Day out at Wightwick Manor...

The oldest part of the manor house...

A lovely Angelica plant almost in flower...

The orchard just coming into bloom...

Fabulous Topiary...

The wisteria was beautiful and smelled divine...

Had a grand day out at Wightwick Manor which is near Wolverhampton in the U.K.- a beautiful house built around 1887 and inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and now owned by the National Trust .The rooms are full of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and William Morris wall coverings and ceramics by William De Morgan so it is really amazing ... spent ages wandering around the rooms admiring everything. The gardens surrounding the house are immaculate and there is a kitchen garden which is being renovated..

Another little birdie!

Had a go at making another little bird and had a bit more success in getting the legs to stay in place this time - nothing like a bit of superglue! Found him quite difficult to photograph as it has been very dark and wet in the U.K. today!! So even this little fellow looks a bit fed up...

work in progress!

I decided to make a tank top for little m ... so found a cute vintage pattern and some nice cotton yarn in a soft grey and got started... but knitting is not one of my strong points and I don't know why I put myself through all the angst as this is the third time that I have started this project - the other two attempts were full of mistakes !! but I am determined to make a good job of this and will be very proud of myself if I finish it even though it might be too small for little m by then!!!

Fabric from Patchwork!

There is a really brilliant shop in Melbourne called Patchwork which is chock full of the most delicious fabrics you could ever imagine- it is very exciting to visit it- like being a child in a sweet shop and there is so much choice that it is quite difficult to choose!!I have not yet found anything to match it in the U.K. and this is what I have made with my purchases from my last trips to Australia - the colours in the table runner are so vibrant ...

and I love my apron which is 1950's housewife style..

Designs in sugar!

I had fun making this cake today- it one of my best sellers as it good for any age group and is lovely and girly!! I love basing the handbags and shoes on designer labels without the hefty price tag!!

pear pincushion

A fresh picked pear - looks good enough to eat - maybe!! Made from a "Heather Bailey" sewing pattern which was quite easy to do and didn't take too long to complete , just an afternoon and now I think I will make a strawberry one . Seems a shame to stick pins in it so perhaps it will be just a little sculpture thing to look nice!!

iky sticky pudding!!

Had some friends for lunch yesterday and I made this Sticky Toffee pudding from the Jamie Oliver book- Jamie's Dinners- which is a cook book I would highly recommend as it is full of everyday recipes with a twist and you want to make every one!! The sticky toffee pudding was absolutely divine and the best one I have ever tasted - even though it is probably very very high in calories - it is full of cream,butter, dates, brown sugar etc mmmmm lovely!!! It has given me plenty of energy to do some crafting ...

Spring in the Park

Had a lovely walk in Sutton Park last week - it is the largest urban park in Europe and is a national nature reserve so we are lucky to have it right on our doorstep. It covers 2400 acres and has 7 man made pools - all very different to each other so there is always something new to see and there is lots of wildlife on the lakes. Had a lovely warm sunny week so am making the most of it!!

My family are all coming to visit for the easter weekend so I made a special cake to celebrate - it is a rich fruit cake iced with marzipan and decorated to look fresh and spring -like with a couple of odd looking chickens for fun!! had a good time making it- Happy Easter everyone!!