TIME for a new year …

 I live with several large clocks & love their reassuring heart beat; each sounds differently, they chime differently & they look differently- what is not to love? 

Clocks also remind me of the passing of time - the one thing in life that we do not know how much we have of it, the one thing we cherish. 

I usually set a TIME themed sideboard & table but this year we are all laid low by flu & so no entertaining. 

However, I look back on 2022 with satisfaction - our long awaited trip across Bulgaria, the Balkans, Romania & Transylvania was everything we hoped for & more. 

I took a solo Holocaust tour because it is something that I am passionate about. That period of time has always captured my attention & because many of my ancestral lines lived in those regions & some are known to have perished according to dna matches. Sometimes I genuinely think you have to follow your heart & just do it. 

The third trip is as many of you know, a return trip to Southern Africa to fulfil my Dads last wish, to revisit special places & to catch up too. 

As 2022 ends, I send good wishes to you all. 2023 will be what you bring to it so think carefully - bring love, thoughtfulness, kindness, truth, compassion & hope. 

Be blessed, thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 💕🕰️

Using the time between the years ...

 Twixmas is the pretty name for the week between Christmas & the new year. 

Just as the pandemic was raising its head at the end of 2019, we took a Twixmas tour & what fun it was to just breach that time when things stand still. I had been on another  tour just the week before that to the beautiful cities of  Salzburg, Munich & Innsbruck  & it was a magical time - little did we know what awaited us in 2020 ... 

I like to use this time between the years to just tidy up my diary & add in the things that will come up so quickly once the new year is here.  I rely on my diary to keep track of students & appointments so it is a good time to get it all in order. 

I am seldom without a notebook at hand - I just love writing, making notes, doing planning for sewing or such like & so have an assortment of pens at hand, because you never know which one you need. Mine are on a nice rotating wooden container that is compact & functional. 

I was blessed to be gifted a pink leather notebook / journal by my lovely friend & neighbour - it has my name impressed on it & I am so pleased with it. 

I like to make the distinction - diaries are for appointments, journals for thoughts, travel journals are for recording moments you will return to .... 

During this week, after the busyness of the festive season, it is a time to just reflect on the year in the quietness when no one really expects much to be done - the quiet after the storm time. 

However you are spending the time between the years, I hope you have had restorative & reflection time, thank you for stopping by, see you in 2023 

Dee ~💕~

Wishes for Christmas 2022

Our fifth Advent candle was lit for the start of Christmas - white for Christmas,  lovely to watch the candles all burning down together - watching candles burn is very peaceful. 

Sending all the best wishes from my home to yours at Christmas- may you bring joy, happiness & love with you to your festive gatherings. 

My favourite way to start Christmas is with a little pot of fruit, yoghurt & granola with orange juice.  It is a calm way to start the day without indulging in something too heavy. How did you start the day? 

The family around, opening various gifts & exchanging news - that is what it is all about, just enjoying being together. 

Be blessed & thank you for stopping by, 

Dee ~💕~

The Holly & the Ivy - bringing the greenery in ....

 It is time for me to take my garden clippers & head off to the local hedgerows to cut some holly & ivy to bring in to the house as a traditional greening or to  'deck with halls with boughs of holly ... '

We have had a wreath on our front door since the first Sunday of Advent but I love to go one step further & bring in some fresh greenery in the last week before Christmas. 

I have brought out the portmeirion candlestick & dishes with the traditional images ... 

This custom has pagan origins and the familiar carol is well known & it is common to see it on cards & decorations at this time of the year.  I picked some fresh holly branches at my friend today ... 

Holly & ivy are evergreens so they remind us of the coming Spring, the return of the light after a dark winter period. The prickly holly leaves & blood red berries are sometimes associated with the crown of Christ & the blood shed. 

Mistletoe is also closely associated with it, sprigs are still hung under which you can kiss. This was used by Druids in time past as a symbol of joy & peace.  Enemies had to form a truce if they met in woodlands under which mistletoe grew ... 

I love lighting a candle in this candle stick that is the classic holly & ivy,  I have brought in fresh holly & ivy as is traditional. It is good to observe small rituals associated with this time of the year. 

Thank you for your time; each visit is appreciated, 

Dee ~💕~

A Winter Solstice simmer pot

 Hi all, hope you are all managing to find some calm amidst the rush, slow down, take a moment to enjoy the rhythm of nature & the gentle passing of the year ... 

We have reached our shortest day today - the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st December this year & we will have reached the tipping point of Winter.  It is a time I like to connect with nature & to just ground myself amidst the busyness of the festive season. 

This is how I have marked the solstice in previous years at home:  

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2017 

it in 2018 

I am always reminded of the traditional things associated with midwinter - the Carol - In the Bleak midwinter .... 

Charles Dicken's story of A Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge etc

Of the Holly & the Ivy carol - traditional greenery brought in to the home at this time, a pagan tradition that is very apt as most people hang a fresh wreath on their front door & drape holly over picture frames etc. 

