Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series run by Nat over at Threads & Bobbins – click on the link to find out more and how you can join in.
1. The moment that Charlotte was announced as the winner in series four of the Great British Sewing Bee. So close this year, it could have been any one of the three finalists.
2. N0.1 Son treated us to a pub lunch as a belated Father’s Day treat.
3. Being a very rural school, each classroom has its own set of oft-worn wellies stored upside down on racks outside. I thought they made a pleasing picture.
4. Inspired by my cross body bags, a student made her own version. Isn’t it pretty?
5. Woody Bay steam trains – a must, if you have boys and are ever in the Barnstaple area.
6. We bought First Class tickets and travelled in relative luxury compared to the wooden benches in cattle class!
7. The plush buttoned head rests were even adorned with individual cut-work panels, which were lovely.
8. After looking at another b+b, we walked down to the local beach. Just a twelve minute stroll from the building is this secluded bay. Perfect for an evening barbecue for potential guests staying with us on a residential sewing retreat?
9. No.3 Son was straight in the sea.
10. Sunday was Sports Day in our house. Watching two Brits win the men’s single and mixed doubles finals was a nice way to spend the day with visiting tennis-mad family. I laid on a cream tea spread to enjoy, with plenty of strawberries and cream. Well, it was Wimbledon, after all.
I went to bed and left them watching the Euro football final. I think Portugal may have won?
Better late than never, here is this week’s Sunday Sevens!
1. Is Summer ever going to come to England? Eleven degrees centigrade and it felt chilly enough to light the fire. I haven’t abandoned the flip flops just yet though.
2. Working on prototypes for a commercial commission and my table looks like this. Why can’t I be a tidy sewer?
3. We walked to the pub in the rain – again.
4. This gorgeous yarn arrived from the USA.
5. It’s going to be a laceweight, circular baby shawl – if I can ever work it out. I’ve frogged it twice already.
6. A nightshirt and pyjamas were completed in classes this week.
7. Remember the shop window with the cardboard city from a couple of weeks ago? Cardboard bird boxes have replaced them, complete with Astro turf and garden birds helping themselves to the top of the milk.
9. I started making some crochet daisies. Just because.
10. No.3 Son won Manager’s Player of the Year for his outstanding goalkeeping this season.
11. No.3 Son posing for a photo at Hauser and Wirth Gallery in Bruton.
14. At the bar inside, I just HAD to try their homemade Dill Gin.
15. My daughter in her new car. It suits her, don’t you think?
If you fancy joining in Sunday Sevens, visit Nat at Threads & Bobbins where you can find out how to take part. As you can see, it doesn’t have to be on a Sunday or seven photos…..
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series whereby you share seven photos of your week outside the blog. Invented by Nat at Threads & Bobbins, follow the link to find out more.
1. A member of the family was hosting an Open Garden at her farm. Typically, it poured down all day but didn’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment – over £1200 was raised for a local hospice!
2. A farmyard twist on planting!
3. This old GWR sign has found a new home on the door to the outside toilet.
4. I was given a posy of flowers to take home which are still brightening my mantelpiece a week later.
5. Spurred on by fellow Instagrammers, I had a clear out of my wardrobe. I decided to donate a recent make (the keyhole top from Love Sewing) due to its immodest cleavage reveal!
6. A crochet blanket was started. Just a simple granny square one this time.
7. No.3 Son was part of a team that won the Gold medal at an inter schools championship mid-week.
8. The following day, they went on to win Silver in the area finals. District finals at Millfield School are next!
9. The owners of this field very kindly mowed a wide path through the middle of the field for dog walkers. It would appear that, instead of cattle grazing, they are encouraging a wildflower meadow to grow.
10. After a midnight emergency trip to the vet, Fifi had a tumour removed and is NOT happy that she has to wear the Cone Of Shame for ten days.
11. More crochet, this time a flat flower to embellish the centre of the aforementioned blanket.
12. After being quoted £5,200 to fit out the other end of our kitchen, I sought a cheaper alternative. This solid oak dresser cost just £96 on eBay and will be painted later in the week. Sacrilege, some might say, but there is more than enough wood in our kitchen, so Bleu Clair by Autentico has been ordered to add a splash of colour.
