gingerbread day...

Today we made Gingerbread men... Gingerbread fairies... and Gingerbread bunnies...

J had the best fun rolling and squishing the dough and decorating ...

and they passed the taste test too...

white bears

Gosh... we have colds and runny noses, little toddle-belle and I. We are truanting from playgroup and hiding indoors today with homemade soup, The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe on DVD (with some scary bits fast forwarded as she is too small), play doh and fairy lights...

The temperature has dropped to zero now and there is frost and rolling mist. I am re-reading North Child by Edith Pattou. It is wonderful, based on the fairytale East of the Sun , West of the Moon, a white bear takes a girl away to a place carved into rock. Oh how I love it. Set in Norway and another of the animal groom fairytales I love so... Just as Beauty in Beauty and the Beast has her room of books in Beast'd castle due to her love of reading, so Rose in this story has her room in the white bear's castle full of threads and yarns and a loom due to her love of making things.

There is also The Princess and the White Bear King. This book's artwork adorns my daughter room...

How I love white bears.

The Lying Carpet

We are in the library at least twice a week so I always spot the new titles and am often the first person to hire things out (!) Last week I took home The Lying Carpet by David Lucas. It is the most head spinning book. I think it reminds me that life is a choice, its about truth and lies, inertia versus adventure, whether to watch or whether to 'do'.... that sort of thing. It involves a talking tiger rug which frankly I just love... and a beautiful little girl statue called Faith. The drawings are perfect too. Anyway its wonderful, mysterious, a fairytale, a bedtime story... and now I want to own it so I might read it whenever I like.

cream and white

My friends send me the most wonderful things... inspiring words and stream of consciousness thoughts... photographs of winter trees in which the criss cross of branches look like little fairy ladders, and beautiful white vintage lace...

And I spotted these at the supermarket of all places. Such beautiful cards... I will be sending them this yuletide, but of course, a few will be kept to adorn the walls of my bedroom.

This week has been all about trips to the library sale (children's books for 10p!), knitting endlessly (my meditation), and planning our little trip away next week..

happy weekend. x

Seeds to grow

Many years ago I used to feel out of synch... then I discovered the pagan wheel of the year. I rediscovered the seasons and their meaning. I found out why I love autumn...


My Halloween / Samhain thought list:

* I will think back over the year past, read old journal entries, be glad for what I have, learn from my mistakes...



*"On the night of Samhain the veil between the spiritual world and the physical world is at it's thinnest. " So I know those who are gone are hovering just over my shoulder, helping me daily and giving me little pointers, little visions...

* I will fill the house with squashs and pumpkins and branches, leaves and seeds from our walks.

*I have a new notebook to list everything I want to achieve next year. It will slowly fill ... and come february I will be ready to start acting on it... I call the list my 'seeds to grow'...

* I have new candles to burn.

crunch crunch crunch, the leaves underfoot.

autumn sowing / sewing

Yesterday I did some autumn sowing in my kitchen garden. Some broad beans behind the lavendar... and some spinach in the pots by my back door. I am not sure you are supposed the do the gardening in a white slip, wrinkly grey wool tights and a pair of pink kiddie shoes... but hey, the shoes do match my gardening gloves...

I love pottering in the garden and I am slowly finding the time to increase our 'homegrown' produce. In spring I will clear more ground and spread out the veg a little. Till then its autumn spinach and broad beans sprouting up outside while I cook up the rest of the apples and cultivate lots of luscious herbs on the window sill inside...

Today I woke early at 5 am and could not sleep longer. I love early morning rising. So I snuck downstairs to finish sewing the Ophelia bag I started so many weeks back. Planning to do some finishing touches after this post. Sigh. Happy weekend. x

More Bill Gibb...

I adore this woodland inspired dress. the dress itself is perfect, the setting, her hair... its like a glimpse through the trees at a magical realm.

Little bumble bee buttons and a whitework embroidery depicting a bee. At some point I will doubtless steal these bee themed ideas for my own creations. How I love them.

Pretty fabric designed in 1977. I love the stance of these birds, one serene and watching the other startled and about to fly. The thistle there I guess for Gibb's Scottish roots.

I hope our trip to the library tomorrow throws some more unexpected published magic my way.