A few small colourful blooms courtesy of the crocuses. The garden is in transition from dormant to lively and there are so many small signs to see. I'll share another day.
Take care,
Sophie

Microscopic blooms












Take care,
Sophie

There hasn't been enough shirt wearing round here lately. I have two nice blue ones with a white design, one has polka dots and the other has a chain link, both in miniature. Blue skirt, blue skirt and a burgundy jumper to contrast. Thin jumpers are a bit of a difficult middle ground with me but I've navigated their wearing buy either layering up underneath with a vest top and thin shirt then adding a big enough jacket to keep me warm or by sticking to them only in mild times.
Contrast of patterns.


Have a beautiful weekend, happy Valentine's day and be sure to take good care of yourself,
Sophie

I made a trial one to start with, then a couple more. For the men I left out the dried flowers as C turned his nose up, which I assumed would be the case for the other men too.

The feedback was unexpectedly positive - it appears that all bags either had been put to use or would be called into action for recurring aches. As someone who doesn't have an ache, I found this surprising but once again shows how I need to think beyond my own requirements when choosing gifts for others.

I was asked whether I could make another few. As I'm now an experienced maker of wheat bags this was no problem and I made them in no time at all compared to my initial faffing. There is no fixed dimensions for these, however you please really. The first few were squarer (as I'd seen those before) but C explained he would like his for round his neck/shoulders it would need to be more of a stretched rectangle. I made them all like that from then on. The inside cotton lining didn't get an iron but I did carefully press the outer. The inner measured a little less but not much. I cut out all pieces in one go to save time. It's always the measuring and cutting which takes forever and drags things out.
Turning over the lining in half and sewing one long side and one short. All seams were sewn twice for strength. Then turning the piece right way round, filling with the wheat and flower mix. I filled a maximum of 2/3 full as you need a certain level of floppability. Funnelling the mix was a fall and I spilled loads on the floor. Then carefully taking the filled bag to the machine and sewing it shut. Then just checking the outer for size to ensure it's not sew too tight (the inner will need to be slid inside it).
 Pin right sides together, sew two sides twice and again turn right way out.
Oh look, here's the wheat and lovely dried flowers. Apparently you can use oils as well but I didn't want to introduce any moisture


Your outer should be a little bigger than inner so that they can fit together.
Don't forget to poke your corners out as much as you can for a nice finish.
 Slide the inner inside the outer sleeve, gravity helps. Then poke the inside down a bit further so it won't be caught when you sew up the last seam.
Here's where I play the 'oh but I'm just an amateur so you'll have to forgive the asymmetry in ends' card. I turned in the ends
 Pinned acrossed
 And shamelessly stitched across (twice). Shocking lack of finesse.
 Shuffle it about a bit.
I used up several pieces of material.
In the hubbub of all the sewing I also sewed a taggie which worked very well aside from one wonky tag I somehow messed up. Fingers crossed it's recipient hasn't judged me too harshly for the error.
For previous years I wrote about sewing tote bags and made a peg bag tutorial. Trust me, if I can make all these then you can do it too!

Take care,
Sophie

With the forecast looking decidedly dramatic for Saturday evening onwards we ensured our habitual wander somewhere was factored into Saturday's plans. It certainly didn't feel like there was anything untoward on the horizon; the calm blue skies and almost non-existent breeze gave no clue as to what was on the approach. I enjoyed a walk which wasn't a trudge through boggy mud for a change- some areas have benefited from drying out over the last couple of weeks but the impact of gloopy ground will hang around for a good while yet. The forest tracks cut up by machinery ploughing through the soft ground.

The bright, bold sunlight was warm, giving the false impression of spring awakening the landscape. It felt wonderfully regenerative to walk in.


Even for a keen observer like me the landscape didn't have much new to show for itself.


Foxgloves do well around the forest periphery and I must make a note to visit in late spring to see them all in bloom. Far too often I miss things as our visits to certain areas are seasonal.

Two buzzards made use of the thermals; circling overhead in those beautiful clear skies.


I just wanted to finish off by saying a really big thank you for coming back to my blog and having a read through. It's always lovely to hear your comments and those of you that pop back now and again are ever so welcome, I'm glad you find a bit of interest here.
Sometimes it can get a little morose over winter here but this year I've felt more propelled both by making more of an effort to keep up posting and generally by feeling better in finding things of interest to share. Of course, this year I'd love to achieve a 'full house' of posting each working weekday but realistically it's a bit too much of an ask, but so far, so good and it's kept me feeling buoyant with content and contentment.

Take care,
Sophie