Hevingham Lakes

At the end of June, Andy, Finn and I set off the seven or so miles from Norwich to Hevingham Lakes for a few days camping.   We had been told to expect "unsettled" weather - and that's exactly what we got!  We set off in bright sunshine, but by the time we'd found our pitch on the campsite, the heavens had opened, so we opted to sit in the car for half an hour or so and read, before venturing out to put the bivvy up.   We eventually set up in our favourite spot on the site - the campsite is divided essentially into three areas.  The area nearest to the entrance (although still a drive down a gravel track through a field) is where all the electric hook ups are situated.   Once you drive past this area and around the lake, you either have a choice of heading round to the left to a wooded area (no hook ups) where you can set up camp under the trees and get some shelter.  Or you can head on up and to the right to a large open field - again with no hook ups - but with no shade whatsoever.  A lot of long stayers use this area - on walking around, we could see that a lot of the caravans had generators, so are providing their own power.   Our favourite spot is under the trees in the wooded area - and we were lucky that our usual pitch was available.  

Very soon, the sun came out and It wasn't long before Andy started fishing once the bivvy was up, so we trooped round to the lake with essentials - fishing gear, beer and chair for Andy;  Finn, knitting, custard tarts and chair for me!   Not forgetting Finn's long lead - he is forbidden (only by Andy!) from entering the lake - spoilsport - so Finn is generally tied to my chair.

Once the heavens opened again though, we decided to head back to camp and fire up the barbecue.   We have done this so many times now and have got our little set up just right - bivvy to the back of the pitch, with our windbreak (which looks like a hedge!) a few yards in front, and Finn's cage between the two.  We also have the stove set up by the cage and, this time, we had the fishing umbrella covering as much of the area as we could.   All finished off by the citronella tealights in little glass dishes on top of the cage to try and stop the beasties biting us.

Another bonus of this site is Buxton Heath out the back of the campsite, so, while Andy started fishing the next morning, Finn and I went and did a hike over the footpaths to try and wear him out before we went and sat with Andy for the afternoon.   The theory is that, the more worn out Finn is, the less likely he is to jump in the lake and disturb the fish!

Back to Andy's then for some more fishing and chilling in the sunshine.  This was pretty much the routine for the entire four days!

A lovely lovely few days - as usual - but sad to have to pack up and head back to the real world.  The beauty of this site is that there is no mobile 'phone signal and, of course, we choose not to have an electric hook up too, so it really does feel very remote.   Of course it isn't, the little market town of Aylsham is only four miles away with its market square, nice foody shops and tea rooms, a couple of very good pubs for food, and a small Tescos too for stocking up on barbecue stuff and beer.  

So, the deal is on the last day, when I'm sulking and don't want to go home, Andy gets to take the tent down by himself so I can sit and knit for just a little while longer!

Woods

Now that the year is hotting up, I've been trying to find more shaded areas to walk Finn - despite the fact he's had a posh new haircut, he is still getting very hot under that huge coat of his.   Bacton Woods is perfect for this - it's very shaded, there is the odd stream for him to have a paddle and cool his feet, and we can combine it with a trip up to see Mum and Dad too.

We walk the full circuit of the woods mostly - unless the weather is shocking or we've left it late to get to Mum and Dad's for lunch - and there now appears to be a North Norfolk walk which comes outside of the woods and travels cross country.  Perhaps we'll do this in the autumn when it cools down again, as the walk affords very little shade, going across fields and farmland.

Tada! "Pretty Flamingo" Trousers

I had my last dressmaking class of the term this week - always very sad.  I've loved this second term more than the first - I think it must be because my confidence is growing.  I decided that I needed to learn more skills this term - with my dress, I learnt zips, panels, interface, sleeves, etc.  And this time I wanted to pick up different skills - specifically button holes, waistbands and pockets.  Trousers are notoriously difficult to fit apparently, so Helen, my teacher, advised that I make a "toile" - a rough prototype using an old bedsheet to get the fit right, and then I could go ahead and choose the fabric proper.  

 

The start of the trousers is actually much easier than I thought, and I was pleased that these were coming together much quicker than my dress ever did.   I've discovered a love of top stitching and was thrilled with the way my pockets turned out, the detail really makes the difference.  Top stitching wasn't too difficult, it just required a lot of concentration.  

The worst bit of the whole enterprise was the buttonholes - they were rubbish!   I practised for what felt like HOURS but it made no difference at all.  They were just awful!   And my notebook had five pages of notes on how to do them, but each page was aborted halfway through when I realised that it really wasn't working. After spending a two hour session one week trying and failing to achieve it, I came back to it the week after and managed two perfect little buttonholes in ten minutes!  Perhaps I was just trying too hard?

Once the buttonholes were completed, the next stage was to sew the waistband onto the trousers and do more top stitching - lovely job!

All that was then left to do was insert the elastic into the waistband, do the hemming, dye the trousers, insert the cord and hey presto. I had already decided that these were too good to just discard them, despite the fact they were never supposed to be the "real thing" so I bought some dye for them, to make sure I got plenty of wear out of them.   I could have kept them white - I did really like them to be honest - but Finn is the dirtiest dog in the whole world and they would never have stayed white for long!

