The Last of...

 This months three word gardening post highlights all the 'last of' summer plants and edibles that have finally finished their growing cycle. It has been a glorious Autumn to put the garden to bed properly without the thrash of sudden wild Autumn weather making it all a bit of a rush.

I am picking the last of the cerise Godetia and white Cosmos. There are about three cosmos plants left in the front and back garden which are next to some dahlias and I think if I pulled them up the wind would snap off the dahlias so they are left in for protection.

I am also picking the last of the late Asters which I grew from seed. When these go over I have bulbs ready for winter pot displays.

The veg patch has been cleared. The courgette plants were huge and quite frankly, it is no surprise to anyone who grows courgettes, we were sick of eating them. I harvested four huge ones which I had left on to use as halloween lanterns.

I spread manure on the whole area...

...and put it to bed.

On the fruit garden, I am picking the last of the autumn raspberries. 

Then I tied the canes to supports to ensure I could harvest the very last ones. 

My big girl challenged herself to grow continuous salad for 6 months as part of her skills section on the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. She did so well at inter cropping and being ahead of each plants' growing cycle. This is the last of her lettuce.

The herbs are going over so they all had a haircut (but not into the woody stems, that kills them) however we are enjoying the last of the parsley before the cold weather gets it.

In the greenhouse, I have cleared out the tomato plants except for the cherry ones. I used the old growbags as a mulch on my ranunculus corms. We are hanging on to the final plant to get the last few super sweet fruits.

The pepper plant came indoors for a few weeks where we ate them roasted. I sliced them in half length ways then stuffed each 'boat' with chilli cream cheese. Yum!

The chillies are perfect for us. Not too hot but just enough to add to meals without worrying about a disaster. I am not reporting the last of these but the start of our chilli harvest.

I have plans for the seasons ahead. There are bags of bulbs to go into pots and garlic to be planted. I am thinking ahead to next spring with the advantages that a big greenhouse brings. I have cornflowers, sweet william and sweet peas all popping up to be overwintered in the frost free greenhouse.

As I look out of the rainy window I can see the last of the dahlias getting a good bashing but all in all for my first year in a brand new garden I think we have done pretty well.

Thanks for dropping by. Jo xx 

No Waste Sewing

 I try not to waste anything, it is part of my DNA I think. I especially try to use up my craft materials the best way I can. Today I have a few things to share that use up my purchased fabrics to the very end.

My fourteen year old has been struggling to find T-shirts that are slim enough but old enough in design for her size. She needs a child size but they have unicorns/fairies/princess slogans on - you get the idea right? So I made a pattern purchase that was rather an investment - The Rio Ringer T-shirt by True Bias. It is not a massively versatile pattern but it does come in a range of smaller sizes which was what I was after. It was eye wateringly expensive but I knew it would work for two of us. The fact that it worked out for all three females in our house made it even better value.

I ordered three colours of jersey from Minerva which I thought would work well together: a red stripe, blue and yellow.

Firstly, I made a size 2 blue T-shirt with a join down the back. It saves on fabric and my girls like it because you can see which way round it goes without the need for labels. It was a touch small for Heidi so Megan snaffled that one. Next up I made size 4 in the pink stripe and this was a good fit for Heidi. She liked the high neckline, the slightly curved waist and the contrast bands. Finally using up the last sizeable pieces I made a size 12 which was a good fit on me.

To cut multi sizes from one pattern without going out of my head with tedium tracing off each size, I simply roughly cut out the front, back and sleeve pieces then used dressmakers carbon paper and a serrated wheel to trace through the paper straight onto the fabric. The wheel has been a new purchase for me and it has been a game changer piece of kit for transferring darts and markings. It was the perfect way to trace multi sizes from one pattern. 

 We found the neckband to be a little tight causing some ripples around the neck but I will just add another centimetre next time, that's all it will need.

Heidi liked the T-shirt shape so much, I found some other jersey pieces and got creative. There was a small piece of blue striped and chocolate brown for a front paired with a yellow back which I trimmed with the yellow and brown. That one had a 1970's vibe about it.

I spent a mindful hour listening to the radio the other evening while cutting out all of the last little pieces into underwear parts. Both of my girls love these knickers which is a size up from the largest Speedy Pants pattern by Waves and Wild (free pattern). Essentially, I made my own sized pattern based on my girls leg and waist size from the speedy pants pattern shapes then used picot elastic. 

And if that wasn't enough for you, I pulled all the thin pieces tightly to roll the jersey strips into garden ties. Jersey makes fab garden ties for tomatoes etc. because they are snugly allow the stems to grow without cutting into the stalk.

All done jersey but not all done with the Rio ringer T-shirt pattern. There is a T-shirt dress which my big girl would like for next summer - without unicorns!