A quieter week than last, I had chance to catch my breath and relax a bit before family came for the weekend. They’ve just begun the journey home – right in the middle of the Glastonbury traffic, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how long it will take them!
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series thought up by Nat at Threads & Bobbins – click on the link to find out more and how YOU can join in.
1. Back from Spain in the early hours of Wednesday morning (7th June – I’m still catching up), I had to get organised pretty instantly. The school fair was in four days time and I still had loads to do as, not only was I making things for the school, but was also having a stand for The Stitch Academy AND running a fashion show for my students.
I started by making samples for the Summer workshops which I would be advertising on my stand – Pyjamas and Sleep Mask, and an Owl Cushion/PJ Case.
2. Next, I made the Miette skirt by Tilly and the Buttons, also a future workshop or maybe weekly lessons. Raspberry coloured linen which hangs really well for this style.
3. The woman who loved my cross-body bags but wanted one in grey with a star on it had her wish granted! Luckily, she turned up at the fair wearing a grey T-shirt with a star on the front and snapped this bag up straight away.
4. The Elderflower cordial that had been brewing while we were on holiday was bottled and labelled. Here they are on the stall at the back on the far left. They all sold. Two one-litre bottles at £4 each and four 75cl bottles at £3 each, for anyone who is wondering how to price things at a school fair. It cost £2.74 for the sugar and lemons (the bottles were old lemonade ones) and sold for £20 – a nice little profit for their funds and SO easy to make.
The bunting I made for our wedding is hanging at the back of the tent:)
5. Mr. H-L actually made the marmalade this year as I was busy sewing. They’re the jars on the tray with the blue fabric ‘hats’. Ten small jars (half normal size) all sold for £1.50 each. They cost about £3 in total make and, again, the jars were recycled.
I also made forty scones on the morning of the fair so they were nice and fresh.
6. Oh, I almost forgot – after making the scones, I quickly traced off and made a Coco top as the fair wasn’t until one o’clock!!
7. My stand at the fair which was a huge success, enrolling more students and premiering my new adult classes to the villagers. A Tilly and the Buttons Margot Pyjamas workshop is almost booked up! (Thurs 14th July if anyone is interested).
8. A dozen of my students took part in a fashion show at the fair which they absolutely loved, showing off the things they had made over the past nine months since The Stitch Academy started.
9. No.3 Son stole the show with his antics!
10. He certainly made the most of his moment in the spotlight!
11. In other news….this cardboard city is a window display in a boarded up solicitor’s premises. Random, but brilliant.
13. N0.3 Son wanted to make the butter this time.
Here he is squeezing out all that lovely buttermilk which made some scones later in the day.
14. My Victorian butter paddles do their job nicely.
15. There, finished!
16. Perfect spread thickly on some Date and Walnut bread still warm from the oven!
17. ‘Chalky’, our Chalkhill Blue hen, laid her first blue egg!
18. The next day she laid her second, both of which were massive for such a small hen and this is the reason why – both were double yolkers!
19. Teaching pattern drafting to a student, this week, a basic trouser block.
20. I had almost finished a cardigan as a Christmas present from leftover yarn (thrifty, as ever) but ran out only to discover that it had been discontinued – oh s**t!
I ended up unravelling four inches of a scarf in order to scavenge enough yarn to complete the cardigan. Luckily, the scarf was a) for me and b) REALLY long in the first place so no harm was done.
21. I got out all the components of my July make for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network – but never got around to starting it. Next week, maybe.
22. Three homemade cards amongst those sent from our six (between us) children to Mr H-L on Father’s Day.
23. A pair of Star Wars flip flops, bottle of malt whisky, a coffee cake, homemade brandy truffles and, from his girls in Brighton, a dozen rock oysters!
This week’s Sunday Sevens comes from Spain again, although we are actually back in Luke warm and soggy England once more now which means…….
1. ……no more cups of hot water and lemon on the roof terrace overlooking the pool and this mountain view.
