Hello

I just thought i would pop in and say hello as I haven't had a chance to post for a while. Things are pretty bust right now and i know my posts will be few and far between for the next few weeks or so, particularly as i like to write long posts with a few pictures which take a bit more time to do so i need a good block of time to do one.

The workshop is on halt for a few weeks also as both R and i have a lot on. I am suffocating under the clutter in the house at the moment and need to get back into housewife mode before i can't find the children!! The end of the school year is coming up fast and there are lots of events etc to go to and help with... and Alice and I have 3000 of our guardsman shirts to label and bar code for the Royal Collection shops...gulp! (a little design side line for us, but this time since we have time...haha we thought we would do the labeling...we must be mad!)

Oh and please pray that Alice's solo creative project won't be premature (yes...she is gloriously pregnant with only a few more weeks to go) or i will be doing all the labels on my own!

I also have a solo project going on, though not as exciting as Alice's.... a new blog which is very seperate from this one and which i will run on the side but still keeping the Flour Loft as my main blog. It's really more of a personal photo blog where i am exploring my love of taking photographs, so you can always catch me there in the meantime. The link is sweetmyrtle .



I will leave you with this little Robin who flew down to say hello to me yesterday when i was lucky enough to go here for a few hours to see the gardens with my lovely friend Debbie.

Wishing you all lovely weekends doing all the things that make you happy.

dreaming...

I am a bit of a dreamer. I like to muse over things and always have ideas bobbing around in my head of things i am planning or the seeds of new creations. This past week i have been musing about flowers for the garden. I mainly grow herbs and veg with a bit of fruit but really fancy introducing a bit more colour and tartiness to the garden. On Friday i treated myself to a little wander around our local garden centre with only myself and my thoughts to accompany me. I wandered around for ages. It's a good time to go to see the variety of plants available and to get ideas. I wasn't intending to purchase anything but something wouldn't let me leave empty handed. After coveting a beautiful heuchera, a replacement eucalyptus (yes mine died) and a nostalgic hydrangea (fond memories of visiting my granddad's house with a lilac hydrangea to the right of his front door), i came away with two dramatic 'gallery' dahlias (art nouveau) and 3 blue trailing verbenas. I wasn't even sure were i would put them. It wasn't until i got home that i realised my chosen plants reflected the exact colours i was wearing.


Have you ever done that? Deep pink really does seem to be a favourite just now....

my gardening gloves...

... and my new tulips are a similar colour.

Later that day i sat outside with all my gardening books dreaming of flowers and sowing my new seeds. Early that evening i started digging up a bit more lawn to make a bit more planting space.




My favourite flowers are echinacea or 'cone flower'. My clever youngest daughter discovered this and brought me two types of echinacea seeds for my birthday. They were sown a few weeks ago in a heated propagator and are doing well, so fingers crossed that they will be successfully potted on.


I also have studio progress to report...

The old purple wooden door was removed and a huge hole in the end of the building appeared late on Saturday afternoon.




The idea was to reuse the window we took out last week and put it where the old door was. This is a south east facing aspect so it made perfect sense put a window here to allow more light into the room.




The windows were originally recycled from an house near my father in law's some 7 years ago. Much as i hate UPVC i would rather reuse them than for them to go into landfill. Why buy new when you can recycle? You can see from this picture all the crates of fabric and stock piled up inside. Not long now before i can start to unpack.




My good man worked late into the evening to finish off the block work. He was able to reuse some of the original blocks which we discovered were actually sandstone. Unfortunately they had been painted a shitty brown colour so we hadn't realised . I had over painted them 'fly blue' some time ago... this was his first ever bit of wall building i might add. It's taking shape now. We covered it with a tarpaulin for the night just in case of rain....


and on Sunday morning the window went in, much easier than we had anticipated. So now the new shell is complete and it's just two more interior walls to finish. We sat outside last night drinking beer and marveling at what had been achieved. I want to move in now, but it'll be a few more weeks at least... so i shall continue dreaming for the time being....

