The calm before the storm

Hellie arrived at Jolie Friday afternoon, all the way from Paris, with her beautiful crocheted shawl modelled by Linda.

Scarlett helped Donna find some rose intarsia patterns for knitted cushions (there are two in Rowan's Classic Home) for her next project.

Robbie Dobs couldn't come this time, but sent Champagne in beautiful bottles and lovely souvenir tins of French biscuits.

Tres chic

The bed of wool in the shop has gone and been replaced by a lovely sideboard with overmantle and mirror. Painted in a pale grey - our new favourite colour. Good looking and good storage. (£425.00)

Karen Titchmarsh?

Ooh, how pretty! Karen (Sgt.) brought beautiful flowers home grown on her allotment for us to enjoy at Knit and Chat.

Gorgeous sweet peas nestling in there too.

Charmed life

It was Paula 's birthday last Thursday. Mmm, chocolate fudge cake and an intriguing black and white bag from Thomas Sabo.

Three charms. We chose a cocktail (had to be didn't it?), a ruby heart and a delectable pearl and crown. How charming!

Show off and tell

We had 'show off and tell' at Tuesday Knit and Chat this week. Jennifer brought in her wonderful crocheted rug.

Betty brought in her lovely cashmere scarf and crocheted cushion for her new house.

Naomi's brilliant jumper, knitted for nephew Leon in Rowan Cocoon.

Linda's pretty throw knitted in softest baby alpaca squares with beautiful embroidery. (Actually this pic doesn't do it justice - we need to photograph it on a bed.)

Dany's rabbit sized cricket jumper and trews.

Not forgetting Mary. Expert embroiderer as well as knitter! She embroidered this many years ago and hadn't got round to doing anything with it. We have had it made into a cushion for her so at last it gets seen.

Knit and wine

Tuesday 19th July, 7.30 - 10pm @ Jolie. Hope you can join us.

The next Knit and Wine will be post our weekend trip to Southwold - will this be us on the beach? Where did we put those crochet bikinis we made?

Coastal style

I opened the August 2011 edition of Coast magazine this afternoon and to my great surprise and delight spotted one of my uncle David 's paintings on page 47. The feature is about a lovely cottage by the sea on Mersea Island where David also lives. The owner of the house (Monkey Beach Cottage) has several of his paintings which can be seen in the pictures. David has been credited as a local artist, which is really nice.

See previous post about David Britton below - 10th June 2011.

Cottered day

Lovely day out in Cottered on Sunday. The village had it's annual traditional fair with car boot, vintage cars and fairground rides, candy floss, ice cream, morris dancing, open gardens, cake and jam stalls and teas, of course.

It was the hottest day of the year so far and we were gasping.

We visited the garden of Lower Farm and had tea and cake in the shade of a plum tree.

The garden is beautiful, with lots of secret 'rooms' and sculpture dotted about.

We took refuge from the sun again in the thatched gazebo. Just looking at this amazing table with undersea treasures of shells and fossils displayed under glass cooled me down.

I bought a teapot, a rolling pin and a vintage Christmas biscuit tin. Linda bought a teapot and homemade jams.

Cast off!

Now I can wear the lovely rosy gardening shoes from Hellie, sent all the way from Paris.

About as useful as...

....a chocolate tea pot! This lovely little wooden tea set comes in it's own tin. For little people and Jolie bunnies.

Knit and wine

Tuesday 21st June, 7.30 -10pm.

Join us for wine and nibbles - we promise NOT to knit socks.

Box of delights

Linda put these pretty spools of crochet cotton in the an egg cabinet. Very fetching.

Ria Grand

Ria had a milestone birthday at the weekend - and celebrated with a brass band in the back garden. How fabulous. Ria told us about the scarf she knitted in Penang, where she had increased so many times and forgot to decrease, that she ended up with over 4,000 stitches on a circular needle! Anne Marie was admiring the birthday hairdo, rather than the knitting prowess....the scarf does still exist somewhere. Ria's promised to bring it in for show and tell.

Pretty feet

This book is divine. Written by Caroline Hugo, the patterns are lovely with charming photography.

We drooled a lot whilst drinking our morning coffee.

Also note - nice new mugs for Knit and Chat.

Reduce your wool miles

Now in, locally produced artisan wool from Highbury Farm, Wood End, Hertfordshire, literally 3 miles from Jolie. This yarn is a completely natural product from Poll Dorset ewe lambs (relatives of the now infamous Plum and Ivy). Spun to reflect the nature of the fleece, it is undyed and has been nowhere near any harsh chemicals. It is a dk yarn, available in 100g skeins or 50g balls.

