Collaring a dress

I thought I'd share with you something different after all the 'visit' posts. Several months ago I bought this dress and, although I loved the bicycle pattern and the colour, I did think it was a little plain.

I knew immediately that it would look good with a crochet or lace collar. These proved more difficult to track down than I thought but I did eventually find some in Abakhan. Not exactly what I'd envisaged but very pretty and an absolute bargain price of 50p for both!

And this is how the dress looks now. It took a couple of attempts to get the collar to lie flat but I'm really happy with the way it's turned out. I'd worn it a few times before sewing on the collar with no reaction. However, every time I've worn it since, I've had lots of positive comments - even my Mum noticed! It's amazing how much difference a little change can make :)

Cogges & canals

After we left Aston Pottery, we headed north of Witney to Cogges Manor Farm Museum. Chickpea was about 6 years old the last time we visited which is the same age as my friend Gill's daughter now.

The main house dates from the 13th century but has been altered over the years with the upper floors mainly dating from the 16th century. It's built with the lovely warm-coloured limestone which is so typical of this area (and so different to the red Accrington brick from where I live).

I just love the architecture of this house and it's a pity it wasn't open on the day of our visit. What I do remember of it from our visit many years ago was the lady guide telling us about the lath and plaster construction inside and teasing us about our northern pronunciation of lath (with the 'a' as in cat rather than 'ahh' as in car).

If I ever win the lottery I'd love a walled garden.

So many picturesque corners to photograph.

I really liked these butter moulds too which were on display in the dairy.

Our favourite part of the visit though were the pigs. I was standing by the gate of the sty with the camera when one of the pigs suddenly jumped up right next to me - he (or she) obviously decided he would be much better in close-up!

And he quite happily posed in different positions for me! For all you pig connoisseurs out there, they are Middle Whites.

The following day was the last of our visit and we chose to walk along the canal. Possibly not the best choice as it was baking hot and the path was so narrow that we had to walk in single file for most of the way - not ideal for chatting.

I did manage to spot a couple of interesting things though like this lords and ladies which seems to be abundant in that corner of Oxfordshire (again, unlike where I live).

I also spotted this banded demoiselle.

All too soon our visit was over but not before Gill gave me another belated birthday gift.

When we visited last year, we went to see Giffords Circus which happened to be in the area. We missed them this time but, when Gill went, she found that they still had some mugs from the previous year and bought me one! They issue different mugs each year, designed by Emma Bridgewater who is the sister of Nell Gifford, the founder/owner of the circus.

In case you've never seen or heard of Gifford's Circus, here are some piccies from last year. So colourful and great costumes!

And so our holiday came to a close and it was time to head back up the M6 to home, thankfully without the sounds of S Club 7 singing 'Reach', which Gill's daughter made us perform several times on every car journey. I'm hoping she's grown out of it by the next time we visit!

Aston Pottery

On day two of our holidays we headed to Aston Pottery which is a few miles from Witney. We visited last year and I treated myself to one of their lovely mugs.

This time we were booked onto one of their ceramic painting workshops. It was a very simple technique using plastic stencils.

No surprises for guessing which stencil Chickpea chose to decorate her plate with!

I went for a wildlife theme and subtler colours. We all really enjoyed it and it was a great way to spend an hour.

After the painting, we went on a tour of the workshop to see how the pottery is made. Someone asked how you get the empty space inside a teapot. Basically you pour liquid clay into the mould and leave it for an hour. The material the mould is made of is porous so the clay starts drying out around the outside. After an hour (or however thick you want the outside to be - longer = thicker) you just turn the mould upside down and pour out the excess clay - magic!

Next it was time for lunch in their cafe. Naturally they use their own pottery.

I loved that the light fittings coordinated with the pottery.

The last thing to explore were the gardens. I couldn't get enough of the rows and rows of dahlias.

Just beautiful and so colourful.

This is the Pleached Hornbeam Jubilee Walk, filled with gorgeous cottage garden flowers.

A pink echinacea was covered in bees and butterflies. This one is a small tortoiseshell.

Look closely and you can see a brimstone. I so wish it had opened up to show you the incredibly bright acid yellow of its wings.

This was the best I could get of a peacock too. Having seen the flowers crowded with so much life, we actually called at a garden centre on our way home to buy one. It had been planted less than half an hour before the first butterfly landed on it!

And did we buy anything from their shop?

Of course we did! Again, no prizes for guessing which one Chickpea chose.

We had to leave the plates at the Pottery to be glazed but, a couple of weeks later, Gill brought them up for us. It's amazing how much more vibrant the colours are now and we were both thrilled with them.

Our visit to Aston Pottery wasn't the end of our day though as we headed on to another destination - more about that next time. x

Foodies Festival

After a brief journey into the present, today we're stepping into the time machine and heading back to August. For the second week of our holidays, Chickpea and I headed south to stay with my friend Gill and her family. When we arrived, she surprised me with a belated birthday/early Christmas present of tickets to the Foodie Festival. And not just standard tickets but VIP tickets! I was so thrilled and excited I couldn't wait to go!

On arrival we went to the VIP area where we were greeted with a glass of champagne while we chose which of the demonstrations we wanted to see.

It was also a great place to sit and soak up the atmosphere before heading out to work our way around the stalls trying as many samples as we could. Our VIP tickets also came with a voucher for a free meal from three of the stalls so we chose a plate from each to try out the different styles: Turkish, Indian and British. The Turkish turned out to be our favourite and particularly a marinated chicken kebab - so much flavour!

