JANUARY 2014

So here we are on the 6th January 2014 - and a very Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for visiting.

THE VILLAGE

I always feel that today is really the beginning of the New Year - the beginning of the first week when we actually know what day it is, the Christmas Decorations are packed away for another year, the village green is quite dark again without the fairy lights on most of the houses, and the Christmas Tree there has stopped twinkling.

The house feels clearer and slightly more spacious, and the sitting room is definitely a little lighter now the Tree is no longer in front of the window overlooking the garden.

I noticed yesterday too, that at 4 p.m. it wasn't quite dark - a real bonus!

We are very lucky here as our village sits at the top of a hill - you have to climb to get to it from whichever direction you arrive, but in the valley the river has burst it's banks and many fields are flooded.  At this moment, the sun is shining, but it is also raining and the sky outside my window as I type looks a very threatening grey.

THE KNITTING ON MY NEEDLES

My project at the moment is a quickie - I made my husband a super scarlet cabled cowl/snood towards the end of last year to wear when he is playing golf, but just before Christmas he left it on a radiator at the Club to dry off and when he went to collect it - gone!  So another is now half done in a ridge pattern in bright scarlet and orange.

JUMPING LAMB

Work on my website to gain the most interest goes on, and after some good sales of beanie hats, cowls and wrist-warmers, I now need to think about Spring inspired items for your delectation - do have a look and see what you think!  Just click on JUMPING LAMB above.

Thank you for visiting, see you again very soon,

Ruth

NEXT FAIR ON THE HORIZON

We all say it, but "Doesn't time fly?"  

I must admit, now that my sons are up and grown long ago, I don't get caught up in the school year as I used to, except through my grand-children, and as we live next door to the village school, I suddenly notice a flurry at the gates morning and afternoon again, and in September see the new starters and each year marvel how tiny they look!

And so, September is here and on the 14th my next Hand-Crafted Home Fair will be open for business again at Stanwick Lakes.

I have lots of lovely new stallholders once again as well as some old friends and for your delectation we will be offering:

Pam's happy hats,

Hand-woven bags,

Jewellery of all sorts

Shell jewellery boxes

Marshmallow sweety things and more

Hand-made children's clothes

Baked treats from Miss Bumblebee

Personalised wooden items,

Greetings cards

Embroidery

Jigsaw and stamp designs from Banmars Barn

Cushions

Vintage floral peg-bags and aprons

Heart door decorations

More fabric products of all sorts

and, of course,

Hand-Knits from Jumping Lamb

So, if you are around, come and see us - it's never too early to start your Christmas Shopping - and your presents will have been well thought out and designed exclusively for your friends and family.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PRODUCERS

EXCITING TIMES

I seem to have been a little quiet lately, but actually only on my blog as really quite a lot is happening.

The first thing was that when we came back from our break in Yorkshire, I was just leaving the house by the back door when I found a lady knocking at the front - Emma - and she asked me if I would be interested in running some Knitting Workshops for her.  You can see her website here Walnut Tree Workshops and after a super afternoon of tea drinking and planning, I am booked to do 4 in the Autumn.

This is a new venture for Emma and so I wish her all the luck in the world.

As you can see from the pic, I am still producing retro tea cosies and these will shortly be available to buy from Foreva Designs (click to link) where you can find all kinds of exciting and unusual personalised items, and much, much more.  This site is run by Eleanor and Matt who are both extremely talented and highly qualified designers - do have a look and find something a little different.

The last thing is that my new website, Jumping Lamb is in production - very early days, but do keep an eye open for its progress.  There I plan to sell Hand-Knits made by me, Knitting Kits and some Vintage and Interesting Haberdashery.

Very exciting, and just a little daunting!

See you again soon with the next update.  Ruth.

LET IT SNOW!

So the snow has arrived, as promised, and is falling quite heavily at the moment!

What more could you want than a thick, hand-knitted throw in Oatmeal and Berry Red to curl up under.  My big stone teddy thinks it's a good idea anyway!

I made this one in 2009 and it comes out every winter to snuggle under when the weather gets just a bit too chilly!  

I found the oatmeal yarn in a huge bag at a car boot sale - I think it has a lot of wool content and is boucle and tweed too - and so all round - very good.  The scarlet and white tweed was in my stash and I just made large squares and put them all together!

Don't forget that super hand-mades like this can be found at the 
Hand-Crafted Home Fair which will be held on Saturday 9th February at Stanwick Lakes, near Wellingborough from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and lots of other goodies too.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PRODUCERS

FIELD FLOODS

We are very fortunate in our Village as most of us live at the top of the hill, but here are a few shots of the fields - can you actually spot the River??!

