Blog Posts - Jenny Wren Crafts

29th November 2021

11/29/2021

Happy Birthday to my lovely step mom Shelagh. 86 today!

Finished stitching the squares together for the mohair blanket and crocheted a small border to finish it off. One row of black and one dark blue. I am calling it my midnight sky blanket.

Spent a lovely weekend in London visiting my sister Scarlett. Went down on the train on Friday and she met me in Brixton as she now lives a bus ride further out at West Norwood. Spent a nice evening catching up and watching TV. Saturday was cold, damp and breezy but we went down into Brixton for a walk round and I picked up a couple of presents. Back for tea and then off to the Hampstead Theatre to see Night Mother with Stockard Channing which was very good.

Sunday was cold but sunny so we walked through Brockwell Park to Herne Hill and had a look at the food and craft stalls and then down into Brixton to start the journey home.

21st November 2021

11/21/2021

Behind again so here is a quick round up since the last post.

On Saturday 13th I went to see What's New Pussycat at the Rep in Birmingham. Excellent! All Tom Jones music and set in the sixties with all the new fashions.

On Sunday I made jam. I had 2lb of frozen strawberries and 2.5lb of blackberries, cherries and other fruits so I made two lots, strawberry and mixed fruit. Only got a few jars but it used up the fruit.

On Monday I had the dentist again and on Tuesday I went to Redditch to collect some more free jam jars (just in case) and popped to the caravan to take the handbrake off for the winter which I had forgotten to do. I then spent the evening making a mock up of the dress I am going to make for the dressmaking class to make sure I have the measurements right. I used some old curtain fabric and set the dummy to my sizes to try it on. I was quite pleased with the fit.

On Wednesday afternoon I went to Malvern theatre to see The Good Life which was very good. Many of the sketches I can remember from the TV series, including the one with the little piglet.

Wednesday evening was college and I tried on my dress. The tutor suggested it needed taking in a bit here and there so I did that and it now fits better. I have altered the pattern so when I cut out the proper fabric it should be just right (hopefully!).

Friday morning was my Covid booster jab which went OK though my arm ached at night. On Saturday I went to Merry Hell (Hill) to pick up a birthday present. I left it till about 5.00pm when I though it would have quietened down and it was ok. I also got a few Christmas presents.

I have now finished all 90 of the mohair squares and have started to join them. I then need to crochet a border to neaten it all off.

Today I have made marmalade from a kit from Hobbycraft. I wanted lemon but they only had orange. 5 large and 3 small jars (well the one isn't quite full but that can be mine).

12th November 2021

11/12/2021

Seriously behind with my blog!
Took a few photos before I left the apartment, when it was all nice and tidy. Have had a brilliant week here. Love the tiled entrance floor.

Left Weymouth at 9.30am and was having a great journey till the signs that said there were problems on the motorway which were tailing back. Was going to come off at Worcester anyway as I had an errand to collect a Marketplace buy from Stourport, but because of the motorway problems it was really busy. Had to detour to Bewdley to find a cash point which was nice to see the river. Collected my purchase which is a Christmas present and I am really pleased with it.

When I got back my teasmade was doing strange things so I decided I had better look for a replacement and found someone selling a new one still in the box for a good price on Marketplace. It was at Burntwood so I went over to fetch it on Sunday afternoon and popped in to see Richard and Debbie on the way home to take Debbie her birthday presents for the 8th. It was great to see them and to meet the new puppy, though not so much of a puppy now. Teddy is a miniature poodle and very sweet. Unfortunately Olivia was out with friends doing trick or treat so I missed her but Brendyn was there. Can't believe he is in the last year of secondary school!

The rest of the week was spent mostly working though I did have the dentist on Thursday to see about getting some extra teeth to replace all the gaps that I have.

On Saturday morning I met with Mark and Michelle at the new branch of Smyths Toys at Merry Hill to get Roman's Christmas present. The place was really busy. Was going to go to Hobbycraft as well but nowhere to park.

