Adding a log store and storage to our garden

While we have an established border in a corner of our new build garden, what I realised fairly quickly is we don’t have is a space to store things such as ‘resting’ pots, or open compost bags without them being on show, or taking up unnecessary room in the garage. We also brought some seasoned logs with us when we moved, which had spent a year or so in the garage and while they were living their best - and driest - life, the garage was never intended as their long term home.

I’d been using the area inside the trellis to store pots and some compost bags, as well as leaving it on the paving outside the garage - but neither of these were ideal. We do have a space alongside the garages, where our many wheelie bins live (we have four, or rather three and a half - recycling, glass recycling, garden waste and general waste). These are out of sight as, unless you have to, no one wants to see their bins do they?

That empty space had potential, I was sure and so I started to look at mini sheds - but didn’t find what I was after, not that I really knew what I was looking for either. I changed tack and started looking at log stores, and I had a bit more luck. , but they still weren’t right.

Then I struck gold, and found a log store which also had a small storage section. Perfect. Or it would have been as it wasn’t in stock. Sigh.

But I find one I did. The same model, but cheaper. That never happens does it?!

And so it duly arrived from Robert Dyas with delivery by Forest Garden in our often wet summer. It needed assembling and MOH set to work, working in the garage - which was just as well, as it meant he could continue when the summer weather was slightly more than inclement.

We’d worked out that between us we could lift it into position without adding the weight of the roof, and the final touches could be added when it was in situ. Thankfully the weather gods were on our side too, and we were blessed with a gloriously sunny day on the day we planned to tackle this.

This is the corner where it was going.

A cleared corner area almost ready for the log store's permanent home

Of course it needed some prep work first. We cleared back the top gravel, and were pleased to discover compacted earth beneath. I’d got some weed suppressant - but importantly permeable - ground cover that I wanted to put down, and planned to use the metal pins to keep that in place.

That didn’t work so well. I was lucky with the first one - it went straight in. Then wherever we tried we hit something harder and bent the pin. A plan B was needed.

Plan B made use of the gravel to anchor the weed suppressor. And I thanked my lucky stars that we’d opted to put the log store here, originally we thought we might make this another small planting area for a climbing rose - but that wouldn’t have happened given what we discovered.

But working with what we had, it was soon in place, fitting nicely into the space we had and which we’d planned for it to use.

It wasn’t long before MOH had attached the roof and finishing struts, and attached the door too. That needed a small adjustment to make it fit a little less snugly - we needed to be able to open the door, and no doubt the wood would swell a little in wet weather too, so with the adjustments made, it was time to fill it.

It didn’t take me long to stack our logs or collect the open compost bags from their various storage spots around the garden. And I couldn’t be happier - we have cleared some space in the garage, and brought all the compost bags together to create a functional and secure storage area. We don’t use a lot of logs though, and in truth this is probably more space than we need for logs, but if we need to we can add another storage area relatively easily, but we’ll see how we go for now.

But the weather wasn’t done with us yet!

The log store now with a tarpaulin covering the logs

From being the driest they’ve ever been, the logs soon got a dousing - well actually several - from heavy rain. They weren’t soaked but wetter than you’d really want them to be, and so we added a tarpaulin to give them some protection.

I never knew how many sizes you could get tarpaulins in - but of course, none exactly matched the size we had. In the end we went with a custom-sized tarpaulin, as i) it will fit, ii) it will hopefully last and iii) it actually wasn’t that expensive - with delivery this was just over twenty pounds, so not extortionate - and definitely worth having.

Though having it a week earlier would have been better!

PostCommentLove

Making green tomato chilli ketchup

Years ago I made the best green tomato chilli ketchup but somehow lost the printed copy of the recipe and I’ve been kicking myself ever since, especially as the recipe was removed from the website I’d found it on. Sigh. This year when dad said did I want any green tomatoes I searched harder online for something similar to the previous recipe - and found this Green Tomato Recipe on the From The Larder website, and it gets a huge thumbs up from me.

And of course with anything made with green tomatoes - fresh bright green tomatoes go in, and ends up as something more brown - but don’t let that put you off.

No really don’t.

This has a great taste and is so useful. I love it alongside roasted squash and rice and even in sandwiches.

The recipe calls for 1kg of green tomatoes, and while I had a lot from dad (and I mean a lot) some had ripened as they sat alongside the already red ones and so had made their way into roasted tomato pasta sauce and subsequently the freezer, I was still a few short. And this handful topped me up to the full kilo - a quick last picking from my own tomato plants and I was good to go.

