Meet Ellie!

A huge "THANK YOU" to Ellie Thouret who discovered my Etsy shop, SweetScarlett, and has asked me to accept an invitation from her to write about, and promote, my work featured in my little shop!

Ellie is an author/artist associated with an on-line journal publication called, Try Handmade (www.tryhandmade.com). I love their slogan - "people not factories"
She has just published her article, "Product Showcase: Go England!" featuring some wonderful handmade artists, and their products, all made in the UK.
Have a look here: http://tryhandmade.com/product-showcase-go-england/

This is just one example of products she has featured in her article. This adorable little striped guy was made by Emma from Squiggly Monkeys. He is so fresh and cheeky, isn't he?

Ellie has a little bit to share with us, about herself, in her Etsy profile:
I am an independent knit and crochet designer based in the UK's North West.
My accessories are inspired by anything and everything and I put a stylish flair into all of
my garments.
I instantly fell in love with yarncrafts and my mission is overturn the common
perception that knitting and crochet is old-fashioned and unfashionable!


Her Esty shop, Ellie Thouret Textile Designs, can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/EllieThouret
Why not take a moment and look to see what she has in the shop and why knitting is so "now" and not old fashioned at all!

Ellie Thouret has been kind enough to also include my work in her current treasury on Etsy.
Entitled, "Handmade in England" it showcases some the items featured in her article for Try Handmade. It can be found in Treasury East on Etsy at this link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c2a26113d6d8eefbfd49a44/handmade-in-england

Thank you Ellie - I appreciate the promotion and want everyone to know it, and YOU, too!
xxx
Maggie

Handmade in Malvern: The Emerald Grove

Malvern is a gorgeous little town in the Malvern Hills. We often visit there to go to the antique market and car boot sale held at the Three Counties Showground.

One day, when checking my conversations in my Etsy account, there appeared an invitation to become part of a new consignment shop opening in Malvern, called, The Emerald Grove.
The idea behind the shop is to feature handmade items from the UK to support local artists and promote a greener footprint.
I was so excited and honoured, to be asked to be part of this venture!

So Friday, Jim and I made the drive from Birmingham to Malvern to deliver the first of my, Wee Lucky Penny Books, to one of the partners in the shop, Anne.
We got to meet the lovely Anne, had a lovely conversation, got to mooch around the shop to have a look at all of the lovely things, and a short trek about town, too.
All-in-all, a very fine day, indeed!

Anne and her co-founder, Julie have done a fantastic job working on the interior and exterior of their lovely building, as well as all kinds of hours spent there setting it all up, and establishing an organizational system of records and contracts, website initiatives, and on-line accounts.
The interior of the shop spans several levels - (I have pictured only part of the first level below) and is warm with old wooden floors and filled with colour from all of the delightful handmade goods!
If you are in the area, please stop in for a chat and a look at all of the fabulous handmade articles in the store. You won't be disappointed!

I leave you with some images of the shop, the goods, and the proprietor.

xxx

MaggieMy wee books are packed and ready for the journey to The Emerald Grove!

Approaching the shop on Church Street


The front of the shop

Left front windowRight front window

Sugar Mice!

We visited lovely Witney, in Oxfordshire, on Saturday.
We were headed to Witney Warehouse to collect a vintage parasol, (or umbrella) that we had seen there the week before. You can just about see the darling little thing in this photograph of the shop's front window:
I will take more pictures of it later, to share with you, once I am finished with spring cleaning and decorating!
After collecting our little item, we took a stroll along the high street and visited some shops.
One was a bakery called Huffins. I was immediately drawn to a tray containing the sweetest little mice!

All set out in pink and white, with wee tails made of string, these tiny creatures captivated me right away!
I asked my husband if they were traditional, (they looked it!) and if he had had them as a child, and his answer was affirmative to both questions.

Of course, we had to have two of them for our grandchildren, Libby and Ethan. They were packed away in a white bakery bag and off we went, heading home, with our two Whitney purchases.
I only wish I had taken some photographs of Libby and Ethan demolishing them on Sunday!
It was a sight to see as Ethan held the tail in his right hand while keeping a firm grip on the doomed mouse with his left!
It was nice to see the children partaking in a bit of English tradition.

I don't know if Sugar Mice are just available at Easter time, or if they are for any time of year, but this was the first time I have seen them.
You might want to try your hand at making some for your children. Here are links for recipes for making them.
Sugar Mice from Foody. Sugar Mice from The Sugar Boy.

Although I didn't get a sugar mouse for our all-grown-up daughter, Katie, that didn't stop the little kid in her from putting in an appearance . . .


Have a great week my friends!
xxx
Maggie

. . . and then there were three

Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the farm on Sunday to find three lovely lambs in the pen!
The owners have named them: Emily is the first, brown-faced little lamb; the white lamb we were calling Chloe has been named, 'Rosie'; and the newest little lambie is called Izzy.
Izzy was only four days old on Sunday. You can see remnants of her umbilical cord in some of the photos. Her mom had triplets and there wasn't enough milk for all three siblings, so she still gets to be one of three in her new home in the pen.
Enjoy the pictures - and a big welcome to Izzy!

A Day Out in the Cotswolds

Yesterday, we returned to feed Emily Lamb and then took a drive through Evesham, towards the Cotswolds.
We didn't have a plan, and our friends, Dave and Ann, suggested we go to Bourton-on-the-Water.
I love it there.
The charm of the village with a river (we would call it a creek in America) running through the center of town. Footpaths to cross it and walkways either side of it; the yellow-gold colour of the stone buildings, and the charm of the shops, and beauty of the buildings and gardens.

