Making our door wreath

"'Twas the month before Christmas and all through the house, all you could hear was the click of a mouse...'"

Except that today, there was the click of scissors as well, as I made our door wreath. I don't really like the primped, all-too-perfect ones on sale and prefer a looser, more natural wreath, made from cuttings from the garden and which will gradually dry and change character as the month progresses.

I start with some cuttings of ivy, cotoneaster and rosemary, which is still flowering in one corner of the garden and has an amazing scent. I choose long, spindly lengths, still very soft and pliable so that I can wind and wrap it around to make a circle.

I wind the lengths of ivy and cotoneaster around each other, twisting it in and out to keep it all together, not really worrying at this point whether it is looking ok and simply concentrating on getting a firm foundation.

Gradually, I add in more greenery, still twisting the long lengths around one another and gently pushing the circle into shape from time to time. Now, I'm trying to keep the leaves on one side in preference to the other, making a front and a back. Any little sprig that doesn't behave gets the chop!

Finally, I fill in any gaps with little bits of purple sage, twigs of rosehips and ivy berries - though the cultivated ivy in the garden doesn't have berries, the wild stuff in the lane is loaded. I poke the stems through and twist them in and amongst the other twisted stems as far as I can.

I make a hanging loop from a leftover piece of ivy stem and hang on the front door.

My turn

It's my turn for the next pair of socks, which are simple stocking stitch, because I'm off to a stitch and bitch on Thursday evening and I've discovered that if I try to do both at the same time, I often find the knitting suffers. Anyway, it's a while since I knitted up any Opal yarn and I'd forgotten what fun it is.

Some friends and family are getting handknit Christmas presents, and to complete the theme, I've used yarn rather than ribbon to tie up the parcels. A good excuse to get out some of the new toys - sorry tools - from the collection.

First, the flower loom. Have had this one years and don't use it much, but it's easy-peasy and does make quite a good flower.

The Pompoms were made using my new Clover Pompom Maker/Set a Fabriquer des Pompons/Fabricadora de Pompones/Herstellungs Set fur Pompons. I bought two pairs of different sizes and tried it for the first time today. The grey pompoms were made using the yellow one.

I know it's easy to make pompoms using cardboard rings but to be honest, I always find that a bit of a faff and seldom bother. The little Clover tool made it so easy, though, I think I shall be attaching pompoms to everything. I love the playful touch!

A little gem of a corner

We loved this little corner opposite the harbour in St Mawes and wondered how many similar place still exist? As we waited for the ferry to Falmouth on Sunday morning, we watched the crew take out a gig from this building, the boathouse of the Roseland Gig Club.

How interesting that the petrol price could be painted on the pump, rather than shown using sticky lines which enable the garage owner to increase the price in seconds. I'd not mind paying 2/3d a gallon today though - Mark just did the calculation for all the youngsters out there who don't do pounds, shillings, pence and gallons. It works out at two and a half pence per litre.

No wonder it's sold out.

Cornish Textures

From top left: a Cornish stone wall contructed in a rather different pattern from our Cotswold walls; the rope on the deck of the small ferry to Falmouth, beautifully coiled; the jaggy rocks on the seashore, exposed at low tide; a heap of rope and net by the harbour wall. 

Hotel Art 8 - Cornwall

I realised that I haven't yet posted photographs from our weekend in St Mawes and thought priority should be given to the next in my Hotel Art series. This little collection (all originals, it seemed) were to be found in our smallish room - treasures, every one. I'm sorry that I have no artists to attribute these pieces to - must remember to ask questions and make notes next time.

This stood on the windowsill and was one of several differently sized examples to be found throughout the hotel. Not all ammonites.

This oil (?) painting hung above the bed head. Not my favourite piece but a pleasing palette.

This amusing drawing was on my side of the bed and for some reason reminds me of my friend Grumpy's work. I can imagine her stitching something like this on her sewing machine.

These last two pictures were hung together above the chest of drawers with a table lamp in front of them. The frames were very different from one another and yet the ensemble worked very well indeed.

I should (could) be braver in my hanging arrangements!