Accepting Autumn...

Autumn is a funny time for me, I appreciate the beautiful colours I even look forward to the warm cosy evenings snuggling up in front of the fire with beautiful wool to knit with or cosy cord to sew. Spending time in my kitchen in the day cooking up hearty meals and of course getting my slow cooker out for all those warming stews and casseroles. But... I am a summer girl and of course Autumn marks the end of those long lovely days out in the fresh air, time spent on beaches and swimming in the sea, eating food outside and BBQs, flowing easy dressing, make up free thanks to the freckles the sun has blessed me with. Yes its a time of sadness for me. However with so much change going on in my life I am more accepting even welcoming this year of the visible changes on the land that mark the passing of time.
Yes, accepting... enjoying the dew kissed grass in the early mornings as I let the animals out to play for the day, the change in clothes as I pull out all my beautiful knitted tops which wrap around me like a second skin, re heeling my favourite boots and sorting out my socks and funky tights ready for the cooler days.
Of course if your a blog reader you can not helped but have noticed the many posts about the seasonal fruits, sadly my pair tree has a nasty disease and the pears are inedible this year, but the apples (not from my own garden but a welcome gift) are a treat this year, so on a cooler, wetter day whilst the babes worked hard at school, this Mommy peeled chopped and baked...
Topping up the larder and the freezer, little bags of apple sauce ready for a winters worth of roast dinners and of course Christmas Dinner with homemade apple sauce and pies for those times when you need a treat of a pudding... did I really say Christmas then?
Yes I accept the changes around me and this year I even embrace it, without even realising it I have noticed my selection of colours has changed from bright to darker earthy tones in what I wear and indeed what I sew.....

I wish you a wonderful week as day by day the leaves on the trees change and the grass needs mowing less...

Happy Hooker

Back in my kitchen after a couple of glorious days on the beach, it felt like the last few days of summer and as the seasons are changing I wanted to get out there and make the most of the warm rays of sunshine on my skin before I pull on the long sleeves and boots! SO forgive my absence but I was doing what I do best and spending time on the beach.
When not on the beach this past week, I was sitting in my rather overgrown garden (due to being away at the beach all summer) trying to teach myself to crochet, you may remember I tried this a couple of years ago and I just got frustrated by all the ends to sew in. A little wiser now and with the desire to make a ripple crochet blanket with stash, (my yarn diet lasted 9 weeks, then I needed to finish a project and had to buy a couple of balls). The desire outweighs my capabilities and as I poked around blogland I saw I was not the only one with this desire, must be the thought of the cooler and darker evenings. The lovely MOOGSMUM directed me to ATTICA24. A delight of a blog, and with the news of a new baby, I poured through the many pages of this informative and beautifully put together blog.
SO I sat with my laptop and my knitting bag and worked through one of her tutorials. Within a couple of days I was one Happy Hooker...
But what about the sewing? Well my thoughts have returned to my sewing and its just time that is keeping me away from my sewing room. So it was a delight of an opportunity to go and spend a day with friends doing a little hand sewing using the fabric that I had dyed earlier in the year. (See this post).
After selecting my design, I light boxed the pattern on to the fabric, layered up with wadding and backing muslin, with the 'rocking technique' I sewed little stitches all the way around the pattern. Therapy for the soul indeed, I felt calm, relaxed and happy as I sipped my tea and eating too many bickies, chatting and catching up with what my friends had got up to in the summer, yes a pleasant way to spend the day indeed.

Back home...

We return to normality, if you can call my home life normality. The summer holidays are over and both children reluctantly went into school. The summer holiday was a huge success, a feeling of 'I done it' fills my heart. My first year as a single Mom, seven weeks on my own with (in my opinion) the best two children in the world. It had its challenges, but we tackled them head on and came out smiling.So after weeks of living out of ikea bags I am now spending a few days being intimate with my washing machine!!!

The family home feels empty, unloved, and kinda soulless so I am moving from room to room removing dust and plumping up cushions. Attacking the post pile and paying the bills. Making phone calls and cleaning up the mess.

Every so often I pop into my sewing room and I get that tingle in my fingers, itching for some free time to spend creatively. Ahhh my beautiful sewing machine, give me a day or so and I will be with you.

So as I get in to my rhythm, after the cleaning, food shopping and baking are done I will be resuming normal Suzie Sews 'STUFF'...

I reluctantly welcome in September and all that Autumn brings us.