Flowers are peeking up and beginning to show a bit of colour on their buds.

At Christmastime, a tree is decorated and placed in the middle of the river. So very special and so pretty!We had lunch in a Fish and Chips shop and then took a drive towards home via an area called, 'The Slaughters'.
There is Upper and Lower Slaughters.
In Lower Slaughters, we approached the wee village by car, on roads just barely wide enough for the car, looking more like footpaths, than roads.
The water running along side the road had a ford in it.

This is where the ford is, and the chimney stack in the back left is where the museum is.

For those folks reading who aren't from England, fords are areas where one can cross the river, creek, or stream, without use of a bridge!
We drove around the perimeter if the village and found a lovely museum and gift shop hidden beyond the river by the ford.

Outside the door of the museum and gift shop is a traditional
English post box guarded by a gargoyle.

Ann and Dave bought some wee garden things which included a gargoyle and a little stone thing that looked like a mushroom, but I just cannot recall its name!
It reminded me of the mushrooms that fairies sit on in the garden.

We watched as some horses approached and walked down to the ford and crossed the creek.
All-in-all, it was a lovely day out in the country.

Meet Emily Lamb!!!

We have a new friend!
Meet, EMILY LAMB!!!
Yesterday, we made our first pilgrimage to Ellenden Farm, in Harvington, near Evesham.

Our mission: to feed a newborn lamb by bottle.

Emily is two weeks old and lives at the bottom of the garden in a penned area to keep her safe.
She has two small, but quite up-to-the-challenge, Border Terrier guard dogs, Millie and Bramble.
They run about like loons, barking at anything that moves, protecting their young charge.

The lamb's mum didn't have enough milk to feed the triplets she had, so the farm's owners were accepting volunteers to feed her at specific times during the day.
We couldn't have been more excited if the Queen herself were offering a personal invitation to visit her!

Emily Lamb has been named by one of the farm children, a young lady of eight years, who named her after herself. Her surname, is of course, Lamb.

My patient husband has volunteered to be our driver, to and from the farm, for our shifts.
Now, we do not live close th this farm; we drive about 45 minutes to get to it.
So it is no small feat to volunteer to drive two crazy women to the country to feed a lamb.
Jim kept making tidy little comments about mint sauce all the way there! But we were not dismayed; we knew he has a soft spot for all animals, and he was just doing a bit of teasing.

Upon our arrival at the farm shop, we were ushered into the kitchen area and taught how to prepare the bottle for feeding 'our' lamb. We prepared it, and off we went to her pen.
We could hear her calling to us as we walked the short distance from the shop to Emily's garden.
Once inside the pen, Katie got right to work with the feed.

Emily was hungry!Bramble watches as Katie feeds Emily.
He needs to know his charge is being fed properly!

It only takes Emily minutes to devour her bottle. She has a very strong sense of sucking - she could pull the bottle right out of your hand if you didn't have a strong grip on it.
We were told that lambs give their mums a hard bump before feeding, in order to get the milk flowing! We were glad she decided not to do that with us.
Being a very playful lamb, she scampers away when finished, and she frolics around the pen, so happy that she has been fed.
But she takes a moment for a snuggle and a kiss.
We will bring more adventures of Emily Lamb to you as she grows and our bottle feeds continue!

. . . and here comes more of it!

We have barely escaped from last week's snows, and now there is more heading our way.
All news points to being snowed-in again tomorrow.
I pray they close the university, as my daughter is supposed to head back tomorrow and I do not want to drive in it if it is as bad as they expect.
I thought I would share a video of what it looks like, snowing in our garden about an hour ago, when there was still enough light to capture it.
Never did this before so I will hope for the best!



And here is one more to help keep you warm!

Theatre of Small Convenience

Our dear friends, Esther and Don, left for home today. Our week together went by so fast!

They had a whirlwind tour of Great Britain and Ireland before joining us here in the Midlands.
They looked tired, but happy, when we collected them from their hotel in London last Sunday.
We spent the first day traveling back home engaged in conversation, enjoying the sights, and learning all about their travels.

Blessed with unseasonably good weather, we spent the next three days escorting our friends to many of the towns and villages we love: Stow-on-Wold, Morton-on-Marsh, Chipping Campden, Ledbury, Ludlow, and a special destination we discovered and have come to love:
The Theatre of Small Convenience.

Who would not love a place so unique and special as this?
Situated in a very steep street in Malvern, the tiny theater is contained in a former Victorian Gentleman's toilet!

Large, old trees surround the building's stone exterior, while haunting faces peer up at you from the earth surrounding the front of the building,
but the story only begins there.

The proprietor, Dennis, is an artist who, with the help of his family, has transformed the small space into a work of art, with its 'found' stage and decor, hand-painted walls, and hand-made puppets.

We called in on the theater on a day it is usually closed, and this wonderful man arrived to open it just for us. He performed magic on stage with his tiny friends and music with sound effects, much to our delight and amusement.

It was a special engagement and a special time that none of us will soon forget.
Even though this tiny jewel was discovered on the first day of our adventures together, it was the highlight of our outings, and the most memorable.

Time is fleeting and our week together has come to an end, with our friends heading home today.
There were so many places we left undiscovered and so many hours spent and wasted with necessary sleep!

But the magic of the tiny theater will always remain, and the time spent together can always be culled from our memories, and good friends will always be there, no matter how many miles and days are between us.