Time is Whizzing By

Where has this year gone? I can't believe we're two-thirds of the way through October already - the clocks go back on Sunday - and it's only 64 days until Christmas!!

I've had a busy few weeks: spending my evenings knitting and crocheting items for the autumn/winter craft fairs; a lovely long weekend break with hubbie; enjoying a new evening class; getting into a new exercise regime - as well as the usual 9-5 job, family and social life. More on these in later posts!

The biggest thing this month though was house related. After five months on the market, we accepted an offer on our house. It was lower than we would have liked, but the housing market is so stagnant at the minute that it was good enough.

We started looking again for a house to buy, as the one we found a few months ago has just sold after two years on the market! We found an AMAZING property - a lovely old stone terraced cottage which had just been renovated and we both fell in love with it. The garden wasn't as big as I hoped, but I thought I could do some great things with it anyway, and the house itself was just so gorgeous... like something out of an interiors magazine.

Our buyers pulled out after a few weeks (they loved the house - their uncle, who was putting a small amount of money into the purchase, didn't). So we're back to square one, and the amazing stone cottage will probably sell really quickly and we'll lose it. Oh well, everyone keeps telling me that 'it wasn't meant to be'. I'm not sure I like this thing called destiny.

The photos in this post are from a day out at the coast with my beautiful Mam a few weeks ago. We started out at some yarn shops in South Shields, took the ferry across the Tyne, wandered round the lovely gift shops in Tynemouth and then spent a couple of hours watching the container ships and passenger yachts sailing up the river and out to sea - and remembering my lovely Dad who sadly passed away six years ago to the day (9th September). Can't believe it's been six years, Dad. We all love and miss you so much.

Where does the time go?

Folksy Friday Harvest Festival

The September Stars on Folksy are having a harvest festival!

Some rather tenuous links here! Why did I choose such a hard theme?!! Anyway, here's the bountiful crop that I've picked... (click on the shop names to find out more about each item).

Brighten up your home with these cute Russian Doll Matryoshka Hanging Decorations by Court & Spark - with their rosy red apples!

Prepare yourself for that scary party next month with these Happy Halloween Pumpkin Earrings by Miss Bohemia.

Sweet and very practical Baby Dribble Bib - Cherries by Painted Ghost.

Add some individuality to your correspondence with Swirlyarts Jack and the Beanstalk Recycled Envelopes.

I think this luscious Red Cherry Coin Purse by Pipdesigns would certainly cheer me up on a cold, dark winter's day... especially if it was full of money ;)

And finally, Ialbert has produced this very stylish Fine Art Print - Damask design is all over an apple - perfect for your dining room wall.

Have a lovely weekend!

Folksy Friday - September Stars featuring Butterflies

This week's Folksy Friday is showcasing the hardworking September Stars. This time, featuring BUTTERFLIES (and a dragonfly) - a final blast of summer heat and colour before the cold, wet and windy days of autumn take hold...

As always, click on the shop links to find out more about the individual items.

I love the little details and mix of gorgeous fabrics in this pretty, red Purse by Pants and Paper.

This Twilight Dragonfly Necklace by Whimsical Wren looks so classy in sophisticated black and silver.

Sweet and girly Pink Butterfly Fused Glass Pendant by Blue Daisy Glass.

For an unusual gift why not buy a Ceramic Butterfly Brooch by Tait Gallery? It can be personalised with the name and design of your choice.

This Beautiful Black Butterfly Jotter by Jessicas Jotters is stylish, and really useful too!

Another black and silver combo, this Butterfly Keyring by Sprinkles is simple, but stunning.

Beautiful colours and detail in this delicate Vintaj Woodland Necklace by Facets.

The bird/butterfly image on this Green Bird Pocket Diary by Lilly's Night Garden looks really striking against the gorgeous, handpainted background. I love it! I bought it!

I started my Christmas shopping on Folksy a little while ago. I tend to buy little 'bits and pieces' for my family and friends rather than one big gift, and I get a real kick out of buying them something handmade, something unusual, an item that they won't have seen in the highstreet shops. And of course the shops on Folksy never close for the day; you can browse and buy to your heart's content at 3am in the morning if you like! So if you haven't already, why not click on the links in this post and discover some fab designers/makers. Support handmade! Buy British! Christmas is coming...

Have a great weekend. x

New 'The Needle Works' Range

These are my latest designs for my The Needle Works shop on Folksy. I made them for the August craft fair at Newcastle's Grainger Market where they received many favourable comments and lots of sales. A few of these charms, in various designs, are still available for sale. They are all individual and unique, and handmade by myself.

Choose from yummy cupcakes...

Or beach huts to remind you of summer...

Or pretty flowers and pots...

Or sweet little birdies.

The charms can be used in a variety of ways: attach them to your keys so that they can be easily found in the bottom of your handbag...

Prettify a handbag, or attach it to the zip to make it easier to grab hold of and use...

Or attach it to your scissors so that they don't get lost in the bottom of your sewing basket - and doubles up as a pin cushion too!

