Planting the onions

There has been a lot of action on the allotment, last week I went twice to put in the onions about 400 in all. We get through a lot of onions!!

Also I have the potatoes in the ground now too; 2 lots of First Earlies and 2 lots of Second Earlies, its back breaking work. But it's good to have them in the ground especially with all this wet weather we are currently having, saves me doing the watering!!

I have taken out all the Kale now and eaten most of the purple sprouting broccoli, only a few leeks and parsnips left.  The parsnips need trimming well, but they made some excellent soup this lunch time, April and it's cold enough for soup!!  Today its only 5.5degrees C in my backgarden at midday, very cold for the time of year.

The broad beans in the front of the picture have only been put in recently too, but they are doing well, I've just planted another lot hopefully to put on the plot next month.
In the green house Mike potted on loads of plug plants today because it was too wet for him to go outside and work. 
My cauliflower seeds are through and need potting on, so do the red cabbage, sprouts and landcress, there is so much to do at this time of year and I need to sew as well.

My lovely new sewing table

On the 25th March my sister, my niece, Mike and I went to the Sewing Exhibition at the NEC.  It was a good exhibition this year, much bigger and better than in previous years we all thought.  Of course we all spent a lot on fabrics, threads, beads and a ... TABLE!

After struggling for years cutting out in my small sewing room, I decided it was time just to have a look at the Horn Cutting Out Table.  Mike said if it was going to help do the job and make my life easier,  I should have it and he treated me to it and its wonderful.

It only arrived last Wednesday and already it has been used a lot, how ever did I manage before.  It is 150cm x 100cm, which makes it great for cutting out especially when fabric has to be flat to help match checks.  I can get all the way around the table if I pull it out from the wall, the casters it is on makes moving it so easy.  Then when I've finished cutting out I can lower it and sit and work at it using the same chair I sit at for my computer, it can be put to the perfect height you need for the job you are doing. When I need space to move about or have clients in my sewing room, I can tip it up and push it up against the wall to give me room to work.  Everything in the sewing room is great just now.

Meet the girls

Two weeks ago our cockerel Giblet has some new lady friends. They have settled in very well.

When they arrived we put them into their new hen house and kept them closed up for 24 hours, the next day it took a while before they came out to explore the run.

Nutkin, Blossom, Petal and Snowdrop

They quickly found they had a new man in their life, but he was shut up for a while, whilst they found their way around.  Our Giblet can be a bit feisty at times and we did not want our new girls upset.

Now they are one new happy family.  The girls are laying lots of eggs for us and we have been enjoying lots of cakes, biscuits and lovely omelets.  Thank you girls.





My New Web Site

I have spent the last two weeks photographing my sewing for my new Web Site, it's almost ready, so I'm getting excited about having it up and running.  This photo of the latest Wedding Dress will be my main wedding photo, it has taken a while to complete, but I am really pleased with the result. I was shown how to use my overlocker to do a rolled hem the other day, so I used it to hem the dress. I was really pleased with the finished result.

The close up shows the plaited feature on the neckline of the dress. The satin fabric used on the underdress has a lovely shine, which added to the dresses sparkle.