Flutterby Patch

Plain sailing on a fine day, outdoors and in.

There's nothing better than a day of sunshine to lift spirits and put a spring in your step. You will be pleased to hear that it put me in just the right mood to place my bits and pieces of freshly washed china and glass back into the cupboards that have remained empty for so long whilst we made alterations to the study.

First to go back was the glass ship that I showed you last week. With its sparkling clean dome I positioned it centre stage and alongside placed its companion, a little Victorian boy wearing a sailor suit and sitting on a large cockle shell.

On another shelf a hand painted Victorian cup and saucer, my granny's cut glass biscuit barrel and a 1920's child's mug that I found discarded on a bonfire. What sort of silly person disposes of china on a bonfire I wonder?

This little boy in his pony cart was one of my mother's favourites. It came to me when she passed away in 2006 and I will always treasure it.

Also a favourite, his little sister who has her own pony cart and sits alongside her brother. Both children will live safely in the cupboard until Christmas when they will come out and trot along the mantle, their little carts loaded with greenery for the festive season. My mother did this for many years and I like to carry on the tradition.

When I'd at last finished refilling my shelves with china I had time to make a swift visit to Holehird, a nearby Lakeland garden that I have taken you to before. What fun it would have been to travel there in a little horse drawn carriage on such a fine November day. Imagine pulling up in style outside this big country house that forms part of the estate.

The house enjoys magnificent views over the gardens and surrounding countryside.  

Sadly I didn't have time to explore the wonderful walled garden

and I stopped only briefly to admire the way the autumn sunshine filtered through the ornamental grasses

and then I reached the area I had come to visit....the holly garden. I love holly and would like to plant more in our garden but there are so many varieties to choose from these days that I decided the best idea would be to make a note of the types the experts had planted at Holehird (I will use any excuse to visit this garden!) With their variegated leaves in all shades of green and gold and berries of red, black and vibrant yellow I made hasty notes of the hollies I liked best and (returning to my make-believe pony cart) made the journey home.

On the return journey I noticed a few people were on the lake in their sailing craft enjoying the fine weather but concluded a pony and cart would remain my choice of transport!

In this area I'm surrounded by wonderfully large expanses of water but I'm afraid I wouldn't make a good sailor. The nearest I have come to steering my own craft was as a child when playing a similar game to this pair on the stairs in Robert Louis Stevenson's poem 'A Good Play'.

 
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of soft pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.

We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, "Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;"--
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.

We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.

.....I had great fun playing 'make believe' games with chairs and pillows when I was young.... Happy days!....Do today's children still play these sorts of games I wonder?

Have a good weekend.

On my desk - a sewing machine and some fabric

On my desk this Wednesday you'll find my sewing machine and some pretty floral fabric that I bought last week. I've been looking for a blouse in shades of plum and pink for some time but have had no success.

And so I'm making myself a blouse. I've been making clothes and toys since I was fourteen so I've had plenty of practise. Making pretty little dresses for my daughter when she was small was most gratifying as she loved everything I created for her and with no prompting would enthusiastically show off the fruits of my labours to friends and family. Good times!

 
After buying the fabric I was delighted to find that two of my necklaces were a perfect match. On the other hand, I suppose if they hadn't been a good match I would have had an excuse to go shopping for a new necklace. Hmm! That would have been fun!

Welcome sunshine

The sun has occasionally shown its face this week and and when it has we have taken the opportunity to get out and about. October is a month when a lot of new book titles arrive on bookshop shelves and my husband and I like to use it as an excuse to take a trip to the excellent Bluebell Bookshop in the nearby town of Penrith. There are several routes we are able to take but this week we opted for the speedy motorway route as we didn't want to get snarled up with the many visitors that have descended on the area for the school half-term holiday.

It doesn't take long to reach remote open countryside. No holiday crowds here, just the sound of the wind and the giant windmills. This wind farm is one of a growing number that are springing up in our county making the most of the high ground and the constant wind. Like them or loathe them, wind farms appear to be here to stay.

And here we are on the motorway. This believe it or not is our end of the busy M6. It has wound its congested way round Birmingham and ever northwards; by-passing Liverpool and Manchester whilst all the time depositing its heavy load of vehicles  And now, heading towards the Scottish border it has become an open road. Not only can you enjoy magnificent scenery as you travel but you also have the option of stopping for refreshments at the award winning Westmorland Service Station which has an excellent farm shop and the reputation of being the only English service station to be built and run by local people.