The horse looks a bit sad, don't you think?

WINTER VILLAGE

Yesterday, the weather was wet, dismal and dark, and the river has just about burst its banks, but we made the very best of the day and it was just great!

Ingredients:

1.  Persuade husband to walk through the rain and cold to Open Day at New Farm shop.

2.  Stand in the pouring rain (well and under a gazebo) eating Venison Burgers and chatting to neighbours and friends also lending their support to this new venture in our village.

3.  Browse through the superb cheeses, meats, pies, preserves, ice creams and Christmas floral decorations.

4.  Enjoy the laughter and banter, actually helped by the appalling weather, and buy peppered salami, and horseradish cheddar cheese.

5.  Wend our way home via the pub for a warming whisky and more chat with friends.

6.  Arrive home, light the fire, feast on pea and ham soup and toast followed by the Formula 1 qualifying for husband and knitting my Ocean Throw for me.  (Quite a lot bigger than this now, and may even be finished over the weekend - will post soon!!)

WHAT IS NOT TO LIKE ABOUT AN ENGLISH WINTER  ??!!

NOVEMBER

Here is the next verse in the Janice James Poem

A YEAR OF VERSES

NOVEMBER

Naked trees, rivers freeze,

Buttered toast, chestnuts roast,

Bonfire Night, wrap up tight,

Trains delay, Poppy Day,

Remember  ........ November.

Why is it that some mornings you feel a whole lot fatter than others?  This morning as I did up my skirt, I'm sure that my tummy was sticking out a lot more than yesterday and so - a walk down the lanes.

We all laugh here as our village sits at the top of a hill and so wherever you go, you always have to climb a hill to get home - and so we should really all be very fit!

A mild, quite dull morning and as I walked down Rectory Lane,  a bright yellow dahlia in bloom in one of the cottage gardens giving a vibrant splash of colour, and then a new house being built as 'infill', and at the moment, I am sorry to say it is looking like a very ugly box - however, we shall see!

A pause to look over the gate across the Glebe Field towards the river where the surrounding fields are quite badly flooded and just three horses grazing silhouetted against the water, and rooks cawing from the trees in the churchyard next door.

Now the climb back up Church Lane to home.  Another house being built as infill on the way.  This one looks a lot more attractive, but will be very hemmed in by other buildings and so I do not think will get much sun - I would hate to live in a dark house - I am even anti heavy curtains at the windows and have never used net or voile curtains in my life!

And so back by the village green and a few people waiting for the weekly bus for a shopping trip to Peterborough, and I am home again where I make a warming bowl of porridge and enjoy that very much before the ironing!

I know there are many ways of making porridge, but my favourite way for one person is

Half a mug of porridge oats brought to the boil in one mug of cold water, stirring continuously, and served with a splash of cold milk and some demerera sugar.  Scrumptious  !!

OCTOBER

A perfect morning and so I went off with my camera to provide a snapshot of OCTOBER in the village.  Enjoy!

SUNLIGHT ON SEDUM

THROUGH THE SYCAMORE

BRONZE AND BLUE

SHIMMER

ANNUAL EVENT

COTONEASTER

THROUGH THE JITTY

COSMOS

BIRD FEAST

FIRE

Everyone talks about New England in the Fall and I have seen it, but beautiful as it is, I think Old England can hold its own!

And here is the OCTOBER verse of Janice James' poem as promised in my post 'SEPTEMBER'

A YEAR OF VERSES

OCTOBER

Schools reprise, coloured trees,

Conker wars, great outdoors,

Gather logs, 'bye hedgehogs,

Final scene - Hallowe'en,

Soon over - October.

The Feast

The Fete on the Green

I  remember when I was young that the time of the Village Fete was always called the Feast, and it has occurred to me that we don't seem to use this expression now, but I must say that our village definitely does have a 'Feast.'

Our population is, I think a little over 2,000, but I believe that our Feast is rather unusual in this day and age as it lasts not a day, or even a weekend, but a whole week.

It begins quite gently with the Fete on the Village Green with the usual stalls and games, this year including a Skittles Marathon - this is table skittles which is quite special to our part of the country, plate smashing - which I can't bear to watch, a roundabout for the little ones and the usual cakes and book stalls, super preserves and bric-a-brac plus the refreshment tent, and a really good band, and after a wander around here, it is really pleasant to walk 'down the lanes' to the church where the Flower Festival is in full swing with this year's theme being 2012 ! featuring all things Jubilee and Olympics.

