Sun and showers...

This week has seen us, in equal measure, both bathing in bright sunshine and ducking huge raindrops. The weekend weather forecast shows more of the same so we may well stay put in the Studio and wait for some fine days to come our way.

It's Friday so here goes with another...

 .. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

It's the turn of the letter 'I'  - this proved quite a difficult task to find items which fit the bill, but we have unearthed some real gems. Don't forget to take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'I' is for...

A pretty purple Iris that blooms year round

I is for Iris - this lovely Iris is just one of the many glass items that blooms round at Joy's. There are also butterflies, frogs and even a caravan all made from glass, find them all in Joy's Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/JOYSofGLASS

Delicate silver Ivy leaves 

I is for Ivy - These Ivy leaf stud earrings would make any gardener smile. Jenny takes real leaves and seeds to create her jewellery, her Sycamore seed pods are especially beautiful. Find them in Jenny's Folksy shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/FatCatSilver

Keep your bug friends happy in this bijou home

I is for Insect house - Mike makes homes to keep all the bugs, bees and birds happy in your garden. Just love the idea of a Kestrel House! All available from Mike's Folksy shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/Wudwerx

Love the simple rustic style of these coat hooks

I is for Iron coat hooks - add style to your hall with this statement piece of ironwork. Colin crafts metal into not only beautiful but useful items for the home. Our kitchen is crying out for one of his pot racks! Find hooks, racks and candle sconces in Colin's Folksy shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/arrowsmithforge



Back here Gary has added another beautiful Black Cat Print to our online shops. And this time she is up to mischief...

Watch out for those claws!

Available from both our Etsy and Folksy shops and we can personalize the print with your own cat's name if you prefer.


Garden update: we have this week had our first potatoes of the season. They were grown in a plastic sack as the garden wasn't ready for planting when we bought them as seed potatoes. I seem to remember they were called 'Rocket' and they might be a little small but they are delicious. We have another two sacks of them which we will allow to get larger, that's if the temptation to indulge in another potato 'fest' doesn't take hold of us!

Just add a hint of mint and some butter...Mmmmm..

Enjoy your weekend.


'Stagger onward...rejoicing'.
W.H. Auden.

Finding buried Treasury

At last we have peace and quiet back here. The roof was finally finished Friday lunchtime, it all looks very smart and Gary even found time to paint the new soffits on the back gable end with a black wood stain. This meant that the back garden was clear to be able to fit the final raised beds in the veg garden. We spent Friday afternoon and all day Saturday tidying up the mountain of wood and broken tiles that the workmen had left us with. The old wood isn't a problem to get rid of as we will cut it up to burn in our wood stove this winter, we find you can never have enough wood especially when we rely on it for our heating. We also scavenged all the bricks which come in handy for all sorts of things in the garden and have saved all the old guttering with a view to reusing it when we get around to building another log store.

The flower borders are looking fuller even though they are in their infancy. I have used annuals to fill in the bare pockets and they are blooming their socks off at present, the cornflowers with their dolly mixture of colours are doing their job very effectively just now.

The candy colours of Cornflowers

I spent Sunday morning planting up all the pot bound veggies, they all seem happy in their new homes and the cucumbers have even started to make their way up the bamboo wigwam I constructed for them. Gary loves cucumber to the point where he will even have slices on his breakfast toast, an acquired taste I have yet to acquire!

Whilst turning the soil over in one of the new beds something shiny caught my eye. Bending down to pull it out of the earth I discovered a length of gold chain with a coin pendant hanging off it. After the brief flight of fancy that I had discovered some Roman or Viking lost hoard, (well we do live near York with all it's history), I noticed the coin had our Queen's head on it and the chain was broken. Dismissing it I put it to one side in the wheelbarrow while I finished digging over the bed. Back in the kitchen as I was washing the grime off the coin the housing it was in snapped in half. What was left was a small gold coin, dated 1999, I thought no more of it and put it to one side on my desk in the Studio. Later that evening I took another look at it, it did look familiar, then it dawned on me, it was a half sovereign. After doing a little research on the internet I have found my little gold coin is actually worth over £100, so I really have found a little piece of treasure!

My little piece of Treasure

Have had very little time in the kitchen other than make homemade pizzas for Saturday's supper. Have recently found that the bread dough is much improved, (no pun intended), by making it the day before it is required and letting it slow prove in the fridge. This really does give extra flavour to the baked dough. 

One of Gary's linoprints has made it's way off the printing press and into our shops this week...

Friendly Friesian Cow with a pink nose

This happy cow fits in nicely in our Farmyard section. She was fun to print as Gary only wanted a little pink to appear on her nose and the first plate we printed just had one little pink splodge on it.

