Post Comment Love 25-27 March

Welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked and share some of that love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’re here.

I’ve had this week off work, taking the last of my annual leave and it’s been well timed. I had a couple of days catching up with myself and pottering around, and then we’ve had some time away and once again we’ve popped up to Lincolnshire, it’s becoming a favourite place of ours.

My photo this week is of the hyacinths in a planter at Belton House. We’ve had some great weather, and the scent from the hyacinths was even headier than usual, they really are one of the ‘smells of spring’ aren’t they?

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In the Orangery at Belton House

The Orangery is the centre piece of the Italian garden at Belton House. It’s built using cast iron and glass and is faced in local Ancaster Stone, and was the first iron and glass domestic conservatory ever built - and it was so extraordinary that the drawings were exhibited at the Royal Academy’s 43rd exhibition in 1811. And on top of that it’s a fantastic looking building that’s a favourite part of Belton for me.

We first visited Belton last August when we were staying at the lodge at Easton Gardens. We’re back in Lincolnshire for a few days staying in one of the villages just north of Grantham, so couldn’t resist a visit while we were here. After refuelling at the cafe, the orangery was next on my list, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I’d looked at my photos from our first visit recently, and I’m not sure why I hadn’t shared them here. Maybe I’ll do a ‘compare and contrast’ post for the differences between an August and March visit at some point, but in the meantime here’s some of the photos from our most recent visit.

I hadn’t remembered there being so many statues, but this time that’s what caught my eye. There was also more colour than I remembered and the plant below is one that I’ll be getting my plant app out on. It’s definitely got rhubarb and custard vibes.

I think we’ll have a few more visits to Belton House, there’s much more of the park to explore than we’ve scratched the surface of yet. I’m also keen to get another look in the house, especially as things start to return to more normal times, our first visit was during Covid, and I’m sure that, understandably, the rooms and collections available to view were reduced.

Embroidered Rooms A><B

I saw these pieces by Manuela Caniato at the 2021 Knitting & Stitching Show held at Alexandra Palace, and was keen to get a closer look.

They are cotton canvas worked with stranded cotton, each just 27.5 by 20 cm. Manuela took pictures of her rooms on the iPad and drew them digitally before printing on canvas and embroidering.

She also says that she likes this as it is “the making of a new fabric” and is a combination of digital and manual skills, and that she likes to imagine that she’s “throwing a thread that unites past and present”.

Looking more closely, I was drawn to the herringbone effect and texture that the rows of stitches brought while also clearly showing the scene, and the plant in the image above is also effective agains the straight lines of the background. Though while it’s good to see the detail, I actually think standing back and taking them in from a short distance shows so much more.

What do you think?