There were lots of stalls selling meals and I liked this brightly coloured bike? at the Thai street food stand.

Soon it was time for the first demonstration which was by Bonne Maman who were promoting their individually wrapped madeleines. The lady showed how they could be used and decorated in different ways. We enjoyed the free sample at the end but it was a bit too much of a sales pitch for me.

Much better was Sophie Grigson who showed us three meals from one poached chicken. She's just as lovely as she seems on TV and was wearing an enormous pair of earrings like she does on TV too. Although I have her book Sunshine Food, I think I've only used it for the recipe for limoncello! Really must dig it out as the food looked and smelled amazing. Annoyingly we weren't allowed to taste it though - those pesky health and safety police.

We also, unsurprisingly, enjoyed the chocolate tasting session! We were all given a sample of Divine dark chocolate and David (from Coeur de Xocolat) talked us through touch, smell and taste. Melt slowly in the mouth to release all the flavours. Mmmmmm - I love dark chocolate. We did the same with some milk chocolate and then again with a dark piece containing orange and ginger.

The lady in the photo is Fiona of Sciolti Botanical Chocolates who had a gorgeous stand of chocolates made with fruits, flowers, teas and herbs. She demonstrated how to make a truffle using some pink gin that another stall holder was selling - no problems with the health and safety police here so we were allowed a taste and, oooo, it was good!

To end our visit, it was back to the VIP area for a cocktail - I can't remember what it was called but it included mashed up strawberries and vodka (daiquiri?).

Even better there was a rock group playing at the time so Chickpea and I swayed around and tossed our hair with cocktail in hand until it was time to leave.

Of course we couldn't come away without buying something - a small bottle of toffee vodka for our homemade cocktails, toffee apple popcorn and some apple vinegar drizzle.

Later that evening we toasted marshmallows to make smores and sat by the fire until the only thing visible was the glow of the flames and the stars and, in the distance, the hoot of tawny owls. A lovely end to a lovely day. x

Yarndale & puppets

Last Sunday, on a gloriously sunny day, I headed to Skipton to visit Yarndale. Apparently it was so popular that there had been massive queues and traffic jams the day before! Luckily I chose the 'quieter' day to visit.

I didn't take many photos inside or around the venue because I was so busy just taking it all in. This one gives you an idea of what the building was like though. The venue is an auction mart for livestock and all of the stalls were set inside these animal pens. At first appearance, it looks as though it could be a little bleak with all that metal and concrete (and I did wonder if it might have been a bit chilly on a less sunny day) but there was so much warmth and colour from all of the gorgeous yarns on sale that you really didn't notice it. Also, while I was there, a brass band was playing which only added to the atmosphere.

For me the best part of the show though was the bunting. I can't describe to you just how vibrant and colourful it all was and the photos really don't do it justice. No doubt like everyone else who had submitted triangles, I wandered around eagerly looking for mine. What were the chances of spotting them amongst this vast array?

Well, dear readers, I found one! It's the green and orange triangle in the top row. It was so exciting that I had to go back and take more photos later because all the first ones I took were blurred!

After all that excitement I decided to get some fresh air and go on the Yarn Walk into town.

The walk takes you through the wide open spaces of Aireville Park. So many beautiful trees. I saw a few children trying to knock conkers out of a horse chestnut - a true sign of autumn.

I enjoyed looking out for the trees and lamp posts wrapped in colourful crochet. It was such a good idea to yarnbomb along the path as it meant that you always knew you were going in the right direction.

This gorgeous blanket was at the entrance to the park.

As were these colourful flowers.

On leaving the park, you turn to head along the towpath of the canal and here was my absolute favourite part of the yarnbombing...

Ducklings! I saw lots of passers-by looking and smiling and who could blame them? It makes me smile just looking at the photos again :)

As I was walking into town, I could hear drums and music getting louder and louder. Not only was it the weekend of Yarndale, it was also the weekend of the biannual Puppet Festival. By sheer luck, I arrived at the High Street just as the Puppet Parade appeared.

Aren't they incredible?

By this point it was time for lunch and a 'fruity sheep platter' (a savoury scone with 2 types of cheese and 3 types of fruit) and a cup of tea at the Three Sheep Tea Rooms.

Suitably refreshed, it was time to head back along the canal, a small tub of banoffee ice cream in hand, for a last look at Yarndale before heading for home. Look what I missed on my way into town though! Doesn't the cat at the back look just like a real cat stretching up into the sun's rays? I love the barge art too.

Back at Yarndale I spotted some other yarn bombing which I'd missed before. These balls looked so effective - they'd look great hanging off the tree in my garden. I can see crochet balls appearing on trees all over Britain!

And more of that lovely bunting.

When I arrived back, the stalls were a lot quieter, making it easier to wander around. I also still hadn't done one of the things I really wanted to do - say hello to Lucy. I'm pretty shy so it took a few more times circling around before I gathered my nerve. I'm so glad I did though because she's just as lovely as she seems from her blog.

And did I buy anything?

Just a couple of things - I was very restrained and mindful of my budget. I saw this pattern for wristwarmers and couldn't resist. There was a sample made up and the yarn was so silky and soft. I also couldn't resist the felted brooch made by the blogger Marmalade Rose - her stall and the work on display was truly stunning.

If you want to see more of the event itself, I'd recommend Jacquie's 3-part write-up which gives a real flavour of the venue and the yarn walk. Plus she also visited Lucy and Tracy's studio which I completely forgot about.

It was a fab day out and particularly being lucky enough to see the puppet parade too. Roll on next year!