I have always had an affection for these black and white cows as they remind me of joyful camping holidays as a child. One of our favourite camping places up in the Lake District was on a farm near to Wray Castle which sits on the opposite side of Lake Windermere to Ambleside. It was rough and ready camping with no frills, the only amenities was a loo in a simple wooden hut at the top of the field. The farmer would even leave his cows in the field with us, so it wasn't unusual to have an inquisitive cow peer into the tent as it meandered past. I remember - with the rosiest of coloured spectacles - that every morning my brother and I would be sent down to the farm milking parlour to get some milk for breakfast. We would watch in wonder as the cows sauntered into the stalls and their milk would whoosh around in the large glass containers before the farmer would draw off a pint or two of frothing milk into white, waxed cartons. This was the only time I ever liked the flavour of milk, fresh from those black and white cows.

Chocolate Break - Folksy Front Page - 7th July

Really pleased to see our 'Chocolate Break' themed Pinterest board was chosen for the Folksy Front Page today, now that's a great start to the week!

This week Gary is determined to produce at least two prints, he's thinking feline, purrfect!

I will be working on the final plate of my latest flower linocut print, hopefully it will be completed by the end of the week. It's at this stage of the process that the tension rises, it is all down to how good the registration is when placing the pre-printed paper onto the press as to how many good finished prints can be included in the edition, any shaking hands can lead to disaster...



'The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk.'
Ogden Nash.

Halfway through the year...

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun. Here we still have workmen clambering on our home. The roofing job is running over and the noise of the cement mixer outside our Studio is starting to interfere with our creative flow. Hopefully today is the last day they will be here, it will be lovely to finally have a smart roof and peace once again.

Roll on the weekend, but before we start winding down we need to have another...

.. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

It's the letter 'H' this week so there's hares, hens, hearts and some beautiful Harris tweed to appreciate. Don't forget to take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'H' is for...

Heavenly shade of Blue

H is for Hare - This wistful hare is painted onto mouth blown glass in the most beautiful shade of blue. Hang it in a window to catch the light, it's sure to brighten up any room. Lots more glass work back in Amy's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/amyorangejuice

Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick Hen!

H is for Hen - this cute key ring is filled with lavender so it will not only keep your keys safe but scent your bag or pocket too! Lots more pretty hand sewing in Julie's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/ThePeacockEmporium

Every book should have a smart jacket

H is for Harris Tweed - this beautifully made book cover is made from the original Harris Tweed tartan in the shade of blue skies. This would turn any novel into a masterpiece of literature!
More covers for not just books but also tablets, Ipads and kindles in Shirley's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/WhimsyWooDesigns

The colours of the garden - Heart shaped

H is for Heart - this jolly button brooch is titled 'Monet's Garden' and having had the joy of visiting those famous lily ponds with the wisteria festooned bridge we can see all the colours captured in this button collection. More buttons back at Jane's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/beadedgarden




Back in our Studio we have battled through all the disturbance with the help of Radio 4 being turned up an extra notch. Gary has created a print which will soon be seen in our farmyard section of linocut prints. My progress has been a little slower, still cutting out the second plate of my latest flower print. It has some very fine parts to it which need a good deal of concentration. Hopefully it will be ready to print at some point this weekend. 

One of our little grey donkeys trotted off to a new home this week, do hope it's near a beach.

Off to pastures new...

The garden calls..
... now the workmen are out of the back we can dig space for our raised beds. Gary built four more a couple of weekends ago, so the turf needs stripping, the holes need digging, then once the wooden frames have been fixed into the ground it will be out with the 'wild thyme' garden paint and a brush for a quick lick of paint. And then, at last, all the various beans, peas and squashes that are bursting out of their pots can stretch their roots and hopefully grow for us!

Enjoy your weekend.

'A weekend wasted isn't a wasted weekend.'
Anon

Busy Monday

It feels like we didn't get any weekend here as we have been kept really busy in the Studio. It seems odd to be thinking of Christmas at the end of June but we really have to start our push towards the festive season and making sure our shops are brimming over with lovely things. We lost out on three months work last year while waiting to move house and so now the catch up begins. 

Two new dog breeds have been introduced into our shops, both handsome looking hounds.

Chocolate Labrador - a real sweetie

Weimaraner - a dog with a noble history

We spent Saturday printing the first plate of my third floral piece and Gary continued his experiments with mono printing. These are true one of pieces of art where ink is worked onto a glass surface and then a single pressing is made by hand. He created a really beautiful abstract which was so heavy with ink instead of hanging it to dry on the rack he left it overnight on one of the Studio shelves. Alas one of our furry friends snook into the Studio, jumped onto the shelf, walked through the ink and then pranced artfully over Gary's desk, then leapt onto mine and left green 'daisy' foot prints everywhere! We discovered the culprit by the tell tale green paint all over her back paws.

