Autumn at Tatton

Yesterday promised to be a beautiful autumn day with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. It didn't quite turn out that way but we were still glad we made the effort to head out to one of our favourite places, Tatton Park. I've been longing to go for a few weeks and have been so frustrated I couldn't because of my foot injury.

But look, I managed to get my walking boots on! Hurrah! Fresh air, here I come!

When we arrived, we had a look round the Christmas gift fair (a bag of stem ginger fudge being our only purchase) and then headed out for a quick walk in the park. Lots of lovely autumn colour and crisp leaves to kick through.

Lots of deer and sheep were grazing in the fields.

There were signs warning not to get too close to the deer as it's rutting season. This young male was too busy eating leaves to be fighting over females and seemed unconcerned about having his photo taken.

The ladybird on the fungus didn't seem too bothered about having her photo taken either!

I think the fungus is a young parasol and this is what it looks like when it's opened up.

We didn't walk too far as our intention was to visit the gardens which had been decorated for Halloween. To be honest, by this point, Chickpea was also fed up of dodging the deer and sheep droppings so it was a relief to head for an animal-free zone!

The cottage is now a tea room but used to be the home of the head gardener - lucky man! I can only fantasise at living in such a gorgeous house looking out onto a lovely walled garden.

There were lots of these ghosties hanging around the gardens.

Cute rather than scary.

A bit more spooky were these wire sculptures which were dotted amongst the trees.

It was quite eery catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure!

Much better to look at the cute ones!

We never fail to enjoy our days at Tatton. The weather wasn't quite as promised but the bonus of sunshine and showers is the appearance of rainbows. We'll definitely be back again to see how the Park changes over the seasons.

Today has been a quiet day catching up with housework and ironing awaits :( as well as some knitting and a new jigsaw :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x

Photo Scavenger Hunt : October

The months are really flying by and I can't believe it's already time for the latest Scavenger Hunt. Thanks as always to Greenthumb at Made with Love for organising the hunt. I thought a couple of the categories were going to be tough but, in the end, I finished a few days ahead of the deadline. Here's my entry.

O is for...? : Origami.

6pm : Cooking dinner. You'll see the result in my next cookery book challenge update.

Morning : Grey Heron silhouetted against the lake in the pink light of morning - see below for the sky.

Something you bought : A snuggly throw and butterfly cushion from Aldi. Chickpea's boyfriend loved the throw so much, he bought one for himself!

Light : The atrium at Liverpool Central Library, looking up to the skylight.

Close up : A shield bug on the last of the rudbeckia flowers in my garden.

Favourite : One of my favourite things is to try out new cake recipes from my favourite cake cookbook. This is the Harvest spiced apple cake I mentioned in my last post.

Lunch : Mum's homemade pea and ham soup.

Childhood : Photos of me (and my Mum and brother) before I was 5 years old.

Your sky : 7am, 20 October 2014.

Colour : Beautiful autumn leaves.

Your shoes : New trainers bought over the summer. They're actually a bit big for me and I'd meant to take them back. Luckily I didn't, as they're the only shoes I can currently wear as my little toe is still recovering from a soft tissue injury (and that's also why the lacing on my right foot is so loose).

If you're intrigued and fancy giving the hunt a go, hop over to the Hunt and you'll find the categories for November. It's just a bit of fun and no-one minds if you have to dip into your archive or even miss a couple of categories out: it's just interesting to see what everyone comes up with.

Last but not least, I wanted to say hello to my new followers - you are most welcome. Thanks also to those who regularly visit and comment.

Happy Halloween everyone! x

Harrogate quilt festival

I mentioned in my last post that I picked up some of the supplies I needed for Louise's quilt at the Harrogate quilt festival, but I realised I haven't shown you any photos from it yet. It's held at the end of August and me and my quilting friends always make the annual pilgrimage over to Yorkshire. As usual, there were some stunning quilts on display and here are some of my favourites.

Cosmos - Stephanie Parker

Life Challenge - Maggie Taylor

Colour Wheel - Liz Merckel

Late Bloomers - Elaine Vickers

Dreamcatcher: caught a dream - Birgit Schueller

Sunrise - Josephine Bardsley

Storytime - Carole Galbraith

Elephant walk - Anne-Marie Tye

Rainbow in the Dark - Claudia Taeubert

New York Beauties - Mary Ranby

Fireworks - Susan Lax

Harry's Quilt - Kathleen Burrow

Although lots of these quilts received rosettes, none of them were crowned Best in Show which just shows how subjective the decision is. I'd struggle to choose one favourite but I do have a soft spot for the last one and the miniature elephant quilt. Which would you choose?

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Yesterday we went for dinner at Sue and Gordon's for 'Welsh Night'. We've invited them over twice now for Burns Night (see here and here) and enjoyed it so much that, this year, we thought we'd try doing something to celebrate other parts of the UK. October was chosen for Welsh Night as it's the centenary of the birth of Dylan Thomas tomorrow. We ate a traditional lamb cawl and I presented Sue with a bouquet of flowers and leeks! Great food and lots of laughs.

This morning I've baked a new cake recipe, Harvest spiced apple, from my favourite Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook and can't wait to try it later - it smells so good!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x

Acorns and birds

Well, I finally finished the little birds quilt which was my 2nd blogiversary giveaway and, as it's now arrived safely with Louise, I'm able to reveal all.

The design is by Elizabeth Wall and I've made two versions of the quilt before which you can see here and here. This time inspiration came from Louise herself who asked if the design could contain nuts. I knew immediately that I wanted to do an oak tree in autumn colours complete with acorn buttons. It wasn't until my visit to the Harrogate quilt show though that I was able to find the fabrics and buttons. The animal fabric has been in my stash a number of years and was perfect for the backing, with just a little mouse sneaking onto the front :0)

It's the first quilt I've ever made for someone else though I've given away quilts to Project Linus. Nerve-wracking but I also enjoyed the challenge of working to 'commission'. Now though, I need to concentrate on finishing my large quilt which has been on the go for about a year!

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Yesterday I met up with some friends in Liverpool and, among other things,we visited the new Central Library: an amazing space. The text is a poem, 'Liverpool', by Levi Tafari. I can't show you any more as I might be using some of the photos for the Scavenger Hunt!

Today the wind has really picked up as the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo heads our way. Of all weather conditions, strong wind is the one I like the least :(

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and stay safe wherever you are . xx