Whose woods these are I think I know ....

I regularly do this Robert Frost poem with my students - like all his poems, there are so many meanings within it & it flows so easily. 

This week we woke to about 6 inches of snow in Shropshire & I love how quiet everything becomes. The familiar looks different, and the words 'stopping by woods", came to mind 

The little woods opposite us was a life saver in Covid restriction times & I love walking through them & down to our local lake. This is what we did in the freshly fallen snow.

The weight of the snow bent several trees, giving a tunnel effect with flakes drifting gently down. 

Our garden looked beautiful with the hedges white from the snow & our large topiary balls looking like Xmas  puddings with their white snow. 

The clear skies gave us some beautiful morning & night skies too with slithers of colour across the sky. The woods were a magical Narnia like place & it is always best to enjoy them. 

It is likely that we will have more snow over the coming winter & I hope I never tire of the child like wonder of it.

Thank you for stopping by, leaving a comment, subscribing or sharing. It is much appreciated. 

Dee ❄️⛄️

A warming winter soup

 Winter has suddenly arrived, we woke to falling snow. I love to take a snow walk around my local space  to enjoy the change the snow brings as the familiar looks different & it becomes very quiet too. 

It is soup weather - fortunately last night I did a large tray of roast vegetables - I cut a whole butternut in to slices, removed the pips from the section that had it & cut them slices in to blocks. I did not peel it because the skin is good fibre & it softens as it cooks. I cut up a whole white onion in to smallish bits, added it to the tray. I peeled 3 large carrots & cut these in half then in to chunks too. Drizzled it all with olive oil, sprinkled over sweet paprika (my favourite spice with oven veg), garlic & pepper. I covered it with foil & roasted it for about 40 min then uncovered it to caramelise the onion & veg. It was served hot alongside local sausages, mash & aubergine too. 

I knew I would have vegetables for soup  & another meal too (we love roast vegetables) so it is a good way to do it. 

This is how I turn it in to a quick & nutritious soup. 

I added 1 stock cube to boiling water in a pan, added a few heaped serving spoons of the roast veg. I brought it all to the boil, covered it while I made an open toasty to go with it. 

The small baguette was sliced in half, spread with tomato sauce that was seasoned with garlic & pepper, the sliced sausage arranged on top, then grated cheese to top it off & under the grill to bubble away. 

The soup was blitzed with a stick blender to a  smoothish consistency, a spoon of mascarpone cheese stirred through it then put in to bowls to enjoy. These soup bowls with lids keep the soup warm & they are a perfect size too. 

It was absolutely delicious & nutritious after our brisk walk in the snow. Winter is soup season, so enjoy. What is your favourite soup recipe? Please share, 

Dee 

#11 Circular Stitching - Wispy mists

Like many, I am not the best at completing long tasks & when I joined this year long challenge, I had my doubts if I would complete the 12 monthly tasks.  I was buoyed by the idea that each task is only given out at the start of the month & you have a whole month to complete - that made it less daunting. 

The format was uniform across the year - 6x6 inch squares with a 4inch circle that the work is done on.  A stiffening board is inserted in between the front & back layer to give it strength then the edges have to be finished in a sturdy blanket stitch. 

To keep me on track, I cut 13 identical fronts, backs & the stiffeners & placed them in a small plastic container along with the roll of thread I would use to blanket stitch each months work. That was the deciding factor for me because I could take out what I needed without having to go through the process of finding the same fabrics, cutting the 3 needed for each task each month. 

I decided to machine embroider the monthly name on black fabric & fabric glue it to the back of each one to remind me what the challenge was. That will be a good reminder down the line. 

Here are the previous monthly challenges:

1 - Snow blanket 

2 - Conceal & reveal 

3 - Renewal 

4 - New Life a New Life alternative 

5 - Blossom Time 

6 - From Source to sea 

7 - Radial Symmetry 

8 - Seed Dispersal 

9 - Seasonal Secrets 

10 - Fascinating Fungi 

11 - Wispy Mists 

The final one will be revealed in December then we will learn how we are presenting all 12 challenges. 

The wispy mist brief was to overlay a fine fabric over a landscape like trees to suggest the autumn mists. Paula offered several suggestions & having weekend visitors, I did not start it immediately. 

However, while on a walk around Stafford Castle on Saturday, an idea came to mind for the task - a path of autumn leaves with trees & suggestions of the green foliage too. 