In the afternoon I drove to Evesham to collect another Marketplace find. This time an antique Jones sewing machine. Anyone that know me knows that I have a slight weakness for antique sewing machines (among other things) and already have a 1912 Singer and an old electric Singer. I learnt to sew on my grandmothers Jones so I have been looking out for one. It is in superb condition and still has the box of tools. It is difficult to date it as Jones no longer exists (unlike Singer where you can type the serial number into their website and it will tell you the year and place of manufacture) but a bit of research and an email puts it between 1910 and 1925. I have cleaned and polished it and it has pride of place next to the 1912 Singer.

On Sunday Mark and Michelle very kindly helped me to put on the caravan winter cover. Not an easy task but it does keep it snug and clean.

On Wednesday evening I started a 'dressmaking for improvers' course to get me back into sewing. I am going to make a dress in navy jersey as I haven't done much sewing with stretchy fabric. Will keep you posted.

28th October 2021

10/28/2021

Nothing much to report yesterday. Mark drove home to collect Anais who was unable to come down with them on Saturday due to Uni. Went for a walk into town after lunch and again after tea. Did some more of my knitting. Have done some of the back and the two sleeves. Need to be careful with the wool as I only have just enough.

Today we went for a walk to Melcombe Regis, Newton's Cove and Nothe Fort. I took a few photos as we passed the marina. It never ceases to amaze me just how many boats there are, there must be hundreds. We walked through the town and over the lift bridge to the Melcombe Regis side of the old harbour Full of lovely old buildings and lots of character.

We walked up the hill and over to Newton's Cove and Nothe Fort. Lovely views. A different cruse ship was out there today, the Queen Mary 2, which is apparently classed as a transatlantic ocean liner (rather than a cruise ship) and is the flagship of the Cunard Line.

Anais was collecting video footage for a Uni project and wanted some pictures of waves, taken under the water. Luckily Roman has a waterproof video camera, Unfortunately Mark's feet were not waterproof!.

Walking back down through the gardens we encountered a very cheeky squirrel who was not bothered about us at all and in the harbour a Cormorant, or could have been a Shag, was drying its wings. Roman and Mark walked to the viewing tower at the end of the pier.

When we got to the bridge we were lucky enough to see it lift to allow a small sailing boat through.

26th October 2021

10/26/2021

Not quite so nice this morning, a bit overcast but still not cold. Went for a little tour round. First stop was Sandsfoot beach and castle. The beach is in a little sheltered cove and a few people were swimming in the sea.

Next stop was Bowleaze Cove and the Jordan Hill Roman temple. There was quite a range of different boats out at sea, from a beautiful clipper to a fishing boat, to what looked like a naval vessel, to a cruise liner, but unfortunately the visibility was poor. The cruise liner we discovered was the P&O Aurora and is the smallest in the fleet with just 930 cabins,1800 passengers and 900 crew!

Next stop was Ringstead Bay which has good views (on a clear day). We ate our picnic in the car watching some rather sweet and very woolly sheep! We could just make out below us an old bunker from WW2.

Final stop was the White Horse of Osmington. It was originally cut into the limestone hill in 1808 in honour of king George III who was a regular visitor to Weymouth, and was restored in 2012.

25th October 2021

10/25/2021

I read in the last edition of the Camping and Caravanning Club Magazine about some interesting places to visit in Dorset. Two of them were on the Isle of Portland and we had not heard of either of them so we thought we would check them out today while the weather was nice. We have been to Portland many times to the viewpoint and to the lighthouse at Portland Bill but its always nice to find somewhere new.

The first was Tout Quarry Park which, as the name suggests, is situated in a disused quarry. Portland stone has been quarried for centuries and many famous London landmarks are built from it including Buckingham Palace, Westminster and the Tower of London. Artists were invited to create sculptures among the rocks and there are now about 60 of them. The site is huge (40 acres) and we only walked round part of it so plenty more to see another time. It was also interesting to see features left from its days as a quarry.

The second was the pirates graveyard, Rufus castle and Church Ope Cove. It was not easy to get to and is not for the fainthearted or anyone suffering from vertigo. To get to the old church ruins and graveyard required virtually scrambling over rocks. The old church of St Andrews dates back to the 13th century as was the first parish church to be built on Portland. It is now just ruins but among the headstones in the graveyard is a chest tomb with a skull and crossbones on the front. Some of the other headstones had strange symbols too.

