Morning Time on Northern Line

Not to brag, but I've somehow managed to get this far in my adult life without having to deal with an awful commute. I can't say it is entirely planned, but I seem to end up living within easy walking or cycling distance to work, the idea of spending hours in a traffic jam or on buses every day really does not appeal. I'll take the wind and the rain any day! Chilly winter mornings wake me up and make me feel slightly more alive, and I have the added bonus of a rather scenic route, complete with good views and photogenic trees, and sometimes even friendly cows! Can't imagine why, but Bath does not feel like a real city...

A Year in Photos 2014

Happy holidays to you all! Slight unplanned blog holiday there, that life thing getting in the way once again. Inevitably, I of course resolve to blog more in the new year, but with a thesis to write, we'll see how that goes... Anyhow, here are my favourite photos (from on and off the blog) from 2014, here's to a good 2015!

The year started with some epic weather, but beauty can be found in the wintery Dorset countryside

Crisp bright days in Febuary

Company from a black panther on a domestic March afternoon

New life in spring

An early summer day looking down the spine of Dorset

Posers on the sands

Time to disappear...

Pirates in Portugal?

Trying to make the most of the autumnal bounty

The benefit of shorter days in October - capturing the sunrise at the highest point of my commute

A return to the delights of Kew, nice to hang out in the jungle again and forget about the November chill

An excellent reason to get out of bed - probably the best sunrise I have ever seen

Happy New Year one and all!

Hedgerow Pesto

Food wise, I don't think autumn can be beaten. I love big salads and super-fresh tomatoes in the summer, but as the nights start to draw in the comfort food can come out. I've also been exploring what nature has to offer, to pair with some of the more unusual ingredients that are arriving in my weekly veg box. This pesto creation is one of my usual slightly off-the-wall concoctions, but it is tasty so I'll share anyway. It isn't really a recipe as such, as I definitely didn't measure anything!

Tasty fresh ingredients are the key, so lots of fresh basil, which I have miraculously kept alive on my window sill. I used a good couple of handfuls, plus lots of good olive oil, a bit of garlic and some parmesan.

I whizzed everything up in a food processor, not forgetting the key ingredient, foraged hazelnuts. There are absolutely loads round here at the moment, and I think if they are picked when a bit green they work really well as a pine nut substitute. Plus they are free!

I got some beautiful fresh borlotti beans in my veg box, and didn't have much of a clue what to do with them, so I boiled them for about 45 mins until soft, in well-seasoned water with mixed herbs. I then mixed the pesto and beans together with some gnocci, sundried tomatoes, raw cucumber and a little greek yoghurt.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I will never be a food blogger ;)

Victory and the Hedgerow Dress

I finished my Sew For Victory dress in time! I posted a little while ago about my bodice muslin using the Colette Hawthorn pattern as a base, and my adventures in scallops, so here is the final product. I'm not sure the pattern of the fabric is very 1940s, but I couldn't resist it! The scallops do get a little lost, but I know they are there and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I ended up doing split tulip sleeves using the tutorial in Gertie's 'New Book for Better Sewing'.They came out well and it makes the dress much more summery; I think I'll be wearing it a lot! I'm also happy with the raised neckline and the length of the skirt. It was really fun to play around with a pattern and see what I could come up with, and I really enjoyed looking at patterns and photos from the 1940s for inspiration, although I am probably drawn more to 50s and early 60s silhouettes. Right, more poses for you!

Pockets of course!

I really tried to make an effort at finishing the insides properly. Side seams are french seamed, I bound the waist and armhole seams, and used pinking shears to trim the facings.

To do the scallops, I drew out a template after testing spacing and size on my muslin. I then used carbon paper to trace sew lines onto the facings, so it was nice and easy to stitch up. I clipped the curves well then went for topstitching to make it all behave! There are two scallops on the skirt front, then I stitched up the rest of the front. Someone post a pic of a vintage pattern on the flickr group that used scallops in the same way, so I stole that idea!

So overall, as I'm sure you can gather, I am pretty pleased with my first sew for victory make! I think I'll try and make something a bit more authentic next year ;)

Thanks Baoxiu for the posing photos!

Greyscale and Sepia Tones

Despite the fierce weather doing its level best to blow us off the hill, I am still here, although our bin seems to have disappeared; probably half way to Bristol now... Despite the howling gales I did manage to make it up north for a few days, to the lovely city of Durham. I was there for work and the weather was predictably nasty, but I managed to do a little exploring. It is a very atmospheric place, the massive cathedral and castle sitting in the centre overlooking everything probably have something to do with it. I've also added in a few recent snaps of the lovely Bath, just for comparison ;) That spot by the canal is fast becoming a favourite, and I love walking home over the meadows. I bet not too many people have such a well appointed commute.

Back to Bath...

 Has spring sprung?

Maybe not just yet...

Little Book of Calm

Wow this past couple of weeks have been crazy busy. I have just got to get through tomorrow then I have a whole delicious weekend to sleep. Here are a couple of soothing pictures that are getting me through it. Black Books helps too :) Hopefully I'll be back on form next week.

A Year in Photos

So here we are, in the dying moments of 2013. It has been a year of adventures, some travel and thankfully a fair bit of sunshine! I hope that 2014 has more of the same, and perhaps the broadening of my horizons to take in some new parts of the world. Here are my favourite photos from each month of 2013, links to the original posts are below each image. Fittingly, this is my 150th blog post, I can't believe I have kept it up for so long!

January - More fun in the snow in Morzine with my fabulous family

February - Unseasonally fine weather, flying high with the birds

March - Getting out there for an early-morning ride, taking time to enjoy the view

April - All the yellows as spring sprang

May - Bath showing her better side

June - Garden helper

July - Bright Spanish sun in gorgeous (and boiling!) Valencia

August - Delightful and delicate supermodels showing their colours

September - Autumn is coming!

October - riding out to meet the sunrise

November - Back in France for some autumn magic

December - Winter light touches Bath


Happy new year!

Winter Blues... and Pinks and Purples

It is that time of year again, I really don't seem to be seeing much sunlight except sunrises and sunsets, although that isn't the worst thing in the world. I think I am more excited about the winter solstice and the days getting longer again than I am about Christmas! Lots of pretty skies for you anyway, to break the blogging lull.

Magritte painting

Squirrel!!!