Time for an Autumn sideboard change ...

 

I love my conservatory sideboard; it works hard all year round with things we use at Easter, Christmas, summer entertaining etc. We use things straight off of it & it is a great backdrop to our various meals or entertaining in that space. 

It is changed several times a year . 

However, my pocket watch TIME plates have been on there too long. Much as a really love them, it was time for a change. 

While out in the woods yesterday afternoon for a walk, the same woods we gathered at in June to watch the eclipse, I picked up some beautiful autumn bits - very prickly conker shells & conkers, delicate branches with changing leaves, curly bark & some banded stones. 

I am a gatherer - I love to be in nature & to pick up little bits. 

This  reminded me that the sideboard needs a change. 

Some years back I bought a few of these Spode Woodland side plates from their factory shop in Stoke on Trent. The traditional wildlife design is instantly recognisable but I feel just these few suffice as we use them as side plates or for cake. 

I see they now have the most adorable Spode Woodland accent plates to go with the plainer ones I have. 

Be still my crockery loving heart, they really are cute ... 

Once the sideboard was cleared, the autumn selection came out of the other sideboard, the one in the dining room. 

I do like to mix things up so the red platter with the beaded insert came out - a gift more than 20 years ago from my sister in Africa. 

The woodland plates made an appearance, along with 2 yellow deer plates with their floral details. 

I was pleased that the new square platter with its bright autumn colours could go with this too - it came from a local market, new but useful for nibbles.  

The darker nights lend themselves to using more candles so I moved around some candleholders from the kitchen windowsill where they are en masse. 

What is Autumn without our windfall apples that like the coolness of the conservatory? 

The change in the seasons comes slowly, almost unnoticed until you have to put on a light earlier in the morning when you get up & suddenly realise the 4 minutes a day change in light is catching up quickly.

I hope you are also leaning in to which ever season is upon you, thank you for stopping by.

Dee 🍎🍏🍁🥮

Variation on an apple theme - apple citrus loaves ...

We still have a glut of apples at home, mainly thanks to hubby & the windfalls at the golf course. 

There are several trees, all different so the bag that comes home with him has a real mixture of them.

The little red ones have quite a tough skin but are less prone to bruising. 

The ones that show marks / bruises after a day or so are cut up for the grateful blackbirds & the squirrels seem to have a liking for them too. Better they are eaten up by us & the wildlife than wasted under the trees.

This morning, I decided to make apple cakes again, the third weekend in a row. However, a grapefruit was on the side ready to be eaten so I thought - why not, variation on a theme. Apple & citrus go well.

I washed then zested the whole pink grapefruit, lovely pink strands of peel. I only juiced half a grapefruit & put the zest & juice in a dish. I peeled about 8 different sized apples, cutting 6 in to smaller cubes this time. The cubes were tossed in the juice & zest. 

The other two slightly larger apples were sliced in to thin slices, I left the peel on the red one. 

I made up a double mixture of cake using the same recipe as before.

Below is for 2 apple loaves 

Preheat oven to 160c

Mix 300g of light brown butter with 350g of butter until fluffy. 

Beat in 6 eggs, adding some of the flour if the mixture curdles slightly.

Mix in 400g of self raising flour, 2 tsp baking powder, spices to taste (I used vanilla & cinnamon.)

Fold in the apple cubes as well as the juice & zest mixture with a large spoon.

Spoon the mixture in to 2 lined loaf tins.

Arrange the cut apple slices on the top of the mixture, lightly pressing them in. Sprinkle with some demerara sugar & then bake for 50-55 min in the centre of the oven. Check with a sharp knife after about 45 min, then bake until it comes out clean.

Cool slightly on a rack, pop on the kettle & enjoy. 

This time, I cut the apples smaller & they did not sink as much in the batter, they were more evenly spread out. 

This variation is rather delicious with just a hint of citrus & not as sweet. Really worth a try if you have lots of apples about. It could easily be served as a pudding with a dollop of cream, custard or ice-cream. 

Thank  you for stopping by, it is always appreciated.

Dee 🧑‍🍳🥯🍎🍏

Using the leftover creative pages - creatively ...

 

I shared my workshop doing mixed media work for a nature inspired collage. I left it overnight to dry on the table at home. 

This morning I looked at it with fresh eyes & truth be told, I am happy with the arrangement. 

I added in a seedpod from my plant pot next to the conservatory door because the colours & triangular shape fitted in well. 

I glued it on to of the curved bark that was somehow lost in the design.

I decided to stamp 'AUTUMN' on one of the papers & that was added. 

I looked at the black thread & needle but do not feel that it needs anything additional, at this moment in time. 

It feels finished to me. 

I looked at the collection of marked papers we had made to use & then I decided to cut some in to strips & do a paper weaving strip with them. I laid them on a thicker card on a plastic mat, arranged them & then taped the top down at the top to form the warp base. 

The remaining papers were woven through as weft threads, mixing them up to create a pattern that was pleasing to the eye.  The sepia pages were quite dominant in the weaving so I mixed them with the clear or lighter ones where possible. It did not take many sheets but it was good to use some of the pages in a different way. 

It might end up as just random paper work. 

I also made a little collection of fabric & paper from the stash as a simple tag to perhaps go on the woven papers. 

An interesting interlude just for the sake of playing with the papers we made marks on.

