Saturday 30 July 2011

Millie Moon

While we were away at camp we visited a little town in Somerset called Frome. We have never been there before and I didnt know that it is the town where Millie Moon is situated in the quaint little high street. I have been on Millie Moon website lots of times so I was very excited to find myself in the shop. However...as we had extra people travelling with us to camp I knew I wouldn't be able to buy very much due to lack of space so I just bought the fat quarters below. Not sure where I will use them yet but couldn't come away with nothing!


Friday 29 July 2011

Home....briefly

We are back from our week of Bible Camp...great fun and good time of worship and teaching. My mother in law is now safely in a hospital in her home town in Cornwall and her husband managed to drive home from Ireland alone. I am off to Devon on the train on Sunday for a few days to help out at my daughter...cant wait to see these scally wags doing their ballet class on Tuesday. Don't know why I couldn't enlarge the bottom photo..it kept going out of focus



Friday 22 July 2011

More Jam


At last school is finished for the summer. This week has been pretty hectic, we are due to go to New Wine Bible camp tomorrow, then my mother in law had a fall and has become quite unwell while visiting her family in Ireland so my husband flew out early this morning to bring her back to Cornwall tomorrow night. So this leaves me to tow the camping trailer which I have never done before. Thankfully I have a couple of friends travelling with me. When my mother in law has been settled into a hospital he will then join me. We are really hoping for a time of refreshing, relaxation and most of all meeting with God.
Last week a friend and I went fruit picking and I made some more jam, I love berries!





Sunday 17 July 2011

Elephant Mobile

My daughter asked if i would make a brightly coloured mobile to go above Gilby's cot. So I looked at a few ideas on the internet and decided to use felt. I made a paper pattern, drawing an elephant outline, cut out the felt, top stitched the two pieces of elephant together, leaving a small gap to fill with wadding and then finished off the stitching. I now need to find fine wire to use to make the bars for the elephant to hang from. I will try and remember to photograph the finished mobile.






Friday 15 July 2011

Prada

I thought you might like to see a couple of the photo's my son took for his Prada shoot. They were delighted with how it went.


Tuesday 12 July 2011

Basket

If you read my blog you will know I have a bit of a thing for baskets! This is one I have had for years, I like it because it zips up across the top but it is deep and dark and things can be lost for ever on the bottom. So I searched through my fabric stash for some strong, light coloured fabric. I drew a pattern on paper and made a lining for the basket, adding some side pockets,  putting it in place and hand stitching around the top edge.




Sunday 10 July 2011

Village Summer Fete

Yesterday the twins went to their Village Summer Fete

Mummy made cakes for the cake stall


  They enjoy pony riding


And chilling on the bouncy castle

Saturday 9 July 2011

Proud Mum part 2

This is our youngest son Dominic, he is singing at their church's Easter Service

Friday 8 July 2011

Proud Mum


This is our eldest son Ben, I hope he wont check out my blog because he will be embarrassed . But I am very proud of him...I am proud of all our children but today Ben is in Milan doing a photo shoot for Prada. He didnt study photography at university but has 'slipped' into it as a career, he is now freelance and working for magazines such as American Vogue, New York Times, Harpers Bazzar etc and companies like Levi, Top Shop etc. Prada is an amazing job to land, he works very hard and it is often very stressful but he does a great job

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Rhubarb & Vanilla Jam




I love making preserves, especially if I am using fruit or vegetables I have grown, since we have lived here however that hasn't been possible. In our old garden we had lots of plum, apple and pear trees and I used them to make jams and chutneys. Anyway, this weekend I went to a lovely farm shop that I like to visit and bought rhubarb to make jam and when the season arrives I will find a 'pick your own' and pick strawberries and other fruit to make more flavours.
Knowing my passion, my daughter bought me the labels and jar covers that I have used here, for my birthday

Rhubarb & Vanilla Jam

1kg rhubarb, trimmed weight
1 vanilla pod
1 kg sugar (I use jam sugar)

Method
Prepare rhubarb and cut into short lengths
Put into bowl
Split vanilla pod lengthways and extract sticky black seeds
Add seeds and split pod to fruit
Stir in sugar, cover bowl and leave in a cool place, ideally not the fridge, for 8 hrs or more.
When you go back to it the suger will have drawn out the juice from the fruit and vanilla will perfume it
Transfer contents into preserving pan, heat, stirring gently until sugar has dissolved
Bring to boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached, remove pod.

If a scum has formed, gently skim it off

I test for setting point by putting a saucer or small plate in the feezer to cool it, spoon a small drop of jam onto cold saucer, wait a few seconds and then push gently with finger. If the jam wrinkles it is ready to pot, if it doesnt then boil for a little longer

Pour jam into clean strerilised jars, cover and label

Monday 4 July 2011

Persistence

I have been reading  this morning about the persistent faith of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Jesus speaks on a number occasions about us being persistent in our faith, in our requests and in our Walk. Of course this isnt the only point that this story brings out but it is what has spoken to me today. Not to just be persistent when things are tough but all the time.
I was then watching a short video clip of the twins having a surfing lesson with daddy, persistence is required on all parts in this!
(I dont know what has happened to my font colour...will have to sort it later )




Sunday 3 July 2011

No Time!

Following on from my last post, the family in SA are still on the farm, I am not sure of all the details and neither are they but they didnt have to move out by Friday and we are continuing to pray that they wont have to move out at all. Thank you for your prayers too!
I have had such a busy week I havent had time to blog. I have just finished a quilt for a competition and now I cant email the photo in to the magazine....I am guessing everyone is sending their photos at the same time and the system is overloaded because it just keeps coming back and the competition ends tomorrow!!!
So I thought as I have nothing else to post about I would add some photo's of my beautiful grandson Gilby Skipp...pretty cute eh?