And in no time we have reached Penrith. I will be there for a longer visit some time soon but for now we head past the market cross and on toward the charmingly named Angel Lane.

Angel Lane contains a variety of shops all neatly tucked into a higgledy piggledy collection of old buildings. The one I'm heading for is on the right and painted blue.

 There is an inscription over the door of the shop dating back 245 years. I've never quite understood its full meaning but I love its quaintness.

 
And here we are at last. I can't wait to get inside and have a good root around. The shop is on two floors and as you enter the aroma of coffee rushes to meet you. It is served throughout the day together with homemade cakes and biscuits. In the large area devoted to music there is a piano which, when I arrived, was being put to good use by a young man taking a piece of sheet music for test run before buying it. As usual the Bluebell Bookshop didn't disappoint and I was able to make several suggestions to my husband about which books would make great additions to my Christmas stocking. Not too long to wait!

 
Apart from an excellent bookshop Penrith has a number of shops I like to visit. The little wool shop always has something to tempt me and recently I bought this gorgeous yarn. Its a mix of silk, kid mohair and lamb's wool from Japan and is knitting up into a lovely scarf in muted shades of lilac, purple and olive green.

All too soon its time to go home. But just look at this! On the homeward journey the skies opened and the car received yet another unscheduled wash.

In our mountainous region the weather can change rapidly. A couple of miles further on and the rain stopped and the setting sun peeped over the hilly horizon.

Event abandoned

Over the weekend our news bulletins were telling us how a huge group of 2,500 mountain racers in our area were forced to abandon their challenging race due to gale force winds and torrential rain. Many were stranded on high ground and local mountain rescue teams and helicopters were out in force for two whole days. Fortunately this was a well organised event that takes place each year and the competitors were all well equipped which is just as well as many of them had to spend the night in the mountains. There were a few injuries but thankfully no loss of life.

What a difference a day makes

And now the weather is beautiful. This is the bay at Bowness-on-Windermere close to where I live. A much visited place from Easter through to the end of October.

During the weekend storms the lake level rose several feet and the road was completely flooded but that didn't bother the gulls, ducks and swans.They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and today the many visitors ensure the birds are kept well fed. 

The wooden ticket offices are still flooded and jetties are still submerged

The little train that ferries visitors to the various beauty spots is kept very busy throughout the season. By next week the crowds will have returned home and the train will be empty.

and the area will breath a sigh of relief and settle down for a peaceful winter break.

On my desk Wednesday - Bunnykins and balls of wool

On my desk this Wednesday I have a sweet Bunnykins mug which was given to my daughter when she was very small. I'm happy to say it isn't chipped or cracked and has never been in the dishwasher so has retained its original vivid colours. Together with some balls of wool and needles you might have an idea about what is brewing. All will be revealed in my next post in a few days time.

 

Great fun! 'On my desk Wednesday' has a number of 'players' worldwide. All that is required is a shot of your desk and a bit of chat about the kinds of things you are currently working on. Click here for more details and a list of the other players.

The sun came out! 
I'm aware that we Brits are well known for moaning about our weather. Its a reputation we are happy to live with as the weather really is worth moaning about quite a bit of the time and anyway, moaning tends to make us feel a lot better. I live in England's north west corner, the land of lakes and mountains that many of you will have seen in the recent 'Miss Potter' film. Westerly winds blow a constant stream of rain clouds off the Atlantic and as a consequence we have plenty of rain. 

This year has been particularly wet and this week's weather forecast is gloomy to say the least, but this morning I looked out to see patches of blue in the sky and the sun shining on our lovely tulip tree. I hurriedly picked up my camera and captured the scene before it disappeared.

Within a couple of minutes grey clouds came scudding across and rain was falling yet again.

In autumn the leaves are a glorious butter yellow

 
The backs of the leaves collect rain drops that sparkle like diamonds when the sun comes out

A tulip tree (official name - Liriodendron tulipifera) is a native of eastern North America but it is grown all around Britain. In warm sunny conditions it will produce pretty cup-shaped flowers in June and July. Needless to say we have yet to see any! We planted this tree as a youngster 18 years ago. In 1992 visiting roe deer tore the bark from right around the trunk. Under normal circumstances this kind of damage would quickly kill a tree but I took the law into my own hands and stuck the bark back on with freezer tape. This waterproof layer protected the damaged area long enough for the tree to recover and now, as you can see, it is a handsome healthy specimen.