Busy making...

...new friends, contacts and sales at the weekend at the Wool & Textiles Craft Fair in Sheffield which, combined with a large wholesale order, has meant that I've also been busy making more of these:

Meanwhile, bags of these gorgeous apples and plums are waiting for me in the kitchen so it looks like I shall be busy making jams, chutneys and mincemeat over the next few days too!

My husband returned home from work with a box full of these jars, which were given to him by a work colleague on the proviso that she receives one back full of something!! - I don't think that will be a problem, do you?

I've just been busy making way around the Big Apple...no, not New York...this beauty:

A scrumptious 12oz apple...yes, it really is a standard sized mug in the photo! Delicious and yet another example of fabulous home grown produce that would never make it to the supermarket shelves because of its size!

Well, I should really be busy making more lovely brooches and Christmassy things so I had better sign off for today.....

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Joy

My little bundle of joy....

is 16 years old today! 16 - how did that happen? It reminds me how much truth there is in the words of a poem that I used to keep on the fridge door when the children were small:

I hope that my children look back on today
And remember a mother who had time to play.
Children grow up while you're not looking;
There will be years and years for cleaning and cooking.
So hush now cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Little did I realise 16 years ago what a wonderful daughter, friend, young woman she would become - I am very lucky indeed. Happy Birthday D! xxxxx

Jammy

There was a distinct autumnal chill in the air yesterday morning, so I decided that the time had come to clear the rhubarb patch before the first frost takes us by surprise and ruins what is left.

Time to dig out one of my favourite books:

This year, instead of my usual rhubarb and vanilla or rhubarb and ginger jam, I thought I would try Mrs B's simple recipe:

I love the colour of rhubarb and the way it changes as it cooks!

While the rhubarb bubbles away...time to browse my much-loved, but very tatty, copy of Mrs B's Cookery Book that I picked up for a couple of pounds at The Needlemakers in Lewes a few years ago.

I love to read Mrs B's advice and I am often intrigued and amused by her recipes, such as this one: a Bengal recipe for making mango chetney [sic] .....with no mango!! It is made with sour apples and once blended and in its bottles, Mrs B recommends that you 'tie a piece of wet bladder over the mouths of the bottles' - lovely!

What I also love about my copy of Mrs B is that it has lots of newspaper cuttings and hand written notes and recipes glued into the back....

A recipe for nettle tea, notes on how to clean marble, and Mrs Edward's recipe for sandwich cake...

and how about a recipe for Semolina Snow or Flunnery!!

Based on a lick of the spoon, Mrs Beeton's rhubarb jam gets the thumbs up - deliciously jammy!!

Also very jammy - 7 balls of wool, 100% british wool, at 10p a ball at the charity shop on Tuesday! I'm sure I leave that shop with a huge smile on my face when I've been so lucky with my thrifty finds!

Before I go, I would just like to welcome my new followers and say a huge thank you to everyone who leaves comments for me here. I've not been very good at keeping up with everyone else's blogs over the last couple of weeks, but I've not forgotten you!!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Something New

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the start of the autumn term means time to catch up and move forward...and, maybe try something new!

I am really pleased with these brooches:

I cannot decide which colour to wear myself - perhaps I should have one of each! I hope you like them too!

Back soon,
Rebecca
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Catching up & moving forward

Those apples were delicious...their gorgeous pinkiness inside reminded me of the lovely hank of Araucania wool that I bought from Coldspring Mill in early summer...and that I had planned to use it to knit myself some hand warmers for this winter! This is quite a draughty house in winter and once my hands are cold, that's it...I can't knit, sew or crochet and they take forever to warm up again - hence the need for some new hand warmers, which do the job perfectly!! Although the weather is glorious today, I'd better get knitting!!

Now that the children have gone back to school, it is time for me to catch up on everything that slips by the wayside during the holidays - some household chores, lots to do with 'rebeccamaryjane's' and exciting new ventures, some of which I shall share here and now, some of which I shall save for another time when I know a little more!!

I have been teaching workshops at a local wool shop since the spring and have always loved the idea of running my own workshop. So here it is:

I am so excited about it !! I am pleased to have found such a lovely venue and to have the opportunity to combine two of my favourite things - crochet and cooking! I've had some enquiries already, which I'm pleased about as I've only really started promoting the workshop this week. I was quite surprised to discover that I would not be able to have a poster in my local library without paying £13 for 1 poster in 1 library, or £26 to have 1 poster in all the local library branches!! For the time being, I'm keeping with the offers of free poster display!! It's all a new, steep learning curve...but lots of fun! In case you're having trouble reading the poster picture, the Learn to Crochet workshop is on Saturday 21st November (10am-4pm) at The Old School, Barnby Dun, South Yorkshire - the cost is £45, which includes workshop materials, morning coffee, homemade lunch, and afternoon tea. If you'd like more details, please get in touch - rebeccamjm@hotmail.com

Time for a cup of coffee and then off to distribute some more posters!

Back soon,

Rebecca
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Nowt as funny (or kind) as folk!

Thursday again...the last week has just flown by!

Where has all the time gone...well, I've had a bit of a de-junk around here, which culminated in hubby and I attending a car boot sale on Sunday. It was a busy boot sale full of , what I call, "real booters", and bustling with people. We managed to shift quite a bit, but also brought quite a bit home, which now sits in various places awaiting its fate...charity shop, recycling, eBay...or back in the loft!! People are funny aren't they...I just love it when somebody asks how much you're charging for something that cost a fortune to buy new and is in immaculate condition...and, when you tell them you'd like £1 for it, they almost drop the item and step back from your stall in horror!!

Back to school for my two on Monday and, I have to say, it definitely feels like the start of the autumn term here this morning! Much, much cooler, dark, wet and windy...but autumn does have its good points....

gorgeous plums brought round to us by our lovely neighbour B, and, not long after B had left, I had a little person at my door thrusting a bag of these lovely apples at me! The little boy (W, aged 3) from next door was given an apple tree by one of his godparents when he was born - it's really small but produces lots and lots of crispy, tasty apples! W reported that they had picked all the apples because the blackbirds were starting to eat them! Such kind neighbours!

Time to get dressed...I toughed it out yesterday, but I think there will have to be socks involved in today's outfit!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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