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...

Accepting Autumn...

Accepting Autumn...

... Yes I have finally given in and actually admitted that the summer is at an end.  Whilst this saddens me it also gives me the freedom to go ahead and enjoy the next season...I look around me with a different view point now, just how could I have denied all the lovely things that Autumn brings us.  So with a weekend away we spent our time outside...the smell of the last mowed grass of the season...
The clear air and the special light that seems to be around at this time of year...
Walking through orchards, the crisp fallen leaves crunching under foot...
The final stages of harvesting just before the bales get all wrapped up like big sweeties for the winter feed...
Even the time on the beach this weekend felt different, the air was milky and without the warmth from the sun we pulled on our sweaters and walked for miles along the sea edge...
Splashing in the streams leading out to the sea...
Yes the beach had a whole different feeling to it, gone are the long days nesting in our little pod with sun cream and ice cream, the boys in the sea waiting till the tourist had all gone home so we could light a fire and watch the the evening light change.  No this time we just walked and walked, a little beach combing and some egg searching...
Egg searching...

Seriously...

The boys favorite story of this year was the Water Horse, so now inspired by this story and film we have a fine collection of eggs that need to be looked after with care...
and if we are lucky we might have a little sea creature of our own...
Or as my eldest one hopes... our very own dinosaur... May be I should curb their imagination and remove the stones (I mean eggs) from under their pillows so they keep warm, then again would you not love to have that time again when your imagination really does cross over into reality and everything is possible...

Yes Autumn is here and I have to admit that I am enjoying the season...

Book Club...Autumnal changes

Well its the time of year when I finally have to accept that Autumn is on its way, reluctantly yes, but never the less I am realising that I just can pretend no more, its time to pull on the long sleeves and feel almost claustrophobic with the layers of clothing after the freedom on light linen on my body.  Next week I will revisit the summer with a post of my favourite pictures and memories of the past few month, then I can really move on into the next season.Along with acknowledging the dark mornings and evenings, with the chill in the air that  brings with it the time to hunker down under quilts with a good read.  As you may be aware I am a bookie type of person, I adore books, old, new, story or factual...I do spend most of my spare pennies on books, ideally I like to buy them from small shops, the days of the book shop on the corner street are diminishing rather to quickly for my liking, a place were the shop keeper knows all names of the books they stock off the top of their head, when a cup of tea or coffee is placed into your hand as you parooze the shelves...yes sadly these shops are disappearing fast...instead we have the super bookshops and of course who can not be aware of the amazing savings through Amazon.

This pile of loveliness is my craft book purchases over the last month (I admit to having a pile of novels as well).  There are some great books here, I do sometimes get seduced into a book purely by its cover and when I get round to actually seriously reading the book I have been disappointed, not so with these books, full of inspiration for knitting and sewing alike, the Japanese sewing book is to be rated highly, full of all the projects we see in the adorable (yet pricey) magazines, but the best thing is the instructions and pattern sheets are in English. I gave up trying to work out the instructions from the magazines, sometimes life is just to short for that kind of thing.  It has some super projects in and I can assure you there will be some made here over the coming months.

I love dirt...its a good book, I feel its more aimed for the children to read, my older son loves it, it helps him to have more of a focus in his outdoor play but its nothing new. However its nice to have all the ideas in one place.

The Yarn Harlot need no explanation or description, just cool books that make you smile. 

I also guess most people who sew already own the beautiful Amy Butler Book, lots of adorable baby projects from cuddlies to nappy bags for the new Mommy.

So that's my inspiration pile for October and I am already looking up a few new craft books that are coming out this month...so much inspiration, my shelves are groaning under all of the weight.
Its been a big day today, I put on enclosed shoes and even pulled out my boots...I bought these pumps last week, whilst I do not really want to get back into 'proper' shoes, when they are this 'HAPPY' well maybe I can make the change with a smile on my face...
So with my weekly list of things to do...top of the list was my turn on the rota for church flowers...I thought I would do a pedestal arrangement to celebrate the fabulous colours of Autumn which are now all around us...
As if I needed to prove it anymore that the seasons have changed, this is a photograph of my little one at the weekend, without even knowing it I snuggled him up in a quilt of autumnal colours (backed in Boden Dalmatian baby soft cord)whilst he slept deeply after a day of playing on the beach...

