Empty Nest and Sunshine

                                                         View from the Back Door.

Still sneezing round the garden, lots of pollen, whatever the weather. But it's all so very quiet and empty - just like indoors. The Kiwis are back home safe and sound after a l...o...n...g journey and getting back into the swing of normal life. Oh it has been so good to have them all here, I kind of feel it's the end of summer because their holiday is over....but of course the summer holidays have only just begun here. PLEEEEEEEEEESE let us have some decent weather soon!

                   Instructions from Jim to include a shot of the rose/honeysuckle arbour.

                                            Spoilt for choice re floral shots. Abundance!

Last Tuesday, to cheer ourselves up, and to take advantage of the sunshine which had arrived too late for our visitors, we headed up to the coast by way of the back roads known only to the locals, hence missing the six mile tail-backs we swept past! We were on a mission to meet Sue the estate manager up at Drove Orchards Farm where the Craft Fairs are held. She is keen for Jim and his partner Mike who comprise 'Strictly Flyfishing' to be part of the next event, doing casting clinics and demonstrations. After our 'business meeting' we had a lovely lunch at the recently re-opened under new management Yurt, on site at the farm.

It was actually hot enough to sit outside in the sun under a big parasol. Lovely food and very reasonably priced. Then we had a stroll round to the farm shop and bought loads of fruit, including goose-gogs, and Drove Orchards fruit juices...apple, and quince, mmmmm!

There, topped and tailed and waiting to join the last of the garden rhubarb in a delicious crumble. I also had to pop these into my basket, the smell was divine!

Then we popped into this interesting little place to have a chat with Jo..........

Jo sells all kinds of interesting lovely stuff for your home and garden. It's not a huge place, but jam-packed with goodies.

And deep joy, Jo was having a sale, and Jim spotted this, which just had to come home with me.......

It's truly vintage, not a modern knock off. And it was £6. Need I say more? Scubbed up it looks gorgeous in the kitchen...whether it will stay there, it IS very large! But I love it. Tiny hairline crack, poof! who cares!

Before leaving I checked out another barn where there was a new retail unit....my fellow craft-fair attendee, Angela of Potter and Dibble in Dersingham, has opened a space up at the farm, with some gorgeous stuff.  We had a chat about some possible workshops in the autumn...it's all happenin'!

Angela and her two hounds...Monty is doing the hang-dog impersonation, and I'm afraid I forget the name of the little terrier; she was eager to be off!

So after a chat we set off for home , still in the sunshine, with our goodies, pleased to be driving in the opposite direction of the endless trail of still slow-moving cars heading up to the coast. SO GLAD I no longer have to fight this traffic each summer to get to my visits, since retiring from Health Visiting! Knowing the back roads which criss-cross the region is certainly a help, but at some point you always had to join the line, and it was so frustrating!

Well, as most of you have experienced, the weather has been changeable, some more sunshine, thank heavens, but tons of rain as well. COME ON SUMMER! Pleeeeeeeese let it not rain on Friday evening as I am going to watch Van Morrison at Newmarket....no umbrellas allowed! Eek!

My next post will be taking a look at some of my journalling supplies, as I've had a request. So that will be up soon, hopefully. Till then, hope the hols are going well for you, bye for now!

Feed Sacks and a few Glimpses

                                                                       
                                                                              Pots

How weird is this weather? Heatwave last week, two days ago they were ankle deep in snow not that many miles north of us, and then this morning - here comes the sun again! At least we had a good 36 hours of rain, we need it here in dry old East Anglia. My poor pots are going to take a hammering as we've just been hit by a hose-pipe ban due to last the rest of the year!

Ok, I said I'd talk about Feed Sacks. These fabrics were literally used to package animal feed. During the Depression Era in the USA, people were hard up. In rural communities, women were hard pressed to afford material to make new clothes for their families. Feed sacks were taken apart and re-used to back rugs, and make utilitarian household items, and sometimes even clothes. Canny feed merchants realised that if they printed their sacks with patterns mimicking cotton prints, women would persuade their farmer husbands to buy that particular brand of feed. The trend caught on, extending to flour, sugar, salt and meal bags also. The sacks would be re-cycled to make clothes, and when these wore out, they would in turn be re-recycled to make quilts. Many of these exist today, and they have become collectors' items.

These examples are taken from a book called "Sugar Sack Quilts'" and it's by Glenna Hailey.

In the 1980's, in response to the modern quilting boom, reproduction versions of the old feed sack fabrics appeared, and a new generation of quilters discovered their appeal. I doubt if many of those users of the original fabrics would approve of this new trend, as they would represent a time of poverty, and possibly shame. We younger women hold them in regard for precisely their humble and practical origins. You will find heaps of other books on the subject, and if you search on google, you could probably write a doctorate with the deluge of information you'll find.

Now, a little about the craft fair which I'm working towards. It's to be held at Drove Orchards Farm on May 7th, the Bank Holiday Monday. If you're within driving distance of North Norfolk, the venue lies between the villages of Holme-Next-The-Sea and Thornham, on the coast road. They held a successful Christmas Market last year, and propose five more events in 2012. I'm delighted to be having a stall, my very first! Below are some glimpses of a few of the items I hope to be selling.

Phew, got a bit carried away there! Having only recently started to feel reasonably confident at uploading photos I'm finding it a bit addictive! Mind you, having said that, I know I enjoy blogs with a bit of colour and eye candy as well as the textual content. So I hope you enjoyed this small selection; there will also be quilts, bags and jewellery on the stall.

We are at this moment having an extended Good Friday breakfast. J is tackling the Independent's crossword, I'm blogging, and the sun is streaming through the dining room windows - though it is 'crisp' outdoors. A lovely easy day ahead of us before the busy week-end; my mum's 90th birthday, with meals out, family celebration at ours - and the cooking and preparation that entails...all good fun! I hope your Easter is equally busy and happy in which ever way you spend it. See you next time!