2. Lemons freshly picked off a tree in the garden.
3. The entrance to the weekly market in Albox.
4. A relaxed way of displaying lengths of fabric for sale.
5. I bought a couple of linen shirts from this stall.
6. I couldn’t resist joining The Boys on their second hack through the mountains – no broken ribs this year, thankfully!
7. We took The Boys for a day out to Mini Hollywood, way out in the desert region of Southern Spain, where the spaghetti westerns were filmed.
8. Twice daily live mini westerns are put on for visitors and, although The Boys have been here before and watched it several times, they still loved it!
9. The actors were very friendly (despite the dead pan expressions put on for the photos!) and encouraged visitors to join them on the wagons or horses for a photo.
10. We all loved the Can Can dancers in the Saloon.
11. Mr H-L didn’t need to be asked twice to pose for a photo with one of the dancers after the show had finished.
12. After a few hours in the blistering heat, The Boys were desperate to get to the swimming pool which was also part of Mini Hollywood.
13. A good hour was spent on the water slides.
14. It was a bit weird to see all this water in such a dry region.
15. A welcome beer on the porch outside the Saloon Bar.
16. The Boys went riding again the next day, while Mr H-L and I explored Partaloa village.
17. Two very hungry boys were more than happy to go for tapas after riding.
18. This little lot didn’t last long!
19. Back ‘home’ for an afternoon relaxing and I managed to block all four panels of my lace cardigan. They dried in no time in the dappled shade.
20. The world famous Desert Springs was our destination the next day.
21. A leisurely family lunch was enjoyed in the welcome shade of the porch dining area.
22. View from the dining complex over the golf course – the only places in Southern Spain to have real grass!
23. Back at the villa, The Boys played in the pool whilst we downed Summer wine by the jug full.
24. I started joining the cardigan panels together but, even though I finished all the knitting before our holiday, I still hadn’t stitched it together by the end of the fortnight!
25. The Boys climbed onto the plane tired but happy at 9.30pm. They crawled into bed at 1.30am UK time…..and we had to wake them up for school at 8.30 the following morning, poor things!
Thanks to Nat at Threads & Bobbins for organising Sunday Sevens; a weekly blog series in photo format.
Sunday Sevens is half right this week in that at least I’m posting on a Sunday. I really must work on the ‘sevens’ part though, as demonstrated by the 24 photos that follow…..
1. Wisteria is one of the many reasons that May is my favourite month. Georgian architecture, cottage gardens and the odd perfect blue sky are one of the many reasons to love England.
2. Talking of architecture, I snapped up this book in the charity shop this week for just £2.00.
3. Bought these quilting clips which should be useful for bulky fabrics or when pin marks would ruin leather/PVC.
4. I ordered a couple of metres of this fab ‘ice cream truck’ fabric from Ditto fabrics while it’s in the sale. It’s even better in the flesh and I’m tempted to get some more.
5. Mr H-L and I had a day out in Salisbury. First stop is always the Old George Inn, now run as the Boston Tea Party café, for Eggs Royale where we sit in the same place – a Grade One listed bay window which still has a few of the original panes of glass. On the wall opposite is a list of all the landlords/licencees since 1320!
6. Its Grade One status means that no fixtures can be permanent, including the lighting. I love the quirky solution of suspending old teapots wired up as pendants over the table.
7. Breakfast provided the necessary sustenance for Mr H-L to survive not one, but TWO fabric stores whilst we were there. Franklins were celebrating their 60th anniversary and the shop is more of a craft centre spread over two floors. They hold a good selection of quilting-type cottons, if a little on the pricy side at £18.95 per metre. I bought mine from the bargain bucket where everything was £2.95 per metre:)
8. I can’t imagine spending that much on a sewing machine…..
9. Fabric Land is one of nine branches spread over Southern England and this particular shop is pretty good, stocking completely different fabrics to Franklins. Their full price printed cottons were £3.95 per metre – an important factor when considering my workshops are all-inclusive and I need to make a profit.
10. As a treat for being a good boy in the sewing shops, I took Mr H-L for a quick pint in The Haunch of Venison, also dating from 1320. If you get a chance, follow the link and read the brief history as it’s quite interesting.
