Flutterby Patch

Month of many weathers

In the early 1800s John Clare wrote in his Shepherd's Calendar...

March, month of many weathers wildly comes
In hail and snow and rain and threatening hums...

...and just three days into the month we have fallen victim to them all here in England's north country.

The dried yarrow and honesty on our window sill are lovely but do little to brighten the grey skied scene outside. I need colour. So muffled up in coat and wellies I take my camera into the garden to look for some. Its raining so I won't stay long.

This miniature kingdom of mosses and ferns flourishing on damp rocks gives me plenty of green. We are never short of greenery here, we have it in abundance.

I venture across the courtyard and round the corner and immediately spot some tiny daffodils huddling together beneath the shelter of the old beech hedge. Reliable forget-me-nots blanket the cold earth bellow.

One of our early rhododendrons is in full flower now. Deep pink in bud opening to a paler shade and fading to white. The leaves are leathery and will withstand all weathers but I fear the delicate blooms will suffer badly if the threatened snow arrives overnight.

This is a new arrival to our garden. I discovered it at a garden centre on a sunny afternoon last week and it immediately stole my heart. A Helleborus with the charming name  'Winter Moonbeam'. It has masses of waxy pink/white blooms that darken to deep red with age and stand erect above marbled evergreen leaves. Unlike other hellebores it prefers to bask in sunshine; I only hope it gets the chance to do so in the near future. Meanwhile I will continue to enjoy its beauty.

Until next time
Eli 

The patter of furry feet

Winter is almost over and here in the English Lake District everyone is preparing to welcome the many visitors that will holiday here during the coming season. If you listen carefully you might hear the patter of furry feet; not the visitors arriving I hasten to add but many thousands of familiar looking soft toys making their way to local shops. Each one will be hoping to find a good home and travel to pastures new.

All this furry activity is due to one little rascal in a blue coat who goes by the name of Peter Rabbit. He is the creation of Beatrix Potter who lived in the Lake District for many years.

Anyone who visits the area will see Peter Rabbit peeping out of shop windows everywhere.

Peter and his cousin Benjamin Bunny are part of the large family of animals that, thanks to Miss Potter's little story books, have become synonymous with the Lake District and are now known and loved the world over. At times it seems there are more softies living here than people.

 
 
 
Above are just a few of the characters that are available in gift shops.

Apart from fabric animals, shops sell a huge variety of figurines.

There are plates in many different sizes, in fact there's enough china for a thousand banquets.

But who wants a banquet when you can enjoy a quiet tea party.

If you are a fan of Beatrix Potter's stories and fancy having a go at making some of her characters at home then I can recommend 'Toys from the Tales of Beatrix Potter' by Margaret Hutchings. Although it was published in 1973 I have checked various bookseller's lists and it is still readily available second hand.

Containing over 300 pages it has patterns for most of the characters in Miss Potter's books. There are lots of hints and tips about the best fabrics to use and lots of little extras to make as well. Sadly there are very few coloured pictures but from those that are in the book I have chosen some of my favourites.

I have made Apple Dapply a number of times over the years in a variety of different dresses. I once inserted a tiny wind-up musical movement in the back which provided great amusement for the little girl who received her as gift.
(N.B. this isn't the mouse I featured a few ago weeks ago in my blog).

Here's my favourite, Hunca Munca and her babies. Instructions for making the cane cradle are also included in the book.

Tabitha Twitchitt and her kittens are wonderful and on the right is Mrs Ribby calling to borrow some yeast in 'The Tale of Samuel Whiskers'

Who could resist Mrs Tiggywinkle doing her ironing. She has been made from thick fur fabric that has been stiffened to form prickles....very clever.

And finally here are Aunt Pettitoes and Spot seeing Pigling Bland and Alexander off to market.

There are several other coloured pictures which I haven't included here and plenty of black and white ones together with drawn illustrations.

The soft toys in the book are unique and would make special gifts to be treasured. The cute little characters (below) are mass produced in the Far East and are great for little children as they are washable. 

N.B. the patterns for these shop bought toys are NOT in the book.

As the tourist season gets ever closer these little characters will grow in number, their happy smiles greeting us everywhere we go!!

Until next time,

Eli

Dotty about smocking

As the end of February draws ever closer there is a growing feeling of optimism here at Flutterby Patch.

The weather is steadily growing warmer and one by one the rhododendrons and azaleas around the garden are bursting out of their plump buds to view the world.

Within the space of 12 weeks this February view from our patio

will have become this Maytime riot of colour.  I can't wait!

Meanwhile, indoor my frustration with the current disruption to my sewing room in ongoing and all my crafting goodies will remain stacked in the hallway for at least another few days. It hasn't been all bad however as it's given me the chance to sort through a lot of forgotten bits and pieces, many of which belonged to my dear mother who sadly passed away two years ago.

This battered old box brings back countless memories. For as long as I can remember it housed my Mum's selection of embroidery transfers and smocking dots.

Mum was an avid smocker of pretty dresses for her two girls and ironing the smocking dots onto the chosen fabric was always the first step in the procedure. She used yellow ones to contrast with dark fabric and blue ones for lighter; narrowly spaced dots for fine fabric and more widely spaced ones for heavier cloth.

Once the dots had been ironed onto the back of the fabric tiny running stitches were put through each dot so that it could be gathered ready for smocking.

Next came the fun bit. This familiar tin would be brought out and inside could be found .....

.... a wonderful jumbled rainbow of embroidery thread. This is how it has always looked for as long as I can remember and I'm not about to tidy it up. I loved helping Mum sort through the rainbow to find the best threads to complement the fabric. I'm sure my lifelong passion for colour must have been ignited by the contents of this tin.

Mum's smocking days drew to a close as my sister and I grew up, although I think she would have happily seen us both wearing her pretty creations well into adulthood. What joy there was when I gave birth to a baby girl; Mum couldn't wait to start smocking again.

She made this sweet little dress for her granddaughter when she was two years old.

So passionate was she for this craft that even the teddy bears had dresses smocked for them.

They were happy days and the fond memories I have of my Mum engrossed in this wonderful craft will  always remain with me.

Does anyone smock by hand these days or is all done by machine?

Until next time

Eli