There’s a bit of chopping involved as you’d expect, but nothing too onerous. And don’t they look so fresh and vibrant?

Young, fresh green tomatoes quartered on a wooden chopping board

I debated (with myself, in my head!) about if I should use my preserving pan or not. And in the end the logical answer of ‘you’re preserving so why the heck not’ won out, and I’m so glad I did.

It is a large pan, and even though the amount of ketchup I was making was relatively small using this pan meant I was confident it would all fit in and there’d be no risk of anything bubbling over.

In preparation I’d even saved one of those almost 700g passata jars, but I didn’t use that in the end instead opting for smaller jars. I mean, it often takes me more than one attempt to use all the passata and I knew I’d be using the ketchup in smaller amounts, so it made sense to fill smaller jars.

This is very much like the recipe I remembered and I’m so pleased to have found it, and to have had the green tomatoes. I think next time I’d probably add more than one green chilli, and would consider adding some grated ginger too for an extra bit of zing, but that’s for next time when no doubt I’ll have lost the recipe again.

We’re already almost through one of the smallest jars, with the others safely stored on the top shelf of my pantry. And I couldn’t be happier!

PostCommentLove

Flying Geese: challenge accepted and completed

Less than a month ago I shared that I was trying out some patchwork Flying Geese blocks, and that my challenge for the next few weeks ahead was to complete the smaller size quilt top and find some material to back the quilt with.

Well, I’ve done better than that - I’ve actually finished the quilt.

And I mean completely finished.

Yes, I’m as shocked as you are!

I think it worked out pretty well.

While making this I have learnt and relearnt much - it’s been a very long time since I completely finished and quilted a quilt. And while I love the fancy designs that come from quilting by long arm quilters, I was happy to keep the quilting on this one simple, taking a ‘stitch in the ditch’ approach.

I found the grey duvet cover that I had in mind, and I think the colour works well and the narrow border frames the top nicely. I’ve also impressed myself with the scrappy binding, and took the same approach adding this as I did when I made my sewing machine mat earlier in the year. I’ve since read in an online craft group that many people machine stitch the binding on the back and do their hand sewing to attach the binding to the front. Thankfully in sewing there are no hard and fast rules (or not many anyway), and I think my version of doing the exact opposite works well for me.

Hand sewing the binding could be one of those tasks that gets put off and off; I was fortunate that the timing coincided with my monthly sewing group evening and that was the perfect project to take along and chat as well as sew. The fact that I made huge progress in those two hours - almost two sides sewn - and the compliments from other members were enough to convince me to finish this in just three hand sewing sessions. And I’m so glad I did!

My plan is to donate this quilt to Project Linus UK, a charity whose mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children, who are sick, disabled, disadvantaged or distressed through the donation of new, homemade, washable quilts and blankets. 

I was concerned that it wasn’t ‘perfect’ but I’m also not sure that anything homemade is ever really perfect, or as perfect as whoever makes it wants to be, and I’m also sure that only they will see many of the ‘imperfections’ too. And a quilt that is used and loved is way better than no quilt at all.

Are there more Flying Geese on the horizon?

The short answer is yes, but not quite yet.

I enjoyed sewing the Flying Geese and like how they turned out, though I’m not planning on repeating this pattern for my next ‘geese quilt’ - I’ve decided I want a lot more of the geese blocks instead. I’ve seen a couple of designs that I like, one which is made of solely of the flying geese blocks, and another which mixes plain squares. I’m currently deciding between the two, and wondering in reality just how many geese a king size quilt would need.

Well I know its lots, but how many and my tolerance levels are the question.

An interim plan

But as ever a new plan has formed.

I remembered that I had some blocks left over from my Great Granny Square quilt top (which while sewn together has got no further), even though I’d used some to make reusable kitchen towels by backing the quilt block with towelling squares, but I wasn’t sure how many.

It turns out I have three of these blocks left, which is also a third of a small quilt. So I reckoned that if I added another six blocks I could make another quilt and therefore have two to donate at once, so that’s what I’m working on. I’m trying out another new-to-me-block - the Drunkards Path block, no sniggering please!

It’s early days though, but as ever I have a plan for choosing these too - but all that’s for another day, for now I’m enjoying my perfectly imperfect finished flying geese quilt, and that new block.

PostCommentLove