I received a parcel of plant plugs on Saturday, a special offer from a gardening magazine and was astonished as to how tiny they were. Have been misting them with water until I can get chance to plant them up, hopefully this evening.

A Lilliput sized plug plant!

I did manage to grab an hour in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon. Wanted to make something savoury we could have for midweek lunches. Hunted around the cupboards for inspiration and found some gram flour so decided on some Pakoras. They only contained potatoes, onion and garlic along with the usual spices and instead of my usual approach of mounding spoonfuls into the frying pan I dug out some crumpet rings to try and get a firmer shape. They turned out great.

Spicy Pakora for lunch today - delicious

The workmen are still tapping away on our roof but have now moved to the front of the house so the tapping is slightly less intrusive, hopefully they will be finished midweek, and calm will return.

We will then have the space to finish siting all our raised beds in the veg garden and plant out all the plants sat in pots outside the greenhouse all clambering to be sunk into some earth. We live in hope that we will get a couple of butternut squash, we just love squash soup.

'Yesterday is history,

Tomorrow is a mystery,

today is a gift,

that is why it's called present.'

Anon.

Bring on the weekend...

Flaming June is nearly at an end and July is waiting in the wings hopefully bringing more blue skies and sunshine to enjoy. These Fridays seem to be getting closer together, we really need to invent an extra day in every week!

So once again it's time for...

.. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

It's letter 'G' this week and there's some unusual items on show, do hope you enjoy the mix. Do take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'G' is for...

Such a sunny colour!

G is for Glass - in the shape of this 'juicy' orange cupboard door knob. This is a fabulous shop brimming over with clever, witty glass pieces. All available from Matthew and Estelle's Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/GlassRelief

Stay, stay...good boy!

G is for Greyhound - this tiny, perfectly formed dog is modelled out of felt. More furry, felty fun back at Lydia's Folksy shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/Blackdogandgingercat

Rustic home for your garlic bulbs

G is for Garlic Holder - woven from willow this holder would be at home in any country kitchen. Available from Judith's Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/Wove

Can almost smell this soap from here!

G is for Goats milk, Lavender and Heather soap - can only imagine the heady scent of this pretty blush pink soap. Lots more scented soaps and candles from Debra's Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/CandlesByDeb

This week we have had to shout in the Studio as joiners hammered away over our heads mending our sorry looking roof. They have nearly finished now and soon peace will be restored, as will be our roof! Once again the press has been squeaking and groaning as we put it through it's paces. Every time Gary lowers the press the cats scatter, the metallic squeak must hurt their sensitive ears. 

The final colour went on to my latest floral print, a deep, rich purple which works well. The print itself is made using 2 lino plates, the first is the background plate which shows a subtle background of poppy heads and grasses, printed in a soft green. The second lino plate has the poppy image cut into it. This is where the reduction method has been used. The first colour to be printed on top of the background was the grass green. The image was then cut away further and the poppy red printed.

The plate with it's final cut - just the purple left to print.

And finally the print is almost completely cut away leaving just the outline which was printed in a deep purple. 

Close-up showing the delicate backplate

This style of printing holds a great deal of risk as once the plate is cut away then any mistakes can mean the whole piece is ruined. It can get very nail biting especially when there is only one colour left to print. Obviously all this involves many hours of concentrated work!

It's been added to our online shops and is part of a series of floral images.

Field Poppy - Limited Edition Linocut Print

The veg garden is starting to live up to it's name and about time too. Everything is still in miniature but we have high hopes for a bumper harvest later in the year.

Small but perfectly formed baby Courgette

purple beans masquerading as earrings!

Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

'Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit'.
Henry David Thoreau

The Gentle Art of Tomato Tickling...

One of the main reasons we acquired a greenhouse for our new garden was to be able to grow our own tomatoes once again. We never got around to putting one into our last place, due to the fact that we spent a good deal of time working away so it wouldn't have got much use. But as soon as we moved in here we drew up garden plans and decided where we would site our greenhouse. So earlier this year I started some tomato seeds off in a little plastic greenhouse we've had ever since we lived in France, because they collapse down to nothing they are handy to have around for the start of the growing season. The chosen varieties included Super Marmande, Roma and Gardeners' Delight. While waiting for these to put on a growth spurt I rescued a sad looking Sungold plant withering away on the bargain shelf of a store and took advantage of a giveaway in a gardening magazine for 3 different varieties of tomatoes, (unfortunately I lost magazine details and can only remember that one was also a Sungold and the other two will remain mystery tom plants).

Once large enough, 23 of the plants where planted into the greenhouse. I decided to try the 'ring' method but instead of paying out for pre-made plastic collars I charmed Gary into cutting the bottoms off plastic pots. These were plunged into the soil borders and then the tomatoes where planted into these. An elaborate cane and twine 'rigging' was constructed for them to romp up and then the wait began.