Thank you for stopping by, do leave a comment, 

Dee 🖼️🖌️🎨🍂🧵

An afternoon exploring mixed media nature collage ...

 

When I stepped away from a lifetime in various educational settings in July, I set my mind on doing more of the things that interest me. 

I am a firm believer in lifelong education. 

I have always been a creative person, filling my time with activities that interest me or advance my skills via workshops.

A local one came up for mixed media nature collage. I have not done a lot of mixed media, this one in covid times was interesting & I enjoyed it. 

I am always happy to just have a go at new things, taking advantage of the skills of the tutor to guide through the processes. 

I have visited this shop recently which is how I came to know of her courses. She has only been open since the summer but her varied workshops appeal to me. 

I  arrived & the work table was set up for 7 of us ladies. We settled in with a cup of tea & some biscuits, before getting down to the guided workshop by Netty. Most of us had limited experience in mixed media so we were without expectations that hold you back.

We prepped our canvas to work on the inside of it as a frame - gesso & matt medium mixed with plaster of Paris powder to give it texture. 

These were set aside to dry while we explored the lovely selection of papers, card & fabrics in our pack.  

Using paints, pens & selection of objects, we covered the sheets in marks that would be used in our final collage. 

I restricted myself to just black & white paints & markers so I could concentrate on the marks rather than colours which can be distracting. 

We then used plaster of Paris & gesso with the lace on our marked sheets to give a texture. Some of our  sheets were a little wet but it worked fine. We used our sheets to make banners / strips around twigs / make paper beads to use in our nature collage. 

Then came the assembly / artistic part. We looked at Netty's examples for guidance but I do tend to overthink so I got to it, tearing, gluing, arranging my papers, twigs & paper beads in a way I liked. 

Because I had limited my colour palette, I found it surprisingly easy to arrange the mixed media in to a design that I liked.  

The gesso base was tacky so the papers stuck & this meant I had to be decisive in the placements which really helped to galvanise the thought process. 

We overran time wise, soon 3 hours was past & I must say, I am rather pleased with this first effort using these techniques. 

The table certainly showed our creative efforts with things out everywhere. 

What I always find fascinating in workshops is that we all started with a very similar pack of papers & fabrics, yet the finished items are always very different. 

It really shows how creativity works. 

I will still add some accent stitches on once the canvas is completely dried. 

This will need my awl to pierce the canvas - another decisive move because you have to be certain where you want the hole. 

That helps to combat analysis paralysis that often happens. 

I am already eyeing up some of the other workshops. 

However, I have two very different ones booked already for October elsewhere ... 

Lifelong learning continues, as it should. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🎨🖌️🖼️🍁🍂🧵🪡

An unexpected Whistler glass engraving ...

 

I shared the beautiful glass engravings I visited in the church of St Nicholas in Moreton, Dorset, where the two Laurence / Lawrence's are celebrated. The church where Lawrence of Arabia, TE Lawrence worshipped & was buried from & it has the beautiful Laurence Whistler window engravings that are a stunning sight on the 12 windows. It is strange, to me at least, that the two Laurence name variations collided in this small unassuming Dorset church.

While out in the Shropshire countryside, visiting small villages connected to my Shropshire born great great grandfather Thomas, we revisited the church in the village where he was born. 

Lydbury North is a small village, near a big manor house of Walcot Hall. 

The Walcot's have their own side chapel in the church. 

The church is dedicated to St Michael & All Angels & there is a stained glass window to this effect behind the organ.   

In 780AD Egwin Shakehead was the owner of the parish. 

There was a parish in Lydbury in Saxon times.

The oldest part of the church was built in the time of the Normans & William the Clerk was the priest at the time of the Doomsday Book in 1086.

The church is in the shape of a cross, the central part is made up of the nave, choir & chancel. 

To the north is the Roman Catholic Plowden Chapel, to the south, the Walcot Chapel. 

The beautiful carved pews that line the central part are Jacobean,.

There is an oak Rood Screen near the Altar with the painted words of The Creed & the Ten Commandments. 

They are signed - Charles Bright, Churchwarden 1615. 

There was once a Roode Loft in 1623 above the screen but the door to the screen was blocked off at some time. 

The heavy oak church doors is supported by a beautiful pair of 15th century hinges. The door has holes thought to be made by musket balls or shells about that time. 

An information note near the door says that the door bears traces of bullets, probably from the civil war.

I find the history fascinating in these spaces. These sacred spaces survived through centuries, the floors worn by the footsteps of all those who have trod the same path as we did today. 

They sat in the same carved Jacobean pews we admired, passed under the same oak rood screen then knelt at the same altar we photographed. 

This unbroken line of time is humbling - we are really insignificant in the greater scheme of things. 

On the door to the bell tower, there is a glass engraved circular window panel up above the door. 

To my horror, my photo of the details did not come out clearly due to its height, so the postcard I purchased will have to do. 

Once home, I looked carefully at the details & the name Simon WHISTLER came up as the engraver. 

I immediately researched to see if he is connected to the engravings I had seen in Dorset & it turns out that he was the son of Laurence. 

Simon's Times obituary online is a fascinating insight in to this very talented family. He was not just an engraver, but a talented musician too. This is a good overview of his fascinating life. 

This is the door in the church with his engraving on it, and a postcard of the engraving.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope this has been of interest .I must return to the church to view it more closely, 

Dee