Flutterby Patch

Tea with Miss Mitford

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday in northern England we were bathed in sunshine and today its back to the same old dismal dampness. Our annoying drizzle though is nothing compared to the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Gustav as it swept across the Caribbean and on through America's Gulf coast states. Worse still, adding insult to injury, hurricane Hanna is gaining strength in the Atlantic apparently and tropical storm Ike is following suit. What a nightmare for the people who could be in the 'firing line'. Watching the mass exodus from the city of New Orleans on TV was like watching a movie. I can't imagine what it must have been like for all those thousands to leave their homes behind.

I have a little book that I often pick up entitled 'My Village' by Miss Mitford. This charming description of life in a Berkshire village 200 years ago makes a very calming read and is a welcome deviation from our 21st century problems.

Reading the entry for 9th September you realise that, although we live in very different times, nothing has changed over the years regarding the English weather. Miss Mitford writes..... 'We English are accused of talking overmuch about the weather; but the weather this summer has forced people to talk about it. A summer of coldness and cloudiness, gloom and rain. Worse than November! Never was known such a season. Hay swimming, cattle drowning, fruit rotting, corn spoiling and the river Loddon running about the country fields, roads, gardens and houses....'

'Our Village' has been reprinted many times over the centuries and is still readily available from antiquarian book sellers. My version was published in 1893 and contains dozens of evocative pencil sketch illustrations by Hugh Thomson.

1). Walking in the rain 2). A chat with the Lord of the manor
3). The charity-school  4). Boys games

Mary Russell Mitford (1787 - 1865)

There is a charming air of Jane Austin about Mary Mitford's writing but few Austin style love matches. The reader spends a year sauntering through the village in the company of Miss Mitford observing her neighbours and their cottages and then on down country lanes looking for primroses and violets. All very polite and civilized!

Knitting acorns

I went for a stroll in our wood yesterday looking for acorns high in the branches of the old oaks but there seems to be a poor crop this year. I can't think why. No doubt someone would suggest global warming as the cause but trees often take a rest after producing heavy crops the previous year. This would seem to be a more obvious explanation as last year's crop was enormous. I returned home with a handful of oak twigs and leaves and the idea that knitting acorns shouldn't be too difficult .... it wasn't.

 

I had great fun experimenting and produced a variety of different sizes.
I used scraps of double knitting yarn and 3 mm needles. The number of stitches cast on and rows knitted depends on the size of acorn required (my finished acorns measured approx 3 cm x 2 cm). I found the most realistic ones were knitted in 2 pieces (see below).

For the top cast on 12 stitches. Knit 10 rows stocking stitch. Row 11, knit 2 stitches together right across the row (6 stitches remaining). Row 12, purl 2 stitches together across row (3 stitches remaining). Break off yarn (allowing 15 cm) and using sewing needle thread yarn through the remaining stitches and gather. Stitch side seam. 

The acorn cup is done in moss stitch (k1 p1) but reverse stocking also looks effective. Cast on 13 stitches and knit 8 rows. Break off yarn (allowing 15 cm) and using a sewing needle thread yarn through the 13 stitches and gather. Make a little twisted cord using 2 strands of yarn for the stem of the cup. Insert knotted end of stem into the gathered edge before closing and stitch side seam. Now stuff the acorn (top half only) with a small amount of fibre filling. Don't fill it too full or it will be too fat! Close the end and insert it into the acorn cup. Stitch two halves together securely. Job done!

 

Note reverse stocking stitch is used for the acorn cup on the left. The remaining three have cups knitted in moss stitch.

Above - a magical gold and silver acorn. On reflection I think using finer knitting needles and adding more stitches and rows would have produced a better acorn. They'd be great as Xmas decorations

Finally I wanted to make an acorn girl with a smiling face! I used the same method as before but instead of adding a stem I made a long twisted cord to create a necklace. The features were stitched onto the face after stuffing. A red crayon produced glowing cheeks and little yellow plaits stitched below the hat gave the finishing touch.
They say mighty oaks from little acorns grow so perhaps its lucky that I don't have enough yarn to knit enough acorns to fill a tree!

A beautiful garden

Whenever I want to unwind and spend some time in quiet reflection I visit the beautiful Holehird Garden in Windermere. Managed by volunteers from the Lakeland Horticultural Society it is open to the public throughout the year. The following pictures show how the garden looked last week.

The Society has a collection of 200 different astilbes (above) and 300 hydrangeas (below). Did ever you see such gorgeous shades?

There is always music amongst the trees in the garden but our hearts must be very still to hear it.

- Minnie Aumonier