I decided to do my 4 inch circle with free hand machine embroidery & after roughly drawing it on water soluble film, I did the image in several tones of each colour needed. That part is a little laborious because of the thread changes & rethreading the machine so often. 

I did some swirling grey misty shapes over the trees & then took it to the basin & dipped the film in it. 

It dissolves almost instantly leaving a good shape. However, I did not like the swirling mist embroidery over the trees - it was too distracting so I got out a little scissors & cut the threads loose. It was the last threads to go on so that was manageable but fiddly. It looked better without it. 

I put it on the front square then added a bit of green voile where the bushes would be & tacked the edges of the circle to the square. I covered the whole 6 inch square with a fine voile I had, pinned it then machined the edges like the previous ones.  The linen I used for the  fronts frays & isn't secure enough for the blanket stitching so a line of machine stitching gives support to the edges. 

It was then  blanket stitched in the same thread as the others. 

I felt it had lost its definition with the wispy mist overlay so when I came back to it a day later, I decided to put tiny stitches around the edges of the tree shapes to give them definition & it definitely did. 

Some soft wool was couched around the circular edges to finish it off as swirling mists & it is ready for the machine name to go on the back. 

I am pleased that my interpretation worked - this stitching challenge has encouraged us to think out of the box - it is suggestive rather than prescriptive which is so creative. 

Just one more challenge, I look forward to it. 

Thank you for stopping by, taking the time to read, share or comment. It is much appreciated. 

Dee 🪡🧵📍🌳

Drinking in the history of Shrewsbury's pubs ...

A recent newspaper article debunked the myths of many pubs nationally claiming great age to them. 

Our county town of Shrewsbury was used to film Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol in 1984 & has several pubs / inns with the age noted (as is common) and the Henry Tudor Inn gets a mention. I walk past it often on my trips so read the note with interest. 

The article (from a book) says that the claim on the front of the Henry Tudor Inn that it was established i 1429 is actually true. The timbers have been carbon-dated to 1426 - how fascinating is that to have been serving drinks for 600 years. 

THE CLAIM – DATES BACK TO 1429

Owner Joule’s Brewery claims that the pub has ‘carbon-dated origins from 1429’.

IS IT TRUE? Yes it is.

James writes: ‘The front range of the property has been tree-ring dated to 1430-31 and was probably built as a mixed-purpose commercial enterprise – including a brewhouse and taproom - for the Shrewsbury MP Hugh Wygan.

‘The southern range, where the present bar is located, has a slightly earlier felling date of 1426.’

I have not been in the pub but I might be tempted on my next visit to pop in. 

The Henry Tudor Inn is next door to The Lion Hotel which is famous for its connection to Charles Darwin. Its website shares this info

 “For most travellers, The Lion Hotel is the end of their journey as they arrive in Shrewsbury for a short break to explore this historic town. However, for one intrepid traveller, The Lion Hotel was the start of an epic adventure. Twenty-two-year-old Charles Darwin departed the hotel in haste on Monday, September 5, 1831, by stagecoach to London on his way to join HMS Beagle for a five-year trip, which would end with him writing his controversial book on evolution, The Origin of Species”. – John Butterworth, ‘Four Centuries at The Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury’.

What fascinating times these must have been. This guide mentions some of Shrewsbury's old pubs

Just over the road from the above two Inns is The Nag's Head , a 14th Century Historic Pub

The Nag's Head

One of Shrewsbury's best-known pubs, The Nags Head dates back to the 16th century. Whilst the building is a classic Tudor timber frame, the front is now hidden behind a stucco facade. The unique side-opening sash windows that grace the front elevation are sandwiched between carved beams, considered to be the finest examples of Tudor carving in Shrewsbury.

Attached to the rear of the pub are the remains of Nags Head House, which dates back to the late medieval period. This structure was moved here in the 1950s.

Some may recognise Nags Head House from A Christmas Carol (1984) which was filmed here in Shrewsbury. It is, according to Scrooge, the “foulest part of the town” and is where the ghost of Christmas Future brings him to watch as his belongings are sold.

I have not visited The Nag's Head either. 

Higher  up in town there is The Loggerheads circa 1665, used as a pub from 1780.

I hope you have found this as interesting as I have,  our county town, nestled in the loop of the Severn River is always interesting. 

Thank you for stopping by & taking the time to share or comment; it is appreciated. 

Dee 🏯🏨🍂

I go to feed my soul ...