I now have a Saturday ritual where I spend a happy half hour keeping company with all the growing tomato plants. Firstly they get their side shoots nipped out. Then they receive a dainty knot of twine to tie them higher up their canes. Their feed comes next, a large glug of seaweed extract shared out between them.

And finally comes the tickling...other people leave it to the bees, some people use paint brushes to transfer the pollen from flower to flower. But I prefer to take off my gardening gloves and with a tender touch of the finger gently tickle the flower centre and work my way slowly around each and every delicate yellow flower bell. They also enjoy some quiet conversation. Yes, like Prince Charles I too commune with nature. It must be working, talk of the weather, soil conditions and what I'm making for supper seems to be inspiring them to put forth lots of trusses of tiny green orbs. Hopes for a bumper harvest and painting inspiration abound.

Simply Super Marmande

Tiny truss of Roma tomatoes, perfect for pasta sauce

It is so different growing tomatoes here in the north of England than the ease in which we grew them in the veg garden at our little farm in France. When we bought our home there everyone told us how you just put things in the ground and they simply grow. How true they were, we would plant either home grown seedlings or perhaps something that had caught our eye at the local market and within days they had established themselves and were reaching for the sky.

We had so many tomatoes that we could pick them off the vine and eat them as a juicy snack while working the soil. And at the end of the season we had sufficient to make chutneys, pickles and jars of sun dried tomatoes to last us through the winter months.

Just planted tomatoes in foreground with old roofing used as stakes

Everything we grew there flourished, the only task other than picking things was spending time watering the veg beds, and having an acre filled with 22 beds meant two very long hosepipes connected together!

Back to here and weekend work in the Studio.

Gary finished his latest wildlife print and we uploaded it into our online shops yesterday. 

A rather shy Badger emerging from his well hidden sett in the green depths of Bracken fronds.

Mr Brock venturing out

With the end of last week being so chaotic - mainly brought about by the workmen bashing away mending our sadly sagging roof gable ends - I completely forgot to make some olive rolls for Friday night's pasta supper. Now, no matter how you try and convince yourself that homemade, seeded, wholemeal rolls will work just as well with a bowl of Spagetti they just haven't got the authentic appeal of a rustic olive roll. I found time on Sunday to rustle up half a dozen olive studded rolls to enjoy with Sunday's Italian inspired supper.

Just out of the oven...

The recipe is simply a white bread recipe but it is made extra special with the addition of a handful of flavoursome olives. I prefer to perk up my own olives, I buy brined ones and then bottle them with good olive oil, oregano, peppercorns, chilli flakes and lemon rind. After sitting in this mix for a few weeks they turn out full of savoury flavour.

And now starts the working week...

..this week will see Gary working on another countryside inspired print, while I will be cutting the final plate of my next floral piece. And, of course, there will be tomato tickling...

"If life deals you lemons, make lemonade; if it deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys".

Anon

Summer Solstice

The sun has reached the full extent of it's arc across our skies and the longest day of the year is with us once again. I always note in fascination where the sun rises and sets according to the time of year. In June by the time the sun dips over the horizon it has moved more than three quarters of the way around our home. Hoping the days of high summer offer us lots of sunshine so that the many tomato plants we have planted in our new greenhouse reward us with lots of red - and yellow - fruits.

Another Friday and time for another...

.. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

We've reached the letter 'F' and we certainly had a lot of fun making our selection this week. Don't forget to take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'F' is for...

Sleepy Fox enjoying a nap on this comfy cushion

F is for Fox - There are lots of fun foxes and other woodland characters in Sarah's pretty Folksy shop. https://folksy.com/shops/thesherbetpatch

Hard to get lost while wearing this flower!

F is for Flower - Such unusual blooms in Leah's Folksy Shop, especially like the idea of a wedding bouquet of these re-cycled flowers. https://folksy.com/shops/EnaGreen

How about a fairy at the bottom of your garden?

F is for Fairy - Fascinating wire work can be found back in Topsy's Folksy shop including some fun bookmarks. https://folksy.com/shops/Wireligig

Such a realistic Frog, wonder if he would scare off our slugs?!

F is for Frog - Jess has not only frogs but toads and the odd snail wandering around her Folksy shop. https://folksy.com/shops/silverpasta





Our weekend will be divided between gardening jobs and the Studio. We need to build more raised beds and plant up our new plant purchases plus find homes for the Cosmos and Nicotiana plants we have grown from seed. In the Studio we both have work to do on our new limited edition lino prints, this entails more cutting away at the image, mixing inks and more printing sessions.

Here's a taster of some of the colours appearing on my floral piece, only a little a peek though....

Not quite traffic light colours

The sun painting the sky with sensational colour

Enjoy your weekend.

'Only Robinson Crusoe got everything done by Friday'
Anon