Life at pink's barn
Jane's JottingsWelcome to my everyday treasures…
The dictionary would have it that ‘jottings’ are brief notes, very possibly
thoughts and ideas that need to be written down before they escape. That’s
exactly what you will find here with notes on my travels, the things I’m
making, what I’m up to in the garden and even the odd recipe.
A day full of twiggery!
I have to tell you about a day course I attended last week.
Hunting for stuff & chair wrangling
I intended to hunt for old flowerpots and I came away with a chair.
Quite a year in the garden
It seemed easier to have more slate and pebbles than lawn, but I was quite wrong.
A Snowdrop Walk
It was a glorious day and I have never seen such a carpet of snowdrops.
A Dyeing Garden in Holland
We spent a full day at Floriade, a once-in-a-decade garden festival.
Looking back to the festivities
I know that I am somewhat late to send you New Year blessings, but I will all the same.
Now, about my owl…
Earlier this year and I was surprised to meet Helena, The Surrey Stuffer.
A funny little corner…
There it was, just the thing I needed – The Tree of Life in rusty metal.
Why Pinks Barn?
Our barn and attached cottage were converted to a more useable space and became a well-known restaurant called Pinks here in the Cotswolds.
New home, new baby…
My grandson Felix has just become a big brother and is very proud of the fact.
Stitching our way around Holland
I thought that the Netherlands were simply lovely – so calm, clean and quite magical.
Gorgeous linen threads
I spent a wonderful evening with Tanja and was completely spell bound by the charts and threads.
A visit to Cyprus
In late 2021 Bill and I took a group of stitchers to Northern Cyprus for a stitching retreat.
I am trying to be better at roses!
I have some lovely roses, but have made sure you cannot see the blackspot and other nasties that plague me
Pharaohs in Turin?
This is apparently the finest collection of Egyptian material outside Cairo
My garden has woken up!
This time of year, I always feel a sense of panic in case I have planted too early, too late, the wrong things, the right things in the wrong place and so on.
About Being an Author
I am relying on my belief that in the end we do tend to get what we deserve
Loving Lavender
I think that I have enjoyed making things from lavender all my life
Bits & Bobs from Pinks Barn
We celebrated in advance with dinner and a visit to the Watermill Theatre, near Newbury
Loving Hardanger embroidery
The elements of Hardanger embroidery just seem to fit my mindset and I simply love the effect achieved with very few stitches.
At last! Time in the greenhouse
Earlier today I had a trip out to the greenhouse and look, I have some baby sweet peas!
Out in the fresh air
One bright, but cold day last week I think I had the symptoms of cabin fever, so Bill dragged me out for a walk.
A surprise in Marrakech
He discovered another garden for me to see and it was glorious.
The muddle was awful, but it was worth it
I have pockets full of picture hooks, a hammer and pliers!
A visit to the docks!
We sat in a lovely Greek restaurant overlooking the water and watched the lights come on as the remarkable old buildings lit up.
Visiting the city of Antonio Gaudi
I did not know anything about this extraordinary man beforehand and was simply thrilled to discover his work
Behind the scenes
Isn’t it amazing to see the huge set-up needed to photograph such small objects?
The most beautiful village in England?
Arlington Row is one of England’s most iconic and photographed sites – it even appears on the inside cover of UK passports!
Loving William Morris
I became fascinated by Mr Morris when I fell in love with the Liberty store in London.
Today I went to Witney Antiques
Rebecca finds very unusual and rare pieces of embroidery. She has, at the moment, an embroidered duck egg.
To Russia on our first cruise
It was a small and comfortable ship which was to navigate canals, rivers and inland lakes and to take us to Moscow.
A Visit to Madeira
The island is famous for the flowers and the botanical gardens, all of which we enjoyed but we were there, of course, for the embroidery.