A Ducky Tale.

It's pouring here today and so I thought I would share yesterday's adventure with you. Not my adventure you understand; no, it is spring and so the ducks are on their annual breakout of the pen, thinking in their rather dimwitted way that I would not notice them waddling noisily past the kitchen window, quacking with a particular style I now know after so much time together means it's Colditz Time!

Oh heck, she's seen us. RUN!

The Drake's Progress.

(Oh, humour me, for heaven's sake! I thought it was funny!)

She looks a bit cross. Let's head this way (and trample over the tulips we planted into the grass under the apple and plum tree to cast a scarlet studded carpet. No longer likely it seems)

Quick! She's getting close!

Forgot that was a dead end. S'pose we'd better go back. Nearly time for supper isn't it?

Biscuit: Is she still looking?

Mustang: Yup!

I know - look cute! She won't be able to resist (cos she really is that gullible!)

Er, I'm a bit stuck. Any chance of a lift?

My gorgeous Biscuit. I do love that girl.

Hope you're having a good day x

A Christmassy Ramble.

Such a beautiful day today with sunshine and crisp breezes. Isabella and I have just returned from a treat of a shared hot cholcolate in Thorntons; a rare treat, but one made all the more special for the scarcity. Her little face was so excited. I swear she radiated happiness and it was returned by the other shoppers smiling at her chocolatey face. back at home a few things have continued to make me smile such as these dried apple rings piled high in a flowery jug. They will be gracing a door wreath any day now, but for the moment I just love the sight of them in our kitchen.



Waiting on the worktop is my most favourite Christmas mug, a present from Mr Davey a couple of Christmasses ago. No doubt you recognise it as a Caroline Zoob design. She is someone whose delicate embroidery I admire hugely and I covet one of her beautiful pictures. Of course, I also aspire to be as good as her in my own embroidery work and should any potters out there wish me to design a range for them I would not be too slow in saying yes!



Ho hum... well, on to decorations. I love handmade - obviously - but am also lucky enough to own one or two exquisite baubles thanks to my dear dave. This fragile beauty has been gracing our tree for a number of years now and is made of the finest glass painted with the sweetest circus scene. So fine is it that the light shines trhough turning the colours into glowing jewels



much like the stained glass orange slices dried earlier this week - have you done yours yet? Bossy again, eh.



Let's mix things up a little as a change from the festive scene. I think I may have mentioned how much I love to cook and so here's a recipe I would like to share. No need to be precise about measurements. Just take a mound of peelings - potato, sqush, leek for example. Add some chunks of said squash, some left over apple pieces, pumpkin seeds,porridge oats and anything else you would normally add to your compost bin; add some water and cook gently till slightly softened.



Blitz with a blitzer (!) and ta da, you have a meal fit for...ducks and hens obviously. What else were you thinking?



Ok, intermission over and it's back to Christmas with a tree made by Davey who makes a new decoration every year or two depending on how the mood takes him. I love this one with its touch of hand embroidery and tweedy squishyness.



And of course, the best of all are the ones made by your chldren aren't they? This is the angel made by my eldest son Tom almost 22 years ago when he was five - and for those of you trying to do the maths, there is almost 24 years between Tom and our youngest, Isabella. Come to that, there is four and a half years between Tom and Lauren, seven between Tom and Sam, fourteen between Tom and Lucy (eight between Sam and Lucy) and as I said, 24 between Tom and Isabella (eight between Lucy and Isabella). Add to that Dave's two gorgeous children Matty and Elias (we hate the word step-children as it suggests you are distanced from them and I most certainly am not!) and you can see maths comes hard in this house! Anyhoo, back to Tom's angel fondly known as the 'Angle' Gadriel - and yes, the 'Angle' is intended!



Back out with the Christmas cookery books and first up is Elizabeth David's classic which, though I love her writing, I do wish there were more pictures to complete the scene she sets so evocatively.



Well, I think I have rambled quite enough for one day, so will leave you to enjoy yours with a picture of the magnolia stellata buds which are forming their furry bud coverings quite nicely and reminding us that spring is not so very far away. Back next time with some more crafting, some more decorations and possibly some more christmas china too. I can feel the anticipation!



Bye for now x

Time.

I may not have mentioned it much lately, but sewing has been pretty much filling my days; come to that it has pretty much been filling my nights too. New designs, orders, fabrics to sort ... these are just some of the things which demand of my time and as they are also the very things which lie at the heart of a textiles business such as mine, then time must be found - somehow.



If only days were longer; if only I had more energy; if only I could find more time for stitching grasses...



baking breads...



more grasses...



knitting socks... still...sigh...



playing games....



but mostly trying to perfect darned designs that swim around my head



they'll get there



in time.



What are you struggling to find time for? Just one thing will do!

Have a restful evening x

Hearts and Flowers

The last few days seem to have been a little manic here - me trying to get back into work mode and the family descending en masse at the same time. Though it's been a lovely time of impromptu meals and chats and much laughter, yesterday found me desperate for two minutes peace in order to be able to clear some of the ever-growing list of jobs. Yesterday all calmed a little in the evening and I was able to start the list by loading this little gem onto the website.



It is a sweet linen bag lined with flowered cotton which I decided to call Hearts and Flowers due to the fact that it comes with its own gingham heart...



and is hand embroidered with a scattering of flowers and a branch of pretty blossom. I also appliqued a little girl with a hat to complete the scene.



So that is one job completed which is always a lovely way to start the day. Next up is organising my Christmas range which is already well underway. Here's a little peek to to whet the appetite.



Of course, this little bag would make a perfect early present to stow away for all you organised people - just think how virtuous you'll feel! Pushy? Me?



Have a lovely day x

The Towans

I have finally been working through my list of to do jobs which is HUGE! One of the main things I wanted to complete was the bag design inspired by our recent visit to Gunpowder Towans on the Hayle estuary. The combination of vast dunes of the softest sands interspersed with tall clumps of spiky grasses, golden ragwort and tangled brambles, the whole set against that amazing backdrop of wide, wide seas and distant blue cliffs... you can tell it just filled my mind with images which demanded to be set onto fabric.





This is the second of my Cornish Collection, the first being Trevaunance





The Towans is the result of all my scribbles into my notebook (thank you so much Diana) once I returned home from our walk which, for an endlist list of reasons, has taken me until now to complete. The photographing of the finished article was another story all together and all I will say is 'rain'.





I decided to use a mix of hand and freehand machine embroidery for this bag as I wanted the sharpness of the grasses to contrast with the softer elements of sand, etc. Hand embroidery always reflects a softness of texture for me and so I turned to this for the line of text which reads 'soft the sand as grasses bend', using a bright yet gentle green to imitate the less harsh grasses bordering the dunes. The freehand nature of the machine embroidery however gave the spikiness I needed to the parts which left my legs scratched due to my stupidity in wearing sandals on such a landscape. By clicking on the images this blend of textures becomes clearer (I hope!).





And so there you have it - one more job off the list, one more to the collection and one more step forward in developing my design work which I am just loving. I really want to push this side of things and find my own style, something I think is coming as I allow my creative side to stretch and grow, constantly using the very things around me which have inspired me for as long as I can remember and exploring how to interpret them onto fabric. Of course, this will always involve a use of other things which inspire me - embroidery and the way in which stitches work both with and against textiles is a constant source of fun, as is the play of text against this backdrop and the meanings of words themselves; so many layers to every line of text...don't you just love language? Sorry, got carried away there.





I'll sign off for now, but I can't tell you what a creative journey that felt like - just wonderful.

Bye for now
Pipany x