I love this range: so colourful and cheery. They'd make great little gifts or stocking fillers (Christmas is only 116 days away you know!) or as a lovely treat for yourself. Hope you like them too!

Apples and Pears

Our next door neighbours have a great old apple tree in their garden. It leans right over our driveway and makes a fab arched entrance into our garden (though you have to remember to duck your head!)

This year has been a particularly good one for the apples and there's been a tonne of gorgeous, glossy red globes ripening on the tree this past week or two.

Unfortunately, it's also been really windy this week, so many of the apples have fallen. When we get home from work each night and open our gates, there's often a flood of apples that roll down the drive and onto the road.

If we manage to pick them up before they get splatted all over the road by passing cars, they either get put onto the wall at the side of the drive...

Or chucked under the hedges in the parking area for the blackbirds to have a peck at.

Today, however, I picked a few apples off the tree before they got blown down, with the intent of making some delicious culinary experience out of them. I've always fancied making jam, but I have no preserving pan or empty jam jars so that was a 'no no'; apple sauce sounded really boring; and I couldn't be bothered to start making and rolling out pastry for a pie...

So I settled on this scrummy, yummy Apple and Pear Crumble. It doesn't look fantastic in the photo, but it was DELICIOUS! Lots of different flavours and textures.

EDIT: With custard, it looks so much tastier!

I'd had a look through a good few of my cookery books for apple recipes but, as usual, I didn't have a lot of the ingredients needed. So finally I decided on an amalgamation of Bramley Apple & Pear Crumble (Seriously Good! Gluten-Free Cooking by Phil Vickery) and Spiced Apple Crumble (Complete Comfort Food, Contributing Editor Bridget Jones).

Here's my interpretation of the two recipes, using mainly store cupboard ingredients as a substitute for the fresh ones in the originals. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

'not' butter, for greasing

450g/1lb cooking apples

1 tin of halved pears in juice, drained

1tsp extract of oranges

1tsp vanilla extract

50g/2oz soft brown sugar

For the topping:

175g/6oz plain flour ( I used Doves Farm Gluten & Wheat Free plain white flour blend)

75g/3oz 'not' butter

75g/3oz caster sugar

25g/1oz chopped hazlenuts

Preheat oven to 200c/gas mark 4 (or 190c for fan oven).

Generously butter a 1.2 litre/2 pint baking dish.

Peel and core the apples, then slice them quite thinly into the prepared baking dish.

Slice the tinned pears and place them on top of the sliced apples. Level the surface.

Sprinkle the vanilla extract, extract of oranges, and the brown sugar over the top of the pears. Set aside.

Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the 'not' butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in the caster sugar and chopped hazelnuts.

Spoon the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit. Press the topping around the edges to seal in the juices, but leave the rest 'crumbly'.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crumble is golden and the fruit is cooked (the pears will be quite soft but will still hold their shape, and the apples shouldn't be mushy either, they should still have a bit of bite to them).

Serve hot with custard or vanilla ice cream.

I'm sure the original recipes taste fantastic, but I think my substitution of certain ingredients worked really well too, and that's half the fun of cooking isn't it?

The Pigeon and the Egg

It was so windy today that the seeds and currants we threw onto the patio for the birds mostly got blown into the shrubs and in between the paving slabs before the birds could land. We did notice one lone wood pigeon though, braving the high winds to hunt for the seeds.

We chuckled at the bird trying to stay on its feet whilst the wind was gusting all around and the washing on the line was flapping over its head. And then we noticed that the reason the pigeon was walking funny wasn't because of the wind, but because it had an egg between its legs!

Now I'm no avian expert, but I guess this isn't supposed to happen. The pigeon wasn't actually laying its egg on our patio, it was quite happily eating its lunch showing no concern, seemingly.

You can see the egg better in this close-up. The bird wasn't distressed at all. And it flew away quite normally after a few minutes of seed pecking.

Is this common? Have you seen this before?

Folksy Friday Pattern Picks

My Folksy Friday this week takes its inspiration from the theme of pattern. They can be subtle, they can be bold - but all of these items have stunning patterns that caught my eye in their own individual ways.

As ever, click on the shop links to find out more about the items - posted by my fellow industrious A-teamers on Folksy.

Bright and cheery, and really useful too! Polka Dot Fabric Boxes by Forest Flower.

My Pounding Heart Necklace by Esme Dodsworth Design. Simple, sophisticated and gorgeous!

I love, love, love this Luna Moths Handbag by Shop Stitch Me Lane. Fab colour and stunning design!

The dreamy, swirly design of these Blue Swirl Disc Earrings from Pyro Angel's Sweet Trinkets is really beautiful.

Rag rug making techniques brought bang up to date with this gorgeous Ragged Heart Lavender Pillow from Woolly Lakes.

Amazingly detailed Wooden Cat Picture by Dach Crafts - all hand cut with a fret saw!

Hope you like my pattern picks. Have a great weekend.