Tuesday 15 January 2019

*:':*Love what you do *:':*

Last night I shared with you my exciting blog news. P&T is now featured on the @haynetblog website which is an exciting opportunity for me to share my writing with a wider audience

I have always loved words. From the literal use of words to how people prounouce them. To some extent--synaesthesia with certain words and not wanting to use or hear them! At A level it became obsessive, to the extent I remember being able to master my teachers Scottish accent when reading passages of text. It helped me grasp the concept of the piece more accurately. Bizarre but true.

My love of writing sparked from an early age, writing my own books for the book corners at school. Note pads full of short stories, poems and observations. Words just absolutely absorb me.

I am in no way a professional writer,as much as I'd love to be one day! I'm sure my grammar is not always perfect, but I thoroughly enjoy writing. Nothing is more exciting than when I know someone else has read my articles!

If you have recently started following me, I have had an influx of followers over the past week or so, welcome to my page! I hope you will stay and enjoy my writing,gardening, crafts, bakes and general creative mix ups!

You will need a cuppa, a biscuit and a cosy blanket.

You can escape here ☺

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #blogger #bloggerstyle #ruralbloggers @haynetblog #proud#bloggerlife #welcome #writing #language #synaesthesia #mywriting

Blog News!

Very proud to share that my blog, Patterjack and Tweed, can now be found in the blog directory on the Haynet  website.

Go to Countryside and Farming and you will find me there 🌾🖋

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #blogger #bloggerstyle #ruralbloggers @haynetblog #proud #bloggerlife #countrystyle #countryliving #home #homesweethome #countryside #cottagestyle #cottage #cornerofmyhome

Monday 14 January 2019

*"*Monday*"*

Happy Monday everyone!

This weekend saw a lot of work happening in the garden. Shed constructed thanks to a brilliant local company (Brownes Solutions) borders unearthed and spring bulb shoots revealed.

This week's aims include - * Make some nettle tea as a good natural feed for my vegetable garden and flower borders. The longer this brews the better... Weeks rather than days! *I also need to PH test the soil. Judging by the plants currently growing it looks like an acidic soil - perfect for the camellias I have planted. *Macrame projects for my lovely product testers *The usual home making duties! Washing, washing and more washing!! I don't do things by halves!

What do you aim to do by the end of the week?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed#home #mondaymood #mondaymotivation #mondaymorning #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #rural #mystyle #ruralbloggers #gardening #gardener #pruning #reveal #hidden #countryliving #snowdrops @stewartsgardencentres @alysf

Sunday 13 January 2019

**Happy Sunday **

The kitchen smells delicious from the smell of cupcakes, lemon cake and pastry 😋

No good for my diet! But it would be rude not to have some after all that effort 😉

Hope you have a lovely restful Sunday!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #baking #cupcakes #smellsdelicious #mummyscooking #sunday #sundayfunday #sundayvibes

Saturday 12 January 2019

*×*Saturday*×

It's finally the weekend! It's been a busy week but very productive!

The children have been out all morning flying their aeroplanes in the garden - only had to jump over the fence twice to retrieve from the woods so that's pretty good going!

I have been photographing my beautiful macrame designs and started the drying process for my red cabbage dyed cord ready for knotting up later!

It's only 10.18!! Best put the kettle on!

What are you doing today?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #rural #mystyle #view #ruralbloggers #macrame #mummyblogger #getoutdoors #saturday #saturdayvibes #saturdaymorning #weekend #weekendvibes

Thursday 10 January 2019

~×~ Natural Dyes ~×~

Today I did a bit of experimenting in the kitchen. This time, not to do with baking or recipes, but dyeing cord!

The macrame cord I have is 100% cotton so an absolutely excellent candidate for dyeing.

Cord can be bought in different colours but many of these are made using nasty chemicals. Not my scene!