We then carried on down the rest of the 140 steps to Church Ope Cove, a small pebble beach surrounded by huts. The cove is reputed to have been used by smugglers which would not surprise me as it is really well hidden.

We still visited the viewpoint by the Olympic rings and the lighthouse. The rather hazy picture is looking back across to Sandsfoot castle.

24th October 2021

10/24/2021

Spending the next week here in lovely Weymouth. Staying in a beautiful apartment just off the marina. It has become a bit of a tradition to spend the half term week here. This is the third year in a row and have booked again for next year. Its really relaxing and I love to be by the sea.

We arrived yesterday, Mark and Michelle and Michelle's mom and dad and family are also here. Had a pretty good trip down though the traffic was heavier than expected, especially around Bristol. Weather is very mild. We went for a nice walk last night just as it was getting dark. The three blobs of light out at sea on the first photo are three cruise ships still anchored in the bay.

Had a nice walk round the town and the old harbour this morning. The Sea Cadet training ship the Jack Petchy was just putting to sea.

20th October 2021

10/20/2021

Finally managed to get my garden done yesterday and all the plants I bought planted. The guy who was supposed to be doing it let me down three times so eventually I had to resort to finding someone else. Their work was a bit rough and ready but at least the job is done, and, they took away all of my rubbish so that was a bonus. Just hope the plants grow now as some of them were looking a bit tired.

18th October 2021

10/18/2021

Met up with Mark and Michelle on Friday to visit a new scrapstore that has opened in Northfield. It's really good, full of all sorts of stuff and you don't have to be a member to buy from there like you do with the one in Worcester (which is not open anyway at the moment due to building problems).

On the way back I stopped off in Blackheath to get the car cleaned inside and out and popped to the market to stock up on goodies. (2 packs of Viennese whirls, 3 loaves of Soreen banana bread, 3 packets of Jacobs Cheddars and 2 large packets of McVities digestives £4).

On Saturday I finished emptying the caravan and drained down the water. I arranged with Dave (who looks after the site) to clean it for me. He makes a good job of it and it will be nice and clean to put the winter cover on.

When I left there I drove to Coleshill to collect some jam jars which were advertised on Facebook. I have been trying to get some used jam jars for ages without luck so drove all the way to Coleshill (45 mins) in desperation as I want to make more jam and marmalade, and I owe Michelle 5 jars as well. You can buy them new but they are about £1 each which I think is ridiculous when you can buy them full of jam from the supermarkets for about 50p. Even Blackheath market wanted £1 each. Anyway the people at Coleshill had 14 so I took them all and gave them a jar of damson jam as a thank you. I didn't realise how nice Coleshill was, it's right out in the countryside and opposite their house was what looked like the ruins of an old priory. Their address was Priory Cottages.

I washed all of the jars and spent ages getting off the labels. I soaked them, scraped them off with a knife, soaked them again and then used one of those silver curly scourers to get the rest off. A couple still had glue on so I had to resort to using spray polish which melts the glue and then scouring them and then putting them though the dishwasher to get rid of the scenty smell!

Anyway on Sunday morning I was scrolling through Facebook and what did I see ... someone in Stourbridge (just a few miles from me) was giving away a whole box of jam jars! To say I shot over there would be an understatement and I took them a large jar of damson jam. There were 42 jars in all and a lot of them had the labels removed already. I have left those with labels for now (I've had enough of label removal at the moment) and put the rest through the dishwasher. All sparkly and clean and ready for the next batch of jam!

10th October 2021

10/10/2021

Another lovely sunny day, though a slight breeze this morning made it feel a little cooler. Went for a walk along by the river and back through the town. No sign of the fair, all packed up and gone and the roads all open again. Was able to take some more photos as quieter today. Here are the ones I took on the river walk. There are two rivers that run through Tewkesbury, the Avon and the Severn. There were quite a few people fishing and they had some serious gear. I only saw them catch small stuff but they put everything in their keep net so I wondered if it was a contest.

I was glad to see they are doing some work to restore the Old Black Bear pub at the bottom of the town. It was a shame to see it empty last time I came. It is very old, said to date back to 1308. The buildings in Tewkesbury always fascinate me. Although a mix of styles they are all old. There are hardly any new buildings at all which is so nice to see.