Sausage Dogs and Bunting

This year has started with my usual assessment of the crafting materials. I enjoy it a lot and of course I get a lot of inspiration from it all. In fact I get so much inspiration that I currently have about 4 items on the go.

Job number 1 was the scrap fabric and out of that so far I have managed two completed sets of bunting with another two sets on the go.

The flags are totally random.

Two more sets waiting to be basted this evening.

This lap quilt is made from small squares and lined with fleecy fabric.

And the inevitable tiny patchwork bags and shoulder bags.

 

And there is yet more scrappy fabric if I care to make any more.

My second job was a good tidy up of my felt stash.

This resulted in donkey keyrings.

 

Many years ago my sister`s mother-in-law gave me a lot of tapestry wool in skeins. I am just coming to the end of it.

These owls were made using that same wool. 

 

I have also made colourful dried flower rings using the flowers grown in the garden.

 

And cute little sausage dogs using multi-coloured wool.

I have been given these lacy hankies and I hope to use them for lavender bags. But I already started some by using up antique lace and fine lawn fabrics.

Many of these items will be on the honesty shop craft trolley through the late spring and summer in the Wool Barn..

Last year I made 1,209 craft items. I wonder how many there will be in 2026. I`ve made a good and very satisfying start.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freshwinds Garden Review 2025 Part 2

 As I begin part 2, it strikes me that the review itself could have any number of themes. It could be colour. It could be flowers. It could be food production.

But here it is .... somewhat random, according to the photos I liked really.

The loose theme here is management. From July onwards it is a frenzy of watering, planting, harvesting, protecting, managing pests, damage control, weeding, chatting to visitors. Not a great deal of time to make changes. So if changes aren`t done in the first half of the year, they`re not going to get done.

July 

By this time, the polytunnel was not looking good. Cucumbers were being eaten, aubergines were very poorly, even the tomatoes weren`t as good as usual. The daytime/ night time fluctuation temperatures were crazy. On top of that we had torrential rain with flooding. We felt despondent on more than one occasion.

The little apple tree was doing well.

 

Harvesting was well under way.

The fernery looked great, mainly in the shade.

We had a  delightful fairy and dinosaur day. The money we raised went to MND.

 August

In August the cobshed needed a good tidy after unsupervised children decided to create fairy gardens inside. They were quite creative I have to say. Maybe there should have been a before picture here.

The excessive weight of fruit on the trees in the orchard was causing problems. We had to cut off branches of crabapples as they were bowed to the ground. It was heart-breaking. But we managed to prop some up.

But even more of a wrench was having to discard the unripe plums due to a cracked branch. The plum tree had a drastic pruning. Oh the waste.

The pears were great.
 

September

In September I saw the first frog in the pond. Where did they go this year? We dug out the compost heaps and some had to be renewed due to rotten pallets. 

Anne invited us to pick walnuts in the grove. That was a first for us and delightful. The nuts are delicious. 

Harvesting continued. Sunflowers loved the heat.

 

The entrance was a picture in itself.

 

October

In October Tim created the dead hedge for us on an area outside the garden. It was perfect timing. I began on the barn path but haven`t done any more since.

Anne`s dahlias made a very late start and we have no idea why. Elsewhere round the garden they were quite normal.

 

November

In November I began making the willow rings. 

We continued to cut back the dahlias, covering them with fern fronds, carpet and old fencing panels.

December

I was making more willow rings. We continued to work on the compost heaps. But more work is still needed.

We trimmed quite a few trees hanging over the fence.

Unfortunately the tiny apple tree was attacked by rabbits. The orchard gate was left open.

We had another great wreath making workshop in Valley View yurt.

And baby Donald attended for the first time.
 

All in all not a bad year but one of unusual weather and timings. We have enjoyed it all and look forward to new beginnings in 2026.

Thank you to all those who read my blog and I wish you all a very happy new year.
 

Freshwinds Garden Review 2025 Part 1

 As I begin this review, I am reminded of the differences and changes every year brings. This year has been the year of a very hot spring, a wonderful fruit harvest, no frogs and pests galore.

