Monday 25 June 2007

Allotments or sewing - which should I do?

We finally managed to spend some time up at the allotment without too much rain on Friday evening and all day yesterday so I was going to post some before and after shots so you could see how much better it looks now that I have tidied, weeded (a bit), strimmed (a lot) and planted but the camera needed charging and today we are back to wet and windy weather so I don't fancy going up for a photoshoot right now. Having not been up for quite a while, with the weather and poorly children and my blog-inspired need to craft, I really felt the allotment had got away from me. I was feeling very disheartened and couldn't see where to start. It is looking much better now but I will show you some of the befores:

Notice how I have made them small so you can't really see how horrid it is! No doubt the "after" ones will be bigger!!! Oh, and I must tell you how yummy the Jersey Royal potatoes were (although I know I should be calling them "international kidney" as we are not in Jersey). They were delicious - we dug them, washed them, cooked them and ate them at the allotment for lunch yesterday with a salad made from oriental leaves from Alison's allotment, lovely bacon and freshly podded peas. The children had homegrown broccoli for supper and we had parsnips, carrots, turnips from Alison, and beetroot for ours. It's brilliant!

Finally this is the quilt I have just finished. I started it ages ago after buying a Moda charm tin of Wuthering Heights fabrics. The design that came with it was for a crazy quilt but I decided I really just wanted to make a strippy one. I ended up buying a lot more fabrics and then put it away for ages. I finally finished the top one day in the half-term holiday but have had real trouble trying to quilt it (even with my lovely new machine :( not happy) so I gave up and used these mother of pearl type buttons that came from a couple of horrible satiny cushions that I bought really cheaply a few years ago because each one had 180 buttons on! A good bargain!

Meanwhile the house is in a dreadful state so I really must try to blitz it. Does anyone else have problems with clothes moths in their fabrics? If so, I would appreciate any advice on what to do about them!

14 comments:

Yummers! said...

One of the fun parts of 'blogging' is that someone is always awake somewhere in the world. It's almost 6:00 am here, and I just check my little WORLD MAP CLOCK (Click on my red clock in my right margin) and see if I read a blog in any of the wide-awake countries.
Glad to see you're back online. I missed reading you! I wish I lived closer so I could come help you with your children and cleaning so you could have more freetime for your hobbies.
Joni

Yummers! said...

That Shrek thing was just a joke! Did it sound bad? Should I remove that sentence??? I think I can get back in there to edit.
Joni

est said...

you are so cool to finish that quilt!it's really beautiful i always admire quilters! so much work & patience to make one :) & i like stipey sam!!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful quilt! The fabrics are gorgeous and I love the buttons - they work really well :)

Lucky you to have an allotment - we're growing a few bits in tubs on the patio but I was talking to DH at the weekend about the possibility of an allotment, I'd love to grow more of our own food.

Thimbleanna said...

Your allotment looks like fun. I've seen allotments, but don't know, really how they work as we don't have them here. Do you purchase the land or rent it? And how do you eat there -- set up a campfire or something to cook the meal? Does the little building contain "kitchen" types of things so that you can cook? Is it common to eat the food at the allotment or do most people just take it home? Hope I'm not being too nosy -- just love learning what goes on in other parts of the world! ;-) I LOVE the fabrics in your quilt and the pattern too -- I'd like to try that pattern myself. It might be a good way to use up a lot of my stash!

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog today and have really enjoyed it!
my allotment is a total disgrace at the moment - shoulder high weeds and brambles in some places...yours looks great to me!

hannah said...

well done for finishing the quilt, i love the turquise bits in it, and the stripey design. I have looked at those moda tins before, they always look so tempting. i bet you are pleased to have it completed. mmm. and freshly dug veg, sounds delicious.

Anonymous said...

Advice from a loving and well meaning sister who only ever has a clean and tidy house suggests the following:

Well, if you must insist on only wearing cheap cashmere then you are, nowadays, going to be invaded with cashmere (only the cheap variety) loving moths!

This apparently is the latest craze for moths so I hear.

Juliann in WA said...

No experience with moths although I think I remember that cedar is a repellant. I have looked at those tins but didn't know what to do with them. Thanks for the inspiration.
The allotment is a great idea. I just love fresh vegies but haven't been able to reclaim my own garden for a few years - too many rabbits eating the goods before I could get there. Must investigate fencing I suppose.

Anonymous said...

I got that charm tin as well and prefer your stripes to the crazy quilt picture that was on the tin. :o)

Digging up and eating your own potatoes? Sounds really nice!

weirdbunny said...

Your so dedicated finishes your quilt. If I'd made that it would have been put away about 10 times before completion ! - love Julia x

Locket Pocket said...

Response to "a loving and well meaning sister who only ever has a clean and tidy house"
As you know, dear Sis, the closest I get to cashmere of any sort is giving Mum and Dad a hug. My moths are the cotton loving sort! Shame you live so far away as I am sure you would love to come and help your poor little sister with her housework as you are so good at it.

dutchcomfort said...

Hi Lucy, you can put the fabrics that are spoiled in the freezer, thay will kill all the remaining larves. It’s the larves that eat your fabric and not the moths! They seem to hate cedar, so... BTW I love your quilt and yes indeed, these Moda tins are lovely, I bought some and I also had to buy lots of other fabrics to be able to make something. But you can always make pincushions of the squares!
Success with the moths/larves!

Angie said...

Hi! I found you through Joni's blog (Yummers!).

I love the quilt. I have just recently wanted to get my fabrics back out, and start quilting again. That strippy quilt is a great way for me to get my feet back in the waters of quilting.

Thanks for the inspiration!!

--Angie