A touch of Easter at home ...

Our conservatory sideboard is well used and it has had the Royal Albert Old Country Roses on it with Mother's day / Mothering Sunday in the UK. 

However, Easter is early this year, at the start of April & having a free morning, I decided it is time to change for the Easter things we will use.  These are some previous ones ... 

Easter 2012 

Easter 2013 

Easter 2014 

Easter 2015 

Easter 2016 

Easter 2017 

Easter 2018

Easter 2019

Easter 2020 Covid times 

Easter 2021

Easter 2023 

Easter 2024 

Easter 2025

I admit to not having many Easter plates etc but supplement the few bunny ones with the cream ones by Spode that are used all the time at home. 

The bowl & jug were birthday presents more than a decade ago from Ms M, my sister in law & they are used & enjoyed. 

The pattern is called 'Running hares' by John Atkinson of Bell Pottery in Oxfordshire and is perfect. 

The rabbit side plates & jars are just from Dunelm a few years ago, a useful size from the high street shop that go well with the bowl & jug. 

The glass bunny bowl & two little dishes were bought in Graaff Reinet in the Karoo on a visit several years ago.  They do not stand well on the sideboard hence the blue tack to keep them in place. 

The glass bowl is by the talented Karoo glass artist Marguerite Beneke . 

I visited her studio in Aberdeen, Karoo, South Africa while out with family.  Each piece of glass is unique, often fired three times at high temperature to get the glass shape, the painting set & then the little glass bits to melt too. It is a fascinating process that produces unique glass items. 

I have several of her painted tiles too with iconic Karoo scenes. 

The little bowl will hold some tiny chocolate eggs to nibble on. 

I bought these two cute bunny art works in Riga, Latvia some years back when I visited. 

As soon as I saw them, I knew they would be perfect at home where we had two lionhead house rabbits. 

Their colours co-ordinate perfectly with the other Easter bits so they fit in well. 

The coloured fabric serviettes are often used for the tea trays - they were TK Maxx a few years ago & I love their cheerfulness. 

I will make a cake, probably a Victoria Sponge cake for the cake stand on Easter Sunday & decorate it will little chocolate eggs. 

It is my favourite cake because it is not too rich & is nicest when eaten on the day it is baked. 

I'm sure everyone is getting ready for Easter too because the schools will soon be on holiday & the little ones will be keen to turn their thoughts to chocolate eggs. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🐣🗿

The charm of French toile fabric

 While visiting family in Dorset, I was delighted to see there was a makers market on the Saturday. 

I prefer to support independent makers where I can because it is supporting livelihoods of creative people. 

I have followed AuntJanesattic on instagram for some time & when down in Dorset, I have looked for her on the stalls & bought some of her lovely makes. 

Her tabletop stall in the church hall was a delight of interesting spring items & some sweet Easter decorations.

My gaze fell on some packs of vintage fabric & I spied gorgeous pink / red toile fabric. I love the quirkiness of toile & the details on the country scenes on them. 

I purchased some delightful bits & once back in my Shire, I gently undid the plastic bag & some delightful things tumbled out; fabrics that go well with the toile, some pretty buttons, charms, vintage lace & some blue ticking. 

It is a well thought out fabric selection & I am delighted with my find. I have some ideas I have been formulating in my mind so do stop back to see what I decide. 

Who else finds gorgeous fabric irresistible? Do you have a colour palette you are drawn to? Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 📍🪡🧵

Roses for Mother's Day

 Mother's Day is celebrated in March in the UK, it falls half way through Lent & was a time when people made their way back to their 'Mother church'. 

 Spring flowers were often picked as a gift for their mum which is why they are still a feature of the day here. 

Some previous Mother's day posts I shared - Mother's day  Mother's day breakfast, , Mother's day breakfast 2013, For all the Mothers. 

Mothering Sunday is an important day in the UK - read last years post for the history of it. 

Having been gifted some gorgeous roses for Mother's day, I decided to change the sideboard to complement the flowers. 

My Old Country Roses (or named 'Celebration' when we bought it in South Africa) by Royal Albert are the perfect match. 

I love their delicate nature & they are handwash only because of their gold gilding but they come out several times a year to be used & enjoyed. 

I am a 'Motherless daughter' but remember both my Mother & my Mother in law Olive on this day.