I go to lose my mind & feed my soul 

This well known quote describes how I live my life - I need spaces that feed my soul & am happy to seek them out on my own because I enjoy quiet & solitude. 

Solitude is when your inner voice speaks to you, how you ground yourself. 

You are familiar with my favourite local abbey Ruins - there is something there that draws me to it & I visit often when I need space. 

However, the gate is now shut for winter so a walk is needed to it & having the wrong shoes with me for the muddy road, on a whim I decided to visit Buildwas Abbey which is a mere 15 minutes away. 

The joy of driving in to the parking & being the only car & person there - absolute bliss. 

These places take on a different atmosphere when quiet; they almost resonate with their spiritual past & this is what feeds the soul. 

I have visited Buildwas Abbey less than a handful of times only, even though it is not far. This is a comprehensive history of this fascinating space, dating right back to the early 1100's. 

It was a Cistercian abbey with a 12th century church and an original Chapter House with interesting tiles on the floor. 

The tiles are small with many patterns & varied markings. If they could only speak & tell us of the interesting lives who have walked over them for centuries ... 

The vaulted ceilings on these side rooms are impressive but I always find the dark ones a little off putting. 

The River Severn is very close by & that would have supplied the Abbey with all their needs. 

I am glad I stopped off on a whim & even more pleased that I had the space entirely to myself, except for some squirrels who were darting about in the Autumn foliage. 

I hope you have enjoyed this return visit with me, thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 

Infused date & banana loaf on a damp autumn morning ...

 I think we all have times when we look at the fruit bowl & think; how did the bananas go soft so quickly? 

Today was such a morning & as I picked up the last 3 bananas, I thought - I have everything in so waste not & turn them in to a banana loaf. This is a recipe I bake regularly with variations including with cranberries

My store cupboards usually contain everything needed for these impromptu baking times, as well as some extras.  Everyone likes a homemade treat so I took out some dates, desiccated coconut & even a shake of chocolate bits that usually end up in cookies. 

This is my tried & trusty recipe that I often double to make a loaf & some muffins, today just a loaf.  I used a paper lined loaf tin. 

Infused date & banana loaf

The dates felt a bit underwhelming so I cut up about 100g & put them to soak in a warm Earl Grey / Rooibos (Red Bush) tea mixture to just cover them & plump them up again while I made up the rest of the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 175C (for a fan oven)

Ingredients

130g butter 

150g dark brown sugar

2 medium eggs

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

240g self raising flour & 1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 tsp of any spices you like - mixed spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger etc 

1 tsp vanilla extract. 

Line a loaf tin with lining paper or grease & flour a loaf tin. 

Cream the butter & sugar until pale  & fluffy.

Add the eggs to the mixture, along with a bit of the flour to stop the mixture curdling. 

Add the mashed bananas & the drained chopped dates & mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder, spices, vanilla extract & mix in well. 

Pour in to the loaf tin or lined, deep muffin tins & bake in the middle of the oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from testing. 

Cool on a cake rack & enjoy with a hot cuppa. It  can be eaten as is or lightly buttered. 

The house smelt absolutely wonderful with the spices & a hint of the tea infusion (you can naturally skip this step if you don’t like infused fruit) 

Do let me know if you make it or what variations you prefer.

Thank you for stopping by, liking, sharing or commenting. 

Dee 👩‍🍳🍪🍞🍌

#10 Circular Stitching - Fascinating fungi

 Month 10 of 12 months circular stitching saw the brief look at fascinating fungi & the forest floor in late Autumn when fungi are abundant & varied.  The previous ones are all listed here ...

The brief was to make fungi in our 4 inch circle. The suggested stitches were the fly stitch combined with the pistol stitch. 

It was suggested to make 3 smaller lightly padded Suffolk puffs then turn them over for the stitching to be done on the round back, suggesting the gills of the mushrooms 

I remembered that I still had these 3 beaded & stitched moss shapes from a stitch along on another group  - making zen is always so inspirational.

The stitches had been challenging & varied - several stitch combinations in each shape & they were still on a hoop along with the various green threads I had used.  They are perfect to combine with this challenge because fungi & moss live side by side on the forest floor. 

I cut out the 3 shapes & decided to add them to the already cut shapes I had prepared for the year. 

I came across this forest scene stamp in my stash & thought - why not? 

It is my understanding that heat will set the ink from normal stamp pads on fabric so I stamped the forest then heated it to set (supposedly.) 

