I've Been Busy ...

... decorating my daughter's bedroom.

It has gone from being the colour of damsons (Fay's choice) to almost white (my choice) and the pink carpet was replaced yesterday with a stone coloured one.  Now we need to buy a new bed, light and curtains.  I'm planning a grey and white scheme, maybe with a hint of fawn.

After all that painting (it took four coats to cover the walls!!), it was good to work in the fresh air at the allotment.  The courgettes are slowing down,

but the beetroot is still going strong.

 There are a few lemon cucumbers still to come.

 We haven't had a good year with the butternut squashes.  This is the only one!

The tomato plants at the allotment had caught the blight, so I picked the trusses of green tomatoes and I have hung them up on a wire in the greenhouse to ripen.

This year the chillis in the greenhouse have been fiery!  The ones that we don't use immediately I chop and freeze, then they can be added into the cooking from frozen.

 After all that work, my Husband and I took the afternoon off to visit Greys Court near Henley-on-Thames.

I liked this room, but the remainder of the house had more of a lived-in look that seemed slightly at odds with the age of the building.

 The gardens were interestingly set amid some medieval ruins.

 We fell in love with this greenhouse!

 In the pretty kitchen garden

we discovered this sweet little mouse.  He was totally unfazed by the people around him.

 I have nearly completed my cushion.  I didn't manage make anything else in September as the decorating took up so much time. :(  This month we are redecorating the hall/stairs/landing.  I will be glad when it is finished!  The only decorating I plan after that is the Christmas kind! :)

A Spot of Baking

Friday turned out to be a rainy day, so the best place to be was in the kitchen baking -

Banana Loaf

Oat and Raisin Cookies

Coconut Sponge

That should keep us going for a little while! Maybe! :)

Garden Stars

There's a definite autumnal chill in the air now and I have started to prepare my garden for winter. Last weekend I cut back a lot of the shrubs; I have to do this regularly, otherwise they will take over my small garden. I have also emptied the summer pots and baskets on the patio and refilled them with cyclamens and pansies. The pansies were a bargain 98p a tray from the supermarket; all they needed was a little TLC! I have left some of the geraniums in the pots for the time being, as they are still flowering beautifully and I have taken cuttings from the rest. Also I am experimenting by leaving a few plants undercover on the patio this year to see if they survive the winter.

The star of the garden this month has to be the sedum. When the sun is shining the flower heads are covered in bees and butterflies.

 My wisteria is flowering yet again! I have lost count of how many times it has bloomed this year! I even have a seasonally-confused foxglove in flower! 

It is a shame to cut back some of the flowers and the garden will look a little sad for a while, but next year it will look so much better - hopefully! And if I can find any bare patches of earth, I plan to plant lots of daffodils. :)

The September Allotment

Still no computer, but on the plus side I have learnt how to use Blogger and Instagram on my phone. :) I have been playing with some of the photos I took at the allotment. As you can see all this rain has encouraged the vegetables to grow big! I wanted the pumpkin to be huge, but not the patty pans and radish! :) The spinach and kale are doing well, ready for winter and the broccoli also. Mind you, the weeds are also loving this weather!!

I'm Still Here ...

... I haven't flown away!  Unfortunately my computer is broken so I am having to resort to using my phone.  Please bear with me.  Best wishes, Pj x

Now We Are three ...

 ... at least until the holidays, because yesterday our daughter "Fay" left for university.

Follow your dreams Darling.

Lavender Hearts

As promised, here is the pattern for these lavender-filled hearts

Double Knitting Yarn

Needles - size 2.75 or 3 mm

Lavender

Ribbon for Hanging

Decorations

This pattern is for the Stocking Stitch Heart, but you can use any stitch that produces a close-knit fabric. Using the smaller gauge needles helps to stop the lavender from poking through the knitting.

Abbreviations

P = Purl  ::  K = Knit  ::  St/s = Stitch/es

M1 = Make 1 by picking up loop between stitches and knitting into the back of it

S1K1PO = Slip 1, Knit 1, Pass Slip Stitch Over

K2tog = Knit 2 together

P2tog = Purl 2 together

Make 2 as follows:-

Cast on 4 sts

Row 1:  P

Row 2:  K1, M1, K to last stitch, M1, K1

Row 3:  P

Rows 4 - 18:  Repeat these last 2 rows until there are 22 sts

Row 19:  P

Row 20:  K

Row 21: P

Row 22: K

Row 23: P

Now it is time to divide the work for the top of the heart.

Row 24:  K1, S1K1PO, K5, K2tog, K1 (9sts)

Turn and work on these stitches

Row 25:  P9

Row 26:  K1, S1K1PO, K3, K2tog, K1 (7sts)

Row 27:  P2tog, P3, P2tog (5sts)

Row 28:  S1K1PO, K3 (4sts)

Row 29: P2tog, P2tog (2sts)

Row 30: K2tog (1st)

Cut yarn and reattach it to remaining stitches on needle.

Repeat Rows 24 -30

Cut yarn leaving a long tail for sewing up.

Place hearts wrong sides together and sew, using mattress stitch.  At centre top, sew in ribbon to form a hanging loop and before continuing to stitch seam, fill with dried lavender.

I use a cone of card to help fill my sachets.  I find that it keeps the edges of the material clean.

Today I knitted another heart and added beads to it.

You will need to thread approximately 70 beads onto the yarn before knitting.

 Randomly place bead by bringing yarn with bead to front of work, slipping the next stitch knitways onto right hand needle and passing yarn to back of work, leaving the bead sitting snugly in front of the slipped stitch.  Ensure that the next stitch is worked firmly.  When completing the next row (purl stitches), make sure that the bead is to the front of the work and keep the tension firm.  

I hope that that made sense!

Whilst I had my dried lavender out I made a couple of wreaths:-

One completely lavender

 and the other one made using hessian for a more rustic look.

 Our living-room now smells strongly of lavender! :)