The Walk to the Church

The Churchyard

The atmosphere is warm and friendly and although most people are clutching umbrellas, we have not had to use them yet and there is tea and (for me) wonderful coffee and walnut cake to sample - although I am spoilt for choice really.  There is a mass of red,white and blue in the floral arrangements interspersed with orange and yellow Olympic 'flames', and my especial favourite, I think because it is so naive, is from the pre-school, where Olympic medals have been made from paper plates sprayed gold, silver and bronze and decorated with rough, childlike stencils of sports people practising their arts.

I leave the Church after some good chatting and realise there are a few spots of rain falling, but I have my umbrella and am confident that it will soon pass.

Well it does soon pass, but not until torrential rain has fallen and I am soaked to the skin, but I have to smile because as I walk back past the Green, the band has stopped playing and everyone is either huddled under various gazebos - or has nipped into the pub, and all is silent, but within a few minutes the rain stops, the band begins to play again and everyone carries on as if nothing has happened - only in England  !!!!!

Outside the House after the Rain!

During the following week there are such joys as a Heritage Walk and a Ghost Walk, a hand bell display, the silver band playing on the Green and lunch in the church.

However, the thing which still gives me a tingle in the tum is on Sunday morning when the Fair begins to arrive.  The huge lorries and caravans clog the road, park around the Green and in a day the centre of the village is transformed, and for three evenings, there is the thud thud of really loud music, lots of people about - children and parents in the early evening and teenagers later and the screams of people on the 'big' ride this year called Oblivion!

Accommodation for the Fair

Shooting

Hi-Energy!

Oblivion at Rest

Oblivion in Full Swing  !!

I think we must be one of the smallest villages to have the Fair visit and pitch in the centre of our village - AND LONG MAY IT CONTINUE !!!

On Sunday morning the Fair packs up, the lorries leave and peace returns for another year!

Village Life

Parts of our village are very beautiful and other parts are very ordinary, but I have to say it is ALIVE - and today not all villages are!

I popped to the shop yesterday morning to buy a card for little J next door whose 2nd birthday it was, and who did I bump into but J with Mum and Dad, J and R, and they were just off to spend the day at the zoo.

I crossed the road and met up with K, retired landlord of one of the pubs - we are very lucky and still have 2!  He asked how the Fairs are going etc., and then E joined us - she qualified as a butcher and used to work in her Dad's shop in the village and later in her Uncle's shop in a neighbouring village - sadly both are now closed, but she is now in charge of dinners at the school, and she too asked about the Fairs and has suggested I do one at the school - she is going to enquire.

A lady over the road, who I didn't know then called a cheery "Good Morning", and on the way back V was coming the other way having just been into the hairdresser - complete with wet hair and rushing home to wash her hair again to "get rid of the bits."

Later the post lady knocked at the door next door with some presents for J, which I took in and gave to J and R later when they returned home driven back by the rain - to have an indoor picnic!!

It is only a five minute walk there and back to our village shop cum post office, but I have been known to be away for up to an hour, just chatting, or being asked in to a friend's for coffee etc.

I am really thankful that our village has not just become part of the commuter belt, but still has things happening, people about and company to be had.

As I sit here now, with the windows open - (and the sun is shining - shhh!), a couple of cars go by, someone is strimming, pigeons are cooing and the red kites are calling.

I'm off for some lunch now - I wonder who I will see this afternoon!

Ironing? - Time in the Garden? - Tough Choice!

As my title suggests, I did intend to do some ironing, but having wandered into the garden to eat breakfast, surprisingly - the garden won!  Not actually to weed, dig etc., but to brush down and sweep up etc., and this is the result:

As you can see it is 'bijou', more like an outside room which we use loads, but it is south-west facing and I love it!

Here below a few close ups:

Aubretia + Honeysuckle and Lavender on the way.

Clematis

Climbing Hydrangea - can never remember the real name - can anyone tell me?

Blowsy, beautiful Peonies - correct spelling ??

Self-set Honeysuckle in the lane - clever eh? and it has loads of flowers coming!

Cow Parsley in the lane + a little more Honeysuckle on its way!

And last but not least for today - a view from my bench where I knit, sew, drink cups of tea and coffee and enjoy the odd glass of wine.

Happy Summer  !

Sinking and Sunning

Yesterday morning!

This morning!

In all the roaring wind and lashing rain yesterday morning, I cleared out my wardrobe for Spring and Summer - well we can but hope!

But in the afternoon when my husband came home from giving driving lessons, we hunkered down with a few glasses of wine, roast pork and all the trimmings on trays followed by coffee and chocolate and the whole series of Julian Fellowes' Titanic on TV!

How different this morning - kitchen door open, lots of jumpers hand washed and out on the line and a cup of coffee sitting on the garden bench.

Wouldn't we be so bored without our English weather  ?!