Pure & beautiful snowdrops ...

In the midst of the frosty & cold winter, suddenly, the snowdrops poke their pretty heads out & it feels like Spring is on the way. 

No snow to go with them at the moment, but their translucent blooms really are a joy in woodlands & especially in church yards where they often appear en masse. 

The Shropshire church of St James in Shipton always has a magnificent display of thousands of snowdrops & yellow aconites. The solid stone church with its square tower is the perfect backdrop to the delicateness of the tiny snowdrops that are at about 15-25cm tall. 

The church is 11th century and it is a grade 2 listed building so it is always an interesting visit. 

HISTORY: Shipton church is first mentioned c1110, and was probably a small 2-celled church until the tower was added at some time in the medieval period, and which contained 3 bells by 1552. The chancel was described as a 'great ruin' in 1553 and was replaced and rebuilt at the expense of John Lutwyche of Shipton Hall in 1589, as recorded on a brass memorial plaque in the chancel. The new chancel was probably built on the ruins of the old, with openings in the same position. The south porch appears to have been part of the same works. The exterior walls were rendered by 1789. The C18 gallery and C17 pews were removed in 1905-6 when a major re-ordering took place, at which time the walls were stripped of plaster and the present pews were installed.

On a fresh day of just 2C, we made the trip to see them. Brighter skies after several grey days is perfect to set them off against. 

The weathered headstones again providing the contrast that is needed to photograph them against. 

  

The church contains a memorial to the four More children who did the perilous trip on the Mayflower to America. Their story is in a previous blog post - do read it.  

The beloved British poet William Wordsworth's Daffodil poem - I wandered lonely as a cloud - is well known but he also paid tribute to the pretty snowdrop being the harbinger of Spring ... 

How can you not be charmed by the purity of snowdrops on a frosty day? 

The creamy white against the green foliage is a delight, a promise of new life emerging ... 

It is always a delight to see masses of snowdrops, Spring & blue skies might be on the way, 

Dee 

Roast carrot, parsnip & orzo soup

 Our winter has been cold & this week the temperatures have barely made it to 3c. It is definitely comfort food weather & soups are always on the menu. 

I love roast root vegetables - carrots, parsnips, butternut, onions, sweet potatoes, swedes etc. Roasting the vegetables really caramelises the flavours & a large tray of roasted vegetables lasts at least 2 meals then the remains are made in to a thick & nourishing soup. It takes a few minutes to boil it up in some additional vegetable stock, season, blend & serve with homemade croutons or bubbly cheese toasties.  

I had roasted carrots & parsnips from supper, & coming back in after visiting some snowdrops, we needed something hot & nourishing. 

After boiling, blitzing & seasoning I decided to add some orzo to it to give it substance without the bread. 

I poured some in, stirred it & added a bit more water then gave it regular stirs for about 10 minutes until the orzo was al dente. Seasoned with black pepper & served. 

What a hearty soup, a little goes a long way & perfect for a winters day. 

What is your favourite soup? Inspire me please. Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🥣🥫☃️❄️🥶

Some LOVEly hearts ...

The shops are once again filled with all things Valentine - it has become, or perhaps it always was, a huge commercial thing. 

Some previous posts about Valentine's day 

What is love? 

A funny little thing called love

Roses on Valentines day

True love is not just one day 

I heart Valentines day 

The love we don't always see 

Love is what you do 

Tiny needle heart books 

I had previously made some of these little heart needle cases for friends & they were so cute & useful too. 

This year I wonder if I should make some hearts, similar to these Scandinavian ones I made previously? 

Perhaps some new drawer knob hangers for the conservatory? 

The conservatory sideboard has had the gentle colours of the pink countryside china since Christmas, along with the understated creamware of the Spode Chelsea wicker pattern. 

I added my well used Rosenthal  heart candle holder & two pink heart shaped bowls. that is enough I think ... 

I decided to do some hangers for the drawer knobs, I first did two rectangular ones but the middle drawer looked lost so I did a quick heart shaped one for there so the 3 drawers look good together. 

I used the same map fabric & ribbon. That will be my nod to Valentine’s Day I think - maps, stamps & travel. 

What is not to love. 

However you observe Valentine's day, enjoy it & remember, true love is the little things you do consistently for those you love.  Love is often unseen, it is felt in the things people do for you & you for them. Thank you for stopping by, your visits are always appreciated. 