Crowds will once again gather at Stonehenge to witness the Winter Solstice as is traditional amongst the pagans here. It is a time honoured tradition ... 

This time I am minded to do a simmer pot to freshen the house with festive scents for Solstice - a sort of cleaning of the air. We do not use any artificial air fresheners so natural fragrances (pomanders, potpourri etc) 

I gathered sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, sprigs of fresh rosemary & sage,  a few star anise, a whole nutmeg and a splash of vanilla & added them to a pot, covered the contents with water, brought it to a gentle simmer, then let the scent waft through the house. This is a traditional method. 

What spices or items would you add that remind you of mid Winter?  Tomorrow I will pick fresh hedgerow Holly & Ivy & bring it in to the house, probably humming a familiar carol as I do that ... 

Thank you for stopping by at this busy time, we have passed the darkest of our winter,  the light returns as every day it will become lighter again. 

Dee ~💕~

The four Advent candles are lit ...

Hi everyone, 

Is it possible that we are now at the Sunday before Christmas? 

We have now lit all 4 Advent candles - one each Sunday and this coming Sunday - Christmas Day, I will light the white one along with the others while we have breakfast together. 

I love the flickering light as it ~ s l o w s ~ the time down & reminds us what is really important this time of the year. 

Amidst the rush to create the perfect Christmas, breathe deeply, slow down, practice gratitude for the blessings you have and the troubles you don't,  seek solitude amidst the noise and most of all, be kind - the last 3 years have bruised people .... 

The traditional meaning of the Advent candles, 

First candle - purple for HOPE 

Second candle - purple for LOVE

Third candle - pink for JOY

Fourth candle - purple for PEACE 

Fifth candle on Christmas eve - ivory for CHRISTMAS

Thank you for stopping by, reading & leaving a comment .... 

Dee ~💕~

Making some little patchwork Christmas decorations

 Hi all, 

Winter is upon us with some snow & very cold temperatures. It is perfect weather to just catch up on things because my students are finished till the new year. 

I have seen several versions on Instagram of scrappy / patchwork Christmas trees - similar to the handmade ones I did but made from blocks of fabrics. 

A friend saw a picture of my trees & asked for one for her tree. The handmade ones were made for the little one to string up as a garland or pop on the tree while visiting over Christmas without anything that can be pulled off & eaten. They also had longer ribbons for little hands to handle easier. 

I decided to make a few as gifts using the patchwork idea I had seen.  

I cut strips of the festive & complimentary fabrics in various widths & then stitched them together in strips with similar colours together. It is the first time I had used this technique so just made it up as I went along. 

     

I ironed the joins as flat as I could then used a similar tree template for cutting them out - the joins were quite thick in places.  I often reuse the cardboard from packaging as it is a good way to recycle things. My templates ... 

I decided to do a few small house shapes to use up the smaller pieces & one boot shape (using a cookie cutter as a template shape)

Thin wadding / batting was sandwiched between the patchwork front & a thin fabric / muslin layer. I used what I had - the thin backing fabric was pre-cut bits from when I made facemasks in lockdown. 

It is easier to machine stitch around the outline, then cut out the 3 layers. Now for the fun bit - blanket stitch in festive green, red or gold around the shape to hold it all together, then embellishing with stitch, beads or such things. 

I have a bendy IKEA lamp that I use at night when I am sewing at the table. It directs the light at the work & helps to be able to do the fine bead work. I was not sure about the patchwork designs but in the end I am rather pleased with the result. 

They are all clearly homemade, imperfectly original & some will be gifted along with a Christmas card, others will simply find a home on our own tree - high up away from little hands. I think they look rather festive with their little tinkling bells & colours .... 

I hope you have found some time to just do a little pottering around before things get busy. Thank you for stopping by, I always appreciate a comment for a follow. 

Dee ~💕~

Hand made Christmas tree decorations

 Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by at this busy time. Will you be doing any sewing before Christmas? 

I decided to do little fabric tree shapes that could be strung for a garland or used on the Christmas  tree. 

My design is a simple one of a tree shape with a little combined base. The triangle tree is about 12 cm tall & about 10 cm wide at the base. Do a size you are happy with, fold it in half (to get an identical shape) and then cut out a template. Mine template is from an old envelop (a good way to reuse the paper that drops through the door.) In the end, I decided to do a combined tree & base shape as that is easier to work with. 

I used festive fabric I already had then machine stitched with a ribbon at the top. I stitched 3 sides & while it was still under the machine, I gently stuffed some soft batting / toy filler in & poked it about with this lovely pointed wooden stick I had found recently in a shop. It works so well ... 

After sewing them together, I decided to do blanket stitch around the edges in gold, red or green to finish off the shape neatly. It is a favourite decorative stitch that looks especially nice in a bold colour.

  A simple design but one that little hands can play with in the run up to Christmas. It is good to have decorations that can be moved about without fear of damage. The best thing is I used everything I already had in my sewing stash & that is a good thing. 

Will you have time to do some sewing or is the busy time catching up now? 

Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate a share or follow, 

Dee ~💕~