Raiding my cupboards, I found the perfect components to try out some gorgeous colours. *Red cabbage juice *Turmeric *Worcester sauce
*Red chilli powder

I mixed these individually in a small tin of boiling water and placed in my offcuts of cord.

Leaving these alone for 5 hrs was hard! I wanted to keep lifting them out and seeing how they were doing but I was very good!

The colours are beautiful and have created some beautifully soft natural colours, just look at that pink from the cabbage.

I shall wash them in a salt water mix to 'fix' the colour permenantly.
Getting creative with every day ingredients! I will be raiding the cupboards for more!! Which is your favourite?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #dye #vegetabledyes #nonasty #nonastychemicals #handdyed #macrame #cotton #cord #blogger #blog #bloggerstyle #bloggers #mummy #kitchencupboardbasics #handicraft

Wednesday 9 January 2019

~×~ Macrame ~×~

One of my new years goals, is to master Macrame. A lovely craft that I've been wanting to master for a while.

Following a few tutorials and books, I've managed to learn 3 knots.

On social media, we are always desperate to show the 'perfect us' and never anything that is less than perfect.

My first macrame hanging isnt perfect, I need to space the knots out a bit better an practise my tension, but for a first go.. I'm pleased :-) You can follow my craft and home journey on the Patterjack and Tweed Blog (link in the bio), Instagram and Facebook.

You are sure of a warm welcome!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #ruralbloggers #macrame #firstattempt #learningprocess #teaching #craft #bloggers #handicraft

Frosty new beginnings

A stunning frosty morning here in Dorset. Revealing some of my spring bulbs making an appearance!

Frost tipped daffodils, hyacinths and bluebells spotted this morning as I scrape the ice off my car!

New beginnings on the way!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #cottagegarden #garden #bulbs #flowers #jackfrost #cold #cottageGardendiary

Monday 7 January 2019

~×~Slow Cooker Porridge ~×~

School day mornings are manic to say the least.

Getting the children dressed, fed and ready for school can be quite a challenge. Breakfast is one of those things that can either add to the chaos or provide a moment of calm amongst quiet munchings.

An easy peasy breakfast for a chilly early morning is Slow Cooker Porridge.

A good friend introduced this to me a while a go and its utter genius!! No need to stand at the hob thinking about a million other things that need to be done next. It's ready to go as soon as you are awake.

Ingredients:
Porridge oats
Milk (almond or soy also works if dairy free)
Sugar, salt (whatever your taste is)
Dried fruit or chopped apple
Spices to taste (apple and cinnamon, sultana and cinnamon is good too)

Method :

The best ratio I have found is one cup of porridge oats to three cups of milk.

For my three children and I, I put in two cups of oats and six cups of milk (you can replace two cups with water if you are low on milk or prefer a less creamy porridge)

I stirred in some cinnamon sugar and chopped apple.

This is simply put into the slow cooker and flicked on to the lowest setting over night (8hrs)

When you wake up there is not only a hearty healthy breakfast ready, but the amazing smell of warm porridge. Heavenly!

If your are working to a budget, I have roughly worked this out at £0.56p for all 3 of us ( 2 cups oats, 2 cups of milk, the apples were from my tree frozen in the freezer so free, and I already had the cinnamon sugar in my baking cupboard) this would obviously be lower if you substitute the milk for water. I don't know the price for almond or soya milk I'm afraid!

Let me know if you give it a try! The empty bowls here speak for them selves!

XxP&TxX

Saturday 5 January 2019

Frugal with Food

~Make do and mend~
~Rationing~
~Frugal~

All terms that are derived predominantly from War time living. But, theirs is not the only generation that have had to cut back to get by. Many families know these hardships now, almost 79 years to the date of the first rationing (8th January 1940) when bacon, butter and sugar were rationed.

I was brought up in a very traditional rural household. We didn't have buckets of money, but we didn't need it .We made everything from scratch for our meals. We were lucky enough to have an orchard and several vegetable patches over the years. The summer months were an exciting time - how many strawberries would appear on the enormous strawberry patch? What colour would the beans be inside the broad bean pods. Would the cucumber plant actually break out of the greenhouse this week?