11. See the bread oven in the left of the inglenook?
12. Here it is close up, now secured with iron bars and a padlock due to its macabre contents having been pilfered several times in the past.
13. Why anyone would want to nick the mummified remains of a hand, chopped off of a man caught cheating at cards, is beyond me, though!
14. Here’s the accompanying poem that describes the grisly event in more detail.
15. My recent fabric buying bonanza has culminated in this towering pile of cotton prints, all of which are destined for Summer sewing workshops.
16. There are some lovely combinations for the kids to choose from for this PJ and pillow project.
17. Mr H-L rustled up a tasty breakfast on Saturday morning….
18. …..whilst I whipped up some butter and a quick loaf.
19. Love Sewing popped through the door later in the morning, so everything stopped for half an hour while I put my feet up with a cup of coffee.
20. No.1 Son’s team won the Cup.
21. Here he is with the winner’s medal.
22. Mr H-L’s shorts are finished and ready to be blogged on Wednesday.
23. Last night’s sofa project was this crochet pincushion which was a free gift with Mollie Makes this month. It might be going in this year’s #stitchingsanta parcel……
24. Sunday morning will see me squeezing in a couple of hours of selfish sewing while Mr H-L does the grocery shopping, No.1 Son has gone to see his girlfriend, No.2 Son is at the stables and No.3 Son is happily colouring.
Said project is a white linen triple-layered dress which has caused me one very big practical problem at the moment. Stay tuned for an update;)
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series thought up by Nat at Thread & Bobbins – follow the link to find out what it’s all about and how you can join in, too.
Welcome to another SSSS (South Somerset Sunday Sevens) – no. 86 or 87, I’ve lost track after this many weeks. Nat over at Threads & Bobbins came up with this idea to help you keep blogging in those less productive times. Pop over to her blog to see how you can join in, too.
As ever, I have failed to whittle it down to just seven photos (clue is in the title!) but HAVE found a way to make it less obvious that I can’t count – make a montage!
Although we went away to London last weekend for our wedding anniversary, the actual date was mid week so, of course, we had to celebrate again on the day itself. We went to one of our favourite places for lunch, Holbrook House, which is the same hotel that we spent our wedding night in.
2. These giant 25mm knitting needles arrived in the post from Wool Warehouse along with some super chunky wool. I’ve been knitting with laceweight yarn on 3mm needles for three months solid and was desperate to do a quick knit.
3. We spent a couple of days in the garden at the beginning of the week as soon as the spell of good weather started. Pool was filled, gazebo drapes were put back up and the daybed was dressed for the Summer.
4. I cast on with the giant needles whilst keeping an eye on The Boys in the pool.
We had snow this time last week!
5. Knitting continued apace the following morning in bed. I love how quickly this has knitted up. In fact, the entire jumper is finished already – I just have to sew it up!
6. Talking of knitting, No.3 Son asked if I would teach him how to knit. This is the progress of his ‘scarf’. Well, a scarf is the first thing everyone knits, isn’t it?
7. Mr H-L’s red shorts are nearly finished. Waistband is going on – this is the inside and should make him smile every time he puts them on.
8. No.2 Son declared that he needed some new shorts for Spain in a few weeks so, being the mother that I am, told him to go and make some.
An hour and a half later – voilà!
Like his father, his taste is not exactly conservative:)
9. Two more happy Stitch Academy students with their finished projects.
10. Our first barbeque of the year!
11. Lunch with the girls made a nice change as we don’t get to do it as often as we used to.
12. Second barbeque in as many days! Last year we didn’t have a single one, so we’re making the most of the good weather while it lasts.
13. In fact, we lit the woodburner (every garden should have one) and stayed outside until nearly ten o’clock with family who were visiting for the weekend.
Finally, a big “thank you” to all your kind messages about the hens. They are all missed, but the new ones are getting used to us now, coming closer as they get braver and become more inquisitive. It won’t be very long before we find them wandering into the kitchen, I suspect.