Dee 🩷💕❤️🧡💛💚

Making new drawer hangers

 I had every intention of making a heart shaped hanger for Valentine’s Day for the sideboard. 

However, when I pulled out some fabric, my eye fell on a map remnant I had & that changed the direction of my sewing. I have always loved maps & this fabric reflects that love of travel. 

I decided to use the part map of Southern Africa & the Indian Ocean as the fronts for the hanger. I backed the fronts with a thin batting & machine stitched along the lines, pinned ribbon in place for the hangers. 

After pinning the front & back right sides together they were machine stitched leaving an opening at the bottom of each to turn through. The corners were pushed out gently to neaten them. This vintage wooden tool is great for turning corners & is much used. 

 They were lightly stuffed then the edges machined all around, closing that opening.  

All finished & ready for the door knobs on the conservatory sideboard. 

Are you busy with anything at the moment. Tell all, thank you for visiting

Dee 🪡🧵📍🧭

Learning to stitch portraits ...

 

I love to take advantage of online courses & recently joined a 5 day stitch club portrait workshop. 

I have long admired stitched portraits but always find facial features to be difficult so I was keen to follow along & learn the techniques needed to produce something vaguely recognisable. 

A choice of threads - which skin tones are needed?  I kept the colours I selected together because I knew I would return to do her portrait & wanted a continuity across the two. I used some silk threads too for his hair which gave a softness to it. All the outlines is in a single strand of thread only. 

We had to choose a photo that was about 6x8 inch large & I looked around & then my eye fell on to the one of the great grandparents. I had taken a photo of the framed image that hangs on my wall (the 4th generation to have it) and they seemed like the best option. 

I assumed that I know them because I have seen them daily for most of my life but looking carefully at the photo really gave me insight in to details like the colour of their eyes, their clothes, his watch chain & waistcoat, her brooch on her dress ... 

The technique is basically to trace an outline of the image - I scanned the photo for ease, then trace it on to paper or directly on to the fabrics.  A few months ago, I bought a flat bed light box cheaply off ebay - it uses a usb power supply & while it is not the most powerful light, it is adequate. 

I split the image in to the head / face / neck as one shape in neutral calico, then traced their clothing on to the fabric taking inspiration from the photo. 

I did Bernard as my workshop portrait but was conscious that they are very much a pair ... 

I was nervous about how to do the features but the sketchy stitch approach worked really well & I completed his outline in one afternoon alongside the workshop to my great surprise. It is done in single strand embroidery thread which gives it a lighter feel.  I am thrilled with his portrait. The rest of the week was adding in shading in various colours to reflect light & shadows & then finally working on the details on his clothing. I am surprised at the likeness & have been hesitant to do Catherina because I was not confident I would do her justice. 

I find this embroidery stand to be very useful for projects like this because the photo is right in front of you while you work.

However, after almost a month, I traced her on to fabrics using a lightbox, cut out the head & neck & positioned it alongside him. I decided to give her a lacey top as a nod to her Dutch origins. From my painting, it appears that her eyes are a hazel colour (his was blue) so I added that. Her one eyebrow is slightly raised in a quizzical gesture that is very becoming. 

Looking at the pair of them, I think I have somehow managed to sew a slightly younger version of them - about a decade younger than their portrait & that is interesting because it would have been young love. He was a fairly recent German arrival,  she was Dutch;  I loved this combination of heritage in a beloved maternal grandfather. Looking at his parents so closely has somehow connected me more deeply to them & it has been a very interesting new technique. 

   

I still have to finish the details on her, the fading light is not good for the fine details with single strand embroidery thread so I will come back to her. I kept the threads I used for the first portrait handy which means the two portraits will sit well together. I still need to add in more shading on her hair & face but I am pleased with her … 

The next step is to gently blow hot air from the hairdrier over the portrait to remove the heat pen used to trace in the details. These Frixion pens are brilliant as the marks are gone very quickly with just heat. Without the outline marks, it is now easier to see where the shading needs to be. It is a work in progress ... 

Do you challenge your skills & learn new ones along the way? Tell all .... 

Thank you for stopping by, for sharing or leaving a comment, it is always appreciated. 

Dee