Olive featured in most of my adult life - a very accomplished person who could turn her hand to most things - knitting, sewing, cooking, baking, making chutney, fabulous roast dinners, a great knowledge of the countryside & its plants, enthusiastic gardener etc 

I accompanied her to her Land Army lunch which recognised the contribution of women during the war when they kept things going. 

She was widowed for a decade & I spent a lot of time with her to help her through this transition & as she became frail, I was there for her to her last breath.

My Mother was a strong woman who faced the challenges of life with strength, determination & resilience.

To us she was fearless, fierce, fiery & formidable. 

If she was afraid in situations, it did not show because we felt sure she could face down any threat or danger that we faced.

In rural Africa, this strength of character is what was needed because of the many challenges that came our way. 

She was never a subservient person, always equal to my Dad, her lifelong partner & this influenced my own attitude throughout life - to have the confidence to face any challenge with fortitude & dignity.  We are not weak woman who are afraid to stand up for what is right. 

I am grateful for good genes from my maternal line - mitochondria I am proud to have. 

The prayers of my Mother, grandmother, & great grandmothers line still protecting me through life. 

My grandmother was there when I took my first breath, and I was with her when she took her last. 

We were very close thanks to my parents who encouraged this relationship.  She was my partner in adventures & I'm privileged to share her genes. 

On this Mothering Sunday, be thankful if you still have your Mother with you. We envy you ... 

Thank  you for stopping by, it is greatly appreciated. 

Dee 🌹💐

A daily stitching habit …

 I thought the practice of adding things to Lent is an interesting concept. I usually give up things - this year it is chocolate & it is going well so far. It is about discipline to fore go things you enjoy. I have managed it in the past so will keep going. Alongside this, several sites encourage 'adding to for Lent' and I thought 'why not?'. 

Who else has a needle book with lots of needles threaded in random cotton from previous projects? 

I have intentions this year to do some regular stitching which improves stitch memory by simply stitching without an end goal or pattern. There are several social media groups who do this but sometimes your own discipline is just as good without any pressure. 

I saw this craft stencil on eBay & it immediately seemed to be a shape that could be used for short stitches on a regular basis because it is quick to trace the shapes. 

I cut some plain off white cotton fabric, joined it in a long panel to use. I hope to do more stitching this year as time allows & the small shapes can be done in a few minutes. It is not a large shape looming when time is tight. It will be stitching only, no additional fabric. 

It will be trimmed when finished so it can be attached to a vintage industrial wooden roll / bobbin, the type that was used in mills in previous times. It can join some of the other sewing rolls I have already  finished, like this one of the NC500 in Scotland, and a mixed media scroll. 

The heat eraserable Frixion pen is so useful because any heat, even a hair drier, will erase the outline. The stencil can be rotated so the shapes are slightly different which is very useful. 

I hope this will inspire me to try out more stitches but  regular practice is important. The blank spaces can be filled with any stitches so it is a great creative exercise. I intend to use various lengths of threads from my miscellaneous thread box. I think we all have some of those threads in shorter lengths, weights & colours. This is a great way to use up some of them. 

I hope you are inspired to spend time doing something you enjoy too. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🧵🪡📍

A flipping good time on Shrove Tuesday ...

 

Our year is punctuated by dates in our calendars - today is Shrove Tuesday,  the start of LENT & the time leading up to Easter. 

We always mark this time at home, often with friends, and everyone gets a chance to flip the thin pancakes. 

I always use the same simple recipe for thick or thin pancakes, just adding more milk to thin it down. 

Today I did some smaller, thick ones, some with blueberries in them, then thinned the batter to do a thin one for flipping each. 

I think it is a great thing to cook & flip your own thin pancake - it gives you a moment to think about what Lent means & the action connects you to it. The trick is  to make sure it is loose of the pan &  to tip the pan towards you as you flip.

These thin ones are always dusted with cinnamon sugar & rolled up. 

We had them with strawberries, blueberries, natural yoghurt, maple syrup & a dusting of cinnamon sugar.

I have a bit of a sweet tooth so am giving up chocolate for the 40 days of Lent. 

It is actually 46 days to Easter but Sundays are not counted. 

I hope you have had a flipping good time too. Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 🍚🧑‍🍳🥘