The 4 inch circle was drawn on this stamped background then the cut out moss shapes positioned along the circle. 

I made 2 brown Suffolk puffs, turning the brown fabric around so the reverse was used as it was a gentler colour for the fungi. 

I decided to use the gathered side & as suggested, whip stitched the edges to give it a slightly raised look & then whipped some of the folds to give the structure of the underside of the fungi. 

 The 3 shapes were stitched on to the circular shape, some beads in the same colour dotted around the remaining circular shape. 

We had made these tiny flower shapes in our Blossom stitching in August so I combined circles in green & brown fabric to make the flower shapes & thought just 3 was needed on the forest floor. 

I am not sure about this but I lightly felted in some wafts of felting wool to suggest leaves & canopy on  the stamped background. 

The 3 edges were machined, the stiffener added in & the last edge stitched. It was overstitched by hand with blanket stitch as required so that the final task after month 12 will be to join them - we do not know that detail yet but I am confident mine will be fine as I have followed the binding instructions. 

It is interesting doing something quite different each month, we are encouraged to be bold & original & this is what I have done. 

Edited note - I was pleased that I pushed the boat out & incorporated stamping in this effort but it felt unfinished so I thought - it is mine completely so I am going to try something else. 

I used Ikea fabric pens to lightly add in details on the stamped background to give it definition. Just very light mark making to make it feel more complete & it certainly helped. What do you think? 

Thank you for stopping by, taking time to read, like, share or comment, 

Dee 🪡📍🧵🍂

Felting an Autumn scene with heather & sheep ...

 In 2022, I took a 3D free motion embroidery day course in using dissolvable film to create a tree which was mounted in a tea cup. The details are here and the results are here ...  

A cousin has been visiting & she asked about how needle felting is done so I got down some of the things, it is easier to do than explain. 

My teacup & the test piece was close at hand so we used that as inspiration. 

It was the first  time she had done needle felting so the multi needle stabber with the safety piece was sensible. I had learnt to needle felt on a local course in 2017  & love the creativeness of it. 

Time passed so quickly while cousin & I felted a scene.  I decided to do 3 fat Shropshire sheep for mine; my previous one had 5 smaller ones but I like a change. 

The faces & legs are stitched on with black thread & after a few stitches, they looked good, like well fed sheep in early Autumn. I had felted in some sheep on my Scottish scroll with wool I had found along the way so had had recent practise. 

Cousin Lorraine tinkered with her trees the next morning & her scene was very sweet. She really enjoyed the new challenge & went away with some of my bits to carry on with some more felting. 

I have put both my little panels together with my 3D tree, they are similar but not the same. The lifelong teacher in me loves sharing my skills & inspiring others. 

I hope  you  find time to seize the moment & learn new skills whenever the opportunity arises. 

Thanks for stopping by, taking time to read & liking or sharing the blog, it is much appreciated. 

Dee 📍🧵🪡🐏🐑

Sir Christopher Wren's connection to St Mary's church, Ingestre

 On a visit to Staffordshire, we made a detour to the Ingestre golf course where hubby had recently played & won in a tournament. He had spied a church on the estate & wanted to see more.

The estate on which the golf course is, has so many interesting cottages, buildings & a church that is the only church outside of London attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, the acclaimed architect of St Paul's Cathedral in London & many others rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The church details are as such ... 

The Church to the south-east of the house dates to 1673, and is attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. The formal gardens of that time are extensive. There is a large wilderness on the hill above to the west, and a parterre towards the park to the north.

The inside is absolutely beautiful with impressive tombs & monuments to the Earls of Shrewsbury & other members of the Chetwynd, Talbot & Chetwynd-Talbot families. 

Some of the church windows come from the original church before it was remodelled by Sir Christopher Wren; they are not as bright as the later ones. Some windows were Victorian & were made in the workshops of William Morris, the leader of the Arts  & Crafts Movement. These reflect the richness of the pre-Raphaelite colours.

The cemetery around the church is fascinating too with many family plots & impressive headstones. 

I was touched by this tribute to a teacher.  How amazing to be recognised for his dedication to his profession. It is some thing us educators aspire to; to have our contribution acknowledged. 

A very interesting time soaking in history in this small church set in an estate n that would have been hugely influential in its time. 

I hope you have enjoyed the visit with me, do stop by again, subscribe & share the link please. 

Dee