So this week’s Sunday Sevens focuses on the four days we had in London for our anniversary weekend. In common with many of you probably, it featured lots of good food and drink as we both fall in the ‘live to eat’ camp.
We also walked miles, despite having bought travel cards for each day as you see so much more by foot rather than going everywhere by tube.
Visit Nat at Threads & Bobbins to learn more about Sunday Sevens – anyone can join in.
1. We travelled up in time for lunch as guests at the members-only London Capital Club on the first day. Three lovely courses with aperitifs, wine, champagne and digestifs. Lunch started at 12.30 and we thought we’d have plenty of time to spare before our evening concert at 7pm.
Nope.
2. We left the club at ten to seven and ran all the way to St Martins In The Field where we were allowed to creep in quietly as the concert had already started.
The Thames Chamber Orchestra were playing Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony by candlelight which was magical.
3. We walked all the way back to Waterloo station via the Millenium Bridge, taking in a few sights by night and stopping in a bar before catching the last train back to the flat. For those outside the UK, you can just spot Big Ben at the top right.
4. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually been inside St Paul’s Cathedral before so we decided to go the whole hog and get tickets to the dome as well.
5. Over 500 steps later and we were rewarded with this panoramic view of the London skyline. Our knees weren’t quite the same for the rest of our break!
6. Our legs still wobbly from climbing all those steps, we hopped on a tube to get to Claridge’s in time for dinner.
7. The perfect evening which included Chateaubriand and more champagne. No wonder he’s got a smile on his face:)
8. This was a nice touch.
9. The following day and a trip to Liberty of London was top of my list.
10. I managed to kill two hours on the fabric floor alone whilst Mr H-L amused himself doing……..actually, I have no idea what he did for two hours.
11. Luckily, it was just a few steps to the pub next door where I sat down and stroked my purchases whilst enjoying a gin and tonic.
12. Two metres of ‘Lilac’ in the red colour way is destined to become a Summer dress, and the Art Deco print may well become a hexagonal sewing box for myself.
13. Here’s the pub shot for those of you who missed it last week, Mr H-L propping up the bar.
14. We wandered through the backstreets and happened upon Carnaby Street which is not the hip place it was in its Sixties heyday.
15. I just ‘popped’ in to another fabric shop that we stumbled upon and, half an hour later, came out with this amazing silk viscose lightweight velvet. A Summer jacket perhaps?
16. Our last night was finished off nicely in The Archduke under the arches near Waterloo station.
17. Cocktails – the perfect end to our anniversary break.
18. On our return the next day, we found that every single one of our hens had been killed by the fox, Cock being the only survivor having a lucky break despite losing all his beautiful tail feathers in the struggle. No.1 Son had brought him in the house to recover, still unsure whether the shock would kill him, too.
19. Lost without his girls, he hobbled around in the garden calling for them – a pitiful sight to behold, poor thing.
So we went straight out and bought some more.
20. Happy as could be with his new harem, he fusses around them within the confines of the run for the time being. The fox was cheeky enough to show her face again last night until I ran out screaming and scared her off, so I’m a bit reluctant to let them free range just yet.
So, after only having lost two hens to the fox over the last four years, it’s time to get to know some new ones. Just four for now, and another four in a couple of months when we’ve made a bigger run. I’m looking forward to getting to know their personalities, although it’s sad and more than a little weird to no longer hear those familiar clucks as the old girls hopped in the back door and wandered around the kitchen.
No eggs for a few weeks either, as they’re not quite point-of-lay, although watch this space as one of them is a Chalkhill Blue and lays blue eggs!
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series devised by Nat at Threads & Bobbins – visit her blog to find out how YOU can join in.
1. I gave The Boys a long overdue haircut.
2. One of my students lost a tooth during sewing class, so I wrapped it up safely for him to take home and put under his pillow for the tooth fairy. Yup, that’s how young my students are!
3. This colourful bundle of fabrics arrived from Minerva Crafts for my next three months projects for the blogger’s network.
4. We went out for supper with friends mid week to Matt’s Kitchen in Bruton. Basically, he opens up his lounge as a restaurant for three nights a week. He’s an untrained, self taught chef and is amazing!