Jo XXXXX

Octobering

Enjoying - the slow season change this year. Nothing to harsh or nasty all in one go; a slow wind down into Autumn.

Wearing - my new autumn inspired shirt in a plum colour cotton lawn.

Celebrating - The youngest's birthday with a Death by Chocolate Cake from her new cookbook 'Jane's Patisserie'. Meg had followed this blog for a long time and asked her Nanny to get her the book. We had a kind of 'Bake Off' moment where we sat watching it cool down and were too impatient for it to do that properly. We iced it anyway and the icing melted and oozed out of the sides. Luckily, it was in the fridge during this process so it set at a funny angle. Who cares? It was the most delicious cake Meg has ever made.

Hanging - from a harness at Go Ape in the Wyre Forest as a birthday treat. We all went on it so we only have terraferma photos!

 Using - my Jamie Oliver 30 minute meals recipe book. I love it because obviously it takes around 30 mins to make a great meal but the best thing is there are a range of side dishes I would never have thought of which include lots of veg. This is a broccoli pasta sauce ( I may have been a bit more liberal with the other veg there) accompanied by melon and prosciutto ham salad with a strawberry smoothie dessert. It was a big family hit.

Buying - some re-usable plastic straws which you can slide open and wash easily in light of this smoothie hit.

Loving - my new vase. I saw it in an antique shop for £8 and thought that the short 14cm height would be perfect for home grown flowers which often have shorter stems than shop ones. Modern vases are either too wide in the neck and leave a big hole in the middle or are really narrow and make the flowers stand to attention. 

Being - blown away by a rainbow I saw over our house on Tuesday!

Patching - THE jeans. Yes, they are still going...

Finishing - a huge pile of log cutting ready for colder days. Bloke has really relished this task over the last few weekends.

Pulling - up most of the Cosmos and courgettes to give the garden a general tidy before it all gets really slimey. 

Teaching - my eldest how to skin a pheasant. I appreciate that this photo and concept isn't for everyone but it is important for us to use what we have and not waste anything.

Slogging - it out making curtains. I hate making curtains, however my friend has a stock trailer and I have a sewing machine. He took my sheep to market and I have made his curtains. Sometimes that is how things work.

Mucking - out the studio. It had all gone a bit feral in there but normal floor space has been resumed.

Watching - the views as ever from our back door. 

Thanks for dropping by. Are you enjoying the changing season?

Jo xxxxx

Sewing for Us

I have been sewing up a few items for Autumn. I love wearing cord in Autumn and Winter. Dianne from Sew, Create and Recycle sent me some patterns for a fabric exchange and one particularly caught my eye when I opened the parcel but I put it away ready for Autumn. Now, here it is: the Anneka Tunic by Simple Sew.

I lined it because I think cord is more comfortable when it is not fighting against your leggings or tights as winter wear. It has deep patch pockets and room round the waist for stew and dumplings with apple crumble for pudding! I love wearing this new pinafore; it has a swedish kind of vibe.

I also made a pair of winter cords because, lets be honest here, I can't get in many of my winter trousers from last year! I have had it with this burda pattern now. I used it to learn to make jeans about seven years ago and have made three pairs from it in total but the zip fly instructions are rubbish and I always have to adjust the back yoke so it is time for a new one next time I need jeans style trews.

Another pattern from a magazine cover was The Fiona Set by Sewgirl from Simply Sewing magazine. Maybe Dianne sent me this one too, I am not sure. I cut a size 8 in this so that my big girl would have something to wear if we have a meal out. She has been having something of a clothes dilemma of late because she is so leggy and slim however, adult clothes are too big in the waist,bust and shoulders and the oldest children's clothes are too short in the arms and legs and covered in unicorns!

She has had her hair cut in an older style which has literally been a weight off her shoulders. She likes her dress, it is still a touch big at size 8 so maybe she can save this one in her wardrobe for next year. I thought she might be tired of me making her things by now but she has seen the potential in me making things that she can choose an age appropriate fabric design for.

I sew for Minerva making videos and sampling fabrics, so I probably sew every other day which at first I found hard to deal with from a green point of view. I was making so much stuff that I didn't even need which made me uneasy but now I have found my rhythmn and my family or friends are delighted with the 'by-products'. This teddy bear gillet and hat went to my friend's daughter - hasn't she got just the cutest smile ever? 

Another set went to my dancing friend who is soon to become a grandma to a baby boy. 

Finally, I made a top for myself. I like the puff sleeve craze at the moment but I don't suit the extra width at the shoulders with my short body therefore I plumped for the Assembly line Cuff top paired with challis fabric with plenty of drape. Puff sleeves without feeling silly! Dress, trousers and top: autumn sewing complete.

I like sewing for us.

Jo xxxxx