Our Bank Holiday

We were so lucky this May Bank Holiday to have glorious weather here in the South of England.
My brother in law and his girlfriend came down to visit. These visits usually combine football with a wee bit too much to drink. This did happen but i also witnessed brute strength, lots of dust and some circular saw action. The two brothers took out the old window and made a opening for the new door into the soon to be 'garden studio space'. This was the result....



While they were partaking in brute force us 4 girls went off in hunt of some Maytime festivities.
We managed to find my older sisters folk group who were dancing locally along with 3 other local 'sides' in an event organised by Pilgrims Morris. She belongs to a Ladies North West Morris group. They wear clogs with bells attached and often dance holding garlands.
Some years ago i made her a little folk dancer doll in her colours. Before you ask... no my sister is not the one on the top left!!




We also found these beautiful gardens and Castle ruins. The girls got snap happy with the camera. These are their photos... My eldest got really excited when she saw the lady bird photo opportunity. (top right...click to enlarge)



I love watching them take photos. It gives me a peep into how they see the world, especially when they are given the freedom to shoot whatever they want to. The camera also has a film setting. Now that they have discovered that there is no stopping them... we have just been watching some very funny video they took around the house discussing to camera the clutter and the mess. Maybe they want to send it off to 'Clutter Nutters'?! We had better watch out.. or worse still... 'How clean is your House?'

So an enjoyable long weekend with good company, lots of sunshine and gardening and most excitingly for me the studio space a little further on as we now have a door ... Actually 2 doors... but that's the next job... to take out the old door and to put the old window in it's place.
Hope you had a good time too. How did you spend yours?

Thank you

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has sent Alice and i good wishes since moving out of the Flour Loft studio and for this new stage of our creative collaboration. It is lovely to have your support and friendship. We are both in a transition period now until our new spaces are ready. When they are we hope to throw ourselves back into the creative process.


My week, this week has been spent helping my man on the next diy stage of creating my home workspace. First he sorted out the wiring.



Then we insulated the breeze block shell of the building and have started making an interior wall with tongue and groove wood cladding which will eventually be painted. A large amount of the stuff moved from The Flour Loft is in the space already so we are a little cramped. We are almost half way there on the refurb. We have a little matter of moving a door and creating a new window still to see to. Its been a learning curve, but each completed stage brings a great sense of achievement. I am only the builder's mate. Chief builder took a few days off work to push the project further. Still lots to do so guess what we are doing this weekend?




I have however also managed to sow some more seeds in the greenhouse and my first sowings of basil, rocket, romanesco and beans are just starting to show themselves.The weather has really started to warm up here in the South of England and it's been great to feel the sunshine again.
Thank you for all your lawn advice and stories. I am going to enjoy it's lushness a little longer but am planning a gentle first haircut sometime next week.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
G x

Do you think my grass needs cutting?

We have had a pleasant few days here in the south of England.
At this time of year the first few good days of sunshine give rise to the sound of neighbours mowing their prized lawns. Yesterday, whilst in the garden, i heard the familiar hum of a lawn mower to my right. This evening my neighbour to the left followed suit and both gardens are now sporting freshly cut lawns.




It got me thinking.....




Should i cut mine?




I kind of like the shagpile look of it at the moment. The forget-me-nots and the dandelions seem very happy with it too.



But the garden always feels bigger when i finally cut it.

What do you think? Leave it a bit or give it a haircut?

Have you cut yours yet?

Time at home

The girls and I have spent a few productive days pottering about at home and in the garden.
We cleaned the greenhouse out yesterday, finally, and have washed all the seed trays and pots. We are now ready to sow. A little later than usual for some things but as it has been so cold i think that we'll be ok. We did manage to get our garlic in just after Christmas and it is doing well and our raspberry canes are looking promising. We will be growing a selection of all sorts like last year; cucumbers, rocket, tomatoes, sweetcorn, courgettes, french beans, lettuce, carrots, coriander, chillies and basil. We will also be trying brussel sprouts and cabbage and if it's not too late time, one of my fav veggies... leek.