I am proud to say, that although by no means an expert, I have succeeded in providing my children with not too dissimilar memories. The excitement of the first courgette, runner bean picking and checking for tomatoes is an exciting shared pastime in our home come summer time.

I refuse to pay extortionate prices for something I am more than capable of growing. We are lucky enough that we do have the disposable income that generations before did not have, and some do not now. It feels extraordinarily wasteful to spend so frivolously.

Jack Monroe is a fabulous blogger and cookbook author who knows the financial struggles all too well. She has budgeted and cooked from scratch for herself and her little boy. Growing herbs on her windowsills and creating delicious meals, on just £10 a week.

As you know, I am hugely inspired by the frugality of war time living, cooking and homemaking. Jacks book is quite literally a Frugal homemakers dream. Healthy nutritious meals on a shoe string.

I highly recommend adding this book to your collection. It is a purchase you will not regret.

XxP&TxX

Friday 4 January 2019

*~*~× Garden Beauties ×~*~*


Our garden is some what of a blank canvas. An exciting start!

Although only moving here in August, we have planted a lot of spring bulbs, and planted out the  camellias, roses and shrubs we brought with us from the old garden.

Some of the spring bulbs have popped up through the borders and dotted around the lawn. The front path should be lined with a mix of tulips, crocus, bluebells, tete a tete and mixed daffodils. It should be a beautiful display... Should they all grow!

Some of the plants are a bit of a mystery to me as they lay dormant, but some have started to reveal them selves with delicate blossoms and tiny leaf buds.

My biggest mission this year is to get a productive vegetable patch in place. I'm going to need all the green fingers I can muster!

For now.. Here's a beautiful shot of some dainty white blossom from one of my mystery plants... Any ideas? As well as a gorgeous collection of rosehips.

Let's get planning!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cottageGarden #blankcanvas #gardener #amateurgardener #gardening #greenfingers #wishmeluck #blossom #rosehips #ruralbloggers #gardendesign #blogger

Wednesday 2 January 2019

Pheasant Frugal Baking

Cooking has always been an important part of my life. I am by no stretch of the imagination a master chef. Quite the opposite! But I enjoy it.

I make what I think of as 'Proper Food'. Hearty meals, healthy sized portions and making good use of traditional methods.

I particularly love War time recipes. The idea of being frugal and bulking meals out to prolong the use of the chosen meat. This keeps food bills down as well, so important for a big family.

Today, I had a locally sourced Pheasant (courtesy of Webbs Butchers in West Moors Dorset) defrosted that needed to be used. If you have cooked Pheasant before, you will know there is not an awful lot of meat on the bird but a lot of taste. It lends it self to pies and game pates.

To feed my family of five, I made small pastry cases and filled with slow roasted pheasant, mushrooms, carrots and a bit of gravy. This was served with roast potatoes and mixed vegetables.

There was enough meat left over to recreate the meal another day or a larger version.

It may not be the most mind blowing creation ever, but it went down well with all the children and my husband. A pheasant that cost just over £3.50 can stretch to two meals with ease.

XxP&TxX

Tuesday 1 January 2019

Good Morning 2019

~*~Welcome 2019 ~*~

My newsfeed, like so many others, is filled with statuses promising a 'new me' and wanting to be better at something.

Believe me, after indulging over Christmas, I am definitely on the band wagon for shifting the pounds and improving my fitness.

But the most important thing for us all is that we are happy. Before swearing to be better at running, read more or get rich... We should be promising this year that we should make our selves happy.

2018 was not kind to many, including some good friends. This is the year for 'YOU'.

To quote - The Twits by Roald Dahl. “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely

Let's fill ourselves with lovely thoughts, good company and making wonderful memories. We can make 2019 a happy year for us all.

You are worth it.

XxP&TxX