Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines^[that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

 

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

 

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

from 'Sew' to 'Stitch'

I have been away from my blog for a while now but I am determined to get back into the swing of posting reguarly again. This post is very specific and refers to the book 'Sew' by Cath Kidston and to her exciting new book 'Stitch'. Very excitingly my mum managed to get us tickets to the launch of this new, long awaited publication at our local Brighton store. Unfortunately I can't go; I was really gutted when i realised. Don't go feeling too sorry for me as I shall be visiting a very dear friend in Paris instead - so it's not all bad!

 

As the launch is this evening I thought I would post a few images of the projects I have attempted so far from the 'Sew' book so I can be there in spirit. I took 'Sew' on my easter holiday break to the lake district with my family along with all my sewing supplies. Mum and I worked through a project a day while assorted brothers, friends and dad walked the fells.

 

Here is my slightly wonky pastoral scene hottie cover - fabric from Laura Ashley and Liberty and button from Wickle in Lewes:

Next up is the quilted evening bag - I particularly like the rick rac edging effect on this one. I am going to try this again and next time make sure I sew the back seam together straight rather than slanty!

I love this simple cushion design - I have used two classic Cath Kidston fabrics for this one and I am going to make a whole set for my bedroom.

This bird cushion is probably my favourite of all the things I have made from the book.

Mum was very helpful and supportive with creating the aplique birds - it is a family joke that I am not a patient person!

 Finally this is the bag from the cover of the book made with the fabric that came with the book, I really like this floral spray pattern.

I used the hexagonal template that came on the pattern sheet to form the central panel of the patchwork quilt that i completed a few weeks ago, and really like the way that the book and the templates can act as inspiration for future projects.

I can't wat to hear how the launch goes in the Brighton store and to get my hands on a copy of 'Stitch'. It is available online here: Stitch!

Week in the wilds

Oh dear, I seem to have been neglecting my blogging responsilities of late. Never fear I am still here, just had a challenging week.

I have however been thinking of some crafting projects and I have some new books for inspiration. When I have started sewing and have some photos to show I will elaborate.
 Back soon!

Weekend of Wonders

The wonderful part started before the weekend - with one of my best friends getting engaged. Top news. Then on Saturday I caught the train down to Sussex, I had a large cup of earl grey tea and a good book, and I could feel the stress of the week seep away.

My favourite part of the journey is just before Haywards Heath Station; the train passes over a viaduct and the South Downs open out in a panorama in front of you. For me it is home, the familiar and the safe. 

When I arrived at Lewes I popped in to the Patchwork Dog and Basket to get some wadding and then I headed off to the Southease Chili Day with family and friends. Southease is a lovely little village just down the valley from home.

There were plants for sale, chili with rice and nachos, chili ice cream and local Harvey's bitter.

It was a good scene, plenty of families and bouncy friendly dogs.

When I got home I did some patchworking. Because I'm slapdash and hopeless this didn't go as well as I had hoped.  I'm hopeful that when I quilt the layers together the fact that it is all a bit puffy and the front is bigger than the back won't show so much! Still as a first full size quilt attempt it's ok.

On Sunday I spent some time in the garden - I harvested the dahlias. These have been flowering non stop for months and I love the vibrant colours and the big flower forms.

My Dad also made this delicious Canterbury Apple Tart. It is one of my favourite recipes - the middle is shredded apple with tangy lemon and it is so so tasty!

Quilting legacy

I mentioned in one of my first posts that my Grandmother was a keen quilter. She also spun, knitted and dyed wool and sewed and stitched many projects which I remember very fondly and look to for inspiration and memories now.

Here is the quilt she made me in 1993 in my favourite pink and blue colours - as you can see she used a variety of traditional block patterns incorporating materials with different textures and durability levels - some are more threadbare than others now!

The only other quilt that my grandmother made that is in my parent's house is of a very different style and includes appliqué. She chose to use all pain fabric and I think was particularly interested in Picasso and Matisse when she made it.

My Gran used to ask us what we wanted her to put in her quilts, this particular one has my parents names embroidered in it as she had asked them for ideas.

Here you can see a pig, a bird and an apple. I love the way that everything is hand quilted and slightly wobbly. It makes the pieces really tactile and genuinely makes them seem fill of my Gran's character. Like me she was not what you would describe as a precise person!

This weekend I hope to finish putting my first large quilt together as well as completing a couple of other smaller projects. Here is some stitching I did last night - bringing together some lovely vintage feedsack fabrics that I bought from Sal's Snippets.

A is for Autumn

I write this in the late afternoon sunshine in Sussex as I reflect on a varied and busy few days. Autumn is definitely here; the apples are ripe, the plum trees are laden with fruit and the Aga is back on. My parents have always turned the Aga off in the summer, and it is one of my favourite moments of the year when the constant warmth returns to the kitchen. The jam making and the cake baking will commence in earnest at the weekend! 

Last weekend I was, as I mentioned before, reunited with friends in Cambridge. I thought I would share with you a few pictures of the fleeting summery time. The town was busy but the colleges were quiet, anticipating a new influx of students in October. 

We had a lovely teatime picnic in Magdalene College beside the river :

Watching punting parties, a couple of near capsizing incidents and eating scrummy cakes.

When I returned to London on Sunday I spent a few happy hours baking scones and cake for my flatmate's surprise birthday tea-party. I have been friends with this particular flatmate since we were 16 - so for nearly a decade! Fortunately he was away playing a concert in Yorkshire on Sunday, so I didn't have to pretend I was cooking for some other reason!

On Monday when I got home from the office one of my other housemates took the birthday boy off to the supermarket so that the remaining housemate and I could frantically decorate the flat and lay the birthday spread out on the table! We had invited a few special guests along to, and asked everyone to dress according to theme: Battle of Britain and Dad's Army  - a favourite series!  We got everything in place in time and evening was great fun,partly due to our disregard for 1940s rationing:

Back in Sussex. Now I thought you might like to see some pictures from a recent visit to Charleston Farmhouse Garden. Charleston is just across the valley from my village and was where the infamous 'Bloomsbury Set' made their home. I love the house with it's eclectic art and painted furniture, full of stories, scandal and literary heritage, but I also think the walled garden there is a total gem:

I particularly enjoyed this statue surrounded by cloud effect topiary: