Monday 29 April 2013

Lovely Pops

Last Autumn a friend of mine opened a gorgeous shop in Mill Street called Lovely Pops, Hannah wanted to provide a show case for all the makers in the island, so everything in this beautiful haven is locally made.


I popped in today to deliver the framed applique of Herm and Jethou, and Hannah very kindly put it in the window.


And so I thought I would show you round this inspirational shop


Katie's colourful china is decorated with Guernsey cows and donkeys but she also personalises pieces with babies foot prints, dates or house names.  Brilliant gifts.


a wealth of gorgiousness, and at the back Hannah has space to make her own range of Lovely Pops smiley soft fabric dolls and rabbits. And she sometimes also hosts classes there.


Hannah's little rabbits

Two Puffins in the corner,
and there is mine just above Ink Bison's beautiful chap, and down below
are a pair of my mad haired dolls, fun but not toys!


 smooth and tactile turned wood along side Guernsey bees wax candles (they smell delicious!)


A cupboard of delights, Fleur's crocheted link scarfs, Iris and Dora's papercut/screen printed cushions and oh look, one of my Guernsey Fish at the bottom ;-)

Adore these Guernsey cheese boards (gave quite a few as Christmas presents) and used my set of the slate map coaster yesterday, so simple yet so effective.  And behind them you can see Little Paper Galleries beautiful Guernsey scene cards, we have actually just started stocking them at the Tapestry Gallery.  Don't tell Chris but think he will be getting one as his anniversary card on Wednesday!
Well if you happen to be passing or fancy a climb up in to the beautiful old quarter, do pop in and see Hannah, it is well worth it (her opening hours 10.30-2.30 then 3.30-4.30 and Saturdays 10-4)



Saturday 27 April 2013

Old stuff

When I was in Sark last weekend, I had a lovely lady come up to me and say how much she loved my machine embroideries. 

We are sailing
Now its always lovely to get a compliment but the problem was I hadn't done any for a good few years as I have been focusing on my appliques more.
Knight in shinning armour
And she got me thinking.  The main reason for this change was boringly mundane, the cost of box frames for my little embroidered cushions had sky rocketed and was no longer feasible.
Angels and cherubs
But a lovely friend has given me a tip off, and I visited the tip off yesterday and well lets say I am now back in business!

a commission done a few years ago
They were ash box frames, but will now be limed wood, and think they will look great.  Will just have to over come the other problem, which was being lazy!  You see I can do the hand embroidery/applique in front of the tv/fire being sociable with Chris, this type involves me going up to the sewing room and shutting my self away.  There I have said it, so now I have to do something about it, and I promise you I will!

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Sark part two

Right time for part two!
Imogen and Bailey proudly led us up to their new house
 It is beautiful, a gorgeous mix of classic and modern, but even more, this is the view Jill has from her kitchen window, out over the camp site towards France, stunning. 
I don't think I would ever get anything done!
 But the whole reason for the trip was to see Immie in 'Oliver'
and I was very proud that she was wearing a Victorian dress that I had made her,
 for playing Catherine, the daughter of the undertaker.
difficult to take pictures during the show as I didn't want to disturb with the flash.
But it was a brilliant performance with fabulous singing, even more impressive when you consider there are only about 700 people living in Sark.
Bailey up a tree!
Sunday was still beautiful weather, so we decided to head out for a big walk, much needed after all the wine the night before!!!
 Imogen and her dog Ziggie
 Myself, Jill, Immie and Bailey on the cliff path above the harbour
What a stunning day and stunning island
Imogen and I spent alot of the walk collecting wild flowers, thrift, daisies and violets,
and her plait seemed the ideal place to display them.
There are an awful lot of horses in the island, the majority used for the carriages,
 Jill is some times a carriage driver and
 you can see her daughter is very comfortable and relaxed around these huge beautiful animals
And also it seems very comfortable with steers (young bulls!) 
Then it was time to head home, but we did have time to potter round the beautiful old harbour
this is where most of the local fishing boats are based
The tunnel, which is the only land way you can get to this secluded spot
A motor cruiser bombing it back Jersey (the island you can see on the horizon)
before we got on to the Sark boat and headed back in the other direction to Guernsey.
Thank you to all the Gills for a fantastic weekend


Sunday 21 April 2013

a weekend in Sark; part one

This weekend, we have gone over to Sark with Bailey, to catch up with his family, and see is sister Imogen in the island am dram production of Oliver. 
And wearing a dress I made for her, so I have a vested interest!!
 And what a beautiful day to sail.
  Leaving St Peter Port with the reassuring sight of the Lifeboat
 and the ambulance boat 'Flying Christine'
 The light house at the entrance of the harbour with Castle Cornet on the left.
 the ethereal late afternoon light
The Wave Piercer arriving from Poole, I always think it looks like a James Bond Stealth Boat!
The castle on Breqhou, very controversial, its self and its owners!  A bit rough at this point so impossible to get a straight horizon! 
 On the horizon you can see Herm and Jethou to its left.
 Arriving at the tiny Maseline harbour
Sark is unique as cars are baned, its all tractors, bicycles and horse and carriages.  The island is a tall plateau of rock with steep climbs up the cliffs to get to the top, but once you are there its pretty flat.  So when you land you can either climb Harbour Hill and
 maybe have a restorative pint in the the Bel Air at the top!
Or you can take the delightfully named Toast Rack which is towed up the hill by a tractor, for the bargain price of £1.00, definitely worth it!

Saturday 20 April 2013

following in Renoirs foots steps

 Am such a lucky girl, I have a Saturday off, and the sun is shinning, the sky is blue and the sea is sparkling.  So we are making the most off it and heading out for a walk on the cliffs round
 Moulin Huet (pronounced wet)
The stream that fed the water wheel of the old 'Moulin'
 First glimpse of the sea, yipee!
 What an idyllic place for a cottage, heaven in the summer, though I am sure they are cold and damp in the winter.....
 Blue bells out in force now
 The sign just above the bay showing the painting Renoir did of it when he visited  the island in 1883.
And the bay its self at low tide, its more of a rockpooling, climbing, exploring and having some space to your self type of bay, than huge expanse of sand.  I love it.

 Wild forget-me-nots, these are tiny, each flower is about 2mm across,
small but very beautiful, worth looking for
Me, as normal, colour co-ordinated with the landscape!
Oh and Petit Port is in the back ground, that is an expanse of sand, but it is a long climb down very steep steps, so you do end up with the beach to your self and the odd boat.  But dont even think of going there at high tide, cause it wont be there!

 The long climb back up the cliff,
 but it will mean we can enjoy our barbie at lunch with out any guilt!
The back of my favourite house in the island

We have a lovely custom here of 'hedge veg', trust is a given.  This is one of the best, and you can see the grower in the back ground on his tractor.
Right I had better go and help Chris with the barbie, lamb burgers I think......

Wednesday 17 April 2013

yummy part two!

Following the crab.
Chris's favourite cake is a kitch 'black forest gateaux'but I know what I am like. I have no will power so having a whole cake in the house would have totally scuppered all my good intentions!  Then I found this recipe on line.
Mini black forest gateaux!
The recipe did call for fresh cherries, but there were none to be had at my local co-op, so it had to be a cherry filling thing, which wasnt bad but think they would be gorgious with fresh fruit, oh and the sponge is soaked in kirsh!
Think my baking confidence is definately growing, am going to try 'orange and polenta cake' next.  Will let you know how it goes.