5. These are the renegades that came with us:)
6. Finished in sewing classes this week; one pair of surfer shorts and one pair of tartan wool shorts with turn ups.
7. Also completed; two versions of the same square necked blouse.
8. A present turned up in the post from The Netherlands!
9. Marianne, who blogs at Marrose-ccc.com, saw this bag and thought of me.
9. She also sent me this lovely little crocheted pin cushion complete with pins! I’ve long since admired these on her blog and am delighted to now own one. And just look at that postcard……it certainly did brighten my day.
10. We spent the weekend getting Mr H-L’s late parents flat ready for sale. Even the terrace got scrubbed to within an inch of its life.
11. A few pots were replanted with things that, hopefully, will survive without being watered every day.
12. Finally, after two weekends of hard labour – finished!
Anyone want to buy a two-bedroomed garden flat in London for the same price as a four bed detached house with paddocks here in Somerset?!!
12. Back home, laundry from the flat was piled up waiting for its turn in the washing machine. The only thing that could be better to curl up on, from a dog’s point of view, is dirty underwear. Just sayin’.
14. Our wedding anniversary is next week and we usually have a European city break but, as we won’t have a London base for much longer, we thought we’d take the opportunity to stay for a few days over the weekend and see some shows and eat out.
Claridges is booked for dinner on Saturday night:)
Another Sunday – another Sunday Sevens; a weekly blog series organised by Nat at Threads & Bobbins to show a glimpse of your life outside of the blog in about seven photos. It’s 83 weeks since my first Sunday Sevens post – where did that time go? Anyway, onto this week’s photos.
1. As my boy students make a backpack for their first project (unlike the girls who make a drawstring sewing bag), one little boy was using a plastic carrier bag to store his current WIP. I asked him if he’d like me to make him a sewing bag from the fabric he had leftover from making his PJs, and this is what I made for him
2. Very few villages around here have their own Post Office nowadays, the majority having reverted to residential use during the last couple of decades and renamed “The Old Post Office”, however we DO have a mobile Post Office that comes to the next village every week. It was a lovely day, warm and sunny, and the clerk was sat outside having a cup of tea in the sunshine. He was happy to pose for a photo.
3. I bought these vintage candlesticks in our local charity shop, one of two pairs for sale. I went back the next day and bought the other pair, too:)
4. No pub this week, but it was warm enough to sit in the café garden at Divine Wines.
5. This is my April make for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network.
6. I decided that the windows were just crying out for some added detail, so added my own embellishments to the pattern.
7. That’s all I’m showing you for now – the full blog post will be out on Wednesday!
8. This dog’s water bowl lives on top of the wall of a villager who doesn’t even have her own dog. She fills it with fresh water for anyone to use. That’s one of the many nice bits about village life:)
9. Our White Leghorn, “Snow White”, is turning out to have quite a character. She followed Mr H-L’s every move with the spade in the hope that he would dig up a tasty morsel.
10. The hens loved the newly turned ground and spent a good couple of hours dust bathing in it.
11. We stayed in London on Friday night after the memorial service for my father in law, and spent the night in his flat. Having cancelled the TV licence after he moved into a nursing home, we could only watch a DVD, so I worked on my lacy cardigan whilst The Boys watched “The Bridge at Remagen”.
12. A cheeky bit of Sunday shopping in TKMaxx – a rare occurrence indeed. A bistro set was on the list, initially for the terrace at the flat to look good in the estate agent’s photos, but afterwards for the balcony outside our bedroom at home. I didn’t find anything I liked enough to buy, but this one was quite cute.
So that was my week – I managed to crowbar quite a bit of sewing and knitting in inbetween the other things we had going on and more is planned for next week, hopefully, so a few blog posts should follow:)
Previously Boys and Chickens, I have created a new blog to share my sewing adventure as 2018 is they year I plan to teach myself to sew! There will also be bits of crochet and cooking too.
My challenge: One year - I will not buy clothes - I will upcycle to make what I need - everything from underwear to evening wear! Join me for tips, exclusive BrawHem makes, and inevitably some hilarious disasters...
Sewchet 