I am also reminded of the glory of the garden, especially as I go through all the photos, and of all the wonderful comments from visitors.

There is no theme apart from a very loose suggestion in the first half of the changes we`ve made. 

January

We started the year by dealing with the huge rabbit warren by and under the polytunnel. It took quite a bit of filling in and it wasn`t a pleasant job.

We had a lot of teabreaks outside.

The entrance area was the next big project. We drastically cut back the willow, initially worrying me. However at this end of the year you would never believe it had been done. We did in fact dismantle the whole of this area.

 

February

In February the entrance was the main job.

But we also worked on the willow ring at the Owl Yurt, tying in new growth and pruning.

 

March

In March Anne had pulled out the fence round the snug so whilst she was away we cleared and levelled the ground. It was a lot of work.

We made space for a new lavender hedge and made a new driftwood garden sign.

 

April

We turfed the snug area. We had to keep it watered well in the ever increasing heat.

 

 The seat was placed under the snug eaves creating very welcome shade and we trained the honeysuckle around the back. We repositioned the water trough.

We planted up the new lavender hedge.

Tim put up a new gate at the entrance.

 

And the craft trolley had a revamp to display my crafts in a better way.

 

May

The weather was getting hotter which made planting out quite difficult. We planted my brother`s apple tree .... a wedding present in a too small pot.

We planted a mulberry near the pond.

We filled gaps in the willow ring with our own rooted willow cuttings.

And the cuckoo was calling continuously.

June 

In June we had several infestations of 

Ermine moth caterpillars.

A pretty unpleasant memory of wearing plastic gloves and gathering handfuls to burn from the apple and pear trees. Incidently the trees and fruit were unharmed in the following harvest.

We also had very early swarms of wasps which had a good old go at the raspberries.

We had to start sorting out the poor plum tree and the poppies were magnificent.

 

 And we found a golden newt.

The buddliea was attacked by Melon Cotton Aphids but all the shrubs recovered.

Anne cleared out the pond and the pigeons gave me a nasty pooh shampoo as we had a teabreak.

 

I have mentioned quite a few unleasant tasks but of course by this time, we were harvesting plenty, and picking bunches and bunches of flowers.

(to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singing to the Rafters

This year Pett Church has had some of its renovations done and the church has been closed for this. So it was a great pleasure to go to the Nine Carol Service there last Sunday.

It was a lovely evening so my brother, my sister and I walked. It was just dusk. Other people were walking too. Christmas lights around the village were just lighting up.

We passed the Two Sawyers.

Tic Toc

And the postbox.

There is now such a poignancy to postboxes which, in the past, would have been bulging at this time of the year. I have often seen them so full, that cards have been spilling out. On the rare occasions I do post a letter or card these days, it can be heard to plonk on the bottom of an otherwise empty box. 

The delightful tradition of sending cards at Christmas is fast dying out and this is due to the extortionate cost of stamps .... now £1.70 for 1st class and 87p for 2nd class. Add this to the cost of the cards and it amounts to quite a lot of money. Once upon a time I would send as many as 80 cards but no longer .... (not all by post I hasten to add.)

 

Here is the church ..... just as its getting dark.

The scaffolding remains outside for the next phase of renovations.

Inside the church, the pews were filling up quickly. I was glad to sit with Paula and Jamie because my brother has a great voice and both Paula and I can sing a lot better if he is near us. Well he is a music teacher.

 

We sang the well-known carols and heard the familiar readings. The Winchelsea church choir had been borrowed for the service  so we had some strong voices in the choir stalls and some lovely descants soaring up to the newly plastered rafters.

I do know the carols rather well after all these decades but I was la la-ing for the more obscure verses due to poor visibility .... the church was lit by candles and I couldn`t see the carol sheet that well..

 

The church had been decorated by our very own Fran who was so brilliant at wreath making. Other people were involved as well.

The nativity was set up by the altar.

From there it was a good view of the inside and how smart it looked.

After catching up with lots of people from around the village we walked home in the dark, admiring all the Christmas lights along the way.