SLEEPING ON TV

A huge thanks goes out to Janey Lee Grace for showing off our 'Sleep Sacks' on The Wright Stuff on Channel 5 TV on Monday. It is always so exciting to see something l have made on television, and the response has been fantastic. Here is a photo of the sleep sacks just so they can have their day in the sun again!

Wet and windy again here on the top of the hill. At least it is nothing like as bad as last week, so fingers crossed it doesn't go that way again. I stay holed up in HQ with my trusty old Singer, piles of fabric and bags and bags of all my mixed up herbs. I am trying to be seriously organised for my preparations for the London fair. Have listed everything to be made and broken it all down to whether things cut, sewn, filled, finished and labeled. It all looked a bit daunting at first when l saw it written out on paper, but l am slowly managing to tick some of those boxes and that feels rather satisfying and a step nearer my goal.

Dream Acres is definately having a good month on the pr front. We have been featured in COAST, HOUSE & HOMES IDEAS and COUNTRY LIVING, and the tv too of course! All those goodies featured are selling fast, it is certainly keeping me busy and keeping the village post office happy too.

On that note l shall get back to the sewing machine.....

LONDON CALLING

Well after all the storms last week (we went from the gale force winds knocking hell out of the greenhouse, trees and roof of HQ to torrential rain and the farden and fields under 6 inches of water) it looks like the weather has calmed down just a tad, enough to let us get out and try to repair damage. The most important thing to fix was the roof on HQ and we managed to get that fixed just before the torrential rain.

The big news is that Dream Acres will be attending the Country Living Fair in London on 12-16th March at the Design Centre in Islington. It is a really exciting prospect but nerve wracking at the same time. As you can imagine l am now knee deep in sewing trying to get stock ready to take, and full of worry that l am doing the right thing, taking the right stuff etc. I am a worrier at the best of times, give me something like this and l go into overdrive. So much for there being no real rush to get my new products out there, now l am snipping like mad to get my new patterns cut and and piling up the 'to be sewn' stuff so that l can work on things in blocks of time. This is when a few friendly elves would come in very handy.

I promise l will take some photos and post them here later in the week. Back to the scissors and sewing machine..............

SHATTERED DREAMS

Well so much for my nice start to January, here is the devastation that awaited me this morning. Greenhouse completely smashed and 7 trees gone. At least the house and HQ are still intact and all people and animals are fine, but the greenhouse is a major blow.

It is only 9am and already l have had three friends phone to see if l need help, so sweet of them. I should not feel down, there are folks in far worse states, but boy oh boy l didn't need this for Dream Acres this year. I know the greenhouse is replacable, my little herbs not so easily, but those lovely old wind break trees, they will be sorely missed by plants and sheep alike.

Ayrshire is awash with wind. Just had the village school on the phone to say they will have to close as their power has gone. While l know Idgy will be thrilled with the unexpected day off l can only keep fingers crossed that we keep our power here or she won't half as happy with the extra time. Wonder if she can be talked into helping me clear the mess in the garden? I guess school would be preferable to that one.

Oh well, there is nothing for it but to head back outside and start clearing up.....

K

LET IT SNOW!!

Yesterday we awoke to a real winter wonderland outside, with at leat 6 inches of perfect snow everywhere. Okay so the herbs (rosemary and sagestill in leaf) weren't looking too happy in their crowns of lace, but for a hopeless romantic like me it was gorgeous. Now why didn't we have this 2 weeks ago for Christmas!!

Having dug my way over to HQ l then spent some happy hours finishing the new year clear out, and l am proud to say l now have a floor in there and can see almost all of it. At last l can start work again and will soon be able to show you photos of work in progress rather than more and more snow scenes and pictures of me.

If you have been hit by the dreaded snuffles this winter, try this to clear your head;

Mix one tablespoon of crushed cinnamon with one tablespoon of dried spearmint and put in a saucepan withwater. Now let it simmer on the hob and your head will clear and snuffles abate (at least for a while). It will also make the house smell wonderful, so that's another bonus.

Enjoy the snow photos, it looks nothing like that this morning, just wet and muddy and blowing a gale.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. From being very lazy and eating way too much over the holidays l have hit the new year with determination to fight the flab and get at least some way towards being fit. Usually this feeling lasts only into lunch time on January 1st before l (like most of the nation) give up and head for the biscuits. But no, its day 3 and l am still hanging in there with herbal teas instead of coffee and fruit everywhere. Actually herbal teas really are great for getting a start on a diet (or healthy eating plan to be more p.c.) they give you something with a bit of flavour and no nasty calories, add to that the fact that they actually do good things for your body, and you really are on to a winner.

So here are a feew ideas to try yourselves;

Use about one spoonful of dried herbs per cup plus 'one for the pot'. Pour boiling water over leaves and leave for 5 - 10 minutes to brew. Sweeten with honey if you prefer this taste.

If you are feeling sluggish try a peppermint infusion to wake you up and feel refreshed. Add a touch of cinnamon for a bit of a change.

A mixture of sage and lemon balm can help with coughs and sore throats.

Can't get to sleep, my all time favourite tisane (herbal tea) has to be lavender, lemon balm and chamomile, you will sleep like a log.

I have started the dreaded clear out of HQ (funny how a few weeks of 'l'll deal with that later' can lead to complete mayhem and total mess) and am now digging thru my fabrics to work them into the new designs. Can't wait to get these new ideas into action. Actually l had better get them into action rather fast as fairs are coming up and l am now somewhat low on stock anyway. Country Living won't be doing their fair in Glasgow this Spring, which is a real shame, however we have a Christmas fair to look forward to in November instead.

By the way the photo with the chicken was taken by my daughter Idgy this morning, and she dared me to put it on the blog. So there you are no pride left, have to get on that diet!!