The 12th Ladybird and a Plastic Carrot

The days are very dull and grey but it hasn`t stopped us getting on with the latest jobs.

Today we pushed on with the hidden path behind the polytunnel, getting very sweaty in the process.

Nearly there now.

The uneven ground needed levelling due to deep rabbit holes and tunnels.

We removed lots of mucky plastic, as well as matted nettle roots.

The area is now ready for a half fence to finish off the compost corner.

 

Steve managed to get the second and third willow root out.

It was good to walk to the compost area on a wider path.

During work, I disturbed a toad. I put him 

carefully onto a heap.

Bright new cushion covers adorn the chairs as well as new bunting .... all made from a recycled French tablecloth, bought some time in the early 2000`s.

I`m hoping it won`t fade as much as the clothes of the scarecrow, who is due for a make-over this spring.

 

I found the twelfth elusive ladybird and added it to the collection along with a plastic carrot!! I`ve no idea where that came from.

 

 

 

 

 We came home with a lovely harvest of sprouts and leeks.

 

Teds in Beds and Old Nests

What jobs need doing in a garden in January?

Answer: Things you can`t fit in at other times of the year.

Such as .... clearing round the insect hotel.

 The hotel was built in 2017 and the area was bordered with sawn logs. These logs are now rotting down and need replacing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Another job ....moving posts back to their usual area.

Moles are busy. They don`t worry me too much. We will flatten the hills when its drier.

 

On the left hand picture you can see they have tunnelled along the chipped bark path.

 Nesting birds are on our minds.

Here is the new robin nesting box now hung in the cob shed.

Due to the bare hedge, its possible to see old nests.

This one is in the hornbeam hedge.

This is the wren`s nest in the eaves of the cob shed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helleborus and spurge flowering and providing the only colour in the garden at the moment.

 

But later, at the end of the day, the sky was quite incredible.

And here are a couple of completed teds in sleeping bags.

 

Fabric Fun

After a fairly good start, with the new greenhouse at home, well on in its construction, everything has come to a standstill due to gusty weather. No-body wants to handle glass in those conditions.

Looks like the weekend might be better for everyone.

Down at Freshwinds, I am well on the way with the compost heaps. (This year we have plans to make another section using pallets.) But that too, is on hold.

So ..... I have been making a selection of cards and at the same time re-aquainting myself with my stock.

I`ve done my usual stash-busting with the fabric scraps.

I am hoping to make teddy sleeping bags.

Here are some of the combinations of colours.

I find this patchwork very satisfying.

Can`t wait to use it in different ways.

With Valentine`s Day coming up, I`ve been making lavender bags, using recycled sample fabrics.

I`ve backed the hearts with iron-on vilene which gives them a bit more substance when sewing to the bags.

The short open ends are being sewn up using ladder stitch.

Still a few to go.

I am hoping we can sell some at the February Coffee Morning to help raise funds.

 

Recycled Christmas Cards

We received some beautiful Christmas cards this year.

I usually make a lot of parcel tags, put them away and keep them ready for the following Christmas celebrations.

This year I did a bit of research, mainly on Pinterest, for different crafty ways of recycling.

At the January village coffee morning, run by Tim and Anne, we had planned to demonstrate how to do this.

It all went very well with a lot of interest shown and quite a few people learning how to make tiny boxes  and baubles.

Paula and I showed Pam and her friend how to make little boxes.

Here are some of the other ideas.

On the summer holiday in Lincolnshire, I made a mini-theatre with my two nephews. Its theme was knights and castles. The characters, set against a backdrop of a castle, were stuck to lolly sticks and quite a few stories were made up.

There are slits in the side of the box for

 the characters to "come on stage." 

This picture shows a gift box cut to size with a snowy scene Christmas card stuck to the back. I found the characters on various other cards. It just remains for children to make up their own stories.

These flowers are made using a couple of flower punches of different sizes. They are stuck together with glue dots.

They can be used as gift tags or as card toppers.

Someone suggested they could be hung on the tree just as they are.

This is a simple box made from 5 squares, cut from cards.

I stuck it together in the shape of a cross, punched holes in the top eight corners and tied with coloured wool.

This could be developed further using crimped scissors and ribbon.

 These tiny boxes proved very popular today.

They are made using one card.

The card should be cut into squares, the top being the front of the card and the base being the back of the card. The base should be half a centimetre smaller than the top.

A top tip is to choose cards made with thinner cardstock as the folding is tricky if its too thick. 

I will add the pattern at a later date.

The boxes also proved popular at the school Christmas fair and the craft fair. Paula made dozens of them.

 This too, is a very simple folded box, much flatter and filled with punched shapes.

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This is a far more complicated craft, and takes a lot longer. You need 14 card fronts. You can colour code them if you have enough cards to choose from.

The bowl is based round a hexagon. Each outside shape is stuck back to back and punched all round. 

You can crochet or blanket stitch each one, then it is sewn together to form the bowl. I like to fill them with shredded celophane and tip in a box of chocolates. It makes a nice gift.

These baubles are made with a card cut into one and a half c.m strips. Each strip is punched at each end. Two split pins are used to hold the top and bottom together.

Both of these are made with doubled card of contrasting colours.

Here is a closer look at the flowers.

Parents at my nephews` school have been asked to save their old Christmas cards with a view to recycling.

At next years fair they are hoping to have a table of recycled card craft to raise funds.

I very much hope to be part of that.

First Footing through Compost

My first visit to Freshwinds Garden was very satisfying.

By the end of the morning, I felt very pleased with myself.

Back in October, the compost heaps were so full that we had to start stacking prunings on the path. It was a terrible mess.

When the work on the fencing began, the compost area was completely neglected.

Well I have learnt a good lesson and its this ..... the plant material has rotted down quite a bit and looks reduced. It is therefore, not such a daunting task to begin to tackle it.

Today I was so  tempted to start digging over one of the vegetable beds but I grabbed the bull by the horns and began at the far end of the compost area.

And then, although it was hard work, it wasn`t as bad as I`d imagined.

This is the newest heap. I forked all the unrotted stuff on here.

Then I got down to the good stuff ..... not much in this one.

I took it all to the polytunnel. It`s not perfect but I`m happy with the consistency.

 When I got to the bottom I started on the next one.

There was far more in here. After forking the top off, I barrowed it to the raised bed. I didn`t finish.

 

As I went, I weeded the path, as well as loading old dahlia stems into layers with the other stuff.

 

I reckon the heaps could do with trampling down a bit to compact the layers and seeing as some of it was very dry, it could do with some water.

One of the keys is to alternate layers and mix it around a bit.

There`s nothing like your own compost.

 

Elsewhere around the garden, the ground is drying out, calendula are flowering .....

......winter honeysuckle is smelling sweet ......

 ...... and beds wait

patiently to be dug over.

I can`t wait.

 

 A cracking start to the season.