I really wasn't sure about "flamingo pink" - I thought they were a bit bright, even for me!  I was even less sure when I managed to break the washing machine while doing the dying - these potentially could have been the most expensive pair of trousers ever made!  (Post dye note:   washing machine filter was just clogged up with sock and dog hair, all sorted now and normal service resumed!)  

So, with the trousers' new colour, all that was left to do was thread the cord through the waistband, cut the ends to length and then paint them in clear nail varnish to stop fraying.  And, hey presto, new summer pants!  I really love them.  And I was even more thrilled when Helen, my dressmaking teacher, asked me where my trousers were on Tuesday in class.   When I pointed out that I was wearing them and she then astounded me by saying she assumed my trousers were shop bought, professionally made, trousers, I got a wee bit emotional.  I can sew!   

So what else was there for me to do, but sign up for September's class this week?  Andy has gifted me the enrolment for my birthday and I am delighted to be going back.  Next term, I think I will have a go at a shirt - so I will learn collars and cuffs and even more buttonholes.   Very happy bunny indeed!  

And I have Shiriin to thank for this term - without my very generous patron, I would never have been able to do it.   I have vowed to keep Shiriin in soft furnishings for life as my way of saying thank you, but, first, a set of scrubs!

Tada! "Action Man" Pyjama Pants

Andy is a man of very simple tastes when it comes to what he wants for his birthday.    When he's buying for himself, there is no scrimping or saving.  But when I ask him what he wants, it's always something low key - I'm assuming he is mindful of my financial situation - knowing full well that he'll be bailing me out at the end of the month if I've had a splurge on him!

So, this year, when I asked him what he would like for his birthday, he requested a camouflage pillow case.  Just that.   For his camp bed when we go on our fishing trips.   So that is what I made him - with much swearing.  I downloaded a free pattern from the internet and got on pretty much OK with it, until I realised I had sewn the flap in back to front.   That was soon remedied with one of our own pillow cases for reference and my new best friend - my seam ripper!  

I was thrilled with it, just what Andy wanted.   However, there was an awful lot more fabric left over and I thought that a pillow case was a bit meagre as a birthday present.  What to do?  I know!  Pyjama bottoms!  Having made Nicholas' pair over the course of a weekend, I thought I'd have another go - and they are ace!

Andy is quite small in stature - although giant in personality! - so I didn't bother to hem them before wrapping them up for his birthday.  So we needed a trying on session and now they are four inches shorter and perfect.   I'm on a pyjama pants roll .....

Pampered Pooch

Finn has had his first ever haircut.   It's been so hot and he's such a hairy dog, and I can only brush so much of his hair out.   The internet had warned me not to get his hair cut, as collies' fur grows back really coarse and very thick and, as he's so silky, it would be a disaster.  

This visit was also fraught with anxiety - totally on my part - because it meant I'd have to leave him at the pooch parlour for four hours ... on his own.   I've never left him with a stranger before - he plays Mum and Dad up, goodness knows what he'll be like with strangers!

I needn't have worried.   He loved it - there were three other dogs in on the day Finn was there - a border terrier, a King Charles spaniel (Finn's new girlfriend!) and a labrador.   So he could play with them all day and run in and out of their garden and generally have a lovely old time.  When I went to pick him up, he didn't even want to come home.  So much for worrying.  And also feeling quite lonely - for the past five and a bit years, I've never been in the house on my own - he's been following me around the place forever!   It felt quite odd not having him here.  But, despite all that, he's a very handsome boy again!

Tada! "Monkeying Around" Pyjama Pants

I'm on a roll now - I'm a proper seamstress.  Albeit a bit of a slapdash seamstress.   I think I'm still at the experimental stage, and hopefully the technique will follow!

My nephew, for reasons best known to himself, has had a monkey obsession since he was tiny.   He's now twenty-six.   So, what does the newly-taught, fabric-obsessed person get her nephew for his twenty-sixth birthday.  Obvious really, monkey jimjam bottoms!

I love this fabric - it's really funny.  And I'm very pleased with my first ever pair of pyjama pants - the fact that the monkeys are lined up on both legs is a very happy coincidence, and one that I hadn't actually appreciated until looking back at the photos.  Thank goodness, eh?!  Next time I promise I will pay more attention to pattern matching!

Nicholas seems to like them.  First night on and hands in pockets already - probably clutching his cigarettes and lighter!

Remembrance

This year, we celebrate - although I'm not sure that is an appropriate word - one hundred years since the start of World War I.   It is also the 70th anniversary of the D Day Landings of World War II.   There has been plenty of highly charged and emotional TV coverage which has reminded us how far we've come. As part of the remembrance celebrations, over the past year a national campaign has been running to get us all to sow poppy seeds as far and as wide as we can.   Now, we live in Norfolk and the fields and hedgerows are full of them - I did my bit by scattering poppy seeds along grass verges, but mainly I've been sowing them in my garden.  And they are gorgeous.

The sadness about poppies is that they flower so briefly, but they bring a beautiful pop of colour when they are in bloom.   And of course the seed heads are literally bursting with seed - you only have to knock them as you walk past and you're guaranteed a wonderful show of colour the following year.

Couldn't resist a couple of photos of the foxgloves - not quite so highly coloured, but I like to think they bring a mellowness to the garden with their more muted colours.