Lost for words...

An unusual post from me...one without lots of words...My family was involved in a three car road traffic accident caused by someone with rather severe road rage. I want to point out that we are all well and no physical harm was done. My older child has taken the brunt of it emotionally. So I am lost for words...there is just no flow or rhythm . So as not to let you down I thought I would share some Autumnal pictures taken last week ...

I need to credit my older child with this picture...yes I know its out of focus but you know, I kind of like it.

Pictures: 1) The leaves blow in the house 2)Garden steps 3)Walk in the woods (taken by my older child) 4) Memories are made of this 5) The end of the day-flying home (taken from the bedroom window)

Look Mommy....

You know the scene, you awake to the sound of the kids playing and you stagger down stairs, you think maybe your late, it seems a little bright today...my oldest one was right behind me eager to get on with the days playing...I look out our kitchen window whilst I stumble to fill the kettle to get that cup of tea going, my eyes adjust to the start of the day...(7.00am)...the view I see is amazing, I think its pretty amazing on most days (except wet foggy ones) But, today the sky is stunning. I opened the kitchen door to share the delights with my older child...'Wow look Mommy the planes are sewing in the sky'... So we rush around looking for our cameras...my older child has got really into his photography, or should I call them his 'snaps'? I bought him a camera when I had to purchase a new one. The beloved camera that I had been using, my Dads, which towards the last part of his life brought him great joy... sadly it was handed back to my Mom. So if you had noticed the quality of the pictures is different, well this is why, I have a 'mare' of a camera which is just not a pleasure to use at the moment, but finances are meaning I have to wait till Christmas to see what Santa gets me!!! Anyway I bought my son a little digital for only a few pounds and he loves it, its fun to go out with him and share this passion. So today is very Autumnal...the chill in the air is enough to pull on a coat and there is no way I can get away with open shoes anymore...time to get the boots out!!! The boys and I breathed out 'Dragon Breath' as we set off to school...by the time we had reached school the sun had risen and the frost was starting to disappear, the crunch underfoot was especially crisp today and I came home via the park. Now this is bitter sweet for me, I love our local park, it feels remote with its amazing views of the hills, but is only moments away from the centre of the village and between school and home, I so wish I was there with my children and it just confirmed the fact that I miss them very much...still I took some consolation in the view...
Returning home to look at the Autumnal pickings...and with this season comes seasonal baking and the apples and pears all need to be used somehow...so on the menu this week apples have featured a lot, from apple crumble, fruit curry and apples with sticky spicy mince meat filling...now if I could find something to do with pears I would be OK...
Oh and just so you do not think I have forgotten that I am actually 'Suzie Sews' not 'Suzie bakes and takes pictures' this is the quilt I have been working on and off with for the past nine months on my course...it has all its boarders and cornerstones on now, it has been layered with wadding, backing and has even been tacked together (I loath basting). I will be working on the actually quilting from now on...I think this will be an ongoing project for a while yet, but it now looks like I am getting there...slowly...On Saturday I start a new course with a new Quilt design...
Now I have been tagged by the wonderful Weirdbunny of Chrystal Mountain to report seven HONEST things about me, actually she tagged me a while ago now (sorry) so that was going to be today's post...BUT...Oh there is always a BUT!!! I am having to rush off now and buy some flowers...I am doing Wedding flowers tomorrow and I have to go and buy them and get them all ready tonight as I will have little time tomorrow as its the schools Harvest Festival service...SO I shall away and wish you a happy and healthy weekend...I shall fulfill my Tag next week...