Did You Miss Me At All?

I've been away for a few days - did you notice? We have just had the most amazing five day break in Boston - we have never been to the USA before and had plenty of preconceptions founded on tv programmes and films, but were blown away by the kind and polite people of Boston, the beautiful countryside, the incredible food (and how much of it!), the sights we saw and the ever-changing weather. In the space of five days we have been hot, freezing cold, wet, windblown and sunburnt!



We've only been back a few hours and are suffering from severe lack of sleep after flying over night, but here are just a few photos. It's nearly Halloween, and boy did we know it! Above are some pumpkins for sale - puts the handful of sad specimens in Sainsbury's today to shame!


We took a boat trip to Salem - stunning scenery on the way with the autumnal colours and the beautiful houses among the trees. We coveted each and every one of them!


The House of the Seven Gables, Salem - very creepy in the fading light as the sun went down.


I love my dogs, but think I would be hard pressed to buy them their own icecream! Spoiled pooches get to finish off my ice-lollies as it is....

I have so many more pictures to sort out - we went on a daytrip out to sea and saw humpback whales; we tramped through the rain following the Freedom Trail, we spent a day wondering at the sea-creatures in the New England Aquarium, and we explored Salem and learnt about the witch trials. The cases were jammed with plunder from the local shops - pumpkin pie, Koolaid, Kandy Korns, t-shirts, sweat-shirts, cookie cutters, touristy souveniers, even some pieces of fabric. Who knew our hotel would be opposite a huge discount fabric store......

To be continued.....

Not Going to Happen.....

I'm nothing if not determined, but the time has come to admit defeat. I so wanted to have this jumper finished before I go on holiday so I could wear it while away, but with one and a half sleeves still to do, it's time to put it aside and concentrate on more important things....like packing! I'd have managed it too if it weren't for the yarn being held up during the postal strikes last week.


I've had these little shell paintings in mind for weeks now, but have had to focus on the potatoes instead. However, as soon as the last potato in the current batch was done, I grabbed the opportunity to start this little piece. I found it strangely difficult and have come to the conclusion that after all these weeks of working at high speed and only painting tubers, my brain is completely fried. So I have put down my pencils and brushes for now, and whilst I am taking a basic painting kit of sketchbook, pencil, brushpen & travelling water-colour box when I go, I am determined to only use them if I feel the urge - time to relax and re-charge the creative batteries I think.

If It's October, It Must be Time to Make Christmas Cake!

Every year I try manfully to get the Christmas cake made as early as possible. Sometimes I manage it, sometimes I don't. It makes a big difference to the quality of the cake however, as if the cake is made in October, that gives me over two months in which to water it well with copious jollops of brandy once a week! Last year the cake was sheer perfection as it had been steeping in alcohol for nigh on three months...this year I have once again made it nice and early.

I have used a recipe from a Stork Margarine cook book given to me by my mother when I left home at the age of seventeen.....so it's a very old cook book. It has stood me in good stead over the years, with plenty of simple, tasty traditional dishes and the Christmas cake recipe hasn't let me down yet.

So tonight when the dinner has been cooked, into the oven it will go to bake slowly for three hours in its newspaper overcoat to prevent the sides and bottom from burning - a little trick learnt from my mother. The house will be warm and aromatic with the scent of mixed spice, nutmeg, brandy and cake......mmmmmm.....

Plenty More Fish in the Sea....Number Two!

Seeing as the original 'Plenty More Fish in the Sea' scarflette was snapped up in under 12 hours of being on Etsy, I thought it might be a good idea to make another one, just in case anyone out there was cursing being too slow on the uptake! This one is knitted in a varigated pure wool yarn in shades of blue with a touch of purple. It is slightly larger than the previous scarflette, mainly because I had more of this yarn! It is trimmed with the small brown wooden fish, but this time also has tiny blue wooden disc beads in between the fish and large turquoise fish at the corners.


It has the same extra lengths of crocheted curly-wurly ends , this time making it long enough to be tied around your waist...even round my waist! A very versatile little number, and would look great with anything denim.

Just received a large parcel of deep blue alpaca yarn that I ordered to make a very intricate chunky lace jumper for myself. The challenge is, can I finish it in time to take on holiday with me...watch this space!

Todays potato is No.88, leaving 10 more to do. If I had the technical ability, I'd have a little 'countdown' counter.......
Someone at work asked me what I am painting the potatoes in....acrylics I replied.
She pondered for a while, then asked 'why acrylics? Do they preserve the potato or something?'
Rather than smack my head against a brick wall several times in disbelief, I pointed out that I'm illustrating a book - and quickly walked away...

October?

We are already almost half way through October, and yet in the garden can still be seen....


...some bright nasturtiums......


.....a banana plant flourishing and still putting out leaves....


....a giant hibiscus putting out its first and only bud for the year - will it make it to open before the frosts come?


More in keeping with the time of year, our grape vine has gone mad this year and spread over the pergola at last and produced a few small bunches of plump grapes. Those leaves are so very beautiful!

There is another fish-themed triangular scarf on it's way - a few finishing touches to be made and then it is done.

I have a mere 12 more potatoes to be painted......there will be a large bottle of champagne chilling in my fridge when the last one is in progress...

Plenty More Fish in the Sea.....

I seem to have been making an awful lot of knitted lace lately, which although I enjoy doing it, makes for a bit of a boring wait inbetween blog posts! However, I took a short break from the complicated knitting this week and whizzed up a little triangular scarflette...ok, the edging is in actual fact a basic lace pattern, but I've got to have something to keep me interested!



It's knitted in Noro Cash Island, a wool & cashmere mix, with loads of little wooden fish hanging from the picot edge. I have crocheted extra length to each end of the scarf, using a curly-wurly effect and a few more fish.

This is a really cute little scarf and can be worn either as above or with the tie at the front. It will be on Etsy later on in the day. SOLD already! If you fancy something similar (and I'd really like to make more of these) just get in touch, it can be arranged!


Number 84...need I say more? I am so desperate not to paint potatoes that yesterday while teaching a class of six year olds how to use watercolours, one of them had to take the brush out of my hand so he could actually have a go, because I was getting a bit carried away with the joy of painting some sky, some grass, a tree........oh well, not long now!!

Retrospective Too......

I finally got the nod this week that the number of potatoes left to paint is in the teens - oh how my heart sang! I have never painted over 80 of anything, let alone tubers, and I have to say enough is enough! I physically long to paint something else, to use a different palette of colours, a different medium. Imagine if you were an opera singer made to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star over and over for a year or a chef confined to making Shepherd's pie every day for a year and you might get an inkling of how I feel!



In the meantime, here are a couple of older paintings from a few years back. This is a Cornish tin mine in a place called Porth Towan if I remember correctly. I loved the height of it's tower and it's brooding atmosphere. This is painted in acrylics (look, colour!)....it's available for sale if anyone is interested, just e-mail me.


This is Porth Towan Beach, also in Cornwall and in acrylics and I really enjoyed painting the reflective water left on the sand as the tide went out. This is also available for sale and is framed in a home-made driftwood frame, complete with sand and the odd shell.

I'm also currently knitting a strawberry pink lacy shawl which will be very pretty when finished...if I can only stop making silly errors and having to unravel inches of it every now and again. I'm tired...........