Mersea beats

I visited my uncle, David Britton, last weekend. He is an artist who lives and works from his studio in the garden, on Mersea Island, Essex (the most easterly inhabited island in the UK and also home to The Company Shed renowned fish restaurant).

David has been based in East Anglia for many years and is wonderful landscape painter. He is holding an exhibition of work entitled Air, Space and Light at the Aldeburgh Cinema, Suffolk from 10th - 16th June 2011. www.aldeburghcinema.co.uk

PS The best fish and chips in the world can also be found in Aldeburgh....

Raspberry ripple

Sue has finished her beautiful crochet ripple blanket. Crocheted in three pinks (Shell, Sugar and Slick) in Rowan handknit dk and finished with a picot edge, it is simply stunning. She is eyeing up the blue palette now for the next one.

Hot off the press

We have a new range of pretty little cards.

Beautifully hand printed by letterpress on heavy weight paper and with a very English theme.

We think they are delightful, and the range is huge. Lots more in store.

Oh Coral

My new favourite colour. Scarlett just happened to have chosen the same colour for her nails!

Leg latest

Only a week to go before my appointment at the hospital. I may not get the cast off yet, but the leg is feeling a whole lot better and I'm hoping that at least I will be able to start using it and put my foot down on solid ground again. I've had to sleep downstairs when Phil has been working away, but these two (Billie and George) have enjoyed it. And I enjoyed this amazing slab of hand made chocolate from Carolyn. Wow what a combination, the chocolate was delicious and went surprising well with liquorice allsorts.

Too cute

Sandra's daughter Vicky is expecting her first baby in October. Sandra is knitting her way through Erika Knight's book, Natural Nursery Knits and has knitted three of this adorable little cardis already. The little outfits look so sweet - are we sure it's not triplets?

Knit and Wine

Tuesday 24th May, 7.30-10pm.

Join us for a glass of wine or two or three! Nobby's Nuts de rigeur.

Now we are six

Cup cakes and candles to celebrate Jolie's sixth birthday and with Betty, our oldest and most glamourous customer, who came to our very first Knit and Chat and who has supported us from the very beginning.

More lovely long standing supporters from the Tuesday group; Julie,

(Dany), Betty, Karen and Anne Marie. Thanks girls and also to Jennifer, Naomi, Carolyn, Ria, Janice, Debbie and Beryl who were also there and to Pam who couldn't be with us this week.

Nearly there

Linda's beautiful Baby Alpaca throw is near completion. Lots of mattress stitch to go and then just the four mamouth borders to knit. It will be worth it, can't wait to see it finished.

Little Bo Peep

lost her sheep and didn't know where to find them!

Plum and Ivy went missing this morning - they trampled down a fence and went for a wander round the village. They were eventually spotted by Chrissie in a very beautiful garden in Totts Lane, standing on the patio looking at their reflection in the patio doors. Rod, Annie, Sydney and James all helped to catch them - eventually in the greenhouse. What a commotion. James had to sit on Ivy for about half an hour until the farmer came to fetch them. They are back in Wood End 'til we get the fences fixed....not easy this animal husbandry, particularly with a broken leg! Many thanks to Rod who found he was pretty good at sheep rustling - pictured above with Sydney (and Plum) and a well earned cup of tea.

Ta daah!

He's finally wearing it! I have been at Finishing School with my broken leg and have at last completed James' jumper. He was a reluctant model, but I snapped him unawares from my new home on the sofa.

Sheepish

Meet the new arrivals who have come to reside in the back garden over the summer. They are Plum and Ivy - names to reflect their gastronomic preferences. (Plum was originally called Parsley as in Cow Parsley, but seeing as she consumed a small plum tree in less than a day , we quickly changed it).

The ewe lambs (Poll Dorsets) are now installed in the garden at the rear of Jolie and are happily munching away (the remaining trees have now been protected). They have been loaned to us by Peter and Yvonne Gear from Highbury Farm, Wood End, which is about 2 miles from us. Peter and Yvonne have a flock of over 600 sheep and sell their lamb/sheep related products at local farmers' markets. Details are on their website http:www.highburyfarm.co.uk

Highbury Farm have had some fleece spun into wool on a 100yr old spinning machine at a mill up in Yorkshire. It is 100% pure wool and knits as a dk. We are hoping to stock some of this locally grown wool at Jolie when the next batch comes down from Yorkshire.

At the moment there is only the natural 'sheep' cream colour, although they are hoping to add a grey fleece too. I knitted my 'cake, tea or me' teacosy with it and found it very satisfying to use and especially as it was produced so close to home.