Today i had a lie in. Whilst the girls were playing in their room and i was drinking my morning cup of tea, still lying in bed, i switched on the lap top. and started to 'bloghop'. I came across The Homely Year's blog. I have visited before but not for a while. I must bookmark them for as well as being an enjoyable read,the site is full of great recipes. I came across a few which i jotted down. I fancied trying this lemon cake and as both my girls have sweet tooths i thought they would be keen to help.

It was fairly straightforward and we all took turns, creaming, beating , juicing lemons and grating the zest. We popped it in the oven for 50mins and this is how it came out.



We fancied icing it so sieved the icing sugar into a bowl and mixed it in with more lemon juice. As you can see my icing is always too runny. We ended up coating the whole thing.




The girls also made some shortbread in butterfly, flower, star and heart shapes. They had a friend to play this afternoon and all three girls enjoyed polishing off most of the cake and a fair amount of biscuits. There is some cake left for us grown ups to gobble up tonight. It is very very tasty! Thank you Margaret and Noreen.

studio farewell...

We have packed up our little studio and have bid farewell. We have been so happy there but things move on and new pastures beckon. I took some photos on my final visit to share with you.

Everyday after parking the car i would glance up at our little window to see if Alice was in before me. If she was i knew that the kettle would be on ready for the first cup of the morning.


There are two ways to walk to the front of The Old Bakery; one through the Market square or the other, as i often preferred, to walk around the back, past the railings at the top end of the Public Gardens. Much of my youth was spent here hanging out with my friends. My grandparents lived in one of the terraced cottages behind the park, this place seems timeless to me and holds many special memories.



As i turn the corner and look across to Lenten Street this wonderful house welcomes me.

Weybourne House

This photo doesn't do it justice as twice a year it's frontage is covered with Wisteria flowers. It is heavenly. I always meant to photograph it. I will come back again when it is in flower, so i can show you. The main building is 18th century but it has a 19th century addition on the right. It was rented in 1809-11 by Henry Digweed and family and was visited by Jane Austen. Lenten Street is home to some beautiful historic houses. Rose cottage was once owned by Jane Austen's brother Frank and number 25 Lenten Street was the birthplace of the botanist William Curtis. For further information and history about Alton please follow link. For details of Jane Austen's house in Chawton (a stone's throw from where i grew up) and forthcoming events, click here.



The Old Bakery is opposite Cara's cafe/tea shop where we often bought a slice of lemon cake, and a brownie or two. We shall miss it.



The Old Bakery entrance greets you with two massive folkydokee sign which Alice's Dad organised for us. They are so big that they are kinda shouty. They always make us smile. Must remember to take them down now.



In the lobby you can see the spiral staircase.


Yes the very one which Alice and i carried various stock and furniture up and down for the many craft fairs and events we have been involved in. This is also the very staircase which witnessed the near crushing of my husband when the two of us tried to carry a large metal filing cabinet up. I spent this Saturday with said same good natured husband, moving it all out again. (but the filing cabinet stayed!.. hopefully the next occupants will be able to use it.)



I was so trashed after moving about 20 crates of fabrics and haby, various shelving and storage chests down these stairs but at least it is the last time i will do it . Gigibird asked what we were going to do with all our accumulated fabric stash. Well we have kept all of our most precious fabrics and small pieces of most of the others. We have donated many bits to all our local schools and sold off some lengths. I have saved some good pieces which i hope to ebay and the rest has gone into scrap bags also for school use.


We often bought or were given old clothing from charity shops. Many of these were still complete , like these jeans, so a good few bags were returned to the local charity shops for resale.



So what happens next? Well everything is stored at present until our home spaces are ready, so back to the kitchen tables for us, where we started.
Gosh this is a long post... if you have got to this bit well done! thank you all for your sweet comments on the last post... i will continue the Flour Loft for the moment and trace these next months here in this blog space......and then after that who knows.....not even me!
Happy Monday wherever and whatever!!!!
ginny x