such a loving and kind Dad. One of my special loves of my Dad is how dapper he always is, always neat and tidy and never to be seen without either a tie or a cravat and his ties have always been a special thing with me. This became even more apparent to me when he took his stroke at our home back in 2005. Two days later, whilst he was in the hospital recovering I found his tie neatly rolled and sitting on the sideboard where Mum had placed it in the furor of him being attended by the paramedics. This discovery made me dissolve into tears and the tie was carefully removed and hidden away for safe keeping awaiting Dad's return.  In his funny superstitious way he never wanted it back but I still have it, kept carefully and neatly with my most treasured keepsakes. I little heartfelt reminder of a very scary day and how wonderful it is to have him around. 

Somehow this mornings Father's day catch up and my need for a Sunday Stitchin' led my brain to the want to draw inspiration from Dad and in particular his stylish ties. 

I need to find suitable fabrics in my stash which reminded me of him and his jolliness but he would never wear anything this bright and garish. He is more an RAF tie man if truth be told. However my choice seems to have followed on from the Jubilee , with a red white and blue theme quite well and I hope you like the result. It was foundation pieced and then has a matched 3 inch striped border to set it all off.

I think the finished wall hanging lends itself to hand quilting, rather than machining so it will take a little time to finish the piece off but I will post a picture when  it is complete. In the meantime, I hope you like the result.

I have called the piece Family Ties...