elsewhere

I've been reading Liesl's gorgeous blog since the spring, having first stumbled upon it whilst searching for a recipe for natural dyeing with walnut husks. Since then, I've been enjoying reading her adventures as she takes her first steps in rearing chickens, watching her progress in her monthly sock knitting challenge and of course finding endless inspiration (and helpful hints) in her experimentations with natural dyes.

I was delighted (and honoured!) to be asked to participate in her 3 questions series...you can read my answers over here!

starfish

There are times when it can feel as if the rough and tumble of life has left us washed up on the rocks, forgotten in the sand by the retreating tide. Just like this little starfish I found on the foreshore last weekend. 

But just as on the foreshore the tide will always turn, so too in life things will inevitably change. It can be hard to stay calm whilst we're waiting. Sometimes it's easy to loose perspective and get swept away by such feelings, to feel as if we'll be marooned forever. 

It's at times like these we have to hold on tight to all the good things we have. To remember that we are not alone. And to acknowledge that all things must pass. Even the really hard stuff. 

And sometimes when all that is to hard, we have to surrender and let those wonderful people who are there by our sides look out for us. Let them pluck us from the sand and safely put us back in the sea, as it were. Because we are all holding each others lives. And together we can get through the strongest of tempests.

All things will pass. Just as everything will be ok. Because he is by my side. As he has been for the past five years.  

cotton top (sewn)

pattern: New Look 6483 

fabric: recycled sheeting

A couple of weeks ago, I took another scrap of old sheet, a pattern borrowed from my Ma and started sewing a simple cotton top. 

It was my first time "going solo" on a dressmaking project, as neither of my two regular sewing gurus were on hand to help me when I got stuck. Which did happen rather a lot. 

There were lots of new processes to discover (stay-stitching, interfacing, layering seams...) as well as exciting new elements in the construction of the garment itself (shoulder seams, side slits, bust darts). Even a little hand sewing (sewing a button loop). All in all, I think things turned out rather well, even if I didn't fully understand how to tackle the shoulder seam until after. At least I'll know for the next one, and I'm sure there will be one very soon! 

Perhaps the trickiest part to deal with on my own was the little matter of fitting the garment, a fundamental element which I hadn't really dealt with before. Thankfully by the time I was ready to sew the side seams, we had arrived up here in Brittany and my mother in law was on hand to give me a little master-class to ensure that it didn't gape around the arm-pits.

Location: Port Bara beach, Quibéron (Morbihan)

ps: Ma, if you're reading this (which I'm sure you are!) rest assured, I did press the top properly before I put it on...it just got a little crinkled in the car on the way to the beach...

batz-sur-mer

Children ran along the boardwalk that through the dunes and down towards the sea. We inched forward at a slower pace, no less enamoured by the view. As we reached the shoreline, I deeply inhaled the unmistakable saltiness.

Sea air and sunshine are always a tonic. Just what I need to help me mentally prepare for winter in the valley.

Location: Batz-sur-Mer

shrimping

We set off for a walk on an October weekend, welly-footed, nets and buckets in hand. Our destination was a series of rock pools near La Turballe. Hidden in the beneath the glittering water amongst the sand and seaweed was a treasure trove of periwinkles, oysters, mussels and shrimps.

foreshore

 
There were mussels and oysters, waiting to be gathered in the sandy foreshore. We walked to the edge of the sandbar and watched the oystercatchers, dunlins and herring gulls fishing in the shallows. Overhead, flocks of migrating Canada geese flew across the wide arc of the sky. 

We splashed in the eddies, sometimes our wellies wading just that little bit too far. We gathered shells, skimmed stones and filled our lungs with as much fresh air as we could manage.

la gare, Nantes

 
It's rush hour in Nantes by the time we arrive at the train station. The place is crowded with people, tourists taking photos, office workers pouring out from buses and trams and dashing towards the platforms in their tight trousers, smart suits and high heeled shoes. As we wait for our train in our creased clothes and with our rucksacks on our backs, we are surrounded by commuters. We eavesdrop on their conversations, snatching snippets of their daily grind. We laugh firstly at their funny clothes, their harrassed expressions, the fact that their telephones seem to be an extension of themselves. And then we laught at ourselves. I hadn't realised just how much I've turned into a country bumpkin...

holidays

It's half term, so here we are in Brittany for the next ten days. Staying with my belle-famille, catching up with friends, picking home grown flowers, wild-crafting in the rock-pools and along the shoreline, breathing in the sea air. And hopefully plenty of knitting and sewing too.

tarte aux pommes

A bowl of apples from our secret orchard were turned into a delicious (gluten and dairy free) tarte aux pommes in the hands of my chéri. Just the thing to raise the spirits on a particularly poorly day at the end of last week. 

(Needles to say, it was so delicious, there wasn't time to photograph it before *abracadabra* it had been magicked away...)  

rainbow socks (WIP)

It feels like an age since I last knitted a pair of socks. Liesl's sock KAL is the perfect excuse to get some cast on, and use up some stashed yarn.